Remember when Instagram first started out?

It was a fun little app where you could add funky filters to your personal digital photographs and make them look super artsy (maybe even pseudo professional), and then share those pictures with your friends and the rest of the world.

Fast forward a couple of years, and now Instagram is a social media heavy hitter – particularly with regards to business.

Worldwide, 1 billion people use Instagram – and, 500 million of them use it every day.

72% of users have bought a product they saw on Instagram

Over 200 million users visit at least one business profile every day.

80% of users follow at least one business

60% of users discover products on Instagram

75% of users take action

So… if your business isn’t on Instagram, what are you waiting for?

It still remains to be a relatively simple app, and this throws off a lot of business owners. They figure it’s so basic, there’s really only so much you can do with it.

There are many so-called “hacks” and best practices that will give you more of an edge when you are promoting your business on Instagram.

Here are just a few of our most popular articles that show business owners how to get more out of their business Instagram accounts…

1.   How to use an app to split a large picture over your Instagram grid

 

Sometimes, when we use social media for business, we lose sight of the fact that social media is supposed to be fun.

That’s why it’s called “social” media.

One way to have fun is to try out new apps.

There are lots of cool apps created for Instagram which enable you to create funky images and videos with different filters, effects, collages, colorful text, and lots of crazy things.

Some of these apps are mere distractions to the serious business owner.

But, if you’re clever, some of them can be used strategically to help you grow your business.

One such app is Pic Splitter by (Firecannon Pty Ltd). This simple tool will let you upload any image from your phone, then it will break it up for you into a series of photos that you can upload to Instagram in sequence so that the big picture is generated on your bio page grid.

Pretty cool effect, right?

So fun.

You might think this is gimmicky, but give it a chance.

You can actually use this effect strategically to improve your Instagram account’s engagement.

Here are some pointers on how to use Instagram grid apps to enhance your business feed…

 

2.   How to post a blog in Instagram, when you can’t make links clickable

 

Using Instagram to drive traffic to your blog is a great idea.

Doing this will enable you to provide more value, engage further with your audience, and possibly close a sale.

There’s just one problem.

Instagram makes it virtually impossible to post clickable links on its platform.

As an Instagram account holder, you are permitted to have ONE clickable link, and it has to be on your bio page – AND THAT’S IT.

The photos and videos you post aren’t clickable, and your text captions or comments aren’t clickable either.

So, how do you direct traffic…

• from your Instagram photo/video post,
• to your caption below,
• to your bio page,
• and FROM THERE, finally get your audience to your blog?

Glad you asked.

Here’s how to post a blog on Instagram in just a few steps…

 

3.   Don’t be afraid to use emojis on Instagram business posts

 

Remember in the olden days when we could only express our emotions online with text emoticons like this:

: )

Or we’d type out “LOL” if were laughing out loud (or even if we weren’t).

And then, there would always be that one person who didn’t know what “LOL” meant and they would use it the wrong way?

And then we’d want to *eyeroll* but we couldn’t because the *eyeroll* emoji hadn’t been invented yet?

Those were dark times – the times before emojis existed.

Think of all the emotions that got repressed or misinterpreted.

Chaos.

Nowadays, emojis are very commonplace. According to a study by Quintly, where 29,000 accounts with 5.5 million posts between January 1 and July 31, 2017 were analyzed, it was discovered that 57% of Instagram profiles included emojis.

Why are we so obsessed with emojis? Quite simply, emojis help us express ourselves with greater accuracy in an otherwise cold, cruel cyberspace.

And, it’s no surprise that emojis have found dominance on social media. But, how do they fit in when using social media for business?

Do they have a place?

Emojis are colorful and fun, and they help us express ourselves, but in the business world, if not used correctly, they can seem frivolous and silly.

Here are a few key points to help you manage your use of emojis on social media when promoting your business…

 

4.   How to figure out the best time to post on Instagram

 

So, when is the best time to post on Instagram?

Well, if you go online and do a simple search, you will find tons, and I mean tons, of articles and reports and statistics and charts and fancy infographics about what time is the best time to post.

It can get very overwhelming and very intimidating very quickly.

The good news is, none of it matters.

Just don’t listen to all of that stuff.

It’s not actually that important.

What’s important, is what YOUR audience is up to.

Here’s how to figure out the best time to post on Instagram…

Instagram has become a major social media platform for promoting businesses of all sizes. Although it is a pretty simple app to learn, you can use a few basic hacks to get more return out of it. Use a pic splitter app to make use of your bio page grid, be strategic with how you post blogs on Instagram, and don’t be afraid to use emojis. And finally, make use of your business Instagram account insights and figure out the best times you should post.

If you’re ready to take your business blog to the next level, check out my FREE eBook, “How To Blog Like An Entrepreneur” here…