Does your business have an Instagram account? If you answered “no” to that question, then you need to keep reading this article to see if an Instagram account is appropriate for your business. If you answered “yes,” then keep reading anyway to learn how to fully utilize your Instagram business account.

So why is having an Instagram account for your business so important? Well, according to searchenginejournal.com, Instagram is quickly becoming one of the most popular social media sites in the world. As of the beginning of 2020, the site had over one billion active monthly users and that number is expected to only grow. If reaching that large of an audience is not a compelling enough reason to start your business profile today, here are five ways that your business can benefit from Instagram to help change your mind.

1. Increase Exposure and Visibility

According to Hootsuite.com, over 200 million Instagram users visit at least one business profile each day. That means if your business is using the right features on Instagram, such as stories and promotions, then your brand awareness and audience is likely to grow.

Hootsuite also found that 62% of Instagram users said they have become interested in a product or brand after seeing that company’s Instagram story advertisement. So spending money on an Instagram ad or promotion, no matter how big or small, can increase a company’s audience and affect potential customers' attitudes toward the company.

Using hashtags on posts is another great way that you can increase your company’s visibility through Instagram. This feature helps to link your posts to similar ones and exposes your profile to a whole new group of people with similar interests.

2. Make Money Directly

Similarly to Facebook, Instagram has several buying and selling options for its users. Business accounts are being encouraged to try shoppable posts, the latest program. Businesses use this feature by posting a picture of a product and then adding a link to the photo which leads to the product on their website. When the user adds the tag with the link, they are also given the opportunity to include a description about the product.

With 76% of users saying that they have bought a product from the site, it’s hard to deny that having an active Instagram account could boost a company’s sales.

3. Use Insights to your Advantage

If you have a Facebook business account, then you are probably familiar with what insights are and know how helpful they can be to your marketing strategy. Well lucky for you, Instagram also provides this tool to its business users.

Instagram insights offers users an analysis of each post a company makes and special details about posts that the company has advertised or promoted. These insights include details such as how many people were exposed to the post, how many people clicked the link, what times people were exposed to the post and demographic information.

With all this helpful information, company’s will learn when the best time to post is and better understand their audiences.

Instagram is a great tool for companies who are looking to expand their market overseas. The social media site has a larger following in foreign countries than in the United States, with 89% of users being international.

4. Connect with Customers

Exceptional customer service is key to building customer loyalty. One of the best ways to make customers happy and keep them that way is by interacting with them. An easy and effective way for companies to engage and interact with their customers is through Instagram.

A company can gauge its audience’s opinion about a product or the brand itself by the likes, comments, shares and tags that it gets on Instagram. For example, if Coca-Cola introduced a new flavor by posting it on Instagram, the number of likes the post receives coupled with the comments, both positive and negative, can help the company predict the success of the new flavor.

It is also important that companies engage customers on Instagram through posting polls, having giveaways, sharing customers’ posts, doing shoutouts and replying to comments and direct messages.

5. Get Inspiration

More and more businesses are joining Instagram everyday, and each one brings new ideas and perspectives to the table. By following other businesses on Instagram, you can learn new and creative ways to use your business’s profile. However, it is important to remember that what works for one company might not work for another.

Scrolling through other businesses’ and influencers’ pages can help you figure out what kind of posts work best and what you should try next.

Although Instagram is not the most popular social media site in the world, it is growing in popularity everyday, especially within the younger demographic. In this day in age, having an Instagram account is essential for most businesses to ensure an effective social media marketing strategy.