We have previously talked about the benefits of Online Business Directory and while looklocal might be the seventh best local Australian Business Directory it is not enough.

Today we are going to talk about the benefits promoting your business on Instagram. Making a Instagram profile is just not enough. The real hurdle is to build and maintain an attractive, interactive and solid online presence. Creativity and consistency are the real protagonists here, it is true that each of the big social networks has it's own algorithm, we should be aware of this, but creativity and consistency are still key. In this post we will answer the very important question...

How to Promote your Business on Instagram: 3 Tips

• Tactical? Yes. Practical? More.

• Posts maintain your audience, reels grows your audience.
• From Interaction to Conversation.

Tactical? Yes. Practical? More.

Let's start by assuming you already have a Instagram for Business account and not a personal profile. If you don't have one, no problem! Follow the guide proposed by Instagram and you'll be set up in no time. Now let's get back to it.

What comes next is to understand at what point and for what purpose does Instagram enters into the equation of your online marketing plan. It is very likely that, in terms of attraction and impact, your goal with Instagram is to generate a community to integrate your brand. To achieve the conversion of followers or "fans" to leads and then convert them into your customers.

This will involve defining attractive content, formats for better interaction, graphic style and publication times. Tactical tasks that always lead you to the most practical point: telling the story behind your services or products. 

What do we mean by this? That being clear about what the key topic is, that a video or reel is more effective than a post, that hashtags or trending numbers are necessary, but not the only thing. 

The humanization of your account, eliminating artificial photos from image banks and proposing natural photos of what you do, how you do it and why you do it makes more sense and helps connect to your audience.

Posts maintain your audience, reels grows your audience.

It is true that Instagram was created as a social network to highlight good graphic content and the beautiful panoramas that surround us. But, with the arrival of entertainment and advertising consumption to this platform, videos became the most interesting audiovisual resource for consumption and growth.  But it is not just any video. The duration, music, graphic intervention and interactivity have a key role in reaching more audience. 

We will not to focus on whether the video should have a shorter or longer duration to achieve more profit. This will be relevant according to your industry and what is more attractive to your audience. 

What we want to focus on is the use of some options to grow. And that is that by taking a video vertically, selecting a couple of hashtags (yes a couple, not a bunch), adding audio from the network's media library and publishing it as a story or reels, your post has a better chance of: 

• Impressions
• Plays
• Engagement

But are these elements alone enough? In my opinion, in order to grow, the creation of reels must have a more fundamental element: you. That's why I mentioned the previous point. Personal videos have 3 times more exposure than simply using a video bank.

From Interaction to Conversation

And, we arrive at the last step. Last, but not least, on the contrary. Considering that at this point you are already thinking about a more practical and human instagram account, with natural and proper content of the network, you have won more reach and engagement. 

What's next, what's the use of having traction in interaction on this network?

Well, it's time to take the results obtained to the next level: to sell. 

You may ask yourself: and how will I achieve this?

Well. The first thing is to forget about the idea that the most important thing on Instagram is the acquisition of followers, just because, that mentality is today no longer relevant to any company. With just a Facebook Ads campaign (target followers) or misleading bots, you can artificially increase this number.

The second thing is to make strategic use of the presentation and description of your Instagram Business profile: 

The description of your account must have a value proposition, call to action, interaction link and fixed stories that highlight what you and the strategy at the time needs to show as relevant in the Instagram bio.

This implies that you constantly perform renewal of: 

Brand identity according to the context and moment, through the logo, in the profile picture.
Description of what you do and why you do it. How you are helping your community with keywords.
Use of hashtags or citation to other accounts if needed. 
Location of the account. 
Call to action link. 
And fixed stories you can highlight: relevant content, product or service catalog, promotion of the month or relevant customer service notices. 
And why not, your corporate email address.

And, we arrive at the last step without it ceasing to be important. On the contrary. Considering that at this point you are already thinking about a more practical and human instagram account, with natural and proper content of the network, you have won two more points: reach and engagement. 

What's next, what's the use of having traction in interaction on this network?

Well, it's time to take the results obtained to the next level for your main objective: to sell. 

You may ask yourself: and how will I achieve this?

Well. The first thing is to eliminate that thought that the most important thing on Instagram is the acquisition of followers just because. That today is no longer relevant for any company. With just a Facebook Ads campaign (target followers) or misleading bot, you can artificially increase this number.

The second thing is to make strategic use of the presentation and description of your Instagram Business profile: 

As we denoted in the image, the description of your account must have a value proposition, call to action, interaction link and fixed stories that highlight what you and the strategy at the time needs to show as relevant in the Instagram bio.

This requires that you constantly perform renewal of: 

Brand identity according to the context and moment, through the logo, in the profile picture.
Description of what you do and why you do it. How you are helping your community with keywords.
Use of hashtags or citation to other accounts if needed. 
Location of the account. 
Call to action link. 
Fixed stories you can highlight: relevant content, product or service catalog, promotion of the month or relevant customer service notices. 
And why not, your corporate email address.

Turning interaction into action on Instagram is not hard. You just need to make the most of the "description and link in the bio" to increase lead generation for your company. We hope these tips help you grow your Australian business on Instagram. And if you want to make the most out of your company remember how helpful it is to use Directory Listings as a tool to promote your business.