With over 1 billion users per month, there’s no mistaking that having a presence on Instagram is advantageous to growing your business. However, most businesses on Instagram fail because they don’t take into account the proper steps to creating an optimized profile.
In this article, you’ll learn about how to create an Instagram profile, as well as the 5 essential steps needed in order to begin your journey to social media stardom.
1 – Choose A Representable & Recognizable Username
Your username will be displayed publicly and will be the first thing that any new or existing audience member comes across. Make sure that your username is as close as possible to the original source name. This will give your brand the best chance of being recognized.
The last thing that you want is to have a brilliant travel-related page with a username like “@businesspanda78”. Nobody will want to search for that.
2 – Optimize Your Bio & Display Picture
A display picture, if you’re running a personal brand, should be a headshot of you with a clearly visible face and a nice smile. If you are the running the Instagram of a new company, consider simply putting your logo and your primary colour as your display picture.
In terms of crafting the right bio, it’s imperative that you do your best to summarize your brand. Simplicity is key here. Tell your audience what your big goal is, what niche(s) you concentrate in creating content about, and any other platforms that they may find you/your current location.
The point of optimizing your profile is to deliver the best first impression possible. Any new potential audience members stumbling across your feed should feel like you have a good page to follow.
3 – Post Your First 9 Photos to Your Instagram Profile
It’s widely known that your last 9 posts (the only space visible on a user’s screen before they scroll down) are your most important. They, along with your bio and display picture, create a first impression that will help you grow your audience.
When starting on Instagram, it’s a good idea to have your first 9 post ideas ready before even posting your first. This will help you set up a special consistency and will attract many more followers. Winging it isn’t the best option, and will leave you with much less of a professional look.
4 – Follow Others & Get Inspired
There are a lot of reasons as to why people are scared to follow others on social media, but none are more distinct than the fact that people care about vanity metrics, like their ratio of followers-to-following. Get out of your own head and start following “experts” in your niches; people who inspire you to post similar content in the world, and study them carefully.
There is no shame in following others. It’s an easy way you can make hundreds of new friends in 2021. What’s more, it’s also how you can find loyal fans when starting alternative social media channels like YouTube and Tiktok.
5 – Experiment With You Instagram Profile
Spend your first few months on Instagram purely experimenting with different forms of content. See which would entice your audience the most and which make you happiest to post. A happy medium is always attainable and something you should strive for.
In doing this, you realize a lot about yourself, your brand, and your audience. It’s important not to be so rigid in your plan when you’re just starting out, because there is a lot to learn from both “experts” and Instagram itself.
Set goals, dream big, but don’t expect overnight success. Instagram is a fantastic journey to embark on, and with these 5 tips, you’ll be well on your way to kickstarting your profile and inspiring your own community.
