How You Can Optimise Instagram for Business

Instagram is a critical tool for commerce, and one of the most cost-effective ways to promote your business. But we understand that getting to grips with the business side of Instagram can be a time-consuming and complex task, particularly if you are not very social media savvy.

We understand you’re short on time. That’s why we’ve put together this easy-to-understand but comprehensive guide on how to get the most out of Instagram for businesses. We’ll tell you how to set up an account, create top-tier content, and how you can measure your success.

To conquer Instagram for business, you need to:

Step 1: set up a business account
Step 2: optimise your profile for business
Step 3: create an effective Instagram strategy
Step 4: create captivating content
Step 5: consider third-party apps
Step 6: grow your following
Step 7: use hashtags
Step 8: collaborate with influencers
Step 9: advertise your business on Instagram
Step 10: measure and celebrate your success

Step 1: set up a business account

If you’re one of Instagram’s two billion monthly users, you most likely already know how the platform works.

But note that one of the fundamental rules of setting up your business on Instagram is to make sure it is set up as a business account, as this comes with unique features:

✅ Boost your posts and advertise to a target audience
✅ Access Instagram insights to monitor post and ad performance
✅ Add business info, including opening hours, location and contact methods
✅ Add call-to-action buttons to direct Instagram users to your website
✅ Sell your products in the app via the Instagram Shop functionality

How to create an Instagram business profile, step-by-step

Download Instagram, and tap ‘sign up’ after opening the app
Enter your email address – use an admin or centralised email address if you want multiple users to access your account
Choose your username and password and complete your profile information. Consider your username carefully and make sure it is on brand. Then, tap ‘Next’
Go to your profile, and tap the hamburger menu in the upper-right corner. Tap ‘Settings’, then ‘Account’. Here, choose ‘Business’
Connect your Facebook page if you already have one set up – this is important for unified posting on both platforms
Select your business category and input your contact details (these can be changed at a later stage). Then, tap ‘done’!

One of the best things about using Instagram for business is how quick and simple it is to set up. You just have to go through the stages displayed above. Source: Startups.co.uk

Step 2: optimise your profile for business

Before you start growing your Instagram profile, be sure to make use of the following:

A strong profile pic – this can often be the first thing your customers will see, so a tacky picture can be catastrophic. Even if it’s expensive, its worth engaging a professional to design you a logo for your social media accounts.
A concise, intriguing bio – you only have 150 characters (just over two sentences) to show off your brand, so explain what you do succinctly and do it in your brand’s tone. Add a CTA if you have space.
A link in your bio – you can’t attach links to your Instagram posts, so it’s incredibly important to include a link in your bio instead. Be very strategic about where this link sends people – will it be directly to your website? Or will it be to a landing page which allows you to share links to several pages?
Contact information – keep email addresses and phone numbers up to date so your followers can contact you easily.
Story highlights – organise your stories into saved collections on your profile so users can get a taste of your brand in just a few clicks.

We’ve optimised our own Instagram profile with our logo, branding, slogan, location, and critically, a link to the resources we want our users to visit. Source: Startups.co.uk

Expert opinion

Julaine Speight, director at award-winning digital marketing agency First Internet, offers us her advice:

“Ensure you have permanent stories on your profile, as they will provide clients and customers with key highlights and important business messaging that can be seen at a glance. This is a great way for you to promote different services or products.”

Step 3: create an effective Instagram strategy

Understanding who you want to appeal to and what results you want to see will help you work out your Instagram strategy – in other words, what you’re planning to post, and when. Be sure to:

Define your target audience

Consider the demographic you are trying to reach. The dominant age group of Instagram users is between 25 and 34 years old. Think carefully about your product/brand and work out your ideal customer. What are their interests? What kind of content will most engage them? What will make them choose you over your competitors?

Set objectives

Having goals to achieve will help keep you motivated and focused. Setting engagement and performance targets will ensure you spend time on your Instagram strategy and post regularly. Think about what you want to achieve –are you looking to grow your follower count by a certain percentage? Get a baseline number of views for your reels? Just make sure your targets set the right balance between aspirational and achievable.

Create a content schedule

Posting consistently is incredibly important to maintaining engagement. Plot out the dates and times at which you want to post (remembering to test different times and days to work out which slots garner the most engagement for you). Remember to factor in any tentpole days you want to take advantage of, such as Earth Day, International Women’s Day, etc.

Track your performance

Regularly and routinely track the performance of your posts to understand what engages your followers. Analysing engagement, click-throughs, and calls to action will help you paint a picture of what content works for you and what doesn’t. We’ll take you through how do this later on in the article.

Step 4: create captivating content

Instagram is a platform to sell your brand. SproutSocial’s 2024 Social Media Content Strategy Report revealed that 61% of users turn to Instagram to find their next purchase. So you need to make sure your business is going to attract this rich pool of potential buyers.

Think of Instagram as the high-street shop window for your business. This means the content you create needs to look and feel professionally designed. We’ve highlighted the best ways to create eye-catching (and hopefully wallet-opening) content on Instagram:

Instagram posts for business

Standard Instagram posts help you build your brand profile’s aesthetic. Be sure to add professional-looking photos and graphics that have been edited and sized correctly.

Tips for boosting engagement with your posts:

Employ the range of interactive elements available on Instagram, including polls, quizzes, countdowns, questions, and emoji sliders.
Look to collaborate with other businesses, and share user-generated content. Be sure to tag those businesses or users in your posts and encourage them to share.
Add your location to your posts. This helps boost the visibility of your content, and is especially useful for local businesses.

On our Instagram account, we share a diverse range of promotional media, but ensure that it all fits with our brand’s tone and aesthetic. Source: Startups.co.uk

How to create an Instagram post, step-by-step

Step 1: Open the Insta app and click on the home symbol in the bottom left
Step 2: Click the ‘+’ symbol in the middle of the bottom control bar
Step 3: Select post
Step 4: Select the photo(s) you want to post – be sure they are in the correct order
Step 5: Click ‘next’ and add any desired filters
Step 6: Write a caption for your post, tag people, and add a location
Step 7: Click ‘share’

Instagram reels for business

Reels are dominating on Instagram. In fact, recent data shows that Reels have double the amount of reach of any other format on the platform. Crucially, they are also prioritised by the almighty Instagram algorithm.

The good news is that creating a Reel is super easy and simple, and, as of a much-requested update in January, Reels can now be up to three minutes in length.

But what can Reels be used for? To put it succinctly, you need to start using reels to promote your business.

You’ll have a great set of editing tools at your disposal when using Instagram Reels. Use them to make engaging, fun video footage and showcase your brand, including:

Platforming glowing customer feedback
Showing off your products or services
Creating fun, exciting content to get more eyes on your brand
Collaborations with influencers and other brands to boost engagement

Top tips for successful reels

Go loopy: loopable reels tend to be more successful. Make sure there’s a smooth loop, where the end of the video feeds seamlessly back into the start.
Use trending audio: one of the simplest and most effective methods for chasing virality is to use trending audio. Find out what the trending sound is that’s all the rage, and leverage it for your own success. Just don’t miss the mark, as using an outdated audio track can do more harm than good to your brand.

You just need to use the “add audio” function seen above when adding a post to try out some trending audio. Source: Startups.co.uk

Let them know who you are: Reels are a great way of introducing yourself to your customers and letting them know why they should care about you. People love stories, let them know why your story matters, and let them meet your team, if you have one!
Peek behind the curtain: authenticity is trending upwards in 2025, and you don’t necessarily need a digital marketing agency to help you stand out. Behind-the-scenes content is all the rage right now, and giving your customers a look at how the sausage is made will only serve to build trust in your business.
Showcase your products: Reels are the ideal format for showing off what you’re selling. For example, people will always love an unboxing video. Use Reels to get your potential customers excited about what you could be shipping out to them.
Above all else, get creative: some of the most successful Instagram accounts are those that often think outside of the box – just look at vegan food producers THIS!

Instagram stories for business

Considering that half a billion people use Stories each day (across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp) it’s not a feature that your business can afford to ignore.

The key is to post stories regularly to help you engage existing followers through the use of polls, Q&A sessions and sliding interaction bars. You can also use stories to encourage users to visit your website or follow a brand you are collaborating with, or share a recent post you have uploaded.

We add fun visual elements to our stories so they pop to the viewer. Source: Startups.co.uk

How to create an Instagram story

Step 1: Click on your brand logo in the top left hand corner of the Instagram app
Step 2: Select the photo you want to share
Step 3: Add any elements (including location, links, polls, etc.) by selecting the smiley face sticker in the right corner
Step 4: Click on the white arrow in the bottom right corner to post

Instagram Live

Live feeds are another form of posting on Instagram, and are becoming an increasingly popular way to engage your followers because they can tune into your content in real time.

Step 5: consider using third-party apps

There’s a wide range of third-party social media tools you can use to turbocharge your Instagram content. Our favourite add-on apps are:

Canva	If you haven’t got the money to hire a graphic designer, Canva is an affordable, easy-to-use design tool that can help create posts and imagery that pop on your posts and stories.
Buffer	This is a scheduling tool that allows you to organise posting across multiple platforms, so you can keep track of all your different content that needs to go out.
VSCO	Primarily used for more sophisticated photo and video editing, VSCO has a huge library of filters to help beautify your posts, as well as AI tools like Remove to clean up your pictures.
Unfold	Part of Squarespace‘s range of products, Unfold provides hundreds of templates for you to create professional looking stories in your Instagram feed.
Instafeed	This is especially great for ecommerce sellers, as this tool lets you add a store into your Instagram feed.
Hashtagify	Employing the correct hashtags is another cornerstone of Instagram success. This app provides you with suggestions for the most effective hashtags based on your posts.
Sprout Social	This one is expensive, but in return for your money, you’ll get in-depth analytics and data, including reporting on hashtags.

If you want inspiration for your Insta account, be sure to check out our list of the top Instagram accounts every entrepreneur should follow.

Step 6: grow your following

It’s all well and good having everything in place for your business on Instagram, but without an audience to engage with, it’s pointless.

According to SproutSocial, 50% of users on Instragram interact with Brands at least once a day. So the user intent is there, you just need to capture it.

Paid ads are a popular option (we’ll cover this later in the article), but it’s far more effective to organically grow your audience.

This can feel like an uphill battle, but don’t stress – there are lots of ways you can attract audiences, including:

Hosting a giveaway

Lots of successful brands have gained followers by organising giveaways in the form of a competition. Typically a brand will ask Instagram users to follow an account, share a post, or comment on a post by tagging a friend.

In return, users have the opportunity to win free products or services from the brand. Giveaways are a great way to create additional post engagement and reach a wider audience, and working in collaboration with other brands to offer extra prizes will help make the competition a huge success.

Running followers-only promotions

Another way to encourage more followers and retain existing ones is to offer exclusive sales to users who follow you. Offering flash sales and promotions gives your followers a reason to stick around in the hope of future deals.

Engaging with followers and competitors

The more you engage with users, the more likely they are to keep following you and keep spreading positive feedback about your brand.

Commenting on another brand’s posts is a great way to get noticed, as is following and interacting with your competitor’s audience who will likely be interested in the same products/services that you offer.

Make sure to always reply with a positive message when you get comments from followers, to make it feel like you’re running a thriving community.

You should increase your Instagram DM usage to maintain positive customer relationships. So, its always a good idea to brush up on your customer service skills.

Promoting your Instagram account on other channels

A sure-fire way to gain more followers is to let people know about your Instagram business account, particularly if you are already well established on other social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter.

Also, be sure to include visible and clear links to your Instagram on your website and any marketing materials like newsletters or emails.

Expert opinion

On the dangers of cutting corners when growing your audience, Petra Smith, founder of marketing consultancy Squirrels&Bears, stresses:

“Quick solutions don’t lead to long-term success. For brands that are keen to appear bigger than they are, without doing the legwork, buying new followers and artificial engagement is a common approach. But many brands are then surprised to see how quickly those followers start to disappear again.

“The reason is that followers purchased in bulk packages are either bots or inactive accounts, and Instagram continuously works on removing any follows, likes, or comments from third-party apps that are designed to artificially grow audiences and engagement.”

Step 7: use hashtags

When it comes to Instagram, it doesn’t get more important than hashtags.

Because captions on Instagram are not searchable, one of the only ways non-followers will be able to see your content is if someone clicks on or searches for a hashtag used in your content.

This is why it is important to use the right hashtags.

Some quick hashtag dos and don’ts:

Do:

Use relevant and specific hashtags – for example, if your post is about ‘sustainability’, #sustainability will do
Use branded hashtags to build brand awareness – famous examples include #shareacoke and #nationalfriedchickenday
Limit the number of hashtags you use and be selective – or face the wrath of the bots
Make sure your account is public

Don't:

Use a space, punctuation, or symbols as the hashtag won’t work
String too many words together – it's confusing #andnobodywillunderstandwhatyouaretryingtosay
Use random, non-related hashtags – after all, why would a user engage with non-relatable content?

Expert opinion

Philip Bacon, Director of Bacon Marketing, on hashtags:

“Like a creme egg, one hashtag is never enough. There is a fine balance on how many to add to a post. A handful of super generic ones are going to do diddly for your reach, same as maxing out at 30 on the post. Not only is it crowded, it looks untidy, and it smells of desperation.

“The magic number has a three in it. 13 -15 hashtags, a mix of high volume and niche lower volume ones will serve you well. On top of that, make them accessible by capitalising the first character of each word.”

Step 8: collaborate with influencers

Instagram is the preferred social media channel for brands engaging in influencer marketing, so you can feel confident that it is worth the effort and (sometimes) expense to collaborate with an influencer when 93% of marketers are using this strategy to grow Insta accounts.

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is the collaboration between an online influencer and a brand. The relationship typically involves the influencer marketing a brand’s product or service to their followers.

Try to find an influencer who fits the ethos of your brand. Someone who epitomises your target audience is likely to have lots of followers with similar interests and outlooks so they will be more likely to purchase your product or service.

Smaller but still well-established influencers are your best bet when starting out, as you typically won’t have to pay them to collaborate. Instead, offering them free products or services in exchange for the promotion of your brand will be enough.

Expert opinion

On working with influencers, Anna Wilson, Head of Digital Development at Tangerine Communications, says:

“An influencer partnership is at its most valuable when it feels natural and is cohesive with your brand and the influencer’s feed.

“Step 1, make sure you find the right people, either search on Instagram or use an influencer profiling tool like Klear. Step 2, make sure you don’t ‘control’ the process too tightly or the content will be overlooked/ignored. Step 3, make sure you follow the ASA guidelines (it must be labelled as sponsored content). Step 4, review it to see if it did what you set out to do.”

Step 9: advertise your business on Instagram

Growing your account organically is amazing (and doesn’t cost you a dime), but sometimes it literally pays to boost your posts.

Instagram ads are a form of paid social media, which means you can pay for your content to appear in someone else’s feed who otherwise may not have seen it.

By advertising your brand on Instagram you will be able to:

Reach the right audience with advanced targeting – changing options such as location, age, and even interests
Maintain higher engagement rates
Track your Instagram campaign performance

You can increase visibility of your posts using the paid-for Boost feature, which you can see highlighted above. Source: Startups.co.uk

How to set up an ad on Instagram, step-by-step

Step 1: Go to a post you have already published
Step 2: Select the ‘Boost post’ button on the right-hand side
Step 3: Select a goal. Instagram will ask you what you want to achieve from boosting the post, and you should ask yourself: do you want to attract more profile visits? Increase website traffic?
Step 4: Choose an audience – here you can select the demographic of users you want your ad to reach
Step 5: Set your budget and the duration of the ad
Step 6: Review the ad, and if you are happy with everything, boost your post!

For more information about how much Instagram ads will cost your business, we highly recommend you check out our dedicated pricing guide.

Expert opinion

Isobel Burns, the founder of Digital Marketing Engine, offers her insight:

“Advertising on Instagram is incredibly effective for growth and sales. The Feed tends to generate more sales, whereas Stories and Reels bring in a wider audience.

“Structure your ad campaign to be as broad at the top as possible, capturing more of the right people, and then retarget your ads in their feed with strong calls to action.”

Step 10: measure and celebrate your success

Make sure to consistently monitor Instagram’s insights to determine how well your brand is performing on the platform month-on-month.

Organising retro meetings to discuss what is working well and what isn’t in terms of your Instagram strategy is an efficient way to analyse important stats like engagement rates and follower growth so that you can plan for future Insta campaigns.

Using Instagram analytics

In short, Instagram analytics enable you to understand the overall performance of your business account, and at a more granular level, help you determine how successful your posts are.

To access Instagram Insights, simply:

Step 1: Open the Instagram app
Step 2: Select the ‘Dashboard’ button on your profile, located on the left-hand side
Step 3: Use the professional dashboard to access the Insights dropdown
Step 4: Select an insight to understand how your account is performing in this area!

In the professional dashboard you can choose to see your analytics based on your overall account or through the individual content, as seen above. Source: Startups.co.uk

Also known as ‘insights’, Instagram analytics are fundamental to any successful Instagram strategy as they can help you reach new audiences, improve your content strategy and target the right people.

A key tip is to look at the peak times when your followers are engaging with your posts. You can find this data at the bottom of the page under Followers.

You should target posting your content around the peak times when your followers are watching and engaging with it to boost your success rates.

Insta analytics give you a more detailed breakdown of important data, including the location of accounts reached, the age ranges of your followers, and even their most active times on the app.

This helps you paint a picture of the type of users who are engaging with your account. In turn, this will make it easier to plan your content strategy based on what works currently and what doesn’t.

In summary

Using Instagram for your business is a great way to improve brand awareness, gain customers and compete against other providers. Just remember the key points:

Before you start unleashing your content, you need to think about your strategy. Who are your target audience? How old are they? What do they want from your content? Should it be light-hearted and fun, or more serious and professional?

Ensure you’re keeping a close eye on your data and analytics, especially to see the specific times people are engaging with your content so you can target them more effectively.

Make sure you’re using every resource available. From CTA’s to Q&A’s to emoji sliders. Just remember that Reels are by far the most popular form of content, and this is where you should be focusing your energy.

Post consistently! If you don’t post consistently, you won’t gain followers or engage the ones you have – it’s as simple as that. But just make sure all your content fits in with your brand’s tone.

You should try and focus on growing your brand organically through giveaways, follower-only promotions and collaborations with influencers in your specific industry. You may want to consider paid ads, but just make sure that you’ve correctly budgeted for this.

A step-by-step guide to mastering Instagram for business in 2025

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To conquer Instagram for business, you need to:

Step 1: set up a business account

How to create an Instagram business profile, step-by-step

Step 2: optimise your profile for business