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You’ve likely heard all the reasons why Instagram is a great tool for small businesses. Maybe you’ve even signed up for Instagram for personal use.
But how does Instagram work and do you know what it takes to set up an Instagram for your business?
Here are 10 things you need to do first:
Table of Contents
Instagram is different from other social networks in that it is primarily a mobile platform.
Once your account is set up, you will have a page that can be viewed on desktop, but the majority of your activity will take place within the mobile app.
Click here to download the app on your phone’s app store.
You can sign up for Instagram with an email address or a personal Facebook account.
Once you sign up, you’ll be asked to choose a username.
Your username will display publicly and will be what people see when they find you on Instagram. Make sure the username you choose is recognizable and is as close to your business or organization’s name as possible.
When signing up, Instagram will also ask for your full name. Here, you can put your full business name which will make it easier for people to find you through Instagram’s search function.
Instagram lets you fill out a 150 character bio about your business. Because of the text limitations, you’ll want to be clear and concise about who you are as a brand and what you offer.
If you serve a local customer base, you’ll also want to add your location.
Constant Contact uses the bio to share our mission, and let people know what types of photos we share from our Instagram account:
You can also add your business’s website, which users will be able to click to visit right from their mobile device.
The perfect Instagram profile photo will be 400×400 pixels.
But what’s most important is that the photo you choose is recognizable to people who know your business. In most cases, the best choice will be your business’s logo.
Your profile photo can only be updated on a mobile device. If you don’t have your logo saved to your smartphone or tablet, Instagram has the option to import it from Facebook or Twitter.
You can also take a new photo with Instagram.
It might not sound fun, but without having a good understanding of the type of pictures others are posting, you won’t know what content tends to do well.
And lucky for you, Instagram research is less staring-at-piles-of-data-wearing-a-lab-coat kind of research, and more look-at-pretty-pictures kind of research.
Start by finding a business in your industry who has a hefty Instagram following, similar target audience, and high levels of engagement. What do they tend to send, and when do they tend to send it?
Even if you want to differentiate yourself from the competition, it’s essential that you know what others are doing.
Okay, now that your profile is set up, it’s time to take your first photo.
Here’s a quick run-through of how Instagram works:
First, click the icon on the bottom in the middle of the screen.
You can either take a photo by pressing the circle in the middle of the screen, or click “library” on the bottom left to upload a photo of your own.
Note: “Video” on the right enables you to take a video up to a minute.
If you’re uploading a photo, you will have the option to crop it first.
After that, you’ll have options for different enhancements.
You can choose from a number of filters that scroll across the bottom of the app. (Double-tap the filter to add a border or alter the strength of the filter.)
You can also click “edit” to access a number of other photo editing features.
Once you’re happy with your photo, hit “Next” in the top right of the screen. Here, you’ll be able to add a caption and hashtags.
You can also tag people and name the location.
How to post a photo to InstagramWhen you click, Add Location you will see a list of previously used locations in your general area.
If you have a brick and mortar location, you may see that someone has already named your location. If your store, restaurant, or office hasn’t been named, you can name it yourself.
After your photo is posted, you will see the location name in blue. When you click on your location name, you’ll be able to see every photo that has been tagged there.
This can be a great resource for seeing what people like and want to share about your business.
Leverage your existing channels to let people know your business is on Instagram.
If you have an email list, you can send out an announcement and ask readers to follow you. Constant Contact integrates with Instagram, so you can easily upload your Instagram images to your email marketing account.
Also make sure when you build a website that you include links to your social media profiles, including your Instagram!
TIP: Constant Contact’s easy-to-use website builder can get you online in minutes and automatically includes icons with links to your social profiles!
Instagram’s search function makes it easy to find people and brands to follow.
You can search by username, or choose relevant hashtags for your business.
Following more people and businesses is a great way to make new connections and can also provide inspiration for your Instagram account.
You’ve set up your account, learned the basics, and found the right people to follow; now you’re ready to start building a presence for your business on Instagram.
A key component of building an audience on Instagram is engaging with the people who follow you. When someone likes or comments on your photo, you will receive a notification.
You can respond within the comments of a photo by including the “@” symbol, followed by their username.
You will also receive notifications when someone tags you in a photo. You can view all of the photos you’ve been tagged in, on your Instagram profile.
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Constant Contact contributor. I tell stories worth hearing through design, the written word, or whatever happens to be lying around the house. Proud Vermonter. Flannel aficionado.
Do you manage multiple Instagram accounts? If so, you know that it can be a pain to keep track of them all. Not to mention, if you use the same email address for all of your accounts, you have to constantly log in and out just to switch between them.
But what if I told you there was an Instagram hack that lets you manage multiple accounts with just one email?
It’s true! With a little bit of setup, you can easily add and manage several Instagram accounts from a single email address. Follow this guide to find out everything you need to know about running multiple Instagram accounts—and how to avoid posting to the wrong one.
Yes, you can have multiple Instagram accounts! In fact, you can now add up to five accounts and quickly switch between them without having to log out and log back in.
This feature is included in version 7.15 and above for iOS and Android and will work on any Instagram app using that software.
If you’re working with a later version, or simply want to manage more than five accounts at once, a social media dashboard like Hootsuite allows you to manage even more Instagram accounts and share the management responsibilities with other team members.
You can also have multiple YouTube channels, multiple Facebook pages, and multiple Twitter accounts. Check out the linked resources for more info there.
How to open multiple Instagram accountsYou can create multiple Instagram accounts on your phone right from the Instagram app.
To create a new Instagram account follow these steps:
You’re all set!
Once your accounts are set up, tap Add Account and then Log in to Existing Account. From there you can enter the login information for the account you want to add.
Tap Log In, and your new account will be available through your main Instagram profile page.
Now that you know how to create a new Instagram account, you’re probably wondering how to switch between them.
To switch between multiple Instagram accounts:
Note: You will stay logged in to the last account you used on Instagram. Before posting or engaging with new content, always check to make sure you’re using the right account.
Once you’ve set up more than one Instagram account, you’ll want to manage them all efficiently. Here’s how to do it from your phone.
If you are simply looking to start a branded Instagram account for your side hustle, alongside your personal account, and want to easily switch back and forth between the two, the Instagram app itself might be enough to suit your needs.
With your new Instagram accounts set up, you can now post to any of the accounts you have added to the Instagram app. Simply select the account you want to use from the drop-down menu in your profile, and start posting as usual.
You can always tell which account you’re using by looking at the profile photo. The profile photo can be quite small in some views, so choose distinct photos to make sure you always post to the right account.
Here’s what it looks like in Story view.
Here’s what it looks like when posting to your feed.
Using a social media management platform like Hootsuite, you can easily manage all of your social media accounts (including one or more Instagram accounts) from your computer. Hootsuite also provides access to advanced features like bulk scheduling and detailed analytics.
The first step to using multiple Instagram accounts in Hootsuite is to add them to your dashboard. Here’s how to get them set up using the Hootsuite mobile app.
To view your Instagram accounts at a glance and switch between them easily, add your posts for each account as a stream in the Hootsuite dashboard.
Now you know how to view all your Instagram accounts on Hootsuite, so you can easily switch between them.
You can use Hootsuite to post to any of the Instagram accounts you have added to your Hootsuite dashboard.
Here’s how to get started.
If you choose Post Now, the post will publish directly to your Instagram account. If you choose Auto Schedule, it will post at the most optimized time. Custom Schedule lets you choose the date and time to post.
To switch to a different Instagram account, return to step 1 and choose a different account.
Learn more about publishing to Instagram accounts using Hootsuite here:
By now you’re probably wondering, how do I manage multiple Instagram accounts on my desktop?
If you’re managing multiple business accounts, it’s a good idea to use the Hootsuite dashboard for your posts, rather than managing your accounts directly within the Instagram app.
For one thing, the Instagram desktop app is not as proficient as the mobile app. If you want to manage several Instagram accounts on Instagram for desktop, you’ll need to log out and in every time you want to use a different account.
Not to mention, the Instagram app is limited to managing 5 Instagram accounts, including both business and personal accounts. But on Hootsuite, business users can add up to 35 social profiles to their dashboards.
As well, managing multiple business Instagram accounts in Hootsuite also allows you to collaborate with team members and access advanced analytics from the same platform you use to manage and measure your other social accounts.
If you want to learn how to manage multiple business Instagram accounts, you need to make sure each of your Instagram accounts is connected to a Facebook Page.
If you haven’t yet connected your account, you’ll be prompted to do so. You’ll need to enter your Instagram account details. Once you’re logged in, you’re ready to connect to Hootsuite. More info on that below.
If you’re using Meta’s new pages experience, follow these steps to connect your Instagram for business account.
Now you can add your Instagram business accounts to Hootsuite. Simply navigate to your Hootsuite dashboard on desktop, log in, and click Add social account at the top of your Streams view.
Repeat these steps for each Instagram business account you want to add to Hootsuite.
Watch this video for a visual walkthrough.
Log into your Hootsuite dashboard and click on the Composer icon.
Then, choose Post.
In Composer, choose the Instagram accounts you want to publish to. You can choose multiple accounts, or just one.
Add your copy, images, videos, and any relevant tags to your post.
From there, you can choose to post right now or schedule your post for later. Be sure to use the best times to post when scheduling content in the future.
As we said before, the Instagram desktop version isn’t ideal for managing multiple accounts. If you’re looking for a simple solution for managing Instagram on a desktop, try Facebook’s free dashboard, Creator Studio.
Creator Studio makes it possible to post and schedule content to multiple accounts and access Instagram Insights from desktop and mobile.
To connect to Instagram in Creator Studio, follow these steps:
That’s it!
If your Instagram account is connected to a Facebook Page, the process may look a little different depending on the relationship between your Facebook Page and Instagram account.
If you have push notifications for several Instagram accounts turned on, you will get notifications for all of them on your mobile device.
Each notification will indicate the relevant account name in brackets before the content of the notification.
Tapping a notification will take you directly to the relevant Instagram account, regardless of which account you last used.
If you’re using Instagram and a notification comes in from one of your other accounts, you will see the notification at the top of your screen.
If you’re managing multiple Instagram accounts on one device, it might be overwhelming to have them all sending push notifications. Fortunately, you can adjust the push notifications for each of your Instagram accounts separately.
Here’s how to change your notification settings on Instagram:
At some point, you might want to remove one of your Instagram accounts from the app.
Why? Since you can manage a maximum of five accounts from the Instagram app, you might want to remove an account in order to make room to add a new one.
Or, maybe you’re no longer working on a particular account and simply want to make sure you don’t post to it accidentally.
Here’s how to remove an Instagram account on your phone:
When you go back to your profile and tap on your username, you will see the removed account is no longer included in the drop-down.
Repeat these steps for each account you’d like to delete.
Note: Removing your account from the app does not delete your account. If you want to delete your account (forever), follow the steps provided by Instagram.
Easily manage all your Instagram accounts in one place with Hootsuite. Save time by scheduling and publishing content, engaging with your audience, and analyzing your results—all from a single platform. Plus, Hootsuite gives you the ability to collaborate with team members, so you can get more done together.
Ready to give it a try? Try a free trial of Hootsuite Pro today!
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July 29 Social media instructions
Contents:
Instagram is a super popular social network created for sharing photos and connecting people with each other. Therefore, all profiles on Instagram are by default created open and available to all users.
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But there are those who want to restrict other people's access to their account and published content.
For them, Instagram has provided the ability to change privacy settings and an easy way to close the profile from prying eyes.
In this article, we will tell you how public and private profiles on Instagram differ from each other. We will also give step-by-step instructions on how to close or open your account on the social network.
Before deciding whether to close or open your Instagram account, let's figure out how they differ.
Many users promote their Instagram accounts on purpose, invest in promotion to attract as many new followers as possible. Others, on the contrary, strive for privacy. But both may want to close their profile from prying eyes. What are the reasons for closing an account?
If haters start complaining about content en masse, closing a profile can be a useful temporary measure to save it. Instagram allows its users to decide for themselves what degree of privacy suits them.
This is what your account will look like if you decide to close it. That is, users will be able to find it in the Instagram search, see the number of posts, subscriptions and subscribers. They will also have the option to send you a subscription request.
By closing your profile, you will be able to manually approve applications for subscribers. All other Instagram users will not be able to see your posts, stories, likes and comments, followings and followers.
Here we will detail and show you what steps you need to take to close your Instagram account.
Many bloggers and owners of commercial accounts are interested in how to close a business profile on Instagram. Unfortunately, this cannot be done.
In order to close such a profile, it must first be converted to regular account mode. But along with the change of status, the user will also lose access to statistics. Therefore, you have to choose - either a closed account, or profile statistics.
In a closed account, your publications can be seen by existing followers and those new users whose applications you approve.
To subscribe to your account, the user will have to click the "Subscribe" button and wait for your approval.
You can view subscription requests in the tab where your subscribers are displayed, or where you can see notifications of new likes and comments.
You can confirm or delete the subscription request.
You can also delete existing subscribers. They will not receive a notification about this, but when they visit your page, they will see that your profile is closed to them.
There is no legal way to view an account if it is closed to you. But there are a few workarounds you can do to see your profile posts.
For example, you can make an online store profile that could potentially be of interest to the user, or a fake personal account. For credibility, post a few photos and gain some followers with the help of mass following. After that, just send a subscription request to the account you need and wait for confirmation. As a rule, even owners of closed accounts easily give consent to new subscribers. This will give you access to a private profile without revealing your interest. Closed Instagram is needed only for those who have good reasons to restrict access to published content. Everyone else, especially those who want to promote and develop their account on a social network, are advised to make it open to other users.
If you are creating a new account on Instagram, you should not ask this question at all. All new profiles are created public by default for other users.
In the event that for some reason you closed your account and now decide to open it, you will have to change your privacy settings.
It is quite easy to do this.
To open Instagram, you will need no more than a minute. Here we will walk you through the steps on how to open an Instagram profile through the app.
From now on, your account will be open to all users except those you have blocked.
Post tags: Instagram
A closed account is needed in order to share photos and posts with a limited number of people.
This type of blogging is chosen to communicate with relatives, friends and family. For those who want to earn money, you need to know how easy it is to make an open account for your business on Instagram.
There are two types of blogs on Instagram: open and closed. A personal page can be made private or public. The business profile is only public. Photos, content of an open profile are visible to all users. A private blog can only be seen by users whose subscription requests have been approved by the account owner. You can change your profile status at any time.
Follow the instructions to change the page type:
- Open the Instagram mobile application.
- Select the hamburger menu (three horizontal bars).
- Placed a gear icon on the right.
- Click on it - the settings context menu will open.
- Select the "Privacy and Security" option.
- The Account Privacy section will open.
- To change account privacy, move the slider to the right. It will turn blue and the blog will close. The inactive state of the gray slider indicates that the blog is open.
Change the privacy settings of a personal blog through a browser like this:
- Open the main page of the Instagram website
- Log in with your username, password
- Click on your profile picture at the top right
- Select the option " Settings"
- Open the "Account Privacy" section
- Check the box - give access to the blog only to subscribers. Remove it - make the blog available to the entire social network.
There is such a marketing ploy - to close the blog and add only those who applied. If you have a large number of followers, then account privacy will be a matter of curiosity. If positive reviews are spread about your blog, then people's curiosity will be even stronger.
Social media marketing focuses on the concept of a personal brand, the value of a real person's personality. Therefore, even if you offer services on a website or mini-landing in a multilink service, visitors may want to look at you as a real person, and not a faceless company. They need to know if your values match.
You can post a link to your open business page on Instagram. It is much easier to do this in Hipolink than on the site, since it is a constructor. Choose any block, enter the necessary text, links, insert your data.
You can place a link to it, in four blocks:
1. Social networks
A button with a social network signature and an icon is inserted.
2. Links
In the settings field, enter the link, button text, you can add emoji. A rectangular button is automatically displayed. You can choose the shape, the degree of rounding of the corners, the color of the button, the font, its color.
