How To Create A Professional Instagram Account (Guide)
Instagram is a great social media outlet for companies to connect with their customers and increase their exposure. Instagram is particularly effective with younger generations and millennials.
How to Create an Instagram Account
1. Open the Instagram App
2. Click “Sign Up.” at the bottom of the screen
3. Click “Sign Up With Phone or Email”
4. Fill in information and click “Sign Up”
a. Phone number or email
b. Full name
c. Username
d. Password
5. Add birthday and click “Next”
6. Enter confirmation code that was sent from Instagram to the email for the account. *It sometimes may take a minute for the code to arrive*
7. Once your account is created, click on the profile icon at the bottom right corner (human in circle)
8. Click “Edit Profile” underneath the blank profile picture
9. Fill in relevant information and click “Done”
a. Upload a profile picture (company logo)
b. Name
c. Username
d. Website
e. Bio including a short description of your company
How to Create a Professional Instagram Account
1. While in the “Edit Profile” section, click “Switch to Professional Account”
2. Choose a category that best suits your company
a. Nonprofit Organization or something else
b. You can choose to display this on profile or not
3. Click “Done”
4. When asked if you are a business or creator, click “Business”
5. Click “Next”
6. To see what other nonprofits are doing to be successful, click “Get Inspired”
7. To gain more interaction with your posts, click “Grow Your Audience”
You might also be interested in our other articles about how to make a professional Twitter and how to make a business TikTok!
Benefits of a Professional Instagram Account
You are able to track in-depth analytics for free, and you can advertise on the app
How to Access Instagram Insights
*Must have a professional Instagram account*
1. Click on the profile icon in the bottom right corner
2. Click on “Insights” underneath your follower information
What Can You See With Instagram Insights?
1. Shows statistics over a time period
a. You can toggle between insight information for 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, or any other time period within this range
2. Can view number of likes, profile views, and website clicks
3. Accounts reached and engaged
4. Follower gains or losses compared to previous week
How to Create Instagram Posts
1. Click the “+” in the top right corner
2. Click “Post” with the grid next to it
3. Choose one photo, or click “Select multiple” and choose several photos
4. Click “Next”
5. Choose a filter or edit the photo if need be
6. Click “Next”
7. Describe your post with a caption and hashtags (tag people and add location if applicable)
a. Use popular hashtags such as #motivation, #fit, #health, #wellness
b. Tag people not only in the picture, but in the caption as well
8. Click “Share”
Instagram Posting Tips and Ideas
1. Post a variety of content!
2. Infographics can advertise data and important information while being fun and creative
a. Canva has many good Instagram post templates using infographics. You can customize background colors, use their charts, upload photos, and use clip-art elements and shapes
b. Canva is a very cheap option when starting out as you can use many of its features for free. A pro account only costs $12.99/month, which is worth considering
3. Post reminders of events on a weekly or biweekly basis to retain attention
4. Post larger spotlights that describe a member’s story and appeal to people’s pathos
5. Giveaways are another way to increase interaction
a. Give away $100-$200 worth of merchandise
6. Respond promptly to comments on pictures and videos!
How to Create Instagram Stories
Instagram stories contain features that allow you to post unique and interactive content like polls, links, and live content!
1. Click the “+” in the top right corner
2. Click “Story” with the plus sign next to it
3. Press the shrunken photo in the bottom left corner and choose a photo
4. Click “Your Story” and click the arrow in the bottom right corner
What Are Instagram Story Highlights?
Story highlights are essentially permanent stories where you can sort story-worthy content into folders that share a common theme. They can be viewed for longer than 24 hours but don’t have to clog up your feed of posts.
Story highlight cover names can be vague and simple, with some examples listed below:
- Resources
- Events
- Member Spotlights
- Questions and Answers
- Testimonials
Story Highlight Cover Examples
How to Use Instagram Live
Instagram live is a great way to converse with your donors and fundraise. You can also invite people to speak during the live and share their opinion or healthy habits
1. Click the “+” in the top right corner
2. Click “Live” with the media icon next to it
3. Click on the 4 lines in the middle of the left side, or the circle with a heart in it if you are having a fundraiser
4. Click the circle icon at the bottom and you will be live!
a. Your followers will be notified at this point that you are going live
Tips for Scheduling Instagram Posts
Track your post times and insights to see which days and times reach more viewers. Some people think that 5pm on weekdays is the best time, so if the earlier times I recommended don’t work, then feel free to try a later time!
Your choice of Hootsuite or HubSpot will also help you determine how to schedule your posts for the exact same time each week
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