How to Optimize your Instagram Business Profile to Increase Visibility in 2023

Do you want to make a strong first impression to your profile visitors on Instagram? Also, to be more discoverable by people who are searching for your products or services?

Then optimizing your Instagram profile is the first step! In this blog I've listed down ways to optimize your business's Instagram profile which will help you stand out from your competitors. Optimize your Instagram business profile right now & reap the results soon!

But first, If you're wondering what is an Instagram Business profile, here it is!

Instagram has 3 types of accounts, each has its own capabilities.

1. Personal Account - As the name says can be used for personal use to connect with friends and family.

2. Creator Account - These are best for Influencers, Public figures, and all types of content creators on Instagram.

3. Business Account - Used by Brands, Local businesses, organizations, service providers, etc.

Here's how you can set up your Instagram Business Account

1. Log into to your existing personal Instagram account or create a new one

2. Tap the profile Icon in the bottom right corner to go to your profile

3. Tap the three lines icon at the top right of the screen, then tap Settings.

4. Tap Account, then tap Switch to Professional Account, Choose Business and continue

5. Now choose a category that is most relevant to your Business or that describes what you do. You will also have the option to display or hide this on your Instagram profile.

6. Tap next, you can connect your Facebook page to your Instagram account if you want.

7. Add details of your Business. Eg: Contact Information

8. Tap Done, you're good to go!

With a business account, you can access business features and Instagram Insights. These tools will help you gather Insights about how your business is performing on Instagram.

Now let's get to the important part, which is optimizing your profile to convert profile visitors to followers and to attract your Ideal Clients.

Tips to optimize your Instagram Business Profile

1. Instagram Name:

Add your or Brand name + Industry Keywords / Expertise to be more easily discoverable by potential followers. The name appears in bold below the profile photo.

Eg: Sangeetha | Social Media Mgmt

Note: An Instagram name is limited to 30 characters, including spaces.

Here's how you can change your Instagram name:

1. Go to your profile on Instagram by tapping the profile Icon in the bottom right corner

2. Tap Edit Profile

3. In the name field, type your new name.

4. Save your changes

Note: You can only change your name twice in 14 Days

2. Username:

Choose an Instagram username that’s your business name or yours. When someone wants to mention your profile, it looks like this - @yourusername and the URL for your Instagram account is http://instagram.com/yourusername.

Remember your Instagram username is limited to 30 characters and must contain only letters, numbers, periods, and underscores. You can’t include symbols or other punctuation marks as a part of your username.

Here's how you can change your Instagram Username:

1. Go to your profile on Instagram by tapping the profile Icon in the bottom right corner

2. Tap Edit Profile

3. In the Username field, type your new username.

4. Save your changes

Note: You can only change your name twice in 14 Days

3. Bio:

Talk about Who you are, Who do you help, Call to Action etc. You can tag your related accounts, also add hashtags if you want. Though I don't recommend it, but you can add your Branded Hashtags. Branded Hashtags are hashtags that's unique to your business. It can be as simple as your company name, tagline, or the name of one of your products or campaigns. Eg: #ShareACoke by Coca-Cola

Show off your brand’s personality & include Industry or Niche keywords. You can also play with emojis 😉!

Here's how you can change your Instagram Bio:

1. Go to your profile on Instagram by tapping the profile Icon in the bottom right corner

2. Tap Edit Profile

3. In the Bio field, type your new username.

4. Save your changes

Note: Your Instagram bio character limit is150 characters

Here's an example of my Instagram Bio:

4. Profile Picture:

If you're a business and has Logo use it or if you're a Personal Brand have a clear & smiling headshot of yours. You can try to Incorporate your brand colors in the Background.

Here's a Free and handy tool for your to create stunning profile pictures

Profile Pic Maker: https://pfpmaker.com

Note: Make sure the picture you choose is 110 x 110 pixels.

5. Bio Link:

Instagram doesn't allow you to add clickable links in your caption. Also, it lets you have only one link in our bio. So it’s important to optimize it as much as you can!

Here's where Link in bio tools come to rescue. These tools help you to add multiple links that you can direct to any specific content you want.

Example:

• A blog post

• Your email opt-in

• Podcast episode

• Individual products or services

• Freebies etc.

Here's a list of 5 Link in Bio tools

1. Linktree - https://linktr.ee/

2. Mainstack - https://mainstack.app/

3. Linkin.bio - https://later.com/linkinbio/

4. Campsite - https://campsite.bio/

5. Disha Pages - https://disha.ng/pages/

6. Contact Information:

Add your Business email address & Phone number to let people know where and how they can contact you.

Here's how you can add your business information to your Instagram Business Account:

1. Go to your profile on Instagram by tapping the profile Icon in the bottom right corner

2. Tap Edit Profile

3. In the Profile Information Section, tap Contact Options

4. Now add your business email address and Phone number.

5. For Phone number, you can choose how you would like to be reached, whether it is by call or text.

6. At last, save your changes

7. Page Category:

Choose a category that is most relevant to your Business or that describes what you do. You will also have the option to display or hide this on your Instagram profile.

Here's how you can add your business information

1. Go to your profile on Instagram by tapping the profile Icon in the bottom right corner

2. Tap Edit Profile

3. In the Profile Information Section, tap Category

4. Search and Choose a that is most relevant to your Business or that describes what you do

5. Save your changes

8. Story Highlights:

Don't underestimate this part! You need to be strategic with it, remove unwanted & outdated story highlights. Keep it on Brand by adding highlight covers.

Example of story highlight you can create are About us, FAQ's, Services, Testimonials etc.

Here's how you can add story highlights:

1. Go to your Instagram profile and tap the plus circle below 'Stories Highlights'.

2. Tap to select the Story (or Stories) you want to add to highlights, then tap 'Next'.

3. Choose a cover photo from your gallery or from the stories you've added.

4. Now enter a name for your highlight, then tap 'Add'.

5. To add more photos or videos to your highlight in future, long press your story highlight now choose "Edit Highlight", you can delete any highlight by tapping "Delete Highlight"

6. You can share your story highlights to others by tapping "Send to", Copy Link" or "Share to" button

9. Action Buttons:

Instagram allows you to add buttons to other online services like Order Food, Gift Cards, Book now, Reserve button etc.

Here's how you can add Action Buttons:

1. Go to your profile on Instagram by tapping the profile Icon in the bottom right corner

2. Tap Edit Profile

3. In the Profile Information Section, tap Action Buttons

4. Select a button you want and finish the setup process.

5. Save your changes

Others:

10. Saved Replies:

Identify your most frequently asked questions & create a quick reply for them. The next time when someone asks it, select an answer you’ve previously written instead of retyping the answer again.

Here's how you can set up quick replies

1. Go to your profile on Instagram by tapping the profile Icon in the bottom right corner

2. Tap the three lines icon at the top right of the screen, then tap Settings.

3. Choose "Creator" or "Business" based on the type of account you have

4. Tap Saved replies

5. Click the Plus icon in the top right corner, write the message you want to send to your customers. Also write a keyboard shortcut for it, your reply appears when this shortcut is the first word types in a message or you can choose manually from the reply bar in the DM.

6. Save the changes

11. FAQ's:

It lets users start a chat with you by tapping on a list of questions in a direct message during the start of the chat. This update isn't available to everyone, Instagram is rolling it our Partially.

Here's how you can set up FAQ's on Instagram

1. Go to your profile on Instagram by tapping the profile Icon in the bottom right corner

2. Tap the three lines icon at the top right of the screen, then tap Settings.

3. Choose "Creator" or "Business" based on the type of account you have

4. Click on Frequently asked questions, then setup

5. Now you can add up to 4 Questions

6. Don't forget to toggle on "Show Questions" above.

Here's my quick reel which shows you the entire process

12. Away Message:

Send Automated messages to users instantly when you're away from Instagram.

Here's how you can set up Away messages using Facebook Business Suite App

1. Go to your Facebook Business Suite app

2. Go to Settings

3. Click on Automated responses then tap Away messages

4. Customize and add personalization to your message ( Adding recipient's first name, email etc.)

5. Toggle on the Instagram button

6. Schedule your Away time - Setup your Time zone, day and time for your away messages.

Remember optimizing your profile is the first step to make your account discoverable by others. A very good impression is necessary to convert your profile visitors into followers. Don't confuse them, keep your bio simple and convey a clear message.

Yayyy, you've completed reading this blog & ready to make a killer first Impression for your profile visitors on Instagram 🎉.

Have you optimized your Business's Instagram Profile? Let me know in the comments, I'd love to hear your wins!

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Are you an online business owner who wants to make your business shine on Instagram but is unsure of what to do? I'm here for you and only YOU! I have very few spots left for my Instagram Management services. Let's amplify your business's presence together this 2022! Send me a message on Instagram to jump on a free discovery call.

For more actionable social media marketing tips follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getsocialwithsangeetha/