Are you doing business…on Instagram? I often find businesses on Instagram but seldom find them actually doing business on Instagram. If your business has a presence on Instagram but you haven’t solidified a strategy. This post is for you.

8 ways to use Instagram for your business

1. Show Your Products

Don’t fall victim to simply posting artistic photos for your Instagram followers. Incorporating your product within those shots to serve both business and consumer objectives is key.

2. Show How It’s Made

There is a reason “how it’s made” shows are popular. Consumers are naturally intrigued by how your product came to be. Let your consumers in on the various phases of the production process.

Have a long production process?

Perfect!

The longer the process, the more content you can create to showcase it.

3. Go Behind The Scenes

Showcase the moments that very few people experience. The Grammys accomplishes this by showing how seating arrangements look before the show begins.

For your business, try focusing on being transparent and showing your followers the “human” side of your business.

4. Show What Your Products Can Do

Believe it or not, your consumers may have one intended use for your product. Use Instagram to showcase new or novel uses for what you offer.

5. Show Off The Office & Employees

Post photos that provide a glimpse of a day-in-the-life at your office. Avoid photos of computers. That’s boring.

Check out how Hootsuite accomplishes this.

6. Share Quotes & Inspiration

People search for positive and uplifting images. Use Instagram to post motivational messages relevant to your mission statement.

7. Competitions

Don’t just collect Instagram followers, activate them. Go beyond a ‘double tap’ (i.e. a photo like) and have followers engage with your business and reward them for participating.

8. Call to Action

Once you have their attention, it’s time to do business. At some point, you have to move your following to action. If not, your business can’t expect to generate results on Instagram.

Conclusion

Now is the perfect time to use Instagram for your business. Why? Well, by now you have read some pretty cool ways to leverage this platform :).

Still need more? How about this: Currently, there is no cost for reaching your audience.

Remember when you didn’t have to boost your posts to reach your audience on Facebook? With that said, use these tactics NOW before Instagram adopts Facebook’s business model.