Instagram is an amazing place to grow your business,
but first, you have to get the basics down.
Today, I'm going to give you the lowdown of everything
you need to know to feel comfortable on Instagram.
And stick around to the end, where
I'm going to teach you how to share your Instagram
post to other social media platforms.
Make sure you subscribe and hit the bell where
you will get notified of my Instagram videos that
get released here every Monday.
I'm Sue B. Zimmerman, and I've taught
thousands of business owners how to make money on Instagram.
And today, I'm going to share a beginner's guide to Instagram
for 2019.
Setting up your profile.
So you can sign up by logging in with your Facebook account
or with a phone number or an email.
You want to add your Username, and make sure
that you have it be the name of your business.
And if it's not available, you can use a punctuation or .com,
or I Am, or the Official at the beginning.
After you've picked the perfect user name for your business,
you want to upload your avatar.
And this needs to be 110 by 110 pixel.
If you're uploading a head shot, make sure that it stands out,
and that the image is clear.
If you're uploading your logo, make sure
that it fits in the circle, and looks good in the scroll.
Once you've named your account, and you
have a great logo uploaded, you want to add keywords
in your subtitle.
And 9 out of 10 people don't do this.
You want to say who you are, what you do, and in this case,
where you do it.
You can now put hashtags in your bio, which
is a great opportunity to use branded hashtags
or hashtags that are relevant to who you're trying
to attract to do business with.
And I love that this account, Olive Ewe Productions,
shows up in this hashtag consistently.
You get one link in your bio, so make sure
that you're telling where the link is sending you,
and why they would want to click it.
In this case, if you're looking to hire a videographer,
and you have a wedding in New England,
clearly, Olive Ewe Productions is a great choice.
You get three to six seconds to make an impression-- that's it.
So make sure that your bio is clear and concise
so people know exactly what to do to do business with you.
Let me know in the comments below if you already
have an Instagram account or if you're
looking to add a new account for your business.
Changing to a business account.
If you're on Instagram, and you have a personal account,
but you now want to turn it into a business account,
I'm going to show you how to do that.
You want to tap on these three horizontal bars,
tap into settings.
And scroll down to where you see Switch to Business Profile.
Tap in, and then follow all the prompts.
There are so many benefits of switching
from a personal account to a business account,
especially if you're here for business.
To name a few, you can put your contact information.
You can look at your insights every time you post.
If you sell products, you can sell them
on a business account.
And you can use quick replies in the Instagram Direct Message.
I don't expect you to know all these if you're a beginner,
but I want you to know what they are so that when you're ready,
these features are waiting for you.
And you can't access any of these
without a business account.
Researching hashtags to follow.
Once you have your account all set up,
make sure you're spending time exploring hashtags so that you
attract your ideal follower.
Start by brainstorming all of the keywords in your business.
All of them.
Write them down, and start exploring them
in the explore tab.
And when you go into these hashtags--
I call them hashtag hubs--
spend time looking at the photos that appear at the top nine
to see what they're doing to show up at the top,
and what hashtags they're using.
Because you might discover other hashtags from the accounts
that are using the relevant hashtags
that you're searching in your business.
So #growyourown is a great hashtag that was discovered
from Dirt is Beautiful.
They have so many people using it,
that there are actually Instagram stories.
So this is where you can get discovered
from using the hashtag in your story as well.
If you have a hashtag headache, don't worry.
I linked the video for you to help you understand them
more strategically for your business right here.
Establishing a cohesive feed.
You want to make sure that you're using the same look
and feel, the same filter every time that you post.
And you can do this very easily using the Instagram app.
I suggest using the brightness tool and the saturation tool.
Those are my two favorites.
But whatever you do, when you decide
on the filter and the theme, write it
down so that it's consistent every single time you post.
Make sure that your product, or your service,
or your smiling face shows up in every ninth post.
Because when people land on Instagram,
typically, they view the last nine posts.
And you want to make sure that it shows up there
so it's really obvious with what you offer.
That tip I talked about at the beginning,
I'm going to show you how to do it now.
How to share your post to other social media platforms.
You can share to all of them at the time that you're uploading,
or you can selectively choose which one
you want to share it to.
Or you can share it to none, and then later,
after you've posted, you can tap into the three dots at the top.
You can tap on share, and share it at any time.
If you're looking to create a strong Instagram
strategy this year to make money on Instagram,
grab my free 2019 strategy guide.
The guide will totally empower you for success on Instagram.
Did you like this video?
Subscribe and give me good vibes.
Let me know in the comments below which one of these tips,
you just learn.
And don't forget to follow me @TheInstagramExpert
on Instagram, where I share daily tips.
And I'll see you in the next video.