How to Advertise Your Company on Instagram: 13 Proven Strategies for Success

Instagram can be a great tool for businesses, but you must know how to promote a business on Instagram the right way to get the most from it.

Here, Ignite Visibility’s Senior Social Media Strategist, Josh Rohr, will give you some guidance on how to advertise your business on Instagram with 13 proven strategies.

What We’ll Cover:

• Why You Need to Advertise on Instagram
• Benefits of Promoting a Business on Instagram
• How to Use Instagram for Business: 13 Tips to Promote Your Business
• Building Engagement With Your Audience
• Influencer Partnerships & How They Work
• Paid Promotion Opportunities on Instagram
• Advanced Tips for Promoting Your Business on Instagram
• FAQs: How to Promote on Instagram

Our Expert Insights on How to Use Instagram for Business

Instagram remains one of the most popular social media platforms, especially for more visually oriented users. Businesses of all types can benefit from an Instagram boost strategy to connect with potential customers while standing out from the competition.

If you have highly visual content and a target audience that’s likely to respond to that content, I definitely recommend Instagram for your marketing efforts. It’s particularly great for publishing short-form video content that captures users’ attention with brief videos, complementing longer-form YouTube videos and other content.

By optimizing your profile, images, and videos to perform their best on the platform, you can quickly discover how to promote your business on Instagram with an effective strategy. Consistency is key here, as you’ll want to post regularly to engage both viewers and the algorithm and maximize visibility.

Why You Need to Advertise on Instagram

The first lesson on how to use Instagram for business relates to its advertising opportunities. In considering how to advertise your business on Instagram, review these reasons to see how they align with your social media marketing goals and audience.

1. Instagram has an advertising audience of 1.65 billion; the majority of this reach is from Instagram Stories ads and Reels ads. No matter who your audience is, you can find them on Instagram. The largest age group of users is those ages 25 to 34, at 27.4%, but those younger and older are also active on the site.
2. Users aren’t just there for family and friends, as 90% of people follow at least one brand on Instagram. This high percentage proves that they want to interact and engage with companies. 
3. Product discovery is a key activity for Instagram users. They are scrolling for inspiration, and Instagram revealed that 87% of its users have taken action after seeing a product on the site. 
4. Instagram users embrace social commerce, with 44% shopping on the platform weekly. With the right targeting and creative, you can earn more revenue by using Instagram as an extension of your website and other sales channels.
5. Instagram allows you to create a shop to sell your goods. People can check out the app, making it convenient for them and profitable for you.
6. Marketers cite Instagram as the social media site with the highest ROI. These businesses know how to use Instagram for business and are seeing results in terms of revenue.
7. Instagram is less saturated than its sister company, Facebook. Instagram has fewer advertisers and a less complex algorithm. As a result, you’ll be competing with less noise in feeds.
8. Instagram targeting is precise and varied. In many other digital ad options, you won’t have access to this level of segmenting. The more targeted your campaigns, the greater the return, and Instagram makes this easy for its advertisers.

As Instagram, boasting a staggering user base of over 2 billion, has become a global social media powerhouse, connecting individuals and businesses through captivating visual content.

Benefits of Promoting a Business on Instagram

When considering why and how to advertise on Instagram, the statistics above tell a fantastic story about reach, engagement, exposure, and connection. You can realize many benefits from Instagram advertising, including:

• Relationship building that can create loyal customers. According to a Meta-commissioned study, Instagram is the top social platform for brand relationship building. This foundation is crucial in converting followers to customers. Continuing to post relevant, meaningful content makes this bond even stronger.
• Instagram complements other ad channels. Customers have a million ways to find new businesses in the digital world. Instagram happens to be a place where you have a lot of control over discoverability. It’s complementary to other marketing tactics, including paid search, programmatic ad buys, and SEO. When thinking about how to use Instagram for business, the advertising options support integrated campaigns.
• Targeting options help to refine your reach. With over 2 billion monthly active users, your reach could be exponential. However, you don’t want to be overly broad, as it will impact performance. Instagram advertising has many targeting criteria to get in front of the right people, including location, gender, age, purchase behavior, and more.
• Instagram ads are less intrusive. The site designed the Instagram Shopping feature for scrolling, which differs from other platforms. They also don’t pop up and disturb users like other forms of digital advertising, which many consider annoying.
• The versatility of Instagram ads makes it a unique channel. With so many ad options, including Stories, Reels, Collections, and in-feed, you aren’t stuck with one model, as is the case for some platforms. Since you have many categories, you can experiment with different types to see what drives the best returns.

Now that you know how to advertise on Instagram, let’s look at how to promote on Instagram with these best practices. 

How to Use Instagram for Business: 13 Tips to Promote Your Business

1. Create a Business Profile AND Optimize It

The first step is creating your profile and optimizing it to engage audiences. If you currently have an account, you’ll convert it to a business profile. When you do this, you get access to more features, including:

• Performance Insights, which provides stats on engagement, interactions, impressions, and more
• Extended contact information (e.g., hours, location, phone number)
• Engaging features like Reels Camera, Remix, and product tags to support discoverability
• In-app messaging to engage with customers and encourage sales by building personal connections
• CTA (call-to-action) buttons

To enhance your Instagram profile, follow these best practices:

• Optimize your profile for search by incorporating a keyword in your username and adding them to your bio.
• Consider hashtags to be keywords based on what your ideal audience and competitors use.
• Include alt-text descriptions to your photos to boost your position in search results.
• Use “link in bio” in your posts to direct followers, which you can easily change to align with the content. It could be a blog post, landing page, or product page.
• Post consistently to keep followers engaged and look at the data relating to what people like the most to inform future content creation.
• Leverage Stories and Reels for various content, as these post types often have the best engagement rates.

2. Optimize Your Profile Picture and Branding

As you explore how to promote your business on Instagram, you also need to consider two key visual elements: Your profile picture and a defined brand identity.

Choose a profile picture that includes your logo and include consistent brand messaging in your profile. Your posts could also have a consistent color scheme and logo inclusion to further establish a clear brand identity.

3. Use Clickable Links and Link-in-Bio Tools

In learning how to advertise your business on Instagram, it’s also important to drive more traffic to your website and other platforms. You can do so using clickable links and certain link-in-bio tools like Linktree.

Linktree can link to many elements, including your main website, blogs, social media channels, and even specific items like free ebook downloads and other content. In short, this can help with cross-promotion efforts, which we’ll explore more below.

4. Include High-Quality Visuals

As a highly visual platform, the quality of your images and videos can win or lose followers with advertising and posts, so you’ll want to ensure you’re incorporating top-quality visuals.

For instance, all photographs should be clear and encourage people not only to click on the post but to share it with their own audiences. Meanwhile, infographics, charts, and other images should include familiar colors and branding that is distinct to your brand.

If you can, include your logo in the corner of image posts to further establish them as yours. With consistent quality and visual cues, your followers and new target audiences will come to recognize your brand and associate it with great content.

5. Create a Variety of Content

No one wants to see the same post types over and over. Variation is critical and should include Instagram video content and images. The content topics have much to do with your target audience and what they want to see. You should also look at your analytics to determine what resonates with them regarding format and subjects.

If businesses want to learn how to promote a business on Instagram, you’ll need to do more than just feed posts. Play with Stories and Reels. Reels get a lot of attention, as users spend a cumulative of over 17.6 million hours watching them daily. The pros of Reels include more video editing tools and effects versus Stories. Plus, Reels can be part of your Explore page and are available to all Instagram users.

Not sure which content to use when determining how to advertise your company on Instagram? Here is a brief breakdown of each main content type:

• Posts: These are traditional Instagram posts that comprise either images or videos. They’re ideal for posting on a regular basis if you want to create a permanent library that grows with your presence.
• Stories: A more temporary option, Stories can connect more urgently and directly with audiences. They’re perfect for establishing more authenticity in the moment with some spontaneity over conventional curated posts.
• Reels: These are videos that can include stickers, audio, and effects. Reels can appear both on Instagram and Facebook to extend your reach to both platforms.
• Carousels: If you want to post up to 10 images at a time, carousels allow you to do so. For example, you might want to use a carousel post to show off a collection of related products.

6. Produce Viral-Worthy Reels

Effective Instagram Reels really show how to promote brands on Instagram through viral content. Reels should resonate with your target audiences to become a sensation on social media platforms, but there are some key steps to take to achieve virality.

First, you should try to make your Reels unique and original with some kind of a personal touch right from the start, whether it’s a curiosity-evoking image or an engaging personality on your team within the first few seconds.

Another Instagram boost strategy for Reels is to integrate different viral elements into your video. These items could include trending viral hashtags, songs, stickers, or challenges that engage thousands to millions of users.

Also, give your Reel a cover that hooks viewers as soon as they come across your thumbnail.

7. Develop Longer-Form Content With IGTV

While Reels and other short-form content are instrumental in showing you how to promote a business on Instagram with concise videos, you can also use long-form content to build a connection with audiences on this platform.

Specifically, you can post long-form content up to 60 minutes long using Instagram TV (IGTV). This feature and standalone app is useful for developing all kinds of content that short-form videos won’t cover, such as:

• Webinars
• Extensive how-to guides
• Testimonials
• Q&A sessions
• Brand stories
• Behind-the-scenes looks at your company
• Interviews
• Product or service introductions and explainers

Generally, you’ll want to know how to promote your business using IGTV videos if your audience is looking for more in-depth content on Instagram.

8. Write Engaging Captions

It’s also crucial to know how to advertise your business on Instagram with text content in the form of captions.

Captions can accompany image and video posts to give viewers context while also potentially optimizing for relevant keywords.

To establish a strong connection with your audience, your captions should use language that appeals to your target market, incorporate popular relevant hashtags, and be short and succinct to get your point across quickly.

You can also include a CTA at the end of your caption to encourage viewers to take direct action after engaging with your content.

Don’t forget emojis when appropriate to use, as they can add a visual element to your captions that makes them even more impactful.

9. Leverage Hashtag Campaigns (But Don’t Overuse Them)

Hashtags are critical for discoverability but don’t treat this like keyword stuffing. The hashtags you use regularly should relate to your industry, audience, and capabilities.

If you are in the personal training business and looking to enhance your visibility on Instagram, consider crafting compelling content aligned with trends. Utilizing strategic personal training hashtags is essential for broadening your reach.

These targeted hashtags can significantly amplify engagement by making your posts discoverable to users interested in fitness and wellness. You can also add those that are trending and have relevance to your brand. Another hashtag strategy would be to participate in national days or holidays.

Use Hashtagify to uncover what’s popular. Here are a few more tips:

• Look at competitor posts for ideas
• Limit them to three words
• Use between 3 and 5 per post

10. Engage in Advanced Optimization

In figuring out how to promote on Instagram more effectively, you should also use advanced optimization elements as part of your Instagram boost strategy.

There are many components you can use to fully optimize your content. Specifically, when learning how to make engaging IG posts for a small business, one effective method is to add music that hooks viewers audially. You should also know how to add your business location on Instagram to your profile to connect with local searches.

Other elements to incorporate include user tags, alt text for images that give context, and keywords in titles, captions, and other text content.

11. Post at the Most Optimal Times

The Instagram algorithm favors timely posts, which is different from Facebook’s. They have a shelf life, so knowing the best times to share is crucial in how to promote your business on Instagram.

According to SocialPilot analysis, the best time to post is between 7:00 am and 10:00 am (PST) on weekdays. Below is a table with times for every day of the week. Will this be accurate for all? Likely not, and you can learn more about your optimal times by looking at your engagement data.

12. Cross-Promote on Different Platforms

Spread your content around by cross-promoting on different platforms. You’ll get more ROI as you promote your business on Instagram. Each social media site has its caveats, so it shouldn’t be a complete copy. For example, you can add links to Facebook so your post will appear differently and have a specific strategy for driving traffic to your website.

To be efficient, you can use social media scheduling tools. Also, look at the differences in engagement between the Instagram posts and others to learn more about what content works best.

13. Follow Accounts Relevant to Your Industry

Since Instagram has such a diverse user base, your target audience is there. You just need to find them. One way to do this is by following reputable and esteemed accounts in your industry.

Those you follow should have an established presence on Instagram. For example, if you’re in the healthcare technology industry, you’d want to follow an associate like HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems). It’s a respected and credible association.

But don’t just follow them—engage. Share their posts, like them, and even comment when the content has synergies with your brand. Doing so could support how you promote on Instagram in two ways. First, the profile could follow you back, which amplifies your presence. Second, their followers could find your comment interesting and head to your profile to follow.

Build Engagement With Your Audience

When deciding how to use Instagram for business to boost engagement, there are some crucial elements you can use, such as:

Interactive Features in Stories

Instagram offers various interactive features to enrich content on the platform. Experimenting with these features could help you determine how to advertise your company on Instagram using various posts.

For example, you can use polls to gain some input from your viewers, asking them for thoughts on various topics. You can also post quizzes and questions in Stories to see how people answer in real time.

So, if you want to know how to make engaging IG posts for a small business, you’ll drive real engagement with interactive features.

Responses to Comments and Messages

Don’t forget to engage people in comments and private messages.

People on Instagram and other platforms are likely to build a more personal connection with your brand if you respond to comments and messages, even negative ones. You’ll show that you value your audience’s input and want to have a conversation instead of monologuing through your posts.

Ultimately personal engagement will foster a brand community.

User-Generated Content (UGC)

Whether you have a product you want to see people using or would like to see people engage with your brand in another way, share UGC content on Instagram.

For instance, you can create a branded hashtag related to a particular product and encourage people to post videos of themselves interacting with that product in creative ways.

You can then reshare that content and use it to further extend your reach with Instagram marketing.

Hosting a Contest or Giveaway

Instagram also makes it easy to host contests and giveaways using hashtags and other features. For instance, you can get your followers to enter a contest by subscribing, liking, or otherwise engaging with your content, which could help you maximize your reach while giving audiences something in return.

Giveaways can also encourage people to connect with you more frequently if they can expect to get something of value out of regular interaction.

Form Influencer Partnerships

As you find out how to promote on Instagram more effectively, you can use influencer partnerships to connect with wider audiences and earn their trust.

To start with, it’s important to find the right influencer partner based on your niche and budget. Ideally, you would find an influencer with a loyal following and whose values align with your brand’s.

There are also plenty of ways to go about working with influencers. Examples of collaborations can include product placements, paid partnerships, joint livestreams, giveaways, and more.

One example of a successful partnership was between influencer Theresa Laine and Logitech, which promoted a Valentine’s Day discount for Logitech customers through Laine’s expansive audience.

Paid Promotions on Instagram

Yet another key component in learning how to promote brands on Instagram is taking advantage of paid promotions.

Paid promotions can consist of either Boosts or Instagram ads. Boosts convert any of your posts into ads to extend their reach, while Instagram ads are specially created ads for the platform.

If you want to reach more people with a particular post without creating a separate ad, you can easily do so with a paid Boost. Conversely, if you want to supplement your existing posts with ads, you would likely want to use separate ads.

When creating ads, Instagram gives you numerous targeting options to ensure your ads connect, including:

• Demographics
• Interests
• Custom audiences
• Gender
• Language

You can also select different types of ad formats based on who you want to target, such as Reels, Stories, and in-feed ads. In-feed ads can be great for maximizing your reach outside of videos, while Stories and Reels ads can engage viewers between videos.

To gauge your ads’ performance, consider your goals and corresponding metrics. Using Instagram and other analytics tools, you can measure metrics like impressions, views, and click-throughs to determine how your campaigns are doing. Based on what you learn, you can figure out how to promote your business more effectively in the future.

Advanced Tips for Promoting Your Business on Instagram

To help you succeed with your Instagram marketing efforts, here are a few more tips to guide you:

• Look at Instagram Insights: Look at your analytics using Instagram’s native tools and other platforms, which can help you determine how well your marketing efforts are doing against your goals. These metrics might include engagement metrics such as likes and shares, or you might keep track of followers and website traffic. You can then take steps to optimize your profile and posts for continual improvement.
• Conduct A/B Testing: Use two different versions of each post or ad to see which does better, changing a single element such as a visual component or caption. Based on which performs better, you can more effectively determine how to use Instagram for business with engaging content.
• Maintain the Right Timing and Frequency: Find out when your audience is most active on Instagram and post accordingly. You want to get the timing right while also posting frequently enough to keep audiences anticipating your next post.

FAQs: How to Promote on Instagram

1. Is there a cost for Instagram for business?

No, there is no cost to have a business profile. You’ll only pay if you want to advertise on the site. Also, if you use Instagram Shopping and their native checkout, you may have selling fees.

2. Is Instagram good for small businesses?

Yes, small businesses can succeed on Instagram by cultivating a community and sharing quality content. It’s worth the time investment with all the features available and its high ROI. Knowing how to promote a small business on Instagram is essential, as is knowing how to make engaging IG posts for a small business to help it stand apart.

3. What are the most important features of Instagram for business?

Professional accounts offer Instagram Insights, Instagram Shopping, and Instagram Direct. These are crucial for understanding demographics, selling directly on the site, and having a direct way to communicate with customers.

4. What is the best way to improve your Instagram business profile?

You may think, “I wonder how to tune up my Instagram business page.” Well, there are many ways to do so. Including effective branding and visuals, adding links to your bio, and figuring out how to add your business location on Instagram in different places could help you get the most from your profile.

Learn How to Promote a Business on Instagram With Ignite Visibility

Promoting and advertising your business on Instagram has great value. It can yield brand awareness, loyal fans, and revenue. To do it well requires expertise and consistency, and we can help.

Our social media experts can support any of your social media marketing goals by:

• Developing a plan to get the attention of your target audience
• Optimizing ads for the maximum number of clicks
• Identifying the right influencers for your business
• And more

Ready to start using Instagram for business the right way? Reach out today to get started.