Instagram for business: how to get followers who become customers

Instagram for business only brings in customers once you stop posting random mood shots and solve one concrete problem for your audience in every post. You set up a business profile with direct contact buttons, reach people who don't know you yet with short videos and send interested viewers on to your own website. Without that fixed route, a big reach won't bring you any new inquiries.

How do you set up Instagram for business from the ground up?

In the app's settings, you switch from a personal profile to a professional account. That instantly gives you insight into who views your posts, contact buttons below your bio and the option to promote posts.

Most business owners think that one click in the menu makes them ready to grow. Yet visitors drop off right away if you pick the wrong account type. The same happens if your profile doesn't show at a glance what problem your business solves.

Should you choose a business account or a creator account?

When you switch to a professional profile, Instagram asks whether you want a business account or a creator account. A business account is the logical choice for almost every small business with a physical location, an online store or a team. It gives you local contact buttons to call, email or open your address on the map right away. You can also link products.

A creator account is only a better fit if your business revolves around one personal face, like an independent consultant, speaker or photographer. The big difference is in the music for your videos. With a creator account, you're free to use the full music library. Because of copyright, a business account is limited to royalty-free sounds.

Do you need a Facebook page for a business Instagram account? No, you can switch to a business profile right from the app without linking it to Facebook. Only when you want to advertise through Meta or import products from your online store do you need that Facebook business page.

What your profile needs to show new visitors

A business profile works like your storefront for people who tap your name from a video. So don't just fill in your company name or a vague motto in your bio. Write in one clear sentence what kind of customer you work for and which problem you solve for them.

Right below it, put a clear link to the right page on your website. Don't just default to your homepage, where visitors have to search for themselves. Send them to a page with your offer, a price indication or a direct request form. Also turn on the buttons for phone and email. That way, a visitor in a hurry can reach you with one tap, without going to your site first. Once your profile is sharp, the makeup of your followers decides whether those buttons actually get tapped.

Why lots of followers only count if they become customers

A big follower count does nothing for your business if those people will never buy anything from you. A modest group of followers made up of real customers, serious prospects and peers in your field does bring in revenue that shows up on your bottom line.

Hardly anyone outside the marketing world pays attention to whether your business has a lot of followers or a few. What does matter for your visibility is real attention from the people who see your posts. It helps your reach when viewers watch a video all the way through or save an explainer post for later. Sending it to a colleague or clicking through to your website works well too.

If a potential customer looks at your Instagram profile today, do they mostly see random company photos? Or do they see right away the answer to a problem they're dealing with themselves? Open your own profile and look at your latest posts through the eyes of a hesitant buyer. Replace general company updates, like photos of an anniversary or a new company van, with answers to questions you get on the phone every week.

When you look at your posts this way, you'll notice that a smart approach to content marketing without your own marketing team is perfectly doable. You don't have to make anything up. The best topics are already in your daily conversations with customers.

How do you get more Instagram followers with recurring customer questions?

You get more Instagram followers who really fit your business by building every post around one specific customer question. People only start following a business account once they notice you understand their day-to-day reality and give useful advice.

Many business accounts get stuck because they only pay attention to how their photo grid looks as a whole. Take an interior designer who only posts photos of sleek living rooms. It looks neat, but after a while it no longer draws new eyes. Instead, tackle one recognizable problem per post. Think of furnishing a small bedroom with a low ceiling or fixing cold light in the living room. That does get comments, and it brings in followers who are dealing with exactly that problem.

With these three steps, you get more Instagram followers from your own target audience:

• Step 1. Collect real doubts and questions from customers: Pull up your sent emails and your notes from sales calls. Write down every question people ask before they request a quote. Include their doubts about cost, maintenance or how you work too.
• Step 2. Choose exactly one question per post: Don't cram your entire service into one video or photo series. Choose one small topic, use the customer's exact question as the first sentence and give the answer right away.
• Step 3. Show the solution on screen: Don't just show the polished end result, show how you solve the problem. For example, show the difference between two materials. Or draw a sketch of the situation and point out on your screen where a common mistake is.

The big advantage of working with recurring customer questions is that people type exactly the same things on other video platforms. So you can also use a well-developed question for Instagram to get found on TikTok or on YouTube Shorts. You don't have to come up with a new topic. Once you have your questions lined up, you choose the right post format on Instagram for each topic.

Which posts work for reach and which for trust?

On Instagram, short videos bring reach among people who don't know your business yet. Posts with multiple slides and Stories, on the other hand, build trust with your existing followers. Mix up those two goals and you're using the wrong tool to talk to the wrong group.

The overview shows exactly which post format to use for what on a business Instagram account:

Short videos to reach people who don't know you

Short videos are the engine for any business account that wants to grow. That's because of how the app spreads posts. Instagram often shows Reels to people who don't follow your business yet. Single photo posts, on the other hand, almost only show up for your current followers.

For a business video, you don't have to do little dances or act out complicated scenes. Open the video right away with the customer question or a striking shot from your work, so viewers don't scroll on immediately. Keep the pace brisk and always put clear subtitles on screen. That way, people who have their sound off can follow the story right away too.

You can simply film your daily work for this. As an example of how we use this ourselves: Jesse films his phone calls and a system turns them into short videos with subtitles. Those videos got 88,275 views in the first nine days. That shows how quickly you can reach a large audience with real work. Still, views on their own only build awareness, they're not paying customers yet.

Want to stay visible with good Reels, but don't have time to write, film and edit yourself? Then you can also have short videos made for you, so everything is ready to post.

Carousels and Stories to win over followers

Once people have found you through a video, you use carousels and Stories to show that you know what you're talking about. A carousel is a post where you swipe through multiple slides. It works well for a step-by-step plan, a before-and-after comparison or a deeper explanation that doesn't fit in a short video.

A carousel has an added advantage. Instagram can show the post again to followers who scrolled past the first slide, but then starting with the second slide. On the first slide, make a clear promise of what the reader will learn. On the last slide, end with an invitation to save the post or send it to a colleague. Then, in your daily Stories, you give a quick look behind the scenes. That way, new followers quickly connect with the people behind your business. You need that familiarity to turn silent viewers into people you actually talk to.

How do you turn viewers and comments into real conversations?

You turn viewers into real contacts by starting the conversation yourself under your posts. Also invite interested people to send you a direct message. A business account that only posts and closes the app right away lets its warmest prospects walk away.

What happens now when someone posts a question or comment under your post? Does it stop at a quick like, or do you use that comment to start a conversation? If you respond actively and keep conversations going, you stay more visible to your audience. That makes it easier for people to get in touch for business.

Here's how to get conversations out of your weekly posts:

• Reply with a full sentence and a question back: Give every comment under your post a real answer instead of just a thumbs-up. Ask a short follow-up question about the commenter's situation right away. That's how a real conversation starts under your video or photo series.
• Post the first comment under your own post yourself: Don't wait for others to break the ice. Right after publishing, post a first comment yourself with an extra tip or a thought-provoking question for your viewers. That gets the comments going.
• Use direct messages as an easy in-between step: For many followers, filling in a quote form on your site is still too big a step. At the end of a video or Story, ask viewers to send a short keyword in a direct message. In return, you send them a checklist, a decision guide or a sample calculation. That way, you know right away who's seriously working on the topic.
• Leave thoughtful comments on posts by businesses in your space: Look up accounts of non-competing businesses that work for the same audience. Think of a contractor, an accountant or a supplier in your market. Add a thoughtful point from your field under their posts, so their followers notice your company name.
• Combine a fixed rhythm with a voice of your own: People follow a business sooner when you give a clear professional opinion now and then. Also share honestly what went wrong in a project and how you fixed it. How often should you post to grow? Choose a fixed weekly rhythm of thoughtful videos and explainer posts that you can keep up all year. Consistency gets you much more than a short burst of rushed posts.

Besides these habits, there are also old ways of working that many businesses still put time into. They take a lot of hours and actually hold back your reach.

What to leave out on a business account

Outdated tricks like buying followers, joining like groups or stuffing posts with dozens of keywords cost you time. On top of that, they hold back the reach of your business account. You're better off putting those hours into one good conversation with a customer or recording an honest explainer video.

How long does it take to get more Instagram followers? Building a business account with people who actually want to buy from you takes months of delivering value and responding. Quick spikes from tricks disappear just as fast.

Think in months rather than weeks, and don't trust anyone who promises you a date.

Jesse Scherpen, owner of SharpClicks

So leave these habits off your business profile:

• Buying followers for a bigger number at the top of your profile: Bought accounts don't watch your videos, never comment and buy nothing. A large share of your followers then stays completely silent. As a result, engagement on your posts drops and Instagram shows your new videos to fewer and fewer people.
• Joining groups that agree to like each other's posts: Groups where business owners agree to react to each other's posts right away for extra reach backfire. Those people aren't your customers, so the app links your posts to the wrong audience.
• Posting impersonal stock photos and slick fake images: Potential customers see right through standard pictures of smiling office workers. And if you look at making video and images with AI, you'll see that slick fake images on social media inspire less trust. Real footage of your own team, your workshop or your own screen works much better.
• Pasting the exact same stock sentence under every post: Viewers ignore generic calls to tag friends when there's no real reason for it. Only ask for an action when it really fits the topic of the post.
• Putting blocks of generic hashtags under your caption: Do hashtags still work to get followers? A few keywords that describe exactly your post and your field help make the topic clear. A long list of generic terms no longer brings in extra followers.

Once you stop taking these time-consuming detours, you have room left for what really matters. You lead visitors to a place you own.

How to connect your Instagram approach directly to your website

Instagram is still a borrowed channel whose rules can change at any moment. Your own website and your customer list do belong to you. You use Instagram to get attention and become a familiar face, but the real inquiry happens on your site.

A short video that gets a lot of views without pointing to your website brings you a bit of name recognition at most. So connect the questions from your videos to strong explainer pages, calculators or contact forms on your own domain. Only then does your reach pay off.

With these four steps, you can have your business approach set up this week:

• Step 1. Sharpen your profile and bio: Switch to a business account and turn on the buttons for phone and email. Also replace your current bio with one sentence that says exactly which problem you solve and for whom.
• Step 2. List your most important customer questions: Open your inbox and write down the questions customers ask most often before they approve a quote. This is your list of topics for the coming weeks.
• Step 3. Record several short videos in one go: Don't spend every day figuring out what to post next. Block one fixed moment in your calendar and grab your list of customer questions. At work, record several short answers back to back with your phone.
• Step 4. Point viewers to a matching page on your site: Link your posts to a page on your own website that fits the topic. Or ask viewers to send a keyword in a direct message, so you can send them the right link personally.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to get more Instagram followers?

Think in months rather than weeks when you're building a business account with people who actually want to buy from you. You grow by consistently delivering value with short videos about recognizable customer problems and by actively responding to comments. Quick spikes from bought followers or tricks disappear just as fast and also hold back the reach of your posts.

How often should I post to grow?

Choose a fixed weekly rhythm of thoughtful short videos and explainer posts that you can keep up all year. Consistency gets you much more than a short burst of rushed posts. You make it easier on yourself by filming several short answers to frequently asked customer questions back to back at work, at a fixed time.

Do hashtags still work to get followers?

A long list of generic hashtags under your post no longer brings in extra followers. A few keywords that describe exactly the topic of your post and your field do help make clear what your video or explanation is about. You mainly reach new people by answering a concrete problem of your audience in short videos.

Should a business choose a business account or a creator account on Instagram?

A business account is the logical choice for almost every small business with a physical location, an online store or a team. It gives you buttons to call, email or open your address on the map right away, and you can link products. A creator account fits better if your business revolves around one personal face, and it gives you access to the full music library.

Do you need a Facebook page for a business Instagram account?

No, you don't need a Facebook page to start a business Instagram account. You switch from a personal profile to a professional account right in the app's settings, without linking to Facebook. Only when you want to advertise through Meta or import products from your online store do you need a Facebook business page.

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