Three benefits of using Instagram for business

I love Instagram. Who doesn’t? It’s an excellent platform for promoting your business or nonprofit, and it’s definitely in growth mode.

Of course, you’re probably wondering what the benefits of using Instagram for your business actually are. Well, it’s different depending on your business, your goals, and even your industry.

If you want to, you can make use of Instagram regardless of your specific goals. But here are some benefits for particular cases.

Benefit 1: Promote products

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m a big fan of BANGS Shoes on Instagram. Full disclosure, I’m actually a BANGS Ambassador.

Regardless, BANGS does a great job of demonstrating our first benefit, promoting products. As is the case for nearly all Instagram accounts, great photography is a must. Regardless of what you sell, you can promote it on Instagram. And with a verified account and over 10,000 followers, you can even add links directly to your products in your Instagram Stories.

If you run a restaurant, this is a MUST. Hire a great food photographer to take pictures of your menu items on a fairly regular basis, put in the right hashtags, and you’ll get tons of exposure and interaction.

Benefit 2: Increase awareness through giveaways 

Maybe one of your goals is brand awareness, which simply means letting more people know your business exists. Running giveaways regularly is a great way to increase engagement, gain new followers, and let more people know you exist.

Fortunately, Instagram tends to be less restrictive than Facebook on what you can and can’t do in a giveaway. Really their main rule is that you must say the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by or associated with Instagram.

You can read the very short list of official rules here.

So how do you set up an Instagram contest? The short version is simple:

1. Take a photo of your prize
2. Let people know how to enter to win
3. Share the deadline
4. Include some relevant hashtags
5. Add any legal info

A common way to enter is to ask people to follow you, post a specific type of photo—something you choose that ties into your brand—on their feed, and put a specific tag you make up in the caption.

If you run a company called Super Duper Hair, you might have them post a photo of their hair, ask, “Do I need a new hairdo?” In their caption, and tag it with #SuperDuperHairFan

Then once the deadline hits, you can just search Instagram for photos tagged with #SuperDuperHairFan and pick your winner!

Benefit 3: Share company culture 

Have a great culture at your organization? Instagram is a fantastic place to promote that! It can help you find new team members if you’re expanding your team or find clients and customers that are your ideal fit.

Posts that do well talk about how you give back, help others, volunteer, etc. Basically, you need to let people know that your team has personalities!

Of course, if part of your culture includes supporting kids, animals, or the military, those posts tend to get quite a bit of interaction on most social media platforms.

Need some ideas on how to promote your company culture? Try sharing…

• Fun facts about your team members
• Birthday celebration photos
• Volunteering photos
• Photos from any outing
• Quotes that inspire you
• Features on specific clients, nonprofits, or strategic partners

If your company culture is important to you, Instagram is a great place to share it with others.

These three benefits only scratch the surface of what’s possible on Instagram. If you want to know how it will benefit you, create an account and start posting! If you stick with it, you can find a way to help your business or nonprofit.