Instagram Post Strategy for Small Businesses: All to Know

Instagram Post Strategy for Small Businesses

If you want to start your online business, Instagram would be an amazing place to gain more customers and boost your results. Using Instagram, you have a great chance to enlarge your small business and turn it into a professional brand. However, to succeed in it, you must follow some vigorous strategies and dedicate all your time and energy to your marketing goals. This way, some questions come to mind! What to post on Instagram for a small business? How frequently should I post on Instagram? What is the best time to post on Instagram? Well, these are the questions that we cover in the following sections. And this is what we call Instagram post strategy for small businesses. 

Actually, after reading this article, you’ll have an amazing Instagram post strategy for your small business. Additionally, you can learn some tips about your Instagram bio, hashtags, stories, ways to grow your followers, and etc. So, stay tuned and start growing your business on Instagram.

Instagram Post Strategy for Small Businesses

When starting a new page on Instagram, we all think of posts and stories we want to share. What to post on Instagram to get more followers? Should you follow a theme for your posts? How frequently should you post on Instagram? Is it essential to post every single day? When is the best time to post on Instagram?

Definitely, these questions all have an inescapable impact on your success rate. To become popular on Instagram and turn your small business into a professional and popular brand or company, you have to know the answers to the mentioned questions and keep up with them while sharing posts on Instagram. In the following, you can find tips and tricks that help you share proper posts, with the best dimensions, theme, layouts, and at the best time possible. Hence, keep on reading and find your own Instagram post strategy for your small business. 

Instagram Post Strategy #1: Instagram Post Tips for Small Business

Before going to know the best Instagram post strategy for small businesses, we take a look at the properties of a suitable Instagram post. Well, Instagram posts must satisfy some specific conditions. For instance, your posts must fit in some exact dimensions, videos have to be shorter than a specific length, and captions have a limited number of characters. So, let’s learn the fundamental tips first. 

#1 Instagram Post Dimensions

The first thing to care about is that Instagram posts have an exact dimension. Actually, in the beginning, users were allowed to share just square photos, which were 1080px by 1080px. However, right now, Instagram lets users share landscape (1080px by 608px) and portrait (1080px by 1350px) photos. By the way, what appears on your Instagram grid layout is still in square.

Instagram Post Strategy for Small Businesses

Hence, if you want a special look for your Instagram profile, you must make sure that your posts have a proper cut. Especially if you are sharing portrait and landscape posts that contain texts and important information in the marginal spaces. 

Actually, to solve the improper post cuts, you can share your posts with some special backgrounds and layouts. This way, your Instagram profile looks more attractive. Hence, you’ll gain more followers. Here’s an example by @bliss.consults:

Instagram Post Strategy for Small Businesses

#2 Instagram Carousel Posts

One of the things that must be mentioned about Instagram posts is the carousel posts. Actually, from the past few years, Instagram added a new feature and that was the ability to share an album on Instagram. With this feature, you have the ability to share up to 10 photos and videos, with different dimensions, in a single Instagram post. Then, people who see your posts can swipe right and left and see all the content you have shared. 

This is a really good option because doing so, you can avoid being annoying for sharing too many posts and filling your followers’ feeds. Also, if you want to share some content that doesn’t fit in your Instagram layout theme, you can share carousels and set the first photo in a way that keeps up with your theme. 

Here’s an example of carousels. You can simply swipe right and left and see more photos. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAFeVtjg4Y0/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Also, if you want to change the order of your photos and delete one or some photos from an album, click here and find the solution. 

#3 Instagram Video Length

Instagram has some strict limitations on the video lengths sharing on this platform. In fact, if you want to share a video on your Instagram feed, it must be at most 1 minute long. So, if you have longer videos to share, you’d better share them on IGTV or cut them into pieces and share carousals. Here’s a full guide to Instagram video length

Instagram Video Length

#4 Instagram Post Captions

One of the most important parts of an Instagram post strategy for small businesses is about the post captions. Definitely, you are using Instagram to give an exact introduction to your products and services and encourage people to purchase your products. Hence, you must include essential details. However, Instagram captions must be at most 2200 characters. So, be exact but do not share all the details about your products. Instead, add your website or blog link to your Instagram bio. Then, add a CTA to your Instagram caption and invite people to view the full details on your website. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBoZ1vpBGlr/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Instagram Post Strategy #2: Small Business First Instagram Post

Undoubtedly, after a perfect Instagram profile, your first Instagram posts are the best introduction to your page. So, if you want people to follow you on Instagram, engage with you, and become your customer, you have to present a proper introduction to your business. 

So, it’d be a great idea to share some general tips about your small business on your first posts. For instance, you can tell what’s your business about, what products you wish to sell on your Instagram account, and which locations you are available in. This way, curiosity arises and people will follow you to see the new products, shops, etc. So, set a plan for your first posts and follow this amazing Instagram post strategy for small businesses to get more followers before you start. Here’s an example:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCOd_ueAW6n/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

In the following, you can see some other examples and ideas to share as your first Instagram post. So, continue reading. 

Instagram Post Strategy #3: Best Instagram First Post Ideas for Small Businesses

As mentioned in the previous section, before you get as many followers as you want and start your business officially, you need to share some introductory and announcement posts. Well, there are some general ideas for these first posts that help you come up with a better Instagram post strategy for your small business. Here are some of these ideas followed by some real Instagram examples:

#1 Countdowns

One of the best Instagram first post ideas for small businesses is to share countdowns. Actually, this way, you keep your followers passionate and curious about what is going to happen. Just be as creative as you can to create some eye-catching posts. Then, write a caption and add #countdown, #ComingSoon, and other related hashtags to your posts to get more interactions. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBvyVm_i0gt/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

#2 Brand Logo and Business Type 

Another good first post idea is to share your brand logo and business type in an aesthetically created post. This helps you have a professional announcement about your upcoming business. So, be creative and share a catchy picture of your brand logo.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBv61XjFr8Q/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

In addition to the mentioned ones, there are other ideas that help you introduce your brand and announce people about upcoming events. However, these two are the most used ones and are considered as a successful first Instagram post strategy for small businesses. By the way, you can still be creative and have better Instagram post ideas to share, depending on your niche. 

Instagram Post Strategy #4: Best Time to Post on Instagram for Small Business

One of the most important aspects of a great Instagram post strategy for small businesses is the time to post on Instagram. If you take a look at the most successful Instagram accounts, you’ll recognize that each one has a specific time to post on Instagram. Actually, people in different locations use Instagram at different times of the day. So, depending on what you sell, who your followers are, and where you are located in, the best time to post on Instagram differs. But how to find it? 

Well, Instagram has an amazing feature called “Instagram Insights”. Using these demographics, you can easily know the best time to post on Instagram and hence, get the most views and interactions. 

Instagram Post Strategy for Small Businesses

Also, read this article to know more about the best time to post on Instagram. 

Instagram Post Strategy #5: How Frequently Should Small Businesses Post on Instagram?

Apart from all the mentioned tips about Instagram post strategy for small businesses, and all the tricks you have learned about what and when to post, it is important to know how often to post on Instagram. Unquestionably, it is important to keep consistent and post on a regular basis. But what does this mean? 

Well, if you post just once or twice a week, your posts will not appear as the top posts on your followers’ feeds and you’ll receive fewer views and interactions. On the other hand, if you post more than three times per day, followers’ feeds will be full of your posts and hence, people will mute your Instagram account or even unfollow you. Hence, to prevent both these states, we suggest you post at least once and at most, twice a day. 

Instagram Post Strategy for Small Businesses: How many posts per day

How to Get Followers on Instagram as a Small Business?

Right now, you have an Instagram post strategy for small businesses and know exactly what, when, and how to post to get the best results. But, to be honest, your Instagram business is nothing without followers. 

Actually, if you want to get views on Instagram, especially on your first posts, you need to have a relevant number of followers to engage with your posts and make them appear on Instagram explore page. But how to attract followers for a new Instagram business account?

Well, one simple way is to use Instagram follow for follow strategy. This way, you have to identify your target audience and follow them manually. Then, if your page is attractive enough, they’ll follow you back. But, this takes a great deal of time and you have to follow and unfollow thousands of people every day to reach your goal. So, what can you do instead? 

Well, we suggest you use an Instagram growth service like AiGrow

AiGrow, the solution to Instagram Post Strategy for Small Businesses

AiGrow is an intriguing package of Instagram management and growth tools helping you achieve your business goals in a shorter period of time. Using this amazing tool, you have the chance to get real active followers on Instagram, without wasting lots of time and energy. But how?

Get Followers on Instagram as a Small Business Via AiGrow

Well, AiGrow has different growth packages that can help you in gaining followers on Instagram. Using all these packages, you can schedule Instagram posts and stories, repost content, create an all-in-one bio link, connect your DM inbox to your email, and et cetera. By the way, if your main purpose is to get followers and grow on Instagram, we suggest the Pro-Managed package, which is the best offer as you see. 

AiGrow Prices

Using this amazing package, you will hire a dedicated Instagram account manager and in addition to 300+ followers per month, you will have:

  • AI-powered hashtags, competitor, location research
  • Content creation and page design
  • Unlimited number of post and story schedules, repost, etc
  • Manual growth activities 

And more. To use AiGrow, all you have to do is to sign up for free and then, watch the following video for a complete guide:

That’s it! By the way, in addition to the mentioned packages, AiGrow offers some other packages that all let you get followers and grow rapidly. So, if you are not satisfied with the Pro-Managed package, feel free to choose the best for your needs and leverage your Instagram strategy for small businesses. 

AiGrow Prices

How Can Small Businesses Sell on Instagram?

Luckily, Instagram has an awesome feature that lets users sell goods on Instagram. This feature is the shoppable posts and using them, you can add name and price tags to your Instagram posts. Then, by tapping on each tag, a new page opens and lets users purchase the products they need. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBu-YsSp1S4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

However, as we have previously discussed, to share shoppable posts on Instagram, you need to sell physical products, connect your Instagram account to a FaceBook catalog, live in some specific locations, and be approved for a shopping account. Undoubtedly, meeting all these requirements is a bit hard and takes a great deal of time. So, what can you do instead? 

Well, we recommend you to use AiGrow’s all-in-one bio link tool. Using this tool, you can:

And also, add name and tag prices to your Instagram posts and sell on Instagram, without a business account! To know how it works, watch the following video:

Easy! Right? So, go ahead and sign up for free right now!

Instagram Stories For Small Businesses

One of the best places to introduce your small business and announce people about the upcoming events is the Instagram stories. As you know, stories are temporary posts that automatically disappear after 24 hours and appear on the top of the Instagram homepage. Hence, they must absolutely be a part of the Instagram post strategy for small businesses. 

In comparison to feed posts, stories have more features and options and can help you in launching products and services. Actually, we have previously talked about Instagram story tips for more growth. But here, we want to focus on its benefits for small businesses. In the following, you can see 3 best story features that can help you grow.

#1 Add Swipe Up Links to Your Story

One of the best Instagram story features is the “Swipe Up” feature. As mentioned above, Instagram doesn’t let you add links to your Instagram posts. However, if you have a verified account or 10k+ followers, you can use the swipe up feature to add links to your Instagram stories. This way, people can head to a purchase page or your website just by swiping up the screen. Here’s an example:

Instagram Post Strategy for Small Businesses

By the way, here we are talking about small businesses. So, you might just have started your business on Instagram and don’t have a verified account or 10k+ followers! What can you do now? Should you just forget about this amazing Instagram strategy for small business? Of course not! AiGrow is here to help you. Using the bio link tool, you can easily add links to your Instagram stories. Just click here and see how it is possible!

#2 Add Support Small Business Sticker to Your Story

Right now, Instagram lets you add some amazing stickers to your stories. One of the best stickers available is the “Support Small Business” sticker. Using this sticker, no matter if you are the business owner or just a business supporter, you can introduce an Instagram page to people sharing 3 of their best posts. But how to use it?

To add this sticker, tap on the sticker button on top of the story screen. 

Instagram story stickers

Then, tap on the mentioned sticker.

story stickers

Now, write the username of your intended page. It can also be your own page!

Instagram Post Strategy for Small Businesses

Finally, you’ll see the following sticker added to your story. 

support small business Instagram story sticker

Tapping on each of these photos, people can see your post and purchase whatever they need if it’s shoppable. 

#3 Add Countdowns to Your Stories

When we were talking about the first Instagram post strategy for small businesses, we mentioned countdowns as a good idea to be shared as the first post(s). However, as you might have guessed, creating and sharing posts for 10 days or even a week takes a great deal of time and doesn’t seem to be a good idea to have 10 posts containing just numbers and countdowns. 

Instead, we suggest you add countdown stickers to your Instagram stories. 

Instagram countdown sticker

Using this sticker, you can easily set the time of an upcoming event and remind people that something interesting is going to happen without sharing tons of fruitless posts. So, set an Instagram countdown on your stories and focus on other tasks you have. 

Instagram Bio Ideas for Small Business

Until now, we just focused on posts and talked about the best Instagram post strategy for small businesses. But to be honest, there is another part of your Instagram profile that is more important than your posts and that is your Instagram bio. Definitely, your Instagram bio is the first place people check while viewing your Instagram profile and has an unavoidable impact on turning your potential followers into real followers and customers. 

Previously, we have talked about the best Instagram bio hacks and hence, we don’t want to repeat the same things over and over again. But, to wrap all the things in a few lines, take a look at the following Instagram bio by @acolorstory:

Instagram bio Strategy for Small Businesses

Briefly, a good Instagram bio is the one which contains contact information, exactly explains your business type, products, and services, link to other social media accounts, and a link to your website or blog. 

Unluckily, Instagram allows you to share just one link in your bio. Therefore, it is somehow impossible to link to all your social media accounts using the official app. However, as mentioned before, using the all-in-one bio link tool by AiGrow, you have the chance to add social media links to your bio using widgets. So, check it out ASAP, sign up for free, and leverage your Instagram bio. 

General Tips For Small Business on Instagram

Right now, you know all the essential tips and hacks to leverage your Instagram post strategy for small businesses and win the marketplace. However, there are still some general tips that can help you grow more and become one of the best Instagram shops out there. So, stay tuned.

#1 Track Competitors for a Better Instagram Post Strategy for Small Businesses

One of the best ideas to improve your Instagram post strategy for small businesses is to monitor and track your competitors in the market. Actually, this really helps you to come up with better ideas. Also, by checking the number of likes and comments they get on each post, you can guess what types of posts are better to be shared on Instagram. But how to track and monitor people on Instagram without following them? 

Well, we recommend you to use AiGrow’s monitoring tool. Using this feature, you can see the latest posts your competitors shared without following them. And you will see the number of reactions they have received on each post. 

Instagram Post Strategy for Small Businesses

Additionally, if you don’t know any of your main competitors, you check out the posts that have been shared with hashtags related to your business. So, sign up for free right now and give it a ride. 

#2 Use the Best Instagram Hashtags

Another general tip that helps all the Instagram accounts and not just the small businesses, is to add the best and most niche-related Instagram hashtags to your posts. Using hashtags, people can find and view your posts without following you. Hence, if you choose the right hashtags and add them to your posts, you’ll increase the chance to grow on Instagram. 

In fact, you can search hashtags on the official Instagram app and can add them to your posts easily. However, you cannot add them automatically to the first comment or even choose and add multiple hashtags simultaneously. So, we suggest you use the AiGrow hashtag research tool. 

Instagram hashtags Strategy for Small Businesses

As you can see in the image above, using this hashtag research tool, you can search for hashtags and then, AiGrow shows you all the related hashtags sorted by their usage. Then, all the chosen hashtags will be shared on your first comment automatically. 

Amazing! Right? So, try it right now!

#3 Start Reposting 

Reposting is an amazing Instagram post strategy for small businesses. It happens to all Instagram users to run out of posts and ideas. But, this should not prevent you from being consistent and sharing posts on Instagram. If you have run out of posts, just try to repost a photo on Instagram. This can be one of the fan posts or other amazing content you see while surfing on Instagram. 

#4 Host an Instagram Giveaway Contest

A great idea to boost your sellings on Instagram and introduce your products is to host an Instagram giveaway contest. Running giveaway, you can gain followers in a short period of time, and rocket your Instagram engagement rate by getting tons of likes and comments and etc. 

So, after starting your small business and launching your first products, run a giveaway contest, and let people know more about your brand and business.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CByQNcABGLi/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

#5 Engage with People

If you want to guarantee your success on Instagram businesses, you need your followers’ trust. But how to make people trust you? Well, it is really easy. All you have to do is to show them that you are there for them. Just respond to all your comments and DMs and listen to your followers. Remember that without them, you will never have any customers, and hence, you’ll fail in your business. 

#6 Try Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is one of the best marketing strategies, especially for small Instagram businesses. Right now, there are thousands of influencers out there that have lots of followers. And they have an inevitable impact on people’s minds. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CBTdSIehedT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Trying a partnership with an influencer who has followers interested in your products and services, you will not only get more followers but also boost your sellings on Instagram. Hence, try to get a sponsor on Instagram and achieve your marketing goals in a shorter time. 

Final Thoughts on Instagram Post Strategy for Small Businesses

To sum it up, when you are running a business on Instagram, you have to care about so many things. By the way, when you are starting a business or running a small one, you have more things to do and every single step that you take is important. Here, we tried to give a complete guide on Instagram post strategy for small businesses. And covered almost all the things that can help you turn into a successful brand. Read the article meticulously and feel free to leave us a comment.