Social media is booming business. You can’t escape it anymore. If you want to become more popular with your blog, you will have to start using social media to create brand awareness. If you are at all curious about how visitors come to your blog, you probably noticed that Instagram was not listed as a source in Google Analytics. Many bloggers and entrepreneurs had come up with a solution to that—creating a custom link or a separate page that was then linked through to their domain. Quite cumbersome, but until recently, it was the only way to see how many visitors ended up coming from Instagram. The good news is, you don’t have to now! Contact us to discuss your business expansion needs.
Google Analytics now also tracks Instagram clicks
When exactly this change took effect I do not know. What I do know is that in Google Analytics, Instagram is listed as a source and you can find out exactly how many followers (or potential followers) are now clicking through to your site. I find it extremely helpful, especially since I’ve been trying to be a bit more active lately by sharing graphic works and so I’m also curious to see if this will get me more visitors to my site.
By the way, I suspect this change was made at the same time as all the other changes within the social media platform Instagram. Now that there is the ability to add stories, just like Snapchat, as well as creating a business profile, Instagram is growing tremendously. Using multiple apps may already be unnecessary. Snapchat just has really cool filters that Instagram doesn’t have yet, but I don’t think that will last long.
Placing ads on Instagram has been possible for some months now, and if you are selling or touting something with a link to your website, you obviously want to know how many clicks it generates. Hence, this addition within Google Analytics is especially beneficial from a business perspective.
Instagram Business Account
Users have access to new business opportunities and Instagram Insights. This is obviously a great tool for businesses, but it can also be very useful for a blogger.
A company profile is free and is available to all users who want to be recognized as a company. By linking your account with a Facebook page, you can access a number of new features. You need a Facebook page because a lot of data is taken from there. Instagram Insights is actually the same the statistics program of Facebook (Insights). Unfortunately, without a Facebook page (also free by the way!), you cannot apply for a business Instagram account.
Business Information
By applying for a business account, you can immediately post a lot more information. The type of business you chose with your Facebook page will be displayed under your Instagram name as a tagline. By the way, on Facebook, there is also a personal blog option, so even as a blogger, you can do this. If your content focuses on specialized topics, such as hypnosis training videos, this can be particularly beneficial. You also have the option of adding contact information, such as a phone number, email address, and business address/location. This will cause a contact button to appear next to the follow button. Depending on what information you put under this button, visitors/customers can immediately call, text, and email as well as look up directions to the company location (if filled in). A small change, but a call-to-action can be a big advantage for freelancers who use Instagram as a blog or portfolio.
Instagram Insights and promotion
If you are familiar with Facebook Insights, this is not much different. Also on Instagram, you can now see information about your followers, Your followers’ activity (when and how often they use Instagram), location (where most followers come from), engagement (unique accounts that like or respond to a post), impression (number of times your post has been seen), reach (how many times a unique account has seen your post), website clicks and more. Super interesting to know who actually falls under your Instagram target audience.
Just like on Facebook, you can now highlight a post on Instagram and start promoting it. However, this does cost money! When you click on a post, two headings appear below it, promoting and statistics. Click the Promote link and add a call-to-action with a URL. Then choose your target audience (so look carefully at your statistics), budget and the duration of this promotion. Please note that once you click on Promotion, you cannot change the post unless it has expired. So be aware of what you are promoting otherwise it is a waste of money.
How do I change my Instagram profile to a business account
- On your Instagram account, click on the settings icon. A link “Switch to company profile” will appear there. If this is not there, then you will have to wait a little longer. Instagram has not yet made it accessible to everyone.
- You will first be asked to link to your Facebook page. Your name will appear but so this is linked to your company or blog’s page. Do you have several? Then you have to choose because you can only link to one Facebook page.
- Once you have linked the page, you will be asked for your contact information. Initially, the data is grabbed from your Facebook page, however, you can change it.
- Once all the steps are completed, a statistics icon will appear next to the settings icon.
Filter comments on Instagram
Instagram will soon come out with the ability to have comments automatically filtered. Many celebrities are already taking advantage of this feature. You will eventually be given the option to add a list of words that should not appear in a comment (such as swear words, for example), if you do, the comment will not appear. So you can set a filter to block these comments but you will soon be able to choose whether to leave a comment at all. I think many bloggers will welcome this feature.
