Instagram 101: How to Lay the Foundation For Success on the Gram

So you’ve started an Instagram for your business. You selected your username, opened up the app – but and now you’re your phone thinking “what do I do next…” Your blank profile is stressing you out, you have no idea what to put in your bio, and what the heck is a highlight??

Before you worry about your social media strategy, video content, or growing followers, you need to put in a strong foundation. And today, I’m giving you the exact formula I walk my clients through during the onboarding phase.

The 6 Lessons of Instagram 101

Instagram can seem overly complicated. From trending audios to whether or not to use hashtags (spoiler: you definitely should!), it might even feel a little overwhelming. But today we’re taking it back to the basics with the six parts you need to set up correctly to see success.

The Right Account Settings

First things first, go to settings > privacy and ensure your account is set as Public. If it isn’t, potential clients can’t discover you! Next, quickly tap over to Account and check that you’re set up as either a Business or Creator account (depending on what your business is). This ensures you’ll have access to insights – and trust me, you want to study the numbers in order to check if your strategy is working.

P.S. To make sure you have access to the full music library (and not the weird royalty free options), select the “Entrepreneur” category.

Pick a Profile Photo

Your profile photo may be small, but it’s still important to use that space to invite people in and introduce yourself. 

If you are at all client-facing in your business, I highly recommend using a headshot-style photo of yourself. Don’t have a professional one? Get a tripod (or DIY one out of books), stand in front of a wall, and use the self-timer on your phone. Done! Crop & edit as needed.

If your business doesn’t involve you in a forward-facing role, use a version of your logo or biz name in the profile photo to make it clear what your page is about. A lack of a profile photo can make your account seem like a bot. 

Set Up Your Bio for Success

Your bio is how you introduce yourself to people on Instagram. It’s not the place for inside jokes, quirky quotes, or tons of unrelated emojis – you need to make it crystal clear who you are, what you do, and who you help. 

The most important part of your bio is the bolded name section because that is SEARCHABLE. Meaning, someone can find you through the terms you use in that name. Instead of just using your given name, use some keywords for your industry. For example, mine is Amber | Social Media Manager for Interior Designers. 

The “meat” of your bio explains what you’re all about. It lets people visiting your page know if you’re someone they should be interested in or not. And you don’t have much time to get their attention, so use this space well!

This is how I like to formulate a bio:

1. A statement that explains clearly what you do (mine is “making your business’s social media as easy as 1 2 3”)
2. Your services/product offerings (ex I say I do coaching and monthly management)
3. Finally, include a call to action to entice people to click on your link in bio 

Use Your Link For Good!

Your link space is incredibly important – it’s how you get people off of Instagram and into your services. Whether you

• Use a links page (instead of linktree or similar, make sure you create one inside your website to send people to)
• Put your discovery call booking page there
• Or use it to get people onto your email list with a freebie, use this space to your advantage!

Instagram is amazing for generating leads but you want to move those leads onto another platform that you control – like your website or email list.

Make Your Contact Information Available

Give profile visitors a way to contact you! They can always send you a message, but to make it as easy as possible I also like to have my email contact information available on my profile as well. If you’re a brick and mortar business, you can add your physical location.

Last but CERTAINLY not least: Highlights

Stories may only last for 24 hours, but highlights are forever (well, as long as you keep them live!) These small circles are a great way to give potential followers a way to binge your content and introduce them to key parts of your business. 

Here are the highlights I recommend having on your profile:

• Start Here: explaining more about you & what you do
• Services/Products: let them know how they can work with you!
• Biz BTS: save stories of you working so they can get a taste of what it’s like to be a customer
• Testimonials: social proof is key, people! It’s a tried & tested marketing tactic – when people see others loving on a product/service, they’re more likely to want it to
• Life/Misc highlight: to save any random, fun stories you want to keep on your profile! This can humanize your business and connect you with more people 

I recommend keeping these updated relatively frequently (you don’t need 100 stories in each highlight). Make sure you’re maintaining them with relevant content and removing what is old/outdated. 

Putting Instagram 101 into Action

Some of these foundational steps may seem simple or boring. It’s easy to want to jump straight to the viral content and explosive reach, but without the basics, you’ll struggle to build your platform and attract clients.

Want more where this came from?

Check out these recent blog posts:

• My DIY Guide to Auditing Your Instagram
• The Three Instagram Mistakes That Are Costing You Clients
• The Instagram Checklist for Busy Business Owners

And don’t forget to sign up for my weekly newsletter, where every Tuesday you’ll get 3 content ideas, 2 trending audios, and 1 social media resource for further learning.