If you’re a small business owner, odds are that your expertise is not social media. Your expertise is what you’re in business for! But in this era of Covid-19, small business and social media go hand in hand. So how does a small business owner like you start to get a grasp on one of the most popular and effective social media platforms?

Below are the five questions I get asked most from business owners that are new to Instagram, confused about Instagram, or not even on the platform yet. No matter your industry – restaurant, fitness, beauty, real estate – check out my answers below on how and why to get your business posting and growing on the ‘Gram.

1. Is it even worth promoting my business on Instagram?  
Short answer – absolutely! Using Instagram for your business, when done correctly, can develop your brands reputation, build the trust-like-and-know factor with followers (which turns them into paying customers and clients!), plus drive traffic to your website and customers to your store.

2. But is my prospective audience even on Instagram? 
Because of the recent stay at home orders and quarantines, 2020 brought huge growth to Instagram, clocking in at one billion monthly users. Half of those users – 500 million! – are active DAILY, in posts, feeds, and stories. No matter your industry or niche marketing, now more than ever, your ideal customer is on Instagram, ready, willing, and able to see what you have to offer.

3. Do I need a business name and account? Can I use my personal account? Private or public? 
Managing one account can require attention and focus at first. Managing a personal and a business account, too? Whoa! My recommendation for individuals like fitness instructors, therapists, or real estate agents, is to switch your personal account to a business account, and only have one. Making the switch allows you to be the brand, gives you access to Insights, (analytics that help you see what posts are or are not working), content scheduling, custom buttons, and running ads. (Your account will be required to be public when switching to a business account.) And it gives your brain space to focus on only one strong strategy.

4. How much time should I spend each week on Instagram marketing?
The frequency of posting on IG will differ for each business. Some businesses have something to post multiple times a day, and others post only once a day. I know this is an annoying answer that you probably don’t want to hear, but you’ll have to experiment with frequency to see how often your audience likes to see your posts. To do this, track your insights and look for trends in your engagement. More important than the exact frequency though, is consistency. Do you have great content to share daily? That’s awesome – show up daily. If you can’t commit to posting each day, that’s fine, too. Start with every other day. Whatever seems doable to you is a great place to start, just stay consistent with it so your followers know what to expect.

5. How and what do I even post to get my followers engaged?
If you want an Instagram profile that speaks to your followers, and ultimately turns those followers into customers, you can’t just throw up random, inconsistent, or mediocre posts. From image quality and filters, to captions and hashtags… there’s definitely more than a few things to think about before (and even after) you hit that post button. Start with taking good quality photos that fit with your brands aesthetic, craft meaningful captions that either entertain or teach something, and use 3 – 5 specific hashtags to expand your posts reach.

Need more help on content posting? Follow this checklist I made just for you!