The Best Instagram Features for Small Businesses

Instagram is a fantastic tool for growing your small business. It has lots of features that you can use to increase reach, engagement, and sales. Get the details on the top features for small businesses and start using them today.
 

Support Small Business Sticker

Instagram unveiled the Support Small Business Sticker in May 2020 as a response to the lost revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. People can select from the sticker options and then type in a business name to customize it. Then, they can publish it to their Stories to show it off to their followers. People can click on the sticker to see details about the small business. 

When people use the Support Small Business sticker to spread the word about your business, you can repost the sticker in your Stories. Then, your followers will see that you have support from the community. That type of social proof can give you quite the boost.
 

Instagram Live Video

Instagram Live Video is another powerful tool for small businesses. Instagram will send notifications to all of your followers when you’re streaming live. Then, people can watch your live stream in real-time. They have the option to stick around for the entire video, but when you stop recording, it will disappear from your account. Because live videos are only available while you’re streaming, followers are likely to watch, so they don’t miss out.

You need to provide some value to your live videos, so people keep tuning in to watch. Otherwise, you will have trouble getting people to keep coming back. However, if you make big announcements or post entertaining videos, you can expect your viewers to grow with each stream.
 

Instagram Shopping

If you sell products, you can benefit from the Instagram Shopping features. Start by creating an Instagram Shop tab on your profile. If people click on the tab, they’ll see the products you offer. Then, create Instagram Shoppable Posts by tagging your products in your posts. You can also use Instagram Stories Product stickers to add tags to your Stories. 

When people click on the tags, they’ll have the option to buy the product via Instagram Checkout. Instagram users love purchasing products without leaving the app, while small businesses enjoy monetizing their accounts. 
 

Food Orders and Gift Card Stickers

You can also monetize your Instagram account with two additional interactive stickers the network rolled out in April 2020. In an effort to help small businesses boost revenue, it created Gift Card and Food Orders interactive stickers. Brands can add the stickers to their Instagram Stories. When people click on them, they have the option to purchase a gift card or order food. They can also share the stickers to help generate even more awareness. 

Once you share the stickers on your Stories, consider adding a Gift Card or Food Order button to your profile. Then, people who miss your Stories can still buy gift cards and order food from your account. 
 

Geo-tagging

If your business has a brick-and-mortar location, Instagram’s geo-tagging feature can help you attract foot traffic. When this is turned on, Instagram will add the location to your posts. Just remember that you might not always want to include the location. For instance, if you decide to post from home, you probably won’t want your location tagged. If you accidentally include your location, you can remove it by clicking on the location icon. Select “Edit” and choose which geo-tags you want to delete. 
 

Clickable Link and Hashtags on the Bio

Instagram doesn’t allow users to include clickable links in posts. However, you can add a clickable link to your Instagram bio. Then, you can use a call-to-action to direct people to your bio in your posts.

Along with your link, you can add clickable hashtags to your bio. The hashtags you choose should be related to your brand. People can click on the hashtags to see related posts. They can also use the hashtags in their own posts to showcase your brand. 
 

DM Me Stickers

Instagram is the ideal network for chipping away at the walls that stand between small businesses and customers. You can obliterate the wall with the DM Me sticker. Use the sticker to encourage interaction with your followers. Consider asking users a question and then adding the DM Me sticker. People can submit their answers, allowing you to learn quite a bit about your audience.
 

Poll Stickers

You can also get answers to questions by using Instagram’s Poll sticker. This is a simple way to collect feedback for your small business. You can ask anything you want and watch the answers roll in. 

Then, you can use the answers to make decisions related to your business. Doing this will show your customers you care about their opinions, and you’ll do what you can to make them happy. When you do that, you can create customers for life.
 

Question Stickers

Instagram engagement should be a two-way street. That means you shouldn’t be the only one asking questions. Use Question Stickers to let users ask you questions. You can open the floor for any and all questions, or you can select a specific topic. For instance, you can ask people what they like the most about your product or what features they’d like to see with your next product. 

There’s one thing to keep in mind before using Question stickers. You don’t want to post the sticker, only to end up with one or two questions. You can avoid this by growing the engagement levels on your account beforehand. Then, you can count on your followers to submit questions.

The idea of growing your engagement levels can seem overwhelming, but you can do it much faster than you might think. Begin by purchasing Instagram likes. The increase in engagement will show Instagram that you have a popular account. Then, it will show your posts to more people, which will make it easy to increase your organic likes. Once your engagement grows, you’ll be ready to use the Question sticker. 
 

Pick the Best Features for Your Small Business

Every small business is different, and you need to use the right features for your company. Select the features that will work best for you, and then start growing your Instagram presence.