Instagram has been changing. Is your shelter or rescue group getting everything out of it that you can?
Earlier this year, Instagram began making changes designed to appeal to businesses.
- It created new “business profiles” similar to and connected with Facebook pages.
- It added analytics called, just like Facebook’s, “Insights.”
- It created a “Contact” button that users can click to email your organization.
These similarities to Facebook pages aren’t accidents; Facebook owns Instagram. And Facebook also wants to make sure businesses get good results from their use of Instagram — hence the stepped-up functionality. Those new features are also useful to nonprofits, and particularly useful to shelters and rescue groups, who can now provide a way for their Instagram followers to contact them.
(For those not already using Instagram, it’s a mobile-only social network based on sharing photos, with much more limited commenting functionality than Facebook. It also doesn’t allow clickable links in posts — except in ads, which remain very expensive and probably out of the reach of most shelters and rescue groups. For that reason, adding in a “Contact” button is going to make it a lot easier to get followers to respond to posts about available pets.)
These new features are only available to your organization if you convert your account to a business profile. Here’s how to do that:
- Log into your organization’s Instagram on your mobile device.
- Go to your profile. If you aren’t automatically taken there, just click on your profile picture in the lower right-hand corner.
- Click on the “gear” symbol in the upper right-hand corner.
- Scroll down to “Switch to Business Profile.”
You’ll now be able to connect to your shelter or rescue group’s Facebook page (as long as you’re an admin on it), and add your location, email address and phone number.
You’ll also be able to access “Insights” analytics, both on an individual post level, by clicking “View Insights” under the photo, or the account level, by clicking the little four-bar icon next to the gear icon in the upper right-hand corner of your profile. Insights include:
- How many times a post was viewed
- How many users it reached
- How many users engaged with a post
- How many times your profile was viewed
- How many times people clicked on your website link in your profile
- How many times someone clicked on your “contact” link
- Total impressions
- Top posts
- What times your followers tend to be on Instagram during a day
- Follower demographics such as age, location, and gender
Instagram has video tutorials on converting to a business profile and using Insights and other business features here. This includes how to use ads, in case they come down in price or your organization wins the lottery. View them here.