Sunshine Coast and Brisbane Accountants - Clarke McEwan Accountants and Business Advisorrs
Sunshine Coast and Brisbane Accountants - Clarke McEwan Accountants and Business Advisorrs

Instagram for marketing your business

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Instagram for marketing your business


Instagram for Business has a wide range of ways for you to share images and stories, create targeted adverts and create a social media shopfront for your business.

Instagram is owned and run by Facebook, giving you access to a huge marketplace and a wide cross-section of different customers and prospects. Although Instagram started out as a simple photo-sharing platform, its links with Facebook now mean it's a far more powerful and diverse tool to have in your social media armoury.

Whether you're a small sole trader, a freelance influencer or a well-established business brand, there's considerable value to having a meaningful presence on the Instagram platform .

Key reason to get proactive with Instagram

Instagram is the fifth most popular social network in the world at present. So it's a platform that really can't be ignored when it comes to raising your company's online presence.

The fact that people say an image is 'grammable' (meaning, good enough to post on Instagram) tells you just how much Instragram usage has become part of modern culture. Being a platform that's primarily used via a mobile app means that Instagram is always to hand – ready and waiting for images, videos and memes to be uploaded and shared.

It's this element of sharing our day-to-day lives that's made Instagram so popular. But it's also an underlying ideology that has to define the way you use Instagram for your business. It's a place to share your everyday business experiences, highlight your values and bring potential followers into your brand family. It's certainly one of the more 'social' of the social media platforms – feeling a lot more human and welcoming than LinkedIn, for example.

These are the key ways to get up and running with Instagram:

  • Create your Instagram account – set up an Instagram account and you can start posting and sharing. Once you have an account you can then transfer this into a business account and start making use of the more professional features of the platform. But to begin with, you need to upload your logo, give a short overview of your company and share links to your website and contact information.
  • Post and share your day-to-day images – the key reason for having an Instagram account is to post images and videos. So, that's the fundamental thing to get right from the outset. Get busy with your camera phone, make fun and interesting videos and give people an insight into the company, your brand and your people.
  • Explore the possibilities of Stories and Reels Instagram Stories allows you to post short clips, video and moments, which last for 24 hours in your story timeline. They're a good way to share news and campaigns, but remember to pin any favourite stories or they will be lost forever. Instagram Reels are short 15 or 30-second videos that you can share with your followers. They're permanent and can be a good way to share short clips of events that you want to promote and share.
  • Broadcast with Instagram Live and IGTV – unlike Reels and Stories, which are short recorded moments, Instagram Live allows you to broadcast live to your followers. Think of it as your mini TV studio, giving you the ability to create live streamed events, Q&As or demonstrations, all broadcast straight from your device and out into the world. Once broadcast, you can share your long-form video recording of your broadcast to IGTV – giving you another channel to use when thinking about video marketing and demos etc.
  • Get a custom plan – once you have a business account set up, Instagram can create a custom marketing plan for you. Tell them your goals and the plan will provide actionable skills to help you grow your followers, find new customers and make your brand more discoverable on the platform.
  • Use Instagram Ads – Instagram is owned by Facebook, so you have access to the same broad advertising features you'd expect from their parent company. Instagram Advertising allows you to create highly targeted digital ads, focusing your ads at the specific demographics and follower groups that you want to engage with.
  • Set up Instagram Shopping Instagram Shopping is a set of features that lets people shop your photos and videos, from anywhere in the app. So, if your followers see an image of your latest product and like the post, they can also link through to your shopping portal to buy the product. It's a great way to quickly increase the return on investment from your Instagram activity and have a positive impact on your sales.
  • Be smart and review your Insight analytics Instagram Insights give you the same lowdown on your account analytics as you get from Facebook Insights. These tools allow you to see who's engaging with your Instagram content, which posts are proving to be popular and where you're getting the best overall engagement and results. By following your Insights closely, you can use this info to inform your social media strategy and maximise the impact and ROI you're getting from Instagram.

Start exploring the benefits of Instagram for Business

Sharing photos and stories may not initially sound like the most productive strategy for winning new customers and enhancing your sales. But with the Facebook-backed tools and features that Instagram now sports, it's now a highly effective and productive social platform to explore.

By making Instagram a key channel for your business marketing, you can quickly build up a following, engage potential customers with your Stories, Reels and IGTV clips and start selling straight from the app – it really is that easy.

Federal Budget 2025-26: what it means for your small business
By Clarke McEwan March 29, 2025
The Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, delivered the Federal Budget on 25 March. But what’s in the Budget for small business owners? We’ve got the lowdown on the main opportunities. #FederalBudget #Budget #businesstips
By Clarke McEwan March 21, 2025
As your accountant, we won't just look after the financial side of your business, we can also advise you on the strategic side of your company, including the importance of business development as vital part of your growth plan. Business development (BD) is what helps your company move from slow, organic growth to fast-paced, hypergrowth. And it’s only by putting the right drive and expertise behind your BD that you can turn your strategic ideas into real success stories. So, how can we help you achieve this? Talk to you about your strategic goals The starting point for any kind of BD activity is to pin down your goals and aims as a business. When you know what you want to achieve over the coming months, it’s far easier to define a strategy for success. And that’s easier to do when you talk to an objective adviser, like us. We can sit in on your board meetings, talk to your executive team and get a real handle on what makes the business tick. And, armed with this knowledge, we’ll work with you to drive the direction of your BD and find the best opportunities for you to focus on. Help you create a clear BD strategy and plan Having a defined set of BD goals is a good starting point. But to put this all into action in a productive way, you’re going to need a comprehensive plan for your BD projects. Our years of experience advising business leaders and their teams really comes into play here. We know the best routes to take, the budgets that will be needed and the right tactics for bringing in more contracts, sales and partnerships. By putting these strategies into a clear plan, and linking this to agreed timescales, you have a BD route map to follow and action. Introduce you to a broader network of business partners We work with a wide range of businesses across many different sectors, industries and niches. By introducing you to our network of clients, we welcome you into a supportive community of like-minded business owners. And that’s excellent news when looking for new partnerships. Whether it’s attending a local conference, an online webinar or one of our in-house client events, you’re going to meet new people, share new ideas and make the right connections. This is a great way to build alliances and work together with other local businesses. And when you’re well-connected, you set the very best foundations for your future BD activity. Provide better routes to funding and investment Whatever goals you’ve set for your BD projects, it’s likely that you’re going to need additional funding to finance this activity. Investing in your expansion, or new partnerships, is vital to getting a good return on your BD, so great access to finance is a definite bonus. We’ll advise you on the most appropriate funding channels and how you can use these facilities to finance your BD plans. And we can also link you up with banks, lenders and business finance specialists – so you get the advice and finance you need to bring your BD to life. Help you track and measure your BD performance Meeting your BD targets takes time – and a whole lot of dedication. Measuring your BD performance over time, helps you stay on track and gives you a good indication of how well you’re tracking against your planned progress. We’ll help you create the reporting and metrics you need, so you have clear data to track your progress over time. You can log your activity in your project management system, or your client relationship management (CRM) software, and keep clear notes on contacts made, relationships built and targets converted etc. If you want to get more from your BD, please do get in touch. We’ll partner with you to put some real drive, experience and impetus behind your BD strategies.
By Clarke McEwan March 13, 2025
The Government has announced a temporary ban on investors buying established homes between 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2027. The measure aims to curb foreign “land banking.” From 1 April 2025, foreign investors (including temporary residents and foreign-owned companies) will be prohibited from acquiring established dwellings unless they qualify for specific exemptions. While exemptions exist, they are limited. In addition, foreign investors purchasing vacant land will be required to meet development conditions that require the land to be used productively within a reasonable timeframe.
By Clarke McEwan March 13, 2025
Global Google searches for the word “tariffs” spiked dramatically between 30 January and 2 February 2025, a +900% increase to the previous 12 months. We look at what tariffs really mean. Who pays for tariffs? Tariffs increase the price of imported goods and reduce trade flows of that good or service. Traditionally used to protect specific domestic industries by reducing competition, tariffs increase the price of foreign competitors and reduce demand. In his first term, President Trump imposed a 25% global tariff on steel and a 10% tariff on aluminium (which Australia managed to reduce to zero with supply limits imposed instead). The impact was reportedly a 2.4% increase in the price of aluminium and 1.6% increase in the price of steel in the domestic US market. The cost of tariffs is not borne by overseas suppliers but indirectly through a reduction in trade and domestically through higher prices, particularly where those goods and services are common. For the US however, the negative impact of tariffs will be felt less abruptly than many of its trading partners as trade only represents around 24% of US gross domestic product (GDP) – whereas trade accounts for 67% of Canda’s GDP. Where we are at with US trade tariffs While talking to shock jock Joe Rogan during his election campaign, Donald Trump stated, “this country can become rich with the proper use of tariffs.” In his second week of office, President Trump used emergency powers to curb the “extraordinary threat” of illegal aliens, drugs and fentanyl into the US, by imposing the following tariffs : · Canada - 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada (except energy resources that have a reduced 10% additional tariff). Canada responded by imposing its own 25% tariffs on a range of predominantly agricultural products and household goods. Canada is a trading nation and exports represent two-thirds of its GDP. In 2023, the US represented 77% of Canada’s total goods export. · Mexico - 25% additional tariff on imports from Mexico . Mexico has responded with its own 25% tariff on US goods. · China - 20% additional tariff on imports from China. The US trade deficit was over $900bn in 2024 of which China accounts for around $270bn. The additional tariff on postal shipments from China to the US has since been temporarily suspended for items with a value under $800 until the US postal service is able to collect the tariff. China’s response has been to impose additional tariffs on certain US imports including a targeted 15% tariff on agricultural products including chicken, wheat, corn and cotton, and a 10% tariff on fruit, vegetables, dairy products, pork, beef and sorghum. Export controls have been placed on some critical minerals. In addition, China has filed a complaint to the World Trade Organization. Industry specific tariffs and investigations · Steel imports – from 12 March 2025, the original 25% steel tariff is set to resume without the bi-lateral agreements reached over time with many nations including Australia watering down the tariff. · Copper imports – while no actions on tariffs, the President has ordered an investigation into the threat to security of copper imports . · Imports of timber, lumber products – while no action or impositions as yet, the President has ordered an investigation into the threat to security of imports of timber, lumber and derivative products such as paper. · US tech giants – it seems that the President is concerned by digital services taxes (DST) imposed on US technology companies and has vowed to respond with tariffs and other measures. Australia does not impose a DST and instead is aligned to the OECD reforms of digital taxing rights. Will Australia face US tariffs on other goods? Australia has a large trade surplus with the US which would normally make the imposition of tariffs less likely. However, specific industries may be impacted by product or industry based tariffs, such as steel and aluminium. The largest American imports into Australia are financial services, travel services, telecoms/ computer/ information services, royalties and trucks. Australia’s largest exports to the US are financial services, gold, sheep/goat meat, transportations services and vaccines. Impacts of trade wars on Australia Australia is impacted indirectly by demand. China is Australia's largest two-way trading partner, accounting for 26% of our goods and services trade in 2023. If Chinese demand slows as a result of a trade war, Australia’s economy will slow. But there is a pattern in President Trump’s approach to international and trade relations that suggests that an all-out trade war might not occur: a bold line or policy is stated - a statement that tells a story to the US public consistent with his election sentiments; then, wound back either partially or fully after concessions have been secured or concessions stated. For Australia, there is a risk in these policy machinations that China again agrees to reduce the US trade deficit by purchasing more from the US, potentially to the detriment of Australian suppliers. For Australian business, uncertainty and volatility is the problem. Uncertainty slows the economy and impacts business revenue while at the same time, costs may increase. For those in the business of selling product manufactured and distributed from China or through other trading partners directly impacted by tariffs, watch for more supply chain issues and potential cost increases. If the US export markets retracts, there is also a risk other trading nations look to dump their products to help offset losses.
FBT 2025: What you need to know
By Clarke McEwan March 12, 2025
The Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) year ends on 31 March. We’ve outlined the hot spots for employers and employees.
Which Xero app is right for your business?
By Clarke McEwan March 2, 2025
Which Xero app is right for your Aussie business? We’ve got the lowdown on the top 12 Xero apps and how they can form your perfect Xero app stack. #xero #apps #businesstips
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