How to Launch Instagram for Professional Service Firms

Instagram is a great place to connect with clients and colleagues, especially for those in the A/E/C and Professional Service Marketing space. Because it’s such a visual platform, it allows your firm to show its personality and engage with your audience in a more casual and fun way. Using the social media platform to post about company culture can also help with recruiting efforts (bonus!). Starting a new account can be tricky… How do you make sure that people actually see your new, beautifully crafted, content?

Here’s the step-by-step guide on how to launch an Instagram account for professional service firms.

1. Claim Firm Name:

   • First things first, grab your firm name for your Instagram handle. Even if you’re not quite ready to pull the trigger on launching an Instagram account, it’s always a good idea to secure your firm name so that nobody else will take it!

2. Create a Content Calendar:

   • Having a regular posting schedule takes the guesswork (and pressure) out of coming up with something to say every week. Try starting out with 1-2 posts a week featuring your people, a useful fact that your audience will enjoy, or a new project that you’re ready to show off.
   • It’s a good idea to use some form of scheduler like Buffer, Later, HootSuite, Facebook Business Suite, or similar so you can batch schedule your content out a few weeks at a time.

3. Write Your Captions:

   • Try to tell a story, educate or inspire your audience. They can be a bit longer on Instagram than on other platforms. Break content up using emojis and returns.

4. Create Branded Graphics:

   • • Keep in mind that the grid-like layout of Instagram is much more visual. You can curate a beautiful (and branded) grid over time. We like to create a unique template for each type of content, which allows you flexibility but also brand consistency without having to start from scratch for each post. See some examples we’ve done here.

   

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5. Share Your First Post:

   • This is not the launch announcement. This is an introductory graphic of your firm logo with a well-crafted caption that includes some top-level information about the firm. This helps to make sure that your audience doesn’t come to a completely blank profile page when you do announce it. It’s also a great opportunity to say a quick hello to new followers. The Instagram algorithm will suggest your profile to others before you even launch, so it’s best to have something for your new audience to look at.
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6. Go on a Follow Spree!

   • We recommend going to your other social channels and seeing who you follow on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Try to find their profiles on Insta and follow them. It’s a great way to start leveraging existing connections.

7. Official Launch:

   • Post Graphic: Post a graphic on all your other social channels like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, as well as on Instagram announcing your new profile.
   • Video/Animated Reel: If you’re feeling creative, make a fun announcement animation or video as a Reel. (Learn more about Reels here)
   • Story: Post a Story on Instagram leading to your newly crafted page. (Learn more about Stories here)

You Did It! 🎉

Now just follow that content calendar and stay active. Interact with other accounts, follow, like and share their content as well as your own and you’ll be surprised how much fun Instagram can be. 🙂