If you’re a business in 2026 and you don’t already have an Instagram account, do us a favour: call the Blaze Media office so that we can give you a very stern telling off.
In the age of social media, we have dogs and literal eggs (we’re being serious) with Instagram accounts, so your business definitely needs to be on there.
We have met a lot of business owners who have been reluctant to join the platform for a number of reasons:
- They don’t know what to even post
- They aren’t great at taking pictures
- They’re too busy
At Blaze Media, we understand just how hectic running a business can be, but running an Instagram account doesn’t need to be as time-consuming and as serious as you might think, especially when you have the support of a social media team on your side… which we coincidentally offer as a service at Blaze Media.
In 2026, it’s time to put your hesitation aside and kickstart that account if you want to boost your business, attract customers and start making more money.
Keep reading to find out how you can use Instagram (and Instagram advertising) to boost your business in 2026.
Set Up Your Profile the Right Way
Before you can even think about creating eye-catching graphics and filming Reels, you need to make sure that you have the Instagram app basics down first. A lot of businesses make the mistake of skipping proper profile setup and then feel the consequences down the line.
Imagine your Instagram feed as your digital storefront. If a customer clicks on it and vital information is missing, they’ll click away, so you need to make a strong first impression.
You need to make sure your account is a business profile, that you’re linking to your website, that you have a great bio, your contact information is easily accessible, and that you’re keeping your branding consistent.
How to Switch to a Business Account on Instagram
One of the most important first steps when starting an Instagram account is switching from a personal profile to a business account. By making that switch, you’re turning the app into a powerful marketing and sales tool where you can make the most of Instagram Insights, shopping features and advanced advertising capabilities in order to better reach your target audience.
So, yeah, we guess you could say that ensuring your Instagram is a business account is quite important.
Switching over couldn’t be easier, you just need to: go to your profile, tap the three-line menu in the top right, select Settings and activity > Account type and tools > Switch to professional account.
It’s really that easy.
Increased Brand Awareness: How to Optimise Your Instagram Bio
If you’re not a natural wordsmith, you might be tempted to skip over your bio, but trust us when we say that’s a big mistake. Your bio is one of the first things that potential customers see when they click on your profile, and as the landscape has shifted, you don’t only need to make sure your bio makes it clear what you do, but you also need to embed keywords that help your business connect with the right people.
We get it, for anyone with little understanding of digital marketing practices, crafting a keyword-rich bio that doesn’t sound like AI just threw it up might feel intimidating, which is why we would recommend that you work with social media experts, like us, who can take care of it for you and help familiarise you with the best bio practices.
And don’t forget the most important element of your bio: the links to your website, products or services.
Keeping Branding Consistent on Your Account
Start as you mean to go on: as you’re setting up your account, make sure you insert your branding into your page from the very start. That means make sure that your profile picture has your brand logo, your tone is consistent with your brand, and you’re hitting all of the buzzwords you’ve built up around your brand.
You can be very clever with colour on your Instagram, making themed highlights and keeping this in mind as you post.
See, the setup really isn’t that bad.
What Instagram Actually Rewards in 2026
The platform has changed a lot since that little brown camera logo we were all introduced to back in 2010. With over 15 years in the game, Instagram has gone through many evolutions, and how it rewards businesses has been a big part of them. It’s very different in 2026.
If you think back to the 2010s, Instagram was all about aesthetic content, great camera quality and volume posting, but what Instagram rewards have changed a lot.
Instagram clearly prioritises intent-driven engagement, retention, and genuine content, favouring niche authority over superficial reach.
So, you’re scared to post because you don’t think you’re good at making content that looks aesthetically pleasing and fits in with the usual influencer marketing posts – that could actually be a blessing in disguise.
The Biggest Instagram Updates You Need to Know Right Now
At Blaze, it’s literally our job to make sure that we’re up to date with the recent updates in the world of social media, and Instagram has had quite a few over the last couple of years that we think that businesses should be aware of.
Some of these include:
Instagram is Now a Search Engine
In 2025, Instagram evolved into a search-enabled platform, but what does that mean?
Public content is now indexed by search engines like Google, which means your content is discoverable beyond just Instagram. Because your Instagram posts are now discoverable on search platforms, not only do you have a great opportunity to connect with an entirely new audience, but you also have to make sure that your content is optimised for search.
It’s now best practice to treat your captions like meta-descriptions and ensure they’re SEO-optimised with search-friendly keywords and a focus on user intent.
Not sure how to even begin creating captions like that? You could benefit from working with SEO experts who can help you create optimised captions and teach you the tricks of the trade.
Reels Dominate the App
When you hop on Instagram, how much time do you spend looking at actual posts vs Reels? Reels now account for 50% of time spent on Instagram, so if you want to connect with a new audience and build a reputation on the app, you need to make reels, engage with trends, and capture attention, because Reels are the highest-reach content format on the platform.
Making a reel doesn’t mean making a big production with a script and a cast; it could be authentic insights into your operation, a meet the team and some educational content that stops scrollers and showcases your brand’s personality.
Posting regular Instagram stories on your account is also a great way of keeping users up to date with business news or current ad campaigns in real time, and will help to keep you front and centre when they load up the app throughout the day.
The Navigation has Been Completely Overhauled
Something that you may not have noticed is that Instagram has sneakily overhauled its navigation bar. Direct Messages and Reels now take the top spots on the navigation bar, which only highlights just how much Reels have taken over the app and also the importance of businesses actually communicating with their followers, but we’ll get into that soon.
With any social media platform, the navigation bar often highlights the direction that the app is going in. For example, as we said in our 2025 TikTok Marketing Guide, when TikTok moved TikTok Shop front and centre of their navigation bar, it signalled TikTok shifting more towards businesses selling using the shop, and by George, we definitely hit the nail on the head with that one.
Pay close attention to the navigation bar, as that tends to be a great signal of the next evolution of a platform.
Rearrange Your Carousels and Caption Testing
Something that you all need to look forward to and enjoy is that, after years of every marketer in the world begging, you can now finally rearrange your carousels. This means that brands can finally go in and fix mistakes they have made, without losing all of the engagement given by the initial post and also improve storytelling.
The order of a post you published didn’t quite have the impact you wanted? Boom, you can just go in and change it. Are we perhaps more excited about this update than we should be? Maybe, but that’s not even the biggest update that we’re excited about at Blaze.
Can we get a drum roll please…
Instagram is finally testing adding links to captions.
Rolled out across select accounts, you can now finally add clickable links to your captions, directing your followers exactly where you want them to go.
That’s right, anytime soon now you can finally say goodbye to the dreaded line that we all hate typing out: ‘link in bio’ shudder.
DM Scheduling for Business Profiles
Something that a lot of businesses neglect to take advantage of is DM scheduling. Engaging with your followers and making your customers feel valued is a great way to get repeat business.
You can schedule messages up to 29 days in advance on Instagram, so if you have an expected product launch, you can set up a message to your active followers to give them early insight and encourage them to make an early purchase.
With DMs, you can also provide 24/7 customer support and save time by automating routine responses, allowing you to maintain a consistent presence without constantly being on your account.
Content That Actually Works: What to Post
Now you know what features are worth making the most of on Instagram, you might still be wondering, ” What should I actually post?” Well, some rules of thumb you should keep in mind while posting on Instagram include:
Carousels: The Comeback Kid Nobody Saw Coming
Carousels are steadily emerging as Instagram’s best-performing format, especially with the most recent updates. With multiple slides, it offers several opportunities to capture someone’s attention, provide valuable information, and appear in their feed again if they didn’t engage the first time. It’s like a well-organised sequence of slides about topics that genuinely interest people, making it a fantastic way to connect and share.
Reels: Short, Sharp, and Actually Worth Watching
The good news is your Reels do not need a film crew, a ring light, or a sound you spent forty minutes hunting for. The bad news is you have about two seconds to convince someone not to scroll past you. Lead with something that makes your audience feel seen, keep the energy up, and land the point before they’ve had time to wonder what they’re even watching. Simple is not lazy, simple is smart.
Likes Are Nice, Saves and Shares Are Better
A like takes half a second and means roughly as much. A save means someone thought your content was worth coming back to. A share means they liked it enough to put their name on it and send it to someone else. That’s the stuff the algorithm actually rewards right now, so the goal is to make content people genuinely want to keep or pass along, not just scroll past with a polite tap.
Say you have expertise in a certain industry that people want to know – make that clear, become a form of authority, and the ‘saves’ will start coming in.
The Hook Isn’t the Intro, It’s the Whole Post
If the first moment of your content doesn’t immediately make someone curious, entertained, or feel something, the rest of it doesn’t really get a fair chance. A good hook isn’t a trick or a gimmick; it’s just leading with the most interesting part of what you have to say. Think of it less as a fancy opener and more as proof that your content is worth three more seconds of someone’s day.
More Posting Is Not the Answer You’re Looking For
Instagram is more crowded than it has ever been, and the accounts cutting through are not the ones posting four times a day out of sheer determination. They’re the ones taking the time to make each post worth something. Quality over quantity sounds like advice from a motivational speaker, but in this case, the data genuinely backs it up, and your audience will thank you for it too.
Instagram Shopping: Using Instagram to Drive Real Sales
As a business, understandably, your main focus is on driving actual sales through your social media presence, otherwise what’s the point in even trying? To really start driving sales through Instagram, you need to build an engaged community of followers, rather than just trying to collect as many followers as possible.
Instagram is where you can build trust with your followers through user generated content and honest and open discussion about your business. With Instagram being the primary platform used by most people in the UK, if you do it right, you have a real opportunity to build engagement and drive sales, but if you don’t feel confident going it alone, you might just need an expert marketing team on your side.
Start Using Instagram to Your Advantage With Blaze
With this guide in mind, you should now hopefully be rushing to set up an account if you haven’t already. A social media presence can truly be a game-changer for businesses, and we’ve helped clients find success by improving their Instagram presence.
Want to make the most of Instagram, but worried you aren’t ready to take the lead with your account? Don’t worry, we have your back.
Get in touch today to find out how Blaze can help you make the most of Instagram and drive sales.
