The 5 Best Third-Party Apps for Running Your Business on Instagram

Whether starting your business from scratch on Instagram or bringing an existing business to the social media platform, having the right tools at hand will make the difference. But with so many tools and third-party apps available, it can be challenging to figure out which one has the right features to get you organized and seen.

Instagram provides many useful business tools with its Business account. Still, if you don’t include third-party apps in your social media business model, you could lose a lot of potential growth and sales. Check out these five third-party apps to help you run a more effective business on Instagram.

1. Iconosquare

Iconosquare’s goal is to help you make decisions based on the data so you aren’t guessing about the best time to post content. You can choose which metrics are most important to you and customize your dashboard to showcase the information you need. In addition, reports help you digest the raw data and create a course of action based on your numbers.

Many people use multiple social media platforms to engage with customers and followers. You might create sales on various platforms or use other social media accounts to increase brand awareness and loyalty and direct sales to a specific account or your website.

Iconosquare can help you track and manage all your social media accounts from a central location. Link up your business accounts or even manage multiple brands from your dashboard, and stay up-to-date on what people are saying across all your accounts.

Finally, Iconosquare offers post scheduling and even first comment scheduling. If you have a team working with you, submit your posts for approval so everyone can take a look before the content goes live. And you’ll always be on the same page with your team with Iconosquare’s ability to share the metrics with everyone who needs to see them.

2. Planoly

Planoly is another organizational tool that helps you manage multiple social media accounts. Focusing on the visual, Planoly is an official Instagram partner. While Instagram allows many third-party apps, there can sometimes be issues when a third-party app’s structure isn’t totally compatible with Instagram. If your goal is to tie your social media presence together as parts of your business’ Big Picture, then Planoly is the tool for you.

If keeping track of your business on social media is all muddled up with your personal social media and your offline life, then Planoly can help you get organized. This way, you can get a work/life balance that will grow your followers and engagement, too.

3. Blastup

Building your brand and business from scratch takes a lot of time and effort. On social media, it also takes engagement. When you’re first starting out, it can be challenging to get noticed even if you have awesome content, an amazing bio, all the right hashtags, and a product people want. There are so many other users and brands out there.

As you work to find your core group of followers and your niche, working with Blastup can help you get in front of more people. Blastup can help you get Instagram followers, likes, and views that boost your engagement metrics. And getting more engagement helps you with Instagram’s algorithms.

Blastup also offers a free trial, so you can see how the process works. Many people are skeptical at first. But as the likes roll in, you’ll be more likely to gain the exposure you need to get your brand in front of the right people on Instagram.

4. Canva

It’s hard to deny the attraction of professionally polished content. Posts that have a theme and look great get more engagement from followers, and those followers are also more likely to share. Canva is a fantastic tool that you can access to create beautiful, professional content. Whether you’re looking to clean up your creative designs or you’re creatively challenged and need inspiration, Canva has you covered.

You can use Canva alone or with a team. And if you have a team of people involved with your social media, giving everyone access to Canva can ensure that all your content fits in with your branding and style. Best of all, the app offers many features for free, so you can explore the possibilities and then upgrade to a paid account with confidence.

5. Flick

Flick made a name for itself as the top Instagram hashtag tool. Brands learn quickly that using the right hashtags can bring in followers from your niche and make your content more searchable. But the process isn’t as simple as throwing a handful of hashtags on each post. Flick guides you, so you’re adding the right hashtags. And with the platform’s analytics tools, you can refine your hashtag use so that you include a few powerful hashtags and not a block of generalized words.

Lately, Flick has expanded the features and tools you get. In addition to tailored hashtag help, the platform also provides a variety of analytics tools and resources, including templates. Businesses new to Instagram marketing and well-established teams leveraging social media can benefit from a more targeted approach to visibility and searchability. You can even view training videos designed to give you the tools and inspiration to create more attractive captions and content.

Reclaim Your Time and Work Smarter

When you’re running your business, it can feel like every moment goes into your work. It isn’t easy to step away, especially if you’re just getting started or if you’re a one-person show. But many third-party apps are available now that offer essential features that will help you grow your business more efficiently while also giving back some of your precious time. It’s critical to try out several third-party apps to find the ones that will fit your needs the best.

While Instagram does offer many helpful business tools within the app, you’ll find that, eventually, those tools may not provide as much as you need. Get more done on Instagram and get to your goals faster with third-party apps.