Instagram is looking to grab a share of the business market, introducing three new tools for its 200,000 advertisers.

Looking to help small businesses utilise the user base of Instagram, the business toolkit includes business profiles, analytics and the ability to promote posts in the UK.

The free ‘Business Profiles’ tool will allow companies to showcase who they are and what they do on Instagram, with a ‘connect’ button allowing users to get in touch by phone, email or text.

The second tool launched by the Facebook-owned social platform is ‘Insights’, which offers businesses actionable insights about who their followers are and which posts get the best results. Businesses will be able to learn about the behaviour and demographics of users interested in their business, which will enable businesses to create more relevant and timely content.

The last tool introduced by Instagram is dubbed ‘Promote’ and lets businesses turn well-performing posts into adds from within the Instagram app. Businesses need only pick a post already shared on the social platform and add a button encouraging people to click. Companies can specify a target audience and decide for long the promotion is to last.

Announcing the tools in a blog post, Instagram said: "With so many companies using Instagram, and many people on the platform interacting with them, there was a desire from our business community to do more. So we listened. And, after hundreds of interviews with businesses, three key needs became clear—stand out, get insights and find new customers.

"These business tools are just some of the ways we hope to make growing a business on Instagram that much easier.”

Welcoming the fact that Instagram are tailoring features to its business user base, Rakhee Jogia, Regional Director of Rakuten Display Europe at Rakuten Marketing Europe, said:

"Brands are increasingly using Instagram’s biggest influencers to front marketing campaigns and promote products or exclusive content, but they need to use data to understand what is best resonating with their audience in order to continually improve campaigns. The tools will allow brands to go beyond assumptions about Instagram’s audience and use insights to create more targeted and intelligent experiences on the social platform."

The new business tools will launch in the US, Australia and New Zealand in the coming months, with a global rollout expected by the end of the year.