The creation of a platform like Instagram has revolutionized the way individuals share their life experiences, talents and even businesses. It is proving the fact that visual marketing in the form of teasers, sneak peaks and previews of the sort have a the power to appeal to the audience irrespective of their age and interests.
Now you may be wondering, yes, let’s create and account on Instagram and get started. That’s one marketing task ticked off the list. It doesn’t end there. Your brand value also increases based on the number of followers you have. It’s a walk in the park for all those individuals or brands to achieve their target followers within a fixed timeline. But for a normal person like us, some effort is required in order to attract followers to our accounts.
Here we have Sprout Social to help you get started. The following tips will help your brand up its visual storytelling game and build a larger and more engaged community on Instagram.
1. Define Your Objectives
Before an account is created, your team needs to ask itself: Why is our brand on Instagram? Once this question is answered, a set of defined objectives based on your existing social media strategy and overarching marketing goals should be set.
In order to rapidly grow your Instagram followers you need to start by asking the following questions:
- Will your account support awareness by showcasing your product or service?
- Which benchmarks and Instagram analytics will be used to measure and quantify success?
- Will your Instagram serve to extend the branded lifestyle that’s already been communicated on your other social channels?
There is no one-size-fits all approach to success. It’s easy to want to dismiss setting KPI’s and goals, but it’s a critical component in conveying a relatable brand story. By starting with a clearly defined objective, you’ll be able to effectively create well-crafted content that will help set the voice and visual persona for your brand.
2. Curate Your Feed
Brands that are thriving on Instagram have a well thought out publishing cadence. Mosts posts on a branded product feed will feature a product in some way, whether that’s as the main subject of a post or more of an accessory in the background.
Effective photography for Instagram is just great photography. Pelican Products is a great example of a brand that uses high caliber photography and prefers its products are predominantly highlighted. Each photo is well shot and visually interesting. The photography embraces the brand’s core values and is positioned to target its audience of outdoor and sporting enthusiasts as well as their military demographic.
The use of logos or iconography can drive just as much awareness and engagement as photography can. If graphical elements align with your business identity and help drive positive association and brand recognition then, by all means, use them. The Honest Company is an example of a brand that highlights its personality through a combination of illustrations, positive quotes, product shots and adorable babies.
The brand has excelled at positioning itself as a lifestyle brand and that aesthetic shines through their entire Instagram feed.
3. Regram
Hiring a professional photographer to shoot every new product launch is not a requirement to grow followers and build a successful brand presence on Instagram. One of the most authentic, compelling and affordable brand assets available today is user-generated content (UGC). Reposting and sharing fan photos creates excitement within your Instagram community, helps build brand loyalists and increases engagement.
Consumers love to be recognized and there’s no easier way to thank your advocates than by highlighting their creativity and sharing their positive sentiments for your product. In fact, 85% of consumers say they find user generated content more influential than brand photos and videos. Another bonus of UGC is that it’s one less piece of content your social team has to budget its time and resources to create.
4. Customize Your Toolbox
There are hundreds of applications and services available to help social marketers create the perfect Instagram content.
For a fee, photography services like Flashstock will set up professional photo shoots on location and in studio to capture personalized, branded photography. If a professional photo shoot falls outside of your budget and it’s impossible to capture your images internally, stock photography sites can prove helpful.
iStock by Getty Images houses millions of royalty-free photos, videos and illustrations that can be edited to fit brand standards and shared on social media. While stock photography usage may be the ultimate social media “fake it until you make it” play, you don’t want the photography to feel irrelevant to the audience. If stock photography is the avenue you choose, select images that aren’t overly posed or obviously staged.
Once you have your photography and graphics solidified, don’t be afraid to edit your images and videos with filters and other creative tools like Hyperlapse, Layout and Boomerang–all of which are available asInstagram apps for businesses. These apps give images the signature Instagram look and feel that consumers respond to and don’t require an exhaustive amount of internal effort.
5. Don’t Forget About Hashtags
While the Instagram community thrives on visual stories, your captions shouldn’t be forgotten.
