Instagram has built a reputation for itself in the internet marketing space as the third most popular social network after Facebook and YouTube. More than one billion individuals use Instagram at least once a month, with half of them using it on a daily basis.
That’s a huge user base with a lot of potential for your brand to spread. But how can you best optimize your brand on Instagram? Read on for a few simple Instagram branding tips.
First, Know Thyself
To improve your brand on Instagram, you must first understand what it is. This entails having a set of values that your brand stands for, as well as precise ideas about what your brand’s style and mood are and where you want it to go in the future.
Prepare a list of key words that you would or would not associate with your business before developing your web marketing plan. These can be descriptive terms like “sleek” or “rustic,” as well as more abstract ideas like “family” or “disruption.” If you have a large firm, this might be a terrific activity for everyone to participate in to get everyone on the same page and achieve a goal.
You’ll have a better sense of what your brand is once you’ve compiled a list of related words. You’ll be well prepared to carry your branding on Instagram if you combine it with a plan for what you want your brand to become and grow into.
Invest in Good Design
Good design, particularly in the visual medium, may make a big difference. Because Instagram is such an image-centric network (as opposed to Twitter, which is text-based), well-designed visuals may help your company stand out.
According to Fast Company, design in the twenty-first century has become an investment rather than a cost.
Designers can help you streamline your work and make a huge difference in the increasingly competitive online e-commerce world by doing more than just making things look attractive.
It would be worthwhile to invest in a professional graphic designer or two to curate content, create templates, and a portfolio for your product and service ads, as well as your overall Instagram presence. A professional image and eye-catching visuals will help you stand out among the plethora of online competition.
Stay Consistent
In every marketing campaign, having consistent design is just as vital as having good design. A consistent throughline can help users remember you, especially on Instagram, where users swipe past thousands of photos each week.
Try using a visual indication that appears in all of your posts and advertisements. This could be something as basic as a different color scheme, a logo in the corner, or a similar structure or template for related topics.
Instagram users will begin to link that visual signal with your business over time, without even needing to remember your brand name. They will begin to look for your branding and will respond more intensely to it if you provide good content (which is the foundation of any excellent Instagram presence).
Your tone is another area where consistency is critical. Take Wendy’s, for example, whose caustic Twitter persona has become inexorably linked to its brand. Your tone should be consistent across all platforms and websites in your social media branding. This applies to private messages as well as customer service responses.
By maintaining consistent visual and vocal branding, your business will become more known and trustworthy to customers, who will perceive your Instagram presence as pleasant rather than as a sales pitch. When you combine that with frequent posting throughout the week, you’ll be one step closer to achieving your ideal Instagram brand presence.
Engage With Your Audience
Focusing more on interacting your audience is another simple, entertaining, and crucial strategy to boost your brand on Instagram.
No one enjoys being repeatedly lectured. Social media engagements, like good discussions, should include a back-and-forth, an exchange of ideas. But, as a brand on Instagram, how can you prevent sounding like you’re talking down to your followers?
The greatest option is to urge your followers to interact with you and respond to your posts. This can be as easy as polls in Instagram stories, sliders, or asking a question in the descriptions of your posts. Instagram users enjoy having their voices heard, and merely replying to a poll might make them feel more involved. Furthermore, as a brand, you gain a better understanding of who is reading and responding to your material.
Encourage users to post something about you on their stories, or hold contests that require users to connect to your page in some way. This not only increases the satisfaction of your followers, but it also extends your brand to their followers.
Partner With People
Finally, forming direct or indirect connections with accounts on the site is one of the most successful strategies to sell your company on Instagram. Collaboration with other brands, as well as collaborating with influencers and brand ambassadors, are examples of this.
Collaboration with other businesses can help you increase your reach and benefit both parties. Consider allowing another connected brand to take over your Instagram account for a day or week. This draws their audience to your page and your audience to theirs, while also delivering new and engaging material.
Working with brand ambassadors or influencers may be quite effective, as these people frequently have large followings, and your connections will be more organic and genuine than simply posting an ad in the feed. Brand ambassadors are far more cost-effective than traditional marketing approaches and may often be employed through job boards or even event staffing firms online.
In Summary
When it comes to optimizing your brand on Instagram, many common marketing ideas apply. The importance of planning, vision, and implementation cannot be overstated.
By becoming thoroughly acquainted with your brand’s image and future direction, you will not only make Instagram branding easier, but you will also have something to draw on throughout your business journey.
Make sure that your vision is reflected in every aspect of your social media presence.
To avoid the effort and confusion of redesigning later, invest in strong graphic design early. In the fast-paced world of Instagram, a solid design approach will bring users to your business and make it a recognized face.
Maintain consistency in both your postings and your text communication once your visual design plan is in place.
Participate your audience, and allow them to engage with you as well. You will develop deeper ties with your followers and they will be more motivated to stay connected with you if you use polls, sliders, and calls to action.
Finally, think about forming alliances with other brands, influencers, and brand ambassadors.
Your brand can tap into Instagram’s billion-plus users and make the most of their time and money by efficiently integrating yourself into the platform.
