George Beall — February 1, 2017 Follow @GeorgePBeall
Although Instagram is relatively new, being founded in 2010, it is the single top-performing social media platform when it comes to user engagement.
Instagram is a stylistic and culturally relevant medium for introducing the face of your business to the world. Instagram is the perfect platform for carefully curating an impressive brand identity that showcases the best attributes, values, and key features of whatever it is you want people to know about your business.
Envision that, and envision communicating it all on one single, streamlined landing page. Your entire Instagram is an ad. A picture really is worth a thousand words.
Take Advantage of User Engagement.
Brands do incredibly well on Instagram. Engagement is 10% higher than on Facebook, 54x higher than on Pinterest, and 84 times higher than on Twitter.
Instagram is the fastest-growing user platform, and it is indispensable to young people. Over half of American teens and young adults rely on Instagram, with an even higher percentage among higher-income youth. These Americans are intensive users of mobile devices, making a mobile-based app like Instagram utterly central to the integrative real-life social media experience of tomorrow.
According to a study by social analytics company Simply Measured, 71 percent of the world’s most successful brands use Instagram as a marketing channel to maintain brand identity and the personality of their company image.
While Instagram is relatively new from a marketing standpoint, its accessibility and tight integration with Facebook make it an ideal complement to easy mobile engagement.
Tell Your Brand Story.
Instagram is a storytelling platform- the top performing one in the world, at that. The Instagram experience is all about image. It doesn’t matter what your business is for, you can promote it with an Instagram account.
According to social media marketer Deep Patel, think more about telling your brand story than about cataloguing day-to-day facts about your business. Think of what values, feelings, images, and ideas your business represents, and create content that tells that story and communicates that message. Use your Instagram to communicate the character and culture of your company.
When developing your Instagram content strategy, consider Instagram accounts of other businesses that have similar goals and aesthetics to yours. Make note of the visual themes, filters, photography style, and general atmospheric tone of these accounts, and be consistent in maintaining those themes to tell your story.
You don’t have to be a lifestyle brand to post lifestyle content.
Build your Instagram Brand.
Decide what brand story you want to tell, and create a strategy. What is the overall personality of your account going to be? What image do you want to visually portray?
Focus on unique qualities of your brand you can portray on Instagram by honing in on content that doesn’t just follow industry trends, but also has the personality and character of the strengths that make your business stand out.
Take the time to fill out your profile information thoroughly, professionally, and articulately. Instagram is easy to use, and remember it is primarily being used on cell phones. Make sure it’s visually pleasing and mobile-friendly, as most users will be engaging via the app.
Speaking of, also take the time to use captions. When you post photos, a tasteful caption can add humor and personality in a way no filter can. Take the time to take advantage of that valuable real estate, and produce thorough, well-developed creative posts.
Use Branded Hashtags and Geotagging.
Branded hashtags are more than just the name of your business with a hashtag in front. Brainstorm hashtags that do not have your business specifically mentioned, but that promote themes elemental to your image or core company ideals.
Especially remember hashtags that other people are likely to engage with, copy, and share- the power of trendsetting can gain tens of thousands of social media engagements, even without mentioning your brand directly. Building prestige and social media credibility are just as foreseeably important.
Instagram also allows you to tag a location to your photos, and it then creates location-based maps of your posts. If you have a physical business location, tagging your business location can make you easier to find to prospective customers.
If you are promoting your brand abroad, checking in different places and being active in real-life locations, such as other businesses or local landmarks that are relatable to your business demographic.
Share User-Generated Content.
Many companies share content created by the demographics they follow- with credit given, of course. For example, the Sharpie company regularly posts images of customers doing creative things with their product.
Sharing UGC adds a dimension of personality and relatability to a brand that helps users relate.Regularly sharing UGC and lifestyle content makes obvious promotions feel less obtrusive and salesy,which lends favorability to your brand’s persona.
Instagram is a streamlined, attractive platform that’s essential to digital relevancy for a business. It’s easy to maintain and tells a clear story about who you are as a company and what you stand for. When it comes to brand loyalty and developing trust, the importance of that image goes a very long way.
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