Ashton Newell — May 12, 2020 Over 1 billion.
That’s how many users are on Instagram.
According to a Facebook survey, 87% of those surveyed said they took action after seeing product information on Instagram, such as following a brand, visiting their website, or making a purchase online.
An estimated 71% of businesses use Instagram in the U.S. (Mention, 2018).
From what we’ve seen, Instagram can be one of the most powerful marketing tools to build a genuine relationship with your potential customers.
So, how is your brand going to stand out and add value to your audience?
It’s time to create better Instagram content for your company.
Know why you’re posting.
Frequently, it’s easy to toss up whatever picture you have of your team together, a pretty coffee mug in the office, or some stock imagery with a caption leading the viewer toward the “link in your bio” to read your latest blog article.
However, if your audience is SaaS marketers (for example), why post those images, and what are they doing for your brand? What is your main goal?
Would your time be better spent doing something else?
It’s critical to break up the strategic posts you share into three different categories.
1. The team culture posts.
Creating posts that build relationships with your audience and highlight who your team is as a group of humans.
Above, you can see a screenshot of one of our posts (1 slide of 2) that was built to highlight each human on the Directive team and how we’ll get through the challenging COVID-19 season together, even though we can’t all be in the same building.
Why does this work?
The goal was to show our audience we are real people, we’re still working hard, and we’re keeping our values during a challenging time. We are indeed all in this together.
2. The content promotion posts.
These posts promote data-driven content in a new, aesthetically-pleasing way.
As you can see, this post has multiple slides that break down content without your audience having to click a “link in bio” to learn something new. They can scroll in the platform and view new insights in a creative way.
Why does this work?
- Your content is shown in an easy-to-digest format that is interesting and different. It has the power to hold your audience’s attention.
- The final slide encourages engagement through an interesting call-to-action without being “salesy”.
3. The “meeting needs” posts.
To inspire potential customers who may want to work with you, show them why you’re worth their time. Help them solve a problem!
This post shows the audience (sales and marketing teams) that Hubspot is continuously tracking new data and showing how their brand is “trustworthy”. Their caption shows how they’re producing research in the future for this audience down the road. The grind doesn’t stop.
Why does this work?
As an “all-in-one platform that includes marketing, sales, and service software that helps businesses grow”, this seems like spot-on content that their team should share to build trust.
No coffee cup photos needed.
Since Instagram users are used to quality imagery and quick information bites, this post type is powerful because it meets the audience’s needs with data right away, showing that they’re reliable.
Remember:
“Social media is not a media. The key is to listen, engage, and build relationships.”
— David Alston, author
Use meaningful design.
Instagram is a robust tool to show off beautiful design. If your company’s page looks like every other competitor’s page, you’re not showing your uniqueness and ability to meet your audience in the best way possible. You’ll simply get lost in an oversaturated space!
So, how do you get there? How do you create images that people want to interact with?
1. Invest in your design.
If you’re able to, hire or work with a designer on your team who has experience with Instagram.
From there, utilize Asana to stay organized. Assign tasks that include the inspiration you have for the creative, who the audience is, any specific colors you’d like to use, and the unique copy for the design.
If you have more than one slide, let the designer know. If you want to test a new design (like a GIF), explain precisely what you’re thinking and WHY that will meet your audience.
Next, finalize a due date that works best for both parties, so you have time to edit the design and leave revisions.
2. Follow brands of various industries.
As marketers, we like to see what our competitors are doing. However, often in specific industries, every brand’s content starts to look the same.
So, how can you level up your creativity to encourage engagement?
Hop out of your comfort zone. Explore what other industries are creating to speak to their followers. **Remember to use ideas as inspiration, never to copy exactly.
For example:
Nike
What works:
Nike uses humans in most of their posts. Why? To connect their product to real people.
Additionally, they focus on incredible imagery and compelling copywriting.
This post speaks to humans and tells them what steps Simone Biles took to become great, and how regular people can be great, in their own way, too.
While your team may not have Simone Biles as a spokesperson, how can you inspire your audience to be the best version of themselves?
Nike’s work makes you feel something. Are your posts making your audience feel connected to your brand?
To make this style come to life:
- Invest in a quality camera, video camera, and photo/editing tools.
- Do you have imagery of real people from your team that capture raw emotion? If not, plan to take some or have team members send their own quality photos. You’d be surprised how many people want to get involved!
- Check your copy. Do you need to focus more on how you can help your audience succeed?
Recess
What works:
Recess has a quirky aesthetic that focuses on their product of sparkling water. They add to these fun images playful copy that makes their audience laugh and feel calm, cool, and collected.
Those feelings are also how they want their customers to feel when they drink Recess.
This brand’s use of real photos inside of their graphics and playful colors make you want to keep scrolling and see what else they have up their sleeve.
To make this style come to life:
- Make sure you have a graphic designer on board or have an account with Canva to create your own work. Canva even has templates that can get you started!
- Check…is your copy too serious? Maybe your audience wants you to break down the walls and show your realness! They might not want to follow a robot on Instagram.
Your brand depends on you.
At the end of the day, Instagram company pages are a look into your brand and who your company is. It might be the first place that potential customers or new employees look when they want to learn more about who you are, what you represent, and what you offer.
You have a unique opportunity to be real, share quality content, and meet your audience’s needs all from this platform.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said it best:
“If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand.”
Is your brand built for your audience to stay loyal to you?
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