Tips and and tools to help you grow your brand online.
5 Tips to Make Your Brand Stand Out on Instagram
The start of the new year means that we all have resolutions, goals, and intentions to reach. Many of us in the social media world tend to create these goals on a monthly basis, trying to hit specific follower counts and links on our platforms. One goal on everyone’s list this year seems to be how to finally understand Instagram and make it work for them! With over 400 million active users daily Instagram has become the #1 social media platform for brands and businesses to connect with clients. Engagement with brands on Instagram is 10 times higher than Facebook, 54 times higher than Pinterest, and 84 times higher than Twitter.
When brands approach us for a social media consult, overwhelmed with having to juggle Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Youtube, Snapchat and their day-to-day operations, we stop them mid-sentence. You do NOT have to do it all! Whether you decide to hire Shored Up Digital to manage it all for you or are determined to learn how to do it yourself with our one-on-one consults, the first thing we always tell clients is this: pick ONE platform and excel at it before adding the other accounts. And of course, the one platform we recommend starting with is Instagram. Below, we’re sharing our top five tips to make your brand stand out on Instagram this year!
Tip #1: Switch over to a business account - now.
If you are on Instagram to promote your business or brand, the first thing you need to do is switch over from having a personal account to a business account. This will only work if you have a business Facebook page, as it needs to confirm you are an actual business. If you’ve got it, switch over–you can easily search how to do this on Google. Once you have switched over, Instagram now gives you more control and insights on your posts. You’ll be able to see how many people your posts reach, what your demographic is and where your followers are located, along with other crucial information you’ll need for future social media marketing.
Tip #2: Content quality over quantity.
No, you don’t have to post to Instagram ten times a day. Yes, you should try to post at least ONCE a day, but make sure the content you are posting is compelling and delivers some sort of value every time. Yes, daily posting might seem overwhelming to some, but a consistent presence on the platform will ultimately deliver more likes and followers to your account.
Tip #3: Good photos matter.
Please don’t post a blurry photo, even if it’s all you have. The photos you post directly reflect your brand and business, so if they are sloppy, unedited photos–what does that say about you? Almost everyone has a smartphone these days and the cameras are great , don’t blame not having a professional camera for not posting! Just remember: natural light is your friend. Snap photos during the daytime if possible–even if you have to bring your product outdoors!
Tip #4: Research hashtags in your niche - and use them!
Hashtags are the way Instagram users search for content they want to see. So much so, you can now follow hashtags in the same way that you can follow users. Posting a great photo isn’t enough, marketing it to the world is the next step and hashtags will get you there. Do some research online on to determine what the most popular hashtags in your industry are and create a note with all of them, that way you can simply copy and paste them every time you post! For example the most popular hashtags in marketing are: #social #branding #socialmedia #success #sales #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #marketing #branding #tech #business #contestalert #sweepstakes #giveaway #discount #travel #deal and #smallbiz.
Tip #5: Engage, Engage, Engage!
Now that you’ve learned all these tips for posting, it’s time to embrace your community and engage! You can engage by liking others posts or even better, commenting a thoughtful comment on it! Users that engage by commenting on accounts gain followers faster. It’s a reflection of human nature–we love when people pay attention to us and say nice things!
Let us know in the comments below what your biggest social media struggle is–we’d love to set up a complimentary discovery call with you. Want to drop us an email instead? Reach out to shoredupdigital@gmail.com and we’ll get back to you soon!
