In many ways, Instagram can be your ticket to a successful business. It's where you can showcase your work in a place millions of people are looking and where you interact with customers and clients. But first, here are a few tips to make you more confident in your social media prowess:
1. Killer Bio
You have 150 characters to inspire your community —Think of it as a business pitch and make it more about them and less about you. This is your chance to speak directly to your ideal client and to show some personality to make your brand stand out from competitors.
My best tip, go beyond generic phrases and find 2 brand qualities that resonate with your ideal client. For me, it's passion and attention to detail. Make sure these are true to your brand values or you will come off as unauthentic.
2. Change Your Name
The name field is completely different from your username and is a great SEO feature.
By using targeted keywords it's a solid strategy for new followers to find you. Take my profile as an example; by having Graphic Designer in the name field of my profile, it can show up in the results of people who search 'graphic designer' in the search field.
3. Add a Call to Action
You need a call to action for the link in your bio.
Sometimes we need a little push for what to do next. This is where a call to action can make a visitor more likely to press on the link in your bio.
You want to make sure your visitors know what’s in it for them if they click your link.
4. Share Quality Content
On Instagram, looks matter. I mean, that's the whole point of the app!
Instagram is a social network based entirely on visual content unlike Twitter or Facebook.
This is your first chance to make a lasting impression on any followers and would-be followers. So, your Instagram aesthetic should strongly represent your overall brand.
Have you ever come across a page with a color theme/scheme? It's soooo visually pleasing, but it will also draw in followers and lead your business to success. It conveys your brand's personality and evokes emotion, which is what people like to follow on Instagram.
You don't have to be a photography whizz to manage a successful Instagram page!
Keep things simple and don't stray from the theme.
Use the same Instagram filter on all of your posts. The consistency goes a long way. Did you know, 60% of the top brands on Instagram use the same filter for every post?
So which filter should you choose?
Ultimately, it depends on your brand personality. According to research from Canva, there’s one Instagram filter that has won the hearts of 119 countries: Clarendon.
Canva also discovered correlations between popular filters and post type. Interestingly, selfies get the most Likes when shared with no filter! Bu this may not match your aesthetic--it's always best to stick true to your nature.
For inspiration, here are the best filters for different types of Instagram posts:
Nature filters: Valencia
Fashion filters: Kelvin
Food filters: Skyline
Selfie filters: Normal
But say you're a hundrend photos deep and you're only NOW learning about this, what do you do? It's easy: Archive them.
Instagram’s archive feature allows you to hide and unhide posts without losing the likes, comments, or analytics.
To do this, simply navigate to the image you want to remove from your profile and tap the three dots indicating the menu. Then, tap “Archive.”
All in all, make sure that whatever content you share on Instagram is high quality and in line with your brand aesthetic.
An effective Instagram profile can be far more valuable than a full-fledged website.
With a website, people must come to you, but Instagram lets you go to the people and interact directly. Keep in mind these few things:
Optimize the core components of your Instagram profile. These include your handle, profile picture, bio, and link as shown above.
Take advantage of new features, like Stories Highlights, Action Buttons, and Alternative Text. These features help in your SEO and people searching for pages like you!
Consistency is key. So make sure that you regularly post high-quality content inline with your brand aesthetic. We're all busy and posting ever day can be tedious. Check out apps like Later that posts for you!
Lastly, relationships are built through communication. Turn on your Instagram profile notifications and engage with your followers!
Happy posting!
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