It's no secret, these days you need a good social media following as part of your marketing plan. Instagram is the perfect platform to showcase your work and visually draw customers to you and your brand.
Everyone tells you what you should do on Instagram to grow your following, but not what you shouldn't do. Sometimes people are turned away from your page because you're doing something wrong, but how do you know what that is? Through lots of trial and error and research I was able to grow my following, and if you want to do the same, avoid these design mistakes:
1. Not Enough White Space
Use your page to showcase engaging, and high-quality content. To do this, you need a consistent design for your page. Many times people will overload their page with a lot of noise, just to fill in the space. More white space or empty space brings luxury and elegance to any design. Non-designers always feel the need to fill the space, but by allowing your designs to breathe you create legible and high-quality content.
2. Overly Complicated Designs
Instead of reading, we like to skim, especially on social media. Can you imagine reading and interacting with every single post on your feed? Not a chance. We skim and thumb-scroll until we find something that intrigues us and catches our eye. If a design is overly complicated and can’t be understood in seconds (yes, seconds) there is a very good chance that the viewer will skip your post.
3. Not Using a Color Palette
Have you ever come across a page with a color scheme/theme? Not only is it visually pleasing, but it will 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.
There is something soothing when you see someone's feed and you instantly connect with the colors and vibe. It makes you want to watch for the new content, and that's what you want to do to gain followers!
4. Poor Photography
Instagram is all about photography and photography is part of your brand as well. These days, a high-standard of photography is the norm. Grainy, monotone photos will make people think you still have a flip phone from 2007. Plus, there's so many free editing platforms out there for your photos. Or hire your local photographer, they could definitely use the business! There's no excuse not to have great photography on your business page.
Your photos should look consistent and within your color palette. Consider using presets or filters for consistent editing. Sticking with the same filter scheme or graphics theme creates that visually appealing aesthetic all Instagram influencers have mastered.
The last three tips on my list are strategy. It's important to have a clear path and goal for your Instagram page and here's how to start:
5. Have a Well, Thought-Out Instagram Strategy
The beautiful thing about Instagram is that influencers make it look easy. In reality, social networking needs a clear plan to work effectively. Having thousands of followers isn't the end game, it's only the beginning. Ultimately, you'll want to make connections and collaborations as part of your marketing objective.
You'll need to plan out your strategy to increase your brand's awareness, boost sales, and drive traffic to your website. Stay focused on these goals and it will help keep your brand consistent. On top of that, interacting and posting daily are a MUST for quick growth and remaining relevant in the social media world. The more you remind people you exist, the more you'll be noticed!
6. Define Your Target Audience
Who are you trying to reach? Every business is different and before you can create a market strategy to reach those people, you need to know who it is you're targeting.
Ask yourself these questions:
What's their demographic?
How old are they?
What do they do for work?
What hobbies are they involved in?
Where do they live?
When you answer these questions, you'll be able to pin point where to find your audience members to connect with. They're more likely to follow you if you're tailored to their liking as well. Think long term as well, you will want grow with your audience.
7. Create a Consistent Brand Story and Aesthetic
I've said it before, but I cannot stress the importance of this tip! No matter what you want to achieve with your Instagram, it's important to be consistent and maintain your brand personality and look. When people are thumb-scrolling through their feed, you'll be easily recognizable at a glance. When you want to share something that doesn't quite fit your brand's "look" in the main feed, share it in your story or highlights! But, your products may all look different--that's when you use the color palette, scheme, and filters to keep consistency.
These tips have helped me build my following and business! I hope it helps yours :)
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