Crafting your business’s feed to stand out in an ocean of over 1 million brands and advertisers on Instagram is a challenge. Those who take on that challenge can find the level of social media exposure undeniably valuable and unprecedented.
You’ve invested time and money creating a brand identity that aligns with your business’s values, goals and target customers. It should be delivered and reflected across all channels including print, digital, and social media.
So, how do you establish a cohesive and eye-catching Instagram feed?
Know Who You Are.
Draw from your brand identity guidelines to find your business’s personality, social media voice and values. Your brand should be uniformly represented across all mediums. You should create a look, feel and tone, which is unique and recognizably your company. Are you humorous and fun? Serious and sophisticated? Pick a style that aligns with your guidelines and stick to it, conflicting messages weaken your proposition and devalues who you are.
Loki client Tortoise & Blonde uses a mix of lifestyle, curated, product shots, and user-generated content.
Commit to Colour Consistency.
Think about what you would expect to see from a family-focused Mexican restaurant chain compared to an uber-cool New York sunglasses brand. Should your photography be bright and clean, or dark and moody? When creating content for your social media you should choose a colour palette and adhere to it. This colour palette can represent your overall brand colour palette, or change to represent seasonal campaigns. To truly commit to your Instagram aesthetic pick a filter or edit, that is used across all of your posts. For example, an outdoor equipment brand may want to stick to greens, greys and blues with gritty textures, inspired by the environments which their products will be used.
Know Your Audience.
Who are your customers? Use your customer and market research data to create user personas. These personas allow you to visualize the customers you will be communicating with your social media channels. With your Instagram feed, you will attract both current and future customers, so your content needs to take both of those audiences into consideration. To create engaging content you need to consider your customers and what they love about your brand and products, you also need to think about other brands they like, both in your sector and otherwise. Keep in eye on what your competitors are doing right and avoid what they are doing wrong. All of these elements should be brought together and reflected in your content plans.
@glossier know who their audience is and what they want to see on their social media feeds.
Know How to Use It.
Instagram is a place to stand out by showing off your product or service. A place to tell the story of what you’re product or service does and how it does it! Look at creating content of your product in it’s natural environment or in a “lifestyle” situation. This is not only engaging to your audience, but inspires them how they use and enjoy your product or business. Curating user-generated content to share on your feed can be increasingly engaging for your customers. It helps your feed to become an interesting and enticing place. You’ll also get the added benefit of authenticity, as your customers become your brand ambassadors.
Know If It’s A Good Fit.
Long gone are the days when Instagram was an instant medium. You need to consider every post as to how it will look within the Instagram grid for a visually attractive feed. You should have a varied feed alternating between product shots, “vibe” or inspirational images, company culture, or user-generated content dependent on your content strategy. Try not to have two of the same kind of content next to each other. Another way of planning out your feed is by using a scheduler. Programs like Vancouver-based Later or UNUM allow you to visualize the grid before posting. Planning out your feed in advance means you can evaluate post type, complementary tones, or busy/minimalist images next to each other. Therefore, you’re no longer running the risk of posting only to delete it an hour later when you realize it ruins the look of your social media feed.
Good luck with amping up your Instagram game! If you need help with social media strategy, content creation, or social media management – Let’s have a coffee.