Instagram is an effective tool to organically grow your business. Here’s a checklist to help you get started on the right track.
Determine post objective
What is the goal of your feed? Are you intending to share tips for others in your trade, or teach potential clients and customers about your services or products? Sometimes the point of a feed is simply to help convey who you are as a company. By narrowing in on your objective, you are a step closer to creating a dynamic social media feed.
Pinpoint audience
Who is your feed targeted towards? This question goes hand in hand with determining your objective, and the answers will direct your content. The language you use to talk to consumers will be different from the content and verbiage that you use to talk to other industry professionals. Pick one voice, and stick to it!
Stay on brand
Use the fundamentals of your brand to create a presence on social media that is obviously connected to your company. By utilizing elements of your brand like color, font, and other consistent visual elements, you will create trust and easy identification of your post by your followers.
Quality over quantity
It is better to have fewer photos that are beautiful and fit within themes and objectives than to have many random images. Invest in a photographer who can showcase your business in a professional way, and you will be able to use the photos for months on social media.
Don’t overcrowd followers’ feeds
Understandably, you are excited about what you do and want to share that with the world! What you don’t want to do is share it so much that your post becomes a nuisance on someone’s feed. A good guideline to follow is to post at least once a week, but no more than 3 times a day (unless there is a special event). The sweet spot might vary depending on your audience, but in general posting about once a day is best.
Post at optimal times for identified audience
There are many resources that discuss optimal times for posting on social media, depending on who your intended audience is. Schedule your posts based on those guidelines to increase your chances of reaching your target group.
Create a cohesive voice
By building and following a structure for your feed, it will feel like a part of a whole for your followers. For example, if every sixth post is a quote, or you cycle through four types of posts (for example: quotes, up close shots, events, lifestyle), your feed will begin to appear as a whole.
Follow the rules
Be mindful of copyright laws and make sure that you own all of the content that you are posting. Sharing someone’s post is a great way to spread the love, but taking their post and posting it as your own is against copyright laws. This article contains some great ideas about finding amazing copyright free images.
For other ideas to grow your instagram check out these examples. The DesignInk Digital team is ready to review your Instagram account to increase your performance.
