5 Instagram tricks to boost your brand

With half a billion users active on the app every day, Instagram is a powerful social platform to showcase your brand. Are you getting the most out of it for your brand? Here I share a few of the things we have learnt at theright.fit

Humans are highly visual so it's no wonder image-centric social media platforms such as Instagram continue to grow in popularity, with brands that use it well rewarded with large followings and an engaged audience. The stakes are high, however. With so much great content competing for users' attention, there is no place for blurry, unappealing photos.

To make sure you're producing high quality content that is attractive and engaging, content that resonates with your audience, you need a plan for your Instagram profile. Here's how to find out what content to post and what style and tone to use.

1. Face your audience

To boost your Instagram profile, you need to know what content your audience wants. For example, a fitness influencer could have a variety of content including demonstrating workout techniques, posting delicious food and accompanying recipes, and showing ways to improve mental health. Try a few things and see what engages your audience and attracts the most positive comments.

If the results of your initial experiments are inconclusive and you’re not sure what your audience wants to see, then simply ask. Use Instagram Stories and listen to feedback to keep engagement high. When you use someone's suggestion, tag them to say thank you to give them a sense of ownership of your brand.

2. Authenticity counts

There are more than 800 million active accounts on Instagram so before you start posting content you need to find your voice. Authenticity stands out; mirroring another Instagrammer – however popular – won’t benefit you in the long term. By its very nature, authenticity can't be faked, and people have a pretty good radar to detect if someone is being authentic or not.

Authenticity is not about treating Instagram as a confessional, it's about developing your values into a narrative. This is important if you want to establish an influencer career or use the platform for a brand. Which brings us to...

3. Tell, don’t sell

People don't use Instagram to be marketed to, so give them content they will enjoy and/or find useful. A story can be conveyed by the photo alone or with the photo and accompanying caption. Your copy can delve further into why the photo was taken: were you out to brunch? Trying a new product? Exploring the city? No matter what it is, give your followers more than a pretty picture; create a story that keeps them engaged. Be inspired by and learn from the Instagram experts to see how they engage their audiences.

4. Optimise your content

For Instagram to work for your brand, make time to perfect the content and align it with your profile. Your images should be the best possible quality using the skills and equipment you have.

Flat lay photos, for example, are a staple of many in the fashion and beauty industry but can also be used to show everything from ingredients for cooking to the contents of a travel influencer's suitcase. Learning how to curate and arrange items for a flat lay photo, and taking care to choose an appropriate backdrop with good lighting, will show that you’ve taken time to create picture-perfect content.

There are very few great photos that get posted to Instagram without first going through another app to enhance it. Although Instagram’s own editing tools have definitely become better, there are a range of useful apps with extra features that span from flat lay planning to image editing tools. I personally rely on Adobe Lightroom, VSCO and Snapseed for their easy-to-use, expert photo editing tools, including pre-set filters so your images have a consistent aesthetic. Find out what's available and don't be afraid to use them to help set the tone for your Instagram profile.

5. Commit

All social media, but Instagram in particular, takes commitment to do well. Unless you’re a celebrity, you can’t get away with posting a blurry photo with no context – save those for Snapchat. You need to understand that taking the perfect photo for Instagram can mean 100 imperfect photos. You'll be investing the time, energy and planning into what is essentially a mini photo shoot for each post.

Committing to Instagram also means keeping abreast of changes to the platform as well as monitoring the elements that could increase engagement, from trending hashtags to adding a location and tagging other users where relevant.

Don't be afraid of the work it needs: Instagram is a very rewarding platform for brands. It's a great place to find and strengthen your aesthetic and voice, and when it's done right you definitely feel the love from your audience.

If you want to know more about finding the best talent and creating compelling content for your next brand campaign please email me at [email protected]