11 pro tips on Instagram branding strategy:
In many ways, Instagram seems made for branding: the network rewards stylish visuals, encourages interaction, and is suitable for a wide variety of industries, making it accessible to virtually any business. And above all, the public likes to use it. With over a billion users , you can be sure your Instagram branding campaigns start with a captive audience.
But what really sets Instagram apart, in terms of branding, is how responsive its users are to businesses. As long as your content works, Instagram users will be more than happy to follow you and support your business. Just look at Instagram’s internal stats :
- 90% of Instagram users follow a business account
- 2 out of 3 users agree that Instagram helps them talk to brands
- 50% of users become more interested in a brand if they see it in an ad on Instagram
If you’re new to Instagram branding, however, things might seem pretty complicated, at least at first. There are a few tricks to know, and the best choices aren’t always the most obvious. So to help you get noticed, here’s our Instagram branding guide with 11 pro tips on how to use Instagram in your marketing strategy.
But first, if you’re serious about branding on Instagram, you need to create a business account. Here are 11 pro tips on Instagram branding strategy:
1. Optimize your profile
Your profile is your starting point for branding on Instagram, and most people interested in your brand will come through it. The main parts are your username, your handle, your profile picture, but your link, your address and your bio are also crucial. When choosing your usernames and images, always prioritize clarity over puns. Your company logo makes a good default image, but feel free to change it up with special backgrounds for events like parties or holidays.
Using your logo as your profile picture reinforces the associations between your customers and your brand, which is why it’s more effective with a skillfully crafted logo.
You have only one outgoing link in your Instagram profile, so use it wisely. Your bio-description is great for introducing yourself, but the downside is that it’s only 150 characters long. You absolutely must include your primary and secondary hashtags.
2. Choose a theme that complements your branding goals
Instagram is a huge platform, so trying to please everyone is not a good idea. Instead, you want to find your audience and post content for them and just for them.
This strategy works best when you choose a theme and stick to it. For example, if you’re a fashion brand, your theme might be candid photos of people wearing clothes in everyday situations, or glamorous photos of accessories. What brands should try to avoid is mixing themes, for example, a fashion brand posting pictures of clothes and videos of cats. Stay in your domain.
Themes also apply to your visual style, including filters, color schemes, and photo compositions. If your audience likes black and white photos, offer them lots of black and white photos. You can use the analytics tools to see which themes and styles are getting the most likes and comments, then modify your strategy accordingly.
Remember to keep your branding on Instagram consistent with your other channels. Use the same color schemes and visual styles across all mediums to maximize good associations and avoid conflicting messages. On that note, include Instagram in all of your other marketing campaigns, like video ads or contests.
3. Set realistic performance indicators
It’s hard to measure success on social media, but it’s tempting to use likes and follows as a sort of “dashboard.” As with other business avenues, it’s best to set up Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure your performance and highlight problem areas.
For branding on Instagram, KPIs are often targeted at a post’s number of likes, comments, pages followed or hashtag uses – but to be effective, they need to be realistic. and reachable.
You’ll see brands on Instagram with millions of followers, but that doesn’t mean getting a thousand or even a hundred followers isn’t still an achievement. Your performance in numbers depends on your industry, business, and target audience, so try to base your goals on numbers from brands similar to yours.
To do this, look at brands of your size, in your industry and with your type of consumer, because they are not necessarily competitors, especially if they have a larger marketing budget.
4. Use Popular Content Styles
One of the most common questions about branding and marketing on Instagram is “What should I post?” “. As mentioned above, different types of brands will find different types of content successful, depending on their unique style and goals.
That said, there are common genres of content that seem to work well no matter what style or industry they’re used for.
Artistic photos
Aesthetic photos are what Instagram was created for, and always get a lot of likes and interactions. Photo art isn’t a standalone theme, but rather a visual style that can be applied to any industry or content strategy.
Comics
Comics that poke fun at your chosen theme can be a great way to show off your sense of humor, and work well as multi-image posts for extra engagement. You can even use comics made by your followers to kill two birds with one stone.
Quotes and texts
One-line quotes, whether motivational or cynical, work well when people agree with the sentiment.
Just make sure they match the overall theme of your brand on Instagram. Funny comments won’t work if your brand is aiming for the sentimental or the serious.
User Generated Content
Posting your followers’ work (by crediting them, of course) is great for connecting with your audience and getting your followers to post more about your brand.
If you’re having a hard time getting your name out there, you can run a contest and reward people who post the best content about you. But don’t forget to use a special hashtag for the contest.
Videos
Instagram’s Stories and Reels enable video content on the platform, which can open up a lot of new doors, which we’ll discuss in more detail below. Videography and editing skills are always welcome, but don’t feel limited by your inexperience
5. Pay attention to captions and hashtags
Captions are great for adding context to your photos. Although Instagram allows captions up to 2,200 characters, only the first two lines are visible without pressing “more”. That’s why it’s best to say the most important words in the first sentence or two, and save the rest of the space for details and hashtags.
Choosing the right hashtags is one of the most important branding decisions for Instagram, as they determine who sees your posts. People often scroll by hashtags, so using the right ones means your posts appear to strangers who share your interests. They are a perfect way to attract new, like-minded followers who might never have heard of your brand.
How do you know which are the best hashtags for you? Do some trial and error on Instagram to see what pops up for each hashtag. Don’t just look at the popularity of each hashtag, but also see how often people post to it and what types of content are used with it.
6. Embed videos in Stories and Reels
If your target audience loves video content, your best bets on Instagram are Stories and Reels. Just like your other content, it’s best to experiment with both to see what works.
Instagram Stories are like video blogs, where the user usually films themselves doing something or discussing something for a short interval. Instagram Stories disappear after 24 hours, so it’s more of an ongoing commitment that users stick to day in and day out.
Instagram Reels, on the other hand, require a bit more production: filter, sound effects, text, stickers, and editing options. Created in response to TikTok, Reels are more like a series of short clips strung together.
For both, remember to stay consistent with your other branding elements, especially with your brand tone. Instagram Stories and Reels are a perfect opportunity to put a face to your name, so make sure it’s the right representation of your brand.
7. Engage with fans
All social networks are double-edged swords, and that’s part of why they’re so useful to businesses. Branding on Instagram isn’t just about people seeing your content; it’s also an opportunity to meet your brand and engage in conversation.
First and foremost, that means responding to comments. Typically, people compliment you or express interest; occasionally they ask a question about your business that gives you a good opportunity to respond publicly.
Dealing with insults and criticism, too, is important for branding on Instagram. Even your followers will pay close attention to how you deal with trolls, so be sure to handle them smartly and respect your brand identity, i.e. responding politely rather than hitting back with something. even more offensive.
8. Collaborate with influencers in your industry
Especially when you are just starting out, you can get a lot of new followers by leaning on other successful accounts. Influencer marketing not only gives you access to thousands of new users with the same interests as you, but also gives you a vote of confidence from a trusted source. After all, part of the reason people follow influencers is for their expert recommendations.
It can be daunting reaching out to influencers when you’re an unknown company, but remember they’re business people just like you. Typically, you offer them a free product or sample, and if they like it, they talk about it on their platform. Remember that influencers are constantly looking for new and fresh topics to post, so you might be able to help them.
If you’re reaching out to high-caliber influencers, they may have set prices for mentions and advertising. If you don’t want to invest too much in influencer marketing, try reaching out to smaller, mid-level influencers. They will appreciate the free samples more and you will still have access to new followers, even if they are fewer.
9. Publish your content at the right times
Like all social networks, Instagram has its peak times and downtimes. However, the best times to post aren’t always uniform – it depends on what time your particular type of user prefers to log in, not to mention other factors like time zones and when shifts start and end. work.
As always, you can experiment with posting at different times to see what works best for you, but experimenting every hour of every day can be tedious. Instead, you can use the Universal Guidelines as a starting point and start your experiments from there.
While Hootsuite says the best universal time to post on Instagram is 11 a.m. on Wednesday, HubSpot has more in-depth research, broken down by industry and illustrated with heatmaps.
10. Sell promotional items on Instagram
Not every brand has something to sell, but if you do, you can sell it directly on Instagram through Instagram Shop. Users can buy by tapping on your posts, and you can even tag individual products in your Instagram stories for more subtle advertising.
Instagram Shop makes it easy to sell branded products, even if you’re not equipped to launch a real e-commerce site. There are plenty of white label products you can buy and resell under your brand, from promotional items like t-shirts and hats to more targeted merchandise like stuffed animals or pins.
As always, choose the merchandise that best represents your brand identity, and what your followers would like to buy.
11. Consider advertising on Instagram
If you have enough money to spend in your marketing budget, Instagram ads can effectively boost your brand awareness and attract more followers.
You can buy ads on Instagram in different forms: image ads, video ads, carousels, Instagram Stories ads, and more. Additionally, your ads can work for a variety of different purposes, such as general brand awareness, redirecting traffic to an external page, or even getting your app or software installed.
Much like Facebook advertising, one of the best features of Instagram advertising is the ability to narrow down your target audience. Instagram ads allow you to filter who sees your ads based on their location, interests, behaviors and general demographics. When you put all of these nuanced choices together, you’re able to craft complex, highly targeted ad campaigns that make every penny of your ad spend count.
Instagram is a visual platform
Even if you follow this Instagram branding guide to the letter, there’s still one part we can’t prepare you for: what is a good visual? The success of Instagram depends on the quality of your content: whatever theme or genre you use. Your top priority should be creating or finding posts that get people excited, so keep your eyes peeled for inspiration or content you can repost. In this article we try to cover all 11 pro tips on Instagram branding strategy. Now a days every business needs social media marketing for their brand or business it’s become an essential for everyone.
If you have a project or need expertise, call on our social media experts from the social media marketing Lahore. They provide niche-specific services.
