Ask Auntie Social: Mastering the Art of Instagram
As the piece progressed to the moment of the last stroke, a chef d'oeuvre of intricate beauty was born that continues to stand the test of time. As ever, to remain relevant today, be it art or Instagram, you must master your stroke.
Whether you are embracing Instagram for the first time as a blank canvas or you have already developed techniques to add to your masterpiece, consider this a guideline to keep you off the path of forgotten brands. Here we have outlined some rules to help you embrace the art of Instagram.
Along your journey, captivating your audience will be a balancing act between posting consistently and producing quality content. An important first step to address is to know who you are speaking to?
Who do you want to connect with?
Instagram is visual like art, a film, or paintings in that it can create a strong connection with an audience in a way that resonates deeply.
Regarding the images you wish to post, ask yourself who are you trying to connect with and how?
If you wish to inspire your audience it will be a very different type of visual to one you would use to make them laugh. Invest time in understanding the value your account offers your follower, be that lightening up someone’s day, make them dream or think of the world differently.
When you know who you want to connect with and the reason why they come to you, this will help you remain authentic with your brand message. People know authenticity when they see it, and getting this right invariably helps to build trust with your followers.
This is where consistency is crucial, for example if you are a clothes shop or an accessories brand, avoid posting images of gourmet food which could confuse your follower and dilute your brand message.
Using hashtags is an effective way for more users to find you on Instagram. Including current hashtags can help draw attention to your content. Do ensure that the hashtags you are applying align with your brand voice.
Equally, avoid overloading your content as hashtag clutter could repel potential followers to your brand. Start with finding popular hashtags used within the community your brand associates itself with. By monitoring and using hashtags of other industry influencers or in researching hashtags used by competitors, you could find yourself discovering new channels to reach your target audience.
Exciting new developments took place this September, which saw Instagram declare that ads will be available to all advertisers in every market Facebook advertising is available.
• Landscape photo and video to unlock new creative opportunities and give ads a more cinematic feel
• Video ads of up to 30 seconds in length, so brands can engage in richer storytelling
• Marquee, a new premium product that helps drive mass awareness and expanded reach in a short time-frame—perfect for events like movie premieres and new product launches
• Delivery and optimisation tools to manage and drive the best performance of campaigns across Facebook and Instagram
This could be a real game changer for businesses, encouraging followers to take action and engage your brand directly from your feed.
As we’ve mentioned in Auntie Social before, social media for business is not just about lead generation, it is about building a community of followers who trust your brand.
In turn, the intention is to create a loyal following who are more likely to buy your products. Listening and being available to your followers can influence those levels of loyalty and trust.
Do pay attention to your customers by monitoring their engagement with you, as well as industry leaders and competitors as they can help you refine your product offering from the insights you discover. Taking this approach to your customer could be an opportunity for you to be the leader in your Instagram community when it comes to social care of your followers.
Sometimes we all need a little nudge, and there is nothing that can incentivise like the prospect of a reward. Rewards can drive engagement that will encourage your followers to come back.
Depending on your business approach you could offer discount codes, promotions or add the element of exclusivity where your follower get a sneak peek before anyone else.
An excellent recent example of a popular social media initiative was Air France letting children take over their Twitter account which gained huge support as well as sharing some funny sweet moments to remember.
You could apply this to your following – why not select an advocate to take charge of your account for a day?
This is a great approach to generate fresh content, giving you insights into your brand from the perspective of the customer. Including the crowd is very powerful; Lego are a fantastic example where using the crowd has helped them innovate and create new products.
It is certainly something to be considered when mastering the art of Instagram.
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