Visual storytelling is currently trending, and is on the rise. Instagram plays a major role in visual storytelling on social media, and is technically the first visual social media platform that started it all. Social media is as crucial as your business website, but how can you effectively use Instagram to build your business?
- Instagram Business Account – Creating an Instagram business account on this platform is a crucial part of getting your business brand noticed. It’s free, but it provides you with more than the average profile can. For instance, you can add your business address and a contact button to your page. It also allows you to turn a post into an ad for your target market when you want to use that feature.
- Your Profile Theme – You need a visual profile theme because Instagram is the epitome of the social visual experience. Instagram is designed for imagery, visuals, video, and storytelling. The addition of a visual theme allows you to make your brand unique on this social platform and it creates a path to followers, conversions, and customers.
- Create Valuable Posts – The visual storytelling that Instagram provides gives users a peek into your business. Avoid focusing on your products or services and include images of your team and your company culture. It’s fun to include events like an employee birthday party as part of your business story. Content that includes tips, DIY projects, and other relevant content that engages your audience and followers. Just remember it’s a visual platform and make the appropriate images for your content.
- Share Your Content – It’s vital that you create relevant and quality content on Instagram to share across social accounts. Sharing is easy with the ability to link accounts within the platform. If you prefer to share manually, that is just as effective. The point here is to share, share, share.
- Like and Follow Others – It’s good etiquette to follow other people and businesses back when they follow you, but be prudent with which ones you follow back or accept as followers. You may find it less time-consuming to set up an Instagram bot (FredHarrington.com has more info for this) for automated liking and following according to your configuration over manual liking and following. Just be aware of the pros and cons of using automated social media programs.
- Communicate with Others – Play well with others when you’re on social media to create effective engagement. Respond as soon as possible to any questions, concerns, or comments made by followers, customers, or anyone that has engaged with you. It’s wise to follow other Instagram businesses on this platform that are relevant your brand. This helps others find your brand on Instagram more easily and helps expand your reach. It’s a good idea to mention them now and then in your posts.
These six elements will help you engage with more Instagram users, which will help build your business and brand. Make your business Instagram page valuable and unique enough to consistently grow and maintain its popularity.