Instagram is a visual platform for young people who prefer beauty, fashion, photos, and art. If you want to build a brand that aims at these types of customers, it’s time to become an Instagram expert
1. Find your theme
Select a theme that can show your brand personality. From color to layout and font, focus on a stable style
If you don’t know what your theme should be, search for a similar brand through Instagram to get inspired. If your brand is about food and drink, learn from recent food & drink account
A Grid Layout can bring you a better feed for your brand. There’re some typical layouts such as:
- Square
- Diagonal
- Tiles
- Row by row
- Line in the middle
- Border
- Puzzle
- Mix
2. Produce quality content
Regular posting on any social media site is a must and Instagram is not an exception.
When I first started, I was posting every single day.
In the beginning, you should post regularly, about 5-10 posts/day from the early day to the late night. Tracking the result to figure out when your post gain the highest performance
3. Your profile
Edit your profile photo with the same filter as your Instagram photos. The bio is limited characters so push more effort into it. Your bio should include:
- Brand name
- Brand personality/Short description
- Location
- Contact
4. Take advantage of hashtags
Hashtags are brilliant on Instagram. You can add a maximum of 30 hashtags to give exposure when people are searching through the hashtags to look at photos.
There’s a trick is to watch what successful Instagram influencers or your competitors in your industry are using. However, beware of the number of hashtags mentioned. If your account is new to the platform, only select the hashtags that have less than 1k followers. Prefer specific hashtags to approach the clients easier.
Ideal Hashtag Combination: Location + Descriptive Hashtags into one (so people can find you if they search exactly for a brand like you). For example select #italiancafeinasia instead of #cafe
Creating a branded hashtag is also a great way to build instant engagement. A branded hashtag is YOUR own hashtag. Mention on your profile that people will get featured if they use your hashtag.
5. Follow & like competitors’ posts
This might sound pretty weird but absolutely work! Have you ever been recommended to follow a store after following its similar account? It’s an Instagram algorithm to connects people based on their interests. Leave genuine comments on their posts. Because their followers will get used to seeing you in the comments. They will wonder “who is always commenting on brilliant comments like this”. These will be high-quality (potential) followers: people who would actually care about your account. Thus, follow competitors and like their posts to get closer to the niche market
6. Create a Key Message
The same as Facebook, think of your key message as your slogan to put it in the footer of any posts. It’s what you stand for. It’s what people are going to know you for. Think about this: What is one word you want people to use when they think about you / your product or service? Write it down. Make it easy, unique, useful, and stay true to your personality
7. Use the same filter
This will take your Instagram branding strategy to the next level. As you know, Instagram is an extremely visual platform. A filter / preset is part of your brand. Even a simple, natural, filter can make a huge difference to the overall look of your feed because it makes all your photos look like they belong together, as part of the same brand.
Colors are an important part of an Instagram branding strategy. Make your brand stick in people’s minds: use your brand colors. Choose one (or more) colors that reflect your brand. It can be a color from your logo
Pay attention to the background of your photo. This might not be a requirement for your account in particular. But if you are showing products or sharing video tips, then 100% pay attention to the backgrounds of your photos and videos. Bonus: You can keep your background the same to make your whole Instagram feed stick together, and therefore branded
8. Your Instagram Story style
Your Instagram branding strategy goes beyond just your feed. Pay attention to your Instagram Stories too. Here is how to brand your Instagram Story: Build it by using the same color(s) with your feed all the time, editing the same styles, the same filter(s), the same font or font combinations
9. Instagram Story Highlights
Displaying below the bio, Instagram Story Highlights is one of the first things people see when they visit your account for the first time, just before they start scrolling on your feed. Keep them on brand. Choose Instagram Story Highlights cover that fit the colors in your feed, better be only show the branding color and text
10. Be Consistent + Be Patient
Keep talking about what you present and stay true to your personality. Research has shown that consistency increases trust. If you want people to trust you and you want to build meaningful relationships with them, you’ll need to post consistently. Get into the habit of creating content. You can use Creators Studio from Facebook Business to schedule a time to post. This will surely save you plenty of time
You’ve just gone through the top 10 tips to build a new brand on Instagram from the beginning. Do you agree with all of it?
If you have concerns, let’s discuss more with us!
