12 Powerful Tips for Instagram Success
1 billion Instagram accounts are active every month – how do you get your business noticed on the popular platform? Keep reading to find out!
12 tips to make your Instagram account stand out
Perfect your profile
Let’s start at the very beginning…
- Start with the right account type
You have three choices when it comes to your account types: Personal, Creator, or Business. You can find all the information you need to know about the accounts in our blog Everything You Need to Know About Instagram Set-Up.
- Write an effective bio
Your bio is likely the first thing potential customers see when they discover you on Instagram. Here is your chance to entice users to stay. Your bio should:
- Explain the purpose of your business/product/service.
- Include a link to your website or blog. This is the only place where you can share a clickable link, so seize this opportunity!
- Make use of buttons. Here you can create buttons that allow users to contact you, or visit your online store.
- Have your physical address, if you have a brick and mortar shop or office.
- Have a clear profile picture. We recommend using your logo if you have one.
We think local shoes supplier That Shoe Lady did a fantastic job with their bio!
Focus on your feed
Design is everything on Instagram. Use the following tips to create your own style guide:
- Pick a colour palette
A colour palette will help your overall design remain consistent. It doesn’t mean you can only use these colours, but it will create an appealing aesthetic.
- Use the same fonts
If you’re going to post content with text overlays, you should keep them consistent with your brand by using the same fonts you use on other marketing materials.
- Use the correct image dimensions
The are a few formats your posts can utilise on Instagram: square, portrait, landscape, video, IGTV, and carousel, to name a few. We find the square and portrait posts are the most visually effective.
- Use real people to increase engagement
Pictures with faces receive 38% more likes and 32% more comments, according to a study by Georgia Tech. Time to stock up on stock images!
- Save time with templates
We’re not all gifted with design skills, which is where templates come into play. You can find free, customisable templates on Canva, our design go-to tool.
Build and engage with your community
- Captions
Captions become truncated after three lines of text, so you need to be able to grab the attention of your audience within those parameters, and then keep them interested.
Some accounts use captions as micro-blogs, while others keep it short and snappy. The important thing is to align your tone with your brand. Mailchimp is well known for their quirky brand voice:
- Post consistently
Frequent publishing helps your audience learn when to expect new content from you, as well as maximising engagement. Use Facebook’s Creator Studio to schedule your Instagram posts to save time and stay relevant.
- Respond to comments and DMs
Ignoring your followers is a big no.
- Take advantage of user-generated content
If your consumers love your product or service, they might post about it. Sharing these posts to your feed or Stories is a great way to create trust amongst potentially new customers, as they tend to trust testimonials and reviews from peers before they trust your offering.
- Use hashtags
Using relevant, targeted hashtags is one of the most effective way to get discovered by users on Instagram. According to Sprout Social, a post with a single hashtag averages 12.6% more engagement than those without.
We hope you found these quick tips helpful! Until next time 😊