What’s your Instagram strategy? Are you taking advantage of this platform to build a brand yourself, or do you just use it to share snapshots of what you’re doing that day?
You can use this photo-sharing app to engage with followers and attract new customers, but first, you have to know the best way to brand yourself on Instagram.
Here are five simple tips to help you brand yourself or brand your business on Instagram in the most effective way possible.
1) Write down who you are
Building a brand online is simple, but hard.
It’s easy because all you need is a smartphone and an internet connection. It’s hard because it requires a great deal of self-awareness.
If you don’t know who you are or what you stand for, then developing a brand might be difficult for you.
Before diving into Instagramming yourself at every opportunity, take some time to think about:
Who you are?
What your brand means in today’s world.
What do you want people to see when they look at your feed?
How do you want them to feel?
What message do you want them to walk away with?
Once you have answers to these questions, brand yourself like crazy! Here are five tips that will help you build a brand on Instagram:
It’s time to think about:
How do you want people to see you?
What are your brand values?
What are your brand promises?
What do you stand for and what do you care about?
Building a brand without understanding these keys makes it hard work,
So before putting yourself out there make sure that everything has been thought through and that your Instagram feed really represents who you are as a person or business.
2) Do research and set your goals
First, you need to identify your goals.
What do you want to accomplish with your brand? Is it simply for fun? Or are you looking for clients or a job in that particular field? Regardless of why you’re using your account, make sure it aligns with your objectives.
The more professional and well-defined your brand is from the start, the better results you’ll see over time.
Once you have some good ideas in mind, do some research before getting started so that when it comes time to create your account, everything will be cohesive and easy to implement.
For a better understanding of visual brand identity check out Instagram's Brand Identity Case Study: How They Visualized Their Brand.
The next step after setting your goals is figuring out what type of Instagram account will work best for you.
Are you planning to use it as an additional marketing tool, or are you trying to develop an audience on its own?
For example, if you’re looking to grow a brand around a particular subject area (such as travel), try searching Instagram for hashtags related to that topic and see which accounts seem like they have a large following and are active.
If you’re trying to make money from your brand, take note of any products or services that seem popular among other users in that niche.
3) Think about what makes you unique
Before you start posting, you need to think about what makes you stand out. For some people, it's their style; for others, it's their accomplishments or interests.
Once you know what makes you unique (and who would be interested in that), it'll be easier to create content that resonates with them.
Then choose a few hashtags (#tags) for your posts so people can find you based on topics of interest.
When choosing which hashtags to use when posting, do research beforehand so you know which ones are popular with people who might be interested in what you have to offer.
Check out these 5 brands that are doing an excellent job of branding themselves via Instagram.
If you don’t feel comfortable writing your own captions, hire a professional photographer or writer. It’s also important that your captions reflect your brand as accurately as possible and are not misleading.
All of these things will come together in what is known as your brand. Once you have a full sense of what that is and can convey it clearly, then marketing yourself on Instagram will be easy!
4) Know what you want from your account
As mentioned above, knowing what you want from your Instagram account is an important step when building a brand on Instagram.
Figuring out what your goals are and how you want to be perceived. If you’re hoping for a gig as an influencer, maybe your focus should be on posting regularly with high-quality photos.
If you’re looking for job opportunities at new companies, perhaps it makes sense to post pictures of you at work events and share articles or videos that show off your skills and portfolio.
Whatever your goals are, having them defined will help when it comes time to determine which content is right for you—and which isn’t.
For example, if you don’t have any experience working in tech but want to get hired by one of San Francisco’s many start-ups, your Instagram feed probably shouldn't include photos from a vacation in Europe (unless there's something about Europe that ties into why you're interested in working for start-ups).
Know who your audience is: Once you know what kind of person wants to see your Instagram posts, figure out who they actually are. Are they mostly CEOs? Techies? Millennials?
There are dozens of free tools available online that can give you demographic information about who follows certain accounts and where those followers live.
To get insights about your target audience, other insights within the last seven days, and statistics such as total impressions, reach, and profile views you can use a tool called Later, an Instagram analytics and scheduling tool which is a very affordable and mostly used by popular personal brands, and small to large enterprise business owners.
5) Think like an influencer (but don’t act like one)
If you’re trying to build your brand, think about what your favorite Instagram influencers do and apply those principles.
Your goal isn’t necessarily (or at least not entirely) engagement; rather, it’s putting together a feed that represents you well.
Whether or not people click like, comment, or engage with your content is irrelevant—as long as your post or content looks great, people will look at them and remember who you are when they think of a specific industry or area of expertise.
However, there are a few common factors among successful Instagram brands. Whether you’re trying to build your company’s brand, position yourself as an expert in your field, or simply share pictures of your daily life with friends and family, you should consider these five tips when building your Instagram presence.
Consider, making sure your profile is complete and well-optimized. This means that you’ve added a profile picture, filled out your bio and About section, and used every Instagram's features and you have healthy organic follow count, etc.
Then, find other influencers in your industry who are doing well and take some time to study their content.
Focus on how they frame their shots, what hashtags they use (and how often), and how many people follow them.
Finally, try adding a little bit of humor to your feed—but be careful not to go overboard. While it might seem like all Instagram influencers have an over-the-top sense of humor, remember that there’s nothing wrong with being professional as well.
To Conclude
Branding yourself on Instagram is easier than you think, with just a few easy tweaks. Being consistent in your posts, telling a story that resonates with your followers, and posting at peak times are great ways to start building an audience of loyal followers.
Once you’ve got a following, continue posting inspiring content and building relationships with like-minded brands—this will help you build yourself a brand that’s worth paying attention to!
But above all else: stay true to who you are as an individual and try not to overthink it too much. Building a brand takes time, so give yourself some credit for taking those first steps toward success!
Look for our post on How to Get Started With Your New Instagram Page.
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