Instagram for brands: are you doing it right?

Some brands are just simply better suited to certain social platforms and the same goes for Instagram. Instagram is centred around visual appeal, so you’re in the right place if aspects of your brand are aesthetically appealing (think clothing line rather than computer software).

You stand out while blending in

Instagram is known for being the “prettiest” social platform. A quick scroll through an Instagram feed and you’ll find a much different look and feel to what you may be used to seeing on Facebook or Twitter. Instagram is artsy; for the most part, it’s full of gorgeous landscapes, beautifully plated food, interesting architecture, and other pretty pictures.  So if your brand is on Instagram, your pictures better be pretty too. Post photos with relevant hashtags that will help you be found, and make sure they’re the kind of photos that will elicit responses along the lines of, “wow!”, or, “I want that!”, in order to get those followers. Interrupt someone’s afternoon Instagram scroll with a dark, out-of-focus, boring, or otherwise visually unappealing image and you will likely lose them.

You realize it’s a two-way street

As with all social platforms, there’s a certain etiquette to how users engage with each other on Instagram. Follows and Likes are the social currency on Instagram, so make sure you spend some time doling those out. Keep track of users that tag you and regularly search hashtags related to your brand to find the best users to engage with. For example, if somebody is wearing a shirt from your clothing line in a photo and hashtags your brand, there are a bunch of different ways you can engage with them; Follow them, “Like” the photo, or maybe even compliment them on the way they paired it with the rest of their outfit.