Optimize your Instagram profile
Establish your visual identity and brand awareness from the very first click through by optimizing your Instagram business profile to help people understand what you do. Make sure you include your company name, a brief description of what you do, and your website. And if it’s appropriate, you will probably use your logo as your profile picture.
You could also explain what you sell/what services you provide and make sure you include your location. People love to know where you’re from! Especially if they are from that area. (Shop local, baby.) Maximising the digital real estate like this helps anyone who comes across your account to quickly get a feel for who you are.
Start a conversation
Ask a question. Get feedback. Discover how you can provide content that’s useful for your followers.
People LOVE it when you ask their opinion and everyone wants to be heard. This could be a poll, or a sliding scale. Ask them: Is this interesting to you? Yes/no. Do you want more tips on Insta? Yes/No
Use a hook
A hook is the few carefully chosen words you use to grab the attention of your reader. Get their attention and get eyes on your post! Make it captivating. And stop the scroll!
It might be a question or a statement that intrigues them enough to want to know more. Don’t be afraid to use emotion. “Is social media driving you nuts??”
Instagram wants people to stay on the platform, so if your content is engaging and keeps them there reading through your post, Insta will push that content out more.
Add value
The more you serve up value and insight and solve problems, the more your followers will want to hang around you and seek out your content. Provide three tips to help solve a problem. Saveable posts are highly valued by Instagram. The more people who save your post, the more people will see the post. This could be something simple like a game of Isolation Bingo or a Tip sheet with 6 Things to do to Supercharge your Social Media, or What to Wear for your Branding Photo-shoot.
Keep it tight
As our attention spans get shorter and shorter, it’s more critical than ever to feature your most important stuff front and centre.
First up. Straight up. No waffle.
And by first up, think in the first two seconds of a video. Either in what you say or the captions you include. There is no point in trying to do a big reveal at the end because everyone has scrolled on by at that stage…
Include a Call- to- Action
When you create your Instagram posts, be sure to include strong calls to action (CTAs). You can add CTAs that ask your followers to do several different things such as:
- Double tap
- Tag a friend
- Leave a comment
- Visit the link in my bio
- Jump across to see a product
Need some more ideas? Check out our DIY Social Media course for SUPER practical, actionable steps to help you manage your social media with confidence.
