Building a strong, community-driven social media presence is more important than ever. With increasing competition and ever-changing algorithms, it’s crucial to stand out from the crowd and strive for authentic connections with your target audience.
Picture this: a new potential customer wants to find out more about your brand, and they head over to Instagram to see if you’ll bring the quality, value and trust they’re looking for. Will they find a curated brand feel and strong first impression that meets their expectations?
If you’re a beginner to all things Instagram, or you’re looking for ways to leverage your platforms to grow brand awareness and engagement, you’re in the right place. We’ve put together 4 key ways to grow your social media presence- whether you opt for Instagram or want to make waves on TikTok.
- Optimise your feed for a strong first impression
To build that all-important follower count, your feed’s first impression needs to deliver. It’s like your digital storefront – and a visually cohesive and appealing feed is the key to attracting new followers and keep current followers coming back for more.
Use a consistent colour palette and theme throughout your post cover photos and video thumbnails that effectively reflects your brand’s identity, and bear this in mind when planning future content. Your feed should communicate your aesthetic in seconds – and intrigue visitors and potential followers to explore your content.
Mix things up with font placement and high-quality imagery- you can utilise a feed planner like Later to visualise what your posts will look like when they each go live.
Finally, make sure your bio quickly communicates who you are – and what your values are. Give potential followers what they want to hear – what will your brand and social media content offer them? Inspiration, feel good, fitness advice? Keep it short and punchy, sticking to a consistent brand voice.
- Use Stories to level up your engagement
Instagram Stories were created for accounts to engage with their followers on an easy, regular basis – and in a more casual style than permanent posts. Stories remain on your feed for 24 hours – and you can keep them permanent by adding them to your categorised profile Highlights, which can each display your brand’s key themes and products.
Stories are a great way to keep your brand at the top of your audience’s mind, and build engagement with the plethora of interactivity features they offer. With every tap, your engagement factor increases, from quick polls to question boxes and quizzes.
- Maximise your reach with Reels
Instagram responded to the every-growing popularity and impact of TikTok by creating Reels for video content – and they’ve ever since provided a great way for accounts to go viral and attain high reach levels. They were designed to maximise your content’s discoverability via the Instagram algorithm- while potential followers scroll through their Reels feed, they might just encounter your brand- so make it count!
- Jump on trending sounds, challenges and styles, where appropriate, to relate to the Instagram user’s expectations and content intake, and stay ‘relatable’ and ‘on trend’.
- Share value and inspiration to prompt a ‘follow for more’. This could be key tips, how-tos or inspirational messages.
- Impress potential followers with high-quality, visually appealing product showcasing – lead with the brand aesthetic and promote the lifestyle behind your brand, to relate to potential new followers.
- Put time in active community building
Nowadays, community is the word when it comes to Instagram success. Engaging with your audience not only boosts your algorithm ranking, but also forges valuable connections with potential purchasers. It’s important to devote time to regular account engagement, to keep your Instagram space a two-way street, and give back to your followers.
Make sure the following bases are covered:
- Respond to comments and DMs- they go a long way and grant a more personalised feel behind your brand.
- Reshare tagged content to Stories of customers engaging with/using your products to deepen ties with individuals.
- Engage with other accounts in your industry and community, or even followers that mention you in their content, by commenting on posts – this increases your visibility and cleverly crafted responses or comments to relevant trending content might just elevate your brand’s esteem within the community.
- Consider hosting a giveaway for a lucky winner- this also encourages engagement as contest posts often require followers to like, comment, share and/or tag friends to enter.
And that’s a wrap!
All in all, a successful Instagram requires consistency, creativity and active engagement to stand out amongst the competition. It’s good to experiment and try new styles to see what most engages your community, and refer back to the metrics to replicate highly-engaged content.
And if you need another pair of hands to elevate your brand’s social media presence, you’re in the right place! Get in touch to find out how we can take your brand’s reach and engagement to a new level.