3rd Jan 2018

4 Ways to Add More Branding to Your Instagram Marketing

Instagram is one of the biggest social media platforms right now. Your business cannot afford not to take advantage of the opportunities Instagram marketing presents. Instagram currently has about 500 million users and most users check the app at least once a day. It would take a lot of money to pay for traditional advertisement promising to reach this amount of people.

If you have spent some time on Instagram, you would notice that all the top influencers and big brands are consistent with their branding. Instagram marketing offers a lot of companies and individuals posting their content, to stand out of the crowd, you need to weave branding into your posting.

There are several ways to do this. Here are four different ways.

  1. Stick with a theme/ colour palette.

Branding your Instagram page for more visibility requires a lot of creativity. You need to be recognizable. Have your own theme and colour palette creates a style that you are known for. If you analyze Instagram marketing, they have a clear and consistent concept or characteristic that you can instantly identify. Keeping these elements consistent helps the followers know and understand your brand better. Understanding you help them build a deeper relationship with your brand and improve your Instagram marketing results.

There are several ways you can keep your theme and colour constant.

–    Filters.

Instagram has over twenty filters from which you can choose from. Using one of this filters consistently could be a simple way to keep your pictures looking the same. This does not only achieve consistency, it gives your Instagram page a cool look when a user looks at your entire Instagram account.

–    Pinterest

Pinterest is a great place to start if you are trying to decide what theme to use. There are several themes you could look at to get ideas. When you find one that suits the way you want your content to look, you can then edit your pictures to fit the look. Some Pinterest pins will even go as far as to tell you how they created the feel and look of the picture. They will tell you the filter, saturation, temperature or exposure they used to create that theme.

–    Accent colours.

If your brand sticks to one particular colour palette, content on your Instagram page should reflect this. Using your particular accent colour for all your content gives you advantages. It adheres to your branding and it also gives your page an interesting look.

Before you post a picture, ask yourself if it fits your theme. If it does not, don’t post it.

 

  1. Create and promote a unique hashtag.

Hashtags are a big deal on social media and are an essential part of Instagram marketing. Especially on Twitter and Instagram. There are several ways to use hashtags to promote your page. One of these is by creating a hashtag and promoting a hashtag unique to your business. This allows you to create a community of user and customers of your products and services.

Big brands and celebrities do this all the time.

Frank Body is a skincare brand that uses this method effectively. They use brand-specific hashtags like #letsbefrank and #thefrankeffect to connect their customers. Customers can check these hashtags to find user-generated content. This helps them to see what other customers of the brand are saying about it. Sometimes these hashtags are created by the customers but you cannot leave this to them, you create a catchy hashtag and they will use it.

When creating the hashtag, get your brand name in the mix, if possible. Playing on idioms or commonly used puns can also help create a catchy hashtag for your brand.

 

  1. Use on-brand language and/or symbols in your description.

Instagram captions can be important if you write them well. Instagram is first an app for visual content but your texts can also be a great avenue to increase your brand visibility. If your content carries regular descriptions, your followers will soon learn not to read your captions.

There are a few ways to write captions that engage or won’t bore your audience.

–    Use emojis and symbols.

Emojis are fun when properly used. They reduce the seriousness and officiousness of your post. Emojis give your post emotions and will encourage people to actually read what you wrote.

Don’t limit this to using a smiley face, you could use bold numbers when you are making a list. Apart from making your posts look fun, they make them easier to read.

–    Don’t be afraid to get personal.

Telling personal stories in your caption is a great way to drive engagement and get more people to read your posts. People want to know that they are connecting with real people and not just a soulless organization.

–    Take risks.

Let the personality of your brand shine through in your captions. Usually, you would not be advised to type a caption in all CAPS but if it represents you better, do it.

 

  1. Create Instagram Stories consistent with your account.

Instagram Stories are an amazing place that most users rarely use. It is a place you can use to share behind-the-scenes content for your brand. Even though Instagram Stories disappear after twenty-four hours, the content you post there should be consistent with your brand.

Your Instagram stories can show the story behind some of your posts. Photo or video shoots, pictures from meetings, fun, quirky moments with your staff; these are all things you can post your stories.

Your stories should also be used to drive engagement. Note that whatever you post here will be gone in twenty-four hours and only people who check your stories specifically will see it.

All of these might not work if your content is not great. Remember that Instagram is not Facebook or Twitter, this platform is about beautiful visual content. When you take pictures, make sure they are bright and centred. Except your branding requires them to be dull and skewed. You are posting for the audience, so post content that they like and appreciate. Experiment till you find the right balance.

 

Learn more about our social media marketing: http://arcreactions.com/services/social-media-management/