There’s no denying that Instagram continues to be a valuable platform for small businesses to get their branding and messaging out there. It’s one of the key ways to ensure your brand remains relevant to your audience.
Unfortunately, there’s also no denying that Instagram is an incredibly saturated platform! Whether you’re a product-based business or a service-based business, Instagram is used a lot across all industries.
This means that you’ve really got to stand out if you want your audience to notice you.
You often only get a fraction of a second to capture someone’s attention and stop the scroll. So it’s vital that you consistently put out content that makes an impact and offers a lot of value. But how can you do this?
Keep scrolling to discover 5 things you can do to make sure your Instagram really stands out against the crowd!
Words: Adriana Thani
1. Find your ‘why’
It’s hard for you to convey a clear message to your audience when you can’t define your purpose. Human beings are naturally wired to find ways to relate to one another. Knowing your ‘why’, your bigger purpose, allows you to clearly communicate this in a way that will resonate with your audience!
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Why did you start your business in the first place?
- Think about what drives you every day – which part of running your business do you enjoy the most?
- What is the problem you are trying to solve for your customers?
- What is your niche within your industry – what sets you apart from everyone else?
2. Find your voice
Defining your brand voice is a really important yet often overlooked step in branding. When you’re representing your business on social media, you need to consider the tone of voice that attracts the type of community you want to create around your brand.
Here are some tips that can help you create a relevant and engaging brand voice for your business:
- Create a list of keywords related to your industry and business, and place it somewhere visible to you when creating content
- Decide on your tone of voice based on what your audience enjoys. This may take a bit of research, but it’s vital that you learn to speak their language
- Stay consistent with your brand voice across all your interactions with people, which includes captions, comments, and even DMs.
3. Nail your visual identity
We get it, not everyone has an eye for design! That’s why we have an amazing team of graphic designers to help us create compelling graphic content for our clients. But there are definitely some elements of design that you can DIY. As an added bonus, you’ll be able to slowly develop an eye for what works with your community.
Here are some easy ways you can start developing an aesthetically pleasing visual identity for your Instagram:
- Use your brand identity as a guide when choosing images to share
- Read up on colour theory at least a little bit, because different colours express different messages
- Find 3 main colours for your brand and use them consistently across all your visuals
- Consider using Lightroom presets to make your images look cohesive
- Use an Instagram planner like Plann so you can plan your posts ahead of time and see what your Instagram grid will look like
4. Show up on Stories every day
Instagram users love viewing Stories. In fact, over 500 million people are active on Stories every single day! It’s a great way to make sure your business is always appearing in front of your followers’ eyes.
Here are some other benefits to showing up on Stories daily:
- It’s a chance for you to share a more candid and not overly curated look at your business
- Stories give your audience another avenue to connect and engage with you, a connection that will set you apart from your competitors
- You can easily repurpose content on Stories, like sharing new posts or Reels from your grid
5. Make yourself known
When we say ‘yourself’ we’re not referring to your brand, we’re referring to you! It’s hugely important for you to be visible on your brand’s Instagram because it makes your brand a whole lot more relatable and trustworthy (among other benefits).
Here are some ways you can show up on your brand’s Instagram
- Show your face on Instagram, whether in your Stories, posts, or Reels
- Share your personal thoughts and knowledge from time to time on your business’ Instagram
- Become a thought leader in your industry through PR opportunities like media interviews or speaking engagements
- Collaborate with other brand owners to elevate your presence in your industry
6. Be a platform for other content creators
The magical thing about Instagram is that when you share the love, you get more love! Be generous with your space on this platform, and allow other people to share your spotlight from time to time. Not only is this good form, but it shows your audience that you actually care about what it is you do!
Here are some ways you can do this:
- Share user-generated content (UGC), and make collecting them a part of your Instagram strategy
- Share other people’s content that further relates to your own messaging, like humorous Reels or even infographics
- Share content from other small businesses who share things you actually enjoy
Stand out from the crowd
Social media – particularly Instagram – is all about community, not just sales. Much like one-on-one interactions in real life, it’s so important that you pay special attention to how you appear to others. Creating a compelling and engaging Instagram presence allows you to really set yourself apart from everyone else!
Want to showcase everything that’s special about your biz, but not sure exactly how to do it?
Our Instagram Savvy Online Course is made for you!
We cover all the different ways you can create an Instagram presence you can be proud of. You’ll have the inside scoop on what we do every day for our clients, from crafting a gorgeous visual identity to writing captions that engage your audience and spark those priceless connections. For more information, get in touch!
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