Share An Experience
Everyday users spend millions of hours scrolling through Instagram feeds. They aren’t looking for pictures of products. They’re searching for compelling visual experiences that excite them
Cases of study
One of the brands we analyzed for Instagram best practices was GoPro. Instead of posting pictures of their cameras, they share the adventures their cameras capture
Airbnb is another brand that understands the value in sharing experiences. In addition to quality shots of breathtaking accommodations, Airbnb posts consumer generated content of activities they engaged in while using Airbnb
Which is more likely to catch your eye: the inside of a home or an aerial snapshot was taken while paragliding?
Understand Your Audience
No matter how hard you try, you cannot appeal to everyone. Instead of aiming to appease the world, focus on captivating a core audience that is genuinely interested in your offering. Understanding your audience is the essential element to any marketing campaign. Once you know what your followers want, giving it to them is simple
Find Creativity
Every city is brimming with young, creative talent just waiting for exposure. Find an artist or photographer at a local event and offer them the chance to create custom content for your brand’s next campaign. Hiring local talent is a great way to discover fresh creative content while giving back to your community.
Another engaging way to generate fresh content is creating Instagram contests. Invite your followers to share brand-related original content and offer your products as a reward, or encourage them to share an image and ask followers to tag a friend. This exposes your brand to a wider audience while also driving engagement.
Appeal To Emotion
Premium content engages users in various ways. It helps to post incredible, aesthetic imagery, but images with emotional appeal can be successful as well. When you share images that appeal to your followers’ emotions, you show that you are more than just a business
Crowdsource
Consistently creating quality content is tough and it’s easy to run out of ideas. Once you have built a loyal following, take some of the weight off your shoulders by crowdsourcing content creation.
Tell A Story
Storytelling is the best way to get a point across in a memorable way. Before you start expanding your audience, make sure you’re engaging your current followers. Instead of forcing product images onto them, frame your content within a larger narrative. Frame a story around your visual content and you’ll set your brand apart from other Instagram accounts.
Stay Relevant
Audiences seek culturally relevant content they can share with friends and family. Always search for a way to loop in a trending topic when setting up a campaign. The more relevant the content, the more shares it’ll receive—and shares lead to followers. This applies for the Instagram content best practices listed before. Here are 3 surefire ways to stay relevant:
- Focus on seasonal content
Incorporate the colours of foliage in the fall, show off bright imagery the summer, display blooming flower in spring - Create an Events Calendar
Start with annual holidays (Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Christmas) then add special events such as product releases, political elections, and sporting events (the Superbowl, Fifa World Cup, Olympics) -
Stay current with Trends
Bookmark GoogleTrends; check it daily
Once you’ve created your calendar, be sure to plan accordingly. The quicker you capitalise on a trend; the more engagement you’ll see
Play The Game
Challenging and incentivising your audience will capture its attention and increase content engagement. The challenge doesn’t need to be extraordinary, but it needs to cultivate (and keep) user attention. Try posting an exciting image reflective of your brand then invite your followers to a “caption contest”
Always set competition deadlines to encourage users to take immediate action then promise to share your favourite caption with your followers. The opportunity to be recognized for their contribution is a surprisingly effective incentive that is often undervalued
As you scale the size of contests, make sure the prize has real value