As you look through many of your favorite brand’s Instagram accounts you’ll start to notice a pattern. Consistent colors, photo filters, typography etc. You may start to wonder, how can I make my profile look just as professional and put together as these large companies when it is only me. I know I follow a number of accounts that are constantly uploading their feed with beautiful styled images and inspirational layouts that make me want to drool over whatever they are marketing to me.
But, what about the rest of us who may not be artists or work at gorgeous coffee shops and have cute dogs? What can you post on your feed that will bring value to your viewers, support your brand vision and all while giving our viewers sneak peaks into our busy and wonderful lives?
Start from the foundation.
When working with my branding clients, we spend a good deal of time going through my Brand Workbook and figuring out their WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY and HOW of their business. Yes, you must use consistent filters, colors and photography styles but what is most important, is the meaning behind your photos and how they connect to your business. If a potential client came to your Instagram feed, what would they learn?
Let’s break down each of these (WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY and HOW) and figure out how you can visually represent them in your feed.
Who are you and who do you work with?
DO NOT be afraid to use images of yourself. Everyone loves a good selfie and images of you will tend to get more likes then anything else. So start snapping! Even pictures of you working with clients or working on a project, these will all count as your “WHO”.
What do you do?
Obviously, if you want to gain clients you should consistently be pushing out content that tells viewers what you do and how you can help them. Whether it be images of your work for recent clients, you at a coffee shop working on your laptop or even a quote about the industry you are in, these all count as your “What”. As long as I can come to your feed and right away be able to tell what you do then you’re golden.
How do you do it?
Now that we’ve cleared up WHO you work with, and WHAT you do, HOW do you do it? What is your creative process? Do you have specific steps that you follow in your professional services? Do you have a unique way in which you conduct your business? What is it about your brand that makes you unique? Take photos of these things and use them.
Where do you work?
Is it your couch? Do you coffee shop hop? How about work while traveling? Wherever it is that you conduct business take a photo! People love knowing what you do and where you do it. It is like viewing someone else’s life throw a looking glass and we can’t get enough. We don’t all get to work in lavish office spaces but if you see a cute setup for a photo opportunity, don’t turn it down.
Why is it important?
This may seem harder to portray in images but this is where your text comes into play. Every message that you send out should be well thought-out and supportive. Why is this post important to your followers and your brand? It is this commonality throughout your feed that will make it seem more consistent, relatable and identifiable.
So how do we take all of these important brand elements and incorporate them into our Instagram images? Make a social calendar and plan it out. Monday will be a who, Tuesday a why, Wednesday a how etc. Making a plan will help you feed look diverse but consistent with your brand in general.
Need help planning this out or figuring out what types of images and filters are right for your business? Email me! I would love to help you make a plan for Visual Instagram success.
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