Instagram content creation is really important in today’s world, especially when it comes to building a business or brand. Since Instagram has 500 million daily users, it is a great tool to help your business. You can set the image for your brand and bring attention to it. The hard part is figuring out a way to make your brand stand out among the multitude of others. This is where content creation comes into play.
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Content Creation on Instagram
How do you create engaging content? Before creating Instagram content straight away, you first need to understand the brand persona you want to reflect on the world. There is nothing people love more than a good personality. Is your business more focused on a professional tone, or a playful tone? Consumers love interacting with businesses on social media.
Determining your brand persona will set the foundation for your content creation strategy by allowing you to focus on the type of posts you want to create. Having a brand persona also helps you create cohesiveness between your posts increasing recognition of your brand among your clients. Brand personas also show potential clients what your company is about. You can also enlist an agency to help you with social media content creation.
Instagram Photos
Instagram is all about attention-grabbing visuals, so choosing the right aesthetics for your account is important. The photos should reflect the brand image and be of high quality. You can either get them professionally done or find free high-resolution stock photos to use. Always make sure the photos are allowed for commercial reuse and don’t forget to give credit to the artists of free stock photos.
If you decide to take the photo yourself, here are some tips and tricks to keep in mind. One simple rule to follow in photography is the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds is great for creating a visually-pleasing photograph regardless of experience as it automatically draws the eye to the subject of the photo. Keep the composition of the photo such as depth, negative space, color, and contrast in mind. Planning out the composition before going off to a photoshoot is also a great way to save time while shooting quality images.
There are a multitude of ways to use photos to create a visually-pleasing Instagram account. For example, you can choose a core color for two weeks or more of content which unifies them visually when viewed as a group. This will also simplify the content creation process and strategy for you by creating a focus you can center your posts on.
Some people use the grid display Instagram uses to create cool patterns. Incorporating these patterns will set your account apart from other businesses.
Instagram Videos
When creating content for your Instagram account, keep in mind there are several different modes of delivery such as videos. Videos are great for grabbing the attention of your clients. You can get really creative with them and use them for product launches, announcements and giveaways. Building personality with videos is much easier as well since you can have a spokesperson who serves as the face of the brand which creates a more personal interaction with the audience. Always be sure the content relates to your business. You can either use them for your stories or as posts.
Instagram Captions
Even though the main focus is on the photos, captions are also very important during content creation. Don’t forget that while you’re trying to appeal to the public, you still need the captions to fall within your brand’s persona and ethics. The words you choose have a lot of weight on how your company is reflected to your consumers. Also, less is more when it comes to words. People have shorter attention spans these days, so keeping it sweet and simple is the way to go. Try to grab their attention as quickly as possible with the caption. Once again, less is more. Don’t try to impress your consumers with big, professional words. Keep it as simple as possible.
Edit Your Instagram Posts
Make sure your post is absolutely perfect before posting it for the public to see. With a scrutinizing audience, grammar checks and edits are a necessary step. Your content represents your company, so spend the time making sure everything is in good order. Check your photos and make sure they fit your brand’s image and send the message you want it to give.
Content Creation Strategy for Instagram
Publishing Schedule
Once you know the type of content you want to create, it’s important to have a content creation strategy to consistently share content with your followers. It’s difficult to stay relevant online when information is constantly being uploaded, so keeping a regular schedule is beneficial to maintaining your brand’s relevance. Having a publishing schedule also keeps you organized and prepared with a full content bank.
One recommendation is to keep two week’s worth of content prepared at all times. Plan out days for brainstorming, photo shoots, and editing. This way, you’re always ahead of the game. There are programs out there to help you schedule Instagram posts, making it easier for you to post content on time.
However, do be careful to not release too much content all the time since your audience can get exposure fatigue. If you do feel the need to release multiple photos at once to fit a theme or story, take advantage of Instagram’s multiple photo posts.The The optimal and recommended amount of posts is once or twice per day for business accounts.
Collaborations
Another strategy for content creation is collaboration. Find similar accounts to your own and build a relationship with those influencers. In the future, you could offer to have a collaboration with them. A collaboration will be beneficial to you both as it will garner more exposure for your brand and theirs. Some influencers do charge for their services, so be prepared and make sure you want to collaborate with them for their price.
Engagement
Even after sharing your posts, the content creation strategy does not stop there. Don’t be afraid to chat with your audience through the comment section or even through direct messages. People love being recognized by the business accounts and communicating with them. It lets them know your brand cares about its consumers. You can also build your company reputation this way by quickly answering questions, resolving consumer’s issues, and more. It’s a great way of becoming a reputable brand. People like to know their feedback is being heard.
Analytics
When first starting out, make sure you constantly check the analytics for your account. Doing so will help you strengthen your content strategy. Instagram shows you the days and times your posts get the most attention. Use this information to put out your best content during those days. Instagram also shows you which posts get the most impressions, likes, and other forms of engagement. This is a great way to see which type of posts your audience likes the most. Look at the similarities between the most popular posts to create similar content. If you have a business account with Instagram, it has a built in analytics for businesses to use. However, there are a multitude of helpful Instagram analytics apps with specific fields they are great for such as consumer insights, content creation, and even hashtag analytics. Depending on the area you would like to focus on, these types of apps would be great for organizing your content strategy as your following and business grows.
Instagram Content for Business
Hashtags
Hashtags are great for creating Instagram content for businesses. It’s a great way to gain traction and recognition for your business. You can use them for newly released products or upcoming events. Using hashtags is very important for building awareness as it makes it easier for your target market to find your business. According to a study, using eleven hashtags on Instagram content creates the most engagement with consumers. It’s also important to use relevant hashtags when sharing posts. Choose permanent ones to use with every post that are most applicable to your business and change up the other hashtags to make it more unique to each of your posts.
Calls to Action
Another way to build Instagram content for your business is to apply calls to action on your posts. Calls to action encourages your followers to engage with the posts you are sharing. Having call-to-actions can motivate followers to become actual consumers of your products. It helps them make the decision to pursue further action according to the post. Call-to-actions are even expected by consumers who take interest in a business Instagram account. Once they are interested, they want to pursue further action to find more information or complete a purchase. They want to see the link to a website at the end of a video. Not having a call-to-action when necessary can be detrimental to your business, so make good use of them.
By following these tips, you are now ready to create the optimal content for your Instagram account. Get out there and start getting creative with your Instagram content. Or, if you still need help, consider outsourcing your company’s social media to a digital agency.
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