Best Practices for your Brand’s Social Media
Today, approximately 3.5 million people use social media. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter — you name it, they’ve got it.
In recent years, it’s become more popular amongst businesses across the globe to make a name for themselves on social media platforms. They present opportunities to communicate directly with consumers, promote new products, follow trends, generate leads, and tell a story.
Instagram recently rolled out changes to their algorithm — changes that make it even more important to create unique content that speaks directly to your target audience.
In the past, Instagram presented all content to users in chronological order. But with the recent algorithm changes, the posts you see first in your feed are from accounts you most frequently interact with. The algorithm is constantly changing, but regardless of the next tweak, it will always be crucial to keep your content timely, relevant, and engaging.
Importance of quality photos
Driving traffic to your social media platforms is only half the battle. The next challenge is getting your visitors to stay and engage with your content.
Getting your brand fans amped up on Instagram validates the importance of visually-stimulating content that gets their attention long enough to engage (either by tapping the like button, sharing the post, saving it, or commenting on it).
“Visually-stimulating” could mean a multitude of things, but what we’re trying to get at here is the importance of high-quality content. This means ditching any blurry, low-resolution photos, content obviously shot with low-quality tech, and the like. Engaging content provides more opportunity for you to tell your brand’s story in a unique way. Posting content with little thought is only doing your brand a disservice - so take advantage of creating quality content, because customers will favor quality over quantity.
Photo tips for success
We’re not all professional photographers. Remember, what matters most with Instagram content is authenticity. With just a few simple tips, your content will be ready to do the heavy lifting for your brand.
That’s why we’ve asked our go-to gal Julia Merten, our content marketing intern — the wiz behind our photoshoots — for some best practices in capturing the winning shot and editing it to perfection.
Click play below to hear Julia's tips!
Backgrounds
In any image, a quality background is critical. Images with backgrounds are generally favored over photos without a background or with a limited background. Check out this example to note some differences, and imagine how you’d react to both versions when scrolling through the ‘gram.
Add in some texture
Images that have texture perform better than those that are perceived to be more smooth. Texture (such as greenery or any related prop) adds a sensory element to the photo and can provide more opportunity to get creative with your photoshoots. So, add in some texture to the foreground of your photos!
Utilize dominating colors
Images with one dominant color perform much better than others with multiple — giving the photo that WOW factor and a singular focal point for the eye to be attracted to.
Recommended posting guidelines
Okay, so we’ve given you all the tips you need to create the most stunning content for your grid.
But, we’ve included a few more posting guidelines that we deem crucial to the success of your brand’s Instagram profile.
Stay in touch with current events and culture
Place your brand in line with pop culture and things happening in the world. This is an easy way to remind customers that you, too, are human. It adds a touch of relatability and relevance that not all brands present well on socials.
Switch it up
Photos and videos are great. However, keep your grid fun and ever-changing with unique posts every so often to keep the vibe fun and light. Consider gifs and boomerangs, too!
Keep up with us on social
Head on over to @anthembranding on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to see exactly what we’ve been up to!