If you’re planning to launch a brand, instagram is one of the first social media platforms that comes to mind. Smaller businesses in the initial phases usually don’t have the budget for hiring social media managers or even creating a website. They also rely on organic (unpaid) social media growth. So making a first impression online is crucial.
Think of your instagram page as your website and your brand’s first impression. At a glance, visitors should be clear about what your business is selling. Your instagram efforts will only be effective if you are clear about the following:
Your objectives
What do you plan to achieve with instagram as a marketing tool? Are you trying to get traffic to your website or using instagram to make sales? Being clear on your objectives allows you to know which instagram metrics you should be tracking for success.
Your branding
This includes your visual brand identity and overall brand strategy that you plan to implement on your social media channels. Keeping this strategy in mind will allow you to communicate your story using social media.
Your audience
What does your ideal customer look like? You should know everything about the target audience you plan to sell to, to attract the right customers and build lasting relationships.
After you’ve pinned down your strategy, we’ve narrowed down a few important steps to launch your brand on instagram:
- Craft your bio carefully – Your instagram bio allows 150 characters, use this space strategically. This is the first impression profile visitors will have of your brand. It should state clearly what your business is about. This is a good opportunity to share your brand’s offering. Encourage an action (call us or order now) with the contact options.
- Design highlight Covers – Think of your instagram highlights as similar to your website menu. Use this feature to elaborate the offering shared in your bio. This can include our services, portfolio, behind the scenes, testimonials. Your highlight covers should be readable (if they include text) or should accurately illustrate the content it contains.
- Create 9 to 12 high quality creative assets – Your first few posts should give people an introduction to your business. This is a chance to pique the interest of your audience. So share content that creates a buzz or generates curiosity around your brand. Make sure your imagery and videos are high-quality and align with your visual brand identity.
- Draft 2 to 3 caption styles – Based on your brand strategy, your business should have a tone of voice. This may either be informative and educational or conversational and fun depending on the nature of your business. Draft 2 to 3 captions as templates that can be used and tweaked later.
- Create collections of relevant hashtags – Before launching on instagram, we recommend taking the time out to research the best hashtags for your niche. Your hashtags can cover your niche, be location- specific and industry related. We recommend making 3 collections of 15 to 30 hashtags that you can swap around during the launch and continue to adjust once you start a content calendar.
You’ve launched your brand on Instagram! What’s next? Now it’s time to come up with a regular schedule of instagram posts and engage with your community.
Want to learn more about Social Media in 2022? Share your thoughts – email us at [email protected] or follow us on Instagram @swatchsocialagency. Sign up for our mailing list for more industry insights and social media tips!
Written by Natalya Kamal
Image credit: https://www.sheboldstock.com/
