You know Instagram is all about visual expression. Whether you use it for business or pleasure, it doesn't matter.
When you are on Instagram, you focus on aesthetics.
But as you already know de gustibus non disputandum est, or you do not discuss taste.
So how do you know whether or not you are doing it right?

THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO BE WHERE THE PARTY IS & SHOW UP AS THE COOL KID

The recent statistics show that over 1 billion people use Instagram every month & with that being said, at least you are sure that you are at the right party.
I won’t even mention that you have to have a set-up business account, otherwise you will miss out on many extra features and the options available for businesses only.

HOW DO YOU MAKE YOURSELF LOOK LIKE A COOL KID, YOU WONDER?‍

Pretty easy, you just have to follow some tips that have been proven to work for thousands of brands on Instagram repeatedly.

THE FIRST IMPRESSION MATTERS

Think of this as walking to a party.
You are walking in everybody turns their heads to see who entered.
You want to be captivating enough so you would spark interest and people would actually stare for a couple of seconds before they line-up to engage with you.
Make them want to get to know you, but for that to happen you have to make the right first impression.
You have just one chance to do that, so here we go:

Profile photo

This awakens the visual senses in the users visiting your page.
A profile photo should, however, be relevant to your business.
This could be a product photo or the company logo.
Whichever it is, it needs to be attractive, both on your profile and when minimized in the feed.
Also, start the process of getting THE BADGE this verified blue badge gets your profile multiple levels up.

‍Bio

This is where your magician abilities can come in handy if you have them, that is.
You have only 150 characters to tell who you are, what you do, why you are what they need & to throw in a bit of spice to intrigue the visitors.
Do not forget the CTA's and of course it won't hurt if you throw an emoji in the mix.
No matter how serious of a business you are, you need to show personality.
After all, as we said, we are at a party.

Website

This is the place where you can directly link your website, which is still in the bio.
Here, you can actively involve your users, since they can visit your company website through your Instagram bio.
Also, this place can be reserved to showcase promotional offers, latest blog articles, basically everything that you need to get it out there as a link.

Email

Whenever you add your email address on your bio, an Email button is generated on your profile.
This information appears below all the other information. When a user clicks on the Email button, the Instagram app prompts them to open their default mail app on their phone.

Directions

Entering the full address of your business will help customers locate you easily.
This applies if your business has a permanent location. This may sound obvious and stupid but believe me, very often if people can't find you they won’t buy from you.

Call

Same as above. Adding a phone number is an alternative to show your company’s contact information on your profile.
Whenever a user clicks this button, it prompts them to directly call the company.

SHARE A BIT OF YOUR STORY EVERYDAY

More than 500 million people watch Instagram Stories every day. For perspective, all of Twitter counts an average of 192 million daily users.
A 2018 survey by Facebook found that 58% of participants became interested in a brand or product after seeing it in a Story.
People have taken to the casual, disappearing nature of the format, even when it comes to brand content.
So use the story feature creatively and for more casual content or promotions, offers and news. But don’t go too wild with the stories.
You know that boring guy at the party that will tell you everything, literally his whole life except the things you are really interested in?
Well, don’t be that guy.

Use story highlights!

Instagram Story Highlights are another way to maximize your Instagram business profile’s real estate.
Organize Stories into saved collections on your page, whether it’s behind the scenes, tips, frequently asked questions or user-generated content.
Also make sure you use highlight covers that are on brand.

PUT A LITTLE MAKEUP ON, WE ARE TAKING PHOTOS

Try to establish recurring themes of pillars that you can alternate.
In some cases, the content will be obvious.
A clothing line might showcase its clothes, and a restaurant might post photos of its food.
If you offer services, try showcasing customer stories, or go behind the scenes to highlight office life and the people who make your company tick.
This means you have to have to decide your color palette & aesthetic so when you show up on people’s feed they instantly know it's you.
This is like when you show up at a party with your new 90’s aesthetic leather jacket and everybody is like: That jacket is totally you!

USE ALL FORMATS:

Instagram may have started as a simple photo-sharing app, but now the platform hosts everything from live broadcasts to Reels.
Here’s a rundown of some of the formats that might be a good fit for your brand:
● Instagram Carousels: Publish up to 10 photos in a single post.
● Reels: This TikTok-esque format now has its own tab on the platform.
● IGTV: Instagram TV is a long-form video format, ideal for recurring content series.
● Instagram Live: Now up to four people can broadcast live on Instagram.
● Instagram Guides: Brands have found several ways to share products, company news, how-to’s and more with this format.

YOU ARE MORE THAN JUST GOOD LOOKS

You can not walk into the party, just be pretty and expect everyone to be wowed by you on the long run.
Even though Instagram is a visual platform, you need to put a bit of effort into the captions.
Captions allow you to tell the story that makes the photo meaningful. Good copy can build empathy, community, and trust. Or it can just be casual and funny, depending on the intention behind the post. It needs to be an add on to the photo and be intriguing or at least amusing.
Develop a clear brand voice so you can stay consistent. Do you use emoji in your captions?
Is there a style guide that your brand follows? What hashtags do you use?
The creation guidelines will help keep your captions distinct and on-brand, also not to mention the time that it will save you.
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Hope you are going to be the life of the party.

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Sources: Instagram; Emarketer