Let's talk about the various Instagram post types and some finest practices for encouraging engagement.
Images
The most common post on Instagram is an image post. When publishing images, share a range of pictures. Variety will reveal your brand is diverse and engage your fans in different ways.
It's likewise crucial to bear in mind that Instagram users are searching for real posts from brands-- not outright advertisements. Try to record your company culture with way of life shots and behind-the-scenes appearances. Prevent posting too many photos of your product.
Example: Nike's Instagram includes item photos, however the majority reveal real athletes, shows, and other types of material that promote the Nike brand personality as a whole.
As you start to check out the platform, you'll see there are many sort of images you can publish to your account. Get innovative! Bear in mind of any ideas or designs you believe would work well for your brand name.
To get you began, we've compiled a list of some successful Instagram image types.
Behind-the-Scenes Posts
These posts offer a glance into the part of your service that people do not generally see. It's important that they don't look staged-- credibility is key!
Example: Aeronaut Brewing Company supplied Visit a within look at its company culture by showcasing its workers at work.
Reposts From Employees
Excellent content can be best in front of you ... on your employees' Instagrams. (Just make certain to tag or credit the initial poster.) Reposting photos from your staff members is a simple method to curate genuine material and humanize your service. Not just will your audience engage with your brand, but they'll also begin to "bond" with your workers.
Example: Fenway Park often reposts images shared by the premises team as they prepare the stadium.
Educational Posts
Educational posts use snackable tips on how to do or make something. The photos or videos usually present the guidelines in a way that are quick and easy to follow.
Example: The popular Tasty dish video series from Buzzfeed is educational yet really entertaining and easy to duplicate.
Influencer Posts
Influencer posts utilize the fame of a celebrity or popular public figure to promote your brand. These posts frequently include a visual of the influencer using or communicating with your product. One of the primary advantages of influencer posts is acquiring the attention of another audience.
Example: Goal Zero shows renowned rock climber and professional photographer Alex Honnold utilizing one of its solar power charging stations. Not just is Goal Zero reaching its own audience, it's likewise reaching Alex's 500,000-plus Instagram fan base.
Motivational Posts
A motivational post combines an easy visual with an overlaid quote or uplifting text. These posts encourage your audience and enhance your brand name values. While reliable, try to publish these moderately to avoid looking cheesy. Apps like Quipio and Typic can assist you include text to images in a manner that's constant with your brand name standards.
Example: Foundr frequently shares inspirational posts to motivate its follower base of business owners, small Their Explanation business owners, and online marketers. The posts also line up with their objective as a business media business.
User-Generated Content
Comparable to worker reposts, user-generated content (UGC) is curated material from your fans and followers. Your tagged posts and posts with your brand hashtag are an excellent source for UGC.
Sharing your fans' and followers' images not only make the initial poster feel excellent, it also shows that you genuinely care about your customers. Just make certain to credit the initial post with a tag or in the caption. To repost user-generated content, screenshot and crop the original post or use a reposting app like Repost for Instagram.
Example: WeWork conducts an annual #DogsOfWeWork campaign and assembles the best submissions together into a yearly calendar. Although WeWork doesn't repost every tagged image, their campaign assists develop vital reach and engagement.
Newsjacking (Trending Holiday Posts)
It appears like there's a "holiday" for whatever these days. Occasions like National Sibling Day and National Ice Cream Day generate a ton of engagement on social media. Join in the fun by participating in a regional, nationwide, or world trend. A newsjacking post is a fantastic method to post amusing content that connects to light-hearted events.
Example: Corridor Brewing commemorated the Cubs' Opening Day. Through this post, the American restaurant chain used a popular American pastime.
Capturing and Editing Instagram Photos
Now that we've explored what you can post on Instagram, let's review some methods to make sure your content succeeds. Unlike other social networks platforms, Instagram's easy profile design forces you to concentrate on the quality of content ... not the amount.
While this is fantastic for engagement, it also implies that you can't hide mediocre material. Do your very best to use high-resolution images on your Instagram feed.
Square images should be 1080 x 1080px. Landscape images ought to be 1080 x 566px, and profile images ought to be 1350 x 1080px. Despite what size you submit, every image will be shown as a square in your profile feed.
How to Take a Great Photo With Your Smartphone
You might be thinking How am I expected to record the perfect, high-quality shot without a premium electronic camera? No concerns! Phone electronic camera innovation has actually ended up being so advanced that it now equals thousand-dollar cameras.
Amazing photography is no longer restricted to those with expert video cameras. You (yes, you!) can take attractive pictures your audience will love utilizing a tool you already have in your hands. Here are some suggestions to drive follower development and Instagram engagement.
1. Follow the rule of thirds.
To instantly enhance your image composition, switch on your camera grid lines. Goal to place your topic at the crossway of one set of vertical and horizontal lines. This strategy, called the rule of thirds, is popular amongst painters, illustrators, and photographers.
Putting your topic off center creates a small imbalance that catches your viewer's eye. To switch on your grid lines (on an iPhone), go to Settings > Photos & Camera and change Grid to on.
2. Concentrate on a single subject.
A congested background with several subjects in a frame just sidetracks from the focus of your shot. It can even puzzle your audience.
Rather, concentrate on a single topic in each picture. Get rid of diversions by cropping them out or finding a tidy background to shoot against.
3. Make the most of unfavorable space.
Negative area is the void around your subject. Leaving unfavorable area around your topic will draw attention to the desired focus of your image and avoid it from looking crowded.
4. Search for intriguing perspectives.
People are used to seeing the world from eye level. To create interesting and fresh pictures, utilize shots from different perspectives. Alter your shooting viewpoint to record a bird's eye view or worm's eye view. Experiment with different angles to discover brand-new point of views on common sights.
5. Take advantage of balance and patterns.
The human eye is naturally drawn to symmetrical shapes and items. Often, it's finest to break the rule of thirds and center the scene in your frame. Leading lines are another more particular kind of proportion that pulls the eye into the photo. People are likewise drawn to patterns. A pattern could be man made, such as a tiled floor, or natural, such as petals on a flower or vines on a wall. To make things really intriguing, separate the pattern with your subject.
6. Usage natural light.
Basic overhead lighting creates extreme shadows and highlights that produce unwanted dark and light areas in your images. To prevent this from occurring, use soft natural light wherever possible. Try taking images next to a window, and for outside shots, the half-hour right before sundown and after dawn often provides the most striking lighting as the sun is low in the horizon.