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There are so many aspects to branding. It's not just your logo, fonts and colours. There are many aspects and elements to it. Things like story, emotions, values, connection, experience and aspiration.
So to have a platform that is both visual and uses copy and video in a casual, friendly easy to connect and interact with way makes for a wonderful place to showcase your brand and really connect with your audience in a deeper way.
This is why I love Instagram. It's is the perfect platform for showcasing all the elements of your brand in a way that connects and allows for interaction and feedback.
Visual Aspects of Your Brand
First, let’s look at some of the visual ways you can showcase your brand using Instagram.
If you have a creative business, Instagram provides a beautiful way to collect images and graphics that tell the story of your brand, create the mood and feeling and connect with your audience. When someone stumbles upon your brand for the first time, they can look at your Instagram and quickly get a sense of the work you do, the story mood and vibe of your business and if it is something they are interested in. I know I often will go straight to someone’s Instagram account after discovering their website, to quickly get a better sense of who they are and what they do. Because Instagram is constantly being updated, someone can see what kind of work you have been doing recently and feel more connected to you, as it feels more intimate and engaging.
So what visuals could you use?
Firstly pictures of your work and the behind-the-scenes of your work.
You may find it hard to keep your portfolio up to date all the time or get the chance to write case studies, so being able to quickly and easily post your latest work on Instagram is a great way to keep showing off your work. Especially as you get better and better at what you do, you can take your audience on that journey and let them watch as your skills develop and grow. It also allows people to easily comment on your work, ask questions and start conversations, so you can get feedback on what people are liking and what is resonating most.
Pictures of you.
This allows your audience to connect with the person behind the brand. See the face behind the work and get to know you on a deeper level. You can show nice brand photos, photos of you working or behind the scenes, your day to day and aspects of your personal life. Let people get a real glimpse of your world and who you are and your personality. You can even throw in the odd pic of your pets, family and significant other.
Pictures of your work environment.
To help people connect with where the work is made. Share the tools you use, your workspace or studio. Share what it looks like when you do work outside of home. Share things that inspire you.
Pictures that set the tone and mood and tell your brand story.
This can range from lifestyle images to flat lays or landscapes or textures. Consider the mood and vibe of your brand and how you want someone to feel when they land on your account and how you can create those feelings with your visuals.
Then consider the story of your brand. What is the narrative you want to draw your audience into. Where do they see themselves now and what transformation and change are you offering. You can show that with lifestyle images, travel shots, before and afters, pictures of your clients or client work, styles shots showing your products in use.
Create Graphics
This is where you can show your values, knowledge, personality purpose and vision.
You can create quote graphics.
These are a fun and highly shareable way to also show what your brand values and your personality. Quotes can be about things your brand believes in that your audience can connect with you over, or you can show some of your humour and personality with quirky fun quotes. Memes are another great way to show off your brand personality and make you feel more relatable.
Educational graphics.
This is a way to show off some of your knowledge and position you as an expert. You can create carousels, infographic or single images that give people quick tips and ideas. Even if you don’t teach in your business, it’s a great way to give your audience advise and show them you know your stuff. It also shows your brands position on certain topics, sharing your view and methods.
Relatable graphics.
This is another way to show your brands personality and connect with your Audi while and make them feel like you are just like them. This can include things relating to personality, character traits of your audience, typical things they encounter in life and how they are feeling.
Then there is the written aspect of Instagram.
This allows you to go deeper with your graphics and share all those aspects of your brand on an even deeper level.
Some ideas:
- Share your story and how you got into what you do.
- Customer/client stories and how you helped them or testimonials
- Talk about your why. Why do you do what you do, what has shaped you and why does what you do matter so much to you.
- Your vision. What difference do you want to make, where do you want to take this business and what impact do you want to have on others.
- Your personality. Tell stories, open up about your life, experiences, your views or beliefs and your take on certain topics.
- How you want your customer to feel or what you want them to believe. Consider how you might want to shift there thinking or open them up to possibilities or inspire them.
- Share your knowledge and expertise. Help your audience, share what you know and teach them on your topic.
- Share your struggles and weaknesses. This makes you relatable and human. It’s also a great way to start a discussion.
There are probably even more ways you can showcase your brand with Instagram but I hope this gets you thinking and inspired to make the most of the platform.
Want Instagram to be your greatest Brand Advocate?
Do you struggle to stay consistent on Instagram, and find your account feels messy and isn't attracting your dream audience?
Or perhaps you don't feel you are creating a deeper connection with your audience on Instagram. You post things and just get a couple of likes but no rich engagement or deeper relationships.
What if...
...there was a way to get clear on your audience niche (and not just list their job, age and income), attract people who love your work, and create a consistent and meaningful brand experience on your Instagram account?
This is why I created the Brand Gram e-book. To help you implement your brand on Instagram in a way that makes your brand memorable, consistent and cohesive and attracts your dream followers.
With the 'Brand Gram' e-book you can create an account that reflects your brand message and style and creates a deeper connection with your audience with ease.
I'd love to hear from you
Come join me on Instagram to chat more about this! You can comment on a post or send me a DM and let me know your thoughts or ask a question.