7 Ways to Craft an Appealing Instagram Account

We all get it: Instagram is a big deal. But getting it right… that’s a bigger deal. Having trouble believing just how big of a deal Instagram is? To date, over 40 billion Instagram photos have been shared with 95 million photos and videos being shared daily.

So how do you go about creating an on-brand, informative Instagram account with the chance for virality, considering that the average business posts Instagram photos 4.9 times per day on average ?

Check out the below tips and tricks that can help elevate anyone’s Instagram strategy:

Vision Board

A pet peeve of mine is when a company’s account has no apparent objective or theme. Many brands have multiple teams of people helping to manage their social media pages, which can result in the company’s page looking unpolished. One way to combat this is to create a vision board for your Instagram content. This will provide a guide of “on brand” options varying from colors to use, types of photography to incorporate, quotes that should be included and more. Now, you’ve created a system that no matter who is posting, everyone is creating content from the same starting point.

Photography Budget

It can be startling when a brand starts with one type of photography and then migrates away, creating a completely new feel, which is confusing for followers. To avoid this hurdle, it’s important to understand early on what type of budget you are dealing with (both short and long term) to determine your best approach.

Low Budget Companies: You would be surprised just how much you can do with almost nothing. There are tons of photo websites that don’t require attribution or payment with thousands of options. Check out Pablo , which is a favorite of MoxieDot!

Big Budget Companies:Investment in professional photography can be a game changer. This gives a company complete control over the story they choose to tell. The difficulty with this approach is that it’s a more time-intensive process due to the content creation process taking longer than a photo that is ready and waiting online. You could also just get a pricing estimate for the photos you want to take– you might be surprised at how reasonable it could be.

Symmetry Decisions

There is nothing I love more than a well-structured Instagram profile. One way to achieve this is to plan, in advance, the order of your posts so that when you visit the profile, the center column of photos may all share obvious similarities. Another way to achieve symmetry is to post in pairs or three related posts at a time. This just shows your brand went the extra step to provide a pleasing aesthetic for the consumer, highlighting a company’s attention to detail.

Screen Shot of @TheClosetDimeShop Instagram

Hashtag Consistency

I am all for hashtags, but it’s very noticeable when they are used sporadically. A company should decide their preferred method for incorporating hashtags and maintain that structure. Different usages of hashtags can vary per brand (i.e. commenting on the photo and listing all hashtags v. using them in the caption) but as long as they are working for that brand, they practice consistent hashtag usage.

Logo Usage

Logo usage opinions can be split into two camps: logo usage is beneficial or logo usage is distracting. The type of company you work with matters for this subject. For example, service companies (i.e. agencies, photographers, etc.) can find logos helpful in terms of converting likes into future business by helping to cement their brand in a consumer’s mind but logos can also distract from other more important content so it’s important to discern when the logo takes away more than it gives. For example, a lifestyle brand or large corporation may want to showcase stunning photography, interesting product use, information video, where usage of a logo may interrupt the original theme or purpose of the post.

Screen Shot of @ABCNews Instagram

Screen Shot of @MoxieDot Instagram

Profile Picture

Profile pictures should utilize a logo, which can easily be read via Instagram. In this case, less is more. The profile picture is so small that messaging should be simple but eye-catching. A company logo or name is an ideal choice here. Keep it square so your image doesn’t get cut off!

Screen Shot of @Nike Instagram

“Bio” Section

This section is extremely important as it serves to verify your brand’s identity, share additional relevant links and showcase brand personality (i.e. refer to your company’s vision board!). It’s important to showcase your company’s best side while staying authentic i.e. it may not be suitable for a financial services company to use emojis in their bio section. Briefly stating your company’s purpose, main website and company hashtag is a strong beginning for any brand.

Screen Shot of @amazon Instagram

Screen Shot of @target Instagram

Looking to ramp up your social media usage? Contact MoxieDot today and learn how we can help your achieve your goals.