This is the million dollar question companies big and small spend megabucks trying to answer. Now I am not talking about hashtags here. That is another blog post in itself. This is just a quick run down on thoughtful purpose driven content.
Over the courses and just pure time spent researching for the answer, I have found what works for me. It starts with knowing your audience. Without knowing who your audience is, how are you going to grab their attention? What use is posting 2-3 times a week when no-one is interested in what you are posting?
As with everything we do to create a sustainable brand you need purposeful, clear and structured content. It should be easy to read on mobile devices and have a captivating image that is relevant to what you are saying. Because as we all know instagram is a tool based around imagery not words. So you first must define what your purpose is on instagram, and is your audience truly interested in what you are saying? In a previous blog post I go through how important finding your brand voice is and this is where knowing that comes in.
Knowing your brand voice helps to discover what tone of voice your content will have, and what image style you will use.
A helpful tip is that you don’t have to stick to one topic like candles. You can cover a few topics that aren’t always about your product or service. Sometimes changing what you post keeps your followers interested, and stops you from being bored with your content.
For example I don’t consistently push my services down my followers throats or my design work. I mix it up with some design related posts, education posts and things I love – like food, animals and family! I find a little behind the scenes goes a long way with showing you aren’t another bot out to get your followers money. Your human, make them see that. Get them to relate to you and your business emotionally through these images. Captivate their attention with things they can resonate with or value.
The key with having a mix of topics is to make sure they carry a theme across, so no image stands out like a sore thumb! I find using the same filter is a great way for me to create a consistent look whilst giving me freedom with my content. There are many templates and even schedule posting platforms that give you themes, grids and templates to copy that you can just place your images in and presto you’ve got a stunning, coherent theme!
Now if you’re thinking that’s great so I can make a good looking feed, but how do I captivate my audience?
Post purposeful content
You are already halfway there. Instagram users are nit pickers for business profiles looking consistent and aesthetically pleasing. With purposeful images that relate to a core topic/s you just need content that captivates your audience. Just remember there is no point posting something that has no relevance.
To begin, decide on the topics you or your business wants to post about. They could be nature, products, family, food, landscapes, flowers, cookies. Whatever it is, pick your topics and stick with them. I tend to think anything more than 5 different topics can be quite overwhelming for you to manage and your followers to be interested in.
So what do you write about?
Ask yourself what is a paint point your followers have that you can clarify or solve? Will your resolution be a ‘how-to-guide’, personal story, case study, review, offer, question or a conversation with them?
Once you have chosen your style of post, give your idea a beautiful beginning. Your caption is what tells people what the post is about and if it is relevant to them. Create a captivating headline that stops them, and keeps them focused on you for a few seconds. Then reel them in with the copy that follows. Speak personally to them to maintain that connection you’ve worked so hard to get. Then tell them what you want them to do at the end of the post. Have a nice day? Call to action? Head to your website or instagram profile – what? They won’t know if you don’t tell them!
So how does that all sound? Make things a little clearer?
It is a lot to remember and master I know. Download the Checklist I use at the bottom of this post to make sure you are getting the most out of each post!
As your fellow human, YOU GOT THIS!
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