Welcome to Our New Blog Series
MOSAIC wants you to have all your bases covered when it comes to solidifying your brand and marketing strategy using social media, so we’re introducing the Basics and Best Practices series, starting with Instagram. If you think about it, social media help you achieve two things at the same time: publishing content and gaining an audience. The latter is what pulls social into two categories; we also collectively refer to social media as social networks. The same way you would network offline—by being approachable, transparent, and savvy—is how you should “network” online.
However, choosing the right photos and video to effectively transmit your business’s personality is just the beginning. As of September, Instagram has more 800 million monthly active users and is the top platform of choice for social influencers. This social app has massive impact, so the way you handle your business’s Instagram account needs to be very well executed. Here’s a checklist of what you should do to ensure your Instagram presence is a valuable touchpoint for your organization.
Top 10 Tips for Businesses on Instagram
- Always base your post decisions on your target audiences. Not every idea is relevant to your current followers and the followers you want to have.
- Show staff in action to capture your team doing what they do best. Give followers an inside look into team building and company culture.
- Set your company apart by showcasing the causes that matter to you as well as community service activities your staff engage in.
- Make sure you’re liking and commenting on the posts of established authorities in your field. This positions you to gain mindshare; it also generates impressions and engagement.
- Geotag locations when you’re at tradeshows or industry events. It will help you connect with potential business partners and help your future clients find you!
- Do hashtag research on your field and your audience, then hashtag judiciously. Make sure your hashtags are not too narrow or broad.
- Keep your posts balanced: if you only focus on your company 100% of the time, people get disengaged. Repost relevant content from other sources.
- Do an objectivity check so your posts are realistic and on-brand. The last thing you want is to look like you’re posing or having an identity crisis.
- Post quality, personable visuals. This doesn’t mean you have to stage every shot, but images should be clear with a good angle or viewpoint.
- Don’t neglect your captions—and we don’t just mean remembering to use hashtags. Use that real estate to give context on what’s not in the shot.
Your Business Account
The above assumes you’ve done your due diligence and set up a verified account for your business. Haven’t done that yet? Let us know! If you want to work with us on building your Instagram community, explore how users interact with Instagram, or have any other questions, use the Marketing contact form to reach out to us.