How to Build your Brand on Instagram

If you’re an Instagram marketer or are flirting with the idea of using the image- and video-sharing platform as a way to generate leads for your company, you’ve probably read a few how-to pieces on building a top-notch brand presence on Instagram. They’re great. They do their job extremely well. To be honest, you might even have read a few of them here on our ever-expanding Kickstagram blog.

But, here’s the deal—there’s more to Instagram marketing magic than the right hashtag, a few motivational quotes and a behind-the-scenes look at how your company functions on a daily basis. Don’t get us wrong—if you’re not doing each of the aforementioned, your Instagram presence will suffer.

That said, today, we’ve got a bit more for you. Ready to spread those proverbial wings of yours and fly a little higher? If so, the following four Instagram marketing tactics are sure to be right up your alley. They’re different from what you’re probably used to hearing, but are sure to get the job done. Enjoy!

1) Develop an Actionable Hashtag

Copywriters always make it a point to include a few well-placed calls to action within the body of the copy they’re producing. No, there’s not much writing to speak of when it comes to Instagram, but with what little there is, you need to always put your best foot forward. Believe it or not, hashtags are no different.

But not just any old hashtag will do—make it an actionable hashtag. The more your words inspire viewers to actually do something that your brand has suggested, the stronger the emotional tie will be between the two of you. Nike’s #ChooseYourWinter campaign is an excellent example of this. People loved it, and it changed the way they spent their winter months. It’s one thing to like a post, but this is the kind of interaction that leads to real customer conversion.

2) Align Your Message With a Good Cause

For brands on Instagram, social media marketing partnerships are golden. But you don’t necessarily need to limit yourself to working with brands and individuals that occupy your same niche. Instead, look to implement some PR savvy into your Instagram marketing. Listen, this isn’t a time for glittering generalities—stand for something you genuinely care about.

From those basic Instagram marketing articles of which were previously made mention, you learned that blatant self-promotion is a big no-no for getting Instagram users to fall in love with your brand. When you align your company with a good cause, it’s much easier to look outward with your content. People like this and will nearly always respond positively.

3) Relate to Your Audience While Maintaining Your Brand Image

This is one of those Instagram marketing tactics that’s easier said than done. Why? Well, companies want to produce awesome content to help solidify a great brand image, but they want to also differentiate themselves from what their competitors are doing. Basically, it’s hard to be both unique and industry-specific at the same time.

Thankfully, this doesn’t have to be the cause of constant migraines for you and your team. Think of things this way—who is your ideal follower and why is he or she on Instagram in the first place? The answer to these simple questions might take you slightly away from your business’ specialty, but if you can find a common link between your passions and those of your ideal viewer, your content will increase in efficiency.

4) Keep Your Posting Frequency to a Minimum

We’re not saying that you shouldn’t be regularly pushing top-tier content, it’s just that some brands take the publishing part of things to an extreme, while forgetting about the quality side of things. Instagram isn’t Twitter, and it never will be. However, if you have a Twitter account, it’s likely you’ve been forced to unfollow an account or two because their tweets were flooding your feed.

Once again, Instagram isn’t Twitter, but the same principle still applies. Don’t force yourself on your followers. Nobody wants that. We all know that crazed parent who can’t help but post picture after picture of their firstborn. Simply put, don’t become your industry’s installment of that person. It’ll cause nothing but trouble.

Parting Thoughts

Instagram is about as simple of a social network as there is. Yet, what’s unusual about all of this ‘Gram marketing goodness is that, when done correctly, things can quickly become complex. As such, it’s important to use creativity and out-of-the-box thinking to your advantage.

The above four tips—combined with a bit of common sense, mind you—do just that. Use them often and you’ll soon see more quality posts, follower interaction and lead generation than you ever thought possible on Instagram.