Instagram - An Overview

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Let's talk about the various Instagram post types and some best practices for encouraging engagement.

Images

The most typical post on Instagram is an image post. When publishing images, share a range of images. Variety will show your brand varies and engage your followers in different ways.

It's also essential to bear in mind that Instagram users are searching for authentic posts from brands-- not outright advertisements. Try to capture your business culture with lifestyle shots and behind-the-scenes looks. Prevent posting too many pictures of your product.

Example: Nike's Instagram consists of product photos, however the bulk show real professional athletes, performances, and other kinds of material that promote the Nike brand name personality as a whole.

As you begin to check out the platform, you'll see there are countless type of images you can publish to your account. Get innovative! Take note of any principles or styles you think would work well for your brand name.

To get you began, we've assembled a list of some successful Instagram image types.

Behind-the-Scenes Posts

These posts provide a peek into the part of your organization that individuals do not usually see. It's crucial that they do not look staged-- authenticity is key!

Example: Aeronaut Brewing Company offered a within take a look at its company culture by showcasing its workers at work.

Reposts From Employees

Terrific content can be right in Try This front of you ... on your staff members' Instagrams. (Just make certain to tag or credit the original poster.) Reposting images from your employees is a simple method to curate genuine content and humanize your company. Not just will your audience engage with your brand, but they'll also begin to "bond" with your staff members.

Example: Fenway Park frequently reposts images shared by the premises team as they prepare the arena.

Educational Posts

Educational posts use snackable tips on how to do or make something. The pictures or videos generally provide the instructions in such a way that are quick and simple to follow.

Example: The popular Tasty dish video series from Buzzfeed is educational yet extremely entertaining and easy to reproduce.

Influencer Posts

Influencer posts use the fame of a celeb or well-known public figure to promote your brand. These posts often include a visual of the influencer using or engaging with your product. Among the primary benefits of influencer posts is acquiring the attention of another audience.

Example: Goal Zero reveals prominent rock climber and photographer Alex Honnold utilizing one of its solar power charging stations. Not just is Goal Zero reaching its own audience, it's likewise reaching Alex's 500,000-plus Instagram follower base.

Motivational Posts

A motivational post integrates an easy visual with an overlaid quote or uplifting text. These posts motivate your audience and amplify your brand name values. While effective, try to post these sparingly to prevent looking tacky. Apps like Quipio and Typic can assist you add text to pictures in such a way that's constant with your brand standards.

Example: Foundr typically shares inspirational posts to motivate its fan base of business owners, small business owners, and online marketers. The posts also line up with their objective as a business media company.

User-Generated Content

Similar to staff member reposts, user-generated material (UGC) is curated content from your fans and fans. Your tagged posts and posts with your brand hashtag are a great source for UGC.

Sharing your fans' and followers' pictures not only make the initial poster feel great, it likewise reveals that you truly care about your clients. Just be sure to credit the original post with a tag or in the caption. To repost user-generated content, screenshot and crop the initial post or use a reposting app like Repost for Instagram.

Example: WeWork carries out an annual #DogsOfWeWork project and compiles the very best submissions together into an annual calendar. Although WeWork does not repost every tagged image, their campaign helps develop invaluable reach and engagement.

Newsjacking (Trending Holiday Posts)

It appears like there's a "vacation" for everything nowadays. Occasions like National Sibling Day and National Ice Cream Day generate a lots of engagement on social networks. Join in the fun by taking part in a local, nationwide, or world pattern. A newsjacking post is an excellent method to publish humorous material that relates to light-hearted events.

Example: Corridor Brewing celebrated the Cubs' Opening Day. Through this post, the American dining establishment chain took advantage of a popular American activity.

Recording and Editing Instagram Photos

Now that we've explored what you can publish on Instagram, let's evaluation some ways to make sure your content is successful. Unlike other social networks platforms, Instagram's basic profile design forces you to concentrate on the quality of material ... not the quantity.

While this is excellent for engagement, it also suggests that you can't hide average content. Do your very best to utilize high-resolution images on your Instagram feed.

Square images must be 1080 x 1080px. Landscape images ought to be 1080 x 566px, and profile images ought to be 1350 x 1080px. No matter what size you upload, every image will be revealed as a square in your profile feed.

How to Take a Great Photo With Your Smartphone

You might be thinking How am I supposed to capture the best, high-quality shot without a premium camera? No concerns! Phone video camera technology has actually ended up being so innovative that it now matches thousand-dollar cams.

Fantastic photography is no longer limited to those with expert cameras. You (yes, you!) can take eye-catching photos your audience will like using a tool you already have in your hands. Here are some suggestions to drive follower growth and Instagram engagement.

1. Follow the rule of thirds.

To instantly improve your photo composition, turn on your cam grid lines. Goal to place your topic at the crossway of one set of vertical and horizontal lines. This strategy, called the rule of thirds, is popular among painters, illustrators, and photographers.

Putting your subject off center develops a small imbalance that catches your viewer's eye. To switch on your grid lines (on an iPhone), go to Settings > Photos & Camera and switch Grid to on.

2. Focus on a single topic.

A crowded background with numerous subjects in a frame only sidetracks from the focus of your shot. It can even confuse your audience.

Instead, focus on a single topic in each image. Get rid of distractions by cropping them out or finding a tidy background to shoot against.

3. Benefit from negative space.

Negative space is the empty space around your topic. Leaving unfavorable space around your topic will accentuate the preferred focus of your image and avoid it from looking crowded.

4. Look for interesting point of views.

People are utilized to seeing the world from eye level. To produce intriguing and fresh images, utilize shots from different viewpoints. Alter your shooting point of view to capture a bird's eye view or worm's eye view. Try out different angles to find new viewpoints on typical sights.

5. Leverage balance and patterns.

The human eye is naturally drawn to This Site in proportion shapes and things. Sometimes, it's best to break the rule of thirds and center the scene in your frame. Leading lines are another more specific kind of proportion that pulls the eye into the photo. Individuals are likewise drawn to patterns. A pattern might be man made, such as a tiled flooring, or natural, such as petals on a flower or vines on a wall. To make things truly intriguing, break up the pattern with your topic.

6. Usage natural light.

Basic overhead lighting produces harsh shadows and highlights that create undesirable dark and light locations in your photos. To prevent this from occurring, use soft natural light any place possible. Try taking images next to a window, and for outside shots, the half-hour right before sundown and after sunrise typically offers the most striking lighting as the sun is low in the horizon.