1. Promotional posts
Use your Instagram account to promote your business by featuring your products or services. An image that showcases one product or that can summarise a service you offer at a glance is perfect. The caption that can be paired with this type of post can be subtle and does not need to use a direct call to action. Think of a promotional post as introducing yourself to someone and sharing who you are and what you do.
2. Relatable / inspirational quotes or memes
Making your business relatable to your audience is imperative to success, and your Instagram profile should be used to achieve this. Quotes or memes can be a great way to connect with your audience. These can be based on humour, inspiration or fact sharing and can be used to remind customers that you are there, without constantly showing your product. Quotes can be used as found or you can use apps such as Canva to use a consistent font and colour scheme across all posts shared.
3. Customer shout-outs
Your customers are perhaps the most important relationship to maintain and as with all relationships it cannot be one sided. If a customer shares a post featuring your product, share the post on your account. Not only do customer testimonials create a sense of brand loyalty and trustworthiness, but they broaden your reach. By providing an incentive to share their favourite photo of your product such as having it featured on your account, people are more likely to share your products with their following. Establishing a business hashtag is a way to keep track of customer posts and curate all options for the best image that fits with your overall brand theme.
4. Behind the scenes
Everyone loves to feel as though they have been let in on a secret, and content showcasing behind- the-scenes footage does just that. There are multiple ways to include behind the scenes content on your Instagram account, such as on your story or story highlights, an Instagram live session, the new and exciting Instagram TV and regular posts on your feed. Be sure to use relevant hashtags to highlight the post to maximise engagement including #behindthescenes or #sneakpeak.
5. Ask a question
Questions can be centred around anything to do with your business, product, industry or audience. Serving as a call to action, questions can be used to increase engagement with your audience and reiterate a sense of community and co-creation with your business. Examples of great question types to ask include asking the audience to choose a favourite between two products; Asking about something nostalgic (if it relates to your business) and asking for feedback on a new aspect of your business. When posing a question to your audience, be sure to take the time to respond to messages where relevant, and thank people for their input as this will encourage them to be a part of any further questions.
Brooke Vulinovich, Social Media Expert, www.villamanagement.com.au
