Let's talk about the different 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 reveal your brand is diverse and engage your followers in various ways.
It's likewise important to keep in mind that Instagram users are searching for genuine posts from brand names-- not outright ads. Try to catch your company culture with lifestyle shots and behind-the-scenes appearances. Prevent publishing a lot of photos of your product.
Example: Nike's Instagram consists of item pictures, however the majority reveal real athletes, performances, and other types of material that promote the Nike brand name personality as a whole.
As you begin to explore the platform, you'll see there are countless type of images you can publish to your account. Get creative! Remember of any principles or styles you think would work well for your brand.
To get you began, we've assembled a list of some successful Instagram image types.
Behind-the-Scenes Posts
These posts use a glimpse into the part of your company This Site that individuals do not normally see. It's crucial that they don't look staged-- credibility is crucial!
Example: Aeronaut Brewing Company provided a within take a look at its company culture by showcasing its staff members at work.
Reposts From Employees
Excellent material can be right in front of you ... on your workers' Instagrams. (Just be sure to tag or credit the original poster.) Reposting images from your workers is a simple way to curate genuine content and humanize your company. Not only will your audience engage with your brand, but they'll also begin to "bond" with your workers.
Example: Fenway Park frequently reposts images shared by the grounds crew as they prepare the arena.
Educational Posts
Educational posts use snackable ideas on how to do or make something. The photos or videos typically present the directions in a manner that fast and simple to follow.
Example: The popular Tasty dish video series from Buzzfeed is instructional yet very amusing and easy to replicate.
Influencer Posts
Influencer posts utilize the fame of a celeb or popular public figure to promote your brand name. These posts often consist of a visual of the influencer utilizing or communicating with your product. Among the primary advantages of influencer posts is gaining the attention of another audience.
Example: Goal Zero shows prominent rock climber and professional 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 fan base.
Motivational Posts
An inspirational post integrates a simple More Help visual with an overlaid quote or uplifting text. These posts encourage your audience and amplify your brand name worths. While effective, attempt to publish these sparingly to prevent looking cheesy. Apps like Quipio and Typic can help you add text to pictures in a way that's consistent with your brand name standards.
Example: Foundr frequently shares motivational posts to motivate its fan base of business owners, small business owners, and online marketers. The posts also line up with their mission as an organization media company.
User-Generated Content
Comparable to employee reposts, user-generated content (UGC) is curated material from your fans and followers. Your tagged posts and posts with your brand name hashtag are a terrific source for UGC.
Sharing your fans' and followers' images not just make the original poster feel excellent, it likewise shows that you genuinely care about your clients. Just make certain to credit the original post with a tag or in the caption. To repost user-generated content, screenshot and crop the original post or use a reposting app like Repost for Instagram.
Example: WeWork carries out an annual #DogsOfWeWork project and assembles the very best submissions together into an annual calendar. Although WeWork doesn't repost every tagged image, their project helps create vital reach and engagement.
Newsjacking (Trending Holiday Posts)
It looks like there's a "holiday" for whatever nowadays. Events like National Sibling Day and National Ice Cream Day generate a lots of engagement on social media. Participate the enjoyable by taking part in a local, national, or world pattern. A newsjacking post is an excellent method to publish funny material that associates with light-hearted events.
Example: Corridor Brewing commemorated the Cubs' Opening Day. Through this post, the American restaurant chain took advantage of a popular American pastime.
Recording and Editing Instagram Photos
Now that we've explored what you can publish on Instagram, let's review some ways to ensure your material achieves success. Unlike other social networks platforms, Instagram's easy profile layout forces you to concentrate on the quality of content ... not the amount.
While this is terrific for engagement, it likewise means that you can't hide average content. Do your absolute best to use high-resolution images on your Instagram feed.
Square images need to be 1080 x 1080px. Landscape images ought to be 1080 x 566px, and profile images need to be 1350 x 1080px. Despite what size you publish, every image will be revealed as a square in your profile feed.
How to Take a Great Photo With Your Smartphone
You might be believing How am I expected to capture the best, premium shot without a high-quality video camera? No worries! Phone cam innovation has become so sophisticated that it now rivals thousand-dollar cams.
Fantastic photography is no longer limited to those with professional cams. You (yes, you!) can take captivating photos your audience will enjoy utilizing a tool you currently have in your hands. Here are some tips to drive follower growth and Instagram engagement.
1. Follow the rule of thirds.
To instantly improve your photo structure, switch on your camera grid lines. Goal to place your subject at the crossway of one set of vertical and horizontal lines. This strategy, called the guideline of thirds, is popular among painters, illustrators, and photographers.
Putting your topic off center produces a minor imbalance that catches your viewer's eye. To turn on your grid lines (on an iPhone), go to Settings > Photos & Camera and switch Grid to on.
2. Concentrate on a single topic.
A congested background with numerous subjects in a frame only distracts from the focus of your shot. It can even puzzle your audience.
Rather, focus on a single subject in each image. Eliminate interruptions by cropping them out or discovering a tidy background to shoot against.
3. Benefit from unfavorable space.
Unfavorable space is the void around your subject. Leaving unfavorable space around your subject will draw attention to the preferred focus of your image and prevent it from looking crowded.
4. Try to find intriguing viewpoints.
People are used to seeing the world from eye level. To produce intriguing and fresh pictures, utilize shots from various viewpoints. Alter your shooting viewpoint to record a bird's eye view or worm's eye view. Try out various angles to find new viewpoints on typical sights.
5. Take advantage of symmetry and patterns.
The human eye is naturally drawn to balanced 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 particular form of proportion that pulls the eye into the photo. People are also drawn to patterns. A pattern might be guy made, such as a tiled floor, or natural, such as petals on a flower or vines on a wall. To make things really interesting, separate the pattern with your subject.
6. Usage natural light.
Basic overhead lighting develops extreme shadows and highlights that produce undesirable dark and light locations in your images. To avoid this from happening, use soft natural light any place possible. Try taking pictures beside a window, and for outside shots, the half-hour just before sunset and after daybreak often provides the most striking lighting as the sun is low in the horizon.