3 Ways to Up Your Game :: Instagram Tips
If you follow me on Instagram, you might have already spotted these almost-to-cute-to-eat cookies. I ordered them from them from an amazing baker (shout out to Lisa!) for a recent mini-instagram class I taught. Every good party, class, or otherwise organized event (in my opinion) needs something cute and sweet (am I alone on this?).
Well, I don’t have any cookies left to share (they were gone FAST), but I wanted to share a few tips with you here that I gave the group. I’ll share some of the big takeaways with you today. These tips are for anyone wanting to up your game a bit on Instagram and use it in a more purposeful way ––either for your own professional profile or for your business. I hope they inspire you to think about new creative and strategic ways to use Instagram!
3 Tips to Up Your Insta-Game
1. Pause before you post. It’s tempting to snap a pic and then let it fly, but resist my friend. Take a moment to ask yourself what that image says about you and your brand. Sure, you might want to share a photo of your pup laying by the fire, but if you’re using your account in a professional way you’ll need to check yourself to make sure that image makes sense to post. Does it fall in line with the type of content you’re followers expect from you? Is it in line with your visual style? Is it even a good photo (there are so many apps to help non-photographers there is no reason it shouldn’t be a great photo! But we can talk apps later). I want you to think of every single image you post from the eyes of your current followers and from the view point of people seeing your content for the very first time. They know nothing about you, will this photo you’re about to post be the introduction you want to give them?
2. Add Value. There are plenty of photos flying by on Instagram. And your followers do not have a shortage of visual eye candy. Aside from offering a pretty photo, what other value can you add? Inspirational quotes resonate well with lots of people ––do you have a quote, tip, or piece of advice you can share? Turn that into a graphic and see if people enjoy it. Can you offer some type of insider tips or even a short recipe right in your Instagram comments? Think about what you can give to someone who stops by your feed that they might find useful, inspiring, or helpful. Be a giver.
3. Actually Interact. Like with words. In comments. Instagram can be a completely one-sided relationship if you let it be. If you want to lay in bed each night scrolling through feeds and never engaging on the platform that’s cool. But that won’t help your professional self or your business. Why not participate and engage with other users? Find images that resonate with you and comment. Begin a dialogue with other people. It’s so easy to do, I promise. You will be surprised of the great connections that can be made. I have developed several authentic relationships this way. Give it a whirl!
I hope you found one (or all!) of these tips inspiring. We drilled down into real specifics in the class but I didn’t want overwhelm you here! I’m thinking about breaking out some more tips in later posts, I’ll keep you posted!
What’s been your biggest challenge on Instagram? Any burning questions? Leave a comment below and let’s discuss (I sort of geek out over this stuff!).
