Let's speak about the various Instagram post types and some finest practices for motivating engagement.
Images
The most common post on Instagram is an image post. When posting images, share a variety of photos. Range will reveal your brand name is diverse and engage your fans in various ways.
It's likewise important to keep in mind that Instagram users are trying to find authentic posts from brands-- not outright ads. Attempt to catch your business culture with way of life shots and behind-the-scenes appearances. Avoid posting too many pictures of your item.
Example: Nike's Instagram consists of product photos, but the bulk show real professional athletes, shows, and other kinds of material that promote the Nike brand character as a whole.
As you start to check out the platform, you'll see there are numerous type of images you can post to your account. Get innovative! Bear in mind of any principles or designs you think would work well for your brand name.
To get you began, we've put together a list of some successful Instagram image types.
Behind-the-Scenes Posts
These posts provide a look into the part of your organization that people don't normally see. It's essential that they don't look staged-- credibility is key!
Example: Aeronaut Brewing Company supplied a within look at its business culture by showcasing its employees at work.
Reposts From Employees
Excellent material can be right in front of you ... on your workers' Instagrams. (Just make sure to tag or credit the original poster.) Reposting photos from your employees is a simple way to curate genuine content and humanize your organization. Not just will your audience engage with your brand name, but they'll also start to "bond" with your staff members.
Example: Fenway Park typically reposts images shared by the premises team as they prepare the stadium.
Educational Posts
Educational posts offer snackable tips on how to do or make something. The photos or videos generally provide the directions in a manner that fast and easy to follow.
Example: The popular Tasty recipe video series from Buzzfeed is instructional yet very amusing and simple to duplicate.
Influencer Posts
Influencer posts utilize the popularity of a celebrity or widely known public figure to promote your brand name. These posts often consist of a visual of the influencer utilizing or connecting with your item. One of the primary advantages of influencer posts is acquiring the attention of another audience.
Example: Goal Zero shows distinguished rock climber and photographer Alex Honnold using one of its solar energy charging stations. Not only is Goal Zero reaching its own audience, it's also reaching Alex's 500,000-plus Instagram follower base.
Motivational Posts
A motivational post integrates a simple visual with an overlaid quote or uplifting text. These posts encourage your audience and enhance your brand values. While efficient, try to publish these moderately to avoid looking cheesy. Apps like Quipio and Typic can assist you add text to images in a way that's constant with Like This your brand name guidelines.
Example: Foundr often shares inspirational posts to motivate its fan base of entrepreneurs, small company owners, and online marketers. The posts likewise line up with their mission as a service media company.
User-Generated Content
Similar to worker reposts, user-generated material (UGC) is curated material from your fans and fans. Your tagged posts and posts with your brand name hashtag are a great source for UGC.
Sharing your fans' and fans' images not only make the initial poster feel great, it also shows that you truly appreciate your consumers. Simply be sure to credit the original post with a tag or in the caption. To repost user-generated material, screenshot and crop the original post or use a Discover More reposting app like Repost for Instagram.
Example: WeWork carries out a yearly #DogsOfWeWork campaign and compiles the very best submissions together into a yearly calendar. Although WeWork doesn't repost every tagged image, their project assists create important reach and engagement.
Newsjacking (Trending Holiday Posts)
It seems like there's a "vacation" for whatever nowadays. Occasions like National Sibling Day and National Ice Cream Day generate a lots of engagement on social media. Take part the enjoyable by taking part in a local, national, or world trend. A newsjacking post is a terrific way to post funny material that relates to light-hearted occasions.
Example: Corridor Brewing commemorated the Cubs' Opening Day. Through this post, the American restaurant chain tapped into a popular American activity.
Capturing and Editing Instagram Photos
Now that we've explored what you can post on Instagram, let's evaluation some ways to ensure your material achieves success. Unlike other social networks platforms, Instagram's basic profile layout forces you to concentrate on the quality of material ... not the amount.
While this is terrific for engagement, it likewise suggests that you can't hide average content. Do your absolute best to use high-resolution images on your Instagram feed.
Square images must be 1080 x 1080px. Landscape images need to be 1080 x 566px, and profile images need to be 1350 x 1080px. Despite what size you submit, 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 expected to catch the best, top quality shot without a high-quality electronic camera? No concerns! Phone electronic camera innovation has actually become so advanced that it now rivals thousand-dollar electronic cameras.
Incredible photography is no longer limited to those with expert cams. You (yes, you!) can take appealing images your audience will love using a tool you currently have in your hands. Here are some ideas to drive fan development and Instagram engagement.
1. Follow the guideline of thirds.
To instantly enhance your image structure, switch on your video camera grid lines. Objective to position your subject at the intersection of one set of vertical and horizontal lines. This technique, referred to as the guideline of thirds, is popular amongst painters, illustrators, and professional photographers.
Positioning your subject off center develops a slight 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. Focus on a single topic.
A congested background with numerous subjects in a frame only sidetracks from the focus of your shot. It can even puzzle your audience.
Rather, focus on a single subject in each picture. Remove distractions by cropping them out or discovering a clean background to shoot versus.
3. Benefit from unfavorable area.
Negative space is the empty space around your topic. Leaving negative space around your topic will draw attention to the wanted focus of your image and avoid it from looking crowded.
4. Look for interesting viewpoints.
People are utilized to seeing the world from eye level. To develop intriguing and fresh pictures, utilize shots from various viewpoints. Change up your shooting viewpoint to record a bird's eye view or worm's eye view. Try out different angles to discover brand-new point of views on common sights.
5. Take advantage of proportion and patterns.
The human eye is naturally drawn to in proportion shapes and items. Sometimes, it's finest to break the guideline of thirds and center the scene in your frame. Leading lines are another more specific type of proportion that pulls the eye into the image. People 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 actually intriguing, break up the pattern with your subject.
6. Use natural light.
Standard overhead lighting develops harsh shadows and highlights that create undesirable dark and light locations in your photos. To prevent this from happening, utilize soft natural light any place possible. Attempt taking pictures next to a window, and for outdoor shots, the half-hour prior to sunset and after daybreak often offers the most striking lighting as the sun is low in the horizon.