There’s no right or wrong way to go about Instagram, which probably makes it one of the more intimidating social media platforms to approach if you’re lacking prior experience. Luckily, if you have a solid grasp on your brand’s core message, it’s a piece of cake.

To start, what you don’t want is to confuse your audience. Before posting anything, ask yourself how this photo will align with your brand’s image and add value to your viewers. You do want to differentiate yourself, provide value, and create incentive for people to follow you.

As a basic guide, try starting out by sharing these six types of photos:

Promotional

Use promotional posts to promote your goods or service. Examples include current or upcoming specials, events, coupons, media appearances, new inventory, etc. Consider sharing exclusive promo codes or offers so fans have a reason to continue following your business. Be careful not to make the majority of your posts promotional, or you risk alienating followers and losing an authentic touch. Your fans want to believe that you care about them (because you do!).

Behind the scenes

Are you a sushi restaurant? Post a picture or video of a chef creating a special roll, or what cutting a fish looks like. Do you work at a graphic design firm? Post a day-in-the-life photo! Introduce your team, talk about your process, or introduce some insider knowledge. The possibilities are practically endless. These posts introduce a human side to your brand, showing off your process and expertise, and letting you create a deeper connection with your audience.

Day-of-the-week hashtags

Every day of the week has specific corresponding hashtags. These include (but are definitely not limited to): #MotivationMonday, #TuesdayTreat, #WisdomWednesday, #ThrowbackThursday (or #tbt), #FridayFeeling, #Caturday, and #SundayFunday. You can use these to your advantage if you’re looking for inspiration, or you can even make hashtags of your own and encourage your followers to use them too. Hashtags are a great way to get noticed and bring in more likes than opting not to use them. The best way to find the best hashtags for you? Just experiment and see which hashtags seem to bring the highest levels of engagement.

Fan shoutouts

Apps such as Regrann, InstaRepost, and Repost for Instagram allow you to easily take any picture on Instagram and repost it on your own account. This is great, because you can feature pictures taken by fans and show your appreciation for your followers. This may also encourage other users to post more photos of your business in hopes of being featured themselves.

Educational

This is your chance to teach your audience about your company, or your industry! True fans will appreciate new nuggets of information, fun facts, or interesting tips that will capture their interest. This type of post will help put your company into a larger context, and hopefully, show why you stand out. Don't be afraid to go into some detail- your true fans will gobble it up! Share customer/client photos

Engage directly with your audience by featuring happy clients (with their permission, of course!), or happy customers. Add a special quote, or tell the story behind the photo. Did you just complete an exceptionally difficult project? Share how you persevered to make your customer happy! This is a great way to show off your strengths and credibility with happy testimonials.

For maximum effectiveness, never lose sight of your brand’s greater story, and try to post content consistently at a maintainable pace. For some, that will mean 3 posts a week- for others, once a day; experiment and see what works for you. It can seem difficult to build a substantial following at first, but like all great things, a loyal audience takes time to cultivate. The most important thing is patience and perseverence. Happy posting!

Did these work for you? Are there any that you’d like to share? Contact us to let us know!