10 Ways to Stand Out on Instagram

Instagram Tips to Stand Out on Instagram

At Dash Social, we have managed a few Instagram accounts in our time, and these are our top tips you need to incorporate to stand out on Instagram.

Instagram Bio

Let’s start with one of the first things a follower will see when they go onto your account. This section will help your audience find some key information about your business and determine if they are intrigued enough to follow further. Remember, the Instagram Bio can only contain 150 characters, so keeping it straight to the point is essential. You may want to include a linktree that will allow you to add multiple links to your bio. You could add links like your other social media profiles, website, or an interesting article you are directing your audience to in your post caption.

Content Quality

Consider how good your image or video quality is. Good images lead to a compelling story. If you’re serious about taking your Instagram game to the next level, this will be a must-do for you! You can produce good quality content by using your back camera on your phone or even taking content on a good quality camera. 

Instagram Reels

The future is here, and it’s all about to the point videos. Yes, longer videos still have a purpose, and that is what IGTV is for, but Reels are vital to implement into your social media strategy as they are the current social trend. The Instagram algorithm will reward you for incorporating new features into your social profile. So, what does that mean for you? 

1. Increased exposure 
2. More engagement on your content
3. Improve your brand awareness/exposure

All that your audience wants to see is the reel (pardon the pun) you. Have a good look at what kind of content is out there, and have some fun making some content! If you’re not sure what Reel you should post, look at what is trending to stay ahead of your competition or even make your own style of Reel. 

Instagram Feed Grid

Making an aesthetically pleasing Instagram feed. An oldy, but a goody and what we do a lot here at Dash Social, and that is PLAN! Planning how your feed will look ahead of time will let you feel for what the overall story will tell your audience. You could do a number of ways, such as through colour or even having a sequence to your photo/video and text. There are plenty of free templates of what you could do on Pinterest and Free to use planning tools such as Later or Publer.

Image Preset

Have you ever looked at a successful Instagram profile and think that all the images look perfect and have the same colour tones? Well, the secret is out, and it is all in the preset (also known as a filter). Presets is just a photo filter that will edit the colours and tones to have a uniform effect. You can do this through Canva, Instagram (when you upload) or our personal favourite Adobe Lightroom. 

Hashtags

Hashtags can be one of the most debated topics on social media. We hear all the time, “do they work?” or “what do hashtags do?”. Yes, hashtags absolutely have a purpose as they help your business gain free exposure and find your audience. If you are a small business USE HASHTAGS!  Now the tricky part is how many hashtags to use per post. This can be a case-by-case situation, but currently, you should be aiming between 20-30 per post. Yes thats a lot - but remember it is free organic exposure! No paid ads are required. 

What hashtags should you include?

Let’s break it down by element - Industry, Content, Location & Target Market - See Examples below...

Captions

A Picture says a thousand words - however Captions should be a mixture of both short and long to keep your audience reading your longer posts. So, save these for your essential information. Also - Captions are essential to give your followers more information. You are a business and trying to tell your story, and captions are great for SEO as well. 

Show Don't Sell

You are running a business, and the outcome is to sell your product or service. But don’t hound your followers about why they should support you. Show them the community you have created and what you can provide them. Keeping your audience engaged with your profile is the aim of the game. If you’re having trouble, consider having a promotion exclusive to your Instagram followers. This way, it isn’t a post just saying “BUY ME”; it will be more enticing.

Engage with Your Audience

The Key benefit of Social Media is being able to talk directly to your audience. Being a positive voice who listens and communicates with their audience will be highly regarded than those who don’t even reply to direct messages. Be all about creating a community by following your supporters and commenting on their content, not just responding to enquiries.

Be Authentic

Just be your business! Follow the trends to an extent while also being truly your brand. Nobody likes a copycat. Quite frankly, it’s boring and not entertaining to follow, and you risk losing followers and engagement levels. Remember to keep your voice coming through and create content that allows your business to shine!. 

Book a Free Chat

If you’re a bit overwhelmed with just some of the things involved in having a fantastic Instagram profile, why not reach out to us for a free consultation and with us. Better yet, why not let us do the majority of the work for you and let you focus on running your business. Book a complimentary 15 minute conversation with Kay now and we can get started straight away.

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