Contrary to what some predicted, Instagram is not dead, it did not pass the baton (in 100%) to TikTok. However, since this entry was written (September 2020), many changes have occurred in it, so I invite you to a refreshed entry on how to operate on Instagram as a brand.
At the beginning, I always encourage you to think about whether Instagram is a good place for your brand. To answer this question, it is worth doing research, including:
- competition (does it work on Instagram, how does it work on Instagram),
- target group (are my personas there, and if so, how do they navigate the app and what content interests them,
- own resources: budgetary, human, time.
If you decide that this will be a good medium for your company to connect with its audience, it's time to check what we do well on Instagram and what we do wrong. And that's exactly why we created this guide. We've included step-by-step tips that will allow you to check for yourself whether your brand is working properly on Instagram.
But before we get to the checklist, let's first throw some statistics on the table.
SOCIAL MEDIA IN POLAND. STATISTICS FROM JANUARY 2023
Data from 2022 shows that Instagram is in second place in terms of user numbers. However, if we dig deeper into reports such as Digital 2023 we will see that 2022 was the year in which Instagram saw 300 thousand people leave (a decrease of 2.8% compared to 2021).
The drop is significant because these users most likely chose another medium – TikTok, and decided to say goodbye to Instagram. TikTok grew in Poland in 2022 by as much as 31.6% (2.4 million new users!).
Interestingly, the Digital 2023 report shows that the time we spend on the Internet in Poland increased by only 2 minutes compared to 2021 and amounts to 6 hours 42 minutes, of which 2 hours per day are spent using social media.
In 2022, we will segment this time more and divide it into more space (podcasts, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, streaming services).
To finish the discussion on statistics, Instagram is still one of the leading social media in Poland. Yes, it has lost users, yes, TikTok is a trending place. But does that mean we have to pack our Instagram bags and set off on a journey to other media? Not necessarily :) If you answered 3x YES to the questions from the introduction to this article, then feel free to make yourself comfortable on Insta and get as much from it as you can! :)
INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT AUDIT – PART 1 – WHAT TO REMEMBER
INSTAGRAM PROFILE PHOTO
We have several options for a profile photo. It can be a logo or an interesting, brand-related photo. It is worth polishing this part of the account, because users will see it most often - with every post, after entering the profile and on Stories. We recommend rarely changing this part of your profile. Personal brands do it very rarely, because followers are very used to their photo. That is why on the profiles of such people you can find an outdated photo (of their appearance) from a few years ago ;)
The first profile picture is more or less correct. It's the restaurant's logo. It's legible. But it has one mistake. There's a lack of light in the corners of the logotype, which makes us feel like the logo is about to "come out" of the circle :) Just do what's in the example below - reduce the logo enough so that it looks aesthetically pleasing in a circle.
NAME AND NICK ON INSTAGRAM
It's worth distinguishing between the two places. The name is the part that displays when you go to the profile, and the nickname is visible with each post when you browse the feed.
Why is it worth distinguishing? Because then you will be able to find us on Instagram in two ways. For personal brands, we propose the following solution:
- name + surname + company name / profession / main topic
- e.g.: Agnieszka Kowalska. KomuKoncept / Agnieszka Kowalska. Clothing designer
For businesses such as restaurants or pubs, we recommend using a unique hashtag or information about the type of cuisine in the nickname.
DESCRIPTION IN BIO ON INSTAGRAM
Let's check if:
- the description is organized with emoticons. It is not required, but it makes the content look aesthetically pleasing,
- we have used hashtags in the description. If so, let's remove them or let's leave only those unique to our brand. Why would someone who goes to the trouble of entering our profile leave it immediately because they click on the hashtag #kawa and go to a screen where they will find 1,717,462 other posts with this tag?
- an e-mail address and/or telephone number is provided (if it is an institution, company or influencer),
- links are added, e.g. to the latest article, shop, e-book.
Let's see what beautiful descriptions look like in the BIO of several brands (apart from those whose BIO we showed in the screenshots above):
FEATURED STORIES
So what about featured Stories? Do we have them or not? If we do, do they have nice covers? And if we don't, let's create a publication schedule and highlight those that are most important to the recipients. Stories covers should be aesthetically pleasing. Some people decide on nice, graphically consistent ones. Others prefer photos that more or less illustrate the topic.
- Let's pay attention to the consistency in naming:
- let's decide on upper or lower case letters,
- on hashtags or lack thereof.
- If we create Stories regularly, we should also make sure to update our featured Stories regularly. It's best to do this right after a new Story is published.
STORIES
Creating Stories may seem trivial. What's the problem with throwing something in "quickly"? It'll disappear in 24 hours anyway.
That's not entirely true :) We recommend publishing authentic materials in Stories that show the "life" of the brand. Let's do it wisely. Here are a few tips:
- We know from our own experience that complaining about something or someone all the time or often has the opposite effect to the one intended. Some followers won't be able to stand it and will leave us, while others, those who also like to complain, will stay with us. Which option do we choose?
- If we publish daily Stories that look the same, they can get boring after a while. That's why we recommend creating a content schedule - for a month or 14 days in advance. This will allow us to see if we are juggling topics well and taking care of the diversity of materials.
- Writings – always, always, always add them when publishing stories in the form of “talking video”. Why:
- our recipients may be deaf people,
- We often browse Stories in public places where we have the sound turned off.
- Unboxing/Haul – a form of communication with recipients that influencers love. It consists of a package coming to such an influencer. He bought/received new shoes. And he forces us to watch a Stories consisting of 15 elements, which lasts longer than the soap opera “Klan”. During this time we see how the influencer: unpacks a package wrapped in DHL tape. Then he tears through another box, the real one. He does it with one hand, because he is recording with the other. It takes a while. After 3 minutes, our eyes see the shoes. They are. Nice. Green. With a logo. He tries them on. They fit. Eh… It took a long time to read this description, didn't it? Let's think about how many people will actually wait until the end of the unboxing? We do not recommend it.
- In Stories we avoid also children, animals, concert recordings, videos from drunken parties, series of similar photos without any additional context, millions of recommended accounts. Yes, animals and children make us reach and engage. But is this the kind of engagement we want? And WHO will engage with such content? Will it be our aunt, who will not buy our e-book on how to create photos for Instagram with a smartphone anyway? A moment of silence.
- Let's not create a million stories in one day – too much of anything is unhealthy. The only excuse for a large number of stories in a day is an ongoing company event, a literary festival or an all-day snowman-making workshop in July.
PART 1 SUMMARY
- let's take care of the profile photo on Instagram,
- let's diversify the name and nickname,
- let's organize and refresh the description in BIO,
- for featured Stories let's choose stylistically identical covers. Let's remember to constantly update featured stories,
- let's regularly create stories that will interest our audience and thanks to which we will interact with them.