What to Post on Instagram - 5 Tips To Keep in Mind While Posting
Recently, I was talking with another business owner and we were discussing social media. Particularly Instagram.
We both talked about how we found it difficult to keep up with Instagram. And how we don’t really know what to post sometimes or even have the time to post.
With Instagram, it always feels like, once you understand it, something changes and you’re not getting the same engagement. Or you don’t have enough time to post on it. Or you’re not even sure what to post.
I think, on some level, everyone feels this. So I decided to share some of my wisdom and create a post about posting on Instagram. Some of these are ideas, some of these are suggestions, but they’ll be super helpful. Let’s break it down.
1) Remember, you’re dealing with people
This is the MOST important rule. When it comes to any social media, we get caught up in analytics and stats and numbers, and, while those are helpful, who is looking at your content?
People. People with emotions and stories, likes and dislikes.
Think about what people would like to see. Look at your current followers - what do they want to know? Remember: the key word in social media is social. Just like you wouldn’t walk up to your friends at McDonalds and start pitching them your business, you probably shouldn’t do the same on any social media.
Also remember - you’re a person! What would you like to see? What types of pages do you like? What do you like about them? Ask these questions and you’ll get ideas.
2) Share Behind the Scenes
As a filmmaker, I follow a lot of filmmaker accounts. But my favourite posts aren’t the pretty images or the results they share - it’s all the behind the scenes. How did they create this amazing video? What is their process?
And this isn’t just about the same industry. I follow an amazingly talented graphic designer who does Instagram Lives where he shares how he hand draws his logos. He creates time lapses for them too. I love watching a blank piece of paper turn into art, but I also love seeing the process.
So whatever you do, whether it’s a skill or a product, share the process. Tell me what your day looks like, show me what you’re creating and how you create it, take me behind the scenes.
3) Show Your Face
Remember how I said “social media is social”? Well, that’s why this next rule is SO important. So many times, I find a local business where the page is littered with advertisements or pictures of products. That’s totally fine (except, don’t advertise too much - go back to tip one), but show us who you are! Give us a face and show that there are people behind the brand.
Why, you ask? It builds trust. I wrote an article about how I was willing to spend $100 and travel double the distance for a product I could’ve bought cheaper just because I knew who the person was (I didn’t know the person, but I knew them from their Instagram and trusted them). People would rather do business with someone they trust than someone they don’t, and they would definitely rather do business with a person over an anonymous figure.
4) “If you’re trying to speak to everybody, no one will hear you”
This is a rule I got from Seth Godin. It’s simple. If your messaging is directed at everybody, it’s really directed to nobody.
Whenever I deal with clients, the first thing I figure out is who their audience is. Who are they talking to? What age group? What do they have in common? What is their common link?
Once you figure out who you’re talking to, then you can start crafting your message. A message that is catered to a group is more powerful than something generic.
5) People want a peek into your life
This is actually a tip I got from that phone call at the beginning of this post. There are so many accounts I follow that aren’t business related or aren’t tied to my interests - I follow them just because I want to see what that person’s life is like. There are a ton of lifestyle accounts on Instagram that do well because they show what their life is like.
Now, I’m not asking you to show us everything. You don’t have to. You can totally keep your boundaries. But the takeaway here is that you need to be vulnerable. Show us your human side. We’ve reached an age in marketing where people care more about vulnerability and openness than most other things.
So show us your human side.
BONUS TIP: Quality over Quantity (unless you can do both)
I thought I would include this as a bonus tip because it’s probably the biggest concern for any freelancer or business owner. How do you juggle social media and your work?
I’ve had this same problem too. I’ve created marketing calendars, I’ve tried picking a day, I’ve tried batching content. But work gets busy - it’s not easy!
So if you can’t post all the time, focus on making quality posts.
I follow this one amazing filmmaker who posts every few weeks, but when she posts, she posts the most heartfelt and beautiful film. It gets shared everywhere. People comment on it. People get inspired.
Then silence, until she posts again. But the reason why she has the reach is because she focuses on creating really good quality content that people connect to.
And if you haven’t gotten it by now, this post has been mostly about connecting with the people on your social network. Not with the analytics or with the follower count, but with the human being who is watching your content from miles away (or kilometres, since I am Canadian).
Well, that’s it. I didn’t want this post to be super long, but I didn’t want to skimp on information.
I originally wanted to post 5 actionable tips, but it’s difficult. There are no ‘one size fits all’ guidelines for posting to Instagram, so instead I went with these guidelines.
But I’ve come up with an idea to solve that. I can’t announce it yet, but I’ll be sharing it soon. And if you feel this was helpful and you are interested, sign up for our newsletter below and you’ll get the information!