Table of Contents:
- Intro
- Unlimited Downloads of Top Instagram Business Account Templates
- Instagram Business Account Visual Style Guide
- Bonus Tips
- Final Words
Intro
Do you know many people who haven't ever sued Instagram? I really doubt that you'll give a positive answer. Instagram has become one of the most popular social media platforms worldwide.
According to a study shared by adweek.com, an average person spends 5 years in social media during his life. We spend about 50 minutes per day on Facebook's suite of apps like Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook.
Scrolling through the news feed has become an irreplaceable component of our daily routine. Just recollect, what was the first thing that you did this morning after you turned off your alarm clock on your smartphone? Those were social media notifications, huh? Agree on it or not, we cannot live without social media. Modern-day businesses know that and promote their offers through the top-trending channels. How to do it wisely and create your perfect business visual style on Instagram?
That's exactly what we are going to discuss in this guide.
"Instagram is a place for businesses to build their business."
Marne Levine, COO of Instagram since 2014
Before we start discussing the techniques that work on Instagram now, let's figure out what exactly do you want your business to achieve on the platform? For a number of the modern-day businesses, Instagram is the best place to grow public recognition, drive more traffic to the official websites, stand out from the competition, find new partners, etc. The list can be endless since every business sets its own goals that it needs to achieve to be a success.
Unlimited Downloads of Top Instagram Business Account Templates
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Instagram Business Account Visual Style Guide
Think about your Instagram business account like of the glossy magazine. It includes different types of content, all of which are organized in one brand style. Instagram is a photo and video-based social media platform, which is made up of the two major types of content - visual and written. So, in order to achieve the maximum results, you will need to take proper care of both of them.
Bio
With more than 800 million users who engage with the online platform monthly, Instagram has become a busy place where brands can engage new customers and even sell their services/products. When a potential customer reaches your Instagram business profile, the bio section is the first thing that they will come across there. The thing that is peculiar to Instagram is that you cannot add clickable links in comments or captions. The bio section is the only place in the profile where you can share a clickable link.
Instagram has set the limit for the bio section to 150 characters. So, when thinking about the content that you want your visitors to find in the bio section, make a clear statement about:
- what kind of business you represent;
- the things you offer;
- your location;
- what makes you special;
- active link to your website.
Themes
The visual style of Instagram profiles makes up the theme, which delivers the look and feel of your content. Creating a theme on Instagram, you make your brand more recognizable to the online community. Due to the theme delivering a certain style, people will recognize your content even when they reach in different placed on the web.
The feeling that your Instagram theme delivers to the viewers should resonate and align with the personality of your brand.
What makes up a theme on Instagram? What are your brand colors? Think about the filters and other visual effects that could reflect the idea of standing behind your brand. You can also bring a versatile presentation to your Instagram theme by means of borders and quotes, that make perfect harmony with the rest of the profile layout elements.
If you are looking for ready-made solutions for your Instagram business account, then you can make use of the social media themes from the marketplace.
Triangles
Dots
Donuts
Topics
What kind of content are you going to share on your Instagram profile? If you want to promote products or services provided by your business, make sure that every post aligns with the overall theme of your brand. For example, if you are a web designer, then your visitors may be interested in your working space, the tools that you use, gadgets, examples of your works, as well as the things that inspire you. Keeping stick to these topics in your posts ensures that the users will get an idea of what they will see in the feed when they follow your page.
Colors
The color palette is one of the fundamental decisions that will bring the visual identity to your Instagram feed. Not only will it bring the more aesthetical look and feel to your Instagram business account but also make it so much easier for you to decide on what to post and how to present it. When we are speaking about the colors of your Instagram business profile, we do not mean that all of your visuals should be tied to the particular 2 or 3 colors. You can also opt for a family of backdrops, which will also add consistency to your profile.
Flowers for Dreams
Filters
There are 23 active filters and a number of settings provided by Instagram at the moment. This gives you the freedom of choice of the most optimal solution that will match your own business and create a unique Instagram theme. Choose one that matches your business ideally and stick to it. Applying the same filer to your visual content will make your posts look coherent no matter if the images look similar or completely different.
Adobe
Crop
In addition to posting images of similar color schemes and applying the same filters to your visuals, you can also add a special signature look to your Instagram feed by cropping them. In such a way, you can add a special exposure to your visuals, letting the user differentiate your brand style in the Instagram feed, without even looking at your profile. IAMTHAT Shop uses the technique in their Instagram profile masterfully.
Quotes
Instagram is the place to which the web users refer for inspiration, not only for fun. Mixing up the visual content of your web page with some inspirational quotes will have a big impact on the followers. Create such posts in the colors that match the brand identity. Look for something original and less tried and true like "keep calm and carry on". The quotes should be truly inspirational, with a sense of humor, making your brand stand out from the crowd.
Composition
In other words, the composition is the number of objects that are featured in your photos. Tastes differ, so do different brands have different image compositions. Some can include lots of stuff in a single image in a way that it looks perfectly stylized and uncluttered. Others post photos containing a few objects in them.
One of the most popular visual compositions is called "flat lay", i.e. a photo taken from the birds-eye view. All objects are laying flat on a flat surface. Taking all of your photos in one style is the sure-fire way to bring a consistent look to your business profile on Instagram.
Reynolds Kitchens
Concept
A concept theme on Instagram is centered around a particular item. For example, this is the widely-known 'follow me' campaign. The pictures commonly feature a woman pulling a man to take a picture of her in the beautiful surrounding.
Murad and Nataly Osmann
Bonus Tips
Use Hashtags
On Instagram, hashtags are the most effective way to make your profile more visible to the right people. Hashtags are the search words or phrases that are used to describe what your posts are all about. In order to make your business profile ore findable, use hashtags containing 2 words or more. These are more highly-targeted than the single word hashtags, which may or may not be reached by the audience that you target.
Basic tips for the proper use of hashtags on Instagram:
- Instagram lets you use a maximum of 30 hashtags per post. Use them all!
- Add hashtags to stories, as well as common posts.
- Put hashtags in comments and profile captions.
- Think about the words that you and your customers use to describe your business. What do you sell? These are a great basis for your hashtags.
- As you write a hashtag, use the base word and see what other users pair it with.
- Use a mix of broad and narrow terms in the set of 30 hashtags below your publications.
Promote
Your business profile on Instagram may have the best visual content and composition ever. However, all your efforts will go in vain unless you promote it wisely. In addition to the "in-app" tools like hashtags, make use of other channels of online promotion. Share links to your Instagram profile on other social media platforms, in the email newsletter, on your site, in product packages, etc.
Final Words
Creating a consistent and recognizable Instagram theme is an effective social media tool, which can help you grow the online recognition of your business and engage with the wider community of users. Just like any other form of social media marketing, Instagram themes require certain time and effort for the proper planning. However, if your target demographic spends time looking through the feed, it's worth the investment.
How to Build Unique Visual Style for Instagram Business Account FAQ
What is an Instagram business account?
A business account on Instagram is a profile with advanced features for maintaining a brand page on a social network. As a rule, it’s linked to the same company’s Facebook page and gives its owners additional benefits.
What are the benefits of Instagram business accounts?
A business account is designed to promote a brand on Instagram. It’s loaded with wider functionality. Any user knows that such a page is not just someone’s profile but a company’s corporate account.
There are lots of benefits of Instagram business accounts to be mentioned. Here are the main 3:
- Comfortable communication with subscribers due to contact buttons that show address, phone and email of a company.
- A possibility to view account statistics. You can analyze which posts are more popular and which are neglected, and so on.
- More ads and extra publications. As a bonus, they are bounded to a page on Facebook.
How to create a business account on Instagram?
1. Using the Instagram app, go to the “Edit Profile” and choose “Switch to Professional Account”.
2. In the Account section, click on "Switch to company profile". A short tutorial will appear, you can skip it.
3. Link your Facebook page to your Instagram account. Note, one Facebook page can be connected to one profile on Instagram.
4. Add contact information, like company email, phone number, address. All this information will be available to visitors. You also can leave this field blank.
Read Also:
Instagram Business Profile: How to Set Up, Analyze Statistics and Use Promo Tools?
5 Ways to Unlock Your Sales Potential On Instagram in 2018
How to Grow Your Instagram Account in 14 Easy Steps
10 Myths About Instagram For Business
Instagram Marketing: Guide Instagram Campaigns For Online Business