Connecting with your audience on Instagram
Our BB.com social media expert Emma of EJM Social explains the importance of showing personality on Instagram and how this helps with engagement.
In current times where more and more consumers value transparency, people want to get to know your company on a more personal level. With 57.5% of customers preferring to buy from brands with strong personalities (Credit: Small Biz Trends ), it’s so important to add this element into your marketing strategy.
Talking about Instagram specifically, with the algorithm constantly changing it’s hard to keep up. But a good rule of thumb to follow, is to make use of whichever new features they introduce. Instagram want to showcase their new features to as many users as possible, so by creating content on these features, it’s likely that your posts will get pushed up the algorithm. Which will result in higher engagement. Instagram’s features such as: Instagram Stories particularly with interactive stickers like polls, question boxes and quiz. Along with reels, IG Lives and IGTV are all incredible tools that are ideal for creating content that showcases your brands personality.
What is engagement and why is it important? Engagement is more than counting your views or followers. It’s about measuring the interactions that your audience makes with your content. Your engagement is important because first of all, it means that your content is making an impact on your audience. Secondly, strong engagement is a key factor in Instagram’s algorithm. The higher the engagement, the more likely it is that the content will be boosted in the newsfeed, attracting more eyes and attention. (Credit: Hootsuite )
Creating content that showcases your personality, when done right will add value and help your customers build a deeper connection with your brand. This also works in reverse – with you gaining inspiration and insights from your followers. A great example of this would be doing a Q&A on IG Live, this is a fantastic opportunity for your followers to put a face to the brand and get to know you personally as a business owner. As well as ask important questions, and get an immediate answer. Questions that otherwise might have gone straight to your customer service email.
It’s sometimes hard to decide how much to share, and how often. There’s no set rule and it definitely depends on your business. Brands should share things that will add value, and people will relate to. A funny quote, your Saturday morning ritual, home decor or a personal milestone are all examples of what’s fine to share. Especially if they align with your business and your customer. Do your customers want to see your weekly food shop or your kids homework? Probably not! Sharing something more personal once or twice a week is the sweet spot. Here are a few accounts that I think show their personality online really well:
Six Stories
A Manchester-based bridal brand creating bridal loungewear and accessories. Founder Lucy often appears on IG Stories offering kind words of advice and speaking directly to followers and customers and goes live with team members doing Q&A’s.
TH&TH
UK bridesmaid brand, founded by three best friends. Louie (one of TH&TH co-founders) often does Q&A’S on IG Stories as well as shares snippets of the behind the scenes of running a business and juggling family life.
Halfpenny London
Founder Kate often shares behind the scenes snippets and glimpses into family life with husband and little boy at their home in Kent.
Tips for showing personality or content ideas that show personality
- OOTD posts, what have you worn to work that day
- Been out for coffee and cake or cocktails take a quick snap and share it to Instagram asking people what they’re up to this weekend
- Tell a story - how long have you had the brand? Why did you decide to start this business? What did you do before this?
- Sharing funny, relatable and current quotes is always good for engagement. But less is more with this one!
- Are you married? Why not share your own engagement story? Details and images from your wedding day?
- Q&A
- Your personal favourite products and why
Think about your favourite accounts on Instagram? And ask yourself why do these accounts come to mind? What content do they share. They’ll likely be brands that you have a personal connection with. With more and more people shopping small, it’s important to put a face to the brand and showing more of your personality on social media is a great way to do this.
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