How to Create Instagram Content for Your New Business

As Instagram continues to become one of the best online marketplaces, the more important it becomes for every business to have an active account.

With 500+ million users daily, there’s undoubtedly an audience for anyone as long as you know how to reach them.

So as a new business, you most likely already know why you sell what you sell, which is the fundamental step.

To create engaging content that can gain you loyal followers and drive sales, you’d be glad to know that some techniques are easy to implement yet quite effective.

Want to find out what they are? Read on…

Tip #1: Start with a content strategy

In planning a content marketing strategy, the aim is to prepare purposeful content for your audience. This isn’t focused on just creating beautiful posts but visuals that are both aesthetically pleasing and objectively relevant.

There’s no point in spending hours designing an amazing visual which is only going to get you likes without conversions; that’s a massive waste of time and resources.

Moving on, several tools are made available by Instagram like Stories, Highlights, and Reels; they should all be included as you formulate your marketing strategy.

Coming up with an interesting idea is easy, but having a reason behind it is usually the major struggle. An efficient solution is focusing on the why before the what; e.g., the why for a fitness coach would be;

• To reach more potential customers
• Grow brand awareness
• Gain more paying clients

Thus, the content should include;

• Photos and videos of your exercise routines
• Your before-and-after visuals
• Stories of daily offers
• User-generated content, which serves as social proof from existing clients

This simple process will aid in creating more intentional content for your customers; content that will last longer in their hearts and build confidence in your business.

Tip #2: Produce epic visuals

As soon as you're done preparing and organizing your content, the next action you should take is to start preparing each one. This is usually the most fun part of the process.

Consistency isn’t just important with how often you post content on your business page but also what you choose to post.

In fact, social pages are now being run much like website pages, not just the regular photo posting. But not to worry, there are several ways for you to gain and keep users glued to your page.

Before you go ahead, you need to find a style you’ll like your new business to be recognized for. Picking themes and moods is a great way to do that, and here are a few categories to choose from:

• Consistent color palette

  This is where you pick the desired color palette for your Instagram feed, which may be achieved by picking only certain types of photos or editing with the same filter(s). A consistent tone endows your entire feed with a cohesive and aesthetically pleasing look that naturally engages users.

• Grid patterns

  A great way to ensure engagement by anyone who visits your profile is by creating content based on the overall look. This could be either by using a strip of 3 for each product or white borderlines for each post; either makes for a satisfying view.

• Checkerboard theme

  This type of theme uses alternate tiles to separate images and attract attention. The grid style works by using text-based posts like facts or quotes to break up videos and images.

To pull off a themed profile, you have to be intentional and consistent with your posts. The extra work required to achieve this is usually worth the wow-factor users get when they view your profile.

Tip #3: Create your Instagram content using templates

During the early times of content creation, if you wanted to design a branded image, you had to start from scratch and find a savvy Photoshop designer.

Now though, several websites provide pre-designed templates that can be tweaked to your needs with minimal effort.

Pre-made templates can be useful for creating a post to promote a special offer, announce a new opening time, or advertise posts from your site/blog.

All you have to do is select your preferred font color and style, then download and tweak the template to your liking. Simple as that.

Pro-tip: Read this quick guide for creative ideas to use for your next Instagram posts.

Tip #4: Repost Instagram content

As a new business owner, you may not be fully adept at creating quality content consistently yet and may be looking for existing content to supplement your uploads.

Well, there are two effective ways to ensure that you never run out of content without having to spend your entire day on creation. They are:

• Reposting content from similar brands

  There are probably other accounts already creating a lot of relevant content. You can borrow from these accounts, and this isn’t against any rules as long as you do it the 'legal' way;

  • Follow relevant hashtags and accounts to find quality content
  • Reach out to the user to ask for permission to repost
  • Share the photo/video on your feed and remember to give credit.

• User-generated content

  Your satisfied customers can also be your best marketing tool. Whatever people share about your product, service, or establishment can make for valuable content. Learn to skim through mentions and tags to find great visuals for your feed and also ensure to ask for permission before doing so, by either sending a direct message or posting a friendly comment.

Summary

Producing quality and engaging content isn’t as difficult as most people make it out to be; you just have to put in some effort and time.

After you’ve built your business to a certain level, you can hire a person or team to solely handle your social media accounts.

But until then, the above tips will go a long way in helping you provide captivating content for your business to reach and draw in potential customers/clients and partners.