3 Steps to Turning your Instagram Profile into a Powerful Branding Tool

When it comes to branding, some of the best brands presences are on Instagram. Instagram is a visual platform. It is personal. It connects clients and customers to businesses through emotional appeals.

Because Instagram is a visual platform, it is a great tool for creating a solid, cohesive presence for your brand. With one glance at your Instagram profile, your prospective clients and customers should be able to tell what you’re all about.

A brand creates a perception in a consumer’s mind - the brand is what your prospective customers think of when they hear your company name.

When people hear your name, what visuals do you want to inspire? Setting up a cohesive Instagram can be a great tool for solidifying your brand because it solidifies your stance as a brand and lets customers attach emotions and feelings to your visuals.

Below, you can find the three vital steps of building your brand using Instagram.

1. Communicate your values and personality

For most companies, a brand helps embody the values of a company. Instagram is a great platform for showcasing a brand’s values in a quick, digestible way.

Outdoor apparel company United By Blue is a value-driven brand. Their name, logo, tagline, and even their social media feeds speak to the company’s mission to create “Responsible Durable Goods.” United By Blue is an environmentally-focused brand, appealing to like-minded outdoor enthusiasts.

They even organize water cleanups, stating on their site that “For every product sold, United By Blue removes one pound of trash from our world's oceans and waterways.”

United By Blue’s Instagram embodies everything their brand communicates, so one peek at their feed gives us all the above information in one easy-to-access place. They post pictures of families camping, adventures, and their waterway projects to show their commitment to the outdoors.

Using Instagram to showcase your brand’s values is a proactive marketing move. Most consumers are on social media every day. They are more likely to find out about your brand through a

 than they will through a google search.

2. Tell the story of your brand

When people look at your website of social media feed, how do you want them to feel? Inspired? Energetic? Calm? Happy?

Your brand can use Instagram as an emotional connection to your audience, especially if you use it as a storytelling platform.

Walker Family Goods sells backpacks and bags for travel, but their mission is reflected on their Instagram. They are a family-run business that is out there to inspire other families to travel simply.

Their feed is filled with beautiful photographs of their own family traveling with their products. They tell the story of their own family’s travels, inspiring other families to do the same using their products.

Instagram, though it is visual-focused, offers many opportunities for storytelling. Instagram’s “stories” feature even allows for quick information at the top of your audience’s feed. Take advantage of these tools to tell your audience about your brand. Why are you here? Why should your customers be where you are, too?

3. Implement your theme

As Instagram is a big-picture platform, it is easy for your audience to search for your profile and scroll down to see what your business has been up to. The best way to communicate a precise brand is to have a cohesive, deliberate Instagram presence.

Consistency is key. The best social media accounts post quality content regularly. The feed, while it does not have to be perfectly curated to be understood, should at least have some similar colors or styles of photos.

OddBird Co. Turkish robes and towels is a brand that maintains a lovely, cohesive theme. They may be selling luxury towels, but one peek at their feed will reveal their values of family and repose. They use subdued colors and soft textures to present a feeling of relaxation, warmth, and security.

The consistency of this brand’s theme increases their brand appeal. By having such a graceful, cohesive approach to their visual branding on Instagram, they attract more followers. By attracting more followers, they increase their sales and recognizability.

Back to You

Search some of your favorite companies or brands. What do you like about what they’re doing? Is there anything you would change? Jot your notes down before deciding what direction you want to take.

You can start to build your cohesive visual Instagram theme by focusing on the following elements of your content:

i. Colors

There are countless ways you can use color in your Instagram, but it helps to have and idea of what key colors you want your feed to embrace.

Zion Coffee goes white, but you can also consider playing with warm color families, cool color families, or design a color pallet based on your products or brand.

ii. Light

How light or dark are the photos you’re presenting to your audience? You might want to play around with presenting light photos, dark photos, or even alternating light and dark photos.

iii. Negative Space

Pay attention to what objects are in your photo. Do you like having busy photos or more minimalist ones? Maintaining consistency in regard to your use of empty space in your photos can help you create a sense of unity in your pictures.

iv. Filters

If you choose to use Instagram’s or even VSCO’s filters, using the same or similar ones will ensure that your photos do not conflict with each other as you build your content.

A solid Instagram is worth investing in because it showcases so much of your business’s values and personality. Your brand is made up of your name, logo, values, and presence, and Instagram is a valuable tool in personalizing your brand and making it more accessible to your audience. Use it as a visual storytelling tool to maximize your brand’s presence.

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