5 Ways to Establish Your Brand Vision on Social Media
Building out a cohesive brand vision on social media takes some planning, but when done properly it’s the best way to attract your audience and build a community of brand believers.
So whether you’re new to the ‘gram, or just starting a new page, we’re covering the basics of building an Instagram brand strategy to help you grow your account and reach your target audience.
When you’re planning out the type of content you want to publish on Instagram, think of it as your brand’s virtual magazine. Here’s a quick exercise for you. Close your eyes and mentally flip through the pages. Ask yourself – what types of articles would you find? What ads would stick out? If you could have a guest contributor who would it be? What’s on the cover? Answering these questions should inspire topics and themes to include within your content strategy.
“When you’re planning out the type of content you want to publish on Instagram, think of it as your brand’s virtual magazine.”
1. Share Your Brand Values
What does your brand value? Sustainability? Transparency? Empowerment? The content you post should support those. This is one of the truest ways for people to connect with you and also show that you’re not just there to make a sale but take a stance.
Let’s take the hard kombucha brand, Juneshine for example. While they’re in the business of slingin’ booch, their content encompasses themes that support their brand values of transparency, sustainability, and passion for the environment.
It can be easy for brands to focus on the sales-aspect of their brand, but it’s extremely important to remember that you have a purpose to exist in the socialsphere. You want to get people on board with you because they share your values. There’s a reason you feel passionate about what you’re doing, so share that with your audience!
2. Show Off Your Personality
The digital space is where your brand “personality” should come out to play. From the captions to the public responses these touchpoints help define your brand personality to your audience.
People are becoming more curious to know the faces behind their favorite brands. This allows a greater connection between you and your community.
For example, health & wellness coach @MelissaWoodHealth is a prime example of someone who is intentional about including content about her brand while also letting you in on her plant-powered, mantra loving, mom life.
In other words, if you’re running a business you should feel comfortable posting things to your Instagram feed (or stories!) that let people get to know you and what makes you tick. Your page should make it clear that you’re running a business, while strategically incorporating content that’s true to your brand disposition.
3. Bringing Your Brand Story to Life
Every established brand should have a vision, story or journey – Share it. People are interested and love to hear about how you got your start. This type of content is a great way to stay top-of-mind, and build trust amongst your audience.
Take for example, @SaraspeSeafoods, a third-generation fishery based in Southern California. They supply sustainable seafood to hotels and restaurants across the region and after the COVID-19 crisis they’ve pivoted quickly to a direct to consumer approach.
4. Offering Advice & Tips Around Your Expertise
This one is a no-brainer in our humble opinion. People love free stuff so the minute you start offering advice around your expertise you’ll be building reciprocity with your community and engagement will naturally increase due to your generosity.
Think about it like this – there are a million and one foodie accounts out there that are posting egg porn and beautiful images of latte art. While we encourage keeping your beautifully curated feed, perhaps consider sharing some #BTS (behind the scenes) footage on how to perfect latte art from the comfort of your own home too!
5. Content Promoting Your Product or Services
Last, but certainly not least, use creative content to promote your product and services. While crafting your brand story is crucial to building your brand on social media, you still need to remind people you’re running a business at the end of the day.
Use the 80/20 rule when you’re planning out your content calendar –80% should be content that supports the brand mission, vision and values and 20% should promote your business (what you’re selling) in a creative and authentic way.
A brand that does a killer job at this is YETI. When scrolling their feed, you won’t (ever!) find a YETI product photo with a basic white background. They only showcase their products with lifestyle visuals that promote adventure, travel, and the convenience of bringing their products along for the ride.
By using these examples you’ll begin to see your vision come to life. As with anything good in life, it may take some time. By laying down the groundwork now, you’ll have a clear vision and your social media strategy will be stronger than ever.