Engaging with new and upcoming generations means learning how they consume information, and for many audiences, that means Instagram. With over half of users between 18 and 29, the platform is the first place to reach the millennial market.
Instagram’s basis in visual content is a great, vibrant way to attract attention to your non-profit’s goals and initiatives, even if you think your work doesn’t lend itself to a visual medium. If you’re interested in taking advantage of these opportunities but feeling a little lost, here are a few simple tips to get you started.
1. Business Profiles
The first step to remember is to mark your Instagram profile as a business rather than a personal account. A business account provides you with many more tools and insights into your social media engagement that you can use to factor into your marketing strategy. Business profiles have access to insights into post-performance and reach, plus they give you easy access to paid advertising programs on the platform. This website is great at promoting business profiles.
2. Put it all upfront
Another simple tip that goes a long way is to make your profile into a billboard for your business. Your profile page should be a concise portrayal of your company’s tone and atmosphere, and it should be consistent with your marketing elsewhere.
Start with the essentials: make your profile picture, your company logo, and a link in your bio. Your profile picture is the first thing your users will see, and your bio is the only place you can place clickable links (don’t make the mistake of pasting them into your posts; it won’t work, and you’ll look like a grandma).
“Instagram is like any marketing,” says Alexis Michelle, an Instagram expert at Dissertation Writer and Custom Essay, “you’ve got to know your platform. If your logo is too intricate or complex, design a simplified version, or it won’t pop in a user’s feed. You can only include one link in your bio, so use a service like Linktree to circumvent that and link to as many things as you want.”
3. What to post
Now that you’ve set up your account, consider what you’re posting. Although marketing will always vary a little between your audience’s demographics and the sector your non-profit is in, some rules hold true across the platform.
Keeping your posts in a consistent visual style is key for maintaining a sense of your brand across the platform. This might be a similar filter, font, or tone of content — developing a consistent voice will help users remember you. If you’re feeling more ambitious, you can amplify this consistency by planning a whole grid theme: a united image or visual style that only comes across when users look at all of your photos together on your grid.
Shea Coulee, a nonprofit writer at Paperfellows and State Of Writing, reminds us that “Instagram may have started as a photo platform, but nowadays videos trump photos nearly every time. They’ve been shown to engage more, receiving more views and comments than static images on average, no matter the content.” Consider making your content video-friendly; think explainer videos, relevant stock footage with captions, and memes.
Also, as Alexis Michelle says, use the platform to your advantage. In this case, that means don’t be afraid of hashtags. Try to find popular and trending hashtags relevant to your non-profit’s work and attach them to your posts. For example, a great way to share archival footage of your organization is on #ThrowbackThursday.
4. Have fun with it
Marketing professionals can be tempted to make social media marketing something grand and complex because it keeps companies from trying it themselves and keeps them in a job. While it’s certainly not always easy to get great engagement on Instagram, at the end of the day, it’s a platform users go to to have fun and enjoy themselves. Try to do that, too!
Don’t be afraid to try new features, like Stories, Boomerang, and Filters. Your users will do the same, so seeing you do it will remind them that you’re human. The most successful brands are ones that can communicate on an emotional level with their users.
Beatrix Potter is a professional writer and content creator at the writing services Professional Essay Service and Essay Services writing services. Bea enjoys writing about non-profits, ethics, and brand management. She also tutors at Write my assignment.
