By the end of the year, there are estimated to be more than 2.5 billion users active on Instagram every year. This makes Instagram a top social media platform with a lot of room for engagement and, thus, a great place to build your personal brand.
Yes, branding is not always about commercial institutions. Personal brand is also important to anyone looking to have a strong online presence.
It helps you stand out, build an audience, and do a lot of things. Below, you’ll learn how to develop your personal brand fast on Instagram!
What You Need to Know Before Working to Develop Your Brand
While it is true that you need to develop your personal brand as fast as you can, you need to be aware of several things first. To start, pinpoint your niche. What intrigues you? What do you want people to know you for? Once you find your niche, you will know who your target audience is.
Second, you need to understand how you want to brand yourself and the goal of your branding. Do you need a platform where you can share your work? Or do you want to build a network? Understanding your needs and goals will help you find clarity. Consequently, it will make it easier to make the most of Instagram.
Lastly, you also need to spend time learning and understanding how the platform works and its quirks. Otherwise, trying to develop your brand on Instagram without understanding how it works might not be effective. For example, you must know that Instagram is heavy on hashtags, which is why you will need to always have relevant hashtags for your post.
Practical Tips to Develop Your Personal Brand on Instagram
Now that you’ve learned the crucial things about developing a personal brand on Instagram, you can follow the steps below. Here are some effective hacks to build a professional look that reflects your brand.
1. Identify Your Preferred Self-Brand Traits
Experts believe there are five Instagram personal branding traits you can choose, these are sincerity, competence, excitement, sophistication, or ruggedness. The traits you choose will influence your audience, hashtags, and content.
For example, if you choose sincerity, it should evoke down-to-earth and sentimental emotions. On the other hand, if you choose excitement, it should evoke daring, imagination, and trendiness. However, you should not feel limited to these traits.
2. Have a Board for Your Brand Mood
Once you have traits you would like for your brand personality, you need a mood to add visuals to these words. We recommend browning through mood boards because they work as a visual reference for your personal brand.
The role of the brand mood is to express the emotions you would like your audience to experience when they see your account. For example, if you want your audience to feel calm anytime they interact with your brand, you can upload photos that evoke these feelings.
3. Use Your Branding Elements in Your Post
If you do not have visual branding elements, e.g., a logo, you can hire a graphic designer to create one. Your visual branding asset should convey your personal brand, aesthetic, and purpose.
The branding elements should pair up with your brand personality. Think about the font, the color, etc. You can use personal branding template examples from Postermywall.com. They are customizable and should provide you with enough examples to set up your account.
4. Customize Your Profile
After identifying every detail about your personal brand, it is time to customize your Instagram profile to match your personal brand. Ensure your profile has a photo, a name, a user handle, a bio, a bio link, etc.
A customized profile ensures your followers are not confused. It also helps alienate your audience. Here are some tips for you when customizing your profile:
- Choose a name that is easy to recognize and remember
- Use a unique profile picture
- Work on your bio, and include what you do so people know who you are.
- Have a link tree, or add relevant links
5. Create Your Content
When creating content, remember to be consistent. You do not only need to get the target audience’s attention, but you need to engage them by being consistent. Regular posting increases post-exposure and boosts the algorithm.
You should also be authentic with your posts. This is a tip most people miss out on. People are more concerned about the person behind the brand. They want to see you, the real you; therefore, your content needs to be authentic.
Make technology work for you and your personal branding journey by automating your content. Use Instagram publishing tools to plan and schedule your content. Aim to have your content come up when your followers are active.
6. Interact
On social media, people are looking to interact. So, you also need to be active and responsive. Giving responses and feedback is important when people reach out to you and comment on your content, pictures, or captions.
As you build your brand, you must encourage people to know you. Frequently check for direct messages, which go to the “requests section.” While it can be hard interacting with hundreds of people, it is a powerful way to build a relationship with them.
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The Takeaway
We live in a world where digitalization is everything, and social media will get you more engagement than other forms of marketing. Therefore, it is important for you to do as much as you can leverage social media, especially Instagram, to build your personal brand.
