As a photographer I love Instagram because it’s a great visual platform to showcase my photos. But Instagram is a great platform for business owners in any niche. So let’s talk about how to use your personal brand images on Instagram.

The best thing about Instagram is it’s primarily a photo sharing platform so what better place to really show off the beautiful collection of images you now have at hand. Instagram and Facebook pretty much go hand in hand since Facebook bought them out a few years ago.

And Instagram now has over 1 billion active users and content on Instagram generates over 1.6 billion likes per day. Something else that’s noteworthy is 80% of users follow business accounts on Instagram so they actually want to see this content in their feeds.

Benefits of Using Instagram for Business

It’s a great platform for visual branding but also allows you to create other content. With the introduction of IGTV and stories you have much more opportunity to connect and engage with your audience. And being able to have links in your bio and stories makes it easy for users to take action on your offers.

How to Use Your Personal Brand Images on Instagram

Instagram has come a very long way since its original inception and it is no longer just a photo sharing platform. There’s many different things you can do on Instagram now including:

• Your profile image
• Your main feed
• Stories
• Featured stories
• IGTV

When it comes to each of these areas there’s a range of different things you can do.

Let’s talk about your profile image first.

Your Instagram profile image

Like most social media platforms, your profile image is the first opportunity you have to show who you are. It should clearly show your face so people know it’s you.

Because Instagram is a fun, visual platform your image doesn’t need to be as serious as some other platforms. As you can see my image on Instagram is a little more playful.

Please note, the current recommended sizes for Instagram profile images is 180 x 180.

Your Instagram feed

This is the first impression people get of your Instagram account and this needs to be pretty spot on to ensure you keep your ideal clients attention long enough to get them to stick around and become a follower and engage on your content.

Here you have your profile image and then of course the square images that make up your feed. This is where you need to put your best foot forward and ensure your feed represents your brand in the best possible way. Most often, the last 9 squares are all people will look at before they make a snap decision about you. If they scroll further down, they should see a consistent feed that shows them exactly what you’re about. (talk about mixing up with graphics/quotes etc.)

Please note, the current recommended sizes for Instagram images are 1080 x 1080 (square), 1080 x 566 (landscape), 1080 x 1350 (portrait).

Your Instagram Stories

One of the greatest features on Instagram is the story feature. This allows you to give people a snapshot into your day to day life or the behind the scenes of your business.

Unlike your feed, stories are a chance to be a bit more raw and unfiltered as they disappear from your account within 24 hours so this is a great way to allow your personality to shine through so you can connect with your audience on a deeper level. But it is also great to use a mix of curated and strategic content in your stories as well. This is also something we can help with.

Please note, the current recommended size for Instagram stories is 1080 x 1920.

Your Instagram Featured Stories

Another great feature on Instagram is featured stories. This allows you to take some of your best stories and showcase them on your profile permanently. You’ll see these in the dots above your main feed.

To make your featured stories work best for you, you’ll want to create highlight covers that represent your brand effectively, and this is also where  it’s better to feature your more on brand/strategic stories that help people to see what you can do to help them, share testimonials, things like that.

Your IGTV Channel

The final aspect of Instagram is IGTV – as the name suggests, this is all about creating video content. Something we can also help you with. Video is one of the hottest ways to get your brand story out there and connect with your audience on an even deeper level. But this is also a place where you need great images to use for your IGTV covers.

 

So there you have it, a simple guide on how to use your personal brand images on Instagram.

Hope it’s helped, and I can’t wait to see you using more of your images. If you haven’t already had a shoot with me and you’re in need of refreshed images for your Instagram account take a look at how I can help you with that here.

P