Instagram is one powerful visual social network. It became even more p0werfull when Facebook acquired it for $1 billion.
With over 300M monthly active users, you can’t afford ignoring it especially if you need to get your name out there. I can assure you Instagram will take your personal brandto the next level when done right.
Here’s an overview of how Instagram can help boost your branding efforts:
- You can showcase your person brand using your Instagram profile
- Your Instagram profile will appear in Google search results when someone searches your name
- You can showcase your skills, services & knowledge (or social proof) on Instagram
- You can use pictures & 15 sec videos to showcase your personal lifestyle
- You can tag your Instagram posts while attending industry events & conferences
- You can Increase website traffic by promoting your latest blog post
- You can use relevant Hashtags to get your posts discovered on Instagram
- You can expand your network by engaging with other Instagrammers (follow, love, comment, tag)
- Easily share your Instagram posts on Facebook & Twitter
Let’s get started.
FYI, you can follow me on Instagram here.
1. You can showcase your personal brand using your Instagram profile
One thing I love about using Instagram for my personal brand is the fact that it makes it easy for anyone browsing my profile to learn more about me. Instagram allows you to edit your profile by adding a personal photo, full name, a brief bio and a website URL which are visible to the public.
- Upload your picture (headshot) within your Instagram profile
You can add your picture by choosing one from your smartphone photo gallery or by importing your Facebook or Twitter profile pic. I recommend you use a professional headshot, one that you use for all your social media accounts including Linkedin. This is very important for personal branding as you need to stay consistent.
- Add your name
Make sure to add your full name so that people know it’s you.
- Add the URL of your personal website
If you’re investing in your personal brand, you must have a personal website. Add it to your Instagram profile so that people can visit your site and learn more about you if interested.
- Add a brief bio
Use your Instagram bio to better explain who you are, what you do and what is so special about you. Personal branding is all about providing value to those who wish to work with you. I usually update my bio every couple of weeks. You will need to test multiple variations in order to find out which one would work best.
Click here to learn exactly how to update your Instagram profile.
2. Your Instagram profile will appear in Google search results when someone searches your name
When someone searches your name on Google, you want to make sure that you occupy most of the real estate on the search results page. One way to do so is by creating many properties across social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Instagram.
When you create an account on Instagram for your personal brand, you will notice that it will suddenly start showing up on Google. There’s no way of knowing how long it will take for that to happen but it will. You just need to be patient.
When you are consistent with your name, bio and website url within your Instagram profile, it will make it easier for Google to associate that account with your personal brand.
Here’s a search result for my name. Notice how my Instagram profile shows up on the first page.
3. You can showcase your skills, services & knowledge (or social proof) on Instagram
I recommend you ask yourself these 3 questions before you invest any time or money in your personal brand.
Whether you’re trying to get a job, increase your salary or sell your services, you will have to let people know why they should engage with you. One way to do so is by letting people understand your qualifications.
Here are some examples of how I showcase myself on my Instagram profile.
– I post pictures on how people can reach out to me for my ecommerce advising services.
– I post pictures that describe what I do so that people know what I can offer them.
– I usually post some reviews and testimonials from recent clients as social proof.
4. You can use pictures & 15 sec videos to showcase your personal lifestyle
People on Instagram love learning more about your personal life than just your professional one. Be authentic. Show what your life is all about but within limits.
Here’s how I showcase mine on Instagram for my personal brand:
– I share lots of pictures of my wife and I doing all sorts of things.
– I share pictures of my family.
– I share pictures of my hobby which is hiking.
– I share pictures of our vacations and trips around the world. This one is from our recent trip to Australia, New Zealand & Fiji.
– I share videos about my juicing healthy lifestyle.
– I also enjoy sharing pictures of men’s fashion such as shoes, suits and accessories or even cars.
5. You can tag your Instagram posts while attending industry events & conferences
Attending events is one great way to expand your network, learn new thing & meet people that could potentially open up new opportunities.
A great way to get more exposure for your personal brand is to post pictures and videos of yourself at these events. It shows that you’re involved in your industry and always looking for improvement as well as acquiring new knowledge. Staying up to date is key and people will notice that.
Whenever I attend an eCommerce conference, I make it a habit of uploading pictures of myself either speaking or selfies with other attendees.
6. You can Increase website traffic by promoting your latest blog post
When you have a following on Instagram, you can promote your latest content to them. That’s exactly what I do whenever I write a new blog post.
Here’s how you do it:
- Write your blog post
- Create a graphic for it using Canva.com
- Update the URL in your Instagram Bio to link to the blog post & state in the caption “Link in Bio”
- Post your picture
- Add a quick summary in the caption with a call-to-action
– You can also promote your premium digital content such as online courses and training.
7. You can use relevant Hashtags to get your posts discovered on Instagram
What makes Instagram powerful is how easy it is to discover people’s content using hashtags.
Whenever you post something, you have the option of adding relevant hashtags that best describe the picture or video. You get to add 30 hashtags, so use all of them so that you increase your chances of getting discovered.
8. You can expand your network by engaging with other Instagrammers (follow, love, comment, tag)
If you want to expand your network on Instagram, you need to interact with others on the platform. You simply don’t want to be the person who’s only posting things and never likes or comments on other people’s pictures or videos.
If you give some love on Instagram, people will love you back. It’s as simple as that.
Here are 7 ways you can do to engage effectively with others:
1. You can love someone’s post by double tapping it
2. You can comment on someone’s post
3. You can follow someone
4. You can send them a direct message
5. You can mention others using the @mention
6. You can tag them on your pictures
7. Repost someone content using Repost App on iOS or Android
9. Easily share your Instagram posts on Facebook & Twitter
Instagram app gives you the ability to share your content on other social networks without requiring much effort.
We’re all busy with our lives and having to create content for every social media network can certainly be exhausting. Leveraging your Instagram content for other networks saves you lots of time.
A good reason why you should consider sharing your content is because every network has a different type of audience. Not everyone on Facebook is also on Instagram or Twitter.
Conclusion
Developing your personal brand on Instagram will certainly help raise awareness of who you are and what you can do for people. If done right, the return on investment is there.
3 things are needed if you want to succeed. Patience, Consistency and Persistence.
Develop the strategy that would work best for you and simply execute it daily.
Good luck!