How to Style an Instagram Account: Instruction For Business

Why is it essential to have a well-designed IG account?

We all know the proverb ‘first you judge ‘how nice’, then you judge ‘how wise” It is also applicable to Instagram. Once a person goes to your profile, he/she evaluates it and makes a decision whether to follow you or not. Here are the evaluation factors:

• you have got something that a person is very interested in;
• there is a desire to buy or choose and buy something from you;
• as an option, there is a desire to laugh or mock at you (your visitor is your hater.)

Conclusion: the quality and Instagram post design affect the number of followers that will eventually become your customers or fans. Or whoever you want to attract.

Let’s see how to make your Instagram style cool.

Your unique nickname

Do you have a blog or a creative webpage? If your real name doesn’t consist of 25 letters then most likely, your name is already used. Then I recommend playing in word associations: choose the nick that describes your profile, your personality etc.

Everything is quite simple for a business Instagram account as well: you can specify brand name and direction of activity (e.g. @nikesportswear) – more than understandable. Or you can create a name on which users will search for your account (e.g. ‘Nails London’).

Keep it simple – try not to use too long and complex nicknames, which will be difficult to remember and reproduce without reference. If the desired nick is already taken, try to play with the dot. And keep in mind that the number of characters – no more than 30.

Instagram indexing

You can search for various profiles, people, and brands by nickname, hashtags and geotag. Therefore:

• Make your nickname simple and memorable. It should be easy for any user to find you in the social network search;
• Use hashtags in your bio. Now it is possible to follow them and therefore to find you;
• If you are looking for an audience of a certain range (city, region), specify the location.

A proper profile description: link, emojis, and hashtags

To describe your profile, choose your target audience’s language. And do not abuse foreign words.

Specify reliable ways to contact – not just for show. You should regularly check email, answer phone calls, be ready to meet customers at the address (if there is an offline store).

In the” Website section, provide a link to your website.

If you have several channels of promotion, and track traffic using web analytics systems, create UTM for links from Instagram using special services.

UTM tag is needed if you want not only to identify the site but to obtain additional data as well. With proper configuration, you can calculate not only the number of clicks on your links but also the number of leads and payments/purchases.

To make your link fit into your bio profile and look more attractive, use link reduction services.

The profile description is limited to 180 characters. That’s why use emoticons to shorten and visually highlight the structural sections of the description. And the use of emojis helps to give the text emotionality as well. So the phone, delivery methods (plane, mail, etc.) is easier to separate with a graphic sign rather than write a word.

What to write about yourself? List the types of offered goods, tell the audience about yourself. Place an offer: discount offer, free useful material and etc., or place your PR-manager’s contact.

Instagram has recently implemented the ability to add tags and ‘active’ links to other Instagram accounts in bio. The developers claim this is a new way to express yourself and show to your followers what things are you interested in. Any user can easily go to another account or search for hashtags. So you can advertise your store/brand through a personal account. A lot of bloggers do that.

Have you seen an unusual font in the description? Use this technique to attract attention.

Stories Highlights: how to add?

Highlights are Stories that appear below your profile photo and are not deleted after 24 hours.

How to add a story to Stories Highlights?

To add your “Story” to a Highlight, tap “Select” after the publication “add to Highlight”. Such sections can be made several.

You can enter a story name and add a cover photo for your Stories Highlights (you can edit it).

The cover can be cropped at your discretion.

If you want to edit a Highlight, go to the profile, find the highlight you want to edit then tap and hold. After that, you can add or delete a story.

Banners requirements in stories:

• The aspect ratio is from 1:91 to 4:5;
• Recommended resolution: 1080 x 1920, minimum: 600 x 1067.

What to post on Insta Stories?

• Catalogs of your goods and services, information about delivery and payment;
• Promotions and sales, update of assortment. And, of course, publish customer reviews;
• Headings under which your content is posted on Stories;
• Announcements of important events, if you think that it is worth to draw special attention to;
• Information about yourself, your team and project;
• F.A.Q. For instance, how to place an order or how to get to the store. In the F.A.Q. you can answer any questions from your followers.

Create a unique Instagram style: 2 rules and 3 ways to design posts on Instagram

There are two basic contradictory rules that you need to follow at the same time:

1. Everything you do, you do for those people whom you consider to be your target audience.
   While creating your Instagram profile try to check the answer to the question “what do you think about it?” not with your relatives and friends, but with your target public;
2. If you take into consideration the opinion of all third-party observers, you will never hear a unanimous one.

As for the ways:

• A unified color space (gamma, if you prefer). One filter for all photos is the easiest way to post-process them;

• Checkerboard Instagram design. This way of posting remains relevant. You may try to find a more modern version of its realization like it did Rupi Kaur;

• Collages. You may use them in certain posts or fill the whole profile. I believe that spending resources on collaging the whole account does not make any sense, but if you do it for your own pleasure, why not.

Write attractive texts: 5 techniques that not everyone knows

1. Use CAPS LOCK at the beginning. Start with a question or provocation;
2. Divide the text into paragraphs. If there is a lot of text, it is better to remove a part of it to the first comment. Do you use the auto-posting program? There is even a feature to put the part of the post to the first comment under the publication;
3. Put you hashtags down the post or insert them into your text. The main requirement is #dont#write#like#that#its#super#annoying;
4. Use emoticons to highlight key information or for emotionality;
5. Use visual delimiters: these can be underlining and, of course, emojis.

I would like to end off by Jeffrey Zeldman’s words: “Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it’s decoration.” So pay attention not only to visualization but to the content – texts, ideas, meanings. Use our Instagram style guide! Create and inspire!