We’ve got some good news for photo lovers when it comes to Instagram! Instagram is bringing photos back to the forefront. According to Instagram chief Adam Mosseri, photos (aka the OG of the platform) will once again be prioritized in 2023.
This is great news for Instagram fans as it brings back a focus on visual content and makes the platform easier to navigate for a lot of small business owners, such as yourself.
The change in Instagram’s prioritizing of photos is a great opportunity for agents who market on the platform. By increasing the visibility of photos, agents can ensure that their posts stand out from other posts and get more engagement from users. Additionally, this could lead to increased visibility and reach for promoting yourself. Finally, agents can benefit from the variety of photo AND video-focused features like Stories and Reels, giving them an even greater potential for getting seen and connecting with customers.
This is a breath of fresh (or more like old) air that the platform will be prioritizing what it was known and loved for in the first place, especially for those who stress when they hit the record button.
Now that photos are making a comeback, we wanted to share three ways you can incorporate still images into your Instagram marketing strategy.
1. Carousel Posts - Unlike a single still image, carousel posts share a similarity with videos in that they are interactive. Followers have to swipe in order to see all of the content you are sharing, which increases the amount of time they spend on your post. And the more time your followers spend on a post, the higher priority it gets, which leads to more people seeing it.
Carousel posts are also the perfect way for sharing educational or insightful content because they give you more space. Instead of trying to fit all of the information you want to share on a single post, carousels give you the ability to spread that information across up to 10 posts. This allows for each slide to be less crowded with text and graphics, making them more visually pleasing. A key to nailing carousels is to ensure that followers will want to keep swiping to see every post. So be sure to create carousels that are captivating and tell a story with each swipe left.
Here are a few ways you can incorporate carousels into your Instagram feed:
Before and afters
Home tours
Behind-the-scenes
Tips and how-to’s
Testimonials
2. Feed Aesthetic - First impressions count! Curating a grid that is on-brand, cohesive, and clearly showcases your content is still one of the best ways to convert visitors into followers. When posting images, this means ensuring all of your photos have a similar look and feel.
First and foremost, this can be achieved by only using high-quality photos on your feed. Luckily, with the cameras on Smartphones becoming better and better, this is easy to do even if you don’t have a professional photographer.
Another way to achieve a consistent look to your photos is making sure to edit them the same way. If you use filters, use the same one (or a similar one) across all images. If you like your images bright and airy, make sure you up the brightness and shadows when editing. The same (or opposite) goes for if you like a darker, moodier feel—decrease the brightness and lower the shadows.
While photos themselves can create a beautiful grid, we suggest breaking them up with graphics (like the ones that come with your Pink Door membership). When it comes to graphics, sticking to the same color scheme is key. In the end, curating a first-impression-worthy grid all comes down to consistency.
3. Memes - It’s 2023, and memes reign supreme. Why? Memes are key for connecting with your community and generating engagement. They allow you to show off your sense of humor and give your brand a unique voice. They are also a way to communicate what’s going on in the culture around us in a humorous and relatable way. And what is social media for if not being a place to relate to one another?
There are endless ways to incorporate memes into your social media strategy. If you’re looking for inspiration, think about what your audience really loves — or hates — and consider how these sentiments could play out as text overlays on trending visuals. Click here for a list of the 10 best places to find memes on the web.
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