1. Take photos in natural light, with no flash. This cannot be stressed enough. No one appreciates seeing your grainy, flashed picture in their feed, especially if you’re a business or brand. Take photos during the day and position your subject near a window or in a well-lit room. Below is how I often have my “mini studio” set up (spoiler: it’s just two pieces of foam board on a small table, more about that in #2).
2. Invest in a few supplies. Sounds simple enough, right? Don’t underestimate what a few simple, cheap items can do for stepping up your ‘gram game. I prefer to have 2 pieces of white foam board (available in a 10-pack via Amazon Prime) and 2 pieces of matte black tag board (available at your local Target) on hand at all times. I also have a few pieces of foam board that I’ve applied black ($11.31, Amazon) and white ($10.99, Amazon) marble contact paper to. I know you thought all bloggers had houses full of marble counter-tops, but we don’t! I also suggest having Mounting Putty on hand—-you’d be surprised how often it saves the day (i.e. keeping a bottle of lotion positioned just right and not rolling away, or to stick a piece of tagboard to the wall for a photo). Armed with these tools you’ll notice immense improvement in your Instagrams.
3. Play with texture and proportion. Toss a towel in the background. Layer some flowers behind your subject. It also pays to invest in things like a remnant piece of marble, old cutting boards or pieces of fabric. Look at the examples below. In example one I am taking the photo straight on with no texture in the background. In photo two I have added texture with a simple tea towel, am shooting more from above, and have altered the proportion so that the bowl is in the left of the frame.
5. Feature photos from your fans, vendors or other partners. Another great way to bulk up your feed with beautiful images is to regram images that you/your brand/your product are tagged in. I suggest doing this sparingly (1-3 times per week, max) so as not to annoy your followers with recycled content. The number one rule here is not to use a regramming app. Or, use a regram app but don’t include any watermarks or overlays (seriously, everyone hates that). You will find that your fans are typically ecstatic to have their content shared (especially if you have a large audience) but I insist that you give them proper credit in your photo caption (so important) and I also suggest commenting on their original photo 1-2 days in advance to ask for permission. Brands who do this well and serve as good examples for how to properly regram a photo are Target and One Love Organics:
6. Show your fans something new. A lot of brands tend to show their products on instagram, and that’s great, but your fans will also enjoy seeing behind the scenes. Show them how the product was made. Snap a photo of the messy development meeting. Show images from your everyday life. Your fans want to get acquainted with you and your brand and this is a fun way to connect with them on a more personal level.
A few notes on etiquette: First, don’t take images from the internet and post them on Instagram as your own. Ever. If you’re sharing a photo or image that you did not personally take/design it should be credited properly in the caption. Second, remember that Instagram is a photography app, and the majority of your feed should be actual photos. It’s hard to entirely avoid sharing graphic designs or layouts (especially for brands) but just keep in mind that the majority of your feed should be photographs and share graphic content sparingly.
This is a brief guide to improving your feed, but it’s a good place to start! If you’re struggling to manage your business’s social media, a quick 1-on-1 with me or a social media specialist in your area might make all the difference. Along with training you on how to use the platform, a social media specialist can also help you develop a strategy and put it into action.
You can find me on Instagram right here and I’d love to have you follow along.
Article from http://thyme-is-honey.com.