Instagram, with more than 800 million active users, is currently the largest social media platform in terms of user engagement. The platform generally is used by the common folks to communicate and share some visuals from their lives.
Being a mobile exclusive social media app, Instagram is a fast growing network leaving behind other social media channels in terms of engagement and creating a follower base. This rising popularity has a lot to do with the interface of Instagram that attracts graphic designers from all over the world. Instagram can turn out to be a great tool for budding graphic designers who are in search of potential clients and customers.
As more and more brands and small business owners approaching Instagram for marketing their business, it is the perfect platform for designers to grab the attention of marketers and engage with them. This allows them to improve their chances of getting a new graphic design project which will create awareness among other brands, resulting in a broader clientele. However, in order to get more clients, graphic designers must optimize their profile and make it extremely appealing.
With that being said, here are some Instagram optimizing tips for graphic designers that will help them in finding new clients:
Ditch the Personal Account and Switch to the Business One
If you are looking for the simplest and the quickest way to optimize your account like a professional, start with switching to the business account. Having a personal account is for users who are on Instagram just for connecting with other people, but for graphic designers who are looking to extend their reach, the platform is much more than simply communicating. With the Instagram business account, you will get the opportunity to broadcast your design samples and services in front of a wider audience and can have a clear insight into the performance of your marketing program. You will be able to see the follower growth and the reach of your post along with the user engagement. On top of that, you will get the chance to add a ‘contact’ button to your Instagram profile, which makes having the business account an absolute must.
Focus on the Clarity of the Bio with an Additional Link
Concentrating on your Instagram bio will take you very far in your client engagement campaign, as your bio informs your followers about who you are, where you are from, what you do and what are your objectives. Another thing to keep in mind when it comes to optimizing your Instagram bio is that focusing only on the description part will not be enough, as your bio is also determined by your profile picture. Hence, having a blurry or unclear picture will not do any good to your Instagram marketing. Use a high-quality, clear picture to get your promotion straight to the point.
Apart from the description and the profile picture, you also need to strategically place your website or service page link in the bio section. This link should be active in nature and you should modify it frequently since Instagram does not allow inserting links to the posts and captions until you invest in sponsored ads. Therefore, keep updating your link and the bio at regular intervals. For better user engagement, you can consult the professionals by visiting online websites like https://gramblast.com/.
Use Your Feed like a Portfolio
When it comes to your Instagram feed, making it as sensible and cohesive as possible is the right approach to take. According to Instagram and social media marketing experts, brands and users find your graphic design business relevant when they see a consistent feed after visiting your profile. This allows them to formulate their expectations of you, which is quite similar to the approach that people take after going through your portfolio. In order to build an audience who will thoroughly recognize your work and associate with your brand, you will need to drive more efforts in keeping your feed consistent. Think how your visuals will look beside each other and then you can simply add a touch of variety to it. Also, keep an eye on the color theme when you post images; especially the behind the scenes pictures, which display your personality in front of your followers.
Make Proper Use of Captions and Hashtags
Needless to say, Instagram’s visual only nature tempts both users and marketers and all they are focused on is to create and share high-quality images. Even though the platform is all about images and videos, you should give an equal effort to crafting meaningful captions. After all, a solid caption will describe the promotional image and will define how much you are serious about your profession. Apart from that, use hashtags brilliantly for targeting your audience and specific prospective clients. You can use the tools available for creating hashtags and research on your industry to find out the ongoing popular hashtags.
Interact With Your Followers
User engagement should always be effective in terms of quality instead of quantity. There is no point in going after numbers when you cannot afford the time to address a large number of disengaged followers. In fact, having loyal and engaged Instagram followers will help you in building your user community on the platform. For this, you will need to keep a track of the likes and comments you receive on your posts. Acknowledge the likes and reply to comments in order to show that you care for your followers.
Schedule Your Posts Effectively
Post scheduling is an important feature of Instagram marketing that defines how strategic you are in your work and how well you can manage a design project. Choose the optimum time for sharing your posts on Instagram and schedule it accordingly. Post scheduling also comes in handy when you are looking to target followers and clients who belong to a different time zone.
Conclusion
Finally, adhering to the aforementioned tips will help you a lot in reaching out to new clients. Stick to these points and engage with clients for getting the opportunity to work on new projects.
Harris is a leading blog writer and content marketing professional with thousands of real Instagram followers for his postings.