Many of the most popular social media platforms today heavily rely on photos and videos as their primary content sources, which makes it crucial that businesses have a firm understanding of visual marketing. High quality pictures and video are obviously important, but it’s just as important to make sure the strategy around them offers the best path to success. Today, we’re taking a look at some of the best visual strategies for Instagram and Pinterest.
#Hashtags
Hashtags have become one of social media’s biggest mainstays, and businesses should be thankful for this unsung hero. While Twitter is credited for the creation and growth of the hashtag, Instagram has rapidly made it a major part of their platform—users can even follow specific hashtags now! Pinterest has also embraced the hashtag, which means that your business should, too. You’ve spent time and money creating the perfect visual content for your company—don’t miss out on the easiest way to share it!
Despite the range of benefits hashtags bring, some believe that hashtags clutter up posts or make them look less professional. If you want to reap the benefits of hashtags without overcrowding your caption, posting your hashtags as the first comment is an easy work-around that many businesses have started to utilize. This helps you engage your audience with a clear brand message while still driving new eyes to your page.
Play to Each Platform’s Strengths
Every social media platform has its own unique features, and many users can only be found on one or two sites. Both of these factors should inform your visual strategy.
Instagram has a more immediate engagement rate, while Pinterest tends to gain traction at a slower pace. Learning to properly cross-promote posts from Pinterest to Instagram allows you to get a larger return on investment for your posts by introducing them to different audiences that are at different stages of the purchasing funnel.
So think about it: If you’re likely posting to a completely different audience on Instagram than on Pinterest, you have the potential to double your audience simply by cross-promoting. And, with the slower nature of Pinterest, this strategy allows you to drive a constant flow of new customers back to your Instagram, and more followers on Instagram makes for better brand visibility. It’s a win-win!
Sharing Is Caring For Your Brand
One of the many benefits of social media marketing is the ability to easily share and engage not only with users but also with other brands! Engaging with and sharing other people’s content often encourages those same brands to pay it forward by sharing your content, which creates audiences that could previously only be found in your marketing team’s dreams. On top of that, sharing allows you to form relationships with other brands that can strengthen community trust.
Uptick Makes It Easy!
While we believe that these social media techniques are something every business should practice, we understand that it can easily be too much to keep up with in-house. Our team of social media experts makes it easy to get the most out of your visual strategy while letting you focus on running the company you love! Contact us today to learn more about what sets Uptick apart.
