It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words 📸 - Instagram is the perfect social media platform for sharing such pictures and visuals around the world. We started our Instagram channel @life_at_epages in 2019 to present our company culture and express who we are. But managing a company Instagram channel and coordinating content includes some important aspects to consider. In the following, I will share some actions you can take to keep your company Instagram channel up and running.
1. Create an Instagram how-to guide
Usually, an Instagram company channel is not run by a single person but by a team consisting of two or more employees. In order to develop and create consistent content for the channel, it can be helpful to come up with an Instagram how-to guide that is agreed and shared with all involved employees. This guide serves as an overview of how to use Instagram in your company. These are some aspects that could be part of your guide:
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Aim of the Instagram channel: Write down what you would like to achieve with the Instagram channel and in which areas the channel is supposed to support the company. Should it e.g. promote your products, support you in reaching out to potential hires, or help you to gain more traffic on your company blog?
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Target group: Define your target group and decide which people you would like to reach out to with your Instagram channel. You should also discuss which people do not belong to your target group. This makes it easier for the employees to create relevant content and to make decisions on what to show. Thus, you can orient your content towards your defined target group.
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Content ideas: Come up with a list of content ideas that show which kind of content is suitable for your Instagram channel, e.g. internal & external events, employee portraits, or team activities. Furthermore, you can specify the content ideas by describing them. For example, which external events would you like to visualize - is it only conferences, or fairs as well? This list is a reminder for content ideas and shows in which direction you can move with the content.
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Hashtags: Note down hashtags that are suitable for your Instagram captions and sort them into different categories. Use different kinds of hashtags such as company-branded hashtags, company-wide hashtags, or location-specific hashtags. Our company-branded hashtags are e.g. #lifeatepages or #itsepages. Besides that, write down some more general hashtags such as #yoga or #companyculture. Thus, your account can be found by a wider audience.
2. Create an overview of events and fairs
Throughout the year, ePages is organizing internal events like our hackathon, our Sales Kick-off event, or the ePages YOU. But ePages is also participating in external events such as conferences and fairs. These events can also provide content for your company Instagram channel. In order to keep them in mind, create an overview of all internal and external events. You should also note down which team or employee visits the external events. Thus, you can remind them in time to take some nice pictures of the event.
3. Create a content plan
In order to coordinate your content on Instagram, you can create a content plan. This content plan can be understood as a calendar in which you can note down which picture you’d like to share on which day. That makes it easier for you to plan your content sharing in advance and agree on it within your team.
We created a content plan at the start of our Instagram channel. But it didn’t work for us. We prefer to be flexible and react to the current situation. So, we’re deciding each week what content we would like to share. Nevertheless, we keep the content plan in mind - it might support us in the future.
4. Ensure a consistent style of your Instagram profile
Create a profile photo which fits to the corporate design of your company. This will establish a stronger connection between your profile and your company. If you have a highlights section, create cover images that match the company’s corporate design as well. This will support a consistent style of your Instagram profile. And of course, also keep in mind to have a matching style of the images shared in your Instagram feed.
5. Be up-to-date
If your Instagram channel is supposed to represent your company culture, the images should show what you’re up to as a company and how the daily working life of your employees looks like. So last but not least, you should always be up-to-date about the company life. Ask colleagues of different departments if there’s anything new you can share on the Instagram channel and keep an overview of what is going on.
These are some actions we take to manage our Instagram channel. Do you have any other tips and concepts to run a company Instagram channel? Let us know on Instagram or Twitter. 😊
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