The appeal of Instagram for many, is that it is a visual medium. If you have a fitness business, if you blog about food, or if you are a travel writer, then creating Instagram content is pretty simple. It’s an ideal platform to share what you get up to in a way that is immediately eye-catching and engaging. People will see what you share and be instantly moved by it, making it the perfect way to grow your following further.

But for some businesses, this same visual emphasis is precisely what they see as a turn off. That’s because some businesses aren’t obviously visual in nature.

How to Create Instagram Content for a ‘Non Visual’ Business Model

A good example of this might be law, or perhaps insurance. If you run a life insurance company for example, then how can you express this in a visual way that will be interesting and engaging for your readers? Do you post facts and figures? Bar charts? Statistics? This might be a way to demonstrate the importance of life insurance, but this is not entertainment for the average person.

Likewise, if you are a corporate consultant, or an investment firm… how can you encourage people to get involved?

How To Come Up With Instagram Content Ideas

The answer is to find what it is that your business is really about and what it is that you are really selling. How does your service or product make people feel? What are the pain points or fears that drive them to buy from you? Understanding this is what will allow you to communicate the purpose of your business through images.

Let’s revisit the not-so-glamorous example of life insurance. This business is not about life insurance. This is a business that ultimately sells peace of mind to people who love their families. Therefore, the best way to promote yourself through Instagram might be to share posts of families that are doing things together. You could share ideas for activities and days out, or tips on how to provide for your family. Did you know that the most popular hashtag on Instagram is love?

Likewise, if you are a business consulting firm, then you might want to promote the idea of successful business and exciting startup opportunities. That might mean posting images of attractive looking offices, successful business people, or tips for business.

But This Doesn’t Talk About My Services

The danger as some companies will see it, is that you stray too far from the product or service, or that you in some way make your business appear glib. But this is the mistake. If you follow the 80/20 rule for social media, then 80% of your posts should be non-salesy in nature. This means you can use those more interesting images to emphasize your captions about the value of providing for your family, safety and security in the long term, etc. You have to hook people with the visual first.

Embrace being interesting and attractive – that isn’t unprofessional! Remember that you need to provide value in order for people to follow your brand. If you can’t do that, then people won’t have any motivation to keep consuming your content. If they don’t want to see your content, then you can’t make the sales pitch when it’s time for it.

[Tweet “You need to provide value in order for people to follow your brand. If you can’t do that, then people won’t have any motivation to keep consuming your content.”]

Ciao,
Miss Kemya