#CAP TIONANDCRE ATE 6 TIPS & TRICKS GUIDE
I N S TA G R A M
| @sydneyynorberg
ABOUT SYDNEY NORBERG
photo by: @bestphotographyfl
hi, there! my name is sydney marie norberg! i type in either ALL CAPS or lowercase letters. i drink a little too much diet coke & always like to find the most aesthetically pleasing places to eat/drink for a weekly #sisterdate.
over the past two years, i have used instagram to change my life. because of instagram, i've had the opportunity to travel across the country and share my work with brands like Fossil, American Eagle, Coach, Gap &
UberEATS. in addition to these awesome opportunities, i have doubled my income within a year's time. sounds pretty crazy, right?! well, it is asbolutely tangible for YOU too!
i created the #CAPTIONANDCREATE instagram guide for those who desire to build a brand that is memorable & portray a social media presence that is remarkable. whether you are a photographer, blogger, business owner, or just a person with a creative soul, these tips will help reveal who you are & what you have to offer via social media! so, let's dive into this thing!
"A PER SO NAL S T Y LE IS LIKE HANDWRITING – IT HAPPENS AS THE BYPRODUCT O F O U R WAY O F SEEI N G THINGS, ENRICHED BY THE EXPERIENCES OF EVERYTHING AROUND US.." MASSIMO VIGNELLI
| Designer
# C A P T I O N A N D C R E A T E TIP 1 S T I C K T O A CO LO R PA L L E T —
we've all heard the saying "less is more!" well, the same goes for instagram - when trying to portray who you are to a particular market of people, try to hone in on specific color schemes. instead of posting everything & anything you find "instagramable," find those 2-4 colors that really reflect what your brand is! it may be the colors of your wardrobe or the main color scheme in your logo. my color pallete has always been black, cream, & white. about 90% of my posts have at least TWO of those colors in each image. this technique ultimately makes people recognize a @sydneyynorberg photo while scrolling through their feed, even before checking the instagram handle. by creating a color pallete for your instagram, your images will flow naturely, which quickly catches a viewer's attention & prompts them to click that important FOLLOW button!
PHOTO OF
| @candicehackett
PHOTO OF
| @oxfordexchange
# C A P T I O N A N D C R E AT E
TIP 2 STICK TO ONE EDIT —
this tip is a pretty easy one to accomplish! edits are key to create a cohesive flow to your feed and your style. lots of instagramers make the mistake of editing their photos depending on "what looks the best." but this can really hinder the overall look & feel of your instagram grid & ultimately your brand. by simplifying your editing style to one or two edits, your audience will understand how YOU see things in any atmosphere or environment. to give you an example, i use VSCO A6 (with a bit of unsaturation + warmth) on every photo i present to my followers. in this way, brands like American Eagle or Fossil will be able to look at my work & immediately know how i will portray their product to social media (and in the end, decide if they want me to represent their own brand).
EDITING APPS TO USE VSCOCAM SNAPSEED L I T ELY PHOTO GRID INSTAGR AM TOOL S
PHOTO EDITED WITH
| VSCOCAM A6
EMBRACE THE FEED
LANDSCAPE
s o m e t i m e s y o u j u s t g o t t a l o o k a t t h e B I G G E R
PORTRAIT
picture. this doesn't mean that the quality of your individual photos can & should lack in any w a y. b u t t h e " b i g p i c t u r e " c o u n t s f o r t h a t g r i d of those top 9 photos. that is the first thing a follower will see when checking out your page, even before knowing who you are, what you do,
LANDSCAPE
or what you're selling. so remember to look at your feed as a whole! it is your por t folio. F L AT L AY
when planning out your photo grid, make CLOSE-UP
sure to spice it up with a mix of different types of posts - flatlays, close-ups, por traits, landscapes, product shots, even add your logo in there once in a while!
PORTRAIT
# C A P T I O N A N D C R E AT E
TIP 3
# C A P T I O N A N D C R E AT E
TIP 4
50% of Instagram users follow at least one business, 60% say that they learn about a product or service on the platform, while 75% take action, such as visiting a website, after looking at a post.
S TA S T I C F O U N D AT
| https://locowise.com/blog/instagram-engagement-rate-gained-ground-in-september
CR E AT E CO NSIS TAN T CO N T EN T — —
okay, think of ONE business you found out about on instagram. got one? off the top of my head, i can come up with twenty! so, with that being said, how can YOU stand out among the billions of other business, bloggers & other instagram users?
create content that is about YOU! think of the things that make you who you are: is it the clothes you wear? the places you go? what is that unique story you can tell behind YOUR brand? by producing consistant content, your followers will know what to expect from you, they'll understand what your brand is about & most importantly, they'll stay engaged & interested in what you have to offer.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
KNOW WHAT YOU LIKE
when creating a caption, think about WHAT information you
because i constantly post what i like, whether that is clothing, or just a cool location, my followers understand who i am & what i like.when you post about the things YOU care about, your followers will subconsciously connect you to those things.
ASK YOURSELF are trying to share with your audience & HOW to keep that information as condensed as possible.
— 1. Does this post appropiately share who I am as a brand? 2. Does this post give my followers a way to connect with me personally? 3. Does this post introduce new or innovative information for
ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR AUDIENCE GAIN A STRONG FOLLOWING
gaining a strong following will not happen over night, BUT it will surely happen over time. try out some of these technquies to attract YOUR specific audience:
○○
C R E AT E CO N T E S T S |
hosting giveaways &
STAY ENGAGED
staying engaged with your followers is super fun! get to know the people that are liking your images & commenting on your journey. try out these technqiues to stay engaged with your specific audience:
○○
COMMENT & LIKE |
contests will give an individual a purpose
followers. comment & like the work your
to follow you & an interest to keep up
fellow instagramers are putting out
with your posts. ○○
SHARE LINKS |
there! this will allow your name to be recognized among the crowd.
share a link to your site or
blog in the caption! "75% of instagram
○○
users take action after looking at an
instagrammers through your favorite
followers.
hashtag.
reach out to other
instagrammers or indivduals that can connect your brand to other local or global creatives!
S TA S T I C F O U N D AT
use that discover tab to
to your style. you can also do discover
then increases the engagement of your
CO L L A B O R AT E |
DISCOVER |
find brands & indiviual that are similar
instagram advertising post," which
○○
this is an easy one.
remember to keep up with your
○○
ASK QUESTIONS |
if you like a brand or a
product in fellow instagramer's image, don't hesitate to ask about it! this easily creates a common interest.
| https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-statistics/
# C A P T I O N A N D C R E A T E TIP 5
"F
o c u s
y o u r
o n
i d e n t i f y i n g
ta r g e t
a u d i e n c e
c o m m u n i c at i n g m e s s a g e n e e d a s
a n d
a n
n i c h e KIM GARST
t h at
“e
a n
t h e y
p r o j e c t
x p e r t
”
.."
| Author + CEO of Boom!
,
a u t h e n t i c w a n t
&
y o u r s e l f
w i t h i n
y o u r
# C A P T I O N A N D C R E AT E
TIP 6
D O T HE MAT H WHEN SH OULD YOU POS T ?
P O S T I N G S TAT S T I C S
○○
top brands post on instagram around 5 times per week.
○○
P O S T I N G S TAT S T I C S
○○
images with a single dominant color generate 17% more likes than
audience engagement rises on mondays & thursdays at 8-9am & 5pm.
S TA S T I C S F O U N D AT
images with multiple dominant colors.
W H Y S H O U L D Y O U # H A S H TA G ?
— hashtags have their own world! they can help a follower find a place to eat, a product to buy, or service to use. with each of my photos, i hashtag #orlandophotographer. when i ask my clients how they found me, more than 80% of them have found my work through that specific hashtag! so really do some research on what hashtags are relevent to use & valuable to your brand. M Y H A S H TA G L I S T
— #vsco #vscocam #kinfolk #thatsdarling #darlingmovement #darlingweekend #darlingdaily #thehappynow #orlandophotographer #pursuepretty #calledtobecreative #livefolk #lifestyleblogger #lifeofadventure #collectivelycreative #welivetoexplore #adventurethatislife #letsgosomewhere #liveauthentic #exploretocreate #makeportraits #ootd #ootdmagazine
| http://sproutsocial.com/insights/5-instagram-stats/ + https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-statistics/ + https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/instagram-stats#sm.000146svb7twldqexlh1bovehedto
"B R AN D IN G D EM AN DS COM M I TM EN T; COMMITMENT TO CONTINUAL RE-INVENTION; STRIKING CHORDS WITH PEOPLE TO STIR THEIR EMOTIONS; AND COMMITMENT TO IMAGINATION. IT IS EASY TO BE CYNICAL ABOUT SUCH THINGS, MUCH HARDER TO BE SUCCESSFUL.”
SIR RICHARD BRANSON
| Founder of Virgin Group
PHOTO OF
| @downtowncredo
BONUS B UILDERS —
ENGAGEMENT CHECK if you're wondering what percentage of engagement your profile is getting, check out influence.hypetap.com & type in your instagram handle to find out your score.
CONTENT DAY if you're having trouble coming up with consistent quality content, have a "content day" where you either create or capture specific content needed to move forward in your feed.
PLAN IT OUT if you're questioning how to plan out content you already have, check out the app SNUG to help you organize your images on your grid!
GET GRAMMING! before closing this book, i want to thank you for following along! my ultimate desire is to see your brand grow & expand in ways you didn't think were possible & i hope by sharing my own instagram journey you will be encouraged to get gramming! with that being said, i'd LOVE to hear how your progress is going! so please, feel free to send me an email with your personal success story. - Sydney Norberg
BLOG
| sydney.norberg@gmail.com
| sydneymariephotography.squarespace.com
BRANDS USED IN PHOTO @vinta.co @riflepaperco
I N S TAG R A M
| @sydneyynorberg