The Importance of a Digital First Impression
In the real world, they say you have seven seconds to make a good first impression. But, like all things with technology being sped up, first impressions on Instagram take only THREE. That’s right- users will decide within three seconds of visiting your profile if they are going to follow you or not. So make. it. count. How so, you might ask? Keep on reading to find out!
VIEW SOCIAL MEDIA AS A DIGITAL HANDSHAKE
The first step in nailing a digital first impression is recognizing your full control over the experience consumers have on your social platforms and site. When millennials first hear about a brand, they’re likely to go straight to social media if they’re interested in learning more. With this being a potential customer’s first interaction with your brand, it’s important for it to be a good one.
Jenna Kutcher said it best- social media is like the handshake inviting people to your website. If consumers like what they see on social media, they’re likely to get to know you even further by heading over to your site or storefront.
Think about it like window shopping, where social media is the window display and your website is the inside of the store. Your social media should be a beautiful sneak peek enticing people to come inside and see all that your website really has to offer. Keeping this in mind will help you deeply understand the “why” of perfecting your online presence!
HAVE A COHESIVE + OPTIMIZED PROFILE
The look of your feed plays a big role in the overall impression of your profile. Think about what a user first sees when landing on your account: your profile picture, bio, highlights, and feed. If these do not immediately lure in a user, they’re likely going to click away and not give your profile a second thought. Harsh, right?
PROFILE PICTURE
Let’s start with your profile picture. We typically encourage this to be your company’s logo, but a clear photo of something relevant to your brand is welcome too. If you’re a photographer, for example, a photo from your portfolio is a great option and could actually encourage users to click on your profile via the search queue!
BIO AND HIGHLIGHTS
It is important for your bio to be brief, while still effectively explaining who you are as a company. This can be tricky, but no worries- we have a blog post with all the tips on How to Write an Instagram Bio Effectively. And of course, we can’t forget a link in bio to your website. Just below this is your highlights, which should contain on-brand covers, featuring your brand colors and perhaps an icon on each, if you’d like! For help, check out our Free Instagram Highlight Icons.
FEED
Your feed is the key component of your profile. We could go on and on about how to construct a cohesive and aesthetic grid. A good tip for keeping a nice flow to your grid is to alternate the type of photos you post. For example, if you post a graphic one day, you should post a photo the next. You can further perfect this by establishing a consistent photo editing style, which will give your grid a cohesive and polished look.
BE CONSISTENT
Our last tip for mastering your digital first impression is to be consistent both with how often you post and the kind of content you are posting. Posting consistent content allows followers to know what they can expect from you. When you continue to show up consistently in this way, trust is built.
If you’re not sure where to begin, our Nine Pillars Download + Worksheet is a great free tool to help you get started and narrow down the nine areas of content your brand should be focusing on!
We hope this blog post was helpful to you in learning how to perfect your digital first impression! As always, if you have any questions or are looking for help in bettering your online presence, please reach out to us. Social media is kind of our thing ;)
xx- The Homies
