Is your business a fraud on Instagram?

Can I be honest? Of course I can, this is my blog not yours.

There’s a huge misconception that seems to have polluted so many of our minds, that every single business has to have one of two online personas:
Option 1: A little bit mundane and boring, very inconsistent in their posting schedule, little to no f*cks given about their feed aesthetic, places 30 Instagram hashtags in their captions…(Do you feel attacked? Good. Stop doing it).

Option 2: Has an overly curated feed, shares an average of 71 images and 36 videos on their stories daily, leaves the same comment on everybody’s posts and regurgitates an overly enthused brand tone of voice that inevitably comes across as disingenuous.
Perhaps in a desperate attempt to avoid being perceived as unapproachable or withdrawn, people have manipulated their brand to mimic somebody else’s. I can absolutely promise you that this tactic is transparent and your audience will notice.

If you’re not somebody who says “Go babes, go!” then why on earth are you putting it in your caption? If language like that makes you cringe in real life why is plastered all over your Instagram? It’s so imperative to stay true to yourself and what your brand represents. Striking the right balance between being authentic and being approachable is more important than ever.

Now, If you’re naturally a grouch then please don’t mistake this as an invitation to continue being one on Instagram. It’s important to be a brand that endeavours to add value to their audience, but imitating somebody else’s brand tone of voice is not the way to achieve this.

At the risk of offering you unsolicited advice, please take the time to figure out who you are and who you want to be. For example, in real life I am exceptionally sarcastic and probably swear a little too much (sorry mum), so it doesn’t make sense for my business to have a pretty, polite and polished brand tone of voice that follows all the rules. Not only would this give me an intense case of imposter syndrome (more on this next week), it’s incredibly unsustainable. The facade will eventually shatter and the whole proverbial house of cards will collapse in on me.

If any of this has resonated with you, perhaps you should consider investing in developing your brand tone of voice. It truly is one of the most important things you can do to perfect your marketing strategy. Having a comprehensive understanding of who your brand is will go a long way in humanising your business, meaning you can connect more meaningfully with your audience. By establishing your brand’s sense of self, you are able to remain consistent in your tone of voice. This will allow you to build authentic relationships with your followers, making them trust you enough to become a customer.

If you’d like to try doing this yourself, make a list of adjectives that describe who your brand is. Perhaps you’re mischievous, bold and authoritative. Or maybe you’re edgy, mysterious and passionate. Being able to refer back to this list each time you are about to write a caption means you can decide whether or not it aligns with your brand before you hit post. Alternatively if you’d like to invest in the creation and development of your brand’s tone of voice, send us a message; we’d love to help you.

In a world full of duplicity, don’t be another fraud on Instagram. I promise you people are sick to death of all the ostentatious posts that saturate their newsfeed. Your brand’s greatest asset is its individuality, so have some!