Lessons to learn from celebrity Instagram – why they are more popular than brands

If you want to be popular on Instagram, just look at the competition you are facing – and it is not from brands, at least not for the most part. The accounts with the highest number of followers happen to be those of celebrities, which is to be expected. Add this to the growing number of young people that are finding fame through social media, such as influencers – and you may begin to wonder why.

As a brand, you know you have opened up an Instagram account to increase your reach and market your business. However, it is easy to dismiss the reach that these celebrities have on social media, but there are significant lessons they can teach you, as long as you are willing tow learn and apply them in your own brand marketing.

They are good at recognizing humor and sharing it

When it comes to marketing, you are likely to approach it in a serious, formal manner – even on Instagram and other social media platforms. There is no faster method of chasing young people away than approaching them with that method.

After all, the internet is a wide place that encompasses a wide range of people, all of different backgrounds, ages and opinions. The only thing that may unite all of them is humor – using memes, hashtags, videos, puns, and so on, all with healthy doses of enjoyment and nostalgia. Celebrities will all get this humor instantly, and even allow themselves to be funny fodder for the internet, even when brands do not.

As long as internet users see you are a self-depreciating person, they will link you to a strong sense of humor – and they will love you for it.

Relatable to the audience

Celebrities not only understand internet humor, but also understand what works in online spaces – nostalgia. Anything featuring the generations of their parents or when they grew up is sure to be a hit; particularly when they want to target the millennial audience, all of whom grew up in the 90s and early 2000s.

The more they do this, the more relatable they become to their audience, and it builds a layer of authenticity. It helps them share other moments of their lives rather than the usual glamorous lifestyle people know them for.

The ability to make great captions

It is no secret that the photos you post can make or break your own profile and ability to attract people to follow you. However, it is not just the photos that will help you stand apart from the competition. They always understand that the captions they put are as effective as the images they post.

The mistake that many brands make in Instagram posts is putting unexpressive and very short captions, many times, they lack a sense of personality and warmth. However, for celebs it is the opposite – they have that warmth in plenty. That strategy may seem contrived, but it actually pays off – more people are drawn to them.

Many brands also make the mistake of failing to connect with their audience beyond the images they post. Putting beautiful pictures is nice, but the captions will make them worth much more and attract people to you.

They post more images with faces

There is a reason why images that focus on faces are so popular, and celebs always seem to get it – in fact, taking a selfies is an art, not just a mere activity. While this may be seen as a narcissistic way of drawing attention, people actually respond better to faces than they would to other objects.

A study that was done recently confirmed this, from the Yahoo labs. They saw that pictures that have human faces as the focal point had 38 percent more likes than those without. You do not need to go for an expensive option of buying 1,000 likes for Instagram with discounts – you simply need to show a human side of your brand.

For instance, you can take pictures of your employees, those who work behind the scenes at your company, and so on. It does not matter the age gender or attractiveness of the people you post – all that matters is the aspect of reliability and emotion the faces carry.

Animals, animals, animals

If there is anything that has taken over the internet in terms of popularity, it is pictures and videos of cats or dogs. Basically, any animal that looks cute is bound to grab the attention of internet users, and make them like the photo very quickly – faster than you expect.

If you do have a pet, incorporate them into your story, like making them into side characters for your branding story. You may be surprised at how well people respond to them, especially if you do it in a creative way. This also increases your approachability, because you are basically communicating to your customers that you have the same taste as them.

Never refusing to take a firm stand on various issues

Another way of increasing your influence is deciding on where you stand on an issue, then using images to convey that. For instance, some celebrities choosing to highlight the importance of environmental and wildlife conservation, so they decide to put images of endangered animals and content relating to climate change.

The more you talk about this message as a brand, the more people will take you seriously when you talk about it, and the more respect you gain from your audience. It is not enough to simply sell products and services – you need to also be involved in making your community better, and helping others as well. In addition, you do not need to transform your feed into one that only talks about these issues, but make sure to engage and openly support the social causes your brand stands for.

Consistency

At the end of the day, it is important to stick to certain themes and filters. Instagram already assists you with half the battle, but it is important to set the tone of all your posts for the future.

Final thoughts

When learning to promote your own Instagram account, it is important to learn lessons from the best. Sometimes, that involves looking outside the business community, and looking at celebrities, who have mastered the art of appealing to their followers and building a strong community around them.