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WHAT-FRANCHISE.COM 33 restaurants, encouraging user-generated content. However, that doesn’t mean Instagram is a non-starter for service-based or B2B businesses. “With strategic creativity, virtually any business can find its niche and thrive on this platform by emphasising storytelling and visual appeal,” says Darron Palmer, founder and lead photographer at Darron Palmer Photography. What do we know about the Instagram algorithm? The Instagram algorithm can feel somewhat illusive, especially when content you predict will thrive does incredibly poorly. However, Jessica reassures that the algorithm isn’t designed to persecute professional accounts, as is sometimes suggested by disgruntled users. “The platform is trying to put the right content in front of the right users, so help it by being consistent, using a range of content including videos, lives, reels, and stories, using the right hashtags, and making sure content is helpful for your audience, and not too sales- driven,” she says. Choose your brand over trends It’s trends that can give an unknown brand a dose of virality, but this isn’t a common experience. Instead, it’s often better to curate content that stays true to the authenticity of the brand because this is much more likely to grow a healthy following of paying customers, rather than a spike in entertained users who will likely never buy. “Just because it’s trending, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to automatically align with your branding,” confirms Darron. This translates to focusing on taking photos that convey your messaging, incorporating colours that are representative of your brand’s colour palette, and including people that reflect your diverse customer base. “Sustainability is also huge at the moment, so make sure your images showcase you to be as sustainable as you can be,” adds Darron. “For example, don’t highlight single use plastics and disposable coffee cups.” He also acknowledges the rise of AI usage within brand photography, which can be helpful but should be used with extreme caution. “People want authenticity, and that includes your images (especially images of you.) Don’t be tempted to go down the AI generated portrait route,” says Darron. However, a word of warning for those who choose to defy this advice: “It finds hands very difficult to cope with so watch out for ‘giant hands’ in any AI assisted images.” Don’t spend too long editing Instagram comes with so many built-in filter options and there are plenty of free mobile apps to conduct more extensive edits. So, it’s easy to get carried away. “Don’t overcomplicate it,” advises, Jeanette Lendon, at Jet Black Squares. “My personal mantra is: if you can’t edit in a minute, bin it.” She recommends beginning your foray into Instagram by considering your approach to editing and your chosen style. So, for example, if you’re going to use a filter, which one aligns most with your brand? The reason being, if you experiment with a new filter on every single image you’ll end up with a mis-matched Instagram profile which completely distracts from your messaging. However, beyond instilling cohesiveness, using strong filters could be a real hindrance to customers trying to view your products. “You don’t want to misrepresent your product with a different, more vibrant colour if that isn’t what it looks like in real life. Gently enhance, but don’t go overboard,” says Jeanette. Always shoot in natural light There are also easy things you can do to limit your reliance on post-production editing, and that can be as simple as choosing the right time of day to take photos. “Natural light is key,” confirms Jeanette, who recommends factoring this into your schedule when looking to add to your Insta-photo portfolio. “Make sure you have the light in front of your subject, so it gives a lovely, soft light,” she says. “Turn on the grid on your phone camera and keep your subject out of the middle square. “By offsetting your subject, you can use the negative space (empty space in your photo) to add text, meaning people don’t have to read the caption in order to get info.” “Don’t overcomplicate it. My personal mantra is: if you can’t edit in a minute, bin it”