Turning notes into actions

Last month we held a talk titled How to Build a Brand on Instagram with Sarah Fennell of @freckledfennell. Sarah comes from a textiles design background and her Instagram feed is dancing with colourful prints against a sun-drenched white studio backdrop.

And that's precisely why we chose Sarah. We wanted somebody with a ‘makers’ background to give practical tips which our community could hopefully put into practice.

So let’s look at the top tips we took away from Sarah’s talk and how our community are getting on with incorporating these nuggets into their own social media.

1) “The brand is me, and I’m the brand”

Most talks seem to kick off with the importance of understanding your brand values and who your target audience is so I guess this is the foundation that needs to be crystal clear before moving forward. List your core brand values!

Do a ‘pen portrait’ (outline of your ideal customer - what they like to read, watch etc. where they go on holiday, shopping etc., what they do for a living, buying habits etc.)

What do you want to talk to ‘Isabel’ about? These may tie into your brand values (ethical products, personalisation, easy gift-giving etc.) or perhaps you have a new product offering to introduce?

Whilst you're ‘talking to Isabel’ don’t forget to show the human behind your business. She’s more likely to take an interest and gain your trust if she sees and hears from the person behind the brand.

"Find your tribe"

It’s worth mentioning here the important secondary audience which makers and creative small businesses have. Other people like us. Other creatives you follow on Instagram, your Creative Duck community etc. Engage and develop these relationships as they are crucial too and hopefully genuine friendships can be formed in the process.

2) Content is King

Create content that is meaningful to ‘Isabel’, whilst communicating about you, your values and your product.

People love to see the process of how the product is made, which provides a great source of content. Start documenting the different stages of the creative process.

By now you should have a clear understanding of your brand values, your audience and their aspirations. Now it’s simply a case of repeating your themes (behind the scenes / products/ brand values) to create a visual story that reinforces your brand’s voice.

3) Practical Tips for your photos

Sarah shared many pearls of wisdom on this, here are our favourites:

- Try to use a proper camera.

- VSCO and Snapseed are good photo editing apps if you’re using a smartphone.

- Don't be afraid to leave space in your image - it helps the other photos breathe a bit. 

- Try to include perpendicular lines as they make the grid more pleasing to the eye.

- Keep your feed varied but incorporate a signature shot (a specific part of your studio, a prop or colour background).

- Bring in your hands to the photo to reinforce the handmade element (even if this involves sticking your phone between your teeth and using self timer!). We’ve been sharing some lovely hand shots on our Creative Duck Insta feed using the hashtag #ducksdohands. Include this hashtag to your hand shots and we’ll try to share them too. 

@love_scarlet_jewellery @mintlettering @emmabenz_art

@hannahsceramics @boxofsmilesgifts

4) Interaction and Engagement (making the most of your community)

Understand when your target audience is most likely to be checking their Insta accounts. Typically, this is first thing when still in bed (around 7am) and towards the end of the day (8-10pm). Post at these times otherwise they might miss them. Don’t forget to like and comment other people’s posts, everyone’s there for social interaction. Stimulate discussion by asking questions.

Stories A brilliant way to show the human behind the brand. Stories can be fun, informal and don't have to be 'perfect'. 

There's so much good stuff from Sarah's talk that it can feel overwhelming, so we'll leave you with three to try; 

▪️ ‘Talk’ to your ideal customer when you write your posts. ▪️ Only post your best (try to think about all those photography tips). ▪️ Share with your audience the person behind the brand (in your Stories and on your grid).

Lastly, thank you to Sarah Fennell for coming to share her insights.