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Generative AI is everywhere now. You see it in content, campaigns, customer experiences, and even internal workflows. It promises speed, scale, and efficiency, but there’s a harder question sitting underneath all that progress; Do your audiences actually trust it?

Trust in the Age of AI: What Consumers Really Think About AI Generated Content

Today, PR teams aren’t just tracking media coverage and share of voice. They’re also measuring how their brand shows up in AI-generated answers, search summaries, and large language models (LLMs). This new LLM visibility layer is quickly becoming a critical part of PR performance.

15 Must-Have PR KPIs and How to Track Them

See how one platform can power every decision across PR, communications, and marketing.

The Meltwater Blog

Blog Topics: Generative Engine Optimization, Media Intelligence, Media Relations, Social Listening, Consumer Intelligence, Influencer Marketing

Find out how you can leverage Facebook to boost your brand's online presence and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

Facebook Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage Instagram to boost your brand's visual appeal and gain a competitive edge. Explore our category page today!

Instagram Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage LinkedIN to grow your professional network and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

LinkedIn Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage TikTok to elevate your brand with creative content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

TikTok Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage X / Twitter to engage your audience effectively and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

X / Twitter Blog | Meltwater

Find out how you can leverage YouTube to create engaging video content and gain a competitive edge. Explore the Meltwater category page today!

YouTube Blog | Meltwater

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is transforming how brands show up in AI-powered search. Explore insights, strategies, and best practices to help your content rank and resonate across conversational engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.

Explore insights and strategies for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to help your brand stay visible and discoverable in AI-powered search.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Blog Collection | Meltwater

Every day billions of conversations take place on social media: tweets, posts, comments, blogs, reviews, podcasts, and much more.
Learn how to use social listening to make sense of all of that data.

On our social listening category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around social listening and social media monitoring. Read more.

Social Listening Blogs | Category

Business Reputation Management: What does it take to add reputation management to your marketing strategy? More importantly, how do you keep your reputation sparkly and shiny? Here’s your all-access guide to online reputation management for the long term.

On our reputation management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around business reputation management. Read more.

Reputation Management Blogs | Category

From your brand's logo to your website, your social media presence to your customer support—these elements combined are what constitutes a brand in the minds of customers. But, there are thousands of other businesses that have a logo, website, social media presence, and website. So, how can you position your business on the market and make it stand out from the competition?
The key to success is branding & brand management!

On our brand management category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around brand management. Build your strategy and reach your goals!

Brand Management Blogs | Category

Competitive intelligence and the act of collecting competitive data can be seen as growth drivers for a company. Our guide will help you understand the concept of competitive intelligence (CI) by answering questions such as: What is the definition of competitive intelligence? How is competitive intelligence useful to organizations? What is the goal of competitive intelligence? And more.

On our competitive intelligence category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around competitive intelligence. Learn how to stay ahead.

Competitive Intelligence Blogs | Category

Let’s dive into the customer journey framework and how to optimize the process by creating a customer journey map and using metrics that matter when analyzing the customer journey.

On our customer journey category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Customer Journey Blogs | Category

What Is Data Analytics? [Beginner’s Guide 2023]
How can I grow my business? 
How do customers interact with my newly launched product?
How do I increase the productivity of my employees?
How do I know if my marketing efforts are working?
We have just two words for you...Data analytics!

On our data analytics category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around AI and data analytics. Technical and still easy to understand.

AI & Data Analytics Blogs | Category

Public relations and media relations can add impact to any marketing strategy. It’s an opportunity for brands to grow their reach beyond traditional sales messages. PR helps to shape the image you want people to have of your brand.
So, what is PR and how do you use it? This guide shows you everything you need to know to build a strong public relations foundation.

On our public relations (PR) category page, you find all our blogs covering public relations and communications topics. Step up your PR game.

Public Relations (PR) Blogs | Category

We all know exactly what the roles of sales or accounting are in a company, right? We might even have a slight idea of what the IT guys are doing.
But there is another business discipline, that plays a crucial role in organizations, even more so during the pandemic – internal communications!
But what exactly do we mean by that, what purpose does it serve and what steps can you take to ensure you and your employees will communicate effectively?

On our internal communications category page, you find all our blogs about internal comms topics. Learn about the intranet, internal newsletters, and more.

Internal Communications Blogs | Category

As the internet has taken root in more areas of our lives — everything from entertainment to shopping to paying bills and more — traditional marketing is becoming less impactful. As any marketer knows, you need to focus on where your audience is if you want to reach them. Since the average person spends about seven hours a day online, it’s no surprise that content has maintained its hold on marketers.

Here's a closer look at what content marketing is and why it matters more than ever in our digital-first economy.

On our content marketing category page, you find blogs about content marketing topics. Learn about strategies, KPIs, tips, and more. Make your content king!

Content Marketing Blogs | Category

The rise of the influencer marketing space – today a $10 billion industry, growing 50% per year – is one of the clearest examples of how social media is transforming traditional marketing. These days having a business website, presence on social, PR coverage, and your own content isn’t enough to compete.
We'll dive into the intricacies of influencer marketing to help ensure that you're equipped with the insights needed to be successful in this space.

On our influencer marketing category page, you find blogs about influencer marketing topics. Build your strategy, find influencers, and measure results.

Influencer Marketing Blogs | Category

Have you just launched a new product or service that you want to get the word out about? Maybe you want to share with consumers why it is awesome and how it is so much better than the one your competitors offer.

Well, then, there is one thing you can't do without...Marketing!

On our marketing category page, you find blogs about marketing topics. Learn about all the different angles and types of marketing and improve your results.

Marketing Blogs | Category

In this guide, we want to give you a peek into the definition of social media management, the daily schedule of a social media manager, social media platforms to promote your business, and the do’s & don’ts of social media management.
Are you ready to begin the journey of becoming a social media superstar?

On our social media management category page, you find blogs about social media management topics. Build and manage your online community.

Social Media Management Blogs | Category

Building a following and using social media platforms to reach a wider audience requires a well-planned social media marketing strategy. In this guide, we’ll be looking at why social media marketing is so essential and how you can make it work for your business.

On our social media marketing category page, you find blogs about social media marketing topics. Learn how to get the highest paid social ROI!

Social Media Marketing Blogs | Category

In the fast-evolving realm of digital marketing and public relations, utilizing the right tools is crucial for success. Our interdisciplinary category showcases all the pertinent tools for digital marketing & PR. These tools help in enhancing your online presence and effectively reaching target groups, whether through reputation management, influencer marketing, or social media management.

On our digital marketing and PR tools category page, you find all our blogs covering topics around mapping and understanding the customer journey.

Digital Marketing & PR Tools Blogs | Category

Engagement is the name of the social media management game. For starters, engagement is a sure sign that your content has been seen and understood by others. Taking it a step further, all those likes, clicks, shares, and social media comments give marketers more insight into who their audience is and what they respond to.

That said, not all social media content is created equal. Some posts might make you smile, while others will “stop the scroll” and make you think. And then there’s interactive content, which is engineered for engagement.

If getting real feedback or reactions from your audience is your goal, then you need interactive content in your social media strategy. Here’s how to create interactive social media posts and some examples from other brands that you can emulate.

Why Should You Create Interactive Social Media Posts?

Interactive content is the all-encompassing term for content with which users can click, play, answer, or otherwise engage.

Based on that definition, you might be thinking, “But doesn’t that make all social media content interactive, since you can Like, Comment, and Share it?”

Not exactly. Those features are inherent to all social media content, regardless of the purpose of the content. Interactive social media posts, however, are intentionally crafted to engage your audience. It might be as simple as asking a survey question or as complex as an immersive experience.

The goal is to give people a reason for interaction with your media beyond the basic likes and shares.

Examples of interactive content on social media include:

Running a fundraising campaign, say for a social justice cause, can be an excellent way to inspire engagement while demonstrating your company's commitment to action beyond lip-service. 

UGC content has many benefits including strengthening brand awareness, deepening your connection with current customers, and identifying influencers. A UGC (user generated content) campaign encourages users to share branded content to their followers, or to tag you in a post typically for a prize of some sort. In turn, brands will often share pieces of UGC back to their profiles.

One of the simplest and yet most powerful types of interaction posts on social media is a classic: the quiz. Since the early days of social media, friends have gathered intel on their followers preferences through quizzes and polls and now brands can also take advantage of this feature as well. Remember, polls don't have to be brand-centric either, you have surveys for that. Instead think outside the box to generate answers about your industry and consumer behavior.

A cousin of the quiz, surveys tend to present as a more "serious" type of information-gathering. Use customer surveys to find out things like how they heard about you, product features they like or dislike, general feedback, and to learn certain demographic information that can help in your marketing.

Creating 360° interactive videos provides unique high quality content for your audience to enjoy, and can do a lot to boost your engagement. There are many tools you can use to make a 360° video, and most platforms support them including Vimeo, Facebook, and Instagram.

Some channels like Facebook and Snapchat offer this fun way to promote causes you support, by adding a bit of profile flair, either in your cover photo or around your profile picture. Other platforms have similar features, for example on LinkedIn users can add profile flair to indicate that they are "open to work".

Another tried and true form of interactive content that's been around the block more than a few times: the contest. Running a contest is an easy way to drum up UGC and encourage customer loyalty through prizes.

Rather than a poll or quiz, you can simply ask a question as a way to generate engagement, shares, and comments.

Giving your followers a branded hashtag to use makes identifying UGC much easier, and can spread your message far and wide. 

Your audience already expects you to come up with quality content ideas. That’s why they follow you in the first place. But coming up with creative, engaging social media posts on a regular basis can be challenging. This is when many marketers fall into the rut of creating content for the sake of content, and then wonder why they aren’t seeing great results.

Taking an “interactive first” mindset is a great way to help you keep social media engagement at the forefront of your content creation process. When you focus on interactive posts, you’re intentionally thinking about ways to get your audience involved.

Why do you want to post content in the first place? For many brands, the final answer is to increase sales. To do this, though, brands first need to focus on generating social media marketing content that people notice and like. As more people engage with your content, you can get to know their preferences and start to create more content that they respond to favorably.

The more you get to know your audience, the more you can deliver on their expectations. Interactive media encourages engagement so that you can discover more about the people who follow you on social media. Using these insights to build out your social media calendar is a great way to ensure you always have something to share.

For example, let’s say you want to create interactive posts for Facebook. You decide to build your content around popular social holidays, such as National Pet Day or Popcorn Lover’s Day. Your interactive Facebook posts might be asking people to vote on the best popcorn flavors, or the best pet pic submitted by your employees, for example.

You can use interactive memes to connect with your audience, too. One popular example that gets people heated is deciding the “correct” placement for a toilet paper roll. You can post a meme image that shows both options and let your audience weigh in.

Making interactive content can mean taking a little risk if you really want to stand out. But don’t dare to be different to the point of sabotaging your efforts altogether. Consult our guide on things you should never share on social media for more insight.

Explore: In this free on-demand webinar you learn how to use Facebook and LinkedIn as marketing channels.

While there is no “secret formula” that makes interactive content effective, there are some things you can do to increase your chances of connecting with your audience.

Let’s look at a few engagement strategies you can use to make your interactive experiences more effective:

Some social media users are happy to engage with your content, no questions asked. But others might be more encouraged to do so if they get something in return.

That’s why contests and giveaways are some of the most popular types of interactive content. Their participation could make them a winner, and it costs them nothing but a little time on their computer!

For example, beauty lines often run “Like and Share” contests to award a winner with a free product. Likes give the brand an idea as to how many people are engaging with their posts, while Shares help them to get in front of a larger audience.

Another way to grow your audience is to ask your audience to “tag a friend” who would relate to their post. Tag a friend posts are super shareable on mobile and can play into the audience’s emotions to inspire them to take action.

For example, a hospitality brand might ask its followers to tag a friend who needs a vacation. Clothing boutiques can use tag a friend posts to get their new season’s fashions in front of others who might look good in them.

Want direct insight into what your audience thinks or feels? A poll can be a direct way to better understand them.

You might use a poll to gauge interest in a new product or service, discover hidden problems or pain points, boost student engagement, or find topics you can cover in upcoming content. 

Hashtags can be excellent tools to capitalize on trending topics and bring more people into a conversation. Share the hashtag on your post, then encourage others to share related content using the same hashtag.

YouTube video cards can turn passive watching into a fully engaging experience. They are highly useful communication tools that work in conjunction with the video without distracting from it.

Cards appear at defined points during the video and serve a number of purposes. For example, merchandise cards can take viewers directly to a website link to purchase the items they see in the video. Some YouTube channels use video cards to make it easy for viewers to subscribe to their channel directly from the video.

End screens serve a similar purpose, except they are displayed at the end of a video rather than during it. The end screen usually offers several next-step options for viewers, such as recommendations for other videos, sharing with others, or subscribing to the channel.

Need some inspiration? We’ve found some of the best interactive social posts to inspire your strategy:

Ok, maybe Snapchat is a little bit of a cop-out given that the app is basically all interactive posts, from its roots in fun filters to more advanced AI features and brand partnerships. But we feel it belongs on this list as a source of inspiration.  

Featured above is an example of how Snapchat works with other companies to help facilitate interaction from users. People can use a map-layer feature from Ticketmaster to find nearby events, purchase tickets, and share with friends.

Mental health and meditation app, Calm encourages their followers to engage...by not engaging. It's a powerful message, and one that's starting to be more commonly shared by individuals and brands alike, as more and more people understand the harm of endless scrolling. 

Calm does it better than most, however, with simple animations that count down 30 seconds and give simple ways to slow down your breathing. The comments on this post say it all — with people sharing their experiences, struggles, and revelations from slowing down for just 30 seconds.

The Royal Opera House in London has done an excellent job developing their social media presence, bringing stereotypically stuffy or old fashioned art forms like opera and ballet into a fresh and modern medium. 

For World Ballet Day, they took it a step further, inviting their followers to participate in the fun by submitting videos putting their own spin on a piece of choreography. The opera house then shared submissions, showcasing diverse ages, body types, ethnicities, and genders. It was a great way to get a lot of people involved, encourage UGC, and develop even more brand loyalty from their audience.  

LinkedIn does a great job at demonstrating how to use their own platform with insightful posts about work-life balance, day-to-day issues encountered in the workplace, and engaging questions posed to the working professional network, like the one above.

Their polls are massively popular, and often spark lively discussion in the comments. 

Coca-Cola ran a wildly successful #ShareACoke campaign on Instagram. In addition to personalized Coca-Cola labels, the brand also encouraged its customers to share a picture of themselves enjoying their namesake soda using the hashtag. The campaign garnered countless pieces of user-generated content as well as multiple appearances by celebrities, such as Selena Gomez and Ryan Seacrest.

For National Hummus Day, Sabra Hummus launched a contest on TikTok, using the hashtag #SabraHummusChallenge. Participants were challenged to film funny or enticing content about their love for hummus, the winner receiving a grand prize of a free year supply of Sabra Hummus!

Mastering the arts of social media content development and being interactive can take some finessing, but the engagement you gain can help continue to guide your strategy.

Need help putting together your interactive content strategy? Reach out to the Meltwater team today and let’s discuss your goals!

The Best Examples of Interactive Posts on Social Media

Every brand is comprised of many moving parts: visual assets like logos and colors, audio & video assets, packaging and design, brand image, brand values, and the relative size and stature of the brand in the marketplace. All of these brand assets influence how customers think and feel about a brand. Ultimately, those thoughts and feelings translate into sales, and the brand’s overall health and longevity.

Here’s a closer look at brand equity and the role it plays in your marketing and brand management strategy.

How Brand Credibility Affects Brand Equity

Social Media is Changing Brand Equity Measurement

"Equity" in business terms is the value of a business if all the business’s assets were liquidated and all the debts were paid off. It’s the byproduct of assets minus liabilities.

Just like business equity, your brand builds value, too. This value is determined by a brand’s customers and how they have experienced your brand. This is sometimes called CBBE (customer-based brand equity), which attributes a brand’s success based on its customers’ sentiments. If they have a positive brand perception, then your brand equity is positive, and vice-versa.

So, brand equity can simply be defined as a brand’s value.

All brand assets contribute to building brand value.

Brand value refers to the measured qualitative and quantitative qualities that make up the full picture of a brand.

Qualitative brand measurements: (e.g., brand loyalty, brand recognition, etc.) 

Quantitative brand measurements: (e.g. market share, profit margin, etc.)

Reading Tip: Learn how to measure brand awareness.

When you have high brand equity, you can justify higher prices for your product, increase your stock price, and potentially spend less on marketing.

Things like positive word-of-mouth, online reviews, and customer loyalty can help you continue growing your brand naturally.

The benefits of customer-based brand equity are hard to ignore.

What’s more, attempts to expand a product line or establish a presence in a new vertical may prove to be easier and more fruitful when you have strong brand equity.

For example, pen maker BIC became well-known for inexpensive, no-frills pens that work reliably. As a result, the company was able to expand its offering to include razors and lighters, both of which maintain the reliable, no-frills image. Other pen companies may have found such a move to be out of reach since the products are so diverse.

BIC's success would have been much harder to come by without having established solid brand equity first.

At its heart, equity in a brand builds up a loyal customer base that will continue to bring in revenue. It’s about creating a brand that people prefer over another, even if means spending more or going out of their way for something.

When you have this level of commitment from your customers, you can take advantage of all the benefits that positive brand equity brings.

Brand credibility is a key part of building equity. People will favor and value brands they can trust. They don’t want to be left on the hook for a faulty product or an overcharge. They don’t want to do business with a company that closes its doors without warning.

When a brand builds enough credibility, it can leverage this brand perception to grow the business. Credible brands have a greater chance of cultivating more loyal customer relationships. They may become more resilient in a crisis. You might even be able to charge more for your products or services.

Sometimes, brand credibility comes from tenure in the industry. But for brands that haven’t been around for years, there are other ways to build credibility:

Positive media coverage in trusted publications makes your brand look good by extension. Think of it as the publication’s endorsement of your brand, even if it doesn’t explicitly recommend you. Your name is associated with other credible people, companies, and sources, and that’s not something that just any brand can achieve.

Positive press starts with connecting with the right people – journalists, bloggers, and influencers, for example. You want to partner with people who have real influence and can move your brand story further. The right people will not only get you in front of the right audience to increase brand awareness but also share your story in a way that’s impactful.

Operating online enables (and frankly requires) every brand to become a publisher. It's through online content that you can make your products and business more discoverable to new and returning customers. Content creation is a huge plus for smaller businesses and startups to generate buzz and build credibility. 

Nowadays, you no longer have to wait for a book deal, connect with high-profile publications, or secure a celebrity endorsement to create and promote valuable content.

Content helps to position your brand as a thought leader and an authority in your space. It can also help improve your SEO which gives you more opportunities to grow your audience.

Content is a great way to establish your brand's core values, influence consumer perception, and reinforce your brand promise. Establish an emotional connection with your target market and show what makes you different from other brands.

Being transparent about your brand values gives your target audience a clear understanding of who you are. Think of your brand values as a set of brand beliefs and tenets; what your brand lives by. They're a way for people to get to know the real you. Your company should aspire to live by your brand values each and every day, in each and every interaction, and in each and every customer touchpoint from emails to social media posts.

When brands break promises, their image is tarnished. It’s hard for the brand to re-establish its customers' sense of trust. That’s why consistency is just as important as transparency.

Everything from a brand’s policies to its blog articles to its merchandise should remain in alignment to brand values.

When building credibility, what you hear is just as important as what you say. While you’re excited to talk about your brand to earn consumer trust, it’s equally important to listen to what your customers are saying about your brand.

For example, branding juggernaut Coca-Cola caught a lot of flack when it introduced "New Coke" in 1985. The new recipe was the company’s response to a slowly dipping market share and the subsequent belief that consumers’ tastes were changing. 

But after customers expressed extreme dissatisfaction, the company listened and brought back the original formula (slightly rebranded as Coca-Cola Classic)., thereby increasing their credibility. Had they ignored the displeasure of their fans, the outcome might have looked much different.

Hear about your customers' experiences with an open mind. Acknowledge their complaints and work with them on a resolution. This can be as simple as replying thoughtfully to comments and DMs on social media or reviews on Yelp.  

Tip: Learn more about business reputation management and brand reputation measurement.

Your customers are going to talk about your brand, regardless of whether you are part of the conversation. The best thing you can do to build credibility is to take their conversations seriously. Social media monitoring tools and services can help you stay in touch with what’s being said so you can decide what to do next.

There’s an old saying in marketing that companies don’t build brands, customers do. While there’s a lot of truth to this, building brand equity still takes internal proactivity and thought. You can influence your customers’ perceptions of your brand based on your own priorities in managing your brand.

Keller’s customer-based equity model illustrates how a company builds a strong brand foundation and works upward to create brand “resonance,” where customers can actively identify with and advocate for a brand:

This brand equity pyramid provides a great starting point for companies. Let’s start from the ground up:

Who are you as a company? What do you stand for? What do you do better than anyone else? Why should people choose you?

These are just a few of the questions that can help to shape your brand identity. Your brand identity is made up of personality, tone of voice, and audience.

Creating your brand’s identity is the first step in developing awareness, which will later grow sales, loyalty, and advocacy.

Step 2: Communicate brand meaning through products

Next up: How do you want your customers to feel and think when using your products? What image should they associate with your brand?

In Keller’s customer-based brand equity model, brand meaning includes both performance and imagery. Nike is a great example of how a brand communicates meaning through its products. Their advertising and marketing focus largely on athletes in training or playing sports, not necessarily the products themselves. So the natural association in the customer’s mind is: high-quality products that perform well under pressure.

How you communicate your products can support your brand's meaning. Include influencers, social media, and SEO in the mix to get your products in front of the right people to start building awareness.  

Step 3: Grow your relationships through brand response

Once you’ve established your brand’s identity and are conveying its meaning through awareness campaigns, customers will have a chance to react and respond. In Keller’s model, this phase includes judgment and feelings — how people perceive your brand.

Brands can influence this phase by connecting with customers on a personal level, taking stock of feedback and becoming part of the conversation. You can also initiate conversations and spur engagement through community building efforts, hosting live events, providing good customer service, and making people feel part of the brand you’re building.

As you build relationships, your brand equity will start to grow and you'll gain more loyal customers. 

The more advocates you create, the more people you can get in front of who will potentially do the same! Consider upping your social media customer service game using social media customer service software.

In the past, before social media and digital marketing, businesses invested in traditional forms of market research as well as tracking changes in equity over time.

Traditional forms of market research include: surveys, questionnaires, and focus groups.

Leveraging Brand Equity for Business Growth

Instagram is truly the social media platform where a picture is worth a thousand words — and the first picture another may see is your Instagram profile picture, so it's worth getting it right to boost your social media management strategy. 

Images are everything on the app, which is why you want to make sure you are uploading pictures at the highest possible quality and paying attention to the correct aspect ratios for your posts. And while you may spend hours agonizing over the posts that go in your feed, many users forget to put as much thought into the first that people will see: your profile picture. 

Even though you should, it's easy to not give so much thought to your Instagram profile picture, compared to the images that actually are uploaded to your profile. But, you're here now, so we can tell you're interested in making sure yours is picture-perfect.

In this post, we'll answer some key questions when it comes to Instagram profile pictures and share tips that you need to use in order to make that all-important first impression from your profile pic.

How Do You Decide What Instagram Profile Picture to Use?

What Are the Correct Dimensions for an Instagram Profile Picture?

How To Change Your Instagram Profile Picture

Can You Increase Your Instagram Profile Picture Size?

Since profile pictures are the first thing that people look at when they come across your Instagram profile, you want to put some thought into choosing a profile picture that accurately represents you (or your brand). 

Usually, there are two types of profile photos that you will use for Instagram — a personal photo or a branded logo. Each image option has its own purpose as a profile photo on the app. 

A branded logo is what businesses and company pages would usually go for when it comes to their Instagram profile picture. It makes sense to have a recognisable logo that will be familiar to your customers and audience. Think of brands like Nike, Apple, Facebook, and even Meltwater. 

If you intend on using a branded logo as your profile picture on Instagram, you want to consider just how much space you have to fit your brand name or signature icon. Remember that on Instagram, your profile picture size has to be 110x110 pixels which means that you don't have a lot of space to fit a long brand name or icon that is complex in detail. Perhaps use initials or the first letter of your brand name, like the Vogue Magazine Instagram account or Meltwater's signature brand logo in the company's recognisable colour palette. 

A personal photo is primarily used if a brand is centered around a specific person. Oftentimes, a person may be the face of a business, so you'll see personal photos used for social media influencers and celebrities, political figures, or bloggers and journalists. ﻿

Again, think about the space that you have available for your profile picture. You may want to steer clear of a full-body image if you decide to use a personal photo for your Instagram profile. People won't be able to view your full-length photo at 110x110 pixels so consider using a head and shoulder image instead. 

In a previous post, we mentioned the correct Instagram image sizes to use on the app, but let's recap here:

On the mobile app, your profile picture appears as a circle on your Instagram profile at 110x110 pixels. The image size is 180x180 pixels when viewed on a desktop.

The profile picture appears round on everyone's profile on Instagram but is actually a square photo with an aspect ratio of 1:1.

Before you upload a picture to your profile, you might want to crop the image first into a square. This is so that your picture will fit the 1:1 aspect ratio and you won't need to zoom in or out to adjust the framing.

Tip: Take a look at our ultimate guide to social media image sizes and our Facebook image size guide.

Here are the steps involved in changing your profile picture:

Open the Instagram app on your mobile phone

Click 'Edit Profile', which you'll find underneath your Instagram bio

From here, you will have a few options to choose from when changing your profile picture, such as:

New Profile Photo (This option allows you to upload a new image that is currently on your mobile phone)

Import from Facebook (This option allows you to choose a photo from your Facebook page to be your new Instagram profile picture)

Remove Profile Photo (This option allows you to remove your current photo)

As you choose the image that you want as your profile picture, you'll notice a circle crops your image as an overlay. This is to show you what your photo will look like as an Instagram profile photo, so move the image around or zoom in and out if you need to until you have your image centered and in the circular overlay frame. 

Then click the arrow, which will take you to Instagram's in-app editing, where you can add filters and editing adjustments to your photo. Click the arrow and your new Instagram profile picture will appear.

The Meltwater Blog

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Leveraging Brand Equity for Business Growth

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