After months of working on your rebrand behind-the-scenes and keeping your website redesign a secret, the big day is finally here!
All of your hard work is finally paying off, and the world is about to see everything you’ve been working tirelessly on. If you’ve been working with a brand designer, website designer, or copywriter, they’ll be just as thrilled as you are to reach the long-awaited launch day. (Trust me, there are few things more exciting than revealing your new website design!)
However, before you peel back the curtain, you’ll want to start thinking about how you want to announce the launch of your site. Oh, and it doesn’t have to be a one-day event. Instead, you can spend the last weeks leading up to the website launch as your time to shine on Instagram!
By strategically posting about your website launch on Instagram, you’ll be able to bring more traffic to your site and give your followers an opportunity to celebrate with you. Consistently posting on social media is still important even when you’re not launching a rebrand, but what’s more captivating than a big reveal?
Let’s talk all about the Instagram strategies you need to have a successful website launch.
How to announce your website launch on Instagram
When it comes to announcing your website launch on Instagram, you can exercise your creativity by using many of their features. With Reels, Stories, IGTV, IG Live, and Instagram posts, you’re able to create a variety of content that will engage your followers.
Let’s break down how you can use each of these Instagram features to bring more people to your newly designed website. I’ll also include a few ideas so you can easily implement them into your own marketing strategy.
Reels
Even though Instagram only launched Reels in 2020 after taking inspiration from TikTok, the platform has said Reels are the future for Instagram content creators. The platform as a whole has already announced that it’s prioritizing video over photo content, so now is a great time to get in on the trend.
It’s much easier to increase your reach on Instagram through Reels than it is through hashtags, the Explore page, or older Instagram features. With this in mind, it’s a good idea to create Reels leading up to your website launch instead of solely focusing on feed posts.
To get started with Reels, you can give a behind-the-scenes look at something that’s happened during the redesign process. Since I highly recommend investing in brand photography, I love this Reel example from Julia Mary.
Through her BTS video, she’s able to walk prospective clients through her brand photography process in a visually interesting way. They’ll also get to see how the photos turned out at the end of the Reel.
You could create a similar behind-the-scenes video for your own brand to get your followers excited for the big website reveal. It’s best to give them a small taste of what you’ve been working on without sharing everything. That way, you can still keep the excitement going!
Other Reel ideas could include:
- Giving a sneak peek of your new website design
- Showing your new visual branding or submark
- Sharing a tip you learned through your website redesign process
- Revealing a before and after screenshot of your website
IG Stories
Instagram Stories have been a fan favorite since they were launched in 2016. Largely inspired by Snapchat, Instagram Stories are a quick way to see what your friends are up to, along with celebrities and other influencers you’re following.
Instagram Stories are typically best for day-in-the-life content since they disappear after 24 hours. This is commonly referred to as “in the moment” content and is an important part of engaging with your audience on Instagram. To utilize Instagram during your website launch, uploading photos and videos to your Story is key.
Of course, one of the best ways to show off your newly redesigned website is by creating an Instagram Story all about it. My client Kiamarie of KSS Photography & Film did this when we created her new site on Showit. I love celebrating launch day with my clients, so I’m always encouraging my clients to talk about their launch and tag me in their Instagram Story videos.
This is one of the easiest ideas to implement, so I recommend adding it to your list. You can share a website mockup graphic like this example or a screenshot of your new website. You’ve done all that work, so now it’s time to show it off!
The downside of posting a Story video is that it’s gone in 24 hours. However, you can add it to your Highlights if you want it to be viewed well after your launch day. You could even create a whole Highlight devoted to your website launch. I can picture it now!
Other Instagram Story ideas include:
- Creating a limited time giveaway of your services or products leading up to the launch
- Asking your followers which brand colors they love most through the Poll feature
- Getting feedback on your work-in-progress website through the Questions feature
- Posting a countdown to your website launch day with the Countdown feature
IG Live and IGTV
For long-form video content, you’ll want to look to IG Live and IGTV. IG Live and IGTV frequently go hand-in-hand because of this.
IG Live is primarily used for Instagram users who want to connect with their followers in real-time. IGTV, however, is often used as a place to upload pre-recorded video content. IG Live is like Facebook Live, whereas IGTV is almost like a smaller version of YouTube.
To get started with these features during your launch, you could interview your website collaborators so people can get to know who you worked with, like AnnaKate from Rhema Design Co.
She recently went live on Instagram with her brand photographer, copywriter, and website developer to talk more about the roles they all played in the final product. Each collaborator also shared tips for viewers based on their subject matter expertise.
You can also repurpose these live videos and upload them to your IGTV feed since they will only be available for 24 hours otherwise. Even if someone can’t join live, they’ll still be able to watch it whenever it’s convenient for them.
Other Instagram Live ideas include:
- Hosting a live giveaway and asking your followers to join live in order to enter
- Giving a solo talk on the story behind your rebrand or redesign
- Answering questions live from your followers who have been following your journey
- Giving a behind-the-scenes look at what you are currently working on with the website
Instagram Post
The oldie but goodie of Instagram! While video marketing has become all the rage on Instagram, we can’t overlook an opportunity to share interesting posts on our Instagram feeds. It’s important not to neglect your Instagram feed because it’s one of the first impressions someone will have when they find your profile for the first time.
I recommend posting a variety of content on your feed whenever possible. If you look at my example below, you’ll see brand photos, a Reel, mockup photos, a graphic, and a carousel post with multiple photos.
Take a page from my book and start having fun with your content creation! It makes posting to Instagram less stressful and more focused.
When it comes to announcing your website launch, you have all kinds of options with Instagram posts. You could create a graphic on Canva or InDesign, publish a brand photo, share a headshot, or any number of things. The sky’s the limit when it comes to feed posts!
Other Instagram Post ideas include:
- Revealing a sneak peek of your new website design or visual branding
- Asking people to visit your website to sign up for your email list
- Highlighting your “coming soon” landing page before your website launch day
- Sharing personal reflections or a journal entry from the website rebuilding process
How will you use Instagram to promote your website launch?
Clearly, you have all kinds of opportunities ahead of you when talking about your website launch on Instagram. Since the platform is incredibly visual, it makes sense to hyper-focus on creating interesting content your audience will love.
My clients have found that when they use Instagram to talk about their launch, they’re able to do more than just increase traffic to their site. By doing this, they’re also able to increase their lead generation and book more clients right away after their website launch.
Start looking at Instagram as your opportunity to create excitement around your launch. When the big day comes, your followers will already be on the edge of their seats, ready to click your website link and see what you’ve been working on.
If I had one piece of advice, it would be to use this pre-launch time wisely! Everyone loves getting an exclusive behind-the-scenes look into the creative process. You can make this happen with several types of Instagram content, so don’t sleep on creating great Instagram content your potential clients and subscribers will be so excited to connect with.
Depending on your Instagram marketing strategy, you can move forward with some (or all five!) when you start talking about your website launch. Once you have a strategy, it’s time to start creating!