Instagram is an iPhone/Android app which allows users to take photos, edit them (by applying creative filters/croping, etc) and post them to their Instagram feed (or directly to Facebook) on their profile so they can be shared to all of their followers. In other words you take the photos with your phone and post them on Instagram and show all your people. You can use a PC and view your profile page and photos but you won’t be able to do anything more.
It is owned by Facebook and has over the past two years gained a tremendous following, and is now the fastest growing social media website. Just like other social media platforms, businesses have been starting to use Instagram so that they can tap into this powerful line of free promotion.
How can my business use it?
First let’s discuss what not to do with your business’s Instagram. You must at all costs resist robotically taking mundane photos of all your projects/products. That will not fly in the Instagram world. You want to have photos which are either: beautiful, interesting, or funny. You want your photos to be shared when people view them; therefore there is no place for the mundane and boring on Instagram.
To help you gain some more reality on what ‘sharable photos’ would be, you should go onto Instagram, inspect some business profiles and see what they are posting. Companies like GE, Nike, Ben & Jerry, etc are very creative with their posts and subsequently get a great many ‘shares’.
I’m taking great pictures, what’s next?
1) Post a new photo either once a day or once every other day
2) Use relevant hashtags in every post
3) Don’t use filters on all photos, mix it up
4) Break the ice by following individuals who would be interested in your business/products, and liking their photos, so that they can then return the favor You can do this be finding your competition’s followers and following them
5) Promote your Instagram profile on your Facebook and website
6) Use video. Instagram is now branching into video, so take advantage of it
7) Continuously check your competition and see what they are doing and if it is effective
8) Download apps for your Instagram which can show you analytics so you can measure your success
Further reading
In response to a new and growing interest for businesses to use the power of Instagram for promotion, the good people at Instagram have put together a blog to show how “businesses are using Instagram through tips, brand spotlights, API examples and news from Instagram HQ.”
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