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\u2019t be able to do anything more.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
First let\u2019s discuss what not to do with your business\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
To help you gain some more reality on what \u2018sharable photos\u2019 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 \u2018shares\u2019.<\/p>\n
1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Post a new photo either once a day or once every other day<\/p>\n
2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Use relevant hashtags in every post<\/p>\n
3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Don\u2019t use filters on all photos, mix it up<\/p>\n
4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 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\u2019s followers and following them<\/p>\n
5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Promote your Instagram profile on your Facebook and website<\/p>\n
6)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Use video. Instagram is now branching into video, so take advantage of it<\/p>\n
7)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Continuously check your competition and see what they are doing and if it is effective<\/p>\n
8)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Download apps for your Instagram which can show you analytics so you can measure your success<\/p>\n
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 \u201cbusinesses are using Instagram through tips, brand spotlights, API examples and news from Instagram HQ<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n