Instagram

 

WHAT IS INSTAGRAM?

A photo sharing application that lets users take photos, apply filters to their images, and share the photos instantly on the Instagram network and other social networks like Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and Foursquare.  The app is targeted toward mobile social sharing, and in just over one year, it has gained 15 million users.  There are over 15 million users, growing at a rate of 2 million users per month with users uploading 400 million photos in less than two years (60 photos per second).  Ten percent of all photos taken by humankind were taken in the past 12 months.

Instagram is quickly outgrowing Foursquare, the largest mobile social network.  91% of US citizens have their mobile phone within reach 24/7.  25% of people in the US have totally abandoned their laptops for exclusive use of their mobile device and downloading Mobile apps 10.9 billion times and are expected to peak in 2013.  Brands on Instagram that have been successful include GE, Starbucks, GOPro, and Red bull that have been effective in spreading awareness and cultivating relationships with their biggest fans.

Why is Instagram so cool?  Readers process more information more quickly from images than from text, and thus images drive more audience engagement than text content.  The popularity of Instagram seems to stem from the fact that it allows you to tell a story through visual images.  70% of Facebook user activity is centered on uploading, liking, and sharing photos.  No wonder they purchased Instagram in 2012 for better picture sharing and increased engagement.

INSTAGRAM STATISTICS

OPEN UP TO PEOPLE

Show people what happens with your brand behind the scenes. Show photos of yourself with respected people that you are connected to or anyone else who inspires you. Post attributed quotes that are branded with your colors.That means put your Instagram username on every point of customer contact and ASK people to follow you. Include it on invoices, in advertising, marketing material, signage or anywhere else you know you’ve got their attention. Announce your profile at your local networking groups—Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, etc—and ask for them to follow you. Fellow local business owners are a great source of support. Get people closer to your brand. Introduce followers to your employees and let them see more of what happens behind your business. This can gain you a lot of trust from customers.

WHO TO FOLLOW

Use Instagram’s Explore tool to find people or brands of interest to follow. Try searching by both username and hashtag to see how the two options differ. You can always go to Profile → Options → Find People to Follow (as shown below) to connect with people you know or follow users suggested by Instagram. Try checking the suggested users every now and then, as the list is generated based on your Instagram activity.

IMAGES

Filters, Frames, caption, @tagging, #hashtags, geotag location, Tilt-shift teardrop for creating an illusion of depth, eye button to rotating picture.  Users are posting lifestyle photos that are visually appealing.  People love visual content and photos tell stories. Storytelling is crucial to the social success of your content, and the emotions associated with photos carry a lot of weight. HubSpot has been carrying on a caption content using Instagram that literally asks users to tell the story of what’s happening in the photos. Be sure to add a caption that includes your call-to-action. Include appropriate hashtags. Make sure the link in your profile sends followers where you want them to go.

#HASHTAGS

Each Hashtag has its own page, and its own RSS feed where the photos with that tag are displayed. Research what people in your industry are posting by searching relevant #hashtags. This is also a good way to find new people to follow.  Make a list of hashtags relevant to your industry. Use the Instagram Explore tab to research those hashtags. Weekend Hashtag Project is a series featuring designated themes and hashtags chosen by Instagram’s Community Team. For a chance to be featured on the Instagram blog, follow @instagram and look for a post announcing the weekend’s project every Friday. Popular hashtags include #iphoneography, #iphone, #bw, #flashbackfriday, #sky, #cat, & #dog.  Check out this list from socialmediaonlineclasses.com for some other great ideas:

TOP 100 Instagram Hashtags

Leave constructive comments, start conversations, and be nice. Geo Tagging your location to make it easier for people to find your account.  Host photo competitions by submitting photos to competitions such as #instadaily. Instagram is ideal to share stories  and allow followers some insight into you and your world.

Make use of apps and list of Instagram apps:

POSTING

Your brand should maintain consistent posting frequency by posting at least 2 instagram photos every week to see follower growth.  Focus on posting interesting images with good production value and quality photography rules such as light, composition, contrast, geometry, emotion, and processing.  Audience engagement and audience acquisition convert engagement into sharing.  Post about yourself to get closer to your customers and potential clients by letting them see who you are!  Snap a shot of Food or Drink. Show something especially delicious and immortalize it on Instagram.  Make sure your scenery Be it rural or urban, photos of your surroundings can help you connect with your community.  Post about a hobyy of something you enjoy doing.  Try posting something motivational with an Uplifting messages and image to brighten up someone’s day. Try taking a photo of a daily routine.  Show people exactly what you do with a photo of a product you’re proud of. Take pictures of employees to put faces to your company.  In the middle of a project? Take a photo to document your process. Even give people a glimpse into your office or studio with a shot of your workspace. Let your personality shine in your posts. Personal posts about things and people that mean a lot to you or things that can be linked to your brand will help customers feel more comfortable giving you business.

MARKET RESEARCH

Search site:instagram.com “name of a competitor.” Search for competitors by typing this into Google: instagram.com #graphicdesign.  Substitute terms related to your industry. Review the results and see which of your competitors have several followers. Make a list of these businesses so you can refer back to them throughout the course to discover tactics that you can apply for your own business. Now that you’re done, what have you learned? Is your industry well-represented on Instagram? Are any of your top competitors using it? Can you see the potential value it holds as a marketing tool for your brand?

FILTERS

You can learn more about Instagram filters here and check the most popular filters used on recent top photos here. You can learn more about Instagram filters here and check the most popular filters used on recent top photos here. The most popular—and most-engaging—filters vary over time, but Earlybird, Valencia, X-Pro II, and Amaro tend to consistently be among the top contenders.  Cropping a photo is especially important, as it allows you to further define the focus of a photo and eliminate negative space or elements that might take away from the composition, creating a better visual.

INSTAGRAM WIDGET

Make it easy for people to follow you. Ppost a QR code in a visible place so people can scan it with their phones and offer them some incentive to follow you. No brick & mortar location? Put a QR Code on your customer touchpoints, such as invoices or your business card. Remember to put a Widget and Follow Button on your website. Go to Statigram and customize a Widget for your Instagram profile. Choose a Follow Button.  Save the code for both and add it to your website or blog. If you don’t know how to do this, have your web admin do it for you.

HOW TO GET ENGAGEMENT ON INSTAGRAM

Introduce employees and get them on board. Have your employees post content and @mention your username or #hashtag your brand on Instagram to extend your reach even further. Get customers involved by asking customers and clients if they mind having their photo on Instagram. Mention username by adding it with a @ attached to the front—add a hashtag related to a product they love or bought and any sale or event context hashtag. Then ask your followers to post their finds and experiences related to those hashtags.  Initiate discussion by posing questions and asking for opinions from your followers. You can even create a sort of poll where users use one hashtag or another to state their opinion. Customers love to know that their opinion is valued, especially when they can see their feedback is going to further enhance their experience with your brand. Make themed posts. Daily, weekly and seasonal themes can make it easier to come up with regular content, and it also gives followers something to look forward to. Get followers to contribute by assigning a hashtag to your themes and asking them to post their own submissions. Share your product in a dynamic way. Have someone model with your product. Include a quote or statement that’s relevant to your industry. Announce to your existing customers that you have a new Instagram profile and ask them to follow you. Tell loyal clients across your platforms about your profile and offer them an incentive for following you. If you make a big deal, they’ll make it a big deal.

CONTESTS AND CHALLENGES

Instagram contests allow people to participate easily and on the go, and challenges can generate more activity around your brand.offering a prize for new Followers. Give away something that people will value without costing your business too much. Hold a contest among your colleagues to see who can get the most followers. Friendly competition can do wonders for inspiring creativity and no matter who wins, you’ll get more followers! Better yet, you can learn techniques from your colleagues to use yourself.

LIKES AND COMMENTS

Engage with other Instagrammers’ photos. You reap what you sow. Engaging with others is one of the best ways to get people to visit your profile and follow you! Consider collaborating with other small local business to offer a contest or giveaway. Combining resources can make your follower count explode fast! Entertain your followers. Example? Issue a challenge for them to photograph themselves at your location for a chance to win a prize. Learn where your visitors are coming from, and use that source to find more potential followers. You can use Statigram to find out where people are coming from and focus on your most successful tactics and sources to bring more people in. Make a note to gather statistics (using whatever analytics tool your brand uses for on the site or platform you link to) to see how many people accessed the page through that link.  Make posts with links.

INSTAGRAM VIDEO

Use videos to show your followers things that cannot be conveyed with a photo alone. This clothing store gives followers a behind-the-scenes look at how they make their tshirts, sharing a more dynamic and complete view than a still image could. Be sure your video offers something special to your followers. Feature something that they care about, and share something that makes your video worth watching. This music studio’s sneak peak video gives followers a preview of their upcoming music. Ask followers to take action in some way; this is the best way to encourage engagement! In ABC Family’s video, Brett Dier asks people to follow him on Twitter and send him tweets that night. Add a video to Instagram. Make it relevant to your brand and ask your followers to answer a question, comment or engage in some other way. Include relevant hashtags in the caption. Come up with ideas for future videos and create a timeline for adding them periodically. Embed: Learn more about embedding here. The customized visual content you create with Instagram can go on to engage your audience on Facebook, Twitter, and you can even share it by email.

BLOCKING USERS

Find the user you want to block by searching for their username in the Explore tab. Go to their profile and tap the icon in the top-right corner. Select Block User. Blocked users are removed from your followers and can’t see or search for your profile or any of your posts. They can, however, @mention you–which will show up in your feed–and see your likes and comments on the content of any mutual followers you may have.

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