Instragram is an online photo-sharing social networking service. Businesses are rapidly identifying Instagram tips to help market their brand. The Instagram app is free and available on iPhone and Android smartphones. Set up in 2010, Instagram now has 150 million active users and in June 2013 video sharing was incorporated too.
Brands such as Starbucks and MTV are the most successful Instagramers. According to Instagram’s own statistics users share 55 million photos every day with two billion likes daily – so there’s lots of opportunity for brand exposure.
instagram tips
Here’s our top 10 tips to use Instagram to help build your brand.
1. Build an identity – share images that build your brand identity and personality. For example you may post images of staff to humanise your brand or spotlight your photographer/sharer.
2. Use hashtags – get your images noticed by adding specific hashtags to help you connect with like-minded people and gain wider exposure and more likes, Selfridges do this well.
3. Show your products – take photos of new products to create a buzz about your range, show how it was made, its origins; by sharing photos brands attract more users.
4. Expand your audience – connect your Instagram to other social networks and use relevant hashtags to make sure your brand is findable and memorable to start conversations.
5. Video Instagram – video offers a new way to showcase your products for up to 15 seconds, it’s particularly popular for the fashion community, highlighting new lines and trends.
6. Transform your brand – use your account to tell your brand story in a personal way, for example you could reveal behind the scenes images at office locations or surrounding areas.
7. Raise awareness – if you’re a small business there’s no need for a huge ad campaign; raise awareness through engaging directly with customers by asking questions, responding to comments.
8. Link to location – use Foursquare’s location mapping to tag your images taken in your business location, so when others are searching in that area, those images will appear and encourage them to visit.
9. Competitions – these are a common way to start conversations to help increase brand followers. Consider a branded hashtag and encourage users to post images based around that competition theme.
10. Use promo codes – the offer of discounts and promotional codes is a great incentive to engage with brands, for example Top Shop use Facebook and Twitter to drive customers to Instagram images that reveal exclusive promo codes.
Visit the dedicated Instagram blog to explore how other businesses are using Instagram. http://instagram-business.tumblr.com/. Images can be a combination of mobile and DSLR and they all help build authentic associations with customers. Share your Instagram comments in the section below or on Twitter.
