#Insta-What?

October 21, 2016

If you have a pulse and haven’t been living under a rock, you probably know what Instagram is. A social media application that lets you get likes, amass followers, and take over the world. . .I mean put your pictures out there for everyone to see. The best part, it’s all free! But why are we even talking about this? Instagram is for teenagers who want to post a billion pictures of themselves from different angles. Well, you’re not wrong.

Instagram is also a great marketing tool for your business because pretty much everyone has one, roughly 400 million people. This includes businesses who realized from the get go that it would be a great way to spread their brand to a large platform of people. So maybe you’re starting to wonder about the merits of using Instagram but you’re not entirely sure you want to dedicate all that time on your phone to upload and plan all this promoting. Well there are countless applications out there to help.

Why use it

Instagram has 400 million users and averages 80 million posts a day. Imagine all the attention your company could get with that kind of audience if you’re posting the right content! In 2014 Instagram saw a 93% growth from businesses using it as a platform to get their brands recognized and talked about by their target audience. It is also a way for you to humanize your company and give your brand substance. Photos and videos of your workers, workspace, things your company celebrates, gives your audience a view into a warm culture of which could be associated with your brand.

What to use it for

• Show off your company culture
• Start your brand awareness
• Showcase customers, deals, and products
• Use it as a part of your lead generation strategy
• Set up goals to reach likes, followers, and a set number of posts per quarter

Supplementary applications

There are a few apps to help you keep track and manage your business’s Instagram. Grum, for example allows you to schedule posts on your laptop to take away some of the hassle of posting pictures and videos from your phone. It is a great organizational tool to use to make sure you are posting on a consistent basis, which is important to maintain likes and followers. Another app, Iconosquare gives you the analytics of your account. You can view your total followers, the total you’re following, total likes, and total comments. Not only that, but you can see the data of your feed mapped out in multiple charts to show you all the information you need to push your brand over the top.

Be #Instacool on Instagram

• Use high quality photos, if you can’t use professional ones look at these tips on how to take great photos on your phone
• Follow the rule of thirds: an image is most pleasing when the subject is composed along imaginary lines which divide it in thirds
• Designate a content creator
• Follow typography rules to capture you audience’s attention
• Use hashtags to maximize your exposure to your target audience
• Use emoji’s when applicable to make posts more casual
• Try different post methods to gain attention; food, products, customers, employee’s, working photos, motivational, reposts, giveaways/contests, and guest takeovers.
• Look at competitors Instagram’s to get an idea of what you’re striving for