A Beginner’s Guide To Instagram
Instagram might not seem like the best tool for business, but you would be surprised.
Back in the early 1990s, connection speeds made social media platforms unsuitable for more than brief text updates and uploading photos. The entrance of high quality images onto the web created the popularity that Instagram is now enjoying. The social media platform launched in 2010 and has since become one of the world’s leading social media networks. Purchased in 2012 by Facebook for just $1 billion, this photography-powered platform boasts 400 million active users – a remarkable thirty per cent of the world’s internet-enabled population.
Instagram for Everyone
With ad revenues expected to reach $2.75 billion in 2017, Instagram is a social phenomenon. Its popularity is ideally suited to businesses with a visual element to their work, such as retailers. Indeed, the majority of companies can use Instagram to promote themselves and build new audiences. Although it has to be used mainly through mobile platforms, it’s one of the easiest social media networks to learn. With 90% of users under the age of 35, Instagram is also a great way to connect with younger audiences. In fact, regardless of whether your business is visual or not ‘Instagram Stories’ enable companies to show off who they are visually.
How To Get Started
Creating an Instagram account is as simple as choosing an unclaimed username and a password. From here, a little account management is called for – adding company logos and contact details, a website link and other information that might distinguish your brand. Having completed the brief bio that appears on your profile page, a successful Instagram account depends on two things – posting original photos and building connections.
Now To Find Recognition
Because Instagram is awash with professional photographers and enthusiastic amateurs, it takes a fair amount of artistic prowess to capture images that will stand out in a typical timeline. However, this can be as easy as photographing a colorful sunset or an artfully-presented restaurant meal. For corporate accounts, the majority of photos uploaded from your smartphone or tablet (the desktop interface is display-only) should relate to your business in some way. If your company performs precision manufacturing, for instance, detail shots of individual components or machines might be of interest to audiences.
It’s Not Just A Pretty Picture
Uploading a photo is very simple, but the accompanying caption and hashtags are crucial to ensuring it’s seen by a wide audience. Captions should be one sentence long and directly relevant to the image. Instagram hashtags are very similar to those on Twitter and Facebook. It will provide hints as you type a word, so putting the letters ‘web’ after a hashtag will produce suggestions like ‘#website’ and ‘#websitedesign’. There will also be a number after each tag, indicating how many other posts have used it to date. Don’t be scared by large numbers, since loads of people will search for popular tags like ‘cosmetics’ or ‘office’. Less frequently-used tags will appeal to more select audiences, but still hold value.
#InstaFamous
Hashtags represent the best method of finding new people to follow – and vice versa. Using up to ten hashtags per post can drive traffic to your post. This lets visitors see your image history and get an insight into your brand. Follow people in related industries, too – the majority won’t follow you back, but some will. There’s a slim possibility that liking someone’s photo (by double-clicking on it) will persuade them to start following you as well.
Instagram is intended to be fun, with strict rules on obscenity and offensive content, so keep things light and avoid the hard sell. Asking questions in captions can inspire additional interaction, and comments represent audience engagement despite rarely offering great insight. Remember that every new follower will see your updates in their timeline, providing a constant reminder of your brand’s existence and activities. On a platform as popular as Instagram, regular opportunities for free marketing really shouldn’t be spurned.