TM

for BusinessBest Practices for Promoting a Brand

TM

POPULARITY

THE PUBLIC USES INSTAGRAM, BUT DO BRANDS?

Instagram currently has over 150 Million users and continues to grow*

However, businesses and brands have not engaged with the platform to the extent that the public has A Simply Measured study found that

only 59% of the Interbrand Top 100 Brands use Instagram

Of these brands, 41% post at least ONCE a week

26 of the top 100 brands have more than 10,000 followers

Only 10 have more than 100,000 followers

These numbers highlight the lack of engagement brands get from not utilizing Instagram

*Source

TM

UPLOADING CONTENT TO INSTAGRAM IS DIFFICULT

THE BASICS

Instagram is a tough platform to manage because of its limited accessibility Photo and Video content can only be uploaded from a compatible smartphone

Instagram is only available for iPhone and Android

Accounts can be viewed on the Web, but content cannot be uploaded this way

Pictures and custom images can be sent to a phone via Email, Dropbox or other file sharing method The image can then be saved to the device’s photo library and uploaded to Instagram

The issue with this method is that it is often difficult to properly size a photo that is taken or created on another device

TM

BUT this does not mean that Instagram should not be utilized by brands!

THE BASICS

TM

MAINTAINING INSTAGRAM IS A FULL TIME JOB

Someone must be fully in charge of managing a brand’s Instagram account

This person must: Know how to use Instagram

Be creative and good with visual content creation

Have their own, personal Instagram account in order to gain a customer’s perspective

Most importantly, they must know and understand the brand and its message & culture

THE BASICS

TM

GETTING STARTED

Brands need to establish what the goal and purpose of their Instagram account will be

Do they want to drastically increase followers?

Are they looking for engagement, conversation and retainment?

A Brand’s account must have a central theme It SHOULD revolve around the business and its culture, customers and

communities and regions they are located

It SHOULD NOT revolve around simply taking pictures of the products and stores

THE BASICS

TM

GETTING STARTED

A combination of a large following that engages in constant,

valuable conversation is key

Great content can go viral, leading to an immediate increase in followers But moving forward, how does a brand then keep these followers?

Brands must identify and understand their audience

For a tutorial on using the latest version of Instagram, visit this Instagram for Business blog post.

THE BASICS

TM

BEST PRACTICES TO SPUR ENGAGEMENT

Linking picture and video content with your brand’s story and culture is crucial DO NOT use Instagram solely to blast product pictures in order to boost sales, it doesn’t

work

Followers are easily turned off by a self-absorbed Instagram user

Photos must be visually appealing

Content must give people a reason to become a follower New Items and Sneak Peaks

Behind the Scenes access

Special Deals and Coupon Codes

Pictures Reposts

Photo Contests

@USinterior Showcases America’s Great Outdoors

THE BASICS

TM

BEST PRACTICES TO SPUR ENGAGEMENT

Posts need to be appropriately timed and should be spread throughout the day

Instagram is a live feed

The second content is uploaded, the picture will immediately appear on a follower’s feed

The last thing followers want to see is multiple pictures posted simultaneously

Followers are likely to unfollow the account if posts are poorly timed

The strategy needs to be appropriate so that the Churn Rate, the rate at which people unfollow the account, is small!

Sailing the Seven Seas with @Maerskline @oscarprgirl Fall Campaign Exclusive

THE BASICS

TM

ENGAGE WITH FOLLOWERS

Social platforms are a two way street and there needs to be constant interaction

To ensure that followers feel like there is an actual person behind the handle:

1. Follow Back Those who are interesting, and engaging should be followed Not every person needs to be followed back Exclusivity keeps people engaged in the hopes that they might be followed at

some point Not every follower needs to be followed back

2. Comment Respond to questions that are posted and be sure to @ mention people in the

answer to ensure they know you have answered their question

A quick, personal response is a way to spark loyalty

Commenting on follower’s photos is always a great touch

THE BASICS

TM

ENGAGE WITH FOLLOWERS

3. Like Follower’s Photos Like content of those that you follow People feel good when getting attention from a brand

4. Repost Repost content from follower’s onto the brand’s own account

Make sure to give the content creator credit by @ mentioning them in the caption

This can help drive engagement by creating a desire for others to upload content in the hopes that their photos will be reposted

THE BASICS

TM

HASHTAGS

Hashtags are important and useful on Instagram

Hashtags are a way to group photos from various users under one roof It connects picture and video content to your brand

A brand should have ONE, consistent hashtag that users should utilize

Special events, promotions and contests can have different, specific hashtag

Too many hashtags can get messy and confusing This can also lead to the primary hashtag getting lost and not used

#Hashtag

THE BASICS

TM

ADDING A LOCATION

Instagram can show the location from which content is uploaded or where the pictures were taken

When uploading a photo, click “Name This Location”

Enables checking in on Foursquare

Geotagging can be helpful to give customers store location details

Content featuring products, store features and giveaways should be tagged to drive people to these specific locations

THE BASICS

TM

HARNESSING THE POWER OF INSTAGRAM VIDEO

Brands need to realize the power and effectiveness of customer-created content

Customers and consumers are experienced enough with social apps to create good content

The quality may not be “professional” but it will seem more authentic

Giving people context will help drive meaningful videos

Ask a question or demand a certain, shorter time frame to get the best response

Simply setting up an Instagram account for a Brand and pushing content will not work

For more info regarding Video on Instagram, check out their blog post.

INSTAGRAM VIDEO

Video Highlights: Fashion from @marcjacobsintl @topshop & @michaelkors

Video Highlights: News from @nbcnewscrew @aykutu @edouphoto

& @bakerbk

TM

THE PUBLIC USES INSTAGRAM, BUT DO BRANDS?

Ideas that can be incorporated into videos include: Company Culture

Q&A

Products and Demos

New product launches

Sneak peeks and teasers

Store Features

Behind the Scenes content

Interviews of Staff and Executives

INSTAGRAM VIDEO

TM

USING INSTAGRAM TO RUN CONTESTS

PHOTO CONTESTS

Instagram is a tool for running photo contests to drive visual content and follower engagement

Contests should offer prizes that help promote the brand while also being something people will want

There are many resources that Instagram has to help run contests Utilizing a separate and specific hashtag solely for the contest can help track entrants

Instagram provides an RSS feed for every hashtag that is created, which allows for real time following of all new photos with a specific hashtag

There are also several third party websites that have their easy to use contest tools

Material Girl #IHeartMG Contest Post-It #SmileWithPostIt Contest

TM

GREAT BRANDS TO FOLLOW

TM

THE BEST BRANDS USING INSTAGRAM VIDEO

TM

CLICK HERE FOR BLOG LINK

Instagram has a blog dedicated to highlighting businesses on the platform

The blog has great stories and information including Stories about how business are successfully using Instagram

Pictures and Videos directly from the platform highlighting businesses

Tips, suggestions and advice

More in-depth how to’s about using Instagram

Useful Video Blog Posts Tips: How To Shoot Video On Instagram

Best Practices: Creating Video Content

INSTAGRAM FOR BUSINESS BLOG

TM

SOURCES AND FURTHER READING http://business.instagram.com/blog/

http://instagram-business.tumblr.com/post/29441248656/instagram-best-practices-to-see-more-tips-and

http://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-best-practices-brands/

http://insights.wired.com/profiles/blogs/instagram-best-practices-for-businesses#axzz2Zo1YBKE8

http://socialmediatoday.com/sendible/1075136/7-tips-using-instagram-business

http://simplymeasured.com/blog/2013/07/03/which-brands-are-winning-with-instagram-video/

http://allfacebook.com/simply-measured-instagram-study_b111108

http://www.businessinsider.com/these-brands-are-doing-amazing-things-with-instagram-2012-6?op=1

http://www.reelseo.com/brands-encourage-usergenerated-video-content-spread-word/

http://digiday.com/brands/15-stats-brands-should-know-about-instagram/

http://mashable.com/2013/09/30/fortune-500-instagram/http://statigr.am/instagram-contest-toolkit

http://50.nitrogr.am/

http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2283737/Instagram-Video-How-Brands-are-Using-Their-15-Seconds

http://help.instagram.com/532250740121758

FURTHER READING