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for BusinessBest Practices for Promoting a Brand
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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
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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
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BUT this does not mean that Instagram should not be utilized by brands!
THE BASICS
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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GREAT BRANDS TO FOLLOW
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THE BEST BRANDS USING INSTAGRAM VIDEO
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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
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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
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