If you’ve ever used Instagram, you know it’s really hard to take a bad picture with the photo app. The filters and tools on Instagram, coupled with other enhancement apps available, can make even the most mundane subject matter seem more intriguing, artful, interesting and thought-provoking. Instagram photos get noticed, which is what makes Instagram such a great tool for marketing your brand or business.
Using Instagram to build your business doesn’t take a lot of time, but it does require a bit of finesse along with a basic understanding of how the social media platform works. Here are five ways you can use Instagram in your business.
Get creative
Whether you’re offering goods, providing a service, or promoting an organization or event, your business can be well represented with photography.
If you owned a bakery, say, or a tattoo parlor, you’d of course want to Instagram your handiwork: all the gorgeous cakes and body art you create. You also, however, would want to document what’s going on at your business — customers, employees, funny moments, even the neighborhood where your business is located. You can share interesting things you come across that relate to your business — a photo of a new cake or tattoo idea or something that inspires you in nature or while traveling, for example. You’d use Instagram tools such as location pages so users can see who else is visiting your business, and you might even have a photo contest with the winner receiving one of your baked or inked creations.
Look around. Whether you’re an accountant, a zookeeper, or something in between, you can portray your business through photos.
Everybody loves a winner
And everybody loves to win. Instagram suggests contests as a great way for businesses to get traction on the site. Rather than just asking users to repost a photo you’ve already taken, you should encourage fans and customers to take their own photos reflecting your business in some way, and use a hashtag to curate them all and pick a winner.
Even a behemoth company such as General Electric (@generalelectric) is getting in on the Instagram act by providing followers with photos taken in research labs and factories. GE sponsored an Instagram contest that asked users to take photos inspired by the way GE works and post them to Instagram and tag them #GEinspiredME. They received more than 4,000 submissions and the winner won a trip to the U.K. to photograph a GE jet engine plant in Wales.
Be engaging — and engaged
You want to stay present in your customers’ minds. Aside from taking engaging photos, the best way to do this is by posting often. When your followers check in on their Instagram feed, they can see your business and remember it by the interesting photos you post.
Along with posting photos, be an active participant. Be sure to monitor comments and weed out any derogatory or spammy ones. While you can’t always answer every single comment, be sure to engage with followers from time-to-time. Use hashtags and encourage your followers to do so as well.
Launching pad
Some businesses have actually been launched from users’ Instagram accounts, including Gabe Willis of STRGHT skateboards (@strght). He used Instagram to document the making of his own skateboard, and users were intrigued and began asking if they could buy his skateboards. He began filling his orders through Instagram and has now expanded his business. STRGHT has now come full circle, as those who have purchased skateboards are now sharing their own photos featuring them on Instagram.
Encourage interaction
Tiffany & Co. (@tiffanyandco) asked its audience to share their love stories on Instagram with photos using the hashtag #truelovepictures. The company also provided romantic phrases to shape participants’ offerings and users had a chance to have their digital submissions made into postcards and mailed to anyone they wanted by the company.
Tiffany & Co. linked the Instagram campaign to a website, What Makes Love True, which has other interactive features including love stories, lists of romantic movies and songs, romance tips, and a map where users can pin a heart to their own special romantic places. Adding an Instagram element to the campaign gives users an immersive, interactive experience.
Quick tips to get the most out of Instagram for online business
- Create a location page for your business on Instagram. You’ll be able to see who posts photos from your location.
- Create a photo map to add another layer to your business branding. Show where your business is having an impact or another aspect of your business that could be illustrated by a map.
- Visit the Instagram for Business blog. It’s full of tips and ideas along with inspiration from other businesses.
- Instagram suggests setting up a private account and following your business account so you can learn the nuances of how users are experiencing your content.
Resource:http://www.sitepronews.com/2013/06/25/five-ways-to-promote-your-business-on-instagram/
