Along with Pinterest – which we have written about on this blog several posts ago (and most recently here) – if I were to name another big winner in the social media arena from last year it would have to be Instagram.
Instagram seemed to spring up out of nowhere last year and it is still humming along. For those of you who have not been properly introduced, Instagram is a free application for the iPhone or Android that allows people to take photos, apply filters which can change how images look and then share them via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Foursquare.
And just like most social media sites, Instagram accounts can accrue followers and build popularity and thus help build your brand awareness if properly leveraged.
1. How do others view your brand or company? First, take a look around. You can discover images that are already out there of your products, company, and brand within the Instagram app itself by going to Explore>Hashtags, or you can go to a website such as Webstagram or Statigram.
Your results may surprise you. Below shows my search for #elementsdesign, and some of the results are images that are not ours but random citizens who used the same hashtag.
Just something to be aware of – this could work for or against you. Try some different keywords and note which ones are the most popular. For example, a search for #Nike resulted in 4,629,408 and when I narrowed my search to #nikesportband, it returned 87 photos.
You should also note what type of content your audience is posting about your brand to give you a good idea what type of content they’d most likely be searching for and interested in. Just bear in mind, that just like any social media channel, blatant self promotion is frowned upon. Go ahead and show your products, employees, offices – just make sure it is engaging, inclusive and interesting to your followers.
2. Go ahead and set-up an account. If you have an account already, set-up another one just for the brand with a different email address. Now, we can start promoting your content. It is paramount that you take good images and that you use the correct hashtag to, well, tag your images to be found in a search.
Begin promoting your images the same way you would any of your other social media channels utilizing Twitter and Facebook profiles. Instagram only exists as a moblie application – there is no website to link back to – but Webstagram and Statigram will complie your content onto a page allowing your audience to follow your account from a web browser. Bonus: Webstagram will let you customize a free Follow Button. Sweet.
3. The next bit of advice is to stop using your camera photo app and start using Instagram instead. Photo content is extremely popular. You should try to snap images and label them with your preconceived hashtags every opportunity you get and share them on all channels. From Instagram, you can even open a feed right into Flickr, Tumblr and Foursquare accounts if you have those set-up. To do so open the Instagram app and go to the Profile tab. Click on the gear icon in the upper righthand corner. Scroll down to Sharing Settings and add each account you need. Presto! Now you’re cookin’.
4. Let’s start aggregating your content! Instagram has an API, which in laymans terms means something cool for us marketers. You can easily pull Instagram pictures and other assets together and display them in different ways. For example, Seventh Generation ran an Instagram contest to take and tag images with #7genbabyfest for prizes.
The results were adorable:
But also warmed my marketing heart because guess what the winners did? They posted again. And of their products. In an interesting way – because it is coming from who? That’s right. Your customers. Love this.
Gathered altogether, we have a micro site with all your hashtagged images and nice brand awareness happening. So get creative. Think about it – Instagram is one part community, one part photography and one part content. Just a few ideas to get your wheels turning:
- Show your products – but remember, in an interesting way. Maybe a ‘behind-the-scenes’ as to how something is made, or hint at something that is in-the-works. We recently snapped an image of the large press sheets of a clients’ viewbook as it came off the printing press. Nordstrom once showed their followers a rare glimpse of their catalog in production.
- Show what your product or service can do. People love to see before and after images and side-by-side comparisons also make compelling stories. Cosmetic retailer Sephora used Instagram to show how one of their beauty products worked with a before and after that was dramatic.
- I eluded to this earlier but it bares repeating – give a sneak peek or hint of something to come to build consumer excitement. Everyone loves a good surprise!
- Show off your space. We noticed that you enjoy seeing images of our office – and that’s cool because we’re quite proud of it! If you are moving your office or renovating, it is fun to show the progressive stages. Sometimes its fun to show a well-decorated cubicle, or a project in-progress tacked to a wall, a co-workers office birthday celebration or even a meeting with clients. Give your audience a glimpse behind the curtain and you will feel more ‘real’ than just a brand or service you provide. Just make sure you stay true to your brand personality – like Zappos the online shoe store is known for being a bit zany. If you work in an accounting firm, perhaps you might want to think twice before getting silly with your portal of life ‘behind-the-scenes’.
- Bring us along! Whenever we travel somewhere – for the day, to a trade show, office outing, event we’re supporting, etc. we take lot’s of Instagram pictures. It helps when your customers can see the event you are aligned with, support and are involved in.
- Meet the staff. We like to get to know who you are and put a face with the name when we call. It makes your company seem more human if we can learn a little bit about everyone in your office.
Well, I hope that gives you a few ideas to get you started. Now get out there and start Instagramming. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
~Amy
