How to maximize your brand on Instagram

June 1, 2016 CONRIC PR

If you haven’t implemented Instagram as part of your social media strategy, you’re missing out. Instagram has a large appeal to the general public, since its both visual and easy to use. Additionally, there are no separate business pages or fan pages (unlike Facebook) which means that you and your brand can interact with more people. With all the benefits of Instagram, it’s hard to resist jumping on that bandwagon! In fact, this company may be the next to join the masses…

“Social media is something you have to do. If you’re not doing it, you get left behind,” says Seth Hill, former pro-snowboarder, now action sports videographer and filmmaker. Instagram has been instrumental in enabling Hill to maintain and expand his fan base, helping him launch his new career and attract sponsors and clients, such as Monster Energy Drink.

How can you find success on Instagram? Thanks to an article on USA Today by Rhonda Abrams, we’re able to provide you with 8 tried and true methods for making your Instagram as successful as your business is.

  • Find a niche. Instagram users are passionate, typically more passionate than other social media participants. But only if you have a clearly identified interest. Avoid general topics — food, sports, fashion. Instead, focus on a niche: vegan, marathon running, maternity clothes.
  • Use hashtags. People search with hashtags. Hashtags help people find you. Use #maternityclothes or #veganrecipes. When you’re first starting, use hashtags to find influencers to follow. You’ll stay abreast of your market and industry, and many people will often follow you back, helping you build a following.
  • Interact with influencers. On Instagram, users are involved with people they follow. If you have “influencers” who love your products or services, leverage their reach and impact. For example, when Dermarché Labs, a skincare company that makes an “instant facelift” mask, teamed up two popular lifestyle blogs, Pink Peonies and Hello Fashion Blog, Dermarché saw an almost immediate 50% jump in sales at the beauty chain Sephora.
  • Time your posts. “The biggest thing I’ve noticed to doing well on Instagram is timing,” Hill said. “It doesn’t really matter what the photo is. If I hit it at the right time, I get more likes. I could post exactly the same photo at different times of the week and get 75 likes or 150.” Hill tends to post before 9 a.m. on weekdays, when people are checking their phones before they go to work.
  • Post regularly. “Post at least once a day to build a following,” Hill said. “That shows you’re always active. You don’t necessarily have to be posting what you’re doing at that very moment. You can post a pic from another day. It doesn’t have to always be live.”
  • Keep it interesting and on topic. When followers visit your account, they see your six most recent pictures. “Rotate those pictures to keep them interesting,” Hill said. “If three of those are of my girlfriend, people won’t follow.”
  • Use video. “Video does really well,” Hill said. According to Instagram, users’ video consumption has increased by 40% in the past six months. The site recently increased its video length limit from 15 seconds to one minute.
  • Don’t get too hung up numbers. “If I post a photo that is more brand-oriented, like a snowboard or outfit from one of my sponsors, that gets fewer likes. But it’s definitely being seen,” Hill said. “It gets the same number of eyes. It shows up in my followers’ feeds.”

To join Instagram, grab your phone, download the app and sign up with a username that is applicable to your business. Next, take a picture of something related to your company. Add a hashtag. Post. Congratulations! You’re on Instagram.

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