Do you think your brand should be using Instagram? Watch this presentation to help you learn more about this social platform.

1. for Business
Best Practices for Promoting a Brand
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2. 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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3. THE BASICS
UPLOADING CONTENT TO INSTAGRAM IS DIFFICULT
 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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4. THE BASICS
BUT this does not mean that
Instagram should not be utilized by brands!
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5. THE BASICS
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
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6. THE BASICS
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
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7. THE BASICS
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.
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8. THE BASICS
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
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9. THE BASICS
BEST PRACTICES TO SPUR ENGAGEMENT

Posts need to be appropriately timed and should be spread throughout the day


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


Instagram is a live feed
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
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10. THE BASICS
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
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11. THE BASICS
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
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12. THE BASICS
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
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13. THE BASICS
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
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14. INSTAGRAM VIDEO
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


Giving people context will help drive meaningful videos


The quality may not be “professional” but it will seem more authentic
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.
Video Highlights: Fashion
from @marcjacobsintl @topshop & @michaelkors
Video Highlights: News
from @nbcnewscrew @aykutu @edouphoto
& @bakerbk
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15. INSTAGRAM VIDEO
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
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16. PHOTO CONTESTS
USING INSTAGRAM TO RUN 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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17. GREAT BRANDS TO FOLLOW
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18. THE BEST BRANDS USING INSTAGRAM VIDEO
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19. INSTAGRAM FOR BUSINESS BLOG
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
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20. FURTHER READING
SOURCES AND FURTHER
READING

http://business.instagram.com/blog/

http://instagram-business.tumblr.com/post/29441248656/instagram-best-practices-to-see-moretips-and

http://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-best-practices-brands/
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http://insights.wired.com/profiles/blogs/instagram-best-practices-forbusinesses#axzz2Zo1YBKE8

http://socialmediatoday.com/sendible/1075136/7-tips-using-instagram-business
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http://simplymeasured.com/blog/2013/07/03/which-brands-are-winning-with-instagram-video/

http://allfacebook.com/simply-measured-instagram-study_b111108
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http://www.businessinsider.com/these-brands-are-doing-amazing-things-with-instagram-20126?op=1
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http://www.reelseo.com/brands-encourage-usergenerated-video-content-spread-word/
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http://digiday.com/brands/15-stats-brands-should-know-about-instagram/
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http://mashable.com/2013/09/30/fortune-500-instagram/http://statigr.am/instagram-contest-toolkit
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http://50.nitrogr.am/
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http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2283737/Instagram-Video-How-Brands-are-Using-Their-15Seconds

http://help.instagram.com/532250740121758
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