Social Media Domination Instagram
Social Media Domination Instagram is now officially the second biggest social network behind Facebook. That is right, it is officially bigger than Twitter!
Despite this, many companies are still not using this amazing tool to its fullest potential, read on to make sure you are not making the same mistake!
How Instagram Works
Like the other social networks, we have looked at, Instagram works in a unique way, has a unique set of features, and uses.
Instagram is a photo sharing app. Unlike Facebook though (which now owns Instagram), the idea here is ‘quality over quantity.’ In other words, users do not upload their entire albums, but instead upload a few arty shots from their holidays or from little moments in their daily lives. When they do so, they will be given the opportunity to apply several different filters to further improve the appearance of their image and they can then write a comment complete with Twitter-style hashtags.
As with Twitter, users can then search for content by hashtag. So, if you are on holiday in Paris, you might take a photo and tag it as ‘#Paris’ and then click that tag to see all the other pictures that different users have uploaded of the city. You can also tag other users in your Instagram pictures – as with Facebook – and you can like the pictures that you see.
Like other social networks, you see pictures from the people you are following in your home feed. Unlike other social networks though, you do not also see content here that our contacts have liked. That said, there is a section to see photos that are ‘popular in your network.’
Either way, in Instagram the main ways to get people to see your content are to have them follow you, or to use the right hashtags.
Instagram for Business
Like Pinterest, Instagram is very well suited to particularly ‘visual’ businesses. If you make clothes, or cakes, or you sell holidays, then you will have no difficulty finding content.
Again though, for everyone else, the secret is to look at the lifestyle behind your business and your niche. This might mean you are adding pictures of people working out again, or it might mean images of inspirational small businesses. Either way, you want your images to sell your value proposition in artistic and attractive ways.
As with Twitter, Instagram can also provide a handy way for people to get some insight into your business and to better understand how you operate. This means you might like to upload a picture of your office, or of your desk. You can get followers excited for an upcoming YouTube video for instance by showing a screenshot of your editing process, or of your camera and lighting set-up.
And though Facebook owns Instagram, it still has a little more cooperation with Twitter and the two work very well together. You can choose to share your Instagram posts to Twitter and when you do, they will have the same text and a link to the image.
This is an effective way to cross pollinate your Twitter and Instagram audiences and to conveniently add a visual element to your Twitter account. The other important thing about Instagram and Twitter alike, is that you can quickly upload a photo or a post in minutes on your mobile phone and thereby ensure a stream of updated content.
For your hashtags, you want to choose things that relate to your niche of course. At the same time, the objective should be to use things that lots of people will be looking for, but that will not have that much content yet.
So #sunset might be a bad choice because there are millions of photos with that hashtag, and you will be drowned instantly in content. On the other hand, though, something like #twilight or #goldenlight might well get a lot of searches but not disappear quite so quickly.
Finally, note that you can use Instagram as a fantastic way to run promotions and events and even to network in real life. For instance, if you run a high-street store, then why not get your customers to pose in your shop for a photo and then tag them in it?
There is a good chance that they will follow you in return! If you are at a networking event for marketers or bloggers meanwhile, then you could find someone there who is a big influencer then get a photo with them to upload and tag you both in – this could lead to exposure to a large audience!
Social Media Domination
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Best Wishes, Coyalita
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