Hands up if you don’t carry your mobile phone pretty much everywhere, and hands up if your phone doesn’t have a camera, bet that’s not many hands up…… These days most of us have access to a camera at all times, we take pictures of our family, friends, pets, food and drink, scenery, signs, things we like, things we hate, our life is recorded in photos! This week I’ve noticed a heap of my facebook friends have signed up on Instagram, and it’s fun to connect and see their photos, but here’s a question, are you using Instagram for your business yet, and if not, why not?
Three reasons why you should be:
- Since launching in 2010 Instagram has gained over 200 million users, that’s a big audience for you to harness
- Instagram has seen the fastest growth, most engagement, and highest conversion from browser to shopper
- Instagram beats Facebook for social marketing – Read this article that talks about audience engagement rate across Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Instagram
My top five tips of how to get started with Instagram for your business:
- Get acquainted. The Instagram for Business blog is a great resource.
- Like all your social platforms write a stonking bio that tells people not just about you, but more importantly how you can help them, remember the key to your “bio” or “about you”, is that it’s very rarely actually about you!
- Don’t forget a photo! After all it’s Instagram….. Plus nothing says spammer more than the default profile picture and that’s the same for all social platforms. As an aside, to help build your brand try to keep your profile photo the same across all your blogs, websites and social accounts. Invest in some professional head shots, it’s well worth it.
- Mix it up a bit, use a variety of photos. Don’t just post about business, if you’re a retailer don’t just post photos of your products, if you’re a restaurant don’t just post photos of the food you create. Share some personal photos too, (not that personal!) Remember people like to do business with people they know and like so give a little of yourself.
- Don’t forget the Hashtags.In this article Dan Zarella explains the importance of the hashtag.
You can follow me on Instagram HERE.
