Best Practices for Brands and Businesses on Instagram

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for Business
Best Practices for Promoting a Brand

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THE PUBLIC USES INSTAGRAM, BUT DO
BRANDS?• Instagram currently has over 130 Million Active Monthly users
• The rapid growth in popularity proves it has the influence and social presence to match Facebook and Twitter
Popularity
• 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

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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
• The end result is that someone with a smartphone must do all of the content creation for an Instagram account
• This can be done by taking pictures within the Instagram App on the phone
• Or pictures and custom images can be sent to a phone via Email, Dropbox or other file sharing method
– The image can them 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
BUT this does not mean that Instagram should not be utilized by Brands!
The Basics

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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 it’s message & culture
The Basics

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GETTING STARTED
• Brands need to establish what the goal and purpose their Instagram account will be
• Do they want to drastically increase followers?
• Are they looking for engagement, conversation and retainment?
• The strategy needs to be appropriate so that the Churn Rate is minimal
• Churn Rate is the rate at which people unfollow the account
• A combination of a large following that engages in constant, valuable conversation is key
• However obtaining both goals can be difficult!
• 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.
The Basics

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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
• 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
• 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
The Basics
@USinterior Showcases America’s Great Outdoors

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BEST PRACTICES TO SPUR ENGAGEMENT
• Posts need to be appropriately timed and should be spread throughout the day
• Instagram is a live feed
• The moment 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
– Many people will find this to be an annoyance and feel like they are being spammed
– Followers will skip over these pictures, creating lost engagement
• Followers are likely to unfollow the account if posts are poorly timed
The Basics
Sailing the Seven Seas with @Maerskline @oscarprgirl Fall Campaign Exclusive

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ENGAGE WITH FOLLOWERS
• Brands need to ensure that their followers feel like there is an actual person behind the handle
• Social platforms are a Two Way street, there needs to be constant interaction between the brand and its
followers
• The best ways to do this are:
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
The Basics

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ENGAGE WITH FOLLOWERS
3. Like Follower’s Photos
• Like content of those that the brand’s account follows
• 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 other to upload content in the hopes
that their photos will be reposted
The Basics

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UTILIZE HASHTAGS AND
LOCATION• 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
• Brands need to be careful when implementing multiple hashtags
• Instagram can show the location from which content is uploaded or where the pictures were taken
• Geotagging can give customers store and event locations
• Content featuring products, store features and giveaways should be tagged to drive people to these locations
• Encourage users uploading content to tag the location that they took the pictures
The Basics

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HARNESSING THE POWER OF INSTAGRAM
VIDEO• Brands need to realize the power and effectiveness of customer-created content
• In order to harness consumer generated videos, Brands must change their approach
• Customers and consumers are experienced enough with social apps to create good content
• The quality may not be “professional” but it will seem more authentic
• Giving people context will help drive meaning full videos
• 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.
Instagram Video
Video Highlights: Fashion
from @marcjacobsintl @topshop & @michaelkors
Video Highlights: News
from @nbcnewscrew @aykutu @edouphoto
& @bakerbk

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UTILIZING INSTAGRAM’S VIDEO
FEATURE
• Instagram’s new video feature is another great visual tool to utilize
• 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
• Videos should not be posted simply because this feature is available
• Videos take extra time to create and to watch
• Video must be relevant and interesting
• Pointless videos are useless
Instagram Video

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USING INSTAGRAM TO RUN CONTESTS
• Instagram can be a valuable tool for running social photo contests
• Contests can help 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
Photo Contests
Material Girl #IHeartMG Contest Petco #SummerPets Contest Post-It #SmileWithPostIt Contest

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Great Brands to Follow

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Brands Using Instagram Video Well

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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
Instagram For Business Blog

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