In the past few years, Instagram has hit the waves as the next big thing.
It was first noted by teenagers and college students as a way to connect quickly with friends through photos.
In fact, Andrew Watts wrote in A Teenager’s View on Social Media:
Instagram is by far the most used social media outlet for my age group. Please note the verbiage there—it is the most used social media outlet.
And, just like other social media tools, it soon was noticed in professional circles and Instagram for business became the next big thing.
It is, hands down, one of the best ways to humanize an organization.
Instagram has 800 million users—and they aren’t all teenagers. Nor are they all big brands. On the contrary, self-employed artists, small businesses and even software as service organizations are having success with the social network.
And, here’s the good news: you don’t have to have a visual product to have success with your business on Instagram.
Instagram is a great way to promote your brand, connect the physical world with the online world and launch a new product or service.
What you use—and how you use it—will depend on your goals and your organization.
For instance, if you have employees spread across several countries and in many different time zones, perhaps your goal is to connect them with one another and build morale and culture.
In that case, one of your Instagram for business strategies may include giving the account keys to a new employee every week and have them take photos of a “week in the life” to engage other employees—places they eat, meetings they attend, set-up of their office and more.
On the flip side, if you’re a clothing manufacturer, it could be fun to have people post photos of themselves wearing your clothes in their own environments.
If you’ve been thinking about using Instagram for business, you’re in luck!
Instagram started the Instagram for Business blog to provide you with tips, brand spotlights, API examples, and news.
It’s chock full of ideas to help you excel—and it’s not just “take photos of your product.”
Au contraire!
You can find ideas such as:
The challenge, of course, is it’s a visual social media.
Which means you do have to use photos and videos.
But don’t despair! It’s not as challenging as one might think.
Visuals are the main currency of Instagram.
When you use Instagram for business, you want to consider sharing compelling content your followers won’t be able to find anywhere.
Think about the kind of visuals you like—subject, quality, backgrounds, ideas—and try to replicate that with the photos you share on your account.
Worried you won’t have something visually compelling to share?
Think about the following business opportunities to snap photos with your phone and upload directly to your Instagram for business page:
Encourage your team to get involved in submitting images, and your Instagram business page will grow in popularity.
A visual social media report from WebDam found that 60 percent of the top brands on Instagram use the same filter for every post.
This allow you to establish a style that becomes recognizable to your followers.
Your first goal is to get Instagram users to stop scrolling when they get to your image.
They should like or comments, which means your visuals should be compelling and recognizable.
Instagram Stories let you string together multiple pictures and videos into a “story” that disappears after 24 hours, similar to Snapchat.
Though it feels a little intimidating, there is a lot of upside to using Instagram Stories.
First, it does disappear after 24 hours so, if you screw something up or don’t like the lighting, it’s not permanent.
That, alone, makes it a risk-free endeavor when using Instagram for business.
That said, just because Instagram Stories don’t stick around forever, doesn’t mean they don’t require some thought and planning.
While many people will post at random, brands should think about their Instagram Story as they would any other content channel: ahead of time.
Consider treating your Story like a TV network with scheduled programming for the week, or even recurring “episodes” that happen on certain days.
Thinking in advance about what kind of content you’ll be sharing and how your Story flows helps you craft a more addictive and consistent experience for your viewers.
BarkBox, a monthly subscription box service for dog toys, treats, and goodies, has fun with their Instagram Stories.
They often post clips from “doggie interviews” between an employee and a pug.
Think about how you can program your own Instagram Stories.
Is it with interviews between a mascot and an employee? Or by highlighting the activities your employees do outside of work? Or a behind-the-scenes look at how your product is made?
Whatever you decide, think about it as a series that flows together and ends with a season closer.
Like Facebook or Twitter, you can use a hashtag on Instagram that will help you attract new followers.
A hashtag provides an easy way to search similar topics for people who are interested in what you’re posting.
You should familiarize yourself with a few broad popular hashtags—#throwbackthursday or #TBT, #ootd (Outfit of the Day) or #selfie—and category-specific ones that apply to your business.
#TBT, of course, has evolved from Instagram to the other social networks, and millions of people participate every Thursday.
You can piggyback on something like that or create your own and let others use yours.
The goal is to gain new followers who might eventually buy from you.
Using a hashtag is one of the easiest ways for them to find you via your Instagram business page.
Contests can be a fabulous way to gain more followers and engagement on Instagram, provided you follow the rules and terms of service.
It can be pretty scary to set up a contest only to have your page removed for not following the rules.
Note that it should be stated that contests are not sponsored by Instagram and that the platform does not help brands and businesses administer contests.
To execute a law-abiding Instagram contest, you should do the following:
Though that list seems a little daunting, it won’t take you long to write down your expectations.
It could be worth the time because your followers, impressions and engagement may increase.
And, if done well, so will your sales.
Perhaps there is an influencer in your industry who is willing to do an Instagram takeover with you.
This means they will run your Instagram business page for a day—or a couple of hours.
If you decide you want to do that, there are a few things you’ll want to consider:
Of course, increased followers, engagement and impressions are nice, but where the real pedal meets the metal is whether your efforts drive business results.
So how do you know if Instagram is actually affecting your sales?
There are several platforms to help you track effectiveness.
And there you have it!
The complete guide to using Instagram for business.
Now go forth and prosper.
A version of this first appeared on OpenForum.
Gini Dietrich is the founder, CEO, and author of Spin Sucks, host of the Spin Sucks podcast, and author of Spin Sucks (the book). She is the creator of the PESO Model and has crafted a certification for it in partnership with Syracuse University. She has run and grown an agency for the past 15 years. She is co-author of Marketing in the Round, co-host of Inside PR, and co-host of The Agency Leadership podcast.