social media marketing, instagram, small business, social media, instagram audience

Social Media Marketing: 4 Things Your Business Should Know About Instagram

I’ve been reading Gary Vaynerchuk’s book on social media marketing, “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook,” and outlining guides to each social platform. Next up is Instagram, the land of photo filters and endless pictures of airplane wings.

Should your business be on Instagram? If yes, then here are some tips to creating the best content and connecting with your Instagram audience.

Screen Shot 2015-11-23 at 12.45.17 PM1. Think “Artsy”

Instagram users have high expectations for content quality. They want creative and aesthetically pleasing photos and videos, not an ad for your upcoming sales promotion. Artistic content will always win out over commercial communication on Instagram. Go for that slightly odd camera angle, don’t shy away from using a high quality camera, and most importantly, find ways to tell your business’ story in a beautiful way.

2. Embrace HashtagsScreen Shot 2015-11-23 at 1.08.15 PM

Hashtags on Instagram, while serving the same technical purpose, are used very differently than on Twitter. The tone of Instagram is usually less ironic and humorous, so hashtags actually tend to be more informative, straightforward and useful. Hashtags make your picture searchable, and don’t need to be in the photo caption to work. You can make a comment with as many descriptive hashtags as your heart desires, and they will still connect people back to that photo.

3. Understand the limitations

Instagram tries its hardest to keep users within the platform. This means that links to external sites in photo captions don’t work, but it doesn’t mean you can never capitalize on a hyperlink. For example, posting a link in your page’s bio section and then including “Link in bio,” in the photo caption is a popular work-around.

Video is also a bit tricky because Instagram currently only allows you to upload one video at a time. If you want to make edits or use multiple clips, you have to use an outside program before uploading the final video file to Instagram.

Screen Shot 2015-11-23 at 1.17.14 PM4. Consider aiming for the “Instagram Generation”

It’s no secret that Instagram has a primarily younger audience. The platform presents an opportunity to speak their language and win over the next generation of consumers.

 

 

In the comments, let me know about a time you’ve landed a right hook using Instagram!

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Comments 1

  1. My parents own a business and have been working with a business development company who says they should get on instagram. They want me to help them with their social media, but instagram has never been my forte. However, I like that you said that it’s all about making things look aesthetically pleasing. We’ll see how artsy I can get! Thanks for the info!

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