There are 300 million monthly active users on Instagram. 300. MILLION. That's just 20 million shy of the entire population of the United States of America.
Originally starting out as an iPhone only app in 2010, Instagram has grown into one the most popular social media apps in the world. Need some more facts to prove Instagram's appeal? Let me drop some knowledge on you:
I think that's enough, right?
The bottom line is this: Instagram is here to stay, and it's quickly becoming the most popular social media website out there.
Instagram can help your business propel sales and spur interest in your product like never before! Check out some of the easy to follow tips below to get started with Instagram.
Instagram is a fantastic place for brands to show off their fun, interesting, and human sides. Oftentimes, a business is seen as an entity rather than a place with human beings working for it. With Instagram, you can post fun pictures, and behind-the-scenes photos to let customers know you're more than just an emotionless corporation!
Hashtags are what social media users use to tag their photos, so other people can find them. For example, using the hashtag #selfie, comes up with millions of results of photos that have been posted by users who have used that hashtag. Businesses can use this to implement branding campaigns, such as Coca-Cola’s #ShareACoke, to get users involved and interested in what they’re promoting!
No one likes over-edited photos; it’s a big turnoff for social media users. Over editing can mean adding the wrong filter to a photo, cropping a pic unusually, adding a lot of text over the photo, or making the brightness and contrast blown out to extreme degrees. Likewise, make sure to upload high quality photos. Low-resolution pics can also turn people away from your business. It's all about pretty and clean pics on Instagram!
Cross-posting is when you share the same content on multiple social media sites. Instagram makes it really easy to share your photos on places like Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr, increasing the reach of your post, and preventing wasted time trying to post your content on a separate social website. Check out our previous post about connecting your Facebook and Instagram accounts!
Consumers LOVE free stuff (I mean, who doesn't?) Instagram is a great place to post social media contests. Not only does this get people interested and invested in your brand, it also helps spread the word to other users who may not have heard of your business yet. Using hashtags, re-posting pictures, and tagging friends in the comment section under your pics are all great ways to get consumers involved in your Instagram contest.
Instagram is awesome, and your company should seriously consider using it in your social media strategy!
Contributor Caleb Hennington is a 23-year-old writer, who manages the Atwill Media and FGmarket blogs. He graduated from Arkansas State University in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in journalism.
When not writing, Caleb enjoys camping, running, collecting comic books, and binge-watching shows on Netflix.