A picture may be worth a thousand words, but Instagram proves it can be worth a lot more to your brand as well. With over 100 million registered users, the mobile photo-sharing app Instagram is becoming one of the fastest growing social media platforms. In fact, according to the comScore mobile U.S. audience measurement report, Instagram had an average of 7.3 million daily active users, while Twitter’s average remained around 6.8 million.

Instagram Details

• Instagram gains one new user every second
• One billion photos have been taken with the app so far
• The photos in the Instagram have filters used to enhance the photos, and eight out of ten uploaded pictures utilize this feature

How can Instagram be a powerful tool for business? According to social analytics firm Simply Measured, 40 percent of the brands on the Interbrand 100 have an account on the popular mobile photo-sharing service.

Add a Face to Your Business

Use Instagram for visual marketing to show off your products, brand and culture. It’s a good idea to snap photos of any new products, events, or things that would represent your business. Creative photos will give your followers a better visual of your company’s brand. The images tend to create a connection between your company and your customer/follower.
 
 

Utilize the Power of Hashtags

Hashtags (#) place search results into relevant categories and conversations on Instagram’s search feature. For example, a company that deals with technology may include the hashtag #innovativetechnology, or #computers, so people who are searching for photos of technology will stumble across photos that belong to that company. The hashtags can include anything that would pique the interest of your target audience.

Analyze Behavior

Once you create your Instagram account, don’t forget that you are using a social media platform. Analyzing your data is important to help boost your engagement and to recognize if time invested in the service is worthwhile. Analytics can help you identify the best times to post pictures and what pictures attract the most attention. This could really help your brand better understand its potential on the app.

In the end, Instagram is more than a photo-taking tool, it is a way to tell stories for your brand. There are opportunities to expand your business using this platform, and brands would be wise to jump on this band wagon.

About the author

Julia Minchenko

As a people person, Julia pursued a career as an account executive to help build better relationships with clients and solve problems. Her insatiable desire to learn earned her a bachelor’s degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations from Brigham Young University-Idaho. As a native Russian, Julia speaks the language fluently and even knows a sufficient amount of Spanish. When Julia isn’t leading, motivating and helping create momentum for client campaigns, she’s playing and teaching tennis.