You already know the basics of Instagram from our post Instagram for Business 101. Now it is time to make it work to your best advantage for your business. If there are two things people love right now, it is simple photos and smartphones. Let it work for you.
Link it Up
One thing we need to focus on is integrating Facebook and Twitter into your Instagram. This will make your life much easier. One thing to keep in mind is that Facebook owns Instagram. We can start with that one.
Here are a few simple steps for connecting your Instagram to your timeline.
iPhone/Android
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Go to your profile
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Tap in the upper-right corner
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Tap Share Settings
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Tap Facebook and connect using your Facebook login info
If you are using something other than Facebook, such as Twitter, the steps are just as easy
Twitter/Other
iPhone/Android
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Go to your profile
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Tap in the upper-right corner
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Tap Sharing Settings
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Select a third-party service in order to log in and connect
Now you're all synced up! You can also use Twitter and Facebook promotions to get more views, now that you are linked up.
Read more about linking accounts here.
Use Video
Instagram recently added a new video feature. This is big news! You can upload 15 seconds worth of video. This isn't much, but think of Vine without the looping.
Here's some ideas:
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You can film your products, but an even better angle would be showing customers using your products! After you get this down, you can even ask people to submit their own videos
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You can use this to give a glimpse behind the scenes. Highlight your employees and show them at work.
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Make a video contest, this would also be a great way to get videos of customers using your product like we mentioned above.
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Don't forget your hashtags!
You can also embed video on your blog or website. This is incredibly easy. You just have to click share on the video you want to add, and it will generate an embed code. Add it to your blog or website and you're done!
Read more about videos here.
Following
You need to focus more on being apart of the Instagram community than selling a product. This is the key to being successful on social media. This constantly comes up, but the most important aspect is content.
Posting photos: Who to Highlight
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Customers
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Employees
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Products and services
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Contests
We covered all of this in Business 101. So refer to that as a refresher. The best thing to think of is what will inspire your customers? What do they want to see? Or better yet, what would you want to see posted on your social media?
Engage
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You need to make friends to get followers. This means that you need to participate in the community!
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Like photos that others posts
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Follow back your followers
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Use current trends as if they were a marketing plan. Make sure it ties into your business though, and do not try to take advantage of disasters or bad news.
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Balance fun pictures with business pictures. You would never want to be friends with a company that just produced spam, why would your customers?
Apps
Take advantage of apps! Some can be really helpful for your business. Here are a few to keep in mind.
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Nitrogram: There is a free trial, but you do have to pay for this one. It may be worth it, though. This will included detailed analytics of your Instagram account, a social CRM, and a chance to make photo contests.
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Statigram: This helps you analyze your Instagram through statistics and engagement .
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Ink361: This allows you to manage your account on the web vs mobile.
Find more great apps for your business here.
So you know the basics of Instagram and now you know how to use it to your best advantage. Keep those photos coming!
For more information on on managing your social media, contact a Blue Archer Professional.
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