Instagram for Business: Everything You Need to Know

Instagram is a great place to make a name for your brand, and while certain types of businesses (like the fashion and food industries) may find it a lot easier to gain a following than others, social media marketing chicago it's definitely not a social network you should rule out.Before you take on the visual world of Instagram, take the time to learn about the social network, what it does and how to make it work for your brand.Instagram is a mobile photo-sharing app and social network that was created in 2010 by founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. In 2012, Facebook purchased the service for $1 billion, and as of December 2014, Instagram had more than 300 million users, according to the service's blog. And if you're wondering about the name, "Instagram" is a portmanteau of the words "instant" (inspired by instant cameras) and "telegram" according to its FAQ page. Unlike other social networks, Instagram is completely photo/video-centric, so users can post images and short videos (up to 15 seconds), but not text updates like they can on Twitter and Facebook, for example. One of the features that makes Instagram unique is that all photos and videos posted to the app are square, sort of like a Polaroid picture.
This not only inspires a lot of creativity — especially combined with the app's unique photo filters — but social media brand marketing it also gives the app a more streamlined look.If you choose to sign up with your email, you will be prompted to enter a username and password, along with your full name and phone number (both of which are optional). Once you've entered your information, you can select to connect your Instagram to Facebook by choosing "Find Facebook friends to follow," or you can find people to follow based on your phone's contacts. You can also skip both of these options if you'd prefer to set up your account before following others.Once your account is created, you can go to the Profile tab via the button on the bottom right of your screen to add more information to your profile (and, eventually, to see your own posts). Tap the Edit Your Profile button to change your name, username and profile picture, or to add a website and a short biography.

Conduct a Lead Capture Campaign

To capture your potential clients’ email addresses is a common goal when using any form of social media, cost of social media marketing and it is possible to do this using Instagram as well. The best method to attain your followers’ email addresses is by providing something that encourages a user to click on a link that will provide them with something they want. To do this, you can include a link on your bio or any content you share, and which gives the user the option to download a free e-book, or to sign up for your newsletter for example. Once you've downloaded the app, you'll be prompted to either log in or sign up. To sign up, you have two options: You can either connect your Instagram account to Facebook, or you can enter your email if you don't have a Facebook account or prefer to keep your accounts separate. If you sign up with Facebook, your information will be filled in for you, including your name and profile picture, but you'll still be prompted to create a username and password.
! Back in July, Systrom told the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference that he personally reviews every ad submitted to ensure his high-standards are met, define social media marketing but also stated that this is a temporary solution that will eventually change. Why? Because ad space is going to become available to industries that aren’t as well-known as Burberry and PayPal. From time to time I am spot on with my psychic abilities and right now I foresee Instagram releasing a solution for budget-conscious advertisers.Unfortunately, I am not one of the co-founders of Instagram, I do not work for the platform, and I’m not actually a fortune teller (shocking I know), so I have no clue when small to medium businesses will be able to gain ground via advertising on the platform. In the meantime, there are plenty of organic ways you can promote your brand on Instagram and target your audience without spending a dime.Because Instagram is primarily a mobile app, you'll have to download it to your mobile device before you can sign up for an account. Instagram is free in both the Apple App Store and the Google Play store. Currently, there is no way to create a business-specific account, so business and personal accounts are created and function in the same way.

Use Sponsored Ads and Sponsored Posts

The use of Instagram’s sponsored posts and ads have finally become global and are proving very popular. social media marketing best practices Instagram advertising is still in the early stages of availability. Ads are available in 30 second video format, as images, and in carousel format. These adverts are an ideal way to direct consumers to your website or to tell the story of your brand. According to Instagram’s blog, “Our aim is to make any advertisements you see feel as natural to Instagram as photos and videos many of you already enjoy from your favorite brands.” As an avid Instagram user, I’d say they’re doing a pretty great job, and that I’ve actually enjoyed many of the advertisements I’ve seen thus far, like this Old Navy ad below.Not to mention chosen advertisers are seeing a shiny return from these branded Instagram ad campaigns – for example Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream reached a whopping 9.8 million people in the U.S. in just eight days – pretty remarkable. But it’s important to note that these advertisements are “not about ‘direction conversion’ but about branding and sharing the company values with the customers,” according to Joanne Heggie of Flight Centre, an Australian based travel company involved in the trial.
What advertisers should really latch onto is the fact that Instagram uses Facebook’s demographic data to serve up ads to the appropriate parties. how to start a social media marketing business “Facebook helps us provide relevant ads to the users. You don’t want a 50-year-old male who is interested in autos seeing an ad for beauty-care products targeted at teens,” says Systrom. This makes the tool even more valuable for advertisers to target their niche audience because Facebook already has a decent history and thorough demographical background which the users provides when setting up and using the popular social network.But how much do these advertisements costs? The model used is based on CPM’s (cost per impressions) that according to Ad Age, “could put a month-long buy deep into the six figures and verging on seven depending on the reach and frequency sought.So if only hand-picked, world renowned big brand names are making it on Instagram and these ads are costing more than your car then why should you care? Well, that likely will not be the case for long.