Brands targeting teen-agers and 20 somethings would be well advised to seriously consider Instagram.
With 300 million monthly active users, the Facebook-owned photo- and video sharing app is extremely popular among young people. Instagram is used by 41 percent of 16 to 24 year olds and 35 percent 24 to 34 year olds. It also enjoys high engagement rates, according to Econsultancy. The average post engagement rate for the top 25 brands is 3.31 percent on Instagram compared to 0.07 percent on Twitter.
Marketers targeting the millennial demographic may also wish to consider Vine, a similar video-sharing app also popular among young people. However, Vine has a smaller user base, 40 million users. Instagram’s time limit is longer — 15 seconds compared to Vine’s six seconds, allowing more time for creativity, promoting messages and, most importantly, storytelling. Instagram also has filters and better tools such as editing, integration, and cover image selection.
Tips for Instagram Marketing
Following these tips can help brands market and build followings on Instagram.
Engage. As with social networks in general, engagement is vital on Instagram. Marketers can build audiences by commenting and sharing videos, encouraging users to make videos for their brand, and running competitions for their audience.
Make a series. If one video becomes popular, viewers may look at others in a series. However, each video should be able to stand on its own. Producing a video series at once can save time and money, but uploading the videos over several days or weeks, rather than all at once, will create variety and build anticipation.
Create exclusive content. Some brands shorten their previous YouTube videos or broadcast ads. But why would anyone follow an organization that merely recycles content from another network?
Place a link in your profile. The profile is the only place you can place a link on Instagram. But there’s no limit on how often you can change the link. You can change the link depending on your current marketing campaign to a custom landing page, product page or lead generation page. Because Google Analytics reports mobile traffic from Instagram as direct traffic, insert a trackable link.
Michael Kors shows its products in context on Instragram. Photo via Social Media Examiner
Showcase products in context. Portraying your product in its natural environment while being used by customers will draw more interest. If you’re promoting a service, you can upload photos and videos of employees in action, customer interactions, or other actions such as people navigating your website.
Use hashtags. Hashtags attract people searching hashtag topics. A guideline is to insert up to seven hashtags, including hashtags you’ve created for your brand or current promotions. Including trending hashtags can draw additional views.
Try text overlays. Adding text overlays on images can add style and convey your message. You can use tools like Photoshop or PowerPoint or websites like Canva or PicMonkey to create text overlays on images before uploading them.
Bottom Line: Instagram can be a valuable channel for marketers targeting consumers in their teens and 20s. Following these tips from social media marketing experts can help marketers grow their Instagram followers and get their branded images and video in front of more millennials.
Other Articles
How brands can be Brilliant at Instagram Video
Econsultancy
5 Ways to Improve Your Instagram Marketing
Social Media Examiner
5 Simple & Effective Instagram Marketing Tips for Businesses
Business 2 Community
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
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