www.bootcampdigital.com Business Leader Briefing - Instagram: Is this explosive new social network right for your business? Facts Four billion photos have been taken with the Instagram app and counting. The time to get your Instagram marketing in shape is now or never. How Big Is It? Instagram has gained over 100 million users in the last 2 years, and it gets a new user every second. 300 million photos are uploaded every day to Facebook via Instagram. Bottom Line Instagram is a sharing site. Social media is becoming highly visual. Failing to adapt to this new social network means failing to grow your business. The Business Leader s Guide to Instagram Marketing Several companies are finding incredible success by getting active on Instagram. What is Instagram and how can your business benefit? According to Instagram itself, Instagram is a fast, beautiful, and fun way to share your photos with friends and family. Snap a picture, choose a filter to transform its look and feel, then post to Instagram. Instagram was set up so that users can share it to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr as well encouraging users to share their content in as many forms as possible. This Business Leader Briefing will cover everything you need to know about Instagram: The latest statistics on Instagram How to apply your business and marketing strategy to Instagram How to Manage Content Why You Should Pay Attention to Instagram Instagram has experienced an incredibly fast growth rate, and users are overwhelmingly active. Approximately 58 photos are uploaded to Instagram every minute, and there are 575 likes and 81 comments by Instagram users every second. Remember Traditional Marketing will not work on Instagram Marketing on Instagram is about sharing beautiful photos, not talking about yourself Want to Skip the Report and Get Instant Results?? Go to www.bootcampdigital.com/instagram and we ll provide on- demand, instant online training on how to market your brand successfully on Instagram.
info@bootcampdigital.com How Are You Going to Stand Out? Every brand or business that is active on social media sites wants the same thing to increase their success and spread awareness about their product or service But businesses are forgetting to listen to their customers, and fans are tired of being ignored How are you going to stand out to the consumers you re trying to reach on social sharing sites like Instagram? 2 How Does Instagram Work? Instagram is incredibly easy to join and access is instant and available to everyone! Instagram is basically a mobile platform. Users can download the app for free on their iphone or Android or other smart phone, and then register their Instagram account. Once registered, users take a photo with their mobile phone, and then choose a filter from Instagram through which they can transform the regular photo into a beautiful image. The perfect set- up: Instagram is set up in a way that makes it easy to create beautiful pictures, and to follow people, brands, and topics that you re interested in in. Once you join, you can edit your profile and choose people that you want to follow. They will show up in your newsfeed similar to Facebook Other users can begin following you and seeing the content you post all accounts our automatically public but can be switched to private Instagram has tons of filters you can use to edit your photos, that allow you to change the lighting, contrast, brightness, and more How Effective Can Instagram Be? These facts will show you that Instagram could have a huge impact on branding your business Instagram s main appeal is its photo filter, that allows regular photos taken by users to look like they ve been professionally edited The mobile app now has over 100 million users, even though it only works on ios (Apple) and Android devices The Instagram app launched on Android just this year and had 5 million downloads in 6 days It was able to catch the attention of the most powerful social network in the world Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion in April of 2012 It s a quick way for information to go viral because Instagram uses Hashtags (#) in the same way Twitter does, users can track popular topics and categories on Instagram At this point, you shouldn t be deciding whether or not to get on Instagram you should be focused on how to market successfully on the site!
100 Why It s So Important to Have an Active Instagram Account AAPresence: Instagram has grown so quickly and successfully in the past couple of years that marketers need to start paying as much attention to this photo- sharing site as they do to Facebook and Twitter. Here are some of the ways Instagram can improve your business: Brand Exposure: If the statistics above tell you anything, it s that people love images and they love sharing information visually. Instagram didn t launch until 2010, and it already has over 100 million users and counting. Social media users love looking at images that s why Pinterest is so popular as well. By getting your brand or business active on Instagram, you can share beautiful photos of your products or services with users, without having to waste tons of energy. Brand Support: Over 4 billion photos have been shared on Instagram since October of 2010. When people see something they like, their first instinct is always to share it. And as studies have shown, there are only 2 things we trust when it comes to advertising: people we know and people we don t know. Stop wasting tons of money on television advertisements and billboards. Instead, build a loyal following on Instagram and have them share your information for you. Your Brand or Business Can Go Viral: As with Twitter, Instagram uses Hashtags to track content. A Hashtag is a pound sign (#) placed in front of a category that automatically creates a link. So if you sell shoes, you can hashtag something like #cuteshoes, and anyone searching on Instagram for cute shoes can immediately come to your account and see dozens of beautiful shoe products. 3
info@bootcampdigital.com How Can You Make the Most of Your Presence on Instagram? Remember What It Is For Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the two founders of Instagram, call it a new entertainment platform. But it s not just a photo- sharing service it s a storytelling service. Think of creative ways to tell the story of your business or brand so that Instagram users become easily attached and want to share your story with others. Join the Conversation Think of Instagram as a Cocktail Party. Don t be the loud guy that stands in the corner and just tries to talk about himself the whole night. Pay attention to others, ask them questions, like their photos, and share your opinions and compliments through comments. Marketing on Instagram is about participating. Remember to be Real and Authentic! Engage in conversation, thank your followers, ask them questions Remember to come off as personal and interested in what your customers have to say this isn t at all like traditional advertising Follow users who have interests that are relevant to your brand Always use unique images, and include appealing descriptions Think about the type of photos you d want to share when it comes to working on the account for your brand or business Think visually Instagram users are attracted to color and beauty Some Key Aspects to Instagram Success? Hashtags and Contests! Hashtags: *Hashtags, otherwise known as the # sign, is a way of tracking trending topics and photos on Instagram *For example, if you re an arts & crafts supply store and are uploading a photo of a DIY Christmas wreath, you can put #Christmas in the caption and that hashtag will create a link to your photo. *Anyone searching about Christmas on Instagram will see your picture! *Hashtags should be short, obvious, and intuitive *Benefits include the branding (so others get to know your company) & the ability to track and respond to your most social and loyal customers Contests: Hosting a photo contest on Instagram is a great way to brand your business and build awareness. Ask customers or employees to take photos of your product or service and make the directions and rules clear and easy to understand 4
Marketing Your Brand on Instagram You already have a ton of great reasons to market your business on Instagram: Brand Exposure Brand Advocacy Brand Support Making Your Brand Go Viral These are great benefits, but what really sets Instagram apart from the dozens of other social media sites? Look at the graph below to see why Instagram stands apart from other social media sites As the graph shows you, the number of minutes spent on photo sharing apps from July 2011 to March 2012 greatly increased, and has only continued to do so since. Users in social media are interested in one thing images. People don t want you to tell them, they want you to show them. The human mind reacts much more quickly to photos than to text, and Instagram is the perfect app to help you take advantage of that fact. 5
info@bootcampdigital.com It All Comes Down to the Content Instagram, like most social networks, will be constantly evolving and adding new features. Adapting your marketing strategy will be easy, as long as you remember the key to Instagram - always share content that your followers want to see. Remember: Pay Attention to the Facts *Instagram has over 100 million users. *A new user joins Instagram every single day *When asked how often people take and share photos on their phones, 49% of people said often Social media users are all about visual sharing now. The only way to get their attention is to join them speak to your consumers through appealing images and you ll start seeing results in no time. Bottom Line There are hundreds of success stories of brands getting excellent results and hundreds even thousands of customers from using Instagram. It can work for your business too no matter how big or small your company is. See the page below to find out how you can create an action plan to get results. 6
About the Author: Krista Neher Krista Neher is the CEO of Boot Camp Digital, a bestselling author and an international speaker. As the CEO of Boot Camp Digital Krista has trained thousands of marketers and businesses on how to harness the power of social media to grow their business. Krista has over 10 years of marketing experience and has worked with companies like P&G, Macy s, GE and the United States Senate. Krista is the author of the bestselling Social Media Field Guide and a co- author of a leading textbook titled: Social Media Marketing A Strategic Approach. Krista also created one of the first accredited social media certification programs. www.bootcampdigital.com Get Your Social Media in Shape. Do you want to stay up to date on the latest in social media? Now That You Understand What Instagram Is, Do Something! Want the opportunity to interact with Krista Neher directly and learn how to increase your Instagram Marketing success without leaving your home? Sign up for our October 22 nd online training on Instagram, Infographics, and Images (1:30-3:00 pm EST). We re offering a $10 discount to the first 100 registrants, but spots are running out, so register now to take the first steps towards Instagram marketing success while saving money! www.bootcampdigital.com/instagram Still Have Questions? Contact us: 1600 Main Street, Cincinnati OH, 45202 info@bootcampdigital.com We Have a Program for You! Boot Camp Digital is a training organization with a mission to help businesses stay educated and get results from social media and digital marketing. We have programs for all knowledge levels and business needs: «Live two day Boot Camp in Cincinnati Ohio (quarterly) «Online Boot Camp with over 24 recorded modules to learn at your own pace (available on demand) «Online Membership program (with the latest topics) «Custom corporate training programs www.bootcampdigital.com/training The class was phenomenal! Krista was able to provide step- by- step instruction in how to use social media which tools to use to keep my website content current, how to start a Facebook fan page and how to create a blog. If you are new to social media or if you ve been using social media, you ll learn how to take your social media skills to the next level. I recommend the class to everyone, from small organizations to large; for businesses to non- profits. Everyone at any level will benefit. Amy Foly, Executive Director, NAMI- Clermont County