Is your company on Instagram? Beyond reports that teens are leaving Facebook for Instagram, there’s a new reason to pay attention to the photo-sharing app.
Results of a study shared by VentureBeat indicated that brands on Instagram had nearly three times the increase in fan/follower engagement of that on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ in 2013. U.S. brands also saw a 1.5 to 5 percent increase in revenue from engaging on Instagram, however, the article didn’t explain how companies calculated revenue generated via the app.
So, should your company or product be active on Instagram? Whether you’re considering giving your company or product a presence on Instagram and other platforms, or simply looking to maximize your current social media efforts, NST has the following advice:
- Join the conversation: If you think by staying off of social media your brand isn’t being discussed, you’re wrong. Monitor what’s being said in social media because the conversations are happening.
- Put in the time: If your company decides to engage on one or more platforms, be sure your team can spend the time creating engaging content. Lack of content and/or poor content doesn’t do your brand or your customers any good.
- Where are your customers?: Don’t create a presence on a platform before knowing where your customers are. Spending time and money creating great Instagram content may not be worthwhile if your target audience isn’t on the platform.
- Do your research: What content will be the most engaging? What’s the best way to use hashtags? What are the best ways to conduct giveaways? Social media platform rules are always changing, so its important to stay up to date.
- Try, fail, try again, win: Not every post will be a hit. Have patience and be creative. Some of the biggest social media wins happen when a company tries something daring and new, so don’t be afraid to fail.
- Develop a thorough plan: Social media engagement shouldn’t be an afterthought. NST team members help our clients think strategically so the stories they tell on social media support the company’s overall communications objectives.
If you have questions about the best way to engage with your customers on Instagram or other social media platforms, NST is here to help!
