Using Instagram for Business: The Basics
Over a period of three months, I helped manage social media accounts for a startup looking to expand its brand and increase sales. Through my overall experience and analytics, I have discovered several basic methods to help small businesses successfully use a variety of digital vehicles. When attempting to expand a company Instagram specifically, there are 4 important segments to consider: photography, editing, posting, and interactions. My recommendations for using each are as follows:
I. Photography
The quality of the photos you plan to post is important foundation. Taking photos where they can be exposed to daylight is optimal. Morning is the best time to capture a product on camera, when the lighting is bright but neutral. Midday tends to be the worst, because when the sun is high in the sky it creates dark shadows and warmer colors. In my experience, Instagrams that get more traffic include overhead photos with props and photos with a living element - for example, a hand, foot, plant, or animal. Keep in mind that standard Instagrams are eventually cropped into a 1 x 1 dimension, so take photos that can be cropped. Take as many different photos as possible, and make sure the products you are photographing are available for sale on the company website.
II. Editing
When editing photos, use the standard 1 x 1 dimension. A recommended photo editing application is VSCO Cam. Keep the photos natural looking by using a range of 1-3 for exposure (brightness), 1-2 for contrast, 1-2 for saturation, up to 6 for sharpness, and making only minor edits to highlighting and shadows.
III. Posting
When posting photos on Instagram, timing is the most essential factor to consider. Studies show that mid-week has the most user engagement, the best days being Wednesday, Thursday, and Tuesday (in that order). On average, 5 p.m. and 2 a.m. are the best times and 9 a.m. is the worst time to post on Instagram.
Successful Instagram captions generally incorporate puns (humor), educate the consumer on the brand, product, or promotion, or evoke emotion or memories. Similar to Twitter, hashtags are an important way for Instagram users to discover posts. Constantly search for new hashtags that relate to your company image, and post them all in the first comment (so it doesn’t draw attention away from the caption). Be conscious of which pictures you are posting next to eachother. Try to make sure the products are different enough for each other without clashing.
IV. Interactions
A company starting an Instagram should spend at least thirty minutes a day interacting with users. This could entail liking photos, following “on-brand” influencers, or commenting on posts. It is important to conduct crowd work for at least ten minutes after posting an image to draw traffic and get exposure. If users comment on a post, always comment back or try to start a dialogue if possible. This helps build relationships on Instagram. A great website to use to manage an account with a lot of activity is Iconosquare. It has features that allow you to keep track of comments, view your posts with the most impressions, see gained and lost followers, and observe other user engagement statistics. The absolute best way to increase followings in my experience is to be featured on an influential Instagram account or blog. Use hashtags, your connections, and an open dialogue with these individuals to help build your network.