5 Ways to Build Your Brand on Instagram

Instagram is billed as the fun and quirky way to share photos, but don’t let it’s playful exterior fool you. Underneath is a powerful marketing machine if harnessed correctly.

Instagram’s popularity is growing everyday as the site currently hosts 130 million monthly active users with 45 million photos and one billion likes shared per day.

The high user engagement provides a great and easy platform for businesses to put a face to their brand and build customer relationships by simply snapping and uploading a photo.

However to be as successful as possible, here’s a few tricks to keep in mind.

1. #Hashtag It

There’s no easier way to reach out to users than to include hashtags on posts. By using the # symbol followed by a word or phrase, Instagram groups posts into categories and topics that can easily be searched for by users.

Hashtags help brands enter the conversation and get a little free marketing, but make sure to use both brand-specific as well as generic hashtags to reach as wide an audience as possible.

Not sure what hashtag to use? No worries, it’s insanely easy to track hashtags that are trending by using websites like webstagram that stream feeds of the most popular hashtags.

2. Get Personal

Expanding a brand or company into Instagram doesn’t mean every post has to be promotional.  In fact it shouldn’t be.

Instagram offers a unique platform to give consumers a snapshot of the behind-the-scenes workings of a company, or even a peak into the day-to-day lives of its employees.

When users get an inside look at what a brand is about, is allows the business to connect with customers on a personal level by adding a human element that ensures users feel connected to more than just a company.

3. A Photo A Day

A popular method for niche companies to gain Instagram exposure is by posting “A Photo A Day” calendars at the start of a month.

Each day of the month has new topic that can be related to the company’s industry and users are asked to post a photo a day for each topic.

Take it a step further by incorporating a contest or giveaway as part of the challenge to help users stay engaged for the duration of the month.

4. Host Contests

For businesses just starting out on Instagram or ones that already have garnered a following, photo contests offer a great way to boost attention for a brand’s Instagram profile.

Many companies offer giveaway contests by asking users to post entries with a specific hashtag or mention the company’s Instagram username so entries can be easily tracked and followed.

A good tip is to give the contest some time and keep users engaged by choosing the best photo from the day or the one with the most likes to feature and spread the word about the contest.

5. Cross Platform Sharing

Not all of a company’s target audience will be on Instagram but they may be on Facebook or Twitter.

By using Instagram’s API companies can link it’s Instagram feed to other social platforms increasing brand visibility and expanding to a wider audience base.

As long as your Instagram feed is regularly updated, linking to other social channels can be extremely beneficial as it provides a constant source of fresh and unique media content for users to interact with.

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