Spring officially began this past weekend and many of us are on spring break this week. Hopefully it’s beginning to feel warmer where you are! Spring offers the possibility of something new. Why not take this opportunity to learn a new social channel: Instagram!
I know, Instagram isn’t necessarily a new channel. But for many, Instagram can seem overwhelming. But before you write it off, here’s why you should be on Instagram: Instagram offers a fun way to showcase your brand visually. In 2015, Instagram had over 300 million users sharing over 60 million photos a day!
It is also more popular than either Facebook or Twitter for people under 30, so it is a great place to get your brand in front of younger audiences.
So what is Instagram?
Instagram is a social network based primarily around photos and other visual content. Your followers see a newsfeed in chronological order based on when content was posted. You can post photos, memes, and inspirational messages and apply “filters” on them to make them look more fun or artistic.
Like Twitter, hashtags are important on Instagram. Hashtags ensure that people other than your followers see your posts. Hashtags allow you to join in conversations that are already going on via Instagram. Unlike Twitter, you can and will want to use multiple hashtags – as many as 8-12 per post!
Here’s an example from the Weaving Influence Instagram account last week.
Tagging the post with #art #leadership #management #coloringbook #rest #leaders and #creativity ensured that people who were interested in any of those topics would also see our picture – and hopefully our blog post!
That brings up another point – you can and should use Instagram to promote your blog posts… but since Instagram is primarily visual, it’s not the best place for links.
So where should you start?
Instagram is all about fun and creativity. The best way to learn is to start! Create an account. Take a picture. Upload and apply a filter. Add some hashtags. And you’re off! It really is that simple.
Take some time this week and create an account for yourself or for your brand. Have fun with it!
While you’re at it – follow Weaving Influence on Instagram at @weavinginfluence!
Main Photo Credit: 123rf/rflsoft
Photo With Blog: Weaving Influence
Stephanie completed her masters in public relations and corporate communications at Georgetown University in 2015. She lives outside Washington, DC with her two dogs.