Are you ready to start marketing with Instagram and need an introductory, step by step guide? You’ve come to the right place! Instagram, the smartphone application that allows you to take, filter and share photos on the go, is gaining attention after being acquired by Facebook on April 9th. Facebook’s purchase has created high expectations of the value of the mobile photo sharing trend. We’ll introduce you to Instagram step by step so you can take advantage of this rising trend today!
Download the App. First things first. Instagram is a smartphone application, available only on iPhone and Android devices. Blackberry users take notice: if you want to use Instagram, you’ll have to switch phones, or sucker someone into letting you borrow theirs.
you’re already connected to on your social networks. To do this, click the bottom left icon on your screen (circled in the image to the right), and then click ‘Find friends’.
If you choose to apply the filter after you’ve taken the photo, you’ll just scroll over the different filters and when you’ve settled on one you like, select the green check mark to finalize it. In the image below, I’m about to select the ‘Nashville’ filter for a photo I’ve already taken.
Image: Jessica Zollman/Creative Commons
photos – share them with your other social networks! Once you’ve taken a photo, caption it and then choose where you want to share it. (In the screenshot to the right, this photo will be shared to both Twitter and Facebook.) Some brands share all their Instagram photos with their social networks, and some may choose to share a maximum of one Instagram a day. It’s all up to you and how much you feel comfortable sharing with your audience.
- Now that you’ve started following your social connections, view your Feed and ‘like’ pictures that catch your eye and add comments when appropriate. People love to receive positive feedback on the pictures they share.
- Hashtag your captions.
Instagrammers often search for photos using hashtags, like “#Boston #Watercolors #Spring”. By tagging your photos appropriately, you’ll find new followers interested in the photos you’re sharing.
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Related Resources:
How to Use Instagram For Marketing
How to Use Instagram: 4 Great Examples
About Mary Chevalier
Mary is Co-Founder of SalesBlend and works closely with clients to help them use digital marketing to achieve measurable business results. Follow Mary on Twitter @MaryVChevalier.