Instagram is quickly becoming the most influential social media platform. There are currently over 300 million active users registered to the photo sharing app, including celebrities, businesses, and politicians. If mastered, Instagram in 2017 can prove to be a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal, but where do you begin?
#LETSGETSTARTED: INSTAGRAM BASICS
CREATE AN ACCOUNT
Creating an account is relatively easy. Begin by downloading the app on your smart phone or visiting via desktop. Next, click ‘Sign Up’, register, and choose a username. For example, @_orthomarketing is the username we have chosen to represent Ortho Marketing.
*Note that after creating a username, your official Instagram URL will be instagram.com/username (ex: https://www.instagram.com/_orthomarketing/).
Create an ‘About’ section in your profile, describing who you are, what you do, and linking to your website! It’s time to start exploring and following!
THE TABS
Let’s get familiar with the tabs bar! Along the bottom of the screen, you will see five icons. From left to right, they represent:
- Home – This is where the images of the accounts you follow will appear. This is similar to the Facebook “feed”.
- Search/Discover – Here you will search for accounts you are interested in or hashtags. Use @username to search for specific accounts and #keyword to search trending hashtags.
- Add Photo – Here is where you will add photos to your account. The app is linked directly to your gallery or you can take a photo directly from the app’s camera.
- Likes & Follows – Click here to see who has recently liked your posts, commented, or followed your account.
- Profile – This is your personal profile that houses your account information (as seen by your followers) and all of your posts by date, descending from most recent.
IMPORTANT TERMS
Instagram should come with its own dictionary. There are many terms that are used to communicate actions being taken on the app. Here are your need-to-know terms with explanations:
- Hashtag – Arguably the most important Instagram term, this is a keyword that becomes a searchable, live link. For instance, in one of our most recent posts, we used #dog to describe a post featuring one of our team member’s dog on behalf of #NationalDogWeek. You can click this hashtag to find other photos using the keyword #dog or you can visit the Discover tab and type #NationalDogWeek directly into the search bar to reap the same results.
- Direct Message (DM) – This is a post or text message that is sent directly to a user or account. This allows users to communicate privately.
- Photo Mapping – When making a post, you are given the option to add to your photo map using your location. This allows your followers to see where you have posted from, geographically.
- Tagging – When posting, mentioning another username in the description will create a live link directly to their account. The other account will be alerted that they have been included in your post and allows your followers to easily access the other account, as well. (This can also be done in the comments.)
Instagram offers businesses countless marketing opportunities. As the number of users increases, the app’s functionality evolves in the form of updates. Users are savvy enough to take advantage of these updates, creating trends that can be applied to your business’s marketing strategy.The addition of Instagram stories has allowed entrepreneurs and business owners to expand their brand’s visibility in incredibly creative and effective ways! It operates in the same way as Snapchat and appeals to 2017 as the year of the video. Here are Instagram trends you should be taking advantage of in 2017!
- Tap to Skip Function – Instagram stories move from panel to panel with a finger tap to the screen. This has been taken advantage of by numerous influencers and brands who have created stories using a single image with additional information as the taps move through the story, ending in a call to action.
- “New Post”– Use your Instagram stories to introduce a new photo post to your account!
- Instagram Polls – This brand new feature lets you poll your followers, which can be a great asset to businesses who are looking to engage.
- Stories on Desktop – Chrome has an extension available that will allow you to view Instagram stories on a desktop or mobile web browser. This allows you to reach a larger number of people who do not have access to Instagram on their smart phone.
*Note: According to AdEspresso by Hootsuite, Instagram will not be enabling uploads from desktops, in the future. - Slider – The Instagram slider feature allows you to post multiple pictures to one post. This is a great way of creating a time line in photos, rather than spamming your followers with countless photos from one event or campaign!
So, which of these ideas are you going to implement as part of your social media marketing strategy? Are there any Instagram in 2017 trends we may have missed? Let us know!
The team at Ortho Marketing are the experts in orthodontic marketing. At Ortho Marketing, we serve orthodontic practices on the international level. If you have any questions pertaining to website design, social media marketing, SEO, reputation management, Google Adwords, or PPC campaigns, or would like to get started marketing your orthodontic practice, contact Ortho Marketing at: 914-788-1555
