how to use instagram for your business
DESCRIPTION
If you're keen to get a few tips on how you can use Instagram for your business, this presentation is for you! It covers what is Instagram, how you use it, iphoneography tips, instagram video, posting tips, hashtags and how to be a part of the Instagram community.TRANSCRIPT
#SNAPHAPPY Using Instagram to Promote your Business
Sarah (Sos) Mattsson Jewels Lynch
Tourism & Events Queensland Guru Instagrammer
Digital Content Manager @jewelszee_
@sosarina @snapper_snapper
What we’ll cover today
What is Instagram?
What is a #hashtag?
What is an Instagrammer and how do you find them?
Interaction & community
Instagram photography tips
How can you fit Instagramming into your day?
How can I go the extra mile?
Let’s do this!
Who are we?
Sarah (Sos) Mattsson Jewels Lynch
Tourism & Events Queensland Guru Instagrammer
Digital Content Manager @jewelszee_ > 26.5k followers
@sosarina @snapper_snapper > 3.5k followers
What is Instagram?
Capture and Share the World’s Moments
Instagram is a fast, beautiful & fun way to share your life with friends through a series of pictures and videos
Snap a photo or video with your mobile
phone
Choose a filter to transform the image or
video
Publish & share!
What is Instagram?
Source: http://sociallysorted.com.au/instagram-for-business-4-words-you-need-to-know/
Highly engaged
community
Instagram is mobile.
Instagram is NOT
link heavy.
Instagram is about
taking people with you.
What is Instagram?
Newsfeed > just like Facebook where you’ll find images from the Grammers you follow
Explore > find instagrammers and
topics
Take a pic or video or upload an image or video file
Your notifications. See who’s followed, liked or commented on your pics
Your profile. Check out your followers, following & all your pics
Image credit: instagram.com
Why should tourism businesses use Instagram?
THE NUMBERS SAY IT ALL
Users > 150M monthly globally (1.5M Aus users)
Pics > 55M photos per day
Likes > 1.2B likes per day
CONSUMER CHANGE
Consumer behaviour shift towards visual content
80% of the brain is dedicated to visual procession
CONTENT IS KING!
Create and publish content easily
Source content > get influencers and locals (including photographers) to help build your content bank
Source:http://instagram.com/press// & http://www.slideshare.net/homehelper/visual-creative-
thinking-1260733
@jewelszee_
What is a hashtag?
Word or phrase beginning with a # symbol with no spaces or punctuation
Why are they used?
Hashtags group conversations
about topics making them
easier to find, follow and join
the conversation
Crowd sourcing fan’s content
Extend your own brand
channels’ content
#clickablelink > to topic
http://sociallysorted.com.au/instagram-for-business-4-words-you-need-to-know/
Image credits: http://socialmediatoday.com/redpepperland/1784231/hashtag-best-practices-what-
your-brand-needs-know & www.businessinsider.com
Source: http://nitrogr.am/blog/master-hashtags-on-instagram/
What is a hashtag?
Where are they used?
Which social channels use hashtags?
http://sociallysorted.com.au/instagram-for-business-4-words-you-need-to-know/
Image credits: http://socialmediatoday.com/redpepperland/1784231/hashtag-best-practices-what-your-brand-needs-know & https://dev.twitter.com/media/twitter-tv &
http://blog.marginmedia.com.au/Our-Blog/bid/97247/The-NRL-Grand-Final-and-how-it-leveraged-social-media & https://dev.twitter.com/media/hashtags &
http://blog.hashtagify.me/2013/06/03/how-to-amplify-your-event-with-the-right-hashtag/
@sosarina posts a photo and adds #sqcountry to the Instagram comment
It’s likely that the image will be seen by other Instagrammers that are interested in, living in or coming soon to the Southern Queensland Country region
Hashtag Example > #sqcountry
Lucky might just be the cutest baby goat I’ve ever seen #sqcountry #thisisqueensland
Hashtag Serving Suggestions
Look for hashtags that are relevant to your business (research in statigr.am)
Add popular hashtags to relevant images to grow audience & engagement i.e. #sqcountry #thisisqueensland
#seeaustralia & http://web.stagram.com/hot/
Add your own unique hashtag to source content and build a community (one is best!)
Communicate your hashtag in your profile
Your hashtag must have relevance or meaning to regular Instagrammers
#CalmYourFarm > too many hashtags or hashtags that don’t make sense will be ignored (especially in the 1st comment)
Source: http://blog.viralheat.com/2013/09/12/instagram-for-business/
#hashtag video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57dzaMaouXA
What is an Instagrammer and how do you find them?
Instagrammers (like @jewelszee_ & @laurenepbath) are Instagram gurus
They post amazing imagery – perfect for inspiring travel
They have HUGE Instagram audiences
They are invited along to famils with other journalists and bloggers
They are content creators
They engage with the Instagram community and their followers
What is an Instagrammer and how do you find them?
How do you find them?
Use the ‘Explore’ tab in Instagram
Search ‘Users’ for
Known Instagrammers
Local photographers
Tourism > @sqcountry, @queensland & @australia content (look into the reposted content)
Search ‘hashtags’ for locations or known hashtags and do some digging
If you like their content, follow, like & comment on their pics
TIP > also use statigr.am and search hashtags and users
Interaction & Community
There’s a huge opportunity to interact with the Instagram community through genuine shared interest in images you are drawn to
How can you interact? Follow, like, play with hashtags & comment
Comment
Like
Play with #s
Follow
Instagram Photography Tips
Rule of Thirds
Creates balance in photos
Helps make composition more interesting
How do you do it?
Use the grid on your camera, phone & Instagram settings
Line up a point of interest along 1 of those lines
Focus the photo on
one third
Work with the square
More info > http://fatmumslim.com.au/how-to-create-beautiful-iphone-
photos-the-rule-of-thirds/
Source: http://fatmumslim.com.au/category/iphoneography/
Image credit: @jewelszee_ @beijingemily
@matthewtaylorthomas
Instagram Photography Tips
Perspective
Gives your images
depth and scale
How do you do it?
Use natural lines to guide you i.e. roads, paths, tracks
Take shots from different heights & perspectives i.e. look up, down, get low
For more info > http://fatmumslim.com.au/how-to-get-a-little-perspective-in-your-photos/
MORE INFO > http://fatmumslim.com.au/category/iphoneography
Image credit: @sea_godess @gradelle @rikerama
Instagram Photography Tips
Depth of field
Distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that appear sharp in an image
How do you do it?
Try taking shots from different angles (on the ground is usually a winner)
Focus your phone / camera on something in particular
Edit > use blur tool in Instagram itself or editing apps
For more info > http://fatmumslim.com.au/photography-lesson-depth-of-field/
Source: www.wikipedia.com & http://fatmumslim.com.au/photography-lesson-
depth-of-field/
Image credit: @freshcoatcreative @visitcapricorn
Instagram Photography Tips
Other fun stuff in Instagram
Filters & frames
Cropping
Blur
Brightness
Straighten
Tag guests
Video > 15secs of goodness
How can you fit Instagramming into your busy day?
Shoot in bulk
Sunrise, sunset, road trips
View from rooms, pets, cute animals
New menu, coffee or breakfast, locals’ fave
Behind the scenes, daily life on a farm stay
Groups enjoying themselves on tour
Meet the team
Edit or post direct photos into Instagram
Get involved in the community when you can
Instagram Serving Suggestions
Frequency > 1 – 5 per day / be pretty consistent in how frequently you upload
Image description > Can be creative or descriptive. Consider 140 character limits for posting to Twitter.
Hashtags to consider
#sqcountry #visitbrisbane #thisisqueensland #seeaustralia
#location & popular instagram hashtags (try not to be too spammy)
What’s hot in hashtags > http://web.stagram.com/hot/
How many hashtags is too many?
1 or 2 hashtags in the image description
It’s really up to you with the secondary comments
Instagram Serving Suggestions
Be a part of it > Like and comment. Grammers are friendly so get involved in the conversation!
How do you get people to use your #hashtags?
Communicate what they are in your Instagram bio
Chat to Grammers about using your #hashtag in the comments of their related pics
Instagram Serving Suggestions
Location
3
Click this to see other Scarness Pier pics from other Grammers
Instagram Serving Suggestions
Reposting other people’s pics
Use apps like InstaRepost to repost other traveller’s images from your phone
You only have permission to use someone’s images if they’ve used your hashtag or you’ve asked and received permission. You will come into copyright issues if this critical step is missed.
Remember to credit the instagrammer by using i.e. @laurenepbath in the comments or across the image
How can Instagram help with your content?
Content efficiencies across your digital & social channels
Reporting > How do you know what’s working?
statigr.am
Who’s following & unfollowing you
Content – What’s the most engaging
Engagement – Who’s your biggest fan?
Optimisation & Community
web.stagram.com > general what’s popular i.e. users, hashtags, filters
Instagram isn’t really about links outside of the channel but if you’d like to measure click through, use your google analytics or other social metrics to measure this
Screen shot: Statigr.am
How can I go the extra mile? Takin
g P
ics
Editin
g P
ics
Pla
yin
g w
ith P
ics
Average
Camera Pro
How can I go the extra mile?
Instagram Video
Record video within the Instagram app or upload your own videos
Up to 15 seconds
Cool editing functions > take short segments of video that are pieced together on your phone & add filters
For more info > www.sociallysorted.com.au
Brands to learn from
@natgeo
@nike
@lulamon
http://instagram.com/p/fmZWi
LoVbP/
How can I go the extra mile?
Instagram Video
http://blog.instagram.com/post/53448889009/video-on-instagram
How can I go the extra mile?
Integrate Instagram into your other channels
How can I go the extra mile?
Connect with Brands
@queensland #thisisqueensland
@sqcountry #sqcountry / @visitbrisbane #visitbrisbane
@australia #seeaustralia
Tourism companies @hamiltonisland / @lizardisland / @greatkeppelisland
@natgeo (3.2mil) / @nike (2.7mil) / @snoopdog (2.4mil) / @blackmilkclothing (695k)
Connect with Instagrammers
@laurenepbath (300k) / @paulyvella (270k) / Beijing Emily @beijingemily (176k) / @fatmumslim (94k) / @garry_norris (91k) / @mattglastonbury (37k) / @seanscottphotography (32k) / @jewelszee_ & @snapper_snapper (30k) / @rikerama (11k) /
Connect with Locals & Photographers
@swaller (5.1k) / @madelynrosephotography (2k) / @midnight_photography (6.7k) / @imlee_ (7k) / @sabbiak (2.7k) / @matthewtaylorthomas (1k) / @keiranlusk (1k) / @s_norbs (1k) / @jestergull (DOG!)
How do I do this Instagram thingy?
What’s your approach? What do you want to get out of it? How does it fit into to what you do already?
Download Instagram app
Get an Instagram account. Think about your user name and hashtag. Should be obvious, consistent across social channels, searchable, easy for Grammers
Start taking pics and uploading them (comment, hashtags, location etc)
It’s a social channel. Start following, liking & commenting with the community. Connect with instagrammers in your area.
Communicate your own hashtag
Content efficiency > where else is this content relevant? Facebook? Twitter? Website? eNewsletter images?
Need inspiration? Join @fatmumslim’s Photo A Day Challenge. She gives you a daily prompt which helps to get ideas! For more info http://fatmumslim.com.au/how-to-play/
Let’s do this!
Mini Exercise
Take a photo of something in the room
Upload it to Instagram
Include #snaphappystanthorpe into the image description
What to capture?
Pirates
Crazy glasses
Duck face
Favourite thing you’ve learnt today
Let’s do this!
#InstameetStanthorpe
When: 7.30am Wednesday 26 November
Where: Meet @ the front of College of Wine Tourism
Who’s invited: EVERYONE!
What do you need to do beforehand: Download Instagram app and create an account. That’s it
Image credit: @chriznobs
OVER AND OUT! THANKS A MILLION! ANY QUESTIONS?