instagram best practices guide
TRANSCRIPT
InstagramA How-To Guide
What is Instagram?Instagram describes itself as the following:
“Instagram is a fun and quirky way to share your life with friends through a series of pictures. Snap a photo with your mobile phone, then choose a filter to transform the image into a memory to keep around forever. We’re building Instagram to allow you to experience moments in your friends’ lives through pictures as the happen.”
Founders
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, Founders of Instagram.
• Kevin Systrom (CEO, Co-Founder)
• Graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in Management Science & Engineering
• Before Instagram, worked with the startup Odeoas an intern (later became Twitter), worked for 2 years at Google
• Mike Krieger (Technical Lead, Co-Founder)• Graduated from Stanford University with an MS in
Symbolic Systems• Originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil• Before Instagram, he worked at Meebo (engineer
& user experience designer), interned with Microsoft
The IdeaKevin & Mike always thought that you needed a bulky camera and years of art school to take great photos. However, as camera phones got better and better they decided to challenge that assumption by solving three problems:
1. Mobile pictures come out mediocre - so they fixed that with filters that make your photos look professional!
2. It’s a pain to share your photo on each platform-with Instagram you can share to all of your favorite platforms with one click. (Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare)
3. Uploading pictures can take forever, so Instagram works to be fast & efficient.
Timeline
Oct. 6, 2010
Instagram Launches
Dec. 12, 2010
1 million users
Apr. 3, 2012
Launches on Android
Apr. 9, 2012
Bought by Facebook
Feb. 26, 2013
100 million users
June 20, 2013
Instagram Video
Oct. 24, 2013
Sponsored Photos &
Videos
Dec. 12, 2013
Instagram Direct
(a few key points from visual timeline by menford.com)
Our ResearchWe examined 3 popular Instagram accounts
(one private, one non-profit, and one for-profit) to discover their best practices.
• Posts: 3,011• Followers: 2.9 mil.• Following: 18
Humans of New York City, one story at a time.
Humans of New York is a blog that has over 8 million followers on social media and was begun by Brandon Stanton in 2010. The Instagram account
features snippets of everyday New York people and their stories.
1. Decide what you will be known for.
Best Practices
"What's the most romantic thing he's ever done for you?" "You don't talk about those things!"
The key here is to focus on one main concept and be excellent at it. For Stanton, that’s people and their stories.
2. Create a strong sense of communityand encourage interaction.
Best Practices
Humans of New York is so strong that the community interacts together daily through the posts. Most photos have an average of 1,000 to 5,000 comments each!
3. Take quality professional photos that tell a story.
Best Practices
4. Be consistent with your posting schedule.
Best Practices
Brandon of Humans of New York posts 2 to 3 times a day. His audience knows to expect new content from him everyday.
5. Be an inspiration.
Best Practices
Through one simple photo of a student and then his principal, $700,000 was collected for a group of school kids, as well as a scholarship fund!
• Posts: 1,293• Followers: 245 K.• Following: 1,899
We’re bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in need around the world.
Charity: Water is a non-profit organization, “a group of passionate and determined creative problem-solvers who want to make a difference.” Their
mission is to provide clean water to people in the developing world.
1. Use quality content that is compelling.
Best Practices
2. Post at least once a day so your followers remember you!
3. Consistently give a call to action in your captions.
Best Practices
4. Interact with your supporters and feature them in your content.
Best Practices
4. Interact with supporters (cont’d.)
Best Practices
Charity Water does this by regularly showing those who support them, such as Jennifer, who turns coffee sacks into tote bags to raise money for clean water.
5. Use hashtags and events to develop relevant content that trends.
Best Practices
Best Practices6. Take and use professional photos from the field.
7. Make strategic partnerships and use contests & giveaways.
Best Practices
• Posts: 1,598• Followers: 4.7 mil.• Following: 347
Official GoPro Instagram. We make the World’s Most Versatile Camera.Wear it. Mount it. Love it.
From incredibly versatile, powerful cameras, to mounts and accessories for nearly any activity, to the GoPro App and software—GoPro makes it easier
than ever to capture and share your world like never before.
1. Showcase the lifestyle of your brand.
Best Practices
Best Practices2. Make use of widely known, popular hashtag trends in an authentic way.
3. Show real people engaging with your product/brand.
Best Practices
Best Practices4. Use video creatively to show things no one has seen before.
The Three Keys1. High quality, professional photos.
2. A clear brand message/story.
3. Engagement with followers.