Top 5 Ways Brands Can Start Using Instagram To Connect With Their Consumers
As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, Facebook has acquired Instagram for $1 billion dollars, that’s right $1 billion.
Instagram is not only huge, it’s still growing with nearly 1 billion downloads a day on Android alone. As this platform grows, so will the hype and consumer activity within it, leading to more opportunities for brands to reach those consumers.
But before the market becomes completely saturated with new Instagram apps, strategies, and so called experts, let’s look at 5 activation strategies brands can use right now for reaching their consumers through Instagram.
1) Learn how to leveraging influencers
The top photographers on Instagram have millions of followers, which translates into mass reach. Brands can start using Instagram by building relationships with these influencers in a way that leads to strategic and creative campaigns leveraging the influential photographers consumer reach to drive awareness and activity around the brand.
2) Hold a contests/sweepstakes using hashtags
Instagram provides consumers the opportunity to tag their photos using a universal hashtag that can be shared across several different social networks. This seamless integration ensures for brands cross-marketing opportunities across different social networks while being able to communicating their brand message to a mass audience, striking up word of mouth in the process.
3) Build transparency and tell your brand story
Instagram has taken transmedia and brand story telling to a whole new level. Have fun with your Instagram account, look at what Red Bull is doing, in many ways just creating good content around brand activity offline is all it takes to get the attention of your customers. Consider the value behind transparency and develop an Instagram strategy that gives your fans and consumers and inside look at not just what you do, but who you are, tell your story through photos.
4) Take advantage of the Instagram API
Get your development team involved and develop a plan that Instagram-ifies your online properties. Instagram offers developers a fully scalable API that aggregates content in real time. This means you can take advantage of the content by aggregating it into a campaign, website, or social media property and develop features within it that activate consumers to interact with your brand.
5) Stay tuned to the rise of apps or utilize an Instagram vendor
The acquisition of Instagram along with its API will soon begin to create a flood of new applications and pop up vendors offering ways to maximize Instagram consumer reach or activity around your brand. Some vendors who are already making a splash in the Instagram world are HashPix & Prinstagram.
Hashpix has created a scalable platform that allows users with an Instagram account to buy and sell their photos online, Hashpix then sends the buyer a real time print of the photo they purchased. Brands could easily partner with Hashpix to create value driven content that goes beyond just a share, but drives purchase.
