Seven Best Tips for Instagram Marketing

I love Instagram, but what I don’t love is bad Instagram Marketing! Instagram is one of the best ways to find new customers and to appreciate the business with the ones you already have. Expanding the advantages of Instagram Marketing is not as easy as posting a photo every minute though; there has to be a line drawn between narcissism and creating a good brand. If you’re interested to find out how to be the cool Instagram marketer, read along and know the dos and don’t of Instagram Marketing.

1. Avoid posting blurry photos.

Unless they are the artistic kind of blur like the one above, no one would appreciate a blurry photo because they defy your goal of sending a message. If I were a prospect customer, I’d surely think that if you can’t at least post a good photo, how can you manage a good business?

2. Avoid bulk-posting.

Okay, we get it… you have too many good photos. However, flooding the news feeds of your followers would only irritate them, resulting to one or more unfollowers. To avoid this, choose the best among all your photos and post that throughout the day, not just when you can all at once. This is really bad! It shows lack of strategy and poor time management to your audience. This is what I always advise my clients to do, since “flooding” of photos is one of my pet peeves. If you really need to post a lot all at once, at least do it through a nicely done collage.

One exception to this rule though, is when you’re trying to tell a story through your photos. This would require more than one photo for sure, but a good time allowance between your photos would not only prevent you from annoying your followers, but would also create a thrill! If you do this your copy has to be engaging and tell a compelling story.

3. Choose the best filters.

While posting raw photos is good because it portrays honesty, a little filter would not hurt. However, choose your filters wisely. I have seen too many food photos paired with a “vintage” kind of filter. I mean, seriously, why turn a perfectly colored and delicious looking cake into an old and rusty photo? Don’t you want it to stand out?

4. Calm down on the selfie shots.

We know how cool “selfie” shots are today. Even Oxford Dictionaries noticed this and announced “selfie” as the “Word Of The Year” for 2013. But unless these photos are your customers (or the handsome George Clooney), please calm down and leave your own beautiful shots for your personal account, the occasional one is okay of course for personal branding.

5. Do not do a Hashtag Mania.

When your caption is outnumbered by your hashtags, you’re doing something wrong. While these little words are a great way to spread your work, going overboard would only show one thing: desperation. Thus, you have to be selective about them. See all tips about hashtags here.

6. Don’t sell, build a brand.

People tend to stay away from any advertisement or sponsored posts. Thus, it’s not best to do your selling within Instagram. Instead, focus on building a brand by posting photos that will inspire and influence your audience to check your site out.

The best way to build a brand is to develop a close bond between local influencers – bloggers and local customers. You can occasionally #regram their photos to drive their followers to you as well. Also, never use jargons – sales terminology – which your audience would not understand. Keep it simple and concise.

7. Be sociable.

Show some love to your followers by noticing their thoughts through their comments. Imagine if your favourite brand or celebrity likes or even commented on your Instagram photo? Would you not freak out? I know I would! Respect your fans and in return you’ll get so much more from them.

Credits: Photos (1 – Jeff Kubina; 2 – As The Sakura Falls; 3, The Atlantic  4 – Come Diva; 5 – We Know Memes; 6 –  Mashable)