A picture is worth a thousand words. Now pictures are replacing the need for words at all, thanks mainly to Instagram. The company, launched in October 2010 has revolutionized social media and the use of photo sharing
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Beginning as a site simply for sharing and viewing photographs, Instagram quickly became a social network as a way to keep up with friends. Followers could see what people are doing, where, and “like” it if they so chose. Now businesses are learning how to infiltrate this network as a way of self-promoting and driving traffic to their products.
Instagram recently tested out promoted pictures, much like promoted tweets, in that companies would pay to have their posts put on all Instagram feeds. The trick is for the company post to look like a regular Instagram picture, but entice the customer into checking out the brand after. Some of the best companies at this are Burberry, Nike, Victoria’s Secret and Starbucks. Users continue to follow those companies and like those posts because it does not feel to pushy or commercialized. It simply looks like any other post in their feed, while promoting a company or brand.
It is also becoming possible to monetize Instagram. This is a big win for bloggers who have many Instagram followers, but can’t convert those numbers to blog followers. Apps like “Like it to Know it” are helping bridge that gap.
Instagram can be the best, simplest form of social media for companies to use. Posts do not have to be too complicated, worded correctly or super staged. They should reflect the image of the brand and the products of the company, but do not have to be a full blown advertisement. And Instagram is still on the rise, it has not yet hit the turning point that Facebook has and Twitter soon will. It seems Instagram may be the future of social media – brands should take note.
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I agree with Alexis and think that Instagram has the most potential when it comes to social media. It is an easier way of accessing photos and advertisements, which is what lures its customers in. In my opinion, I think that Facebook and Instagram are now the two most popular social media platforms. Rather than posting an album of photos, Instagram secludes them into one, creating a much more meaningful way to express a photo.