Instagram is becoming the hot place for various brands to advertise their brand’s purpose and various goods. “Okay,” you may be thinking, “but, how do I go about promoting my brand on Instagram correctly, and why should I commit to yet ANOTHER social media platform?” Allow me to explain. 

HOW: 

• The HASHTAG
  1. Using #’s are completely normal and can be very beneficial for your brand, but you have to know how to use them properly. When you are “hashtaging” your photos, make sure you stick to the magic number 7: never go above it. Once you start using more than 7 hashtags, your audience will dismiss your photo and perceive it as spam. Instead, stick to using less than 7 hostages on one I
     nstagram post. What do you hashtag? Well, stick to a simple equation: #who + #where + #what + a hashtag commnity (if applicable). For example, if you were posting a photo of a hotdog at the Cubs game, you would put #hotdog + #cubs + #baseball + #EEEEEATS (this is your hashtag community). What is a hashtag community? A hashtag community is a hashtag that a brand creates in order to allow its audience to communicate with them. The account @Infatuation created #EEEEEATS for people to put on food photos, that way people can tap the hashtag and be linked to various other delicious food accounts. Don’t be afraid to hashtag, but DO NOT OVER USE THEM!
  2. DO NOT EVER use hashtags to increase your following or likes. Brands that do this are only inflating their followers/number of likes. The point of Instagram is to reach people who authentically enjoy your content. If you just raise your numbers, you aren’t reaching your goal of hitting people where it matters. You want people to connect with your posts because it will cause them to interact with you and share them with others.
• Quality > Quantity (ALWAYS!)
  1. Instagram is an artistic outlet. It is a place designed for people to see and share pleasing photos. Your brand’s photos should be appealing to the eye. Therefore, (1) never post low quality photos (2) do not be afraid to edit your posts (3) do not post more than 1-3 times per day. If you post too many times, your audience will lose interest and curiosity in you brand. You want to keep your audience wanting to know MORE rather than them feeling they already know too much.
• Interact with your audience! 
  1. Instagram is a two way street form of communication. Just like you expect your followers to interact with your posts, they expect the same. So, like, comment and follow them back!
  2. Also, a great way to engage with your audience is by hosting contests. @Infatuation recently did a contest for their followers urging them to post photos of their beautiful food creations involving eggs. The announced a winner and partnered with Top Chef in order to award the winner a dinner at Top Chef dinner party #yum.

Now you know how to help your brand on Instagram, but WHY
 is this important?

• Instagram is a way that you can organically post your photos and advertise your brand with out spending a penny.
• You are marketing your brand do a different demographic than you would be on different social media platforms. Instagram is mostly used by women and people ages 18-35
• Instagram is young enough for you to beat your competition to the punch. Take advantage of this and dominate your niche on Instagram.
• Unlike Facebook, there is no filtered feed. Therefore, everyone of your followers are guaranteed to see your posts if they are actively checking their newsfeed.
• YOU control the images you showcase.

So, make your brand Instagram famous. Create a username for your brand and share the visual beauty of your brand with the rest of the world on Instagram!

Check out how Jimmy Fallon uses Instagram to interact with his fans:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B29-mKVM9k