More Fun and Success with Instagram

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No doubt Instagram is the current darling of the visual social networks. The smartphone photography app makes us all into more or less accomplished artists :-). You can see trends emerging and fading away like #nofilter or #blackandwhite photos. Numerous apps add to the available image filters built into Instagram that let you add text or funky galleries.

Contrary to other visual networks like Pinterest the focus is on creating, not necessarily curating and collecting. Instagram has changed the social media tool landscape dramatically. I don’t think image filters in mainstream camera apps or as a main element of the photo section in the Twitter app would have happened without Instagram

All kinds of uses have emerged. A substantial number of food related pictures are posted on Instagram these days. Possibly shared from there to Facebook and Twitter. One of my clients is making good use of this trend by adding an Instagram widget to their restaurant page.

Artists like my friend Carrie are using Instagram to build relationships and networks that ultimately lead to sales.

Read: Create and Connect: How One Artist Uses Instagram

I use instagram to create more interesting images for other social networks and to humanize my brand. Instagramming the #librabrychicks in our local library has nothing to do with the services I offer but it shows me and my company being part of the community.

Interestingly the rise of Instagram into the world of main-stream social media use has not led to an overwhelming amount of blatant commercialism. Sure, there are always some that have to squeeze their ad in, but in order to be successful on Instagram you really have to be creative and engage with the audience on the platform. I recommend treating every audience on every social network differently anyway, but the Instagram crowd  seems to react even more negatively to low quality advertising. Maybe this is a trend that will be adopted by the other tools as well? Let’s hope so

In order to use Instagram successfully we have to build it into our social media strategy. In order to be seen we have to have half an eye on follower numbers as well. However, as always - a smaller, engaged community that you interact with is a lot more effective than thousands of followers you buy or otherwise lure in with short term offers.

The nice folks at whoishostingthis.com have sent me this intersting Infographic. I like it because it features some interesting ideas for the use of Instagram by a business.

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Infographic by WhoIsHostingThis