What is Instagram and why should I use it for business?

Why Should You Use Instagram?
Thanks to Nathan Chan at Foundr Magazine:
  • Instagram has more than 400 million active users around the world. That's A LOT of people.
  • In the US alone, there are 64 million active users, a figure that is projected to hit 111 million by 2019.
  • According to comScore's 2015 mobile trends report, Millennials spend upwards of 420 minutes a month on Instagram alone.
  • Another report by Forrester Research found Instagram users were 58 times more likely to like, comment on or share a brand's post than were Facebook users, and 120 times more likely than were Twitter users.
  • Long story short: Instagram is the best social and mobile platform for brands to reach out to audiences who are willing to engage.
  • If you're not on Instagram, you should be!
(source)

You can use Apps on your phone to create beautiful photos with stock photos and layers of text.
My favorite is called "Over." You can find it on the App Store. More info: ​ https://madewithover.com/about/
Examples of Business Posts on Instagram:
Click on the thumbnails to view bigger.

What You Need to Know about Instagram for your Business!

Notes from Video Training:

  • It’s more artistic, cozy and less noisy than FB.
  • People “heart” photos, but don’t comment as much.
  • People use hashtags
  • It’s driven by pictures, but captions are still important
  • Double tap to “like” or “heart” the image
  • Click on the heart at the bottom to see notifications
  • To reply, click on the word bubble. For the person to see it, you have to click the @ sign and tag them.
  • You can “like” a comment by clicking on it. The heart will turn red.
  • To post, click the plus sign in the box.    
    • Choose a photo from your phone.
    • Click next
    • Change the filter if you want to. Instagram users love “softer” photos.
    • Click next
    • Write a caption
    • Link to FB if you want to
    • Click share
    • To back out, erase the text and click the back arrow in the lefthand corner. Click again. Click cancel.
  • Click the “Home” button to see your feed.
  • When people follow you, follow them back.
  • Use the magnifying glass to search for people or hashtags for subjects.
  • The top circles are peoples “stories.” You can click on them to watch. Tap the right hand side of the screen to make them go faster. Swipe to get to the next person. These disappear after 24 hours.

Hooking Up Instagram to Facebook

Notes from the Video:
​Go to your Facebook Business Page.
Click on Settings. 
On the lefthand side, click on Instagram.
Enter your user name and password from Instagram. 
Don't have an Instagram account yet? Get the app and create an account FIRST, before hooking up to Facebook.
Now, when running ads, you will be asked, "Post on Instagram too?" Say yes. You will NOT see the ad in your feed, but you will see it in your notifications when people like it.
You can now toggle between your personal Instagram account and your business account, without logging out and logging back in. 
Click on the small round photo in the lower righthand corner. 
Now click on the top switch accounts.
When you're in Instagram and want to share to your Facebook page, click on the three little dots. 
​Select share.
Then, select the Page you want to share to.
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How do you promote a post within Instagram?
  • Go to a published post. Click promote and choose your landing page, audience, budget.
  • After you click “Promote” you can click on “Insights” and see who you have reached (impressions) and who has engaged with the post.
  • If you have Instagram hooked up to Facebook you can also track your ads inside AdsManager in Facebook.
  • Get more Instagram followers by liking phots in your niche!
  • Have a theme for your photos!
  • Post short videos--the platform requires that you keep videos short and sweet on Instagram and that's what makes it fun!
  • Socialize! Reply back with people comment. Answer questions and engage with your readers.
  • Create a hashtag and encourage other people to use it.
  • Run a contest on Instagram to get more engagement and more followers!
  • Be consistant. Try to post every day and at the same time, so people can count on your content every day.
  • Ask people to follow you on Instagram (ask current clients, ask through email, ask on Facebook)
  • The BEST way to get great followers on Instagram is to post unique content on Instagram that you aren’t posting on Facebook. Learn the platform and know what Instagram followers want!