The Insta-takeover: 7 Things Marketers Should Know About Instagram
Instagram was launched less than a year and a half ago, but if you haven’t heard of this popular photo sharing application, you might have been living under a rock the last few months. The free application, which allows users to snap, edit and share photos to the Instagram network and other social networks, has quickly become a popular tool among consumers and brands. While the fashion industry was one of the first to swear by the application, brands ranging from Ben and Jerry’s to Southwest Airlines to Intel have joined ranks as successful “Instagraphers.”
With so many seemingly similar applications out there, what makes Instagram different? Why should brand marketers pay special attention to this one? Check out these seven reasons why it’s necessary to understand the relevance of Instagram and decide if your brand should be part of its Insta-takeover.
1. Monumental Growth Rate
Those who think that Instagram is just another social networking fad may wind up being right, but not likely any time soon. Take notice of the application’s growth rate: As of January 1, 2012, Instagram boasted over 15 million users and over 550 million uploaded photos, which, today, translates to over 60 photos uploaded per second. In just 15 months, Instagram surpassed the number of registered users that took Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare about three years to reach.
2. Mobile Focus
The Instagram experience is primarily mobile, unlike most social networks (with the exception of Foursquare, which Instagram has quickly outgrown). While users can share and view single photos on computers, they are unable to edit or browse photos on an Instagram site, though third party sites like Webstagram offer browsing capabilities. Despite this, the official website still manages to receive 10 million hits daily. Today, with statistics showing that 91 percent of US citizens have their mobile phone within reach at all time, and 25 percent have completely abandoned laptops for mobile devices, successful mobile apps are more vital for marketers to keep an eye on than ever before.
3. Only for iOS… but not for long
Though currently only available for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch (running iOS 3.1.2 or higher), Instagram will be moving to Android devices soon. With over 700,000 Android devices per day joining the already enormous network, the amount of Instagram users will undoubtedly increase. This means that there will not only be a larger network to market to, but also a larger base sharing photos, tagging photos with brand names and acting as brand advocates, which brings up our next point …
4. Natural Brand Advocacy
Instagram users act as natural brand advocates. Images can be tagged with hashtags and @ mentions and then followed and searched on the Instagram network and the Twitter network. Currently, thousands of brand tags exist on Instagram photos. In most cases, the tagged brand does not acknowledge the presence of the images or identify the potential uses of these photos. Brands ranging from Jack Daniels to Sony to Sephora have no official presence on the application, but there are thousands of tagged photographs of those brands’ products, shops and experiences, content that could be retweeted, transformed into fan-shot Facebook albums or used in other campaigns and marketing outreach.
5. Ease of Integration with Social Marketing Plan
Instagram’s ease of combining with other networks that are already part of a brand’s marketing plan, like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Foursquare, and more, makes it an ideal app to mix into a brand’s arsenal of social media tools. This doesn’t mean it’s necessary to tweet every Instagram photo or add every image to the newly-developed full-sized Instagram albums on Facebook. Doing so would negate the need for users to follow a brand on the Instagram network. However, Instagram photos can be shared quickly and effortlessly to other social streams when photos are taken or unearthed that would lead to positive engagement from the brand’s many fan bases.
6. Contests, Contests, Contests
Creative brands use Instagram for far more than just sharing and aggregating images. They host innovative contests and promotions to connect with followers. Fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff announced that she was crowdsourcing on Instagram to find the images that would appear in upcoming print ads, asking followers to tag shots with #RebeccaMinkoff for entry in the contest. General Electric set out to find the company’s new official “Instagrapher” by challenging users to take shots inspired by “moving,” “curing,” “powering” and “building” and tag them with #GEInspiredMe.
7. Personality is Imperative
Finally, the most important thing that marketers need to understand about the photo sharing application is that showing brand personality is key. Instagram doesn’t offer official brand pages like those available on Facebook and Twitter. Instead, brand accounts are identical to personal accounts. This means users have a more personal brand experience, making it all the more vital for marketers to promote an engaging, one-of-a-kind experience that fits the tone of the platform. Like any networking site, brands that solely exhibit self- promotion photos won’t be tolerated by followers. While it may be easier for marketers to shoot, edit and upload the newest product line or menu offering, the beauty of Instagram is the ability to show followers shots (behind-the-scenes, for example) that they wouldn’t typically see in traditional print or TV advertising. Brands that depict a mixture of new products, promotional events, days in the office and creative expressions of brand personality will be most effective and positively received.
