Instagram 101 for Small Business

1. Instagram 101 for Business
3 years- over 300 million users
Visual communication
Use it to connect with consumers

2. Picking a username
Create an account. Think of a username and set-
up your account. If you’re active on Twitter, try
and choose the same name handle that you use
there, that way the account will be linked and if
you share on Twitter there won’t be any
confusion.

3. Posting a Photo
• Choose a filter. You’ll see at the bottom of your photo a series of
little trees, they’re the range of filters Instagram has to offer. Click
through each to see how they change your photo. Select the one
that looks best with your picture.
• Add a frame or take it away. You’ll notice as you flick through the
filters that many of them have different frames. If you like your
photo with a frame, leave it as is.
• Add a caption. What do you want to say about your photo? Make it
short, to the point and relevant. If you plan on also sharing your
photo to Twitter, make sure you also keep it under 110 characters
to make sure your message doesn’t get cut off.
• Add a hashtag. Hashtags are a way for Instagram to group photos
together. When people tag their photos, it means the community
can click the hashtag and see each others photos. You might add a
tag if you were traveling somewhere like New York {so #NewYork}
so your photos could be pulled together with other photos of New
York.

4. Posting your Photo
• Share with others. Before you publish your photo with
the world, you can choose to share it with platforms
other than Instagram. You can set up in your profile to
publish to your Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr
accounts, or even to email yourself a photo each time
you publish. Once you’ve selected where you want to
share it, click done.
• Apps to use to edit photos
PicStitch
InstaCollage
BeautifulMess
Rhonna Designs
Studio Design

5. Integration
• Tumblr
• Flickr
• Facebook
• Twitter

6. Inspire Potential Customers
• Post photos that are relevant to your brand
and potential customers.
• Whole Foods Market posts representative
photos to promote healthy, wholesome food
products, store events, sustainability and their
active community of customers and
employees.

7. Cultivate a following:
• Connect your Facebook account
• Use relevant, popular hashtags
• Engage by following others and liking their
photos
• Cross-post selected images to your Facebook
page with a hashtag that aligns with your
campaign or brand image to help people who
don’t know you’re on Instagram to find you
there.

8. The art of Hashtags!

9. Which hashtag to use?

10. Showcase Photos of Employees
Showing your employees at work not only gives
a behind-the-scenes view of your company, it’s
also a way to celebrate staff and show them
how much they’re valued
@englishgardenraleigh

11. Chobani

13. @chobani
When asked why Chobani saw Instagram as a natural fit for the
brand’s marketing strategy, the answer is simple. “We want to be
where our consumers are,” says Hilary duPont, Content Manager
on Chobani’s Brand Communications team.
“We’re on the platform every day so we know what’s trending. If
our consumers are posting about smoothies, we are, too. We
want to be doing what they’re doing.”
The social team uncovered a trove of photos by
the Instagram community of artfully-arranged
breakfasts and clever smoothie concoctions. By
using the hashtags #creationaday and #chobani,
people sought to both inspire other yogurt-lovers
and engage with the brand in direct conversation.

14. General Electric

15. @generalelectric
• The team behind @generalelectric isn’t here to
push appliances. Instead they tell a broader story
of building, powering, moving and curing the
world—which just happens to be their company
mission.
• While building awareness for its innovative
technology—helpful for attracting young
engineers and big contracts—General Electric has
also established itself as one of the most admired
contributors to the Instagram community, with its
majestic shots of powerful engines and remote
wind farms.

16. Video

17. Sharing Photos “Direct”

18. Exploring- Following- News

19. Can I schedule my posts?

20. Tips:
• Be true to your brand: Ensure that your imagery
expresses a clearly defined personality and voice.
• Share experiences: Offer a view into the world or
lifestyle that your brand makes possible through
the eyes of the people who use your products
and services.
• Find beauty everywhere: Show how your
company sees the world and make it meaningful
to people.

21. More tips….
• Inspire action: Start a movement around your
brand, whether that means inspiring people to
capture photos while running like the #runfree
campaign from @nikerunning, or to celebrate
a delicious yogurt concoction, as @chobani
has done with their #creationaday hashtag.
• Know your audience: Learn what people love
about your brand, and explore how can you
capture the imagination of new customers.