How to build your brand on Instagram, identify influencers, and grow your followers.

1. The Art of Visual Storytelling:
Spark #Instagreatness on Instagram
Presented to:
Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on Tourism
Detroit, Michigan
Prepared by:
Chad Wiebesick
Director of social media & interactive marketing
Twitter: @Wiebesick
April 15, 2013
@Wiebesick #PMGC13

2. Connecting the Community
• Multi-faceted social media program on 8 networks, including:
– Facebook (500,000 fans) is where the community meets
– Twitter (50,000 followers) keeps the community informed
– Blog (1,400 visits/day) celebrates Michigan’s treasures
• Award-winning social media presence
– 2012 Mercury Award from U.S. Travel Association for “Best Use
of Social Media” among all state tourism campaigns
– 2012 PR Daily Awards finalist for “Best Facebook Page”
– Named best state tourism social media presence 10 out of the
last 16 quarters by Think Social Media; no other state achieved
this ranking more than five times
@Wiebesick # PMGC13

3. Instagram: Visual Storytelling
• Launched July 2012
• 23,000 total fans
• Over 150,000 photos have been
tagged #PureMichigan
• 500 photos added each day
tagged #PureMichigan
@Wiebesick # PMGC13

4. What is Instagram?
• Social network for taking photographs and posting them from
your phone
• Launched in 2010 and acquired by Facebook last year for a
staggering $1 billion
• 13 employees at time of acquisition
• It’s a rapidly growing social channel tailor made for the
tourism industry:
– 90 million monthly users (versus Flickr with 87 million)
– 40 million photos posted daily
• Tip: Secure your vanity URL before a cyber squatter gets it.
@Wiebesick # PMGC13

5. Instagram: How We Use It
• Make fans the heroes: Feature fan-submitted photos and
credit them
• Curating a fine art gallery of majestic Pure Michigan photos
that inspire travel
• Be social: leave comments and “like” photos
Global reach
Images inspire travel
Featured photographers proudly
share their photos with friends,
@Wiebesick # PMGC13 driving more exposure

6. Align Your Social Strategy
To Your Business Objectives
• Pure Michigan is majestic, mythic and magical – a place with abundant
natural beauty and authentic destinations.
• We have thousands of photographers sending us hundreds of photos a
day as they travel and sightsee across Michigan
@Wiebesick # PMGC13

7. Gain Fans: Cross Promote Instagram
Pinterest Twitter
Google+ Blog Facebook
@Wiebesick # PMGC13

8. Find Influencers
@TonyDetroit = 310,000 followers and following 258 people.
He is among the top 2% most influential people on Instagram.
@Wiebesick # PMGC13

9. Engage Influencers
• Select an influencer to serve as an Instagram Guest
Photographer at popular events
• Sprint Cup NASCAR race August 21, 2011
• 75 million NASCAR fans nationally
@Wiebesick # PMGC13

10. Instagram Guest Photographer
• Within 20 minutes of posting on Instagram, @TonyDetroit’s
@Wiebesick # PMGC13
photos appear on the Popular Photo Page

11. Instagram Guest Photographer
• Promotion
– Pure Michigan team will post a photo on Instagram explaining
that the account has been handed to the specific user
• Hand-Off of the Account
– The guest will be given a new password. Pure Michigan will
monitor the guest’s usage of the account.
• Sharing
– Pure Michigan will share these photos on other social
networks at their discretion.
• Wrap Up
– Pure Michigan will post a photo thanking the guest. A new
password will be set.
@Wiebesick # PMGC13

12. Requirements
• Please do:
– Minimum posts per day: 3
– Maximum posts per day: 10
– Location to be noted in tag or caption.
– Name of photographer to be noted in caption (e.g.
Contributed by guest photographer @username).
• Please do not:
– Post photos of explicit content or any activity that
could be deemed illegal
– Any item(s) that do not represent the Pure Michigan
brand
– Comment to fans or answer questions on behalf of
Pure Michigan
@Wiebesick # PMGC13

13. Thank You
• Chad Wiebesick
• wiebesickc@michigan.org
• Twitter: @wiebesick
• Facebook.com/cwiebesick
• Linkedin.com/in/wiebesick
• (517) 335-1083
@Wiebesick # PMGC13