This presentation is an overview of the possibilities of what a business can accomplish with Instagram. The presentation is part of the Third Tech Tuesday training for the Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce, it was also presented to the Parker Chamber of Commerce. http://reachyourpotential.guru/

1. Instagram for Business
Michelle Post, Ph.D.
Certified Social Media Strategist
PDF Available: slideshare.net/mpostphd

2. Lessons to Learn
• What is Instagram?
• Instagram by the Numbers
• Top 10 reasons to use Instagram for Business
• Instagram Checklist
• Creating the Perfect Profile
• Navigating the Instagram App
• Ways to Access Instagram
• Best Time to Post
• Creating an Instagram Strategy
• Create an Instagram Campaign
• Instagram and Hashtags
• Apps to Support Instagram
• Most Popular Brands on Instagram
• Resources
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS3/4/2015

3. What is Instagram?
“Instagram is an online mobile photo-sharing,
video-sharing and social networking service that
enables you to take pictures and videos and share
them on a variety of social networking platforms,
such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr”
(Wikipedia, n.d., para. 1).
3/4/2015 ©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS

4. Instagram by the Numbers
• As of January 9, 2015 - Instagram The Fastest Growing
Social Network
• Officially launched in 2010 as an iPhone app
• Sold to Facebook in 2012 for $1 Billion
• 300 million monthly active users
• 26 percent of all US adults are now on Instagram
• 18- to 29-year-olds, 53 percent are on Instagram
• Half of all Instagram users (57%) use the site daily
• Users spend 257 minutes a month on the site
• Engagement is 15x greater than that of Facebook
• Brands post an average of 5.5x a week
• Available in 25 languages
• 2500+ Brands are on Instagram
• Most Popular Brands on Instagram? -
http://list.totems.co/sort-rank
– The above statistics were gathered from various resources. See the
Resources slide – Statistics for all the original sources for the above
information.
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS3/4/2015

5. Top 10 Reasons To Use
Instagram for Business
1. Visual Marketing
2. Enhanced Branding
3. Show Your Personality
4. Quotes
5. Products
6. Contests
7. Graphic
Announcements
8. Share With Other Social
Media
9. How to Videos
10.Customer Content
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS3/4/2015

6. Instagram Checklist
• Download the App
• Create Your Account
– Personal, Business or Both
• Set up Your Profile
– Website
– Bio – 150 Characters
– Profile Picture
• Explore the App
– Home
– Explore
– Camera
– News
– Profile
• Post
– Visually tell your story
– How to videos
– Personalize your brand
– Share your customers stories
– Use a hashtag strategy
• 3-5 Hashtags per post, don’t go crazy
• Find Followers
– Competitive intelligence
– Industry influencers
– Topics
• Use emojis to enhance your bio
text or the text in your
description
• 10 Musts of Using Instagram for
Business [Infographic] -
http://bit.ly/1yDbayP
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS3/4/2015

7. Create the Perfect Profile
3/4/2015 ©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS
Read the Full Post Here: bit.ly/1CdUNb8

8. Navigating the Instagram App
Home Tab – This is where you will
see pics and vids of people you
follow.
Explore Tab – Find people by
keyword searching or searching by
hashtags.
Camera Tab – Take photos or videos
using your camera’s settings, or
upload from your camera.
News Tab – Find what people are
liking & commenting on. You can also
see how your posts are tracking
Profile Tab – Edit your profile
information & photo.
3/4/2015 ©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS

9. Ways to Access Instagram
3/4/2015 ©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS
InstagramInstagram
Web
Mobile App
Collec.to IconoSquare
BlueStacks
And
Others . . .

10. Best Time to Post
What Are The Best Times to Post
on Social Media -
http://bit.ly/1J1uEPa
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS3/4/2015
Best Time
Mon – 6pm

11. Creating an Instagram Strategy
• Ask yourself will Instagram be good for my
business?
• Yes – Create an Account
– Create a business account by using your email
address and your business name
• Create a powerful bio
• Create goal(s) for using Instagram
• Make a plan (Campaign) and work the plan
– Don’t forget to create a Hashtag with your
Campaign, but don’t overdue the Hashtags
• Find your best time to post – when your customers
are on it
– 300 Million Active Users; 70 Million Daily; 8.6
Minutes a Day; 66% follow their favorite
brands
• Be Consistent, Relevant and Helpful
• Posts not only your pictures and videos, but your
customers too
• Engage your followers
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS3/4/2015

12. Creating an Instagram Campaign
• Make it Personal
• Reimagine your product
• Create content that adds
value
• Visually tell your brands
story
• Share customer’s stories
• Run a contest
• Launch a new product,
idea, book, event, etc.
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS3/4/2015

13. Instagram and Hashtags
• If your posts are set to pubic, you can add
hashtags to your photos and videos.
• To tag a photo or video type your hashtag in
the Caption field (ex: #flower).
• Numbers are allowed in hashtags. However,
spaces and special characters, like $ or %,
won't work.
• You can only tag your own posts. You can't tag
other people's photos/videos.
• You can use up to 30 tags on a post. If you
include more than 30 tags on a single
photo/video, your comment won't post.
• Info from Instagram -
https://help.instagram.com/351460621611097
3/4/2015 ©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS

14. Apps to Support Instagram
3/4/2015 ©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS
Photo Editing / Video Editing
Dashboards & Analytics
Text Editors
Quote
Generators
Emoji
Keyboards
Meme
Creators

15. Most Popular Brands on Instagram
3/4/2015 ©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS
Check out Totems List of Most Popular Brands - http://list.totems.co/

16. RESOURCES, RESOURCES
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS3/4/2015

17. Resources: Statistics
• Social Media Update 2014 -
http://pewrsr.ch/1xOtRbN
• By the Numbers: 100+ Interesting Instagram
Statistics - http://bit.ly/1uljOAm
• Instagram The Fastest Growing Social Network,
Facebook The Most Engaged, + More Stats -
http://bit.ly/1BYXiOO
• 25 Essential Instagram Stats for Marketers -
http://bit.ly/1J5d5Mi
• 20+ Instagram stats marketers need to know -
http://bit.ly/1B9WNzU
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS3/4/2015

18. Resources – Tutorials
• Instagram Marketing Training -
http://instagrameasysalesmachine.graphica.me/
• Instagram Marketing Training Videos -
http://graphica.me/instagrameasysalesmachine/Basic/Upgr
ade/
• How Are You Doing On Instagram? These Websites Will Tell
You - http://bit.ly/1EjPRRv
• 6 Powerful Instagram Tools to Help You Get More Followers
TODAY - http://bit.ly/1BwCteP
• 10 Things You Need to Do When Getting Started on
Instagram - http://conta.cc/1ujNpVi
• Instagramers Website & Tutorials -
http://instagramers.com/
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS3/4/2015

19. Resources: Instagram Strategies
• A Winning Strategy for Instagram Marketing -
http://www.slideshare.net/FlashStock/session-
1-a-winning-strategy-to-instagram-marketing
• 10 Steps to an Achievable Instagram Strategy -
http://bit.ly/17ZJIzD
• 5 Ways to Improve Your Instagram Marketing -
http://bit.ly/1ulvkM7
• 5 Steps to an Effective Instagram Strategy -
http://bit.ly/1AERt4Q
• Tips for Creating a Powerful Instagram Strategy -
http://bit.ly/1xrJAic
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS3/4/2015

20. Resources: Hashtags
• The Most Popular Instagram Hashtags For Each Day Of
The Week - http://read.bi/1KXheWb
• Instagram Help: How to Use Hashtags -
http://bit.ly/1pK8EPB
• How to Use Instagram Hashtags to Expand Your Reach -
http://bit.ly/VBK0FQ
• 25 Most Popular Instagram Hashtags for Getting NEW
Followers - http://bit.ly/1xduIYN
• Top Trending Instagram Hashtags -
http://bit.ly/1zt8GTA
• The most popular Hashtag on Instagram -
http://bit.ly/1CJNSF6
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS3/4/2015

21. Resources – Tools for Instagram
• IconoSquare - http://iconosquare.com/
• SimplyMeasured: For Instagram -
http://simplymeasured.com/freebies/instagram-analytics
• SumAll - https://sumall.com/
• Collecto - http://collec.to/
• ScheduGram - http://schedugr.am/
• JustUnFollow - http://www.justunfollow.com/
• Piqura - http://www.piqora.com/
• Curalate - http://www.curalate.com/
• Totems - http://totems.co/
• Websta - http://websta.me/
• Repost for Instagram - http://bit.ly/1ujGhbF
• TrackGram - http://bit.ly/1xOxwq1
• Over - http://madewithover.com/
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS3/4/2015

22. Resources – Benefits of Instagram
• The 30 Most Brilliant Social Media Campaigns of the Last
Half of 2014 - http://sforce.co/15pbV1z
• 10 Reasons to Use Instagram for Business -
http://bit.ly/150YOTh
• This Report Shows Why Brands Should Embrace Instagram
(If They Haven't Already) - http://bit.ly/1wn1ktE
• How to Use Instagram in a Genius Way (and Grow Your
Audience) - http://bit.ly/1BZJfbN
• 6 Business Benefits Of Using Instagram -
http://bit.ly/1ujNWqq
• How to Use Instagram Hashtags to Expand Your Reach -
http://bit.ly/VBK0FQ
3/4/2015

23. References
• Curalate. (n.d.). 4 Tips for Creating Consumer-
Driven Social Campaigns in 2015 [Blog post].
Retrieved from
http://curalate.tumblr.com/post/1073380130
65/consumer-driven-social-marketing-
campaigns
• Wikipedia. (n.d.). Instagram. Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS3/4/2015

24. Image References
• Coach - http://blog.kissmetrics.com/wp-
content/uploads/2014/02/coach-from-above.jpg
• Giving Tuesday -
http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/blog/wp-
content/uploads/2014/10/sampleinstagramcaptionsgiv
ingtuesday-300x217.jpg
• Dove - http://www.godigitalmarketing.com/wp-
content/uploads/2014/06/dove2.jpg
• Peapod - http://www.shoutlet.com/blog/wp-
content/uploads/2014/12/image_peapod-instagram-
contest-examples.jpg
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS3/4/2015

25. Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS
©Michelle Post, Ph.D., CSMS http://reachyourpotential.guru/
Teacher  Connector  Helper 
Dr. Michelle Post is a driven, passionate, and
experienced leader, teacher, social media strategist,
connector, and developer.
Her desire to connect and inspire throughout nearly
three decades of career translates into her ongoing
effort to help the development of ideas, people,
content, and curriculum. Dr. Post is President / CEO of
three ventures: Reach Your Potential, The Post
Institute: Center for Life-Long Learning, and WorkPlace
Influence.