The Ultimate Guide To Instagram Marketing

The Ultimate Guide to Instagram Marketing Ross Simmonds www.rosssimmonds.com

Every day, 55 million photos are uploaded, 86.4 million comments are posted, and 691.2 million users like various photos in their feeds on Instagram.

If your strategy includes marketing to Generation Y or Millenials, Instagram is kind of a big deal.

? Are you using it effectively

The Ultimate Guide to Instagram Marketing 1 2 3 Getting Started: Account Setup Marketing Effectively on Instagram Taking Your Instagram to the Next Level

1 Taking Your Instagram to the Next Level The ﬁrst step in establishing your Instagram presence is creating your brand or organization’s proﬁle through three main tasks: Adding a Profile Picture Writing a Bio Connecting a Website

DOING IT RIGHT: STARBUCKS Profile Picture Connected Website Brand Bio

ADDING A PROFILE PICTURE CONCEPT STRATEGY The proﬁle picture should be iconic and representative of your organization, such as your logo. Over time, people start to remember your proﬁle picture when scanning through their newsfeed and you want them to remember something that is used in other mediums.

WRITING A BIO CONCEPT STRATEGY You have under 200 characters to tell the world: 1. Why your Instagram page is worth following 2. What you offer as a service or product Enhance your bio by encouraging users to share content relevant to your brand using a speciﬁc hashtag.

CONNECTING A WEBSITE CONCEPT It’s important that you drive your users down the path to purchase as much as possible and your website should be an avenue in which that can take place. STRATEGY Ensure that your URL directs users to a mobile friendly site, as most trafﬁc to Instagram happens through a mobile device.

2 Marketing Effectively on Instagram Once you’ve created a proﬁle, identify what types of posts your target audience will be interested in. There are four main categories of successful and viral posts: Brand Centric Content Reactive Storytelling Behind the Scenes Content Inspirational & Motivational Quotes

DOING IT RIGHT: LAYS // LULULEMON Images and visuals covered with brand’s logo and color pallete Focusing around the ideas and feeling associated with the brand

BRAND CENTRIC CONTENT CONCEPT Brands who use Instagram must understand the importance of brand storytelling. STRATEGY Whether through photos of products or photos of the results of their product, businesses using Instagram effectively showcase what they have to offer.

DOING IT RIGHT: OREO

REACTIVE STORYTELLING CONCEPT STRATEGY Reactive storytelling leverages a human truth, timely event or unique insight to generate immediate feedback from their target audience. Brands who use reactive storytelling tend to use references that are either meme based or pop culture based.

REACTIVE STORYTELLING TOP OF MIND INTERESTING STORY BRAND RELEVANT MARKETING MESSAGE REACTIVE STORYTELLING

DOING IT RIGHT: TELUS // LEGO

MEME BASED: REACTIVE STORYTELLING CONCEPT Meme based reactive storytelling is when brands leverage a popular meme and use it to communicate a brand relevant message. STRATEGY Generate buzz and ultimately spark conversation about your brand.

DOING IT RIGHT: BRISK

POP CULTURE BASED: REACTIVE STORYTELLING CONCEPT Pop culture is a driving force for media and consumers attention. STRATEGY Share content that references pop culture and drive engagement.

DOING IT RIGHT: STEAM WHISTLE BREWING // TECHCRUNCH Showing the making of their product Showing the inner workings of the organization

BEHIND THE SCENES CONTENT CONCEPT STRATEGY People are looking for transparency and an inside look at how things are built or done within your organization. The internet has made secrets a thing of the past. Brands are now looking at how they can be more authentic, as its what consumers are asking for.

DOING IT RIGHT: LULULEMON // FORD

INSPIRATIONAL & MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES CONCEPT STRATEGY Sparking emotions in your customers or target audience is the most effective way to drive shares, likes, comments and any sort of connection to your brand. The key is to recognize what quotes will resonate with your audience and then deliver them in a beautiful way.

3 Taking Your Instagram to the Next Level Now that your brand has developed a relationship with your audience, users will be more inclined to like, comment and share your images. But how can you take it to the next level? User Generated Content Use Hashtags Have Call to Action on Images

DOING IT RIGHT: FRANK & OAK On Fridays, they often run a contest called #NecktieFridays where they encourage guys from all over the world to upload photos in their neckties for a chance to win a Frank & Oak tie.

USER GENERATED CONTESTS CONCEPT When users create content that is associated with a brand, that content combines with other stories to develop an overarching brand story. STRATEGY Contests are user generated content directly inﬂuenced by the brand, but done so in a unique, compelling way.

DOING IT RIGHT: STARBUCKS 4 interesting hashtags 63.9 thousand likes in 4 hours.

USE HASHTAGS ON INSTAGRAM CONCEPT STRATEGY Hashtags present a great opportunity to broaden the reach of your images. Brands need to think about what hashtags are relevant to the different images they share and how they can leverage existing hashtag trends.

DOING IT RIGHT: BRISK // THE SCORE

HAVE A CALL TO ACTION ON IMAGES CONCEPT Instead of making the call to action in the text description that is associated with the image, many brands are including the call to action directly in the visual. STRATEGY Another approach for driving interaction is giving users a this or that choice and then asking them to “like” for this or “comment” for that.

It’s important to identify and analyze your overarching digital plan and determine whether or not Instagram is a good ﬁt for your audience. From there, it’s time to plan.

These tips and tricks will help you in the planning stages, but constantly push yourself to be innovative and think different.

Aspire to create compelling content and refuse to accept the belief that what others have done in the past must be replicated.

Strive to create your own path and use Instagram to visually engage and connect with your audience.

INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE? Look out for my e-book, Stand Out: A Content Marketing Guide With click-through rates on online ads plummeting and the amount of competition increasing, businesses are looking for results. In a world where there is more noise than ever before, it’s important to create content worth reading, creating and sharing.

ROSS SIMMONDS www.rosssimmonds.com @TheCoolestCool