Instagram is a popular photo sharing platform with over 400 million active users. This document provides tips for using Instagram to grow a business or personal brand through an engaging profile, high quality photos and videos, effective hashtags and captions, frequent posting and interaction, competitions and cross-promotion. It also recommends using Instagram analytics and Google Analytics to track follower growth, engagement, and traffic to other sites like blogs in order to improve Instagram marketing strategy.

1. Grow Your Tribe
Pamela Higgins - @SpamellaB #IndulgingInnocently

2. #1 Instagram - It’s a big deal
❖ 400 million active users on Instagram - 75% outside the US
❖ 30% of internet users are now on Instagram
❖ 90% of Instagram users are younger than 35
❖ Over 40 billion photos have been shared (80 million are shared daily)
❖ Instagram clocks up 3.5 billion likes every day
❖ The most followed brand is National Geographic, with 48.4m followers
❖ Pizza is the most popular Instagrammed food, behind sushi and steak
❖ 60% of users log in daily (2nd most engaged network after Facebook)
❖ Engagement with brands on Instagram is 10 x higher than Facebook, 54 x
higher than Pinterest, and 84 x higher than Twitter

3. What do you use
Instagram for?
What issues do you have
with the platform?
What do you
want to gain from
using it?
Who wants to
GROW their
‘real’ followers?

4. Boost Your Followers: #1 PROFILE
Is your profile up to scratch?
➔ Who you are, what you
do
➔ Personality
➔ Reason to follow
➔ Username:
recognisable and easily
searchable
➔ Link to your blog
➔ Public profile

5. #2 CONTENT
➔ Visually appealing
➔ High quality photo - phone or
professional camera
➔ Use natural light
➔ Interesting or unusual perspectives
➔ Filters: high exposure, warm
temperature, high contrast
➔ DON’T go crazy on saturation or
over-edit (especially selfies)
➔ Manually edit to achieve most
natural finish
Image checklist:

6. #2 CONTENT (more tips)
➔ Create your own style - and
maintain this theme
➔ Vary your content
➔ Try videos (can drive more
engagement and comments)
➔ Use Instagram Stories - behind the
scenes, informal chat, show the
‘real’ you
Who has used Instagram Live? Do you use Stories
instead of Snapchat?

7. #3 TEXT
➔ Max. 30 per post (use 15)
➔ Identify obvious/relevant ones
➔ Search + find other popular
associated hashtags
➔ Use Explore tab
➔ Caption then hashtags
➔ Include own unique ones
➔ DON’T use gimmick tags
(spam accounts)…
➔ But jump on trends e.g. #TBT,
#MotivationMonday
Hashtag tips:

8. #3 TEXT (more tips)
➔ Use emoticons (where
appropriate) to inject
personality + accompany
text and image.
➔ Include a call to action -
gently nudge to read
blog post, ask a question
or invite people to
comment on your post

9. #4 TECHNIQUES
➔ Post frequently (daily)
➔ ...But DON’T spam
➔ Tag brands - likely to be
seen and re-shared
➔ Be interactive - reply to
comments, comment on
others’ posts
➔ Share the love - reshare
someone’s image who
inspires you (credit) +
encourage to follow

10. #4 TECHNIQUES (more tips)
➔ Run a competition - team
up with a brand, encourage
to follow both accounts
➔ Cross promote -
Instagram icon on blog,
embed images in posts,
share on other socials
➔ Follower
recommendations - follow
back, see who Instagram
recommends or search

11. Use Instagram to Boost Blog Traffic
➔ Include blog link in profile info
so followers can click through
➔ Change link in your Instagram
profile and add ‘link in bio’ to
the corresponding post.
Followers can click straight to
the post (but have to change)
➔ Include a blog post URL in
caption of post - copy, open up
the person’s profile on desktop
+ paste to view

12. Using Analytics - Instagram
POSTS
➔ Impressions - total times all posts been seen
➔ Reach - no. of unique accounts that have
seen your posts
➔ Profile views - no. of times your profile has
been viewed
➔ Website clicks- No. of taps on website profile
➔ Get directions clicks - Number of taps to get
directions to business
➔ Top posts - sorted by impressions
Check Insights each week for:

13. Using Analytics - Instagram
FOLLOWERS
➔ Total number
➔ New followers
➔ Gender split
➔ Age range
➔ Top locations
➔ Hours & days - when
your followers are most
active

14. Using Analytics - Google
Identify what traffic
Instagram brings to
your blog through
social acquisition and
see how this compares
with other channels.
Click through to
identify which blog
landing pages had the
most traffic in that
time period.

15. Thanks for listening
ANY QUESTIONS?