Act Natural: The Do’s and Don’ts of Instagram

With 300 million active users and over 30 billion shared photos, it’s no wonder why brands are eager to add Instagram to their social media marketing mix.

But before you start posting stock photography of your products with your own “clever” hashtags, you need to figure out your goals and how they align with Instagram’s highly visual and creative community. Once you have those nailed down, choose themes to tell a story that is authentic to your brand. Create high-quality content and follow our do’s and don’ts for a successful Instagram followed by loyal, engaging fans who will become your brand’s ambassadors.

DO:

• Your homework! Make sure you know your audience, you’re tagging the correct accounts, that your hashtag doesn’t have a negative meaning that will cause backlash, etc.
• Reward engaged followers with freebies, coupons, etc.
• Share fan photos. Loyal fans are the best brand ambassadors.
• Give fans an inside/behind-the-scenes look.
• Match your Instagram username to your Twitter name. Keep it simple for people.
• Write captions or tag locations that explain the photo. With Instagram’s newest updates to their Explore and search pages, it’s important to make sure people can find your brand’s images through trending tags and places.

DON’T:

• Just “post and ghost,” engage with your fans.
• Use photos or videos you don’t have the rights to!
• #Use #more #than #ten #hashtags.
• Include a super long caption. Keep it short and sweet.

Check out a few companies doing it right:

• GOPRO – Shares an awesome story by capturing incredible, aspirational content with their products. One thing they’re not: overly promotional.
• AGCO – Knows exactly what makes their audience tick–fan pictures of machinery from around the globe.
• BALTIMORE WATERFRONT MARRIOTT – Uses social listening tools to “surprise and delight” people who use certain hashtags while staying on the property. Hello, surprise chocolate covered strawberries!
• NBA – Sells an experience. Does a great job balancing video content of players on the court and behind-the-scenes clips to speak to its audiences’ interests and entertainment needs