Mandy EdwardsAh, Instagram. The lovely app that lets you share pictures of your food, your kids and your selfies.
I’ve been an active user of Instagram personally. I’ve been a slacker using it professionally.
No more.
I was recently at a conference where pretty much every business there had an active Instagram strategy for their business. To say I was blown away was an exaggeration. I’ve always read about the benefits of using it for your business, but honestly never put too much into it. Why? None of my clients are actively using it and even though I set up one for my business, I let my intern handle it 100 percent.
Well, that intern has graduated so here I am – a business Instagram account that needs some love. And I love a challenge of something new.
I follow some other social media pros on Instagram and see their balance of social media-related content and real life stuff. It works.
So why have I have been such a slacker on my business Instagram?
One, it’s tedious to log out and in my personal account anytime I want to use my business account. I wish Instagram made it easier to switch between accounts like Twitter does – swipe down on your profile and all of your linked accounts show up.
Two, content. I vow not to be one of “those” who do nothing but post non-industry-related motivational graphics for each and every post (you know the ones I’m talking about). I don’t relish the thought of posting text graphic after text graphic.
Three, I tend to forget. I’ll see something that looks good to post, save it and then forget about it. Or I’ll go to share something and see I’m still logged into my personal account and decide to give up.
I know, those all sound like lazy excuses. And you know what? They are.
Here is why I will no longer be an Instagram slacker…
Higher engagement rates.
According to Sprout Social, “Instagram posts, however, generated a per-follower engagement rate of 4.21 percent. That means the app delivered brands 58 times more engagement per follower than Facebook and 120 times more engagement per follower than Twitter.” I’ve even noticed on my personal account I’ll get more on pictures I share then than when I share the same picture on my business Facebook page.
It’s also noted that “On average, posts that include another user handle in the caption receive 56 percent more engagement than those that don’t.” You would be crazy if you ignored that kind of engagement.
It’s time to get with the times.
The social media landscape is always changing. With Facebook squeezing posts and Pinterest now having a smart home feed (which I do NOT like), we have to be willing to explore other platforms. I was amazed at the conference I was at at the success everyone had with Instagram. It was like a wake-up call to what I wasn’t doing but needed to be. When in Rome, right?
I already have a following there, so it’s time to leverage it.
My intern did a wonderful job growing my followers aside from those I initially followed when I started. They are there. They are a captive audience, so why not post quality content and give them what they want. They all followed for a reason – and that wasn’t by accident. Anytime you have a community somewhere, you need to reach out to them. You never know what may happen.
So, today I vow to not be an Instagram slacker anymore!
While doing some research for this article, I can across this great infographic with ways you can use Instagram for your business. Enjoy!
Source: http://www.techwyse.com/blog/infographics/how-to-use-instagram-for-businesses-infographic/
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