How businesses can make money on Instagram
Contents · 7 sections
How businesses can make money on Instagram
Instagram probably looks like a place where only a few niches can succeed, like fashion or food. That’s simply not true, as long as you know what you’re doing. More and more small, midsize and large businesses are building Instagram into their marketing, and it’s bringing them more fans and more profit.
Before you jump into the visual world of Instagram and hashtags, take some time to learn how the network works and what it takes to launch your brand to the top.
Ready?
What is Instagram?
Instagram is a mobile photo-sharing app and social network launched in 2010. In 2012, Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion! (Yes, a billion dollars for a simple mobile app.) According to CNN, by September 2015 Instagram had more than 400 million users. And if you’re wondering about the name, “Instagram” blends “instant” (as in instant cameras) and “telegram,” or at least that’s what the FAQ page of the world’s biggest photo-sharing hub says.
Unlike other social networks, Instagram is built entirely around photos and video. You can edit and post pictures and short clips (up to 60 seconds at the time of writing), but not text-only updates. In that respect, it falls behind giants like Facebook, Twitter and Google+.
How does Instagram work?
Instagram is primarily a mobile app, so you’ll need to download it to your smartphone or tablet before you can sign up. The only drawback at the time of writing is that there’s no way to create a dedicated business profile (like a Facebook Page), so business and personal accounts are set up and work exactly the same way. Then again, that tight bond between a brand and the people behind it is exactly what makes Instagram so effective for business. Brands have never been closer to the people they really work for: their customers.
Creating content
Instagram lets you post two types of content: photos and videos. To post a new one, tap the camera button at the bottom of the screen. This opens your phone’s camera, and you can either shoot a new photo or video or pick one from your device’s storage (your SD card, for example).
Instagram became hugely popular with young people thanks to one lovely feature: built-in editing for photos and videos. Adding filters and customizing your content is the key weapon in every Instagram marketer’s arsenal, because a few taps can completely change the look of a product photo. Goodbye, boring shots on a white background. Hallelujah!
The video options are much the same, with a few small differences. When you shoot or upload a video, you’ll see four options. The first lets you add filters, just like with photos. The second lets you adjust how the video fits the screen. The third lets you pick a cover frame, and the fourth lets you turn off the sound if you want the video to be silent.
Instagram hashtags
Hashtags are a great way to help other users find your content on Instagram, just like on Twitter. When people search for a hashtag, they see only the posts tagged with it, so hashtags are usually a very effective way to get noticed. But just like on Twitter, make sure you use the right hashtags for your brand and don’t overdo it.
Hashtags like #nofilter (for a photo that hasn’t been heavily edited), #selfie and #tbt or #throwbackthursday (for an old photo) are hugely popular on Instagram, but they won’t work for you or your brand if you use them the wrong way. Using popular hashtags just because they’re popular can annoy your current and potential followers, and you’ll lose more than you gain.
It’s a good idea to look at how established brands (and even individual users and bloggers) in your industry use hashtags. Brands like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Gillette, WeWork, National Geographic, ASOS and H&M have changed the way people today take in, absorb and interact with the information they’re given. Today a single hashtag can be worth more than an entire marketing campaign.
Advertising on Instagram
Instagram may be the best platform for building an organic following, because people choose what they see and who they see it from. Still, the company offers three ad formats:
Photo ads: These look like regular photo posts but carry a “Sponsored” label at the top. Instagram has also added a “Learn More” button at the bottom right, below the photo. This lets advertisers target specific niches directly and reach only active users.
Video ads: Like photo ads, video ads look like regular video posts, with a “Sponsored” label at the top.
Carousel ads: These look just like photo ads but contain several images that users can swipe through. Now that Instagram is part of Facebook, we can expect more improvements and new features in its advertising.
All three formats appear in users’ feeds as they scroll through the app. They support four online marketing goals: video views, website clicks, mobile app installs and brand awareness.
Maybe the nicest and most useful perk of advertising on Instagram is that you can run sponsored posts straight from Facebook. Just connect your Instagram account to your Facebook account and manage your ads through Ads Manager or Facebook for Business.
The future of Instagram
The platform will most likely keep moving toward ads, now that Facebook has shown that video advertising has a future. With growing competition from Snapchat and Periscope, I expect we’ll soon see Instagram shift from a photo-sharing platform to one for sharing all kinds of audio and video content. Instagram has already released Hyperlapse, a separate app for shooting stabilized time-lapse videos. We also expect Instagram to introduce business profiles in the near future. Let’s wait and see how that affects users and businesses.
Meanwhile, Instagram won’t forget the foundation of its success: its community. In just five years, it has attracted more than 400 million users from every walk of life. That diversity is still Instagram’s biggest advantage. Everything suggests Instagram will keep growing for years to come, and businesses will need to find the right way to talk to their current and future customers through strong photo and video content.
Petar Dyaksov
Entrepreneur and founder of a digital agency, in e-commerce since 2009. He grows online businesses such as Fragrances.bg and Timedix and shares his experience as a speaker, moderator and mentor at nearly 80 conferences and trainings.
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