PPB March 2019

TECH TALK Gaining Followers, Gaining Business Strategies for brands to gain a following on Instagram. Instagram isn’t just a place to share pictures of aesthetic dishes you’ve ordered, marvelous sunsets you’ve seen and sun- kissed feet poking out of the sand during a tropical vacation. Far more than what we encounter on our personal timelines, Instagram is a social media platform that brands can use as a marketing tool to reach, interact with and promote to their consumers. With more than one billion users worldwide, there’s also no cap on your brand’s potential to reach target clients, near and far. But certainly, there’ll be no ROI on Instagram if your brand’s profile is lacking followers. Here’s a few tips that are sure to bolster your social media rep. 1 Do Your Homework. Instagram has many layers to it. Before you invest in a social media account, campaign or even dedicated employee, it’s important to know how the platform works. Instagram is organized according to algorithms, which determine where a post will appear on users’ timelines and whether it will be featured on the Explore page (a general search page). To master the app, familiarize yourself with its many functions. 2 Download An App To Track Stats. If you’re in the midst of a client’s order or a large project, you’d want to check on the progress, right? Simply downloading Instagram alone, or any social media platform, will not suffice. There’s a host of apps designed to track your social media analytics, like SimplyMeasured, a web-based report that collects analytical data, in addition to information about top followers, filters and best posting times for accounts with up to 25,000 followers. 3 Create A Trending Hash Tag. Instagram has a feature that enables users to track and follow hash tags, as opposed to only profiles. Select a hash tag that is relevant to your business or campaign and use this on every post so interested users can follow your content. Snack food company Lay’s used a #DoUsAFlavor hash tag to market a campaign that asked customers to suggest new flavors, for example, while Coca-Cola used the hash tag #ShareACoke to market its popular Share-A-Coke campaign. 4 Invest In Instagram Ads. Instagram is a free service, but if you’re looking to rise in the ranks, you may have to invest some capital. When you create a business profile on Instagram, there is a feature that permits users to develop advertisements using selected photos and text. This can be used to increase 82 | MARCH 2019 | THINK