Sometimes I spy an Instagram account and question the content and the rationale for being there. But there are six business areas that are Instagram naturals. Here’s what you need to know if you are in one of these Instagram naturals.
There are so many reasons to use Instagram. It’s a powerful visual storytelling medium. Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms and it shows no signs of slowing down in terms of growth. Instagram has 500 million monthly users. It’s fun and the interaction and engagement can be great for personal or business users.
Maybe you are still on the fence wondering why you would commit to having an Instagram handle or whether Instagram works for your field. If you are, then read this post about Instagram for Businesses. There are six topics that are gold on Instagram. Now I’m not saying these are the only valuable Instagram content areas at all. If it were up to me I’d have almost everyone I know, and certainly almost every business I know on Instagram.
But there are six specific instagram naturals that are inherently visual with content that provokes and provides a lot of opportunity for engagement. Why is that important? Well, if you are a business then ultimately Instagram is another channel for your clients to talk to you through, or to interact with you through. It is a place for you to show off your personality and build the love. Occasionally you might answer a hard question there. You need to be prepared to do that. You also need to be prepared to get in there and post regularly and ask questions and comment on other’s posts and follow other people back. Instagram can be a great way to showcase your business and your product. It can also be a creative outlet that supports your mandate and helps you drive more business to your storefront or your web site.
Six Instagram Naturals:
- Fashion – Engaging Models or Influencers can make a huge impact here. Take a look at any of the fashion influencers doing Fashion Week right now. SO vibrant and present and people who are influencers are doing professional level staging of fashion brands often. This is a no brainer to me. With a great strategy you can catapult a fashion brand to the next level. I build influencer strategy every day via my business Thrifty Mom Media. You can reach me at inkscrblr@rogers.com
- Food – Remember when everyone was complaining that twitter was nothing but people taking pictures of food and sharing what they ate? Well, all the foodies embrace Instagram in droves and they have created gorgeous channels. Styled and unstyled. Natural or completely professionally plated – that all depends on what your brand is and how it fits in and what your mission is. Luxury restaurant? Then your food better look the part. Home based recipe delivery service? Well, then I expect influencers staging their own at home cooking photos in process and when finished. Cake decorating business? Then you better have every single visual social channel there is up and going and you should be building that into your daily work routine. People eat with their eyes and they consume Instagram food photos. Food posts are instagram naturals.
- Travel – If you are a destination you are already here and if you aren’t then I don’t know what you are thinking exactly. Travel is one of the biggest Instagram naturals there is. T’s also an arena where influencers and social media make a giant impact. People rely on word of mouth and on line reviews from people who have been there already before they make their decisions. It’s important that you deliver a constant stream of visuals and news and events happening in your area.
- Beauty/ Nail/ Hair Products – Beauty bloggers and vloggers are killing it on Youtube. Instagram also happens to be a spot where that naturally ties in as well. If you are a hair salon you should be taking photos daily of your styles and creations in house then asking clients if they are okay with you sharing their photo. So much simpler than creating and editing a video. If you want you can also do Youtube but the time spent doing one video could be a week of Instagram content easily. So be clear on where you have time to spend and what your resources are. People want to see pretty products and they love to see that on Instagram. I have two daughters and one really adores Instagram and Youtube for beauty and hair tutorials. That’s the thing she seeks out there.
- Pets – Have a cute dog or cat? Have a brand of dog food or a shelter or a line of dog clothing or food? You need to be sharing your pets with the world on Instagram. The beauty of this is maybe you have a dog food brand or biscuit…there’s no end to content that you can find and share and even occasionally repost on dogs or cats or whatever pet you have. You rarely need to mention your product. If you are bringing people in with your adorable photographs, then you will win them over fast.
- Furniture – If you sell furniture or reupholster furniture you are Instagram naturals. Get there now if you aren’t already.
Instagram Naturals
If you are a business already on Instagram and you want to learn more then read this post about Best Instagram Filters.
If you need help getting there or understanding how to make your social channels work, call me inkscrblr@rogers.com I can walk you through it, provide a strategy for you, implement and run your influencer programs.