I wanted to talk a little further on Instagram this week, why it might be the right tool for some self-promotion. While having a Facebook page is almost essential it might not longer the best way to get attention. Facebook serves as a more of a guestbook or holding space for all the other media available.
This is a mobile based, real time sharing platform gives users a way to combine visual and text to grab consumers. Originally designed to pick up where twitter failed in the image-sharing realm, there is now a whole new tactic to being a super user. What Instagram allows you to do is make visual statement and expand on it with text. For me I might post a picture of post a picture of some students inside of a museum trailer and in the text put something like “Students from @WestMiddleSchool are learning to Think Like an Artist with #DIAaway. Come see us @WestboroLibrary 2/14-2/17”. To create that text I needed to do a quick search to find out if the attending middle school has a twitter or Instagram account, I need to know the event hashtag and search for the event sites Instagram or twitter. In the end all easy steps if you want to create maximum impact.
Instagram primarily uses a square format but now also allows for wider images and helps a user with some simple editing along with pre-set filters. Each filter allows members to add to the overall mood you want to create. For a museum program with kids I want to make sure the image looks bright and colors bold.
Now that I have the image and text ready I will choose what additional forums I want this image to be shared on. This is exactly why Instagram is such a great tool, it creates content for other platforms. I would choose to share this image on the Facebook page that Josh and I have set up for our professional lives (not my personal page), the twitter feed for our professional lives, and possibly foursquare/swarm (this is a geotagging app that would make that image available to anyone looking at the location on one of those platforms). There are even further options as they fit your current needs. The benefits are that you are easily creating content to push out to whatever platform desired users are seeking. Using the hashtag and @user connection you helps a post to reach even further.
The complicated element of Instagram is choosing hashtags, figuring out the right ones to use takes some time. By searching some terms within the app you can hook onto what is popular and will fit your needs. Don’t hesitate to search via a tag you came up with then look at what other terms are used on popular posts. You’ll quickly be able to take part in the discussion.
**For my regular readers this post has a slightly different format, as it is part of my coarse work for SNHU.
Keller, K.L. (2013) Strategic brand management: building, measuring and managing brand equity. Pearson Education, Inc. Fourth Edition
Li, C., & Bernoff, J. (2008). Groundswell: Winning in a world transformed by social technologies. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business Press.
Streatfield, B. (2015, December 23). “Rise of a tech giant: the history of Instagram”. The Telegraph. Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/technology-video/12064686/Rise-of-a-tech-giant-the-history-of-Instagram.html
The Roving Van Gelders 
Hi Abigail! I enjoyed reading your blog post for this week. I have mixed feelings about Instagram; while I am on it, I do not utilize it very often. Your insight might push me to be a bit more active on it. I agree with your statement that Facebook might not be the best way to get attention anymore. Facebook, in my opinion, is gradually shifting out of the focus in a way comparable to MySpace ten years ago..but at a much slower pace. We have so many options now as consumers that we did not have ten years ago. Facebook has to find new ways to innovate their product or we’ll lose interest. That’s where Instagram come in- largely, we don’t like to read much or spend too much time on someone’s thoughts and writing. Instagram lets users tell a story without saying much of anything. It is a great way for people to experience things that they are not directly involved in. Instagram caters to the fact that many of us are visual learners and easily visually stimulated. As you pointed out, with any of these social media platforms, choosing quick and effective hashtags can be challenging. It always takes me a few seconds to decide what I will use on Twitter and Hootsuite. Overall, Instagram seems like another great tool for social media enthusiasts and I’m sure it will continue to flourish. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I am working with a client right now on a plan to use Instagram like a blog. However I think this platform will have a much shorter lifespan than Facebook or Twitter
HI Abigail,
I enjoyed reading your post this week and found the information to be very useful. I have had a Instagram account for some time now and like to only post my best work there. Pictures are something that speak a lot more than words and having the ability to so easily share and enhance our pictures is a great way of not only promoting what we find interesting, yet also the work that we are capable of making with a camera. Instagram gives the possibility to quickly access a large audience with a little help and understanding of the platform. One of my favorite Instagram experts and the founder of Foundr magazine, Nathan Chan, does a great job with a series of videos explaining how to make the most of Instagram. If you are interested the first video in the series can be seen here: http://igdomination.com/1hsqh?ref=o1 Also if you are interested you can view some of my Instagram photography at: https://www.instagram.com/treasuremediapublishing/ Thank you for a great post this week and looking forward to reading more in the future!
I will have to check that account out.
Hi Abigail,
This is a great blog post! Nice job! I love the conversational flow of your wording, and I especially love your title! I think instagram is one of my very favorite social media platforms. You get to tell a story without having to use many words. Sometimes it is hard to convey your feelings or thoughts using words, but a picture always seems to sum it up for me!
Well thank you, I was a communication major in my undergrad and my writing is always much more like a speak.
Hello Abigail,
Thank you for providing your thoughts on Instagram. To be completely honest, I never really got into the Instagram craze because I figured it would just be another social media account that I have to manage. However, I can see, after your explanation, how it would be of extreme help for businesses. I think the bottom line when it comes to social media utilization in the business world is that it all comes down to authentic helpfulness. In other words, posting information that is of value to your audience. In your case, posting pictures of students allows you to strengthen your brand. I really enjoyed “The Roving Van Gelders’ posts.
MC.
It’s all about finding the right tools for you.