After hearing Erin Cell’s talk, “Insta Success – the Power of Using Instagram,” at Social Media Day Denver 2018, I was motivated to use Instagram more.

In addition to giving this information-packed presentation, Erin was the organizer and driving force behind this excellent event. Learn more at https://socialmediadaydenver.com/

Founder and CEO of Socially Power, Erin is a social media consultant, trainer and strategist. Learn more about Erin and her services at https://sociallypowered.com/

This is the third in a series of posts in which I share the key points made by some of my favorite presenters at Social Media Day Denver 2018. Previous posts covered Twitter and native video on LinkedIn.

Here’s a summary of what Erin presented.

 

Instagram by the Numbers

Erin led off by sharing some fascinating statistics:

  • Instagram has 800 million active users.
  • 50% of these users log in every day.
  • 80% follow a business and 75% make purchases through Instagram.
  • There are 25 million active advertisers.

 

Three-Step Plan for Getting the Most Out of Instagram

  1. Determine how often you can post. Be realistic in terms of what you can manage consistently.
  2. Gather your images ahead of time so you can post faster.
  3. Be clear from the start about what you are selling, who you are selling to, and what you are OK with sharing.

 

Tips for Using Instagram for Business

  • Make your posts eye-catching and interesting.
  • Keep in mind that visuals communicate information 60 times faster than words.
  • People spend five times longer watching videos than looking at other posts.
  • Connect your Instagram account to your Facebook business page. This will not only save time posting, it also leads to more people seeing your posts on Facebook.
  • Use the direct message feature when you need something. People are generally very responsive and helpful.

 

Helpful Tools and Resources to Use with Instagram

  • Boomerang for Instagram app. Use this to shoot a burst of 10 photos and turn them into a mini video. You can share directly from the app or save the video to your camera roll to share later.
  • Instagram’s layout app or similar apps allow you to create a collage of multiple images in one post.
  • The Planoly app allows you to manage, plan, and schedule posts. You can see how your post will look in your feed before you post it and store commonly used hashtags.
  • The Repost for Instagram app lets you share posts from other Instagram users.

 

How About You?

Have you been using Instagram for business? If so, what approaches are working well for you? And what advice can you share with people not as well versed in this platform?

 

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 45 and up, to become more effective using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter. She works with business owners, nonprofit organizations, retired people, consultants, and many others. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com