With over 300 million users and 70 million posts shared daily, Instagram is more than a space for selfies. It is where real people can share real moments.

What brand wouldn’t want to be a part of that?

Here are three (of the many) ways you can use this image based platform to your social media marketing advantage.

Become a Visual Storyteller

When you visit a brand’s profile, you are immediately hit with their tale. While a strong bio and link to your website are crucial, the images are really the key factor to attracting the attention of a user. Don’t be afraid to step outside the box. Creativity is encouraged through filters, the types of images and the knowledge of what your audience wants to see.

You may be thinking,”My brand does not really fit with an image heavy platform, why would I join?” Exposure, in any form, is an opportunity that any brand should take full advantage of. Red Bull has mastered this idea. Whether it’s a great action shot or video, they are solidifying their message without going overboard. They are creating an experience you could have with that product, not just a promotional billboard.

User Generated Content

What if you had a bank of images of your product in use without the headache of staging the “candid” shots? With Instagram, you can! By involving your followers in content creation, they feel like they are a personal part of the brand. Shout outs to followers and re-posting their photos on your own feed are ways to get this across. You never know, someone might see that you regrammed someone else’s photo, and then snap their own to get noticed by you. We are capturing every moment of our lives through our lenses. Brands should be capitalizing on our need to over-share by creating ways that followers can post specifically about them.

Track Engagement

As with any other campaign, we want to know what our efforts are getting us. You want to track the levels of engagement for certain images, to see which speak more to your follower base so that you can make adjustments. It is really as simple as it sounds. Certain tools like Iconosquare, Curalate and Piqora can help give in depth statistics on anything from how many total likes your account has, which hashtags work best, and your most loyal followers.

By remaining engaged, being creative, and figuring out what works best for brand growth you can utilize this platform to your advantage. We are definitely a society that feeds off great images and Instagram is the perfect vehicle for sharing. If you gram it, they will come.

By: Blueprint