While
traditional media is at the very core of our services in Orchan Consulting, it
doesn’t necessarily mean we do not get our hands dirty in the world of social media.
Having started with Facebook for our Food & Beverage and property clients,
we figured the next best thing was to get them on Instagram. As with anything,
it wasn’t always a smooth ride, and at times you can certainly do better than
the image that got posted without #hashtags. But if you’re just starting to get
your brand on Instagram, here’s an article by Drew Hubbard – a social media and
content marketing strategist and owner of Foodie Content Studios – who iterated
the taboos when it comes to Instagram. Check it out!
 |
| Source - www.ragan.com |
Ignoring
comments, begging for likes and posting inconsistent content are tactics that
will keep people away from your brand. Do be a pariah.
You
know this, but it bears repeating: Your brand should be on Instagram.
It's
not too late—as long as you know what you're doing.
It's
disturbing to watch sophisticated brands make rookie mistakes. Like any social
network, Instagram must be learned. The following guide can teach you the
ropes. If you're committing any of the gaffes below, please stop. Make Instagram
a better place:
1. Advertising in
other people's comments
Self-promotion
is tricky. After all, you're on Instagram to promote your brand, right?
Like
most social networks, Instagram is more complicated than that. You need to
invest time and energy to cultivate an audience by building goodwill in the
community.
One
of the fastest ways to anger Instagram users (and lose followers) is to leave
an irrelevant, annoying comment like, "Want to earn BIG $$$ with no work?
RIGHT now??" on someone's post.
2. Posting
inconsistent content
The
most popular Instagram posts have clear messages. "Behind the scenes with
your favorite celebrity" is probably the most used angle, but many
accounts have great success by using other immediately understandable angles
for their messages.
An
account that only posts photos of weird-looking pumpkins is much easier to
understand and share than one that posts random snapshots. Your brand should
send clear messages on all online channels, anyway.
3. Begging for likes
or followers
Begging
sometimes works. Say you are an agency charged with building an Instagram
account, and your only metric for success is total followers. Begging will
probably achieve that goal, but you'll annoy many people. If it's worth
damaging your brand, go for it. But you'll degrade your audience, consisting of
users who don't mind shamelessness.
Be
aware that most Instagram users don't like those who post, "Yo, dude!
Follow me for awesome pics!!" in the comments. It's irrelevant and adds
nothing to the conversation.
4. Ignoring comments
Instagram
is a social network, so if you're not social, you miss the point. When people
comment on one of your posts, they speak to you. Respond like the polite,
interesting person you are. And since you speak on behalf of your brand,
judiciously bring the brand into the conversation.
5. Not using hashtags
 |
| Source - 42works.net |
Hashtags
are Instagram's backbone. They organize content and help users discover
content. But hashtags can be awkward at first. It might feel silly to tag every
fifth word in your caption, but if those tags place your post in a content
category, it was the right thing to do.
If
you don't tagging your posts, start. To familiarize yourself with hashtags,
Google the most popular tags, and click through them on Instagram. Notice how
popular accounts use them, and follow suit.
6. Posting other
people's images without credit
 |
| Source - www.musictimes.com |
And here is what happened to Ludacris.
This
is obvious, but people still do it.
I
guess if you post uncredited work, you probably don't care much about my
advice.
Instagram
doesn't have a mechanism for re-sharing content, so users often turn to
third-party apps that watermark content as re-posted. Responsible users also
tag the creator in the post's caption.
Users
usually encourage re-posting since their content reaches a wider audience, but
re-using other people's photos without credit is creepy. You'll be exposed as
an image thief, and you'll suffer mass unfollows.
7. Buying followers
You
can buy new followers pretty cheaply. Sometimes buying followers might make
sense; for example, you launch an account that quickly needs to looks
legitimate. The quality of bought followers will be terrible. They won't care
about your content or like or comment on your posts.
Buying
followers doesn't make sense long-term. The point of Instagram is to build
rapport with a new audience. Buying followers only means a larger number on
your profile page.
No comments:
Post a Comment