Many marketers underestimated Instagram at first. Yet, this mobile photo App holds great potential. We’ll show you how to realise your brand’s content marketing strategy using Instagram.

If you limit your social media marketing in the social networks to Twitter and Facebook, you haven’t really grasped the benefits of the photo-sharing platform Instagram. After all, more than 75 million users are active on Instagram every single day. On top of that, you can measure the success of your marketing campaign with hashtag tracking and the right analysis tools.

When you go for content marketing on Instagram and create an account for your brand, you should pay heed to a few points that will really help your communication with the users.

• Post interesting content. Nobody on Instagram wants to be spammed with images that simply try to sell a product.

• While a picture says more than a thousand words, your communication with the community will greatly benefit from the right caption. This is why you should use a relevant caption that provides a context for your photograph.

• You can make your content even more valuable by adding hashtags. Using the right keywords allows a great number of users to find you.

• Treat Instagram as a community and interact with the users. Follow relevant users with your account, leave comments and “like” other users’ pictures.

A great range of brands has recognised the potential Instagram offers for the realisation of their content marketing strategy:

1. Ikea:

The Russian branch of the Swedish furniture store has launched its first Instagram website. The account ikea_ps_2014 acts as an interactive furniture catalogue. Clicking on the images takes you to one of the categories and provides you with additional information on each product. Ikea has created a truly innovative approach for presenting its content within Instagram’s boundaries.

2. Ben & Jerry’s:

Instagram lets you post sponsored images to reach more users, just like you are used to from Twitter. The American ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s took advantage of this when engaging the actor Will Ferrell to advertise its new product. According to Instagram, the company placed four posts over a period of eight days that were intended for the 18-36 target age group. They managed to reach 9.8 million users.

3. Nike:

With more than five million followers, the sports goods manufacturer Nike is one of the top brands on Instagram. When the company celebrated bursting through the 1 million follower threshold, it presented the ten most inspiring photographs of Instagram users, spread out over a full day. Each of the images carried a motivational caption and emphasised the user who had posted the picture. This included the very first Instagram picture with the hashtag #Nike. This campaign generated more than 600,000 “likes” and around 5,000 comments.

4. Topshop:

The British retailer Topshop is one of the most popular brands on Instagram and boasts more than two million followers. The success of the Topshop account can primarily be attributed to its content. The brand steers clear of pushy presentations of its new products, instead posting images that take the user behind the scenes of Topshop. From backstage pictures of a photo shoot with the model Hailey Baldwin to photographs straight from the front row of a “Jungle” concert - Topshop understands how to shine as an expert on the scene.

5. General Electric:

The US conglomerate has clocked on to the fact that the community is crucial for Instagram marketing. To compensate for their distinct lack of sexy products, GE provides the users with exclusive insights into the company, using powerful images. Last autumn, GE launched a campaign that encouraged users to post images with the hashtag #GEinspiredME. The winner was awarded the title of official General Electric Instagram photographer. On the first day of this campaign alone, the Instagram page gained 2,910 new followers.

Conclusion:

These global players show how it’s done. With the right strategy and the right content, you can achieve similar success on Instagram. Your efforts will pay off big time: Instagram helps you gain an edge over your competition, while forging even stronger links with your potential customers - and all that for free.

Are you a brand marketer? Do you want to know if Instagram is the right choice for you and your business? We are happy to advise you and provide you with a targeted analysis and content strategy for your brand. Get in touch!