How to Take Full Advantage of Instagram for Your Business

Since being acquired by Facebook in 2012, Instagram, a free online photo sharing and social network platform has given small business owners seeking ways to engage and grow their base a different outlet to pursue.

So what is Instagram?

Instagram allows members users to upload, edit and share photos with other members through the Instagram website, email, and social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Foursquare and Flickr.

On Instagram, you are allowed to follow photo streams created by other users, be followed back by those same users, and find friends by name or who have connected to you on other social networks. It is as much of a social site as it is a photo sharing app (which is available for free in the Apple App Store and Google Play store).

Some ridiculous numbers:

Okay, just how popular has Instagram become since its founding in 2010? Here are 7 statistics that tell the story:

1. Instagram has 100 million monthly active users. (Instagram)
2. 40 million photos are posted per day. (Instagram)
3. 28 percent of U.S. Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 use Instagram. (Pew)
4. 98 percent of Instagram photos posted by top brands are now shared to Facebook. (Simply Measured)
5. 59 percent of Interbrand’s top 100 brands are on Instagram. (SimplyMeasured)
6. There are 8,500 likes per second on Instagram. (Instagram)
7. 1,000 comments are made per second. (Instagram)

How can you use Instagram for business?

Small companies are finding that connecting with their customers on a visceral level works best with a tool like Instagram. Realizing that what is interesting to the brand and to the core target customer are where they must be. Wise business will use Instagram as a window inside their world. By sharing, small business owners put a face on their business, and to enrich their relationships with customers.

Private Picassos, a children’s art studio in New York City, has found that by using Instagram to document their student’s progress, has contributed to parents commenting and sharing the photos, increasing their business. “I don’t do any paid advertising, so it’s a way to encourage your client to do the marketing for you,” director Valeen Parubchenko says.

Let us know if you use Instagram in your business marketing and if so, how.