Photo Sharing Networks
The recent popularity of photo-sharing networks Instagram and Pinterest demonstrate a perceieved shift to an emphasis on visual content within social media. Although both of these platforms act as photo-sharing networks, they are extremely different in function and so are best considered separately.
Instagram is a free photo sharing application for smart phones that allows users to take a photo, apply a creative digital filter to it, and then share it on a variety of social networking services, including Instagram’s own. Users can ‘follow’ other users, browse their photos and like or comment on their content.
Top 5 Instagram Marketing Tips
1. Be Creative
Instagram’s popularity largely rests on its ability to turn mediocre images into aesthetically appealing masterpieces through the use of various digital filters. Creativity is valued on Instagram, and so take a moment to snap a striking shot that will stand out from the rest.
2. Use Hash tags
Use hash tags wisely to describe the location or content to make it easily discoverable.
3. Cross-promote
Link your Instagram account to your Facebook and Twitter accounts so that you can automatically share images uploaded on Instagram on those platforms too.
4. Tell a Story
If you’re trying to convey a message, sometimes one photo isn’t enough. Pulling a number of photos together into one collage with apps like Picframe and Frametastic and then publishing them through Instagram can help create more meaningful and engaging content for your followers.
5. Don’t Saturate Your Feed with Branding
Because Instagram is valued as a creative platform, followers can get annoyed when their feed is saturated with overt marketing content instead of ‘art’. Instead of publishing photos of your logo, find creative, interesting ways to engage your engage your target audience.
Pinterest
Pinterest is a pinboard-style social photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections. Users can browse other pinboards for inspiration, ‘re-pin’ images to their own collections, and/or ‘like’ photos. Pinterest is most relevant for businesses that have a product or event that can have a strong visual base.
Pinterest is a pinboard-style social photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections. Users can browse other pinboards for inspiration, ‘re-pin’ images to their own collections, and/or ‘like’ photos. Pinterest is most relevant for businesses that have a product or event that can have a strong visual base.
Top 5 Pinterest Marketing Tips
1. Allow Interactivity But Monitor It
You can set your account to allow other people to pin to your boards, which is a great way to interact with other users. However, ensure that your monitor the content that is being pinned to ensure quality.
2. Have Themed Competitions
Encourage interaction and drive people back to your page by creating weekly themed pinning contests, rewarding the person who pins the most images to the relevant theme board on your page every week.
3. Use a ‘Pin It’ button
Consider embedding a ‘Pin It’ button onto your main webpage to encourage users to pin images from your brand page onto their own Pinterest profiles. This creates links back to your website making it more SEO friendly and also increases awareness of your brand on Pinterest.
4. Be Witty and Playful
Take care to title your boards and annotate your pins with appropriate, witty statements. The most popular pins on Pinterest are often those that are not only visually engaging, but are accompanied by fun statements.
5. Watermark Images
Add a watermark with your brand logo to your images in a way that is noticeable yet discreet. This ensures that when people repin and share your images it will help increase brand awareness wherever they go.