How to Create a Strategy on Instagram

Something very exciting happened last week. If you haven’t heard, Instagram is now available for Android and Google Play users. Mashable reports that in the few days that it’s been on available, the app has received over 5 million downloads.

So what does that mean? If you haven’t downloaded the Instagram app, you should do so now because now there can be even more eyeballs on your brand creating another touch point with customers, media outlets, and retailer partners.

In our last article, How to Maximize Social Platforms, I discussed tips on how to really make the most of your online activity, but since Instagram, like Pinterest,  is doing gangbusters, we wanted to drill down on how to navigate this particular app.

Here are six ways to be strategic when you use Instagram

1. Say something! The default language for Instagram when you don’t write anything is “I posted a photo” when you share it to Twitter or Facebook. Intriguing? Well, maybe but not really. Like other platforms, you can get clever with what you say to spark curiosity and hopefully get people to click on your post when it’s fed to other sites. Not sure about what to say? Just ask yourself the basics: who, what, where, when and why and you can probably think of something meaningful to write.
2. Use those Hashtags – Use hashtags that are relevant to your category or create your own as a way to brand yourself. This way, you can drill down to photos posted by yourself and others that can be seen all together. It’s a pretty powerful when others start catching on and we’re sure there will be a service out there that can take photos within a hashtag and turn them into a timeline or a photo album shortly!
3. Check In – Connect your Foursquare account and check in when you are posting photos. Oh, and if you haven’t given your brand a Headquarters, you may want to get yourself on the map to continue to make your brand even more official.
4. Follow Your Network – Start following magazines, blogs, tradeshows and any other resources that will help you build your fashion business. Not only will their photos be a source for inspiration, you can also see how they market their brand and of course, find out news about their company.
5. Ask A Question – The Wall Street Journal encourages readers to share their photos with the newspaper and recently started asking followers how they start their day by using the hashtag #morningwsj. The best photos are featured online a wsj.com. It’s exciting to see how people begin their morning, but it’s also a way for them to create engagement with their users. This is part of a bigger marketing program, but simple questions like “guess where I am?’ or “what do you think?” encourage people to respond.
6. Create A Dialogue – Start a dialogue with your network. You can like, make a comment or even follow back people and you’ll soon start to see that you’ve built great relationships and conversations.

Last but not least, don’t forget to check for updates because Instagram is constantly rolling out new features to make the app even better.