Instagram is a photo and video-sharing social media that has revolutionized the way we communicate. Instagram has taught us that a picture is worth a thousand words.
But let’s take a step back. On October 6, 2010, Launched by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, Instagram was born as an exclusively photographic social network.
Within a few years, the catchment area grew to the point of becoming attractive in the eyes of the good Mark Zuckerberg, the father of Facebook. In 2012; he decided to buy Instagram for a modest sum of about 1 billion dollars. What distinguishes Instagram from the other most famous social networks? The difference is that Instagram is purely visual and does not allow you to share textual statuses – or rather – you can do it, but only if you post a photo or a video.
So, fans of photos and selfies, get in touch: Instagram is the social network for you!
The Features Of Instagram
Instagram is constantly evolving and integrating more and more features.
Sharing Photos And Videos
I just downloaded the application: what can I do with Instagram? Share photos and videos first!
Instagram offers users the ability to:
- Post photos, preferably in square format (better still 1080 x 1080 px)
- Post videos to the feed of up to 60 seconds
- Write the caption, i.e., the text of the post. I recommend the caption must be short enough. Otherwise, the reader will be brutally truncated in the feed.
- Edit photos and videos, apply filters (well, there are 23!), crop or combine various photos through predefined layouts
- Tag users
- Add the geolocation of posts
- And ( last but not least ) share photos or videos also on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr
So far, nothing new, but there is a tiny observation to make. On Instagram, naturalness and spontaneity win: on this social network, you will not find the borderline (if you don’t know me, with “borderline,” I mean casino ) of memes, cartoons, comics, and photoshopped photos typical of Facebook. Instagram, with its content, captures a moment of real life. Better not forget it when carrying out marketing campaigns using this social network.
Also Read: How To Activate Notifications On Instagram In 3 Minutes
The Famous Instagram Stories
Instagram is wide ( not at all! Extensive) use of stories, inherited from Snapchat.
The stories (“stories” in Italian) are temporary statuses (photos, videos, direct or text sentences) that users share with their followers and which last 24 hours.
You can apply filters and use native apps to edit videos by creating GIFs, boomerangs, or inserting masks when sharing stories.
The New IGTV
Since June 20, Instagram has made another powerful revolution: IGTV arrives, that is, Instagram TV! But what is IGTV? It is the new platform within Instagram for sharing videos on full screen, just as if you watched a mini TV from your smartphone or tablet. Once inside IGTV, you will find videos of the profiles you follow: the maximum duration is usually 10 minutes, while for influencers, the videos can last up to 60 minutes.
The # Hashtag
Instagram is the realm of #hashtags. The more there are, the better! The hashtag is used to label a keyword to improve user research. Let’s take an example. I am an animal lover and would like to search for animal photos. What can I do? I use a hashtag to help me search!
So, in the search bar, I’ll write #loveanimals, for example. And poof! All results associated with the hashtag #i loveanimals appear!
Not only that: the hashtag also has a strategic importance that should not be underestimated.
We can use the most popular ones to gain visibility. But beware: the hashtag can become a double-edged sword. If you use hashtags disproportionately, your profile will be inconsistent.
The Follow, The Followers, And The Influencer
It almost seems like the beginning of a fairy tale: once upon a time. There were the following, the followers and the influencer … But let’s start with a fundamental question: how does the follow-follower interaction work? Unlike Facebook, on Instagram, there is no concept of “asking for friendship,” but of “follow,” that is, to follow a profile.
If you are particularly interested in a person or a page, click on the “Follow” button to see its contents. By doing so, you become a follower of the profile.However, there is an unwritten rule to keep in mind: the following must (or should) be reciprocal. If a profile starts following you, it would be a good and right thing to follow back. I say this because many times, a denied follow can cause dislike.
But now, let’s get to the point: who are these influencers? I’ll explain it to you better with a list ( I want to be precise, sorry! )
The influencer
- Has a profile of thousands or even millions of followers
- Creates content that can generate a lot of interactions
- Knows how to use the right #hashtags to increase their visibility
- It is considered credible and reliable to the point of influencing followers
Many brands rely on influencers who are sometimes certainly more skilled in speaking to the mass. Even if influencers are like mushrooms (they grow everywhere), they should not be underestimated – and here I break a lance in their favor -.To get to where they are, they have studied the world of Instagram and know this social network better than their pockets; in addition, they have put in place the right strategies to increase their popularity.
Instagram Shopping
Now comes the fun! For a few months, Instagram has integrated a new feature: Shopping!
The name already sounds good: what is it? It is a beautiful function thanks to which business accounts (business accounts, to understand) can insert product tags directly in posts and stories. Pass … Before tagging products on Instagram, you must insert them in the Facebook showcase (the Facebook and Instagram marketplaces work parallelly).
All posts with tagged products end up in the Shop section ( Buy, for those who use Instagram in Italian) within the profile. When the user clicks on the product tag, a tab opens with product photo, model name, price, and – here’s my favorite part! – a beautiful button, “View on the website,” shoots the user in the e-commerce of the brand to make the purchase.
Shopping on Instagram is an excellent opportunity to optimize user conversions on e-commerce!
Also Read: How To Get Lots Of Followers On Instagram
