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Instagram Basics For Your Business A Beginner’s Guide to Instagram Sue B. Zimmerman @theinstagramexpert

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Page 1: Instagram Basics For Your Business - social media for ... · Instagram Basics For Your Business Introduction Instagram is a social media platform that involves sharing high quality

Instagram Basics For Your Business

A Beginner’s Guide to Instagram

Sue B. Zimmerman @theinstagramexpert

Page 2: Instagram Basics For Your Business - social media for ... · Instagram Basics For Your Business Introduction Instagram is a social media platform that involves sharing high quality

Instagram Basics For Your Business

Table of Contents

Foreword  By  Tory  Johnson   1  .......................................................................................................

Introduc5on   2  ............................................................................................................................

What  Is  Instagram?   3  .................................................................................................................

Ge>ng  Started   4  ........................................................................................................................

Anatomy  of  An  Instagram   5  ........................................................................................................

Se>ng  Up  Your  Profile   7  ............................................................................................................

Anatomy  of  a  Post   8  ...................................................................................................................

What  Not  To  Do   10  .....................................................................................................................

Who  To  Follow   11  ......................................................................................................................

Direct  Messaging   12  ...................................................................................................................

How  To  Get  Followers   13  ............................................................................................................

Instagram  For  Your  Business   14..................................................................................................

Sue B. Zimmerman Enterprise | @theinstagramexpert

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Foreword By Tory Johnson

It's difficult to overestimate the power of social media in building my business. The vast majority of people who attend Spark & Hustle events learn about us through Facebook or Twitter. That means those two sites alone have enabled me to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue. Additionally, I find some of the best ideas for my weekly Good Morning America segments on Pinterest and Instagram. And that means the business owners who pinned and posted their products stood to make big bucks. These platforms are goldmines for targeted awareness and significant sales. Most importantly, it's not difficult to figure out how to make social media work for you and your business, especially with Sue B. Zimmerman on your side. For the past two years, I've watched Sue evolve as a highly effective entrepreneur and educator, taking the talent that she's applied to her own thriving business and making it accessible to other business owners every where. I've asked her to share that expertise on numerous occasions at my events and through media opportunities. Sue B. makes it easy to understand exactly how to use the right social media tactics and strategies to boost your bottom line. As I continue to discover the fun and financial opportunity in being active on Instagram, I look forward to learning the latest tips, tricks and tactics from Sue -- and you should too. I'll see you there. @ToryJohnson.

Sue B. Zimmerman Enterprise | @theinstagramexpert !1

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Instagram Basics For Your Business

Introduction

Instagram is a social media platform that involves sharing high quality images from your smart phone out to your social media network. Instagram is the easiest way to produce viral content quickly. It is a mobile application that can be used on any iPhone or Android device. There are more than 200 million active monthly users on Instagram worldwide. Images taken with your phone’s camera can be manipulated through photo filters increasing the quality and uniqueness of the images you share. The instantaneous and intimate nature of Instagram allows this social media platform to create a close connection with the user. Businesses of every size can find a way to interact with their market through this social media platform. It is the perfect combination of mobile marketing and social media. Sue B. is a successful entrepreneur who has launched 18 businesses starting from age 13. Her trend spotting skills and keen sense of the market has made her a go to speaker on social media and online marketing. She has been using Instagram for her own business, SueB.Do, a seasonal boutique on Cape Cod, for the past year. Using Instagram has yielded a high return in both sales and the growth of business relationships.

Sue B. Zimmerman Enterprise | @theinstagramexpert !2

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Instagram Basics For Your Business

What Is Instagram?

Instagram comes from the word "instant" and "telegram" which merged together becomes (Instagram.com). It is a fun, fast way to capture moments and share memories with your audience. Instagram updates in real time providing a constant stream of content giving the viewer an insider’s perspective into the world of the user. Using Instagram makes brands and business owners relatable. Customers like to do business with people they know, like, and trust. Instagram gives you the opportunity to show consumers who you are, what you love, and what you do. When your customer base can visually make a connection to your company, it will translate to sales and collaboration.

Instagram is a free mobile application that can be downloaded in the Apple app store or on Google Play. The user simply snaps a photo and applies one of many Instagram filters to give the image an artistic look and feel. They can then share that image on their other various social media platforms.

Sue B. Zimmerman Enterprise | @theinstagramexpert  !3

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Instagram Basics For Your Business

Getting Started

After downloading the application to your smart phone it’s time to register your account. Click into the application and Select Register to start the registration process.

The next section of registration involves adding contacts to your account from other social media platforms and from your phone. You can use the "Find Friends" tool and import contacts from Facebook. To assist you with making connections, Instagram will cross reference phone numbers of your Facebook friends with numbers associated with current Instagram accounts and suggest people for you to follow. You should allow the application to have access to your contacts so you can easily find your connections.

Your Instagram account is now set up! Get ready to learn the anatomy of the Instagram account to understand the insane value that Instagram can have for growing your business.

Sue B. Zimmerman Enterprise | @theinstagramexpert  !4

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Instagram Basics For Your Business

Anatomy of An Instagram

Instagram is a very simple application to navigate, and that is why it is the easiest social media tool for a business owner. There are 5 sections in the application, shown below from left to right; the Feed, Explore, Share, News and Account. Each of these tabs has its own purpose in the application.

Feed: This is the home icon and includes the images uploaded by users you are following. It gives you a real time update of what others are uploading.

Explore: This tab shows you posts from other users that you currently do not follow. Look here for images that catch your eye and click into them to find new people to follow. In this tab you can also search for users and hashtags.

Share: This tab is where you create your own Instagram. The icon is a camera and when selected, it will automatically open your cell phone’s camera to capture an image. You can take a picture in real time or upload an image that

you have taken previously from your image library. After selecting what image you are going to use, you can choose any of the filters and other customization tools to change the look and feel of the image. After this is completed you can add a caption and share the image to your network.

News: The news tab shows updates connecting to your own account. Posts in the news table include; when friends from Facebook have made Instagram accounts, when followers have liked your image or if there are new comments

on your images. Be sure to check this tab at least once a day and engage with the notifications as it is very valuable to grow your network.

Account: The account tab shows the user’s personal account information. This is where you are able to edit your profile, including the photo, handle, and bio. This tab also shows you all the images that you have previously uploaded, as

well as a map of where all of your uploads have come from and the photos that you have been tagged in on Instagram.

Sue B. Zimmerman Enterprise | @theinstagramexpert  !5

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Instagram Basics For Your Business

On this page there is a gear icon in the upper right hand corner that shows you all the back end information of Instagram. This is where you go to link all of your social media accounts. If you go to “preferences” and then “linked accounts” you can see all the different social media accounts on which you can connect and share your Instagrams. Connecting your social media accounts to Instagram and then sharing the content on those platforms is one of my favorite things about Instagram.

Sue B. Zimmerman Enterprise | @theinstagramexpert  !6

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Instagram Basics For Your Business

Setting Up Your Profile

Your Instagram profile must accurately express your company and brand for your business to get the most value out of the platform.

Your profile picture for the account should either be a professional photo or a logo of the company to accurately represent who is posting in the account. You have 150 characters to create a rockin’ bio. It should be snappy, to the point, and showcase you and your brand. This is important because the bio is what a potential follower would read to understand what the account is for before following. If someone is following me and I click in and see that there is no bio included in their profile then I most likely do not follow back because I do not know what they are interested in. I connect with people in Instagram who will add value to my network or give me great visual eye candy.

Now this is a Golden Nugget. You can link your websi te URL in your account bio. This is awesome for driving traffic to your website or blog and potentially turn them into paying clients.

Sue B. Zimmerman Enterprise | @theinstagramexpert  !7

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Instagram Basics For Your Business

Anatomy of a Post

The first step in creating a post is capturing a bright, interesting, high quality image. It is important to have quality lighting and focus for the photo, as well as relevant content for your business and your brand. You want to be sure that you are sharing images that will have some emotional connection with your followers.

At my seasonal store on Cape Cod, my staff and I Instagram a mixture of different images including; products that are being sold, customers visiting the store, and images of Cape Cod. Cape Cod is a beach community, so images of the water, sailing, and the beach give the feeling of the brand.

After deciding what photo to use for your post, Instagram has 20 filters and 10 manipulation features that allow you to further increase the quality of your image. Each of these features is scalable to allow for further customization of your photo. It allows you to rotate, add a border, add water dew effects and change exposure on the picture.

There are other 3rd party applications that can also be used to change elements of your images, including Diptic, WordSwag, and Layout.

The description is important in engaging your viewers. A description has a few elements that are important in getting the most reach.

@ Mention is when you put the @ symbol in front of another Instagram user’s username, like @suebzimmerman. This “tags” the user in your post and allows them to be notified about the mention. If you are posting an image which includes another user, or that you believe would be helpful to that user, @mentioning them is a great way to share your content.

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Instagram Basics For Your Business

A #hashtag is created by placing a # symbol in front of a word. This is the magic of Instagram. Hashtags are used to curate images that have the same hashtag in their descriptions. Hashtags can be general or specific. Using the correct hashtag for your image can mean getting the most reach. You can use hashtags for brands, locations, products, quotes, events, designers, a breed of a dog, or any tag that you think is relevant to grow your followers.

Your descriptions with the use of hashtags are used to gain more traffic to your account. Engage your followers by asking a question and start a conversation on your uploads. Starting a conversation can help create a sense of community for your followers. All of these elements of a post bring value to your Instagram account and increase traffic.

Sue B. Zimmerman Enterprise | @theinstagramexpert  !9

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Instagram Basics For Your Business

What Not To Do

It is very important to understand the etiquette of Instagram and use your account correctly to attract the right followers and share the right content. Reviewing a few helpful hints will help you succeed in Instagram.

Make sure you are not flooding your followers feed with too much of the same thing. You want your followers to desire your content and interact with your posts instead of being bored and annoyed by overwhelming their feeds with too many photos that are not relevant.

Be sure to give credit where credit is due. Do not steal images from others and pass them off as your own. Instead, when sharing an image you want to give the creator credit by @mentioning them in the description of the post. Using others images and reposting properly can be a great way to meet other users on Instagram.

Only make relevant comments on other’s images. Remember that all comments are public and are shown on other people’s feeds as well.

Keep descriptions relevant and to the point. Be respectful of your followers. Do not use too many hashtags and clutter user’s feeds with an excess number of hashtags. Keep the descriptions clean with hyper focused keywords.

Remember, Be kind on Instagram. Your account can get shut down if: 1. You share photos that show nudity. 2. You share photos of illegal content. 3. You spam. 4. You are rude. 5. You abuse, attack or harass others 6. You promote or glorify self-harm.

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Instagram Basics For Your Business

Who To Follow

“Explore” shows images posted by users followed by people you follow. Look in the “Explore” tab for other Instagram users to follow. Select images that are consistent with your brand and follow those who interact with that post. Additionally, use Explore tab to look for brands that are relevant to your business and to find thought leaders in your industry. You can type the company name into the Search bar.

When users start interacting with you and like and comment on your photos, you should follow them. You can see who is interacting with your posts on the “news” tab. Click into the names of the users liking your photos and see if they will add value to your network. You can always unfollow them in the future if their content is not relevant to your account.

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Instagram Basics For Your Business

Direct Messaging

The direct messaging function on Instagram is something I utilize often. It is the perfect forum for longer conversations that could get lost in the comments section of a post.

Sending and replying to messages is very easy and is a great way to form connections and help you stand out from the many other people that users are following.

To use direct message, you do not need to download a separate application—everything you need is inside of the app itself! Here are four steps to get you started!

1. To get to your “inbox” simply click on the home button and at the top right of your screen, you will see the direct messenger box. Click on that button to start interacting.

2. If you have new messages, that white box will have a number indicating how many new messages you have.

3. When you are in your inbox, any new or unopened message will have a blue dot next to it. Just click on the message to see what’s waiting for you!

4. To create a message of your own, simply go back to your inbox, and click on the + in the right hand corner of the screen. Then add your photo, message, and recipients and hit send!

Now that you know the basics of accessing and sending messages, here are four ways to use this feature.

o Reach out to people you admire. o Interact privately with some of your more active followers. o Exchange information following a giveaway or contest. o Brainstorm with your team: stuck between three filters? Send them to your most

trusted and have them help you pick. This way you can keep the conversation in the application, without moving to messaging or email.

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Instagram Basics For Your Business

How To Get Followers

To get followers on this platform, start by leveraging the networks that you have on other platforms. Share your Instagram handle to your other social media accounts and invite friends to join you.

Send an email newsletter about your presence on Instagram to your network. Include one of your high quality posts and invite them to follow you. When you have clients or customers take pictures with them and use it for content on Instagram. Ask them for their Instagram handle and @ mention or tag them in the post.

Keep including hashtags. Hyper-focused hashtags will assure that your images are put in front of a more interested audience. Use hashtags relevant to your industry and to your customers to put your pictures in front of the right users.

Sue B. Zimmerman Enterprise | @theinstagramexpert  !13

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Instagram Basics For Your Business

Instagram For Your Business

All businesses, both small and large, can find value in creating and using an Instagram account. This social media platform can give customers a personal view into your company and brand and can create a sense of community amongst your followers. You are able to share the story of your company and give a behind the scenes look at how the company is run.

Starting this connection with your customers helps to create a loyal following, and allows for constant word of mouth promotion to help you continue growing your customer base.

Instagram also allows you to have free market research. Be sure to communicate with the customers that are interacting with your posts and click into who is “following” “liking” and “commenting” on your images. You are able to see what your customers are sharing and what is most important to them. This is any company’s dream! Having an insight to what your customers share can help make design decisions and help shape the content that you create.

Instagram is simple to use. In under a minute you can take a picture, add a filter and upload to Facebook and Twitter.

Some of the top brands are on Instagram.

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Instagram Basics For Your Business

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Instagram Basics For Your Business

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