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11 Tips for Non-Photogenic Brands to Use Instagram & Reap the Benefits

We hear it all of the time — “Social Media doesn’t work for us!” “Our brand and products have no use for social media.” ‘We have nothing to post
on social media!’

You know what? Sometimes we agree. Some brands and products just don’t have much of a place on social media, but we have a handful of really compelling
reasons why yours should!

One of those reasons is: BRAND PROTECTION. In other words, it makes a lot of sense for us to help you set up multiple social accounts
solely for the reason of protecting your brand from some random person claiming your brand name on social and then posting anything and everything
all willy-nilly. No one wants that.

Every so often though, new, popular (meaning popular amongst consumers) platforms come along and we get similar reactions…like this one about Instagram
(which is owned by Facebook by the way): “Our brand has little reason to be on Instagram.”

What is Instagram?

Instagram is an online mobile photo-sharing, video-sharing, and social networking service that enables its users to share their memories either publicly
or privately on the app. It also offers connected-sharing with a variety of other social networking platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and
Flickr.

What are the Demographics?

As of June 2016, the photo-sharing network had reach 500 million monthly active users, up from 400 million in September 2015. The app
is one of the most popular social networks worldwide.

 

 

That’s a lot of eyeballs to reach!

 

 

 

 

But What About Self-proclaimed ‘Boring’ Brands and Social?


Not having an active social media presence is kind of like pulling out a flip phone at a business meeting – not a good look. Understand also that business
partners, potential vendors, and potential customers are all using social media as a secondary (and sometimes even a primary) search engine.

In fact, even if it doesn’t seem like it, YouTube is the second biggest search engine (behind Google; but then again, YouTube is owned by Google). In the
not-to-distant future, Facebook and its product, Instagram, will be big contenders and bigger competitors for search-giant Google.

Years ago, getting an online presence was the challenge; today, the challenge is being as visible and searchable as possible (with good content to back
it up). Consumers are more tech-savvy, and with so many options out there, they are much more likely to do a good deal of research on a brand and its
products before making crucial purchasing decisions. Having a presence, whether heavy or moderate, is key to your success today, and in the future.

Yeah, But Instagram? What Would We Post?


Good question. Please don’t be offended when we refer to some brands a ‘boring’ — that term is used loosely and is often how brands self-describe
when faced with a new platform to interact with. But, for those ‘boring’ brands that don’t feel they can benefit from being on Instagram, we have 11
super tips for what to post when you feel you have ‘nothing’ to say:

#1. Be personable. People want to see the ‘human’ side of the brand.

#2. Post pictures of manufacturing/customers using products

#3. Create an image with your products and add a quick review on the image.

#4. Post pictures of your staff interacting with the community.

#5. Use a picture of a staff member and embed an ‘expert tip’.

#6. (BONUS): Avoid being ‘salesy’.

#7. Connect your brand/products to current events (except for political).

#8. Post informative videos about your product.

#9. Post an image of a product/service and embed a 2-step ‘how-to’ in the image.

#10. Post employee of the month.

#11. Have an event? Conference? Post images!

Still not sold? How About Some Boring Brands That Are Rockin’ Instagram!

 

Water? Really!?

Is there anything more boring than water? Water is so boring that we spend billions on products that ‘flavor’ the heck out it of it (like beer! wine! …and
so on). Billions of bottles of bottled water sell every year, but if you think about it…water is boring. So, why then does FIJI Water have 43,000+
followers on Instagram!?

Check out how they do it:

image from: http://www.mainstreethost.com/blog/6-companies-killing-it-on-instagram/

Banking? Really?

I don’t know about you, but when I think of ‘bank’ I don’t think of photographs. But 7,000+ people do care about Wells Fargo on Instagram. Talk about B2B!
Here’s a sampling of what they’re doing:

Image from: http://blog.bookly.co/booklyinsight/15-b2b-instagram-accounts-that-are-doing-it-right

Marketing & Sales?

Yes! Hubspot is a marketing tool company. And you know what? They have 31,000+ followers on Instagram. More B2B that is working! Check this out:

Image from: http://blog.bookly.co/booklyinsight/15-b2b-instagram-accounts-that-are-doing-it-right

Need more ideas? We’d love to help! Get in touch and let us know when we can meet!