Social media gets visualG&G’s guide to Instagram and your brandInstagram is at a tipping point in SA – its user base has grown by 65% in the last year and currently consists of 1.1 million active users in the country.

Instagram has become the go-to social platform for early adopters and trendsetters, with unique communities forming and individuals emerging as major influencers in this space. Instagram also has the advantage of cross-pollinating content across Twitter and Facebook thanks to the in-app integration.

If your brand isn’t on Instagram yet, here’s G&G’s guide to why it should be.

The Instagram difference• It allows brands to foster more intimate and meaningful brand connections• The consumer is not anonymous among thousands of followers in a brand community, they are at the centre of the experience• Brand-consumer conversations are not part of a brand’s open channel but rather exist primarily on the user’s own feed, in response to their own content• It can be a source of high-quality localised brand content• Other social platforms can then be used as distribution channels for curated Instagram content• It creates a cycle of consumer engagement and community building.

The importance of locationInstagram is a location-based platform by design. It’s founders envisioned the service being used to visit any place in the world through photos and videos in real-time.

Therefore, a large percentage of content is anchored to a specific place and time as Instagram posts are structured locally through the Photo Map feature.

The strongest possible signal of customer engagement for brands is when customers are in the buying moment – Instagram can help you tap into that.

Understanding Instagram interactions• Consumers should be responded to through likes and comments on their own content – this is also an effective way to grow followers• Re-gramming is considered to be similar to a retweet – only with better content (it is not a native function of Instagram so you’ll need to use third-party apps to do this)• Re-gramming and engaging encourages consumers to continue creating great brand content• Instagram content (both your own and curated user content) should be shared to your Facebook/Twitter accounts.

Content guidelines for brands on InstagramSo you’re convinced Instagram is a good space for your brand. Here’s what you need to consider when you start posting content:

• Authentic, in-the-moment imagery performs best• Repurposed generic advertising doesn’t work• If using pre-shot content, it must still feel like a natural fit for the Instagram platform• Your brand feed must show originality while staying true to brand identity and values• A brand feed must strike a balance between original and curated user-generated content• Social listening is essential to aid discoverability – you must tap into existing hashtags and closely monitor any content or conversations already happening about your brand.

If you want to set up an Instagram profile that will blow your followers away and take your social presence to the next level, contact the expert Instagrammers at G&G.

Contact us at info@gullanandgullan.com • gullanandgullan.com • +27 11 887 6591 • More digital marketing insights