Maryland Social Media

Social Media Monday (Vol. 6, No. 4)

November 16, 2015

A picture is worth a thousand words? – Frederick Barnard

So with that in mind this week we will be reviewing Instagram and some best practices for posting content that excites your followers and creates engagement within your community.

Over this multi-week series we are discussing the best practices for several of the major social media website utilized by State agencies. In each there are unique steps that can be taken to improve performance but there are also similarities crossing all platforms. Though we will be stating more of the same this week please do not take this as noise, as it is critically important when delivering quality social media that gets results.

Top Story

As many of you know Instagram is an online mobile photo-sharing, video-sharing app that allows users to take pictures and videos, and then share within Instagram or across other social networking platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and even Flickr. Nine months after reaching 200 million users, Instagram estimates that 300 million people use the app every month. If those numbers are accurate that pushes Instagram ahead of Twitter in the race for social media dominance.

Why does this matter?

As we said over the last two week, pictures are important in social media and this is a photo app that shares images over other platforms. Considering that it is extensively used by Marylander’s under 30, you should be leveraging Instagram in your digital marketing plan if your agency works with people in that demographic.

Instagram Facts:

Facts about Instagram
1. Estimated 77.6 million Instagram users in the United States in 2015
2. The United States, Japan, and Brazil are the three countries with the most users
3. New York City is the most geo tagged city.
4. Stanford grads Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger founded Instagram in 2010
5. As of 2014 16 billion photos have been uploaded to Instagram
6. 70% of Instagram users check it at least once a day
7. 83% of all posts contain hashtags
8. Number of likes per day is 1.2 billion; that’s 8500 likes per second
9. 60 million photos are uploaded per day
10. Selfies rule Instagram

Demographics (% online adults using Instagram)
Men	22%
Women	29%
White, Non- Hispanic	21%
Black, Non- Hispanic	38%
Hispanic	34%
18-29	53%
30-64	21%
65+	6%
High school or less	25%
College+	24%

Pew Research Center’s Internet Research

Very few agencies are using Instagram. The advantages of Instagram are often underestimated, but if the under 30 crowd is an important demographic then you should consider this app. Additionally an agency with interesting content could earn massive amounts of engagement within their community. One study showed that Instagram content generates almost 60 times more engagement than Facebook and 120 times more than Twitter. So if you have not considered it before, maybe you should now.

Be Consistent

With every blog post, regarding social media, we say to be consistent. Maybe we are doing it to show we practice what we preach, or maybe it is because it is important. Either way consistency is as important within Instagram as it is for any other social media community. With Instagram it can be a “what have you done for me lately” community more so than most others. If it is behind-the-scenes photos or you interacting with the public; make sure you post regularly. When you aren’t posting with regularity then followers lose interest and engagement, regardless of the quality of the content, diminishes significantly. So once again, create a schedule, post with regularity, and make it a priority to stick to your social media plan.

Be Trendy

Tracking trends on Instagram is easy and can be beneficial to you and your agency. Review what is trending and when it fits with your agency’s ideas get involved in the conversations. This would help increase your exposure throughout the app and likely increase engagement within your community.

As an example if #healthylifestyle is trending and Department of Natural Resources is on Instagram, they might post a picture of a hiking trail with that hashtag. Or when #positivevibes is a trending hashtag showing happy children playing at a park could get huge amounts of exposure and engagement for the Department.

With that said, research should be the first step when using hashtags in digital marketing. Bad hashtags can attract the wrong followers or spammers, which will make cleaning your account a major part of your day. By learning which hashtags are better for getting discovered by your target audience you can more easily get involved with those groups. As described above, using those tags creates a stronger relationship with the community by engaging them and highlighting your posts. Always use hashtags on your posts and create opportunities to grow and connect with others in your community.

Let’s Be Real

The content that you are posting needs to truly be representative of your agency. Your community, along with everyone on Instagram, loves seeing this great content from your agency and will respond accordingly when it is being posted to the account. Use Instagram as a platform for showing your thoughts and what inspires the community rather than posting blogs and articles that interest you. Nothing will run off followers faster than posting junk regarding boring news and non-creative content. So do not be afraid to show your personality and what excites your agency and you will see the engagement you are looking to create.

Bio-Pick

Have a great biography. Your Instagram bio is one of the first things followers and other users see when visiting your profile. So take time authoring it and do not just fill in the blanks.

First is your name. Your name needs to be your name and this is the one time where we don’t think you should be creative. Your name on Instagram needs to be how you are known in the real world.

After your name is in place explain what makes you unique. Let users know what you can do for them and make sure you tell them what you do and who you are in the world. Additionally your bio should reflect your agency’s personality. Don’t make your bio too stuffy or formal unless appropriate within your community. Include emojis along with keywords to help communicate who your agency is and your personality.

Finally take advantage of this space to include your website, blog page, or other relevant links.

Take time creating your bio on all social media platforms, make sure it to shows your agency’s attitude, and pick keywords that support your digital marketing plan.

Ask Why

When considering Instagram as one of your marketing tool for your agency you need to ask a few questions.

Is your agency’s target audience active on Instagram?
Can you be successful using Instagram?

If the answer to either of these questions is yes, then you should be using Instagram to engage your community. Using it does require planning and tracking to make sure you are leveraging the latest trends but remember that Instagram should show your agency’s creativity and attitude.

Tips for Leveraging Social Media

Limit your focus to only a few platforms. Each social platform can have a steep learning curve which will diminish your time for marketing your agency. Focus on the platforms your customers spend the most time on and become a expert using it. By focusing on just two or three, you use your time efficiently and you will have a bigger impact with your user base.

Where do you think your time should be spent?