Most businesses are aware that social media and marketing are now working together as one.  And just as business needs developers who create React Native apps, in the same way, they also need a strong social media presence to get their business a vast reach. One of the many social media outlets we recommend to our client is Instagram. Instagram, for those of you who donʻt know, is a mobile application that allows you to take pictures, edit them, and post them online for others to see. We thought it would be good to share a few of the tips we share with our clients about having a successful and professional Instagram profile!

1.  Take Good Photos
   Quality not quantity. Quality photos will forever out-do large quantities of photos. Having 5,000 pictures will get you no where if all of them are blurry, cropped funny, or too dark. You donʻt have to hire a professional photographer to do this, but having clear and professional photos is the #1 rule to Instagram success.
2. Brand Your Photos
   Similar to #1, branding your photos is key to making and running a successful marketing campaign. Because of the ability of most phones and tablets to take screen shots of images, you want to make sure that your companyʻs logo (name at minimum) is placed nicely on the photo. Weʻre not saying you need to take up an entire photo with a watermark saying “DO NOT TAKE, THIS BELONGS TO AS DESIGNS” but you should always try to utilize your logo as it not only reiterates to the user that it is your picture, but is great for your branding efforts if kept consistent.
3. Engage/Like Other Brands & Followers
   We encourage our clients to start small and “follow” familiar companies and companies that they do business with. If you are a restaurant and one of your biggest sellers is Mehana Brewing Companyʻs Volcano Red Ale, you should follow them. Engaging other brands also makes others aware that not only do you have a presence on social media, but you are also an active member of the Instagram community! You should also try to get more Instagram followers. Check out https://www.simplygram.com/instagram-followers-free-trial/ for a fast option to do that.
4. Use Filters – Randomly
   While a good quality photo is key, there are other factors involved that can help make your picture pop compared to the other 50 pictures a person sees in their Instagram feed. Using simple filters or frames in moderation can make your photos stand out. We recommend using Hefe filter or X-Pro filter every so often for great results!
5. Have Fun!!
   This should be pretty obvious, but we have to include it. We always want our clients pictures to showcase their products and services, but we also try and incorporate the fun parts of their company. Does your company have a staff Fantasy Football League where the loser every week has to wear a lampshade on his head for half an hour? Post it! Do you like going to the beach, but your company sells tire irons? Post it! People love seeing the “real” side to companies, so posting the fun things you do and enjoy will allow them to see that side!

While these are just some of the tips we recommend for our clients, you may want to consult a professional firm or marketing agency, like ours, for a full run down of “Doʻs & Donʻts” in internet marketing! We will be doing a follow-up article soon about some of the tools we use for Instagram to help our clients run professional campaigns as well as expanding on some of the more interesting intricacies of Instagram.