Can Instagram help SEO?
Everyone is a professional photographer on Instagram. Over 50 millions photos are shared on Instagram every single day, and as more people discover the platform’s unique, strictly photo-based design, these numbers will likely increase over the years. By using Instagram to promote brand awareness, you can increase web traffic organically.
INCREASE BRAND AWARENESS
Instagram is a place where a simple photo can be transformed with vintage filters and effects, hashtags allow users to narrow down searches, and brands can produce advertisements on a more personal level.
From selfies to DSLR high-quality pictures, every photograph has a place on Instagram. Maintaining an account on Instagram for your specific brand is fairly simple, but there are some things to consider before diving in head-first.
For one, you have to be willing to take pictures. You don’t have to hire a professional to do this as long as you can produce quality images that utilize your brand on a frequent basis. The more “natural” your pictures look, the better response you’ll get. If it looks like an advertisement, people aren’t going to be drawn to your website.
Determine whether or not the brand you’re promoting is visually engaging on it’s own, and if not, figure out a creative way to incorporate it in pictures. Utilize the profile information to promote your company with a photo of yourself, or a logo representing the brand. Don’t forget to include a link to your website on your profile! If Instagram users like your content, they’ll probably want to know more about it.
Manage the Frequency of Your Posts
No matter what website you’re on, spamming is never ok. When using Instagram, keep in mind how frequently you post pictures. If you’re blasting pictures over the Internet left and right, people aren’t going to react with kindness.
Rather than forcing your brand on Instagram, maintain a schedule to help regulate when pictures are uploaded. Doing this will save you time in the long run. Quality photos should feature your products or brands in a noticeable way, and it’s much easier to do that on a consistent basis when you aren’t flooding your profile with pictures.
Hold Photo Contests
One of the easiest ways to increase your presence on Instagram is to hold a photo contest that requires contestants to utilize your products. Not only is this free promotion for your business, it is a great way to get involved with your followers.
Utilizing a specific hashtag, let your Instagram followers know about the contest a few weeks in advance. Everyone who participates is automatically promoting your brand within the pictures and within the related hashtags.
To increase user participation, offer winners a worthwhile prize. Freebies do just fine, and for the cost of a few giveaways you’ll wind up with more followers than every before. When people upload their pictures with the contest associated hashtag, their followers will see your brand and want to get in on the action.
It’s practically free advertising, and it’s a fun way to get personally involved with your target market.
Engage Audience and Promote Organic Traffic
Through quality photographs and fun contests, you can engage your audience in a way that Facebook cannot. For many, Instagram is a place to share memories and express creativity.
If you have a visually enticing product or brand and want to make the most of Instagram, reply to comments and stay involved with your followers. Use hashtags like you would SEO keywords. Think of phrases or terms to describe your brand, and use them wisely. Interesting content does well on any social media website, but Instagram is where you’ll want to be if you have a picture-worthy product.
Matthew is the President of Infront Webworks and is a New England native now calling Colorado Springs home. Matt attended The University of NH where he pursued a BS in Natural Resource Economics & Business Administration. Aside from Infront; Matthew has owned and managed two other online agencies based on the seacoast of New Hampshire and been a key player in multiple technology mergers & acquisitions. When he’s not bathing in technology, online marketing & business; he’s probably spending time with his wife and daughter, boating, skiing the trees, hiking or cooking..he is a foodie for sure!
