(Insta) Fame!
Lyst's Community Manager Eva Caiden gives an interesting talk about brand-building with Instagram.
Image: www.instagram.com/le21eme/
This week, General Assembly held a talk about how to build one's brand with Instagram. Eva Caiden from Lyst gave the talk, running through the tried-and-tested techniques that she employed to bring about Lyst's success on the social media platform. So, want to know how to connect better with your following? Or better yet – how to increase followers and what kind of content works? Read my edit of Eva's insights, below...
Why Instagram?
First thing is first. If you're not like me (a self-confessed Insta-addict), why should you be on Instagram?
Well, Instagram has...
400 million monthly active users
40 billion photos shared
3.5 billion daily likes
80 million photo shared every day
Up to 58 times more engagement than other social networks
40% of its users are aged 16-24
“Companies have realised that one photo on the Instagram account of someone with over 100,000 followers is reaching more people directly than any traditional ad campaign.” Liz Eswein @NewYorkCity
But before you start...
Sit down and reflect about what your Insta-goals are, because it will be different for everyone. Think about what Insta-success looks like to you/your brand. Assess how much time you can dedicate to this. What are your competitors doing? What's working for them and why? What's not working for them and why? And likewise, what are you currently doing that's gaining you success? Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and your target market should all be analysed prior to any overhaul.
Content is king
Start thinking about what content you want to post. Remember to have a balance and an angle: you can't always be self-promoting or plugging, you also need posts that feed into your/your brand values and aesthetic. And most importantly, what is everyone talking about in your industry – because for a lack of a better term – you need to hitch yourself that wagon!
Other things to think about about:
Captions and words. You need to engage/interact with your followers
Shoutouts. This includes contests, regraming or using shots of branded products, influencers, photographers etc. Ask questions, comment on the content of others. And remember: give credit where credit is due, tag the relevant people and don't forget it's a two-way street, so have conversations!
Hashtags. Do some investigating, find out the popular hashtags and see what your followers/competition are using.
Timing is everything
There is no right or wrong time to post, it's all about working out what works well with your followers. For example, if your target market is New York then it's probably best not to post in the morning London time, because it'll be the wee hours of the morning over in NY! Just make sure that the amount you are posting and schedule is manageable for you.
Eva's Instagram insights
Here are some of the discoveries that Eva found when she started as Community Manager at Lyst:
Product pictures shot on white, perform 17.5 better than those shot on black
Shoes performed the best with an average of 412.3 engagements
Model shots performed above average with an average of 521.3 engagements
Single shot perform better than outfit shots
Useful tools
Here is a list useful tools to help you schedule, measure and make pretty your Instagram account.
For more about Eva and everything social media, check out her blog or follow her on Twitter/Instagram: