Instagram started as an image-sharing application with a tiny workforce.
He has found a fair balance in modern society that combines vanity, social networks and a shift to everything that is visual media.
And then one day, Mr. Zuckerberg decided to pay a billion dollars to acquire it.
Immediately, this has been a tool for many people: celebrities, politicians, marketers and even some first-rate companies.
Today Instagram is ranked 7th in the list of the top 15 Most Popular Social Network Sites with more than 100 million unique monthly users and more than 300 million active users posting photos and videos each day .
Apart from the 15-second video sharing option, we are all excited by the new Instagram feature expected by the end of this year: targeted ads that appear on the photo news feed Of users.
Paid ads mean more ways to make money.
If you are interested in monetizing your Instagram account, here are 9 ways to turn these images into income.
1 - Begin Building a Good Subscribers Base
Successful marketing on social networks is almost directly proportional to having a long list of subscribers.
Whether you've got your base of followers before or after your marketing efforts - you just need a significant amount of subscribers! The more you have, the more you "see" and the more likely you are to make sales.
There are several ways to expand the number of subscribers on Instagram. Here are some ways to do it: enjoy photos in your area, socialize with others, ask people to follow you, organize contests and more.
Do not forget to follow and post on several hashtags in your domain.
2 - Do not forget to include a link to your Blog or Website
Links to products and links to your blog are crucial when it comes to making money with Instagram!
Every image, video, or whatever you share should include a call to action (in this case, links to your blog or wherever they could buy the item).
Instagram does not currently allow clickable links to sites, so for now users will copy the link in their browser window (like the example below with www.ray-ban.com).
3 - Share Quality Images
Despite the new features, Instagram is, and has always been, sharing beautiful images.
Nothing will seduce your prospects or monetize your account more than beautiful images.
Show your subscribers a little more about your brand with images that seduce their visual senses. Highlight your products, tell them the history of your brand, create images by making a few changes and be creative.
If you are a yogurt sales service, share the pictures of your product and maybe other ways you could use this yogurt in recipes.
Watch how Starbucks does this with the amazing images of Starbuck mugs and with their latest coffee creations.
Always make sure to share pictures of your latest products. For example, you could write a new book. Take a new photo of the cover and share it with a release date.
4 - Use the video function
If a picture is worth a thousand words - then what is a video worth (which includes practically thousands of pictures)? You do the math!
With the latest feature of Instagram (competing with the main rival, Vine) there is an option to share a video up to 15 seconds that can allow you to be even more creative.
Find a personal message for your fans and tell them why you think they should try out your new product. Or maybe you could share a 15 second video with a fast moving process on how you build your own creations.
There is no limit on the creativity you can have in creating videos!
5 - Involve your fans
Many fans and subscribers are inclined to approve your brand only to have a little recognition - and of course a publication of them on your profile. This is a good way to engage your subscribers as well as delegating quality content.
Give your subscribers a chance to submit their photos with your product, share their "experience" in a video, or whatever it is they like. The best could get discounts on your products, a small reward, or maybe just a little recognition by your brand.
Here is a great example of Starbucks in a video with the contribution of a fan after they have presented the Autumn mug.
6 - Organize contests or events
Make people love your pictures and follow you because you are organizing a new campaign or a new event.
Offer exclusive deals for a short period of time and keep informing your users with a countdown timer.
Sharing special promotions or coupons is another way to involve your subscribers in a contest and turn prospects into customers. Ask them to click on I like or tag a friend.
7 - Share customer testimonials
Find happy customers and then upload images or videos showing them using your product.
There is nothing more convincing than a handful of images, videos, or testimonials that provide social proof.
8 - Make a popular person do the work for you
If you know a celebrity like Kim Kardashian, you are a lucky one!
But, of course, not everyone has direct access to the Kardashians, let alone their Instagram profile.
However, there are other people who have enormous subscribers on Instagram and are much more accessible. For example, if you are selling women's clothes, look for popular online people like fashion bloggers, entrepreneurs, or experts on social networks that have a good subscriber base.
Many fashion bloggers are inclined to share the brands they wear and why buying a specific brand would be a good idea. This is a good way to generate traffic with links to your blog as well as hashtags of your brand on Instagram.
9 - There is an application for everything
Use an app to do a good deal of work for you!
The number of tools to boost your marketing on Instagram is enormous.
But here are the best:
- Iconosquare : This is a tool that provides users on Instagram with advanced statistics about their profile as the total number of "I Love" received, the average number of likes and comments per photo, the most liked photos, Charts on subscriber growth and more .
- Repost (app itunes or android) : Allows you to re-post an image from another Instagram user by always giving them the credit.
- Postso : This is a planning application that makes your life easier. Plan your publications, specify a location, sit back and relax.
- Piquora : This is a visual marketing application that will make a curation and will suggest the best photos for your posts that can sort content based on geography, language and specific locations.
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