Day 9 - Setting Up Instagram

The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.

One of my goals for January was to create an Instagram account and start exploring how I can use it to promote my brand. I'll admit that I've been a bit overwhelmed learning this social media venue - it's very different than anything else I've tried and its almost complete reliance on smartphones was an additional challenge. While I am tied to my phone all day, I don't really like typing on it and prefer to jump to my laptop for any interaction that takes more than a few clicks! Unfortunately, it looks like most of my Instagram interaction will take place using a 3x2 inch keyboard - ugh!

I've set up my account - http://instagram.com/theresarosedesigns/#

I finally figured out how to add my profile picture (hint: it can only be done from the phone).

I've also started adding pictures - a mixture of business and personal photos. After all, it is a social media venue.

I've spent a better portion of the week trying to research Instagram and the 'rules'. Here are a few things I've learned that everyone using Instagram for their business should know if you want to build an audience:

1.  Learn the art of hashtags! Use relevant, popular hashtags and post them with every image.
2.  Balance fun pictures with business pictures. Don't just copy images from your facebook page or product website. Try creating some fun pictures using your product in a unique setting or while engaging in a fun activity.
3. Follow your followers back.
4. Like and comment on other photos.
5. Follow other relevant brands on Instagram.This is also a great way to learn Instagram.
6. Don't post lots of images at once. This is considered spam and you will lose followers fast. One to three times a day is probably enough and do it throughout the day.
7. Do NOT ask people to follow you. 
8. It's better to post higher quality images less often than lower quality photos more often.

So, here is my Instagram so far. I've only been posting on it since Tuesday but at least I've jumped in and started - that's half the battle, right?

I assume this will be one of those venues that will take some time to build up, especially if I only post once or twice a day. I'll continue to post as I build my image library and hopefully, more followers.

While I'm a bit intimidated by Instagram, I'm definitely looking forward to expanding my photography skills and creating unique images using my jewelry. The great thing about this is that all my images can be used in a variety of ways. If I create a really fun, good quality image, I can post it on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.

As I learn more about Instagram, I will post more information. There are a multitude of apps out there to help businesses use Instagram successfully, so if I find anything interesting, I'll let you know. If you have any tips or have any other information, please share!