Instagram has attracted a huge number of users and brands are looking to see how to leverage this platform to engage with their consumers. This is my POV, with a lot help from references I found online. I also have added information from measurement and analytics perspective.

2. Contents
 Instagram Overview
 How Instagram Works
 Instagram Strategy for Brands
 Brands on Instagram
 How Brands are Engaging on Instagram
 Instagram Contest Examples
 Leveraging Instagram API
 Measurement and Analytics Tool for Instagram
 Appendix

3. What Is Instagram
 Instagram is a free photo-sharing program and social
network that was launched in October 2010
 Users can upload or take photos, apply a digital filter
to it
 Users can then share it with other Instagram users
they are connected to on the social network as well
as on other social networking services (Twitter,
Facebook, Foursquare, Tumblr)

4. Instagram User Growth
 Instagram has grown to 100MM users in the past
year

5. Photo-Sharing Apps Among Fastest
Growing App Categories
 This growth is reflective of the popularity of photo
sharing apps among social media users

6. Instagram’s Daily Active Users Eclipses That
Of Pinterest’s
Instagram has 11MM
Daily Active Users
A number significantly
higher than Pinterest’s
Daily Active Users

7. Who Is Using Instagram
 Most Instagram users are between the ages 18-29
but Gen Xers closely follow

8. Instagram Is About Visual Content
 Content Discovery
 Users can find new content by searching for users and
hashtags
 Content Creation
 Instagram’s unique filters allow users to create interesting
content
 Content Curation
 Users can like, share via social networks and comment
on photos by other users

9. How Does Instagram Work
Once a user has Instagram allows Users can also Photos posted Photos that
installed the users to find search by by a user appear appear in a
app, he create a friends from username or in their followers’ user’s stream or
profile and other social hashtag in the streams photos from the
include a bio and network to follow Explore tab Explore tab can
a website URL be shared on
Twitter

10. Instagram Features
 Instagram Filters
 Explore Tab
 Hashtags
 Photo Map

11. Filters
 Instagram has seventeen
filters users can choose
from to create unique
photos
 Filters remain the single
most interesting feature
that engage users

12. Explore
 This tab features the most
popular photos on Instagram
 Popularity is based on the
number of likes and comments
 Users can also search for a
specific user by the username
or for hashtags
 Brands must strive to post
unique photos that are likely to
be featured on the Explore tab
 Brands must create easily
searchable usernames

13. Hashtags
 Brands can leverage hahstags
to enable users to discover and
share photos
 Hashtags can also serve to
drive awareness of the brand
 E.g. Nike adapted the tagline
Make It Count as a hashtag
#counts
 Also, when users share the
photo on Twitter with the
hashtag it helps build
awareness on that channel

14. Track Popular Hashtags To Participate In
Conversations
 Users and brands alike can track popular hashtags
by using services such as Web.stagram.com
 Web.stragram.com tracks trending/hot topics by
hashtags
 Using these hashtags help get in front of users who
maybe searching for content
 Brands can also use these hashtags to participate in
conversations resonating with users

15. Photo Map
 Photo Map feature allows
brands and users to geo-tag
their photos with locations
 Brands can use this feature to
add location to the photos and
give followers a sense of
intimacy
 For example, sharing behind-
the-scenes photos of a brand’s
retail or manufacturing location
gives consumers a front row
access

16. Instagram Web Profiles
 Instagram recently rolled
out web profiles
 Users' web profiles
resemble Facebook's
Timeline template with a
selection of recent
images tiled above the
profile photo
 Viewers can follow
users, comment and like
images as they do on
the mobile app

17. Is Instagram Right For Brands
 Search for photos that maybe tagged with the brand
name
 If users are already sharing content with the brand name
it could signal an opportunity
 If competitors are using the platform it could mean a
missed opportunity if the brand is not there
 Consider resources required to create visuals
 Instagram is about storytelling, and compelling photos are
integral
 Instagram also requires brands post regularly throughout
the day and engaging with followers and users

18. Major Brands Are Quickly Adopting The
Platform
 40% of top 100 interbrands have a presence on
Instagram

19. Top 10 Brands By Follower Count
Brands Followers
MTV 1,020,932
Starbucks 912,959
Burberry 576,368
Nike 608,244
Gucci 241,601
General Electric 136,837
Audi 187,753
Tiffany& Co 238,269
Hermes 86,730
McDonalds 40,000

20. Some Brands That Are Doing It Right
 Starbucks –
 for its seasonally relevant content that centers around the
product but does not feel forced
 Burberry –
 for its stunning images of London, runway, red carpet
celebrities and behind-the-scenes of shows and photo
shoots
 Sharpie –
 for its sense of humor and images of drawings using
Sharpie pens

21. Starbucks
 Hashtags used:
#itsfallwhen, #StarbucksRefreshers, #Frappuccino
 Product shots promoting seasonal
themes, sponsorship, events and offers

22. Burberry
 Hashtag Burberry, BurberryWeather, LFW
 Images of city of London, Fashion shows, Cultural Events (e.g.
Live Bands)

23. Sharpie
 Leverages popular hashtags (#twinning, #nobeardday) and
branded hashtags (#Sharpie) to create funny captions to
accompany Instagram photos of the custom images
 Posts everyday, except on weekends

24. Instagram Strategy For Brands
• Cross-promote on other
social channels
• Hold Instagram contests
Build • Create a photo contest that
will encourage followers and
generate content
• Post photos that go beyond
product
• Leverage visuals to bring the
Engage brand voice to life
• Give followers access to
exclusive images to
encourage shares, likes and
comments
• Participate in
conversation with users
and followers
Sustain • Like/Share photos of users
the brand follows
• Comment and mention
users to alert them

25. HOW BRANDS ARE ENGAGING
ON INSTAGRAM

26. Instagram Contests
 General Electric created an Instagram contest to
identify an Instagramer who would photograph the
GE facilities
 Sony Xperia invited consumers to create images
based on weekly themes decided by handpicked
influencers
 Ford Fiesta leveraged Instagram contest to drive
awareness on the different car features

27. GENERAL ELECTRIC
INSTAGRAPHER CONTEST

28. General Electric Instagrapher Contest
 GE hosted a contest to find an official Instagrapher
who would Instagram GE’s aviation facility in Wales
 GE wanted to showcase its work in the different
industries
 Leveraging the Instagram community to create
photos that related to the four core areas helped GE
make its B2B products more consumer facing

29. How It Works
 To enter users had to upload Instagram photos that related to
one of the following four categories
 Moving, Curing, Powering, Building
 Photos had to be hashtagged #GEInspiredMe
 Submitted photos were also featured on a Facebook tab
 Fans could then vote for their favorite photos
 A team of judges selected a finalist who was flown to Wales to
Instagram the aviation facility

30. Results

31. SONY XPERIA PHOTO JAM

32. Sony Experia Photo Jam Overview
 Inspired by celebrities, the company wants to see what kind of
creativity users can unleash through their Instagram photos
 Participants can win Sony’s newest Xperia Ion smartphone or
a trip to see Maroon 5 live in concert
 Sony has four different challenges, based on four celebrities
 The Glamourai, also known as Kelly Framel, a fashion stylist
 Professional photographer Theron Humphrey
 Olympic gold medal softball pitcher Jennie Finch, and
 American Indie rockers Freelance Whales
 Contest duration: 4 weeks

33. How It Works
1
2
Step 1: User must LIKE in
order to register and/or
vote
Step 2: User must
Register to be eligible for
winning
Step 2: Registration Form

34. How It Works (cont’d)
Driving Participation
through Facebook posts
Individual photos can also
Select photos are featured
be shared on different
in the gallery to let users
social networks
vote

35. Results

36. FORD FIESTAGRAM

37. Ford Fiestagram
• Average Ford consumers were not aware of
innovative features of Fiesta
• Ford sought to bring attention to the
Situation Fiesta’s features among people in
fashion, style and tech circles, so that the
Fiesta would be top-of-mind when they
became ready to buy a new vehicle
• Ford leveraged the mobile photo-
sharing app Instagram to launch
Solution “Fiestagram,” a six-week contest in
which users throughout Europe could
submit photos and win prizes

38. Why Instagram
 Mobile photography is on the rise, and the people in
Ford’s target demographic — trendsetting fashion,
style and tech mavens — are big users of Instagram
 Instagram was the perfect platform to carry out a
multinational campaign in which people across
Europe, speaking a variety of languages, could
participate

39. Ford Fiestagram | How It Works
 The Fiestagram campaign was hosted on
the global Ford Fiesta Facebook Page
 A mobile-optimized HTML tab displayed
everything about the campaign
 Each week, for the six weeks the contest
lasted, Ford announced a new hashtag
associated with one of the Fiesta’s high-tech
features, such as #entry, #music and
#hidden
 Users could then submit photos on
Instagram, tagged with ―#Fiestagram‖ and
that week’s particular hashtag
 The best photos were selected to be
featured in real-life galleries and digital
billboards
 And Ford gave weekly prizes to those
submitting particularly striking images
 The final prize was a Ford Fiesta

40. Results
 More than 16,000 photos were submitted to the
Fiestagram contest
 During the six-week campaign, Ford acquired more
than 120,000 new Facebook fans across Europe
 Ford saw hundreds of thousands of visitors to the
campaign hub on Facebook each week
 Many with particularly high dwell times, indicating that
they were interested in browsing through the galleries of
submissions
 Importantly, Ford successfully attracted the attention
of its target demographic: fashion, style and
technology trendsetters

41. LEVERAGING INSTAGRAMAPI

42. Leveraging Instagram API
 Brands can also create unique user experiences on
their site with Instagram
 E.g. Free People uses hashtaggedInstagram photos by
its customers on its site
 Bergdorf Goodman created a microsite that displayed
hashtagged images of shoes on the map of New York City

43. Free People
Moderators at
The call to
Free People then
action on the The result:
handpick photos
Free People, the cards, encourag Photos of
to publish on the
fashion brand ed customers to fabulous jeans
website, turning
attached take a picture of circulating not
its consumers
individualized themselves in only on Free
into models and
hashtag cards to the jeans, post People’s feed,
engaging with
its jeans the photo on but their
its community in
Instagram, with followers’ too
a fun, impactful
the hashtag
way

44. Free People (cont’d)
At first, the product page looks
pretty typical—pretty model wearing
jeans
But when consumers scroll
down, they can see how real people
have worn and accessorized the
items

45. Bergdorf and Goodman
 Bergdorf and Goodman invited customers to capture their
shoe obsession
 To have their photos appear on the map of NYC on
B&G’smicrosite, customers had to hashtag the photos
#BGShoes
 In addition to photos appearing on the map, there was a
chance they would be featured on the walls of the store

46. INSTAGRAM MEASURING TOOLS

47. Measurement And Analytics
Simply
Nitrogr.am Statigram Web.stagram
Measured
Monitor brand account ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
Track most used keywords in comments of the brand’s
✔ ✖ ✖ ✖
account
Track popular filter of photos published from brand’s ✔ ✔ ✖
✖
account
Track most popularhashtag used on brand’s photos ✔ ✖ ✔ ✖
Track top geo-locations ✔
✔ ✖ ✔ ✖
Identify Time of day for most engagement
Identify which social platform gets most engagement ✔ ✖
✖ ✖
when Instagram photos are shared
Influencer identification among brand followers ✔ ✔ ✔ ✖
✔ ✖
Number of likes, comments received ✔ ✔ (comments not (manual
aggregated) counting)
Follower/Following Count ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔
✔
Hosting photo galleries on site, blog and Facebook ✖ ✔ ✔
(only for blog)
HostingInstagram contests ✖ ✔ ✔ ✖
Moderation of photos before posting to gallery ✖ ✔ ✔ ✖

48. Measurement And Analytics (cont’d)
Simply
Nitrogr.am Statigram Web.stagram
Measured
Monitor competitors and hashtags ✖ ✔ ✔ ✔
Track likes and comments on competitors photos ✖ ✔ ✖ ✖
Identify popular filters used on Instagram on a given ✖ ✖ ✖ ✔
day
Identify popular hashtags on Instagram on any given
✖ ✖ ✖ ✔
day
Private Message follower/user ✖ ✖ ✔ ✖
Re-posting Instagram photos on other social networks ✖ ✖ ✔ ✔

49. APPENDIX

50. Simply Measured
 SimplyMeasured – allows brands to monitor their
Instagram activity
 Keyword analysis – what keywords consumers tend to
use the most in their comments
 Filters used: filters that get the most engagement
 Time of day: time when posts receive higher engagement
 Cross-platform: which social platform has more engaging
audience
 Influencers: identifies key commenters on photos
 No moderation capability or ability to track
competitors or other usernames and hashtags

51. Nitrogr.am
 Nitrogr.am measures brand and competitors’
Instagram account
 Nitrogr.am allows brands to track users and hashtags
 Reports on metrics such as Likes and
Comments, Reach (only for hahstags) and Photos
 Identifies influencers based on followers, likes and
comments
 Brands can create photo galleries based on
hashtags that can be featured on website, Facebook
or blog
 Provides moderation tool to only allow approved photos to
be published on brand properties

52. Statigram
 Statigram also allows brands to monitor competitors and
hashtags
 But only provides basic information such as total photos, followers
and following count
 Images also are only sorted by recency of post and cannot be
changed
 While it is limited in tracking competitors, Statigram provides
other insights related to brand account
 Statigram also provides a platform to host contests, moderate
images, create photo galleries on the site and Facebook page
 Statigram also allows brands to private message users who
are also on Statigram

53. Statigram (cont’d)
 Engagement Metrics
 Likes and comments received, by month or by week
 Most liked photo, most recently engaged follower
 Hashtag cloud
 Time of Day
 Filter usage
 Awareness Metrics
 Follower growth: monthly and overall
 Daily follower gain and loss and who are the new and lost
followers
 Follower/Following ratio

54. Web.stagram
 Web.stagram also allows brands to monitor
competitors and hashtags
 Brands can also search for the most popular hashtags to
make images more relevant to followers
 Web.stagram also identifies popular filters based on the
most popular photos of the day
 Brands can also identify influencers to engage with

55. Web.stagram (cont’d)
 Like Statigram, Web.stagram has limited ability to
provide deep insights on competitors
 Brands can create photo galleries only for blogs;
there is no moderation tool or the ability to host
contests
 Web.stagram also allows brands to private message
other users also using the tool
 Users can also repost photos from Web.stagram to
other social sites while retaining the original
Instagramer’s name

56. References
 http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2196727/photographs-social-medias-hot-
content-marketing-asset
 http://blog.flurry.com/bid/84831/Mobile-App-Growth-Led-by-Video-Sharing-
YouTube-in-the-Crosshairs
 http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-instagram-zuckerberg-growth-9-2012
 http://www.slideshare.net/likeable/instagram-for-brands-12214052
 http://www.geekwire.com/2012/advanced-guide-instagram-build-brand/
 http://www.22squared.com/blogs/rebecca-debono/instagram-is-it-right-for-your-
brand/
 http://mashable.com/2012/08/08/40-of-top-brands-instagram/
 http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2011/11/22/want-to-take-instagram-photos-
for-a-living-win-this-ge-competition-and-you-can/
 http://allfacebook.com/sony-xperia-instagram-contest_b99873
 http://mashable.com/2012/02/02/ford-fiesta-instagram/
 http://www.businessinsider.com/free-people-and-urban-outfitters-instagram-
advertising-2012-7?op=1
 http://blog.bergdorfgoodman.com/womens-style/shoes-about-town-bgshoes