The PR Guide to Instagram

InkHouse's Instagram: Where we post our jealousy-inducing snack-shots.

200 Million. That’s roughly the population of Brazil. That’s also the number of Instagram users in the world, who’ve posted more than 20 billion photos on the mobile platform.

Despite Instagram’s undeniable popularity, brands and businesses are still working out their own Insta-strategies. But a well thought out content program can make integrating Instagram into your social arsenal as easy as adding a Valencia filter. Blogs, Twitter and Facebook posts all perform better when accompanied by images. Get started on Instagram by assessing your content calendar through a visual lens. Ask yourself, how can I add an image to this post that will help sell my point of view?

The good news? With more and more brands joining Instagram, data is becoming available that reveals some of the best practices for boosting followers and engagement. Recently, Simply Measured shared their findings from a study of the Interbrand top 100 brands and their activity Instagram with AdWeek. Their research goes a long way to better understanding what content works on the platform. Here’s what businesses thinking of upping their Insta-game should consider:

1. Be active - Seventy-three percent of the 86 top 100 brands post at least one photo or video per week on Instagram. But the real champions of Instagram (Nike, if you’re wondering with its 7.3 million followers) post at least once a day. Twenty of the top 100 brands follow suit. In general – if you are blogging once a week, aim to Instagram with that frequency as well. Make it easy on yourself, by using Instagram as another channel to promote your blog – for example, by posting an image illustrating the main theme of that week’s blog post to amplify your message.

 2. Keep it short – Brands that are active on Instagram keep their posts to an average of 138 characters. You’re already in the habit of writing under 140 characters for your tweets, so aim for the same precision on Instagram (Added bonus? You can tweet out your Instagram without changing the copy.)  Again, work to get the most bang for your content buck – as you craft blog posts and tweets, challenge yourself to add an Instagram post to the content creation process.

3. Share the love – One of the most impressive (and useful) stats from Simply Measured’s research was that a post that tags another Instagram user, or includes an @ mention in the copy, increases engagement by an average of 56 percent.

4. Seven is your lucky number – When it comes to hashtags, be judicious. Simply Measured found that Instagrams with one or more hashtags average 12.6 percent more engagement. Most brands stick to a single hashtag, and 91 percent use seven or less. Hashtag where relevant, but don’t go overboard.

5. Think locally – Most brands (and people) don’t tag their location (just 5 percent of Simply Measured’s list of top 100 brands do), but thinking locally can have a big pay-off. Location-tagged posts saw 79 percent more engagement.

As reporters look for visual ways to tell their stories, they’re increasingly turning to Instragram and embedding the images right into their copy. Give your company a leg up by posting content on the platform that helps reinforce your culture, news and thought leadership.