Fact: Instagram is growing the fastest of all social media sites worldwide, followed by Reddit, while Facebook’s global audience fell 3% in 2013, according to new data.
As somebody who comes from a journalistic background rather than photographic background the rise of Instagram is something that fascinates me. I’ve grown up with the idea that the pen is mightier than the sword and words are my weapon, but images are very very important on Social Media
And what I’ve actually found increasingly with use of images on Facebook and Instagram is the caption however small is highly important on the level of engagement you get on image based posts
In the past year I’ve worked with some major retail outlets such as Manchester Arndale and The Galleries Wigan in refining what they do on Instagram via our half days training sessions
SHOULD YOU BE USING INSTAGRAM?
Do you have a teenage / young adult audience?
Is your product / service visually exciting?
Do you have a story to tell
If so then Instagram is for you …. and you should read on
5 LOCAL BUSINESSES THAT ARE USING INSTAGRAM WELL
Earlier I talked about the major businesses I’ve worked with, but it’s not just big businesses that should be adapting to Instagram
Here are 5 local businesses I think are doing great things with Instagram
Succo Juicery AMIR KHAN
Succo Juicery
Succo Juicery were the first local business we noticed who truly put their customers in the picture
We were so impressed with what they were doing that we actually wrote a full blog about the idea here a couple of months back – read it here
https://www.altrinchamhq.co.uk/blog/putting-people-in-the-picture-on-your-social-media/
Succo Juicery works on Instagram because they tap into many of the popular themes on Instagram – people, food, fitness, health
Add in a few photos at Succo Juicery of some celebs like Amir Khan, Kelly Brook and footballer Sylvain Distin and you’re onto a winner
Follow On Instagram at – http://instagram.com/succojuicery
Gummy Worm Sweet Shop – Instagram
Gummy Worm
Gummy Worm dabbled with Twitter and Facebook with little success
An audience was there for them on those platforms in terms of parents of children who loved vintage sweets, but like any type of marketing it takes hard work and sometimes when you don’t get that instant reaction or feedback it’s easy to give up
However Instagram has proved a winning formula for them recently going straight for the teenagers themselves and appealing to the 5 minutes of fame nature of youth taking regular photos of their customers
At present they have around 280 Instagram followers and get around 30-40 likes on each photo which makes for a 12% engagement rate – something many business could only wish for on Facebook / Twitter
Follow On Instagram at – http://instagram.com/gummy.worm
Sherlock – Coffee Art – Liv At LC
Liv At Local Creation
If you walked through Altrincham you may miss “Liv At Local Creation” apart from a small A Board near the Bricklayers
On Instagram though Liv performed something of a miracle when an image of an amazing piece of Liv’s coffee art of Sherlock was reposted (or regrammed) by Gemma Styles – sister of the one and only Harry Styles!!
The image got liked by over 88k people
With clever branding in the top left corner it was massive exposure for what at the time was a new entrant to the town
Liv posts regularly with photos of coffee art and cake – what more could you ask for?
Follow On Instagram at – http://instagram.com/livatlc
De Niro Tattoo – Dan Hancock Tattoo
Dan Hancock Tattoo
Dan Hancock doesn’t have a fixed abode as yet, but he’s opening up his Tattoo Studio in Altrincham in the near future
Over the past few years the Multi award winning artist has been building up a world class reputation from a base in Urmston that has took him world wide to conventions in Rome and further afield
From his level of work it’s easy to see why and he currently has nearly 6000 Instagram followers looking forward to seeing each new piece of work
By using his Instagram to carve out his very specific niche of tattoo art he’s been able to build a loyal fanbase and the results are a studio of his own
Follow On Instagram at – http://instagram.com/dancocktattoo
Richards Cakes Urmston
Richards Cakes
For a small business in Urmston – Richards Cakes have a massive following on Facebook (nearly 100,000 fans) and this has allowed them to build up an audience on Instagram as well
That said when you make cakes that are intricate pieces of art it’s very easy to build an audience of salvating mouths
While from the outside Facebook is obviously the more engaged and responsive audience, every single post on instagram gets over 30 likes on it and they have an instagram following of nearly 700
What makes Richards Cakes Instagram so special is that after 137 photos – not one of them looks similar – which showcases the individual custom work they offer.
The ROI from high quality images such as this is undeniable
Follow on Instagram at – http://instagram.com/richardscakes
WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT INSTAGRAM / IMAGE CREATION?
Altrincham HQ offer 2 services which of help to small businesses
- Firstly – we offer Instagram Training which you can look into here
- Secondly – we find many small businesses struggle with image creation and photos – look at our Social Photography Service here
Any questions email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk or call Alex on 07806774279
