Instagram Ebook from Facebook

Instagram FOR BUSINESS

9CLOUDS.COM

Instagram
FOR BUSINESS

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Instagram FOR BUSINESS

CONTENTS
1 | INTRO: WHY INSTAGRAM? PAGE 2
2 | HOW TO SET UP AN ACCOUNT PAGE 4
3 | CREATING A LIKEABLE POST PAGE 6
4 | REUSING CONTENT PAGE 7
5 | 5 APPS TO USE WITH INSTAGRAM PAGE 8
6 | TIPS FOR BUSINESSES PAGE 9
7 | BUSINESS CONTENT IDEAS PAGE 14
8 | MEASURING SUCCESS PAGE 16

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INTRODUCTION: WHY INSTAGRAM?
Instagram is a mobile photo- and video-sharing social media platform
that has been growing rapidly since it started in 2010. The popular app
has more than 300 million monthly active users as of December 2014
– 16 million more than Twitter. Furthermore, one out of four American
adults (26%, to be exact) is now on Instagram, up from 17% in 2013.
People are dumping cable and over-the-air TV in favor of online

streaming such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime. As they do so, they
are also flocking to a myriad of new social platforms like Snapchat,
Pinterest and Instagram. Why shouldn’t your business do the same?
Besides from the growing audience, Instagram offers features that cannot be
found on other platforms. Users are drawn to its simplicity and visually stunning
content. And as a bonus, Instagram plays well with others. The app is seamlessly
integrated with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr so you can share your post
immediately or save and share later. This handy feature can be a big time saver.
With more than 300 million users sharing more than 70 million photos and
videos each day, it’s hard to find a reason not to be on the fast growing social
media network. That’s not to say it is an essential tool for every business, but
it is a good choice if you are looking to expand your customer outreach.

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Instagram FOR BUSINESS
INTRODUCTION: WHY INSTAGRAM?
WHAT MAKES INSTAGRAM SO SPECIAL
It seems like every day brings a new social network into the
world. First it was Facebook, then it was Twitter, LinkedIn,
Google Plus, Pinterest, and the list goes on and on.
Instagram, however, is one of those sticky platforms
that is too useful for your business to ignore.
As opposed to “walled garden” platforms such as Pinterest or
Snapchat, Instagram is integrated very well with the rest of
the world. With one touch, you can simultaneously share an
Instagram post to your Twitter account and Facebook page.
For example, Silver Star Mercedes-Benz of Montreal uses
their Instagram account (which has 1,100+ followers) to

publish images to Twitter (564 followers) and Facebook (437
followers) in order to reach and engage a wider audience.
Additionally, when you post an image on Instagram,
the image is automatically saved on your phone’s
photo library for later use in blog posts, web pages,
or any other marketing materials for your store.
It’s safe to say that Instagram is going to be around for
a long time. Even if you don’t think you’ll gain much of a
following right away, you might as well stake your claim.

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Instagram FOR BUSINESS

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HOW TO SET UP AN INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT
1. STRATEGY
What would you like to get out of
Instagram? Perhaps you want to use the
platform to find new customers, promote
a specific product or service, share your
company culture, or discover the latest
industry trends. Whatever your aim, just
make sure you have a clear strategy for
using Instagram rather than simply using
it to share any content with a photo-op.

2. SET-UP
First things first: download the app on
your phone and create an account using
your company name or a close variation.
For example, “9clouds” was taken so
we chose to use “9cloudsinc.” Once you
are signed up, you will have full reign
to update your profile with a picture,
name, website link and brief description.
Try to keep it consistent with your
company branding but feel free to be
creative. You can always edit the profile
later with a different link or picture.
3. FOLLOWERS
Remember the struggle to get Facebook
likes or Google+ followers? Luckily,
starting a follower base is not as difficult
on Instagram. As soon as you start your
account, you have the option to follow other
people based on your Facebook account,
phone contacts, or by searching. If your
brand is relevant to those you follow, then

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they will likely follow you back. Also, your
Facebook contacts on Instagram will get a
notification when you join, which will help
drive followers. These features will help
you initiate a following, but in order to

keep followers and gain a wider audience
you will need to start posting content.
4. POSTS
Do not hesitate to post content. Fortunately,
Instagram lets you use photos directly
from your phone’s native camera app –
not just photos shot within Instagram. If
you don’t have a ton of content right off
the back, reuse a few old photos to help
build up your portfolio. Then add a quick
message including a few key hashtags
to describe the photo. You will quickly
realize that hashtags are not optional on
Instagram. They are crucial to users being
able to find and ultimately start following
you. Also add tags if your photo includes
a particular person, place, or brand.
Last but not least, remember that Instagram
is a social network. Engage with your
fans by liking and commenting on other
posts and check back to see if someone
posed a question that needs answering.
Instagram requires some extra attention,
but it can be a worthwhile expansion
for many businesses. The best way to
find out if it fits your company’s strategy
is to dive in and launch an account.


Instagram FOR BUSINESS

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HOW TO SETUP AN INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT
Connecting Facebook

STEP 1
Go to your profile

STEP 2
Click on Linked Accounts

STEP 3
Select the Facebook option

STEP 4
Link account & select a business
page

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Instagram FOR BUSINESS

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CREATING A LIKABLE INSTAGRAM POST
When it comes to social media, there’s one thing that
we can all agree on: we all want to be liked.
Instagram combines the “social proof” aspect of likes from

Facebook with the simple chronological timeline of Twitter.
Instagram posts have more organic reach than Facebook
posts (which are controlled by a complex algorithm), and
the platform is much more visually engaging than Twitter.
Instagram is still primarily ad-free, which makes it more inviting
to new users and also give the platform a more trustworthy
feel. As you peruse your Instagram feed, you’ll notice that it’s
rare to see the annoying posts or negativity that seems to
infiltrate our Facebook and Twitter feeds. (By the way – just
unfollow those people. You don’t need that in your digital life.)
BETTY LIKES INSTAGRAM.
As one of your followers – let’s call her Betty –
thumbs through her Instagram feed and comes
upon your post, she’ll do one of three things:
1. She’ll quickly flip past it
2. She’ll double-tap it to like it (also known as “hearting” it)
3. She might even leave a comment

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GET BETTY’S ATTENTION.
The first and most important thing you can do on Instagram
is post the best visuals that you can possibly post. Without a
great photo or video, you will not get great amounts of likes,
comments or referral traffic. To get people to double-tap,
you first need to grab their attention. Start with a relevant,
timely image, and the likes and comments will follow.
Secondly, if you want Betty to double-tap your post, do
some double-tapping yourself. Just like Facebook, when you
“heart” something, it leaves a direct link on that post which

leads back to your own profile. A “build it and they will come”
attitude only works for Kevin Costner on Field of Dreams.
Back here in the real world you need to give more than you
get, and Instagram is a great, positive place to do exactly
that. Show some love to Betty, and she’ll reciprocate.
According to a recent study by Simply Measured, Instagram
posts that mention other users get 56% more engagement.
Do your share of following, hearting, mentioning and
commenting. People like Betty will return the favor.
Heck – she might even buy something from you.


Instagram FOR BUSINESS

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RESUSING CONTENT
Content creation is the backbone of successful
marketing but it can be tedious and time
consuming. Here’s how to reduce, reuse
and recycle your Instagram content.
QUALITY OVER QUANTITY
Instagram is not Google. You do not need
to dominate the front cover in order to
reach your audience. Focus on producing
quality content that people actually want
to see rather than posting for the sake of
posting. After all, the simplicity of Instagram
is what drives its following. Embrace and
replicate this simple model by keeping your

own Instagram account clutter-free.
SHARE ACROSS PLATFORMS
There’s no need to hoard your most valuable
content for Instagram. The app makes it
seamless to share Instagram posts on Facebook,
Twitter, Flickr and Tumblr. Share the photo at
the same time it is posted on Instagram or there
is also the option to go back and share a post
later. Since it grabs everything – photo, caption
and hashtags – this can be a huge time saver for
those managing several social media platforms.

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This can be a great method to test what
content does best on Instagram before
sharing on other platforms. For instance, if
a photo has high engagement on Instagram
you can share it on Facebook and boost
the post to gain a wider audience.
SHARE OTHER’S CONTENT
Share the love – your love of other user’s
posts that is. Scroll through what others are
posting, and if you like it then go ahead and
double tap like a real life human being.
Love the post? Does it apply to your own
account? Then go above and beyond
double tapping and regram the photo. It’s
completely kosher to reuse other’s photos
as long as it is attributed to the source. We

recommend the app Instagrab which lets you
sync your Instagram feed and then repost
photos. The photo will then show as your
post with a source tag on the bottom.


Instagram FOR BUSINESS

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5 APPS TO USE WITH INSTAGRAM
You have an Instagram account up
and running. You have a game plan.
Maybe even a few likeable posts.
But now it’s time to take it to the
next level and make Instagram an
integral part of your long-term social
media strategy. You’re going to need
a few more tools in your pocket.
Our team compiled this roundup of
5 useful apps to help you get more
out of the Instagram platform.
1. HYPERLAPSE (FREE)
Instagram lets you
easily share videos up
to 15 seconds long.
Time lapse videos
show a series of still images that
are snapped evenly over a given
period of time. These images

are then played back at a high
frame rate, making the subject
look like it’s in fast-forward.
These types of videos are
very fun to watch, and with
apps like Hyperlapse, they’re
surprisingly easy to create.
2. CLIPS (FREE WITH
IN-APP PURCHASES)
Photos are always
going to be integral
to any social media
strategy, but video content packs
an even bigger punch for SEO and

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general engagement. Clips Video
Editor is a very helpful videography
app that helps you shoot, edit and
share videos that will make your
business take its social media
and SEO game to the next level.
As the name says, Clips allows you
to arrange segments of video into
a sequence, and then adjust the
length of each segment. So if you
have a segment that is 10 seconds
long, but you only need the last 4
seconds, Clips allows you to trim out

6 seconds that you don’t need. This
feature is especially great because
it allows you to make every second
count, and that’s really important
since your Instagram videos can
only be up to 15 seconds long.
3. PIC STITCH
(FREE WITH IN-APP
PURCHASES)
Have you ever wanted
to show multiple
angles of a car or truck in one
image? There’s an app for that! It’s
called Pic Stitch, and as the name
implies, it lets you create photo
collages with a huge library of photo
templates. It also has some basic
photo filters, and you can even
order prints of your collages to
pick up at the nearest Walgreens.
When you open the app on your
phone, just pic a template, pick

the images from your photo
library (or shoot them within the
app) and share. It’s a really simple
app that will let you create some
great images for your business.
4. INSTAGRAB (FREE)
Instagram is

intentionally designed
to be minimal and
easy to use, but
there’s no feature for re-sharing
someone else’s post (similar
to “sharing” on Facebook or
“retweeting” on Twitter.) That’s
where Instagrab can help.
Instagrab is a very easy-to-use
app that lets you re-post someone
else’s Instagram pic. This will be
particularly great when your own
customer shares an amazing
photo of your prodcut, or when
your employee posts an Image
from a company event on their
personal account. You can easily
re-share those images with
Instagrab, which will put the original
Instagrammer’s name overlaid
on the image as you re-share it.
Remember: Instagram is a social
medium, and we encourage you
to like, comment, and re-gram
as much as possible to create a
sense of community amongst
your loyal followers. Instagrab is
a great way to spread the love.

5. OVER ($1.99)

Putting text on your
image is a great
way to promote
a vehicle model,
raise awareness for an event, and
drive traffic to your website. If
you’re interested in putting text
on an Instagram image, we highly
recommend Over. With several
options for colors, fonts, and
designs, Over is very well rounded
and well worth the whopping $2.
Many Instagram-friendly apps
include a text overlay feature,
but Over offers a much larger
library of fonts and a more
intuitive editing screen. It will
also allow you to adjust and edit
your image in the background
behind the overlaid text.
Over is a great app for well-branded
businesses, because it allows you
to upload your official brand font
and make your images look like they
visually belong to your business.


Instagram FOR BUSINESS
TIPS FOR BUSINESSES
TIP 1: POST TO INSTAGRAM CONSISTENTLY

FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES
Silver Star Mercedes-Benz takes time to focus on
social media to preserve its status as Canada’s
number-one Mercedes-Benz dealer. This techsavvy dealership has shared hundreds of images
since joining Instagram in June 2012, and they
now have more than 1,100 Instagram followers.
If you cringed at “hundreds of images,” don’t worry.
They’re not all from the store itself. In fact, most
of their recent Instagram posts are stock images
from Mercedes-Benz. Using a mix of “organic”
images from the store along with your OEM
brand images allows you to maintain a presence
on the platform without spending tons of time
thumbing at your phone on the show floor.
To share an existing non-phone image from your computer, we suggest using third-party sites like gramblr.com or latergram.
me. Or, if you’d rather stick with your phone, email the photo to yourself, open it on your phone and then save the image to
your photo library on your phone. This will allow you to open and post the image on Instagram on your phone.
WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM SILVER STAR
As you may already know, Instagram posts are not link-friendly. If you have a link to share, we suggest simultaneously sharing your
Instagram photo to Facebook. Then, you can log into Facebook and put your link on the new post. After you do that, head back to
Instagram and leave a comment on your own photo with relevant hashtags and “more information available on Facebook.”

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Instagram FOR BUSINESS

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TIP 2: SHOW OFF FEATURES WITH INSTAGRAM VIDEOS
If you’ve been anywhere near the automotive industry in the
last 3 months, you’re well aware that the 2015 Ford F-150 is
now available. But did you know that the new F-150 has a revamped tailgate that has a no-slam hinge and a fold-out step?
That’s the perfect subject for the most recent Instagram video
from Tom’s Ford. With a quick 15-second video, they showed
their audience of 405 exactly how the tailgate works.
Additionally, the social media crew at Toms Ford included a
plug for their up-coming F-150 video, tagged a couple of popular truck-related Instagram accounts and used some popular
hashtags to spread the word (and also to show some humor).
WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM TOM’S FORD
Don’t be afraid to share details. We often work so closely with
our own products that we forget how awesome they are, and
there is no better way to share those little awesome details
than with Instagram.

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Instagram FOR BUSINESS

TIP 3: KEEP IT REAL.
Yes – It’s important to make sure people are aware of your store
and your vehicles and your sales, but you don’t have to shout all
the time. Do some listening, and you’ll learn about your target
audience and their needs. Instagram is, after all, a social medium.
One way to keep it real is to post things that aren’t products for sale.
(GASP! I know – right?) Your business is run by real people for real
people, and your Instagram feed should reflect it. For example, Subaru

of New England uses their Instagram account to share a fun photo with
an impromptu hashtag: #SNESnowDays. They then encouraged their
fans to share photos of themselves with their Subaru’s in the snow.
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WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM SUBARU OF NEW ENGLAND
When you’re using Instagram, have some fun with it. People will
notice (see the 233 likes above). Personality and humility are powerful
things for any business’ brand. Share photos that express your realtime thoughts and comments. We’ve learned in the past that photos
including people (customers, employees, etc.) yield much higher
engagement rates than photos of inanimate objects, such as cars on
a lot. Post photos of people, do your share of liking posts from other
people, make some comments, spark a conversation and enjoy.


Instagram FOR BUSINESS

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TIP 4: GEOLOCATION ON INSTAGRAM
One of the most powerful ways to
boost likes and comments on Instagram is to tag a location in your
post as you post it. According to
the previously-mentioned study
by Simply Measured, Instagram
posts with locations get a whopping 79% more engagement.
Before you publish your post,
search for and pick the most relevant spot on the map. Your image

is then “geotagged” onto the map,
and if anyone peruses your local
area on the map, they’ll stumble upon
your photo or video.

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Instagram FOR BUSINESS

TIP 5: ASK A QUESTION. GET ANSWERS
If you want comments on your Instagram posts
(who doesn’t?), just ask for them! For example:
An image of a convertible with the top down on a
sunny day might get a decent amount of likes, but
only one or two comments. To really get the ball
rolling, you could ask: “Who would you want to
ride shotgun with you in this convertible?”

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Another way to drive engagement is to have people vote on a simple “election.” For example, Silver
Star Mercedes-Benz posted the below image of
an old model next to a new one and asked their
followers to chime in:


Instagram FOR BUSINESS

BUSINESS CONTENT
Unlike more seasoned social networks, Instagram has
less “fluff” making the platform simple for users. Yet for
businesses, simplicity can be hard to funnel down into
specific posts. Focus your efforts on key business categories
that win on Instagram – events, products, sales and culture.

PRODUCTS
Think of your posts as a way to show and tell your followers
about your products. Through photos and videos, you
have the opportunity to teach people about your product.
Whether that is finding the right pair of glasses for your
face shape or sourcing coffee beans in South America,
products have a story and its your job to be the storyteller.
Warby Parker does a phenomenal job showcasing their
glasses in diverse spotlights, but remaining cohesive with the
brand. This helps bring life and ownership to their products,
ultimately setting them apart from the competition.
EVENTS
There is no event too small for Instagram. It is a great way
to document an event and easily curate attendee photos.
Use your account to show behind the scenes action, ask for
feedback or communicate a particular session at your event.
HubSpot hosts an annual conference called Inbound so they
asked attendees to use the #Inbound14 to communicate and
track all the action. While you don’t need a custom hashtag,
make sure attendees at least mention your business in the
caption so you can find and possibly regram the post.

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Instagram FOR BUSINESS
BUSINESS CONTENT
SALES
It’s tough to track any conversions from Instagram since
it does not allow links in a post, but that does not mean
you should shy away from promoting sales. Lot 2029
almost always posts pricing details with photos of their
clothing. Transparency can be risky but customers will
appreciate getting the details without having to click. Those
that are truly interested will follow up on your website,
in-store or just by commenting on the Instagram post.
If you are running specials or giveaways, definitely cross post
them on Instagram. Also consider running an Instagram-only
promotion to show your followers some extra attention.
It can help boost allegiance from those that already
follow you as well as helping gain new loyal followers.
CULTURE
Showing off your company culture is the easiest and most
fun way to humanize your Instagram. Do this by detouring
away from what you make and showing the makers
instead. Lemonly is more than just beautifully designed
infographics. They use Instagram to highlight office events
like birthdays, special visitors and company trips. If you
are proud of your company culture, why not show it off?
Rather than being intimidated by the limitless nature of
Instagram, embrace it and focus on key categories that

best suit your business. Instagram offers it’s own business
website with inspiration, advertising and a helpful blog. Of
course, the best way to understand Instagram is to use it.

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Instagram FOR BUSINESS

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MEASURING INSTAGRAM SUCCESS
Measuring success on Instagram is simple but
significantly different than other social media
channels. There are a few key steps and tools
that will help keep your account on track.
SET BENCHMARKS
Without setting appropriate benchmarks, your
social media marketing becomes the Wild
West. You need to have goals before you can
measure success. For Instagram specifically,
set benchmarks for likes, comments and
new followers. Think in terms of how many
followers you have and what percentage
you expect to interact with each post.
One model suggests that for every 1000 followers
there should be a total 37 likes and comments.
If you think your industry is above or below

this standard, then adjust the percentage
accordingly. Keep track of your benchmarks and
update them at least monthly if not weekly.
USE THE RIGHT TOOLS
There are a few third party apps you can use
to gather Instagram insight. Our personal
favorite is Iconosquare, which is free and easy
to use. It offers an extensive desktop view of
the otherwise mobile-only app. You can view
your feed, posted media, likes and followers
in one simple dashboard. The best feature
about Iconosquare is the statistics it offers.

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The app digs deep into content engagement
providing just about every useful metric you can
think of for Instagram, including a “Love Rate”
that rates how much your follower base likes your
media and “Filter Impact” that shows how each
photo filter compares for comments and likes.
It is a must-use tool for anyone with an Intagram
account. There is no need to setup an account.
All you have to do is login with your Instagram
credentials, give it a few minutes to calculate your
stats and voilà – you have insight to your account.
TIME OF DAY
Typically Instagram is most popular in the late
afternoon and into the evening. Posting between
5pm and 8pm is a safe bet, but do not be afraid to

stray. Look at past Instagram posts and compare
how they performed on certain days and times.
(Tip: Iconosquare has a great report for this).

Every industry and every account is different and
so is that sweet spot for posting. In addition to
the perfect time of day, post consistently rather
than binge ‘gramming. Instagram posts typically
have a longer shelf life than other social media
channels so space out your posts even if you have
a dozen awesome photos to share in one day.
YOUR BEST CONTENT WINS
Did you take the plunge and post video content?
Did your followers feverishly engage with the
video? Then post more videos! You can post the
most beautiful content everyday but it may not be
the right material for your audience. Diversify your
posts and see what ends up receiving the most
engagement so you can find the best path for your
Instagram account. Your followers will thank you.


Instagram FOR BUSINESS

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THANKS FOR DOWNLOADING THIS EBOOK!
Chances are that you are hungry for more sales, and that’s why we made this resource.
At 9 Clouds, we organize your digital world so that you can easily connect with exactly the
right people at the right time. Your customer’s complete digital profile is quickly accessible.

We use this information to tell you who is ready to buy before they even visit your site.
We can also send marketing material to customers based on their individual
data. The person looking at the red truck gets an email about the red truck.
The person who has serviced their car five times this year gets an email with a
trade-in offer. This personalized marketing increases leads and sales.
This book is just a handful of our favorite tips for businesses. Not only will
they make Instagram more fun for you – they actually work, too.
So why are we just giving away our business marketing secrets?
Because we’re nice, and because we believe in digital karma.
When your business is ready to move to the next level of digital marketing, get in touch with us.
Happy ‘gramming,
9 Clouds
Contact Us

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