Are you on instagram?

Filipinos are the most avid users of instagram in this far side of the world. In a marketing sense, local businesses can explore this potential avenue for marketing by having a solid presence in the photo sharing community. You can maximize your instagram presence with the following tips:

1. Feature your business as a whole

In the United States, local business tend to focus mainly on their catered services; as per local cafes or restaurants it is limited or majority of the posts revolves around food and drinks. But don't let that limit you, you can present your business much more than your core services or products. First, you can feature the ambiance, the events or the interesting personality in your business. Promoting a balance of pictures geared towards services or products alongside other "human" elements of social interaction will give your business a personality.

2. Use Hashtags # for tagging your photos.

Hashtags are integrated on instagram's main search where trending ones or a particular subject can be found my millions of users. So this is a good practice for visibility. The challenge will be not dilluting the photos with too much hashtags, but be concise and discern the best two or three tags for your photo.

3. Avoid Filters

While filters are a cool way for an artistic showcase for users in presenting their photos, the same cannot be said for you. As a brand, present your products or services without the filters, it was meant to be presented bare with artistic inclinations for photography.


4. Share your instagram posts on your other social media accounts

If you have facebook, twitter and pinterest, that is great. More visibility for your instagram photos. Instagram can easily be linked through facebook and twitter in each of the photos prior to be posted. Photos appear in facebook timelines and tweets.

5. Post a message about your photo

Write something, say something. Hashtags as we pointed are good, but don't let that be just the description of your photos. You need to connect with your followers and audience through writing. Convey a message and you'll see that people can connect with you.

6. Engage with your followers

Tag them with instagram's people tag. This will give your brand a huge social leap on which that person has followers (the more the better) and putting the spotlight on your customers gives them that sense of being regarded by a brand. This is a part of why your instagram is human; able to appreciate.

7. Encourage your followers to post photos.

You can run a contest or give special incentives for people who post photos of you or your products / services. People who post photos of you extends your brand awareness more than ten fold as that person's followers may follow you or check you out later out of curiosity. This is also encouraging the love to use instagram by Filipinos and how they serve as an unofficial brand ambassador where trust through peer to peer vouching is a form of word by mouth marketing.