Since its creation in 2010, Instagram has grown from a place where one shared their selfies and pictures of scenery to an interactive social media. With roughly 600 million active users, Instagram is one of the most used social media platforms. It is not only used by budding photographers and individuals willing to share their day to day photos, but it has also developed his own community. This includes businesses that work with their Instagram page as a substitute for their store to the Instagram famous influencers. The way it is used has also changed rapidly within a few years. Here are some creative ways the app is being used in 2019.
Business Brand Building
Building a business brand in Instagram is ideal for companies which want to target the new generation. It is often a long-time process that a brand uses to create a visual aesthetic with the help of certain color palettes or certain placement of pictures. It is a way major brands use to be on trend and grab the new generation’s attention for their products. It provides great opportunities for them to promote their design, logo, product lines, current event snapshots, storefront locations, etc. Certain sports and designer brands meticulously use their Instagram to maintain their desired image in front of their consumer base.
Promotional Posts
Promotional posts are the most popular and effective strategy for marketing in this age. It is the easiest way to show off the latest product of your business to your customers. Promotional posts can be done by the company itself through their own Instagram or through paid promotion. Paid promotion is done using Instagram influencers, aka people who are well known in the community for having a high following count, to advertise your products. It is either done through providing free samples to the individual or through paying them for their post.
How to Videos
Chances are high that you will come across a variety of how to videos as soon as you open the search functions of Instagram. These quick videos can range from DIY products, make-up tutorial, lifestyle hacks to even food videos. These are popular as they are hardly longer than 60 seconds and do not have any advertisement in between the cuts. Business often uses it to promote their new products to their followers. It also helps to create hype as people can actually see how a certain product looks and fares before deciding to purchase it. For companies, it helps consumers visualize the different ways the products can be used and thus ensuring their sale.
Use Instagram to Curate Your Best Pictures
Instagram can be used to store your important and memorable moments. Many users have taken to documenting a part of their life on Instagram. Food diaries involve posting pictures of food from different places and restaurants you visit. Travel diaries detail the journey of the individual to various places, be it within their country or outside. These pictures can be on a public profile or a private one accessible to only a few specific people. One of the uses of curating your best picture is the ability to print Instagram photos on canvas and store it as a piece of art as well as a memory. Be it a picture with a friend, with family or even scenery that you loved, they can be immortalized in a physical way.
Live Streaming Events
Live streaming important events and shows can be a good idea to make people who aren’t present feel like they are a part of it. This feature is being used by both individuals and businesses. Individuals often use this function to share occasions in their life they want to share with other friends and family without cluttering their feed with photos and videos. It is used to share important moments with one’s family, partner or friends who cannot make it due to being a long distance apart. Businesses use it to show special events going on in their stores or for special events. Recent examples would be live streaming fashion weeks or companies un-boxing videos of their own products. Special discount coupons can also be issued that are only available through the specific live stream.
Live Video Q&A
Live Q&A is another feature of Instagram’s that is used by celebrities, businesses, bloggers, influencers and people in any creative field. It gives the fans a chance to ask questions that might have been buried beneath hundreds of comments. It is a good way to promote the value and integrity of a company by showing allowing consumers to interact directly the production team and the creators. Artists and influencer might get questions that they prefer to answer live or share an experience first-hand that would not have as much impact as on a post.
Stop Motion Videos
Stop motion is a highly creative and engaging way to edit your videos. It is a popular way of posting videos of Instagram that includes stitching together consecutive still photos to mimic the motion of a video. Mostly used by video producers on YouTube it is a good way to bring an interesting twist to your posts. The stop motion can range from cooking recipes to building furniture. These kinds of videos generally have a bright primary color palette to bring the feeling of warmth and freshness.
