Kim Garst says, “Instagram can be an incredibly powerful platform for marketers. With nearly 28 percent of the U.S. population now using it, there is no better platform for marketers who want to promote visual content. While the app alone may be enough to get you started, using the right tools can really ramp up your results. For those who want to take their Instagram marketing to the next level, consider the following: 1. Piqora Ever wonder which images are most effective with your audience or which hashtags you should be using to get the maximum visibility for your images? Piqora... [...]

Jami Oetting says, “Marketers love email marketing. And marketers love Instagram. But very rarely do they bring these two loves together: Curalate found that only 14% of marketers are using social media images in their email marketing efforts, and marketers leverage Instagram content less than 3% of the time. One online retailer recently experimented with using Instagram images to drive impressions and purchases from its email marketing campaigns, and the combination led to a 7X increase in engagement on the site. Read more about how Instagram images are currently being used in marketing... [...]

Jack Simpson says, “Each month we publish a round-up of the best branded Instagram videos we’ve seen in the past 30 days or so.  These posts always seem to go down well, so I thought I’d put together a list of all the things I’ve learnt about Instagram branded videos from the countless hours I’ve spent trawling the site for examples. So, read on to find out more, and don’t neglect to read our other posts on 20+ Instagram stats marketers need to know and why Instagram should be the channel of choice for marketers. Bring out the visual appeal of your brand This one is not limited... [...]

Stephanie Carr says, “It’s hard to believe that, just five years ago, two twenty-somethings launched a simple iPhone app called Instagram. Five years and a $1bn acquisition later, Instagram is now a booming success as part of Facebook, imagining a world more connected through photos. Are digital marketers witnessing a watershed moment for Instagram? 30 countries have access to Instagram ads and further international expansion is expected. By completely opening up its ad platform to all marketers and third party platforms, Instagram is marking a profound shift in its advertising model. This... [...]

Karissa Bell says, “Less than a year since Instagram announced its last major milestone, the sharing app’s growth shows no sign of slowing down. The company announced Tuesday that it now has 400 million monthly active users, up from the 300 million in December of 2014. Together, those users post more than 80 million photos a day, the company said. In a statement, Instagram noted most of its recent growth has been because of international users, with more than 75% of the app’s users living outside of the U.S“. Instagram now has 400 million users Mashable  [...]

Verónica Maria Jarski says, “A whopping 76% of emails include social media buttons, but only 14% of emails include social images, according to the following infographic by Curalate and Movable Ink. Why is there such a big gap? Some 52% of surveyed marketers mentioned “different databases and systems” as the biggest challenge in incorporating social images into emails. Some 52% of respondents said analytics and data collection. For companies overcoming those challenges, the benefits of incorporating Instagram images into email are enormous. “A fitness retailer that works... [...]

Paul Cheney says, “I love looking at interesting data. When I found Totem’s list of brands on Instagram, I dove right in. The first thing I noticed looking at the list was that it was full of obvious consumer brands at the top. Brands that are inherently visual —  mainly fashion, food and consumer goods. What was interesting to me about the data were the outliers. The brands that seem like they wouldn’t fit at all on the mainly visual social network. Even more interesting for marketers are the reasons they are successful. If we can study these brands and their creative use of the platform,... [...]

Alesia Hsiao says, “Instagram is one of the leading social media platforms for image-based content. We know that. However, what people don’t always think about is whether it can be used as a viable advertising platform. Engagement rates are high, as Forrester states that the 4.21 percent engagement rate makes Instagram the king of social media. That’s incredible, and this reason, along with others, makes this an advertising platform you have to begin considering. How Does Advertising Work on Instagram? Instagram advertising is simple to spot. At the top of each sponsored image, it will... [...]

Martin Beck says, “It’s hip to be beyond square. Or something like that. Instagram, the visual social network with the famously rigid equal-sided format, announced today that it’s now allowing people to post rectangular photos and videos, in either landscape and portrait orientation. “It turns out that nearly one in five photos or videos people post aren’t in the square format, and we know that it hasn’t been easy to share this type of content on Instagram: friends get cut out of group shots, the subject of your video feels cramped and you can’t capture the Golden Gate Bridge... [...]

How about a source of traffic that is picture-oriented and intended for mobile users. Did you know this kind of service can be used by marketers to sell products; their own products, affiliate products or CPA offers? Jani G and his student, Glynn have a process they want to share with you (at a very low cost) about how Glynn has been earning about $300 per day for quite a while, now, with CPA offers on this kind of free service. Glynn admits that $300 is approximate, but isn’t exactly right; some days he earns more, but some days he only earns about $250. In their training, $300 CPA Every... [...]