Instagram Tips for Nonprofits and Small Businesses

I hate to use the corny line “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but it just so happens that it’s too applicable to social media for me to pass up. If a Facebook post or Tweet includes a photo, it receives significantly greater views and engagement. To the woe of writers everywhere, sometimes a picture actually does it best. In social media terms, a picture is worth a thousand followers. (Oh, the corniness kills me!) But there’s proof: Instagram. Completely photo-based, Instagram not only provides a space for you to share your photos, but has filters that make your photos look particularly unique and attractive.  

As one of the newer social media platforms, it’s okay if you’re not so sure about its best practices. Since your day is full of unleashed photo-sharing potential, check below for ideas about using Instagram, tips for engaging your audience, and the Instagrammer accounts guaranteed to catch your eye.

How Instagram Can Be Used

  • Easily add a caption and location to provide quick context for any photograph to your audience.

  • You can see who is using Instagram at your business because the platform organizes photos by location through geotagging.

  • Create a campaign around your organization or work through a hashtag. Instagrammers can take photos and add this hashtag, creating a collection of photos around this theme, visible to everyone.

  • Interact by following and liking photos of other users.

Tips for Engagement

  • Remember to share your photos across other platforms.

  • Not a great photographer? You don’t have to be! Check out these tips for shooting everything from nature to concerts.

  • Make sure content is your own. There are a lot of pretty photos on Instagram, but followers want your photos, not someone else’s!

  • Similar to blogging, it is best to be consistent by spacing out your photos. Let your followers see that you upload regularly.

Who Does it Well?

The XX, StarbucksGeneral Electric, & J.Crew

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