Tech Corner Post: Instagram

Written by Katie LeVan

Instagram Delivers Instant Gratification

Welcome to the world of Instagram, a nontraditional social media platform that is a free application which can be downloaded by Android, iPhone and iPad users.  Instagram launched in October 2010 and is a great interactive social media tool used by millions across the globe, including a variety of companies and organizations.  In the past seven months, Instagram has experienced a 400 percent increase and now has over 80 million users.

Although the notion “a picture speaks 1,000 words” is a bit cliché, it hits the nail on the head when applied to the general concept and objectives of Instagram.  This is a platform that produces visual stimulus via a photograph with just a click of a button, it’s highly interactive and is very beneficial to many companies and organizations.  Research shows that Instagram proves to be a successful promotional tool to create product and brand awareness.  To further the reach among an audience, it is important to consider sharing the Instagrammed image on other social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook.  Another key tactic to note is the use of hash tagging as a means of driving traffic to a specific photo and ultimatelty the Instagram account for a specific company or organization.

 Yes, it is about constant content when it comes to the social media realm in order to keep an audience engaged, but there is a lot more than constantly posting images that goes into the strategic methods behind Instagramming.  In the end, businesses and organizations are using Instagram as a platform to create brand and product awareness.  The ultimate goal is to develop brand loyalty through the promotional efforts of posting images that are most relevant to the target audience a specific company or organization is trying to reach.  Statigram, which is considered a web-based third party Instagram management site, is a great tool to use in order to track and monitor statistics.   

Instagram is used more frequently among the “instant gratification generation,” because the visual stimulus is readily available with the clicks of a few buttons on a smart phone and not much reading is required.  With this said, Instagram will continue to gain more users and become a prominent platform for companies and organizations to promote products, establish brand awareness and share ideas.  Now, more than ever is the time to hop on the Instagram express, it’s the Polaroid of the web.