July 11, 2013

Our vibrant culture, captivating music, animated people and stunning scenery easily translate into powerful visual stories.  Jamaica’s images are supremely engaging for younger, social media savvy audiences as online contentment.  This makes Istagram a boon for Brand Jamaica.

Instagram, the online photo sharing, video sharing and social networking service, lets users take pictures and 15-second videos, add a hashtag, and share them on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr or Foursquare.

Since its debut in October 2010, Instagram has grown massively and now has more than 130 million monthly active users who upload roughly 40 million photos daily. So it’s no surprise that small and large brands are eagerly taking advantage of this popular image based social community to reach to audiences, engage fans and drive sales.

Local big brands like Appleton, Scotiabank Jamaica, Digicel and Usain Bolt, and smaller businesses like premier modeling agency Saint International Jamaica and photographer Ryan Lue-Clarke are active on Instagram, using inspiring images and video to bring their products and services to life.  But most other local businesses are yet to capitalize on the marketing benefits of Instagram’s powerful community.

Instagram is free and easy to use and a practical way to grow your brand?   Here are some steps to get started:

  • Entertain with eye catching and unusual photos and engaging video.  Go behind the scenes at an event or give consumers exclusives on how a product is created; show consumers using your product; go for the unexpected and present your brands in creative and original ways.
  • Use your brand’s hashtag to upload images and video. It’s a powerful way to categorize your images, appeal to niche groups and gain more followers. 
  • Stay Active. Simply joining Instagram and posting infrequently is not enough. Plan your posts and how often you are going to update your page.
  • Woo your audience with photo contests to encourage positive engagement, and cultivate a rapport with followers who comment on your posts. 
  • Share, share, share! Acquire Instagram followers through Facebook, Twitter and even Tumblr by taking advantage of Instagram’s share options before uploading your creative photos and videos.