# Tip Use Instagram To Grow Your Business



## Deborah Sexton (Jan 16, 2007)

Instagram as a social media channel has rapidly become the favorite tool for sharing content and engaging the print industry. Here are a few tips on employing the power of viral marketing. 

Account name: This should reflect your business name or identity. Your followers shouldn’t be confused about who you are.

Profile photo: Instagram displays a small circular avatar for each account. Consider using an icon version of your logo as to be easily identifiable. 

Consistency: Make sure your postings remain consistent and cohesive. They should be consistently scheduled, and the style of photos should be unified in appearance and the content relevant to your business. 

Get involved: Posting comments and “liking” follower postings is key to establishing and maintaining relationships. This isn’t a time to hard sell — rather the effort should be to keep it fun and casual. 

Tagging and locations: Tag your posts with relevant Instagram user accounts to create reference, relevance and showcase connections and relationships. Adding locations to postings can be helpful to prospective customers. 

Less is more: Posting too much can drive followers to opt out of following you. Make your postings count. There should always be a solid reason for a post. 

Connect: Promote your account in all of your marketing materials and efforts. Take full advantage of the ability to share a posting on your connected Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Follow to be followed: Follow five new relevant profiles per day. Scope out who your targets are following and engage them to create a better understanding of affiliations. 

JP Hunt is a founder and partner at InkSoft in charge of sales and marketing. He can be contacted at [email protected]. The website offers additional tips, white papers, and blogs on how to increase sales, get started in online Web stores, social media marketing and more at www.inksoft.com.


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