One of the social media success stories of 2011 was easily the photo-sharing app Instagram.   Despite only running on Apple ‘iDevices’, Instagram boss Kevin Systrom reckoned he had 16+ million users at Christmas.

Post Christmas sign-ups combined with Apple naming Instagram app of the year means that total is probably not far off 20 million by now.  And the company estimates that the Android version finally in the works will result in the numbers doubling.

One of the most interesting things about Instagram, is its community, which unlike many other early stage social networks doesn’t consist exclusively of people who work in tech or marketing.

Thanks to Instagram allowing its users the kind of freedom Facebook won’t, that community has also created a fairly unique sub-culture, which it is worth any marketer understanding:

The etiquette of posting and hash-tags

Instagram has often been described as a visual Twitter.  Like Twitter, most feeds are ‘open’ and you don’t have to follow someone for them to follow you.

Like Twitter, you refer to other users by putting an @ in front of their username.  And like Twitter, hash-tags are added to posts to denote topics.

However, as Instagram users aren’t restricted to 140 characters, a lot of hash-tags can be added – up to 30.  As a result, it is worth knowing what a giant list of hash-tags under someone’s post actually means.

They will denote one of several things:

• • The 3rd party app used to edit the photo  There is now a whole eco-system of iPhone compatible camera apps, for example #lenslight, #snapseed or #dynamiclight

• • The location, e.g #london, #londonlife or #thames

• • If the image is being tagged against a competition, for example #instahub or #prestige_challenge01

• • The situation, one example is pictures of people on public transport – #sneakycommutershot

• • Whatever is being taken #airplane, or (in 6600+ cases!) #powerlineporn

• • Finally, images are often tagged against Instagramer groups – #igerslondon, #rebelseurope, #implus   More on these in a minute

More at: http://wallblog.co.uk/2012/01/19/popping-sneakycommutershots-and-ig-ers-a-look-at-instagrams-sub-culture/

Fan Page Mistake #4: No Budget For Ads To Acquire Fans

As discussed above, the cheapest way to get targeted fans for your page (fans who are likely to be good customers), is with Facebook ads. The power, depth and precision of the Facebook ad platform is unrivaled and historic. And you can get fans for anywhere from 1 cent to $1.50, depending on your niche and parameters. You can’t get email subscribers that cheap anywhere, and this is the same kind of owned media.

But so many companies go to ridiculous lengths to avoid spending money on ads, or they just don’t have ad spends in their paradigm. They use a ton of time on roundabout tactics that yield fewer and less qualified fans. They forget about the cost of the employee time required to do so. And then when their fans don’t produce a return on investment, hey wonder why. Well, because you went cheap and you didn’t get good prospects. That’s why.

WatchingPaintDry.wordpress.com

One of the most common objections I hear from companies when I talk with them about blogging is, “We don’t do anything really interesting. No one would read our blog, so why waste our time?”

I have a lot of problems with the previous objection and not the least of which is the apparent lack of passion about the product or service, but I’d like to focus on the idea of “interesting content” here today.

We’ve all heard the expression Content is King and that’s all well and good, but what if your content has to be derived from spark plug repair or asphalt. Not all of us can be the Entertainment Director on a Disney Cruise Ship or a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon. How do you go about making boring content interesting?

It’s Not Your Content, It’s You

Here’s the first kicker: your blog content isn’t boring because of what it’s about, your blog content is boring because you are presenting it in a boring way. You have to approach every article as an opportunity to punch everyone you know in the face with Awesome, and you have to believe you can do it (Can I get an “Amen”).

In their book Content Rules (you guessed it, Amazon) Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman tell a lot of stories, but one in particular is about a company called the Indium Corporation. If you aren’t familiar with Indium, they distribute specialty alloys and solder products for electronic assemblies. Pretty epic, huh?

What you go on to find out is that Indium publishes over 70 blogs to their niche markets all written by employees. They have seen unbelievable success from it and have branched out into other social media marketing avenues because they embraced their niche.

So, who will care about your blog on spark plug repair? The people who will be buying those spark plugs from you, that’s who. If you don’t think anyone will be interested in what you have to offer or talk about, why are you even in business? You may as well just close up shop and go apply to sweep up trash at Disneyworld, at least everything about that place is exciting.

For everyone else who isn’t ready to throw in the towel quite yet, this next section is for you.

5 Ways To Breathe Life Into Seemingly Boring Material

I’ve hinted at these already throughout the article, but I know you like things laid out a little better, so here goes:

1. Get Passionate – I know that not every day at your job is peppermint flowers and bunny farts, but there should be some part of you that loves what you have to offer. Light some candles, turn on some Barry White and find that passion again and convey that through your articles. If you honestly can’t, find someone who can and have them be your blogger. However you get it done, make sure there is a passionate voice behind the blog for your company.
2. SOS – Take a hard look at what you’re publishing. Maybe those 1,500-word, no-picture articles about stereo innards aren’t the angle you need to be taking. Try to figure out creative ways to get your message across. Blendtec could have easily created salesy articles about their line of home products, but instead they created Will It Blend? and have been entertaining Internet audiences for years while generating interest and showing the benefits of their products. It’s a pretty brilliant way to sell home appliances if you ask me. If you can’t think of a creative way to blog about what you have to offer, contact me and we can figure it out together.
3. Embrace Your Niche – I’m filching this one from Ann and C.C.’s book because it’s right on the money. Any big or small business worth its snuff knows in very fine detail who they’re customers are. Put that knowledge to work for yourself and create content specifically designed to entertain those customer profiles. What kinds of things interest them? How do they see themselves? Is that viewpoint different from how the rest of the world sees them? The answers to the previous questions lead to things like Toyota’s Swagger Wagon video. This is the definition on Long Tail Marketing. Know the most specific things your customers will look for and focus on those things.
4. Be Human – This has become a cliché in the social media universe, but so many people say it because it’s true. For the most part, sales copy is boring and when you write your blog in sales copy, your blog will be boring. It’s refreshing when you watch a commercial and think, “Hey, that’s something my friends and I could have done.” It refreshes you because you relate to it. Write your blogs in a way that you would relate to on a human level, the rest will come from there.
5. Tell Stories – One of the easiest ways to be interesting is to relay stories. Real or imaginary, when crafted well, stories can draw people in, connect with them on emotional levels and drive them to areas of commitment. There’s a reason Sally Struthersalways introduced us to the African children for whom money was being raised. To this day, one of my most popular posts is The Chameleon and the Coalmine. There is no breakdown and no point written out in the story, it’s simply a narrative, but it connects with people. Tell stories when you write.