Why You Should Start Using SlideShare in 2015

2014 in Infographics

January: Floods

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February: Crisis in Ukraine

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March: The disappearance of Flight MH370

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April: Warning on NHS spending

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May: European elections

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June: Phone hacking verdicts

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July: World Cup

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August: The rise of Isis

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September: Scotland decides

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October: The tragic toll of Ebola

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November: Rosetta’s incredible journey

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December:

Best Infographics for Healthcare

In the run-up to Christmas I went into my favorite used book store in Philly and treated myself to a book on graphic art used in Joseph Pulitzer’s newspaper The World from 1898-1911. One thing that struck me about the New York paper was the pervasive use of infographics to help its readers get some perspective on their city. A quick Google search helped me find what’s commonly referred to as the first use of an infographic in healthcare. Florence Nightingale produced one to demonstrate the causes of death in the Crimean War. It highlighted that the number of British soldiers who died from preventable diseases acquired in hospitals far exceeded those who died from their wounds and other causes.

This year, companies and organizations used infographics to communicate the shifting list of healthcare CIOs’ responsibilities to putting price transparency into practice and ways hospitals and employers are using digital health to try to rein in healthcare costs. Here’s a roundup of seven infographics produced this year that draw attention to trends in digital health and a hint of what’s to come in 2015.

Hospitals innovation priorities and challenges As hospitals continue to explore the potential of digital health tools, it’s worthwhile highlighting what their priorities are and the challenges they face in meeting them. A report by HIMSS and Avia, punctuated with an inforgraphic, found that clinical decision support, disease management, care coordination, patient follow-up and shared decision making have been the top innovation priorities for providers. Cost reduction, patient satisfaction, knowledge sharing and reducing medical errors are on the to do list. But the survey of 92 respondents noted that the number of staff to implement these changes, the limits of EMR systems to provide the level of data needed and the costs of implementing these changes are significant barriers for many hospitals.

Power of the periodic table CB Insights took a cool approach to healthcare deal flow by using periodic tables to spotlight the key players in pharma, biotech and medical device deals such as venture capital and angel investors. It did something similar with the Internet of Things and flagged up wearables, accelerators for digital health and investors in the space, among other things.Price transparency In a year where price transparency continued to grow as a talking point, an infographic illustrating Change Healthcare’s “Health  Transparency Index” offered an illustrated analysis of more than 180 million claims from the fourth quarter of 2013. It highlights the biggest healthcare price discrepancies between providers in imaging services like CT scans, ultrasounds and mammograms, and office visits with diabetes screenings.

Changing role of CIOs A report from executive search firm SSi Search calls attention to the shifting role of CIOs in healthcare. The infographic highlights their wide-ranging responsibilities in the new order of healthcare assisting in defining and supporting new patient care models, new reimbursement models and supporting numerous regulatory mandates. Their roles will include analytics initiatives, building the clinical skill sets of their teams and seeking greater strategic involvement in their health systems.

Digital health to control costs A Towers Watson survey of 597 employees looked at how employers are using and could use digital health to control healthcare costs. It noted that more than half are tweaking their employer plans to reduce healthcare costs, particularly with telemedicine. About 37 percent of employers said they plan to offer telemedicine by 2015 and another 34 percent said they are considering adopting it by 2016 or 2017, according to the report.

Emerging technology The “Technology Roadmap” from Barkley’s Innovation Lab isn’t so concerned with healthcare trends so much as the future of technology. It does highlight areas that healthcare is only beginning to explore more widely, such as 3D scanning, biometrics, and augmented reality.

Hand hygiene Remote monitoring was a hot discussion topic this year as was the subject of reducing hospital acquired infections. An infographic from Debmed combined them as part of a survey of hospitals. About one third of hospitals said they were considering a monitoring system purchase to confirm whether employees were washing their hands properly.

http://medcitynews.com/2014/12/best-2014-price-transparency-internet-things-8-digital-health-infographics/

Online Marketing Resolutions You Should Make In 2015

2015 is here, and you know what that means – New Year’s resolutions! But, let’s resolve to do more than just lose our guts, get back into the gym, and avoid the candy aisle. Let’s make some resolutions and commitments for our business’ marketing initiatives as well.

After all, we all know that we need to set serious goals for more than just our bodies. We need them for business and online marketing efforts too. Because without them, you and I both know that nothing will get done.

And what’s on the line? A lot.

How well you market your business online could literally change the course of your company’s destiny. Instead of struggling for new business and leads, if you do your online marketing correctly, you could be basking in all the leads your business needs to thrive.

So let’s do this! More traffic, more leads, more sales. In other words: business growth as a direct result of your online marketing efforts. That’s what this all is.

The following are the most important online marketing new years resolutions your business needs to make happen in 2015:

Resolution #1: Commit To Content

A very wealthy man once declared:

“Content is king.”

You couldn’t be more right, Bill Gates.

When it comes to marketing your business online, content is king. After all, it’s content that people notice and share. It’s content that search engines discover and rank. It’s content that is what you share with your social followers. It’s content that you use to email your prospect lists. And these days, it’s content that develops your brand and ultimately builds your business.

It’s time to commit to creating killer content in 2015. It really is the most important thing you can do for you online marketing efforts.

Resolution #2: Get Serious About SEO

SEO is a big deal.

Imagine if your company website was showing up in front of the hundreds, thousands and even millions of potential prospects searching directly for what you offer?

Would this be valuable to your business? Of course it would! It could literally change the course of your business’ destiny.

In 2015 it’s time to get serious about SEO and making things happen. No, this doesn’t mean you go out and hire the first SEO agency you talk to that says the right things. It means you get serious about educating yourself on SEO and what it takes to gain the favor of Google, and then take action. For your business this could mean that you do SEO yourself, you hire someone, or you outsource your efforts to a reputable and trustworthy agency.

SEO needs to be taken seriously if you are to ever get real results. The time is now!

Resolution #3: Build A Better Website

If your company’s website sucks, your 2015 online marketing efforts will fall flat on their face; your website is the foundation and center piece to all of your efforts.

So how do you know if you need to build a better website? Here’s a list of questions that will help you start to objectively evaluate whether it’s time for a face life, or complete overhaul:

1. Is your site conversion focused? Are visitors inspired to take action? (Be honest!)
2. Does your site articulate your company’s story?
3. Has your website been coded for search engines?
4. Is your website mobile responsive? Does it resize for mobile visitors?
5. Does your website have clear messaging that influences prospects? (Again, be honest!)
6. Is your website built for blogging? Is your blog seamlessly integrated?
7. Does your site use the latest in coding technology? (CSS3, HTML5, JavaScript components)

If you answered ‘no’ to any of these questions, it’s probably time to build a better website.

Resolution #4: Automate Your Marketing

Marketing automation is the newest trend in online marketing, and for good reason. Marketing automation has been around for along time in a more primitive state, but it’s gotten much more sophisticated in recent years.

Companies like Hubspot, Infusionsoft, and Marketo have developed quite amazing tools that make it easy. With lead scoring, automating emails and work flow, if set up correctly it can transform a business’ ability to capture and convert leads.

The idea is simple: you need to get in front of prospects a number of times before they are ready or willing to buy your product/service. With the right marketing automation software, you’ll be able to pull this off completely hands off.

Resolution #5: Demand Better Data

If you want to win in 2015 you need the best and most accurate data you can get. I know what you’re thinking “but we already have Google analytics installed.” That’s just the surface of what I’m talking about here.

Yes you need analytics, and you need to be able to interpret your analytics into actionable insights. But even more importantly, you need to get serious about data on your competitors.

Take a break from obsessing over your business and obsess over your competitors. Doing so will often answer hard questions and provide answers to questions that you are not asking in the first place, but should be.

In 2015 make it a goal to use a type of competitive analysis tool set or platform. Some notable options are:

• Bright Edge – Bright Edge has the most comprehensive web-based tools on the market. It’s a full fledged enterprise SEO marketing platform every business could use.

• Moz – Moz is an industry favorite and will allow you to analyze exactly what your competition is doing, why they’re beating you and what you need to do to close the gap.

• Little Bird – this social tool will allow you to track what your competitors are doing social media wise and see what content is the most successful for them. Valuable information!

• SEM Rush – To put it plainly, you can track everything your competitors are doing in paid search and get very accurate insights into their successes in organic search too.

Resolution #6: Commit To Constant And Never-Ending Improvement

Finally, this may be the most important resolution of them all: when it comes to your online marketing efforts you must commit to constant and never-ending improvement.

Nothing is going to get fixed over night. And in 6 months the internet might be forever changed in some way that no one ever foresaw. However, if you adopt this attitude and way of being into your business, you’ll be fine.

Everyday ask yourself “What needs to be done? What can we improve upon? What are our competitors doing better than we are? What can I do right now to make our efforts more effective?”

These are the types of questions that will lead you toward constant and never ending improvement.

In Conclusion

2015 is about to happen and it’s time to make all your wildest online marketing dreams come true. Let’s get serious about these 6 resolutions: commit to content, get serious about SEO, build a better website, automate your marketing, demand better data, and commit to constant and never ending improvement.

Do these things and win in 2015.

http://www.business2community.com/online-marketing/online-marketing-resolutions-make-2015-01111083

11 Social Media Trend Predictions for 2015

So, was 2014 everything you dreamed it would be and more? Or was it one series of surprises after another, each one slightly worse than the last, until you felt your soul slipping away into a level of hell that Dante’ was too scared to write about…Oh come on, it couldn’t have been that bad. The good news is that we get to start all over again in just a few days and experience a brand new year.

Of course, that’s a just a bunch of feel-good, pie-in-the-sky gobbledygook and we all know it. January first means at best a day or two off from the grind before resuming exactly, 100% where you left off a few days ago, last year or not. Life doesn’t magically reset every 365 days, and neither does business. As I descend from my soapbox I will gladly admit, however, that we do measure accomplishments and growth in a year over year fashion. Best album of the year, sales numbers for the year, and so on. And so, trends in social media get equally divided into the yearly pattern as well. Which is all to say, let’s take a look at what is being predicted for the coming year in social media, shall we?

Less Text

Images and videos will become even more front and center next year, driving down the number of short posts in favor of infographics, images with text, and videos.

Recommended for YouWebcast: The Art of Growth Hacking: Gaining Early Traction by Doing Things that Don't Scale

More Text

On the other hand, the source text for social media success, otherwise known as your content, will continue the flow from fast and quick to longform reads that involve really good writing and not just basic English skills. Longform articles are becoming the most viral and shared content on social.

It’s Been a Nice Ride, but…

Unfortunately, the time of social media as “free” advertising is over. Social media is now all grown up, makes money as a real business, and is the platform where they allow us to market our wares. With that shift in power the rise of paid advertising on social is going to be big. Right now Facebook ads are the best bargain going, but next year expect those rates to rise a bit.

We Are in Sync

Next year the first phase in our eventual assimilation into the Borg will end, and the era of wearable tech will begin in earnest. We’re already pretty much convinced as a society that we’re going to have computers and robots all up in our clothes and everything else more and more, so now that the acceptance has been reached it’s all down to implementation. Next year wearables will explode, and they’ll all be connected to social channels, which will begin to dramatically change the way we interact with the web.

Let Us Entertain You

Entertainment sells, and there’s a fine line between acting and marketing. Brands are starting to have their own in-house media companies – not just divisions – to handle all of their needs. Next year expect to see some brands spending their cash to purchase media companies for this very reason. Let’s hope we don’t experience a mass corporatization of social channels that drives the social spirit underground. People are pretty cool.

LinkedIn is Gonna be Huge

LinkedIn is tired of being “that other social network, the one for business”. They’re ready to be The Social Network for Business, and there’s a big difference. The first is relatively unknown, with a small-to-medium sized loyal user base. The second is the authority on business and an essential part of every professional’s repertoire. At the rate they’re growing right now and based on their plans, they’ll be opting for title number two next year. Their publishing platform is going to explode. Yeah I know, everything’s exploding today.

Mobile Data is Everything

FourSquare seems so cute in the rearview mirror. The idea of somehow interacting with the business you’re visiting on your smartphone really brought the physical and online worlds a little closer together, but that baby grew up fast. Here’s why mobile data is the future: You hear or see an ad for a product you’re interested in while about town. Using your smartphone, you find a retailer who carries it, maybe look at reviews, and possibly even pay using Google Wallet or a Paypal app. That sale is directly tied into your information to give the company accurate data about what is driving sales, instead of coming from the search bar on your computer which then gets undue credit.

Stop Talking and Buy Something

Facebook and others will aggressively join the mobile wallet space and jockey for position on current powerhouses such as Paypal. Twitter and Facebook will both roll out the “buy” button and the world of mobile e-commerce will enter a new era. I also predict that Pinterest will incorporate a “buy” feature that could put in competition with the likes of Amazon.

Death of the Laptop

Just kidding, but it got your attention more than ” a bigger move into mobile” would have, right? The reality is that mobile is the holy grail, eventually culminating in the wearables movement or even as far as implants or tattoos. All of that is nothing more than an extension of your phone, really. The point being that you have something on you which is always connected and reporting your movements, habits, likes and dislikes.

Yes, that sounds very much like Orwell on steroids, but it’s the unspoken truth about marketing and sales. The more we can know about someone, the more likely the chance that we can sell them something. We can call ourselves social media experts or consultants or whatever other non-threatening title we want to assume, but when it comes down to brass tacks we need others to buy our product or service so we can eat food, sleep under shelter, and other really fun stuff. Which makes us salesmen and marketers. And the more we know about someone the more have a chance to eat, sleep indoors, etc.

Bottom line? The push into mobile goes into high gear next year, both on the consumer side and on the back end.

Privacy and Anonymity

People are starting to get pretty ticked about the whole online privacy thing, and I think next year we may see some big moves forward in online privacy. Sites like Ello have been gaining popularity (while still in closed beta) for their promise of complete privacy. Other networks have relaxed restrictions on only opening an account under your real name. I think a push for more anonymity will join hands with the privacy push, and we may see some interesting developments next year in this area.

Google Plus Rides Into the Sunset

When Vic left town last spring, the coming death of G+ was announced far and wide. And Google denied it, of course. Since then, the lynchpins have been slowly yanked out from the platform – hangouts became a separate app, photos became a separate app, Gmail not linked automatically anymore, authorship program gone – until it now seems obvious that no one is trying to save it. Perhaps they’ll revert to the original “Google Me” idea, which it seems to me would have been a better idea from the start.

And there you have it. Now you don’t even have to plod through the next twelve months if you like, I’ve just saved you the journey.

http://www.business2community.com/social-media/11-social-media-trend-predictions-2015-01107216

15 Premium Tips To Get Media Coverage In 2015

How To Get Media Coverage For Your Business?

The reason it’s hard for your start-up to get media coverage is because of noise.

Take the app market. As of June 2014, there were 1.2 million apps in iTunes.

Imagine if just a quarter of them contacted a reporter on the same day as you. That’s several hundred thousand companies!

In fact, your email to Alyson Shontell of Business Insider about your new app feature is probably sitting unopened next to 299 others just like it in her inbox that she received that day.

So in order to get some attention, you need to intelligently contact the media.

Here are 15 timely tips to help your start-up get journalists’ attention in 2015. They come from my experiences with Bloomberg, Business Insider, Buzzfeed, KQED, Mashable, TechCrunch, San Francisco Chronicle, Thomson-Reuters, Wired, Wall Street Journal and others.

1. MAKE YOUR KEY POINT FIRST.

In a note to a reporter, don’t bury the lead. When you land a media interview, say your main point first. Don’t plan to show a 45-page presentation.

2. KEEP IT SHORT.

A reporter receives 100 to 300 e-mailed pitches a day. Their voice mail boxes fill up fast. A short email might get read fully. To add detail, include a link. My Stanford media relations instructor and former San Francisco Chronicle Writer Marshall Wilson said a sentence should be no longer than 27 words. Key messages should take no longer than nine seconds to say.

3. READ THEIR STORIES FIRST.

Before Pam Edstrom attended her first media event with Bill Gates back when both their companies were just getting started, she read all of the industry magazines first. She then had intelligent talks with the journalists there. She is co-founder of public relations firm Waggener Edstrom.

4. PITCH THE COMPETITION.

KQED’s Peter Jon Shuler spoke in my Stanford post-graduate media relations class. He said he’s not likely to cover a story twice. Don’t call him and say, “I see you covered topic x. My company is a fit for that.” Instead pitch someone who hasn’t done the story yet, like a reporter at a competitive outlet.

5. OFFER SOMETHING SPECIAL BUT NOT TO EVERYONE.

TechCrunch takes contributed stories but they won’t run something unless it offers a unique viewpoint.

6. BOUNCE BACK AFTER FAILURE.

Great media relations folks don’t let rejection get them down. The timing could be off. It might take a year of relationship-building to land a shopping app in Good Housekeeping, for example, as was the case with one of my clients.

7. CONTACT THE RIGHT REPORTER.

If your story relates to new B2B social marketing software, contact the Huffington Post social business writer not the Elite Daily political blogger. Check Twitter profiles for updated job details. Some change jobs a lot.

8. PRETEND YOU’RE TALKING TO YOUR GRANDMA.

Skip the jargon like “mission critical” and just say what it is or does. If it’s a storage device that stores 500 movies just say that. Pretend you’re talking to your grandmother.

9. GO PLACES.

To increase your chances of meeting journalists, go out and get noticed. Give a talk at an industry conference or at a Meetup. Travel to a city where reporters are based. I set up a meeting with Issie Lapowsky of Wired and a Silicon-Valley based client recently and a cool story resulted.

10. TELL A COMPLETE STORY.

Compelling stories have a beginning, middle, end and hero. Include one when you are talking to a reporter. Overcome the fact that company founders do not like to highlight client problems. The story surrounding Sony’s movie “The Interview” features a big problem.

11. TELL A STORY THAT TUGS AT THE HEART STRINGS.

An app client tested a new nearby deals app feature before issuing an announcement. The story highlighted in communications was about a mom struggling to makes ends meet who was able to afford Christmas presents for her kids. It got attention. Another client’s story was about how he had three open heart surgeries by age 19. Staying healthy was the inspiration for co-founding his fitness app company while still in school.

12. ANNOUNCE NEWS BUT MAKE IT TIMELY.

Your campaign needs to fit in with what’s happening in the world. Right now it seems to be Sony movie “The Interview,” holiday shopping or New Year’s resolutions. A week ago it was Bill Cosby. Soon it will be losing weight, fitness, Super Bowl 2015 and Valentine’s Day. In August it will be back to school.

13. USE THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE.

Snapchat, the “disappearing message” app got a life time worth of publicity by rejecting Facebook’s acquisition offer of $3 billion+. This was a surprise just due to the sheer amount. After that, everyone knew who they were. Reporters love to be surprised.

14. MAKE IT VISUAL.

Always have a photo of the founder, app screen shots and other graphics handy. Infographics and videos are popular. For social media posts, use a free graphics tool like Canva. Hire a news-smart photographer like Silicon Valley’s Mark Hundley or Paul Sakuma for your PR photography.

15. WRITE IT YOURSELF.

Some outlets like Buzzfeed, TechCrunch, and Wired accept contributed material. My blog is syndicated on a popular website. If your article is good, it will be promoted to home page. Venture Capital Firm General Catalyst Partners is known to be awesome at getting its own material published. It’s because the vice president of marketing communicates like a journalist.

In any case, if you try these tips and are still having a hard time, hire someone with media experience to help.

http://www.business2community.com/public-relations/15-premium-tips-get-media-coverage-2015-01108688

26 Tips for Using Instagram for Business

Are you wondering how to use images and short video to enhance your customers’ experience?

Have you considered creating a brand profile on Instagram to make your brand visible to a new market?

Getting started on Instagram is fairly straightforward.

Simply sign up for an account (e.g., use the same name as your Twitter handle), add a profile photo (e.g., brand logo) and a link to your website, connect your account to Facebook and let your followers know they can follow you there.

It’s what to do next that presents a difficulty for many brands.

What follows are 26 tips and brand examples, an A-Z guide, for capitalizing on a business presence on Instagram.

#1: Acquaint Yourself With How to Use Instagram for Business

Businesses have been flocking to Instagram in droves. In response, Instagram started the Instagram for Business blog, which offers tips, brand spotlights, API examples and news from Instagram HQ.

Instagram's blog will help keep you in the know.

Check it out and add it to your reader to keep up to date on some of the coolest ways to use the Instagram platform for business.

#2: Balance Fun Images With Pictures From Your Business

Rachel Sprung writes, “Take advantage of the increased real estate you have with the Instagram web page to tell a story with the images. Have a healthy balance of fun images and business pictures.”

Anthropologie has struck a good balance with their images. Their followers like fun images as well as business ones. A puppy picture received 7,640 likes and a picture of their personal shoppers posing at a company luncheon event received 3,457.

One of the ten most engaging posts mentioning #Anthropologie.

Track the engagement on your images to find out what your followers like best!

#3: Cultivate a Following

Tim Sae Koo offers 3 helpful tips for getting more followers on Instagram:

• Connect your Facebook account
• Use relevant, popular hashtags
• Engage by following others and liking their photos

Cross-post selected images to your Facebook page with a hashtag that aligns with your campaign or brand image to help people who don’t know you’re on Instagram to find you there.

#4: Debut Videos

Instagram’s recent Video on Instagram has given Twitter’s Vine a serious competitor to contend with. Most notably 15-second, filter-enabled, editable video functionality compared to Vine’s 6.5 seconds.

Jordan Crook charts the differences between Instagram and Vine in the image below:

Jordan Crook charts Instagram vs. Vine.

Honda debuted an Instagram video by making a joke out of the choice. Fun idea!

#5: Embed Instagram Video in Your Blog or Website

Last month, Instagram released a new embed feature for its desktop web browser version. Mike Gingerich provides helpful instructions, in addition to examples for when and how to use Instagram videos.

Since you never know who will see your shares on a social networking platform,embed your Instagram video in your blog or website to extend the reach of your content.

#6: Follow Your Followers Back

The people you follow on social networking platforms make all the difference in the world. Curiously, many brands on Instagram (some with very large followings) don’t follow back.

To create strategic relationships on Instagram, find the brands and people you enjoy and can learn from in your followers and follow them back. We’ll talk more about this in #23.

#7: Generate a Flexible Posting Plan

Carley Keenan offers the following advice on the frequency of sharing on Instagram:

“You don’t need to post on Instagram every day. The ‘feed speed’ on Instagram is still mostly laid back. If you start posting a lot, you might saturate your followers’ feeds, and you don’t want to force yourself into the noise too often. Decide what you have ready to post and create a schedule to help you remember what to post when and to track what is working once you get going.”

#8: Harness the Power of Apps

Kay Tan put together a list of 20 apps that will enhance your photo-sharing experiences. There are apps that let users print images, search tags and keywords, subscribe to Instagram profiles via email, download all Instagram photos in a single archive folder, plus many more.

Use these apps to make Instagram a significant part of your social media marketing strategy.

#9: Inspire Potential Customers

Anna Colibri suggests you post photos that are relevant to your brand and potential customers.

Whole Foods Market posts representative photos to promote healthy, wholesome food products, store events, sustainability and their active community of customers and employees.

Whole Foods Market's photos are relevant to their brand.

Attract your target market with images that share a compelling and inspiring story.

#10: Juxtapose Use of Filter Types and No-Filter Images

Instagram provides a number of filters to change the look and feel of your photos.

A study conducted by Simply Measured earlier this year found 59 percent of the world’s top brands are now active on Instagram.

Their findings also shed light on choices around filtered photos: “Lo-fi is the filter of choice for 14 percent of brands’ filtered photos, followed by Valencia with 12 percent,Rise with 12 percent, Amaro with 11 percent, Hudson with 9 percent, Sierra with 9 percent, X-Pro II with 8 percent and Hefe with 7 percent.”

Simply Measured Favorite Filters: The Most Engaging and the Most Used.

Marketo also suggests that filters are more than a question of aesthetics, they can say a lot about you!

Shake things up a little every now and then, and try out a new filter or go the no-filter route.

#11: Kickstart Instagram Efforts With a Change in Perspective

Russ Meyer recommends that for brands to be successful on Instagram, they need to get past their inherent interest in selling and instead:

• Share a distinctive view of the world
• Cultivate a unique visual sense
• Capture things that are interesting to the brand and to the core target customer
• Train your eye to focus on what makes a great, provocative, engaging image

Entrust your Instagram presence to someone in the organization who understands how to align images with the interests of your target customer.

#12: Leverage Photo Contests on Instagram With Facebook

Businesses can host photo contests on Instagram using hashtags to organize submissions and an RSS feed to follow along with new photos as they’re added.

Samsung Camera used the hashtag #LiveInTheMoment to successfully promote their Instagram photo contest on their Facebook page.

Over 17,000 fans saw the status update and 336 commented on it.

Use Facebook status updates to encourage your fans to enter your Instagram photo contest.

#13: Market Your Brand Using Trends

Remember when Twitter’s #followfriday seemed somewhat avant-garde? Instagrammers can use a number of trending hashtags to join in a bigger part of the visual community storytelling.

Charles Mazzini takes us through the days of the week beginning with #ManCrushMonday and ending with #SelfieSunday.

#WayBackWednesday viewed on Statigram.

Find a trending hashtag that’s relevant to your marketing strategy andparticipate with images from your brand.

#14: Network on Instagram

Kim Garst writes, “Instagram connects people through photos” and suggests 3 essential ways to create a network:

• Engage—like others’ photos and leave comments
• Follow your already established followers from other social media platforms
• Include your hashtags—if your brand uses specific hashtags on Twitter or Google+, use them on Instagram as well

Over 17,000 fans saw the status update and 336 commented on it.

Use Facebook status updates to encourage your fans to enter your Instagram photo contest.

#13: Market Your Brand Using Trends

Remember when Twitter’s #followfriday seemed somewhat avant-garde? Instagrammers can use a number of trending hashtags to join in a bigger part of the visual community storytelling.

Charles Mazzini takes us through the days of the week beginning with #ManCrushMonday and ending with #SelfieSunday.

#WayBackWednesday viewed on Statigram.

Find a trending hashtag that’s relevant to your marketing strategy andparticipate with images from your brand.

#14: Network on Instagram

Kim Garst writes, “Instagram connects people through photos” and suggests 3 essential ways to create a network:

• Engage—like others’ photos and leave comments
• Follow your already established followers from other social media platforms
• Include your hashtags—if your brand uses specific hashtags on Twitter or Google+, use them on Instagram as well

#15: Optimize Your Profile

Instagram profiles—like their counterparts on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking platforms—need to include brand information in specific ways (e.g., maximum number of characters, specific image sizes, attention to branding).

Brandon Gaille has a helpful list of what to include in your profile and Gerry Moranprovides an easy-to-digest graphic illustrating where everything shows.

Gerry Moran shows how to build the perfect Instagram profile.

Complete your profile with all of the information customers might need to find you and do business with you.

#16: Promote Your Business on Both Facebook and Instagram

Great things can happen when a platform is purchased by an entity such as Facebook. Instagram and Facebook as a duo offer brands a unique opportunity for promotion.

James Borow explains, “Brands create Instagram videos, share them to their Facebook pages and then boost them into paid media that hits the Facebook news feed, in the same way that they boost text or photo posts. This enables brands to reach Facebook’s 818 million monthly active mobile users, which dwarfs Instagram’s 130 million. It’s profiting from Instagram without having to advertise on Instagram… For now it’s all about capturing and sharing the world’s moments—and paying to distribute them on the world’s largest social network.”

Capitalize on Facebook’s integration of Instagram to reach a wider audience.

#17: Quantify and Qualify

Want to know how your brand is doing on Instagram? There are image analytics tools such as BlitzMetrics and Curalate that will provide detailed insights.

Tim Peterson writes, “Curalate is able to track an Instagram post’s likes and comments so that a brand can see how that popularity translates into added followers, but also capitalize on the popularity. Denim brand 7 For All Mankind used the platform to identify that an image was resonating on Instagram. It then pushed that out as a Facebook ad, resulting in the brand’s most engaged ad on that platform to date….”

Use image analytics to identify images and video that resonate with your fans and followers.

#18: Reward Followers

Collins Paris describes how American Express “offers its followers backstage entries to events such as fashion shows, concerts and even the U.S. Open.”

He recommends that retail brands reward their followers with discount codes and promos.

Follow American Express for insta-access to exclusive experiences, news and rewards through our lens.

Deliver perks to your followers so they will make viewing your feed content a priority.

#19: Showcase Photos of Employees

Showing your employees at work not only gives a behind-the-scenes view of your company, it’s also a way to celebrate staff and show them how much they’re valued. A great example is Beaucoup Bakery, which shares pictures of their staff with the hashtag #beaucrew.

A member of #beaucrew at Beaucoup Bakery.

Acknowledge staff members’ skill sets, successes and milestones on Instagram.

#20: Treat Followers to a Visual Experience

Sharpie shows followers how their product can be used to “start something” creative. The majority of their photos in their feed show drawings in a myriad of colors.

Grab a Sharpie and start something.

Find a creative way to showcase the use of your company’s products and services.

#21: Use Industry-Related Hashtags

If you’re at an event or location that’s designated by a hashtag (something like #smmw13), Jenn Herman recommends you add it to your photos so that event coordinators and other attendees can find them.

10 most engaging photos mentioning #smmw13.

Track the relevance of your Instagram hashtags with Nitrogram, the Instagram analytics and engagement platform that provides key metrics on hashtags including contributors, content, engagement and context.

#22: Video Important Brand Moments

Tom Edwards suggests that “Brands can share unique branded experiences, highlight brand advocates, co-create content with audiences, preview products, highlight a specific cause, extend the brand’s persona via video, preview upcoming events by adding visual context, share important news, drive promotional awareness, leverage Instagram video for promotion and create videos that show fan appreciation.”

Capture your company’s important moments in 15-second videos and share them with your followers so they feel included.

#23: Widen Your Exposure to Other Brands

As we covered in #6, it’s good practice to follow other brands on Instagram.Statigram is a great tool for finding brands and hashtags that relate to your brand. Simply enter the brand name or hashtag into the search box and click Search.

In this example, I wanted to see if Target had a profile on Instagram. They do!

Search for businesses and industry-related keywords on Statigram.

Use this tool to find, follow and research your competitors on Instagram.

#24: eXpose Something New

ABC World News often shares a photo about a broadcast they’ll be doing later in the day.

ABC News shared hours earlier that Robin Roberts would be interviewing Venus Williams.

Use Instagram to give your followers a first look at or sneak preview of an event, a product or news feature.

#25: Yuck it Up

Donna Amos writes, “While running a business requires dedication, sweat and sometimes tears, it should never be all work and no play. Instagram is perfect for displaying fun times in the office or when you’re out and about having lunch or dinner with coworkers. Sharing these types of images with followers speaks volumes. It not only suggests that you don’t take life too seriously while on the job, but instead you must be happy and successful in your career.”

All work and no play will make your brand a dull company on Instagram. Integrate images that show your human side to create stronger connections with your followers.

#26: Zap Between Instagrammers’ Images and Edit for a Longer Film

Lexususa had a cutting-edge vision with their #LexusInstafilm using 212 instagrammers’ images to edit together a 3:44 Instagram video to showcase the 2014 Lexus IS.

@Lexususa a brand who knows how to zap it to their audience.

As one instagrammer says in the video, the Lexusinstafilm is a great example of what Instagram is, “A community that comes together.”

Transform crowdsourced images into a unique video message that features and highlights the creativity of your loyal followers.

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/instagram-for-business-tips/