Although Instagram is only a few years old, we’ve likely all been in a situation where we’ve seen someone in a coffee shop or restaurant whip out their smartphone to take a picture of their food.
As much as we might like to make fun of people who take Instagram too seriously, having a popular account could help you land a coveted Marketing position. Not only do employers often check their applicants social media presence before they hire, Instagram can also help you gain highly-valuable and industry relevant skills.
Still not convinced? Here are 3 reasons why Instagram is the perfect platform for aspiring Marketing professionals!
1) It showcases your ability to capture attention
Unlike Facebook, Snapchat, or Vine, Instagram’s main use is for taking photographs. That means that in order to make it big on this platform, you need to have the ability to capture your audience’s attention with a striking first impression.
You don’t have to be a professional photographer to make it big on Instagram – this platform has levelled the playing field, allowing aspiring Marketers of all levels to create engaging content and create a devoted following. Creating consistent posts with impact on Instagram shows Marketing employers that you’re adept at engaging your audience with an attention-grabbing graphic and a few lines of text. Imagine what you could do on a full-scale Marketing campaign!
2) Stay on trend and have the metrics to back up your work
There are many social media platforms out there that allow users to check the traffic their content receives – YouTube and Facebook are popular examples. Instagram is special however, particularly because of the use of the hashtag.
Instagram’s hashtag system allows users to do a few unique things. Firstly, hashtags are limited to 30 per comment, with additional comments typically being marked as spam. This means Instagram users need to find hashtags that are meaningful and drive traffic. They can do this not only by checking the likes and comments a certain post receives, but whether or not certain accounts are liking their content. Being noticed by larger accounts, or even being featured on a larger account, is a general indication that the hashtags they’ve used are good for engagement.
Secondly, hashtags are useful because Instagram lists hashtagged posts chronologically by posting time, not by the time a hashtag was used. This essentially means that Instagram users can compare the traffic of their post to other posts using the same hashtag, and see which post garnered higher traffic. Knowing which hashtags to utilize shows employers that you understand what it takes to be on trend with your audience. Users who learn to manipulate this system eventually garner higher traffic over time, and that shows up as likes that employers can count. In the end, numbers can have a huge positive impact on how employers perceive you, so if you’re not already tracking your success, it’s time to get started!
3) Instagram boasts an elegant editing platform and high-quality Marketing imagery
Unlike Snapchat’s fuzzy video quality, Instagram allows users to upload incredibly high-quality content. With the improvement of smartphones and a plethora of third- party editing platforms, it is now possible to take crystal clear photos with Photoshop-like editing, without ever requiring a professional camera or computer. This means a few things.
Firstly, it’s excellent for Marketers. Most Marketing campaigns want to have high quality, beautiful images. Occasionally, the raw or low quality images can be used for humorous purposes but rarely work for most big brands. This makes Instagram an attractive social media platform, specifically for those passionate about Marketing.
Secondly, Instagram is incredibly accessible. It is a great way to practice sorting and editing visual elements; in other words, a great place for budding Marketers to gather. For instance, Instagram’s editing platform, combined with the power of apps like VSCO or AfterLight, allows users to also practice brand management. By maintaining a similar style amongst numerous posts, you can show employers that you have the ability to find a ‘brand identity’ and stick to it.
So, the next time you see someone taking a serious photo in a coffee shop, it might be best to ask for some pointers rather than to stare or laugh!