Instagram + Pinterest: A Visual Formula for Social Media
How Filtered, Pinteresting Pictures can Bring New Life to Your Marketing Campaigns
Instagram gained instant popularity when it was first launched in Apple’s App Store in October 2010. This mobile app lets users take photos and apply digital filters. It quickly gained a wide following from 100,000 in October up to 1 million users in December 2010. 2012 rolled in with 15 million users until on July, Instagram announced that it now has 80 million app users. This boom must have happened because Google acquired rights to distribute the app to Android users in April. There’s a noticeable big jump from the number of users in March (27 million) to May (50 million).
How did Instagram gained such huge popularity? This can be attributed to people wishing that some moments stand still for a time. With pictures, everyone can catch a moment to remember. This conveys a human wish to document events for keepsakes of times they want to go back to. Instagram goes a step beyond that, offering features that allow professional and amateur photographers to play with filters and make their pictures more beautiful and fun to look at. These filters alter images to look sharper, older or more vibrant. Take, for example, the pictures below:
See how the last picture was enhanced? With Instagram, you can use filters to create entrancing images that catch attention and stimulate interest among your viewers.
Pinterest, on the other hand, is a visual content site that allows users to pin pictures they find interesting. They can create boards that feature different themes, according to their preferences. With its user-friendly features and attractive interface, this social network quickly gained fame, especially among the female demographic. There has been 11.7 million Pinterest users in May 2012, and that number’s still growing as the site did away with its invite-only membership and opened its doors for all users.
There’s a possibility of a campaign that combines Instagram and Pinterest winning over the customers of a business. Entrepreneurs can use Instagram to take pictures of their merchandise and post the images on their Pinterest account. It can work, especially if you have a large number of followers on Instagram. You can drive your customers to go to your respective accounts on both social networks. Apply the best practices in both platforms and you can make your marketing campaign work!
Instagram has a balanced demographic with 50.8% male and 49.2% female users. There’s also enough audience from all age groups. With this mobile app, you can attract almost everyone to your business using the pictures you’ve taken. Pinterest can work as your pinboard where you’ll organize the images you’ve taken in artistic and aesthetic arrangements.
If you’re using Facebook and Twitter, you can post sample pictures of what you’re posting on Pinterest. This can entice your followers to check out your Pinterest page. Once users see your high-quality images, they’ll share your content and inadvertently promote brand awareness.
How do you fully utilize Instagram and Pinterest? Here are some techniques:
Well-taken pictures have a way of making ordinary subjects charming. Browse around Instagram and Pinterest, and look for the most popular photos. What are the common qualities of the most favored images? Other than the exceptionally lovely pictures, there are also everyday fixtures and average-looking goods spruced up to look unique. Here are some examples:
Have a cute office pet or mascot? Charm and engage your customers with pictures!
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