Mobile photo sharing is becoming the fastest growing social media trend of today.  Instagram, the photo sharing app for iPhone and Android users allows people to share vintage style images that resemble a Polaroid picture to Facebook friends, Twitter followers, or connections on your Instagram account.  Over 15 million users have uploaded more than 400 million photos in less than two years.  This app is a great way for potential customers to experience brands in a different way through images.  But, the question is; how can companies and their brands use this app effectively?  Below are several examples companies already using Instagram to its full potential.

1.    Share the Craft Creation Process

Tiffany & Co. uses Instagram to share the story of how their beautiful pieces of jewelry are made behind the scenes.  This allows Tiffany’s customers to understand all of the hard work and craftsmanship that goes into a final product.  Instagram’s vintage style images help portray the value and worth of Tiffany’s high-end products.

2.    Hold a Contest to Increase Engagement and Interaction

Levi’s is using Instagram to find the next top model for its brand.  Levi’s is asking its audience around the world to take pictures of themselves or others wearing Levi’s clothing, and tag it with #IamLevis.  A contest is a unique way to increase engagement with fans/friends and keep them coming back to see more pictures, especially a visual contest that fans/friends can vote and comment on images posted.

3.     Share Pictures that Capture the Spirit of Your Brand

Sharpie shares pictures on Instagram that represent the brand in an exciting and unique way.  Instead of showing boring pictures of Sharpie products, the company shares pictures of what the product can do with a little creativity and artistic inspiration.  Revealing the personality and uniqueness of your brand can open up a new realm of creativity that will entice your fans/friends to share what they created with your brand.

4.     Use Collages to Create a Story to Tell

MIHO Gastrotruck is a very popular food truck in San Diego.  They combine multiple images of their delicious food into a collage using apps like HoneyGram or GetLoupe.  This collage conveys a story to its followers in one post of the type of afternoon they could have by getting a meal at the Gastrotruck.  Sharing these images on Instagram invites followers to comment, ask questions, and engage with companies.  Telling a simple story like this can create an enormous amount of buzz.

5.    Build a Growing Community

The international hotel chain, NH Hotels, started a campaign called, #wakeuppics that encourages its community to take and post pictures of what they see when they wake up.  By posting these pictures with the #wakeuppics hash tag, they were entered to win a travel package to an NH Hotel location.  Although the contest is over, there are over 11,000 images and counting from around the globe associated to the hash tag.  All of the beautiful pictures posted by NH Hotels’ growing community attracts more potential customers to become interested in these hotel locations and share the images with their friends.

Next time you think about ways to increase the audience your business is reaching, consider Instagram as a tool.  You can advertise a new product, encourage customer participation, have a sweepstakes, or even just connect with your friends and customers. Instagram is one of the newest and most popular socal tools today. What can you do to make it a part of your business?

Bradley Parcella is an Account Executive at Response Marketing.