Instagram, has become a lucrative shop window for many small entrepreneurs. So what are the secrets of its success? When Facebook bought th...
Instagram, has become a lucrative shop window for many small entrepreneurs. So what are the secrets of its success?
When Facebook bought the photo app Instagram in 2012 for a cool $1bn (£760m).
Fast forward to 2017, and while Instagram may still be Facebook's little sister, it has built a sizeable community of 700 million users .
With improved photo filters and the addition of Instagram Stories, a feature that lets users upload short videos that disappear after 24 hours.
So how can you use it to make money?
"Instagram is your shop front," says Donna McCulloch, a fashion stylist who works under the name Sulky Doll.
"People don't ask for business cards any more - they ask for your 'handle' . It's instant - you both get your phones out, and you're connected."
For yoga instructor Cat Meffan, the glamorous images she posts of herself in impressive yoga positions in picturesque locations around the world are intended to inspire her 77,000 followers.
But they also help her to build her business.
"I sold out my first yoga retreat in five days and all I did was put up a Instagram post," she says.
"I was shocked and excited. That's the power of Instagram."
Cat says she'll spend up to an hour crafting the captions alongside her photos - more than she'll spend on taking the photo itself.
" I'll go out and do a photoshoot with my partner. But usually it's me with a self-timer or holding the phone."
Like Donna, Cat finds adding hashtags to her photos a useful way of reaching a new audience. Search for #yoga, for example, will bring up her images, along with those of others, while Donna's #OOTD (Outfit of The Day) are her most popular.
"It's a way of finding like-minded people," says Cat.
Both women also use the Stories feature to post videos which show them as they really are - an antidote to the artificial gloss
"Stories allow people to know more of a handle on you as a person and a brand," says Donna.
"Stories are like peeking behind the net curtains. The biggest compliment is when people say you come across the same in life as you do on your feed [Instagram page]."
Both Cat and Donna have built their Instagram pages tightly around a very specific theme - yoga/wellness and fashion, respectively.
That's important if you want to grow the people who follow you says Danny Coy, a photographer with 173,000 followers who now also works as an Instagram consultant.
For £300 a month his firm Vibrance says it can "typically" grow an account by 2,000 followers every four weeks.
Techniques for attracting followers include posting regularly.
"You don't have to post every day, but engagement peaks - after 24 hours it's done," he says.
"It's important to stick to your niche."
That's Instagram's advice, too.
"If you tell a different story every time you come to Instagram people will not understand what you're trying to communicate," says Jen Ronan, the firm's head of small business for Europe, Middle East and Africa.
"Make sure you're thoughtful about what you want your customers to know"
"Everyone has to start somewhere."
Instagrammers with a significant number of followers may be approached by brands seeking "influencers" or "ambassadors" to represent them.
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