Filtered selfies aside, Instagram can be a powerful tool for businesses. If used correctly, it can help brands engage with and market to potential customers—without needing a marketing budget. Here are some Instagram best practices from local firms that do it well.
Gaining traction for your new business:
“Initially, we targeted our followers’ followers,” says Mike Alfano, who, with his brother Chris, started Pelham-based clothing line Buht Nakd Apparel—which has attracted nearly 1,300 Instagram followers. “We established a solid, loyal base of customers who would continuously repost our images and consistently interact with us.”
Growing your customer base:
Lilli & Tori, a local online accessories business, has amassed more than 28,000 Instagram followers. How? “Organically,” says owner Nicole Recomendes, who works with bloggers on Instagram. She’ll give them a bracelet to post in one of their own photos, along with a link in the bio to her Instagram account and online website.
What to post:
It’s not just the mouthwatering pizza and pastas that attract Fortina’s 5,211 followers. It’s their “combination of a high-quality, visually stimulating image with a creative caption and timely post,” says co-owner Rob Krauss. An example: a Fourth of July post in which co-owner Christian Petroni is holding an American-themed cake, flipping the bird to the camera with the caption, “HEY ENGLAND TAKE A LOOK! HAPPY FOURTH PEOPLLLLEEEEESSSSS.”
