What really makes Instagram work?

By Steve Keenan

“Sunsets, silhouettes and symmetry,” is what works, apparently. That’s according to Gabriel Hubert of Nitrogram, a platform that does nothing but analyse, consult and report on brands using Instagram.

He was quoting Instagrammer @Oggsie, who yesterday earned his 2,000th follower on Twitter - me. I was delighted to follow someone who apparently knows what he’s talking about (he has 214,594 followers on Instagram).

Instagram is one of those social media channels that most wonder whether it’s worth bothering with. It’s a niche channel, in that it has incredibly passionate users with big followings (Oggsie, @Dutchie68) and huge brand involvement, from the likes of Nike, Adidas and Red Bull. But for most small businesses, it’s just something else to do.

Which is why I went to The Holiday Inn in Camden, north London, to learn more during Social Media Week from Gabriel, Charlie from Triptease, a woman on Skype from Sweden (?) and some Holiday Inn/Inter-Continental people.

I learned from Sweden that user-generated content (UGC) does well on Instagram, such as with tourism brands @australia and @visitnorway. Presumably because it’s free, and gives brand free images to use elsewhere (cue interesting chat with one guest and Gabriel re: Disney, which Nitrogram works for, and Mickey’s policy of sending the Instagram poster a note asking for permission to use).

While not watertight, legally, it appears that it’s OK if a brand credits the poster’s name and re-uses on its Instagram account - but not if the image is used elsewhere.

Interestingly, Gabriel said that UGC images from Instagram posted on the home page of brand websites show increased conversion into bookings. Presumably as visitors are more inclined to trust websites that show guest’s images, willingly provided.

It’s a philosophy I follow. Having run the Instagram account for African safari lodge company Singita for six weeks, it appears that UGC (with a few homegrown images) works well, as you are posting great guest images (via the Repost app), with credit, and reflecting their enjoyment of a visit.

We gain five followers a day and the content is real, the passion genuine and there is no ‘gaming’ to get inflated numbers. Sunsets work, but safaris don’t lend themselves to much symmetry or silhouettes.

I’ve asked Nitrogram whether it could rethink it’s pricing lists to do more for small businesses and Gabriel says he will. After all, £29 a month for basic stats I can get from, say, Statigram, is not a great deal. But I, and most small firms, need one key stat - geodata, where followers come from. That would cost me £250 a month which is a bit rich - but I can’t find it elsewhere.

I hope Gabriel does have a review. I instictively think Instagram is worth the effort as it can repost guest photos, credit them, thank them with comments and gain brilliant UGC - for free. I don’t hashtag images to death to get flakey followers (and there is a lot of rubbish out there).

Just get the permissions to use right and everybody is happy. Me, for starters. Oggsie too. And, most importantly, the guests who may well come back again.