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Does anyone use Instagram on behalf of their company?

I am one of the social media admins for a small software company, and I am interested in sharing their unique culture and perspectives via instagram. I have a personal account and enjoy viewing posts from other local businesses, but I'm not sure how well this would work.

Is anyone else using instagram for a similar purpose? I don't know of very many businesses using this application, so I'm not sure who to even follow.

Thoughts? Opinions? Start-up tips or tricks?

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Permalink Reply by Adam Evans on February 21, 2012 at 1:16pm

Hi Chastin, I don't use Instagram on behalf of a company, but I follow quite a few. Here's a few to check out:

Bravo Network - bravotv
Foursquare - foursquare
Starbucks Coffee - starbucks
TIME Magazine - time_magazine
Red Eye Chicago - redeyechicago (a local Chicago newspaper that's really up on social media)

Lots of hotel brands and news sites use Instagram too. Check out The Four Seasons, for example, or NBC Chicago. Depending on the industry you're in and how socially engaged your customers are, I imagine you could find great success. Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Chastin Howerton on February 21, 2012 at 3:34pm

Thanks for the info, Adam. I'm following a couple of these already, but didn't think to check out Bravo, REC, or Foursquare. Good suggestions; I'll take a look at those!

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Permalink Reply by Gordon Meyer on March 10, 2012 at 5:46pm

Seems like a natural fit for a conference or other special event. But what a big challenge to use this for technical communications. Anyone up for the task, even experimentally?

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Permalink Reply by Chastin Howerton on March 20, 2012 at 5:05pm

Gordon,

I've found it beneficial for our company to use some of my tech comm skills to help with social media projects, so I've been using this app to share pictures of IWS and highlight our rich culture. I haven't been thinking about using this in terms of technical communications, though. What did you have in mind?

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Permalink Reply by Gordon Meyer on March 20, 2012 at 6:35pm

Thanks, Chastin. I'm just brainstorming, but I'm thinking along the lines of showing the UI for new features, perhaps before the product is released, to build some excitement or just awareness of what is coming down the pike.

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Permalink Reply by Chastin Howerton on March 21, 2012 at 9:54am

You're talking sneak peeks, and I like it! Also, for bigger companies, it could be a fun way to keep everyone up-to-speed on what each department is working on.