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Instagram Training
Fact: Instagram is growing the fastest of all social media sites worldwide, followed by Reddit, while Facebook’s global audience fell 3% in 2013, according to new data.

As somebody who comes from a journalistic background rather than photographic background the rise of Instagram is something that fascinates me. I’ve grown up with the idea that the pen is mightier than the sword and words are my weapon,  but images are very very important on Social Media

And what I’ve actually found increasingly with use of images on Facebook and Instagram is the caption however small is highly important on the level of engagement you get on image based posts

In the past year I’ve worked with some major retail outlets such as Manchester Arndale and The Galleries Wigan in refining what they do on Instagram via our half days training sessions

SHOULD YOU BE USING INSTAGRAM?
Do you have a teenage / young adult audience?
Is your product / service visually exciting?
Do you have a story to tell

If so then Instagram is for you …. and you should read on

5 LOCAL BUSINESSES THAT ARE USING INSTAGRAM WELL
Earlier I talked about the major businesses I’ve worked with, but it’s not just big businesses that should be adapting to Instagram

Here are 5 local businesses I think are doing great things with Instagram

Succo Juicery AMIR KHAN

Succo Juicery AMIR KHAN

Succo Juicery

Succo Juicery were the first local business we noticed who truly put their customers in the picture

We were so impressed with what they were doing that we actually wrote a full blog about the idea here a couple of months back – read it here

https://www.altrinchamhq.co.uk/blog/putting-people-in-the-picture-on-your-social-media/

Succo Juicery works on Instagram because they tap into many of the popular themes on Instagram – people, food, fitness, health

Add in a few photos at Succo Juicery of some celebs like Amir Khan, Kelly Brook and footballer Sylvain Distin and you’re onto a winner

Follow On Instagram at – http://instagram.com/succojuicery

Gummy Worm Sweet Shop - Instagram

Gummy Worm Sweet Shop – Instagram

Gummy Worm
Gummy Worm dabbled with Twitter and Facebook with little success

An audience was there for them on those platforms in terms of parents of children who loved vintage sweets, but like any type of marketing it takes hard work and sometimes when you don’t get that instant reaction or feedback it’s easy to give up

However Instagram has proved a winning formula for them recently going straight for the teenagers themselves and appealing to the 5 minutes of fame nature of youth taking regular photos of their customers

At present they have around 280 Instagram followers and get around 30-40 likes on each photo which makes for a 12% engagement rate – something many business could only wish for on Facebook / Twitter

Follow On Instagram at – http://instagram.com/gummy.worm 

Sherlock - Coffee Art - Liv At LC

Sherlock – Coffee Art – Liv At LC

Liv At Local Creation
If you walked through Altrincham you may miss “Liv At Local Creation” apart from a small A Board near the Bricklayers

On Instagram though Liv performed something of a miracle when an image of an amazing piece of Liv’s coffee art of Sherlock was reposted (or regrammed) by Gemma Styles – sister of the one and only Harry Styles!!

The image got liked by over 88k people

With clever branding in the top left corner it was massive exposure for what at the time was a new entrant to the town

Liv posts regularly with photos of coffee art and cake – what more could you ask for?

Follow On Instagram at – http://instagram.com/livatlc

De Niro Tattoo - Dan Hancock Tattoo

De Niro Tattoo – Dan Hancock Tattoo

Dan Hancock Tattoo
Dan Hancock doesn’t have a fixed abode as yet, but he’s opening up his Tattoo Studio in Altrincham in the near future

Over the past few years the Multi award winning artist has been building up a world class reputation from a base in Urmston that has took him world wide to conventions in Rome and further afield

From his level of work it’s easy to see why and he currently has nearly 6000 Instagram followers looking forward to seeing each new piece of work

By using his Instagram to carve out his very specific niche of tattoo art he’s been able to build a loyal fanbase and the results are a studio of his own

Follow On Instagram at – http://instagram.com/dancocktattoo

Richards Cakes Urmston

Richards Cakes Urmston

Richards Cakes
For a small business in Urmston – Richards Cakes have a massive following on Facebook (nearly 100,000 fans) and this has allowed them to build up an audience on Instagram as well

That said when you make cakes that are intricate pieces of art it’s very easy to build an audience of salvating mouths

While from the outside Facebook is obviously the more engaged and responsive audience, every single post on instagram gets over 30 likes on it and they have an instagram following of nearly 700

What makes Richards Cakes Instagram so special is that after 137 photos – not one of them looks similar – which showcases the individual custom work they offer.

The ROI from high quality images such as this is undeniable

Follow on Instagram at – http://instagram.com/richardscakes

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT INSTAGRAM / IMAGE CREATION?
Altrincham HQ offer 2 services which of help to small businesses

Any questions email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk or call Alex on 07806774279

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Alex McCann

Author Alex McCann

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