Instagram at a Glance

Instagram at a Glance

What is Instagram?

Instagram is an app-based social media system for sharing photos, videos, and status updates. Word has it that teens, less interested in Facebook these days, are very active on Instagram. But why? Should you be on Instagram? What’s the appeal?

The Good

• It’s Fun – Instagram is supposed to be a lighthearted, personal look at your life.
• An Easy Way To Share – Instagram is an app for your phone. It’s there at hand just like your phone. You snap photos of your life and you share them with your friends.
• Casual – Less fast-paced than Twitter. You don’t want to overwhelm your friends but it’s easier to keep up with them, too.
• Big Pictures – Instagram has big ‘real estate’, photo filters, and videos. We have big phones with big screens. Instagram grabs this and runs with it.

 The Bad

• Image Rights Are Questionable – You own your pictures on Instagram, but Instagram’s tech lets it display those images and their terms of service reflect this. Effectively you own the car but your buddy who owns the garage can drive it around whenever he wants.
• Your Trouble’s Your Own – You are on your own if you get caught publishing copyrighted materials or breaking rules. Instagram takes no responsibility and is no buffer if you get in trouble for pretending you took those copyrighted stock photos.
• Not Made for Business – If you want Instagram for business you might have an uphill battle. It is a native app for phones so it’s not Hootsuite friendly, links are not easy like Pinterest, and it doesn’t play nice with Twitter.

The Ugly

This is where the infamous selfies and food pictures come from. Don’t like selfies? Annoyed by artistic, filtered food photos? Cringe when your friend posts 27 pictures of her baby? Instagram may not be for you.

Who’s It Good For?

Instagram is great for anyone that likes photos, images, and videos. The Instagram community is strong and personable. With 300 Million accounts, it is great for casual social media. And while it can be used for businesses and organizations (there is no special business area), don’t sell yourself – share your personality and culture. The personal, behind the scenes look is what people want to see.

Update 2/25/2015

WebProNews posted an article, Instagram for Business: Where to Start, which goes into more detail about using Instagram appropriately for business while keeping with the Instagram community and the right kind of user engagement.