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How to Crack the Instagram Engagement Code

17 points by psychous 13y ago

coldpie 13y ago
"Instagram is it’s own category of social sharing" These guys need to hire a copy editor. Anyway, Instagram baffles me. I don't understand what it offers that Twitter, Flickr, and Facebook don't each already offer. The fact that the mobile Twitter app no longer embeds Instagram photos (which party was responsible for that, anyway?) basically means I haven't viewed an Instagram photo in over a year. It's simply too much effort to open the link to view a pithy photo I'm probably not interested in. Does anybody "get it"?
- makaimc 13y ago
  I agree that engagement has decreased from Twitter since the removal of photo embeds, but from less technical folks I talk to they are using Instagram increasingly from Facebook. that appears to balance out the decrease in usage from Twitter
- ImprovedSilence 13y ago
  Apart from following most of my FB friends on instagram, I like to follow people who post very very picturesque photos. Pretty stuff basically. This means I follow quite a few photojournalist types (national geo and the like), and a surprisingly high percentage of professional "action sports" athletes (bmx/skateboaders, and ski/snowboarders). My photo stream is GORGEOUS. Granted, I love photography. And sometimes it's fun to just look at photos of FB friends and acquaintances, without needing to be on FB with all that other clutter. Here it is just pictures. And I love it.
- jk215 13y ago
  Its social sharing stripped down to what most people are really looking for... pictures. I have a small business making and selling handmade items and Instagram is my lifeblood. Its how I advertise my work, gain followers which do translate to other channels, and most important of all make sales.
- untog 13y ago
  I don't know if I "get it", but I certainly see its wild success all over the place. I think the success is the simplicity - perfectly digestible nuggets for you to browse through. No linked articles, no page-long status updates. Just some photos.

17 points by psychous 13y ago

"Instagram is it’s own category of social sharing" These guys need to hire a copy editor. Anyway, Instagram baffles me. I don't understand what it offers that Twitter, Flickr, and Facebook don't each already offer. The fact that the mobile Twitter app no longer embeds Instagram photos (which party was responsible for that, anyway?) basically means I haven't viewed an Instagram photo in over a year. It's simply too much effort to open the link to view a pithy photo I'm probably not interested in. Does anybody "get it"?

makaimc 13y ago
I agree that engagement has decreased from Twitter since the removal of photo embeds, but from less technical folks I talk to they are using Instagram increasingly from Facebook. that appears to balance out the decrease in usage from Twitter
ImprovedSilence 13y ago
Apart from following most of my FB friends on instagram, I like to follow people who post very very picturesque photos. Pretty stuff basically. This means I follow quite a few photojournalist types (national geo and the like), and a surprisingly high percentage of professional "action sports" athletes (bmx/skateboaders, and ski/snowboarders). My photo stream is GORGEOUS. Granted, I love photography. And sometimes it's fun to just look at photos of FB friends and acquaintances, without needing to be on FB with all that other clutter. Here it is just pictures. And I love it.
jk215 13y ago
Its social sharing stripped down to what most people are really looking for... pictures. I have a small business making and selling handmade items and Instagram is my lifeblood. Its how I advertise my work, gain followers which do translate to other channels, and most important of all make sales.
untog 13y ago
I don't know if I "get it", but I certainly see its wild success all over the place. I think the success is the simplicity - perfectly digestible nuggets for you to browse through. No linked articles, no page-long status updates. Just some photos.