Do more with your Instagram account

MANILA, Philippines — They say a picture speaks a thousand words. If that is the case, what do you think your Instagram feed says about you? 

Are you a adventurer, travelling to the hidden corners of the world, camping in mountains and collecting epic sunset pictures? Or are you a fashion maven, chronicling the aesthetics of your daily grind through #flatlays and #OOTD’s? 

Over a span of a few short years, Instagram has exploded into this magical new animal, full of promise and opportunity for those who know how to tame it. Like it or not, it’s no longer a simple depository of #selfies or a visual feed of your friends’ latest vacation trips. It’s now a vehicle for personal branding, a virtual space where users can make their mark in the digital world. And of course, an effective tool for discovery or getting discovered as well. 

How many models have made their claim to fame by posting pictures of themselves? How many brands have created successful campaigns using a simple hashtag? But with over 300M active users, the Instagram-verse is bigger than ever, and that means competition is fierce. You have to carve your place in the digital world, lest you get lost in the jumble of #like4likes.

Luckily, savvy digital natives out to differentiate themselves amidst the vast sea of hashtags and phone filters are already equipped with all the right tools. But in order to get your name, or rather, your Instagram handle, out there, you need to be equipped with the right skills as well. Here are some ways on how you can do more with Instagram.

1. Build your brand

Instagram is a valuable platform for small, local, independent brands. It allows users to define their brand through their feed’s aesthetic — is their brand personality dark and edgy, or bright and pastel? A business that has done a great job with branding their application is Booky, a restaurant finder that can help you track down the latest eats offline. With over 18K followers, their feed (no pun intended) consists of the latest mouthwatering treats in the Metro. As a viewer it’s both a sensual experience and an addicting one at that. By updating regularly and re-gramming their followers’ posts, they were able to position themselves as the foody’s first stop for inspiration. 

2. Sell merchandise

More and more people are using Instagram as an e-commerce platform. If you have a good product to sell, you can use the brand that you’ve built on Instagram to create a targeted community. Local homegrown shop, Beetroot, is an example of a business that was able to successfully brand itself through Instagram, adding to their sale-ability. Their fabulous feed of monochromatic flat lays and stoic ladies in risqué clothing captures and solidifies their target audience. Advertising through Instagram might seem like a small, singular method, but for startups, it’s a valuable (not to mention, free) tool that could potentially make you viral. 

3. Discover and be discovered

Not everybody gets a Kate Moss or Naomi Campbell discovery story, but you can get pretty close. In this highly globalized, competitive environment, you ironically have to work hard and put yourself out there to get discovered, so never underestimate the power of a good selfie. Conversely, modeling agencies are now turning to Instagram in search of new talents. Left and right, modelesque figures hiding behind the front lens of their camera phones are getting hired — just like Matthew Noszka. The 6’2”, 22-year-old blonde was doing odd jobs before being discovered by Wilhelmina Models’ agent, Luke Simone. Since then, he’s been working for brands like Tom Ford, Moncler, and Calvin Klein. 

4. Create campaigns

Surely you’re familiar with the #nofilter hashtag, but have you ever heard of the #nofilter campaign? In its advocacy in promoting clean water for those who need it, Waves for Water will donate 1 gallon of clean, drinkable water for every #nofilter hashtag used on Instagram. Their rationale? The #nofilter hashtag is one of the most used on Instagram, and by utilizing it, they would be able to spread awareness of their campaign to Instagram users around the world. So far, they’ve donated over 100M gallons of water where it’s needed. – Rappler.com  

Join the Instagram conversation using your own #EverydayWith hashtag to chronicle your own personal brand, then let us in on your story by using #SmartFreeIG on all your posts! Enjoy up to 200MB of free Instagram with top Smart Postpaid offers. If you’re a Smart Prepaid subscriber you can get 90MB of free Instagram for 3 days with unli calls to Smart, Sun, and TNT, Unlitexts to all networks, plus 50MB of data. Just dial *121#!

Visit http://smart.com.ph/freeinstagram to find out more.