Many of us have heard of Instagram before, and it's likely that most of us are using it too. But for those of you who are new to it here is what Instagram is: 

Instagram: an online photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that enables it's user to take pictures and videos, apply digital filters to them, and share them on a variety of social networking services, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr.

But does it really work? It is primarily a new form of social media for the youth out there? Or can it work for your business too? 

Here are some reasons why I think it could work for your business:
1- It is fast, easy and efficient photo-sharing. You can quickly add an image and share it on as many social media platforms as you would like, instantaneously. This makes sharing your work, news about your business, etc. across a variety of platforms quick and easy and gets your name out there much more efficiently. 
2- You can take "world-class" photo's just with your mobile phone. No need to lug around your big, expensive camera in addition to your phone. Just whip out your mobile phone, take the picture, edit it within seconds, and bring your brand and your reputation up significantly just by using and sharing photos from your mobile phone. 
3- A picture is worth a thousand words. Why worry about lengthy status updates when you can share an image and a few words about it to quickly update your followers on the latest news about your business.

When visiting a new client for the first time they are often very excited about the potential for new marketing materials for their business. They want to get started right away, but don't know where to begin. I like to sit down with them and figure out more about them, their business and talk about branding. 

What is branding?
Branding is: a name, logo, slogan, and/or design scheme associated with a product or service.

And why is it so important? 
1- It creates DIFFERENTIATION. You want your business to be the first thing that customers think about when they need a product or service in your industry. That is a difficult goal to achieve if you don't have a consistent brand identity. You need to choose colours and a logo that sets you apart from your competition and makes you easy to remember. 
2- It causes LEGITIMACY. A consistent brand identity makes your business seem more legitimate. Make your logo, colours, font and layout consistent across all branded materials so they become well-known and in return more legitimate in the viewers eyes.
3- It creates a better OVERALL IMPRESSION. For you to know how your customers will percieve your business, you need to know how people interact with brands. Most people build brand relationships through many, lightweight interactions over time. Because of this it is very crucial that your brand identity remain consistent so the customer makes connections between your brand and your business and will choose you. 4- You gain CUSTOMER CLARITY. Your brand must remain consistent so everyone has the same idea of your business. A customer's purchase decision is a very fragile process and you must do as much as possible to make it an easy decision for them to make when choosing your brand. 

Remember, identifying and creating an identity for your business is very important for both you the owner and for your customers. Start your marketing plan with a branding campaign and then you can move on to marketing your business.