SportsEvents Magazine

JUL 2012

SportsEvents is edited for those who plan tournaments or other sports events.

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Home IDEAPlaybook SOCIAL MEDIA: Subscribe Contact S.P.O.R.T.S. 2012 A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words… Tell Your Story With Instagram BY CARLOS CARBONELL tomers in a very visual way. The social media platform stands apart from other photo sharing apps because of its closed social component that allows users to take a picture from a mobile device, apply a digital filter and share it on the Instagram feed or on other social media streams. What most people like about it— myself included—is that any picture can be made instantly remarkable using the variety of filters. The ability to take an average photo and turn it into a cre- ative work of art is just part of the appeal of Instagram. A The sharing component showcases photos to your friends or even a larger audience of folks browsing a live feed. Users can also find content via hash tags so that anyone searching a particu- lar topic, much like on Twitter, can find other photos using the same tag. Instagram has topped 25 million users, becoming the largest mobile- based social network in the world. The Big Picture! picture is worth a thousand words, and Instagram is helping organizations tell their story to fans and cus- As of May 31, there had already been a 400% increase in Instagram photos posted from big league parks compared to the entire 2011 season, according to Mashable.com. With an acquisition by social media giant Facebook, more features to come, and additional integration into people's lives, Instagram has become yet anoth- er social network that brands can use to create a strong presence. Some examples of successful brands on Instagram are Billboard (209,798 followers), which captures photos of stars in real time; Coach (22,503 fol- lowers), which showcases creative pic- tures of their popular purses; and, of course, Starbucks (535,588 followers), which encourages customers to tag their coffee drinks on Instagram. The sports industry has also started to use Instagram, and teams such as the Boston Celtics are giving their brand a In an effort to reach a larger audience and find the next top model for their brand, Levi's held an open casting call via Instagram by urging people around the world to take pictures of themselves wearing Levi's gear, and tag them with #iamlevis. What a unique way to get people interested, and keep them coming back to see more pictures! 16 July 2012 photographic boost via the platform. You can assign a social media brand manager or employee to be responsible for the platform and even dedicate a specific device such as an iPad, iPhone or Android. Under "sharing" settings you can select a Twitter and Facebook account to connect to your Instagram account and easily follow all users on your other profiles. (Facebook must be an individual's profile and not a com- pany fan page.) Remember to cross tag users and super influencers and use hash tags. Your postings should be telling your brand's story in pictures. Much like other social media venues, part of your strategy should be to be interesting. ■ P.S.: You can find me on Instagram @carlosacarbonell and my company @echointeraction. Post your sports photos taken via Instagram on our Facebook page! www.facebook.com/sportseventsmedia Carlos Carbonell (carlos@justecho.com) is a social media and mobile marketing expert. His company, Echo, builds mobile apps and manages social media campaigns. Follow Carlos on http://www.twitter.com/carloscarbonell or Echo at http://www.facebook.com/ echointeraction. www.sportseventsmagazine.com ▼

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