Instagram has little-known purposes, which are different from the original of posting images. In addition to the personal and artistic use of the photo network, companies and individuals are using the platform to publicize courses, online novels, social events and organize interactive activities. Thus, when used creatively, the social network can be a strong channel for marketing and disseminating knowledge.
READ: Instagram changes and will gain a new look; see news
In these cases, Stories is used as a timeline for information that is completed, either to tell stories or to transmit knowledge in online courses. There are even activities in which each user reports their look on a tour registered in photos in the social network feed. Below is a list of five unusual and «secret» uses for Instagram.
Discover five initiatives that use Instagram in ways that will surprise you – Photo: Carolina Ochsendorf / dnetc
Want to buy cell phones, TV and other discounted products? Discover Compare dnetc
1. Accounts for advertising parties
Halloween party with promotion and invitations made by an Instagram account – Photo: Reproduction / Instagram
Creating an Instagram profile to promote a party or event is an initiative that has been gaining space on the network among users in the United States aged 13 to 20 years. The operation of the initiative is simple: the organizer creates an account with the name of the party and adds information such as location, time and date in the biography. In addition, the account is set up as private for interested parties to request access to the content – anyone who is accepted as a follower is automatically invited to the party.
Instagram, thus, acts as a mini site of the event in which people can, eventually, mark the profile in photos and videos produced during the event. Later, the account can be used to share moments of the party and control guests.
Companies offer courses where classes are transmitted through Instagram Stories – Photo: Reproduction / Course of Stories
There are companies that offer courses 100% broadcast through Instagram stories. In this action, Instagram highlights are used to share modules or complete courses, making the profile an interactive area for students. As a story is an ephemeral post that stays only 24 hours on air, the use of highlights is a way to keep the content active for as long as the profile administrator deems necessary.
In these profiles, posts are used to convey tips and any activity related to the courses available in Stories. Conversation groups are also created among the students so that there is interaction and that doubts are answered by cell phone. It is possible to find free or paid courses on Instagram – in the latter case, the student must pay in order to be accepted as a follower of the course’s private account and gain access to the classes.
3. Virtual treasure hunt
Instagram account used in a promotional way by the organization of the US Open tennis event – Photo: Reproduction / Instagram
The organization of the American tennis tournament US Open held an action so that fans could compete for tickets to the men’s final of the event. In partnership with a sponsor, the championship marketing team created an Instagram account (@crack_the_us_open) in which 200 photos made up a large panoramic image of the stands of one of the games. The challenge was to find a specific person in the portrait and follow the tips in the image that would take up to a couple of tickets.
To view the large panoramic photo, users would have to use the phone horizontally and scroll the posts to the left of the screen. The result is a composition of images in which several people appear in normal and hilarious situations. During the action, the Instagram of the event advertiser had a 20% increase in traffic.
Insta-walks like The Downtown Plan bring together people who want to register their views on points of a city – Photo: Reproduction / YouTube
An Insta-walk is a gathering of people on a «photographic» tour. Those involved use Instagram to present different views on the web of where they are posting images from the most different angles and using exclusive hashtags to group the scenes in search of the social network.
A famous Insta-Walk is The Downtown Plan. The project, created by the Planning Division of Salt Lake City, in the United States, aims to establish a link between the past, present and future of the city, identifying what people value most in their walks through the location.
New York Public Library’s Instagram profile presents novels in interactive format in their stories – Photo: Reproduction / Marvin Costa
How about reading books on Instagram? This is the idea that unites literature lovers in profiles with this theme on the social network. The initiative was designed for people who consider Instagram a distraction that made it difficult to read a physical book. Using Stories mode, these profiles offer complete books organized as highlights.
The profile of the New York Public Library is one of the pioneering accounts in this matter. Account followers can follow short stories with a design created exclusively for Instagram, with visual effects, sounds and chapter separations that make reading on the phone more dynamic.
Instagram is crashing: what to do? Ask questions in the dnetc Forum.
How to post uncut photos to Instagram Stories
