Tag: Instagram

Take an Instagram-worthy Photo

Clairemont InternBlog, Public Relations, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , , ,

“No one’s life is as perfect as his or her Instagram feed.”

Have you ever scrolled past a photo of food or clothing on Instagram and instantly been awed? Without even realizing it, more than just the item on display caught your eye. The photo you loved was staged, filtered and carefully planned by its publisher. You might be surprised to learn just how much planning goes into an Instagram photo! (Those who rock their Instagram feeds can even make a career out of it!)

Here are our tips to becoming a rockstar at Instagram-worthy photos:


Use the best camera that you know how to use. Not all of the best photos Instagram has to offer are taken with a professional HDR camera. An iPhone equips you to take a clear and precise image. Focus on the object by tapping on your screen; turn off HDR to promote clarity. If you do know how to use a more professional camera, absolutely use it, as it offers a variety of manual settings and functionalities.

Leverage natural lighting. Lighting plays a vital role in the quality of the image. Using natural outdoor lighting, whether outside or through a window, will produce life-like images. Be sure not to take photos in direct sunlight, as it will overexpose the image. Aim to photograph in a setting with shade, overcast light and at sunrise or sunset to produce the best quality.

Stage it. First, select a background that expertly showcases your subject. For example, a white backdrop will showcase a complex item or product. A background with a pattern or specific colors will complement your product or person while adding interest and dimension. Keep in mind that photo size restrictions might apply. For example, shooting a photo in square mo
de via your iPhone is always a safe move to match Instagram’s feed. According to Colorlib, the maximum upload for a vertical image without cropping is 1080px in width by 1350px in height and 1080px in width by 566px in height for horizontal images. Finally, employ the rule of thirds, mentally dividing your image with two horizontal and two vertical lines. Note where the horizontal and vertical lines meet, like demonstrated in the graphic, and position the most important elements at the points of intersection. Using the rule of thirds is easy by turning on your iPhone’s grid feature.

Angle it. Explore changing the angles of your photo for widely varied outcomes. For example, stand high above to shoot directly over your product or get on ground level with the object to capture a profile view.

Edit it. Few Instagram-worthy photos are uploaded without a filter or two. To create a coherent feed, apply the same filters to your photos. Of course, you might need to lighten an image more so than another, but if you’re sharpening images to add clarity, sharpen them all. If you’re removing the highlights, remove them all. The app VSCO provides multiple tools to achieve the perfect edit. You can add or remove exposure, contrast, saturation and skin tone — just to name a few. The app Color Story supplies hundreds of additional filters. Need to smooth a specific part of a photo or swap two different pieces of the photo altogether? Check out Facetune.

Follow these steps, and you’re ready to post. We bet it’s your best Instagram photo yet! In the meantime, check out how to use “Instagram ‘Highlights’ for Business” to continue to grow your company’s Insta presence.

Written by Clairemont intern, Kennedy Norton, a junior at North Carolina State University.

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Instagram “Highlights” for Business

Cherith AndesBlog, Public Relations, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , , ,

Instagram is on a roll.

With version 25, the Insta team unveiled Story Archives and Highlights, providing a longer lifespan for Instagram content. Sure, it’s fun to save your stories for a later review, but what are these updates, and how can businesses leverage them?

What are these new goodies?

Story Archives:

Recently, users have been able to archive Instagram posts, removing posts from their feeds into a storage folder that only the user can see. Now, the feature has expanded to Insta stories. With the Stories Archive, users can save those stories they worked so hard to filter, edit, caption, tag and emoji to death. The Stories Archive saves posts at the same quality at which you uploaded them and displays posts in reverse chronological order. The bonus? Archives are stored on the cloud, saving valuable memory on your phone.

Highlights:

It’s like a “best of the best” reel! The Highlights feature allows you to create permanent video rolls on a given topic or theme. You can curate video snippets or photos from your archived stories, choose a cover photo and name, and post to this new section of your Insta profile.

How should I use my new toys?

Story Archives:

Once archived, you can reshare selected stories to your Highlights (more on that in a moment), Direct Messages or your feed. You can also download them (one at a time, unfortunately) and reshare to your current story. For businesses, this is an opportunity to build an arsenal of footage and content for repurposing. Throwback posts just got a lot easier, as did overviews of returning product offerings or industry events.

Highlights:

Highlights can function as a mini overview of services or products at a glance! For example, restaurants might curate a reel of high-quality photography of its best dishes or a special-event menu. Designers can feature a fall fashion line, or real estate companies can spotlight hot homes on the market. And not everything need be product-centric. Highlights proffers an opportunity to reshare moments from an event, grand opening, conference or celebrity appearance — bolstering brand credibility and reminding viewers of past successes.

As a whole these features extend the lifespan of Insta content, slowly revolutionizing the platform into a destination rather than a newsfeed. Keep your eyes peeled! No doubt this is just one of many permutations with many more opportunities for businesses to leverage Instagram as a branding platform.

Are you getting the most out of your social media strategy? Send us an email to explore ideas!

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How to Keep People Watching

Clairemont InternBlog, Marketing, Public Relations, , , , , ,

Netflix, HBO, YouTube, Amazon and more. The world of basic cable is one of the past. With the click of a button, we find ourselves diving into hours upon hours of fascinating entertainment. More than ever, people can discover television that aligns with their preferences. Don’t like “Dexter?” Try “The Crown.” If reality television is your style, perhaps subscribe to Hulu and check out exclusive interviews for “The Bachelor.” The current generation is in the “golden age of television,” and we easily reap the rewards by watching premium content with a bottle of wine and a close companion.

So, where does this leave the older, nostalgic media?

One of the staples of traditional broadcast has been late-night entertainment. With the popularity of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” the world entered a talk show revolution. The comedic, variety program has become a mainstay in current culture. Current hosts include Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Samantha Bee, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O’Brien, James Corden, Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, John Oliver and Trevor Noah. Most of these hosts deliver monologue jokes, interview guests and star in filmed sketches. With such a crowded environment, it becomes challenging to stand out from the competition.

Like public relations professionals, television teams are learning to adapt to current trends. In combination with lighter use of traditional media, shows are taking to the digital space to market and interact with viewers. As an intern and production assistant for Conan O’Brien this past year, I witnessed the way entertainment evolves constantly.

O’Brien’s team has grown to prove they are digitally savvy, incorporating Snapchat and Instagram into their daily communication. O’Brien also does YouTube exclusives, offering a chance for the younger generation to engage with his brand. Though millennials may not tune in to his Monday – Thursday show on TBS, they are more likely to watch his “Clueless Gamer” series on YouTube. To promote the live show in New York City from October 31 – November 4, “Conan” used:

  • Billboards and subway signs
  • Animated street signs
  • Snapchat filters
  • A “step-and-repeat” that was created for an Instagram background
  • Broadcast advertisements and YouTube advertisements

Though O’Brien hits middle ground when it comes to viewers on television, many of his online videos garner millions of views. Because of this success, The New York Post reported that YouTube has approached O’Brien to be the official host for their YouTube Red channel. It remains to be seen whether he will take the position. Regardless, one thing is certain. The longest tenured late-night host will be sure to mix the new and the old in a charming, hilarious way.

Looking for more adventures? Check out another Clairemont intern’s travels to Amsterdam!

 Written by Casey Moore, senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Instagram Slideshows for Restaurants

Clairemont InternBlog, Restaurant PR + Hospitality PR, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , , ,
With the latest Instagram upgrade, users are now able to post “slideshows,” several images within one post where the next photo is accessed by sliding your finger across the screen. This feature gives restaurants a new and fresh way to present themselves on social media’s favorite app. Here are a few examples!

 

  1. Demo the Deliciousness

Have a fan-favorite dish? Restaurants have the ability to take their followers from start to finish of any meal using the slideshow feature. Since the app allows up to ten slides per post, users have plenty of space to show their followers exactly how their favorite dish is created. Giving them a sneak peek at all the fresh and flavorful ingredients and how they come together piece by piece will help to create some cravings among your followers and future guests!

  1. Recap an Epic Event

Saturday night’s dinner accompanied by a live band? Throwing a special event for the big game? Now you no longer have to pick the “best” photo or video to showcase the whole evening. Followers can relive the entire course of events rather than a snapshot of just one moment.

  1.  Highlight the Specials

Using the slideshow feature, you can advertise the entire night’s specialties (drinks, dinner and desserts!) in one quick and easy post. Note that the Instagram post represents the special for that specific night in order to create a sense of urgency and entice customers to head your way.

  1.  Show Off Good Customer Reviews

With so many consumers now relying on recommendations from others, such as Yelp, slideshows provide a perfect opportunity to highlight those great reviews. Take screen grabs from Yelp or use quotes from customers (even videos!) to create a post that radiates positivity for your restaurant.

  1. Capture the Entire Meal

Show off the three, five or seven course meals your restaurant has to offer! No longer are you limited to one picture or plate of food. Use a photo for each course in the slideshow, and by the end, guests want to know how to make a reservation. Hint: the link is in your profile.

Looking for other tips? Check out how to foodify your Instagram stories!

 

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CAPRSA Instagram Takeover v. PR Baton

Dana PhelpsBlog, Counselors Academy, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , , ,

Deja vu. That sums up my initial reaction to participating in an Instagram takeover on the PRSA‘s Counselors Academy feed designed to give a sense of what it is like to work in PR. Hmmm. Why does that sound familiar?

In 2013, with the help of my Clairemont team, I launched PR Baton “to show the world what a day in PR looks like, one photo at a time.” We called it a social media experiment, and we created and synced Tumblr and Instagram accounts utilizing signup forms and calendaring apps. We also wrote rules and recruited “runners” to carry the baton. It produced 469 posts from varied PR professionals in the United States and Canada before the management of it started to become a full-time job. And then we returned to our full-time jobs of taking care of our clients’ PR and social media campaigns.

Was I ahead of my time? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, it was a fun exercise that allowed us to learn even more about digital communications and led to several interesting conversations with clients and prospects about social media possibilities. Now back to my Counselors Academy Instagram takeover…

I love that members of Counselors Academy are now participating in this way to share our work, new ideas, best practices and just the everyday stuff of working in public relations. Clairemont has also utilized Instagram takeovers for our clients to collaborate with like-minded organizations to gain additional exposure.

Have you participated in an Instagram takeover or secured one for your company or client? We’d love to feature your best examples in an upcoming post. Hit us up on Facebook with your faves.

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