While integrating social media into marketing rapidly gains importance, many companies are testing the waters with a variety of platforms. Instagram is based almost solely on visuals, whilst providing a great backdrop for strengthening brand image.

Why is Instagram awesome for small businesses? It gives brands the opportunity to develop an image and a voice. It encourages user-generated content. And perhaps most importantly – it’s free.

I don’t typically follow brands on social media (Facebook, Twitter), but recently I’ve been hitting that follow button a lot more frequently on Instagram. This has led me to finding new companies I’ve never heard of, or developing warm fuzzies for brands I’m already familiar with.

Here are a couple screenshots of accounts I follow (and love) on Instagram. For the most part, I discovered these businesses through Instagram, and I either have been or will be a paying customer. I found them by some sort of fate, without being harassed by ads, banners, retweets, etc.

3 Awesome Instagrammers:

1) The Distrikt

They seem to be talking to me. It’s like they know me and what I think is cool, what I find funny, and what I find motivating. If they personified their target, they very well might just describe me. The “schedule” posts are creative and visually appealing. For some reason incorporating completely irrelevant celebrity photos works. As long as the photo is good.

2) Crown the Queens

There’s a strong chance I never would have heard of this store, let alone visited it, had I not come across it on Instagram. It’s a boutique store and nail salon, located in Gastown, Vancouver. This isn’t an area I often wander around, but as they worked their way into my newsfeed, I had to make the trip. Clothing brands often post the same professional shots of their models over and over. This brand, however, incorporates their products in a variety of images. Products on their own, local models wearing the clothing/accessories, user-generated content of customers wearing the brand, not to mention the combination of clothes, shoes, accessories, and nails. By mixing things up a bit, followers are less likely to lose interest.

3) The Juice Truck

I confess I knew about this brand before following them on Instagram. But I really do love their account activity so let me highlight why. Most importantly: The Juice Truck takes something very uninteresting to look at (juice) and makes it very interesting to look at.

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What do these brands have in common?

• They’re local
• They use hashtags
• They tag customers and partners

Perhaps IG is particularly useful in reaching out to local targets?