Instagram recently announced its greatest achievement to date – 300 million users. Then, they said they would be deleting some of them…

In a recent blog post, Instagram wrote:

“…as more people join, keeping Instagram authentic is critical—it’s a place where real people share real moments. We’re committed to doing everything possible to keep Instagram free from the fake and spammy accounts that plague much of the web, and that’s why we’re finishing up some important work that began earlier this year.

We’ve been deactivating spammy accounts from Instagram on an ongoing basis to improve your experience. As part of this effort, we will be deleting these accounts forever, so they will no longer be included in follower counts. This means that some of you will see a change in your follower count.”

When Instagram says, “some of you will see a change in your follower count” they mean it too. Mase, a multi-platinum Hip-Hop artist, recently went from 1.5 million followers to just over 250K followers after some Inst-delete action.

I thinks it’s a little refreshing for a company of such size to blatantly name the 800 pound gorilla in the room. It’s no secret that spammers and accounts run by bots are the single biggest menace to Instagram.

Also, Kim Kardashian is now being reported as the most-followed individual on Instagram after more than 3.5 million spam accounts were Insta-erased from the follower count of Justin Bieber.

The post InstaSpam: Instagram Purges Spam Accounts appeared first on Clix.

Since Instagram’s framework naturally positions recommended content in front of users, it is only a matter of time before Instagram starts serving up recommended products and advertisements. Until then, a company called Curalate has taken one giant step toward monetizing insta-likes and is attempting to turn Instagram into a giant online catalogue with their application called Like2Buy.

What is Like2Buy

The application is called Like2Buy. Basically, a link is placed in the profile of the Instagram account.

This link then takes users to an online catalogue that looks almost exactly like instagram.

Then, if a user clicks on a pic, they are transported to the actual product listing on the retail site. Also, if you have liked images that are featured items, Like2Buy will bookmark those for you in their “My Likes” section.

The Good

Like2Buy presents products to consumers in a native fashion. The app also enables consumers to bookmark or save images, so they can buy the product later.

The Bad

Like2Buy does not integrate with Instagram as seamlessly as you would think. Individual product information is not actually linked directly to each Instagram image. In fact, if I see some cool boots on a cool dude and I think I want those cool boots too, users have to “Like” the image, navigate to the company profile, click the Like2Buy link, click the “My Likes” button, click the image AGAIN, and THEN users will be on the retail listing….

I would prefer if there was a direct link to each product on each picture. Like this:

Secondly, since the referral traffic is browsing your products with the app (not your retail site) and only visiting your site when viewing the specific product listing, each site visit is counted as a Page Bounce if the visitor doesn’t traffic any other pages before returning to Instagram.

Finally, the only pictures displayed behind the Like2Buy link are the ones that have been tagged for use with the application. So, if you don’t use the extension very much, you risk sending visitors to an underwhelming catalogue. Or, even worse, showcasing sold out products will – AGAIN – send your Bounce Rate through the digital roof.

After reviewing Like2Buy, the app is great in concept, but underwhelming in application.

For more info about Social Media and Digital Marketing, check out the Clix Blog.

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The three most significant Instagram headlines of 2012 are:

• Facebook Acquisition
• Twitter War
• Privacy Policy

Facebook Acquires Instagram for $1 Billion:

In April, Facebook purchased the photo sharing platform for a mere $1 billion. The purchase brought the mobile platform and its staff of a mere 9 employees under the Facebook umbrella. At the time, Mark Zuckerberg declared that the sharing capabilities of Instagram would not be limited by Facebook, and users would retain the ability to follow users who were not necessarily their “friends”. Sharing, too, would remain available on other platforms outside Facebook (i.e. Twitter).

The Instagram team seemed stoked about the new developments, sharing on the site’s blog:

“We’re psyched to be joining Facebook and are excited to build a better Instagram for everyone.”

When Facebook Camera launched the following month, there was speculation the social media giant would kill off Instagram to make way for its own application, in spite of assurances from Instagram that it would not happen. This turned out to be false, and both apps are available for download today.

Instagram Wages War With Twitter:

On December 9, Twitter announced via its blog that Instagram had disabled photo integration with Twitter. While users can still share Instagram links on the site, the images can not be previewed on Twitter. That means when I shared a TwitPic photo on my Twitter account:

And tweeting an Instagram photo gives you this:

Followed by a trip to Instagram.com:

While the change isn’t the end of the world, it does remove a level of convenience that existed with the previous method. Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom maintained that the company would always remain integrated with Twitter.

In a statement to Mashable, Sysytom announced,

“A handful of months ago, we supported Twitter cards because we had a minimal web presence. We’ve since launched several improvements to our website that allow users to directly engage with Instagram content through likes, comments, hashtags and now we believe the best experience is for us to link back to where the content lives.”

December 10, Twitter announced on its blog the ability for users to add filters and edit photos from directly within the app, without relying on Instagram. The upcoming filters were first reported in November, and are now available when tweeting photos directly from Twitter.

The back-and-forth “improvements” and changes will continue to develop into 2013, as Instagram claims it continues to evolve in the interests of the best user experience.

Instagram Publishes New Privacy Policy:

If the average user has heard anything about Instagram this year, it is most likely the updates to the Privacy Policy that will take affect in January 2013.

Language in the updated policy implied that the site and its owner, Facebook, would be allowed access to a users information, photos, and data without compensation for purposes including advertising. Backlash was swift and loud, with users preparing to delete their accounts and wondering how to remove all of their photos from the site permanently. Some were less than concerned.

The updates coincide perfectly with Twitter upgrades and a revamped Flickr, giving users plenty of options if they decide to jump the Instagram ship.

Instagram quickly took to its blog to defend the intentions of the policy and assure users that their complaints were heard. Asserting that the sale and use of users photos for advertising purposes was never part of the plan, the company vowed to remove the language from the policy before it is implemented on January 16.

Moving Forward in 2013:

After a year of controversy and putting out fires, Instagram can hope to start 2013 with a clean slate. Assuming, of course, the world doesn’t end tomorrow.

The post Instagram Faces Challenges And Changes In 2012 appeared first on Clix.

Along with these populated social networks comes inventive social sharing apps, and many marketers are taking advantage of them.  Instagram is a great example of a social sharing app that you could be using in your social media strategy.  Instagram is a photo-sharing application that enables users to take photos, add digital effects to them, and then publish them to the social network of their choice.  Instagram curruently has 100 million users, and it’s user engagement is higher than ever.

Given that photos get the most attention and engagement throughout social networks, it’s no wonder why Instagram has become so popular.  As a business owner, how could you be using Instagram to increase user engagement and discussion?

New Belgium, a Brewing Company located in Fort Collins, CO, is currently using Instagram for one of their popular events called “Tour de Fat”, which makes stops in fifteen U.S. cities.  Here’s the New Belgium’s description of the event:

“Ready or not, the Tour de Fat will be meandering, pandering, and Ned Flandering through 15 U.S. cities this year, spreading the good word about the radness of the mighty bicycle and a simple, honest way of living.”

New Belgium is utilizing Instagram by having users tag their photos of the event using the hashtag #tourdefat to gain brand awareness and user engagement.  Here’s there Facebook page:

The New Belgium Brewing Company has gained a significant amount of Facebook Likes and user engagement ever since they began the tour.  So what do you think?  How could you be or how are you using Instagram to enhance your social media strategy and engagement?

The post Instagram: A Powerful Social Marketing Tool appeared first on Clix.

As a social media company, we believe it’s crucial to stay involved in all of the latest developments in technology and sharing, so naturally this latest development caught our attention.

What’s The Big Deal?

According to the Apple Store’s description:

“With Camera, you can share photos on Facebook faster than ever, and see what friends are up to in a feed of nothing but their photos.

–Post a bunch of photos at once

–See friends’ latest photos in one place

–Play with crops and filters

–Tag friends, add captions and say where you are

–See photos from different apps”

But isn’t that what Instagram already offers? The difference is in the style of sharing and the quality of the product. Instagram gained popularity as the first in its field to really take the concept of making ordinary mobile photos look professional, and Facebook Camera plays on essentially the same concept.

The Sharing Style: Friends Vs. Followers

Instagram gives users the option of selecting to post public or private profiles. A public profile in this sense is much like the style used for Twitter. Users have the option of “following” others who they think post good content. There is not an approval process, and just because User A follows User B, User B does not necessarily have to follow User A. It means that you can follow anyone you want with a public profile, not just those with whom you share personal connections.

Facebook Camera, on the other hand, operates in the traditional Facebook “friend” format. Two users who have mutually accepted a friendship on the social network will show up in each other’s respective feeds. This means that the content you access will be limited to those you are already connected to. You’ll see the same photos that appear in your newsfeed already, but with a more stylized appearance.

Bonus: Instagram allows users to connect their social networks and share to all simultaneously. Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr, and Foursquare are all connection options. Do you know what that means? Instagram is already sharing on your Facebook account if you want it to.  Two birds with one metaphorical stone, if you will.

Quality: Filtering Out The Good From The Bad

Instagram gives users 18 basic filters to apply, along with blurring and border options. The names are relatively creative, and the editing quality dramatic. The filters and blur options add an artistic quality to the service aside from just improving the image.

Facebook Camera has 15 filters. That’s about it. The filters primarily highlight different elements of the image and focus on lighting. A quick breeze through the line of filters makes it obvious that the focus is improving the basic, visual quality without the artistic element.

And The Winner Is…

Facebook clearly comes out on top. No, not Facebook Camera: the company itself. Owning both Instagram and Facebook Camera means that the social network has purchased its greatest competition and now has the ability to control its promotion. Facebook can choose to promote both platforms simultaneously, singularly, or scrap one of the apps all together. It seems that Instagram has the stronger case for surviving such elimination.

It’s far too likely that Facebook Camera will go the way of Google Video after the acquisition of YouTube and disappear quietly into the night.

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