Brands on Instagram

The popular video/photo-sharing app, Instagram, gives its 50 million users the opportunity to become armature photographers with a unique photo editing feature set that has exploded in popularity over the last year. However, Instagram has not only provided a creative new medium for wannabe photographers, but for brands as well. Many brands have taken advantage of the opportunity to give consumers an artistic, behind-the-scenes look at what their products and services have to offer.

Today, some brands are using Instagram to give consumers behind-the-scenes looks at sporting events or fashion shows. Some brands have even enlisted highly influential Instagram users for advertising purposes. Here are a few brands that are effectively using Instagram for marketing, branding and advertising purposes:

1. Red Bull: From the average social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, to the new and uncharted social apps like the popular video sharing app, Viddy, Red Bull is definitely an industry leader when it comes to online marketing - and their Instagram presence is no exception. Red Bull posts a "daily awesome" photo, and maintains the tradition of "Flying Friday" to keep fans and followers engaged. However, Red Bull doesn't stop with just posting engaging content, the brand has also been known to "Like" other users photos as well.

2. Puma: Rather than simply celebrating shoes, Puma's Instagram was set up to highlight all the cool places that shoes take you. Puma has been known to send influential Instagram users to big events across the globe and take pictures. Puma even sent some very lucky and influential Instagram users to Abu Dhabi so they can Instagram the Volvo Ocean Race. Since Puma doesn't have the following of some other brands (like Red Bull), this strategy of employing influential users to photograph events was a good way of ensuring more people saw the pictures.

3. Tiffany's: Tiffany's adopted Instagram as part of its campaign about true love. They employed a well-known fashion blogging couple to take snapshots of love stories in Paris and New York and them on Instagram. Tiffany's also gave couples the opportunity to submit their own photos using the Tiffany's downloadable Instagram filter. Beyond just incorporating Instagram into their true love campaign, Tiffany's also used the photo-sharing app to give fans an inside look at how jewelry is made.

Though Instagram is still a fairly new medium for online marketing and download of instagram video is made easy by Download Instagram videos, many brands are realizing the power of and advantages of using the video/photo-sharing app for marketing purposes. Though it may require a great deal of creativity and thought to work Instagram into a company's social media strategy, those that have done so have seen amazing results and been greatly accepted by users on the platform.