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pixpa · 6 years ago

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The Best Photography Books - Top 30 List

In this digital age, anyone with a camera can lay claim to being a photographer. However, photography as art needs both education and practice. You read articles, ebooks, and view videos online to get started with developing your interest in this art into something more serious. However, photography is a complex and specialized skill, and you need trusted resources that you can depend on to take forward steps as a photographer. This is where photography books come in.

Learning photography from books by master photographers gives you direct access to professional techniques and tricks that the pros have developed over their careers.

Photography books are not just a great way to be inspired and to learn some new techniques; they also help you understand the business of photography better.

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We have researched and compiled a list of the 30 best photography books that can help you learn about every aspect of it:

- Photography books for beginners. - Textbooks with all the details and techniques. - Technical manuals focussed on specific topics like posing or lighting. - Coffee table photo books full of inspiration. And even business books to help you run a successful photography business

Disclaimer: The links given below are not sponsored links. We do not receive any commission if you buy these books using the links below.

Here is the list of the 25 best photography books to learn photography:

Best Beginner Photography Books

Understanding Exposure By Bryan Peterson

An excellent primer on how to get out of the programmed automatic mode on your camera, Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure touches on many of the fundamentals of photography. From composition to aperture and depth of field, Understanding Exposure helps both the beginning novice learn the ropes and the seasoned pro learn something new. The book has been ranked #1 on Amazon's bestsellers for photography reference books and with a good reason. The text also includes some workbook type problems to help you "get it."

Complete Guide to Photography

Focused on the beginners of photography, this book will help you to learn all the functionalities of a professional camera and how to use them. The content of this book is divided into the main settings in your camera and the explanation is given with proper images. There is a separate section on composition, creative techniques and post processing as well.

Better Photo Basics: The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Taking Photos Like a Pro By Jim Miotke

As a beginner photographer, you'll often be looking for advice on how to take better photographs and to get set up. This book by Jim Miotke is an excellent start for anyone of any age looking to get into photography, whether with their cell phone or a complicated DSLR. Unlike some photography books for beginners, this one is not weighted down with technical, lengthy explanations. Instead, it is made up of quick tips to help photographers see an immediate difference in their images.

DSLR Photography for Beginners: Take 10 Times Better Pictures in 48 Hours or Less By Brian Black

This popular book by Brian Black offers beginning photographers a crash course in using their fancy new digital SLR cameras. A valuable resource to help you hit the ground running, you can use this book to get started and find the topics you want to study more in depth. DSLR Photography for Beginners is currently the number one best seller on Amazon's Landscape Photography and Photography Equipment lists.

Photoshop for Photographers: Training for Photographers to Master Digital Photography and Photo Editing By John Slavio

Digital photographers not only need to be well versed in their photo equipment, but they must also know their way around a computer and photo editing program. Photoshop has been an industry standard for decades. It is one of the best photography books for beginners, and it helps you make better images and gain valuable experience and a new comfort level with the king of all photography programs.

Extraordinary Everyday Photography By Brenda Tharp And Jed Manwaring

Written for literally anyone who wants to take better photos, Tharp and Manwaring's book encourages photography from new angles in the same places. No matter where you are, you can always find more to photograph and new ways to create enticing images. This book is not a technical guide with lots of details; instead, it provides inspiration and a new way to look at subjects and shooting locations.

The Digital Photography Book Box Set By Scott Kelby

Sold in a five-volume set, this series by Scott Kelby gives you step-by-step pointers to getting your photographs to look like the pros. The book avoids dull and lengthy technical explanations and, according to some reviewers, is more like going shooting with a knowledgeable friend who shares his secrets along the way. As the series progresses, more and more technical explanations are added. When studied together, the box set is a complete course in the art of photography and are the best digital photography books which you need to have.

50 Photo Projects - Ideas to Kickstart Your Photography By Lee Frost

Often you can read the textbook over and over again, but you will never truly understand a concept until you practice it. 50 Photo Projects allows you to do just that. Without having to rely on inspiration, the book provides an accessible path to practicing your art no matter where you are. Lack of project ideas is often a missing link for self-taught photographers and is an excellent exercise for every photographer that can help get you out of your comfort zone and bolster your portfolio with something a little different.

Langford’s Basic Photography: The guide for serious photographers – Michael Langford

This excellent book for beginner photographers teaches you everything about how to capture images and how to evolve and grow your technique as a photographer. The book gives in-depth insights on how to choose the best camera and lenses for your work and talks about the principles of lighting and the equipment you will need to achieve the results you want. You will also learn about the entire workflow of digital photography - how to edit, store, and organize your images, and then how to print and present your images to clients. It is a great book that takes you through the A-Z of a digital photographer's process.

Best Learning Photography Books

The Art of Photography By Bruce Barnbaum

With so many technical volumes focusing on specifics like composition and exposures, it's easy to forget the artistic side of taking photographs. Barnbaum's The Art of Photography is here to help, with clearly written lessons that concentrate on how to express yourself through your art and your camera better.

Understanding Flash Photography: How to Shoot Great Photographs Using Electronic Flash By Bryan Peterson

Another excellent guide from Peterson, Understanding Flash Photography is also a must-read. Flash photography is a worthy challenge for all photographers, and the wide range of lighting products and techniques makes it all the more daunting. Peterson breaks down the options to the basics and gives useful tips any photographer can apply to his or her work. Learning to master the speed light is an excellent skill for photographers of all types. The tips and tricks employed are useful even when dealing with natural light.

Photography: The Definitive Visual History

This history of photography book by Tom Ang and published by DK presents the content in a way no other book on photography history does. One of the best reference books for photographers which compiles the history from the beginning till the digital photography age going on now. The significant events in photography history, the major technological changes, the world-famous photographers who have created iconic photos; this book has it all.

Picture Perfect Posing By Roberto Valenzuela

At some point, every photographer will work with human subjects. Valenzuela's Picture Perfect series is an excellent resource for learning all things photography, but the volume on posing stands out. Working with models and human subjects can be one of the more challenging aspects of photography, and camera-friendly posing is an art form all to itself. Picture Perfect Posing is a perfect resource for portrait photographers.

Film Is Not Dead By Jonathon Canlas

As shocking as it may sound to those who have been in the industry for decades, there are photographers out there today that have never held a film camera. While digital has proliferated and permeated every aspect of the photography industry, a growing movement is bringing film photography back to the forefront. Whether it is merely retro nostalgia or the makings of a new kind of photography remains to be seen, but this excellent book by Canlas will help interested photographers learn their way around both 35 mm and medium format films.

Black and White Photography: A Basic Manual By Henry Horenstein

Horenstein's book about black and white photography has been a common sight in beginning photography courses for decades. With the current renaissance of film photography, perhaps Horenstein's book can inspire new audiences. Black and white photography can be one of the most challenging and yet rewarding aspects, so don't miss this manual to help expand your horizons.

The Moment It Clicks: Photography Secrets From One Of The World’s Top Shooters By Joe McNally

Advanced techniques are great for students and pros alike to brush up on new and exciting ways to shoot. In McNally's book, The Moment It Clicks, invaluable tips and tricks are shared from a well-respected industry professional, making it one of the best books to learn photography. While sharing his work, he shares the stories behind each shot and challenges you to approach your projects differently.

Night Photography & Light Painting: Finding Your Way in the Dark By Lance Keimig

Nothing comes close to capturing a spectacular night shot. Night photography, maybe more than any other type of photography, shares a new view of the world that few people are lucky enough to experience themselves. It creates a magical experience. Technically challenging but a lot of fun, night photography doesn't need to be intimidating. Keimig’s book challenges you to take a stroll after dark and to create some remarkable works of art.

Guide To Travel Photography By Lonely Planet

Maybe just looking at photos of beautiful places isn't quite enough for you. When you visit those world-class locales, you want to capture the beauty with the skill and eye of the best photographer. This book by Lonely Planet is a great step in that direction. By sharing the tips and tricks of the industry's leading travel photographers, the guide will have you transitioning your images from snapshots to breathtaking destination photography in no time.

Photography Theory Books

Photography Theory By James Elkins

Imagine world-famous art historians and theorists having a debate on the nature of photography! This book has exactly that and that too in animated form. There are many answers to what a photograph is, and this book discusses various opinions around it. These opinions range from a picture being a way to present the reality of the world to it being a medium to confuse the people on the same.

The Decisive Moment By Henri Cartier-Bresson

This book by the legend in photography - Bresson, contains some of his photographs as well as his view on the approach to photography. Street photographers especially adore Henri Cartier Bresson for his unique style. The Decisive Moment book is one of the best street photography books and for anyone who wants to understand the views of Bresson towards photography, which has influenced generations of photographers. Bresson lay down his belief in the magical moment when many different elements like interactions, moments, form, and light all come together to form a perfect, visually appealing image. To achieve that one has to be unnoticeable, quick, and attentive.

On Photography By Susan Sontag

Susan Sontag is regarded as one of the most influential writers of the modern era. This book gives a detailed analysis of photography, giving her strong opinions on the issues of morality and aesthetics. She explains the role photography has in our lives, how we treat photography, how it influences us, and so on. This photography theory book is a must read for someone who wants to understand how photographs are perceived and how it is changing the world. 'On Photography' is one of the best photography books of all time, which will make you question everything you know about the way we consume photographs.

Best Books For Building Your Photography Business

What They Didn’t Teach You In Photo School By Demetrius Fordham

If you are looking for books on starting a photography business and if you're looking to make money with your photos, consider checking out Fordham's What They Didn't Teach You in Photo School. This volume covers the business aspects of photography, specifically. The book touches on what it is like to be a working photographer and ways to successfully get there.

The Photographer’s Guide to Marketing and Self-Promotion By Maria Piscopo

Penned by a creative services consultant, this book helps any fledgling creative businesses get off the ground. As any professional photographer will tell you, photography is about much more than just taking great photos. Success often boils down to your business skills, your business plan, and your marketing. The book features case studies and interviews with commercial photographers, making it a useful reference for photographers looking to take their businesses to the next level.

No Plastic Sleeves: Portfolio and Self-Promotion Guides for Photographers and Designers By Larry Volk and Danielle Currier

A topic of great importance to beginners and seasoned photographers alike is how to keep their portfolio polished and relevant. No Plastic Sleeves dives deep into the art of portfolio making for effective marketing of your business. For visual artists, nothing trumps your portfolio. Make sure yours shines by taking the advice of industry pros like Volk and Currier.

Understanding the Business of Entertainment: The Legal and Business Essentials All Filmmakers Should Know By Gregory Bernstein

Legal issues abound in the film and photography industry, from privacy to trademarks and copyright issues. Primarily focuses on filmmaking, Bernstein's volume is valuable to anyone in the visual arts. Bernstein's time as an entertainment attorney allows him to shed light on some of the most critical and lesser-known challenges facing artists today.

Best Photography Coffee Table Books for Inspiration

In the National Parks By Ansel Adams

Not every photography book should be about technique or business. Presented in over 200 photos, this photo book of Adams' timeless black and white images shares the story of America's national parks. In the National Parks By Ansel Adams is one of the best photo books, sure to spur your creativity and appreciation for artistic black and white landscapes.

Annie Leibovitz: Portraits 2005-2016

This new collection of photographs by Annie Leibovitz is a follow-up to her two previous landmark photo books, Annie Leibovitz: Photographs, 1970-1990 and A Photographer's Life, 1990-2005. In this photography portfolio book, Annie Leibovitz, one of the most influential photographers of our time, presents iconic portraits along with never before published images that she has shot over the last decade.

Destinations of a Lifetime By National Geographic

Another stunning coffee table book, this National Geographic collection shares breathtaking views of some of the most remote and most beautiful destinations around the globe. Featuring over 250 images that span the range from secluded islands, exotic rainforests, and majestic mountains. It isn't just another photo book, however. This National Geographic guide also gives aspiring travelers the details they need to know to visit each of these bucket list-worthy destinations.

Humans of New York By Brandon Stanton

A street photographer's show book, Stanton's Humans of New York, contains over 400 images of people in their natural environment. The moving pictures in this book have propelled it to be a #1 New York Times bestseller. The stunning photography in this photo book will inspire you to walk down the street and meet some new people.

Underwater Dogs By Seth Casteel

This laugh-out-loud funny coffee table book is full of amazing shots of dogs and water. Dive in with the furry friends as they jump, splash, slosh, and play. Many of these photos will make you wonder aloud, "how on earth did he get that shot?" Underwater Dogs provides inspiration and a reminder that for every photographer, there is a niche. It is one of the best photography coffee table books you can have in your house and let the viewers have a good time.

Vivian Maier: The Color Work by Colin Westerbeck

Vivian Maier, who came into the photography scene when thousands of photographs taken by her, were discovered after her death. Her unique perspective into the world can now be seen with pictures which were never published before. Having more than 150 of her color photographs and a foreword written by renowned photographer Joel Meyerowitz, this book is one of the best photo books published in 2018.

Conclusion:

Whether you are a beginner looking to grab some tips from the pros or a life-long expert, photography books are a great way to keep building your photography knowledge base. Some books teach, some books inspire, and some books do both. Break your dry spell and get out of your creative rut with a new challenge and a new technique.

These are just some of the best photography books, that have received great reviews from beginner and pro photographers alike. Have you read some of these books? Are there any other books that you would like to see included in the list.

Share your feedback and recommendations with us in the comments below.

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eddycurrents · 6 years ago

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Seed of Destruction: Addenda

“Mike Mignola’s Hellboy” 2 x 4 page stories, both with same credits

Plot & Art: Mike Mignola | Script: John Byrne | Letters: uncredited - though comics.org lists them as Mike Mignola for word balloons & sound effects / John Byrne for typeset

Colours: Matthew Hollingsworth, colours added for the collection, originally published in black and white.

Originally published by Dark Horse in San Diego Comic-Con Comics #2 | August 1993 & Krause Publications in Comics Buyer’s Guide #1070 | 20 May 1994

Collected in Hellboy - Volume 1: Seed of Destruction | Hellboy Library Edition - Volume 1 | Hellboy Omnibus - Volume 1: Seed of Destruction

Plot Summary:

In the first story, Hellboy battles Anubis at a gas station.

In the second, Hellboy rescues a woman kidnapped by mad Nazi scientist Herman von Klempt and his pet gorilla Brutus.

Reading Notes:

(Note: pagination is solely for the stories themselves and are not indicated anywhere in the issues or collections. The story break between the two occurs at page 5.)

pg. 1 - The mixture of Americana, Old West, Egypt, and Nazi Germany as mentioned by Hellboy in the narration is impressive and overall indicative of a lot that we’re going to find in the forthcoming Hellboy stories. This series is kind of a melting pot for old and new forms of storytelling, along with a deep syncretization of multiple mythologies and belief systems. For a first panel in the Hellboy universe, this is very telling for what’s in store.

pg. 2 - I like the theme of “nothing as it seems” presented here as the seemingly harmless puppy dog turns into a giant dog monster that Hellboy claims is maybe Anubis.

Anubis: As Hellboy states, Egyptian god of mummification. Mostly represented as a jackal god, though scholars and archaeologists are now claiming that he has the head of an African golden wolf. He was the keeping of the rituals of embalming and a gatekeeper for the realm of the dead. Also, the Denver International Airport.

pg. 3 - I really like the layouts for this story. I find them more indicative of what we’ll see later as Mignola develops an even more deliberate tone and style for the main Hellboy stories. As I’ve said earlier, it reminds me a lot of P. Craig Russell’s work.

pg. 5 - This splash page opening up the second story is just fun. Just the visuals of a Nazi scientist as a head in a jar and a gorilla with metal spikes sticking out of its neck are entertaining. It’s ridiculous, but it works within the logic of Hellboy.

Also, the image of the woman, though definitely in Mignola’s style, shows influence to me of Kevin Nowlan’s work. This is a well done piece of art, and one of my favourites of early Hellboy.

pg. 6-8 - Like the first story, this is much a showcase for the artwork and the action. It’s fun.

pg. 1-8 - One of the things I like most about these two stories is the incorporation of the lettering. The narration boxes and many of the word balloons bleed into the gutter as though they’re part of the panels or cut-outs from them. I love this style, reminding a lot of many of the times that some of my favourite letterers like John Workman and Todd Klein have employed this technique. Particularly Workman’s work on The Mighty Thor. Whether or not it’s true, it just makes me think more thought went into the overall construction of the page than in many of the other styles of lettering. It looks like one cohesive whole from the creative team rather than independent parts.

Final Thoughts:

Though these are two of the earliest Hellboy stories, I find that they embody a lot of what is great about the series and capture the tone and feel of some of the best entries into the universe. I also think that they foreshadow some of the immense heights that Mike Mignola is going to reach with his short format stories as he grows more confident in his overall storytelling abilities.

Plus, who doesn’t love seeing a giant Nazi gorilla?

#Give 'em Hellboy #Hellboy #Seed of Destruction #Mike Mignola #John Byrne #RaisingHellboy #5

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architectnews · 4 years ago

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Le Monde Group HQ, Paris

Le Monde Group HQ, Parisian Office Building, French Architecture Photos

Le Monde Group HQ in Paris

17 Dec 2020

Le Monde Group HQ, Paris

Design: Snøhetta

Location: 67-69 Avenue Pierre-Mendès-France, Paris, France

Snøhetta-designed headquarters for the Le Monde Group opens in Paris

photo © Marwan Harmouche

With the completion of its new headquarters, the 1,600 employees of the Le Monde Group have been brought together under the same roof in a generously arching building on 67-69 Avenue Pierre-Mendès-France in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. With its bold new plaza and semi-transparent outer skin, the building creates connections to the general public and surrounding transit while also offering citizens and passersby a generous respite in the city. On December 11, 2020, the building received the prestigious French real estate prize, the Grand Prix SIMI, within the category “New Office Building Larger than 10,000 m²”

photo © Ludwig Favre

The Le Monde Group comprises some of France’s most famous publications, including Le Monde, Courrier International, Télérama, La Vie, and HuffPost, and their new home unites them under a shared roof together with the publication l’Obs, which is also owned by the group’s shareholders. Previously scattered across different sites in Paris, the six newsrooms now share a common home on the Rive Gauche of Paris, all while remaining independent and retaining their own space in the building.

photo © JARED CHULSKI

The project represents Le Monde Group’s re-investment in its staff at a time where other media outlets experience a down-sizing of their newsrooms, and their deep commitment to cultivating a vibrant public realm through democratic access to information and physical space. A translucent, dynamic façade and expansive public plaza express the building’s openness to its surrounding context.

– I am happy the Le Monde Group has chosen the heart of the Paris Rive Gauche district as home for its new headquarters, and by doing so, contributing to the district’s transformation, says the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo. – Besides the building’s magnificent architecture, the project’s openness to its surroundings will make it an integral part of everyday life, both for the district’s inhabitants and the 13th arrondissement. At a time where information and dialogue are more essential than ever, my hope is that the 67-69 Avenue Pierre-Mendès-France becomes the heart of this exchange, promoting transparent and accessible information for all.

Indeed, the project itself emerged from a moment when these priorities were called into question. As the Le Monde Group deliberated over architectural proposals for their future home in early 2015, just days after the attacks on Charlie Hebdo Magazine’s headquarters, they ultimately selected Snøhetta and local partner SRA’s design, opting for a building that remains in open dialogue with the city of Paris and its inhabitants.

photo © Ludwig Favre

– Since its inception the Le Monde Group Headquarters has embodied an architectural and symbolic counterpoint to the many challenges our societies face today. The building is primarily about opening up in a time where fear and uncertainty pushes our societies to increase barriers and strengthen security enforcement. In this sense, the project invites us to reflect on how architecture can create spaces that can be both public and private, exterior and interior, transparent or opaque. Like so many other of our projects, it is a hybrid building that explores the interstices of architecture and that is conceived to be at the service of the public, says Founding Partner of Snøhetta, Kjetil Trædal Thorsen.

photo © Ludwig Favre

Sitting adjacent to the historic Gare d’Austerlitz train station, the project is a close neighbor to the historic Latin Quarter and the lushly planted gardens of the Jardin des Plantes. The concave form of the building bridges over the below-grade railyard, anchored on both sides with two seven-story cantilevering volumes held together by a complex network of steel. Three gestural «cuts» shape the building mass: the «sky cut» reveals the oblique surface of the solar-panel-clad roof; the «city cut» pulls the building back from the along its street-facing facade; and the «ground cut» carves out the underside of the bridging structure, enveloping the new public plaza together beneath its expansive arched form.

-The construction of the Le Monde Groupe Headquarters marks a historic milestone for all our publications, explains the CEO of the Le Monde Group, Louis Dreyfus. – Our building illustrates both our editorial and aesthetic ambitions, but also the diversity of our newsrooms. In a world where the demand for high quality information is only increasing, our new common home offers our 1,600 employees a luminous working space with top amenities and dedicated spaces for each newsroom. This in turn ensures that we can continue to deliver journalistic content on all our platforms and in all formats, whether written or audiovisual, both today and in the future. Moreover, the office interiors, developed in collaboration with Archimage, offers our newsrooms a warm and soothing atmosphere with secluded spaces that ensure privacy when needed, says CEO of the Le Monde Group, Louis Dreyfus.

photos © JARED CHULSKI

A Uniting Structure at the Heart of Modern-Day Paris The 23,000 m2 Le Monde Group Headquarters is built at the intersection of the old, historic parts of the French capital, and the more modern districts on the Rive Gauche. A previously industrialized area with railway tracks, the district has experienced a mass development since the beginning of the 1990’s under one of the most comprehensive urban developments of the French capital since 18th century Haussmannization. Today, the district has continued to develop as a high-density commercial and business district.

The building’s pixelated outer skin is composed of more than 20,000 pixelated glass elements in a strictly organized pattern with 772 possible configurations, that give the building a sheer appearance that shifts with the changing weather and light conditions. Each glass element represents one distinct pixel classified on an opacity scale ranging from transparent to fully opaque depending on its placement, allowing for the best views from the building as well as a maximum of daylight penetration. This highly sophisticated pattern references the printed letters of newspapers and magazines and makes up a text-like pattern that can be read more clearly when the 10 000 m2 facade is seen from afar.

photo © Ludwig Favre

Spanning 80 meters from one side to another, the building is a response to the conditions and challenges of the site: Acquired by the Le Monde Group in 2014, the site is situated just above the railways and platforms of the Gare d’Austerlitz which makes the creation of a technical basement impossible. The first challenge, therefore, was to construct a building where the entire technical system of the building would be cleverly incorporated into the structure of the building itself. The second challenge was that the site could only carry a specific amount of weight, and only on the two extremities of the site. As the middle section was not planned to hold the weight of a building, the client’s initial brief was to create two buildings on the parts of the site that were buildable.

photo © JARED CHULSKI

Snøhetta and SRA’s response to these challenges was to work on the idea of merging the two units together through a bridging structure of steel that would literally leapfrog from one side of the site to the other: a highly demanding engineering task for a building that weighs more than the Eiffel Tower. Nonetheless, it was a necessary one: only a unified building would create the dynamic environment needed to unite the different magazine and newspaper titles of the Le Monde Group.

photos © JARED CHULSKI

A Walk Through the Building The journey through the Le Monde Group Headquarters commences at ground level where visitors are greeted by a broad public plaza with integrated vegetation. The plaza invites passersby to linger and interact while also creating connections to the cityscape on each side of the building. From 2021, this physical connection will be further enhanced with the introduction of a new bridge that will spanning across the neighboring railways of the Gare d’Austerlitz.

New retail spaces also help activate a dynamic public realm. Situated below the warmly lit arch of the building, custom designed concrete benches offer refuge from the activity of the busy surrounding area. The site further encourages diverse transit modes and greener mobility alternatives with more than 300 bicycle parking slots and through its immediate proximity to neighboring train station.

photo © JARED CHULSKI

The materiality of the plaza is predominated by concrete with clear references to the urban context of the building. The concrete environment creates a sense of continuity and consistency, as if parts of the ground were gently peeled back and fused into the arching roof soaring above the plaza. Cast in in-situ concrete, the arch above the plaza is carefully hand-treated to create a textured finish.

The concrete plaza and elements from the façade continue inside the building. The building’s wayfinding, which is also developed by Snøhetta, is inspired by the glazed facade of the building and adorned with classic typewriter typography. This custom wayfinding guides visitors and staff effortlessly through the building.

The Le Monde Group Headquarters can be accessed from the two extremities of the building, one of them public, leading to food and retail services and providing access to a two-story auditorium. The other entry leads to a reception area for parts of the building which are only accessible to the Le Monde Group. The reception area reveals itself as a white canvas framed by a grey-scaled concrete terrazzo flooring that evokes the plaza outside.

photos © JARED CHULSKI

Two large amphitheater stairs in each entry lead up to the third level of the building, providing an unformal meeting space for staff and visitors. The stairs mark a physical continuity with the building’s arching middle-section, as if the stairs were mounted on top of it. The stairs provide access to the auditorium through an open reception area, well-suited for either conferences or receptions. The floor also comprises a staff cafeteria and restaurant including back office functions and meeting rooms.

From the third to the eight floors, the building offers high-quality, expansive open office spaces with a ceiling-integrated heating, ventilation and lighting system assuring the building offers maximum layout flexibility. With its floor-to-ceiling windows, and views overlooking the Seine and the surrounding city of Paris, the offices offer a bright and spacious backdrop for the thousands of employees and journalists of the Le Monde Group. Floors second also feature amenities such as a library, a staff restaurant and an analogue archive dedicated to the Le Monde Group.

From the fifth to the sixth floor, one finds the office spaces dedicated to the Le Monde newsgroup. Just like the office floors below, the Le Monde offices are organized as an open space, while also offering a diversity of flexible workspaces that integrate over 100 private work areas and over forty meeting rooms for group collaboration. The floors are connected by a double-spiraling staircase that opens the central part of the two levels. The staircase ties the newsroom together, breaking down artificial collaboration barriers and securing that information may be shared easily across the entire newsroom.

photo © Ludwig Favre

Finally, the top level of the building leads out to an open-air terrace which is accessible from both sides of the building. Framed by vegetation, the terrace creates beautiful views overlooking the surrounding cityscape and the Seine.

photo © Marwan Harmouche

Le Monde Group HQ in Paris, France – Building Information

Design: Snøhetta

Building Completed: First half of 2020 (Started February 2017) Competition: 2014 – January 2015 Building permit/Permis de Construire: January 2016 Location: 67 Avenue Pierre Mendès-France 75013 Paris, France Certifications: BREEAM Excellent, Etiquette COV A+ Size: 22 933 m2 net (SDP) Budget: Confidential Client/Maître d’Ouvrage : Le Monde Group Client/Assistant à Maître d’Ouvrage : Redman IDF Team: Main Architect/ Architecte Mandataire: Snøhetta Landscape Architecture: Snøhetta Interior Architecture (Fixed furniture): Snøhetta Local Architect/ Architecte Associé: SRA Architectes Project coordinator Building site: CICAD Engineering Consultants Competition/ Bureaux d’Études : Bollinger & Grohmann Structure Engineers/ BET Structure : Khephren Ingeniérie Supervising Office/ Bureaux de Contrôle SPS : Veritas Environmental Consultants/ Conseil Environnement : Green Affair Fire Consultants/ Conseil Incendie : CSD-Faces HVAC Consultants/ BET Fluides, ascenseur, coordination SSI : Barbanel Facade Engineers/ Ingénierie des façades : Arcora Acoustics/ BET Acoustique : LASA Kitchen Consultants/ BET Cuisine : Conceptions Nouvelles Finance Consultant/ Economiste : Gleeds Main Construction/Entreprises principales : Structures and Façade/ Structure et façades : Eiffage construction + Goyer Arch Façade/ Façades de l’Arche : Glauser + AAB Partitions, plastering, painting/ Cloisons, platerie, peinture : Vallée

photo © Frédéric Chaume

Photos © Frédéric Chaume, Ludwig Favre, Marwan Harmouche and JARED CHULSKI

Le Monde Group HQ, Paris images / information received 171220

Location: 67-69 Avenue Pierre-Mendès-France, Paris, France

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onlinemarketinghelp · 5 years ago

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The Complete Guide to Growing Your Business with Instagram Marketing https://ift.tt/2n4AvTS

Instagram is one of the fastest-growing – if not the fastest-growing – social media platforms out there. In just nine months from September 2017 to June 2018, its user base skyrocketed from 800 million to 1 billion.

In roughly the same time frame, the number of Instagram marketers grew by nearly 7 percent. For comparison, Facebook’s only grew by about 0.5 percent and Twitter’s actually decreased by 0.3 percent.

It’s clear from statistics that Instagram has had a huge impact on the way people – and businesses – function on a daily basis. It’s become a key source for entertainment, learning, communication, and commerce.

But there’s a big roadblock for brands that want to jump on the Instagram marketing bandwagon. Many find themselves thinking, where do I even start? It can be downright intimidating to wade through all the disjointed tips and resources out there.

Well, friend, we’re glad you’re here. This guide will take you through the ins and outs of Instagram marketing in an actionable, clear-cut way.

We’ll discuss:

An overview and definition of Instagram marketing

How to set up an Instagram business profile

Using Instagram’s features to build a powerful marketing strategy

How to grow your following and profit from your efforts

How to track your performance with Instagram Insights

Some cool apps to help you along the way

Here we go.

What Is Instagram Marketing?

On our way to making you a master, let’s start with the basics. What is Instagram marketing, and how can you use it for your business?

As one of today’s most popular marketing channels, the platform offers a wide range of ways for you to reap its benefits. All you need is a good strategy and some dedication to making it happen.

Instagram Marketing Definition

Instagram marketing is a type of social media marketing in which marketers use the Instagram platform to promote their business. If “promote their business” sounds broad, that’s because it is: Instagram marketing can involve a number of different strategies and tactics, used to accomplish all kinds of goals a business might have.

When looking at various ways to use Instagram for marketing, you can split the activity into two main categories:

Paid tactics like advertising and influencer marketing

Unpaid tactics like creating organic content, such as posts, Instagram Stories, and comments, as well as engaging with other users’ content

Typical business goals might include selling your products or services, getting more followers and engagement, building relationships with potential customers and other brands, and generally boosting a brand’s reputation.

A little later, we’ll get into the specifics of how to set goals, and how to use certain tactics to accomplish them.

Instagram Algorithm

You may have heard the term “algorithm,” which is a widely misunderstood term. You don’t need to be a master of the Instagram algorithm, but a basic understanding of it can help achieve your goals faster and with fewer headaches.

While some marketers feel that the Instagram algorithm is their arch enemy, it’s actually a friend. That’s because its ultimate goal – like every other online algorithm – is to deliver relevant, entertaining, and engaging content to each user.

Algorithms do this by carefully studying their users’ activities and behaviors, then using this data to make informed guesses on what those users will want to see in the future. If your content happens to pass the “test,” you’re teed up for success.

We could go on for hours about the Instagram algorithm, but the main takeaway is that you should always, always focus on creating quality content that really provides a benefit for your audience.

No spammy posts or comments, and no content just for the sake of creating something. Be thoughtful and strategic, while constantly asking what your audience wants and how you can serve them through your efforts.

Examples of Instagram Marketing

To get your creative juices flowing, let’s look at a few common examples of Instagram marketing.

1. Organic Content

Organic content is an umbrella term that describes any unpaid content that you post, like photos, videos, and Stories. These posts should be at the heart of your Instagram marketing strategy, because t’ll be much easier to make those sales if you can keep your audience interested organically.

FitBit does a great job of promoting their product while giving their followers a “bonus” in the form of a Spotify playlist to listen to during their workout. The post features a fun visual of a FitBit displaying Spotify playlists.

View this post on Instagram

Turn up the volume on playlists that get your heart pumping when you play DJ on Fitbit smartwatches like #FitbitVersa2, now with the @spotify app. Tune in to our story to learn more.

A post shared by fitbit (@fitbit) on Sep 3, 2019 at 12:39pm PDT

2. Instagram Ads

If you’re looking to get some cold, hard sales, Instagram Ads are a more direct approach to Instagram marketing than organic content. There are several types of ads you can run, including image ads, video ads, carousel ads, Story ads, and shoppable posts.

Image and Video Ads

These show up in user feeds the same way that organic posts from other users do, so your ads can be front-and-center in the user experience. As you may have guessed, an image ad refers to an ad that features an image, and a video ad features a video.

These ads include a call-to-action button that encourages users to take a specific action, like:

Shop Now

Book Now

Learn More

Watch More

Send Message

Listen Now

Here’s an image ad from Student Universe, a company that scores travel discounts and promotions for students.

And here’s a cool video ad example from Volvo that invites users to take a “thumb drive” of its new XC60 luxury SUV.

Carousel Ads

Carousel ads function in a similar way to organic posts that feature more than one image or video. They appear in a user’s feed along with other posts, allowing you to display up to ten images or videos per post. What’s cool is that each of these items can have their own unique link to lead your users to.

If you have a dropshipping store, for example, you can highlight a few sale items and lead potential customers to your website to shop.

Source

Story Ads

This is one of the best ways to sell on Instagram. Story ads are immersive, full-screen units that let your brand infuse creativity to make the ads more appealing for your audience.

While image ads are likely to retain their top spot as the most popular Instagram Ad format, Kenshoo’s quarterly trends report reveals that Story ads are growing fast.

According to the findings, advertisers’ share of ad spend on Story ads doubled year-over-year from nine percent to 18 percent in the second quarter of 2019.

Story ads pop up in between Instagram Stories from the accounts people follow. They can deliver a positive experience to potential customers. They also feature a tiny “Sponsored” tag at the top right and a call-to-action at the bottom.

To make money with Story ads, run a campaign that promotes your product or service, and ensure you add a call-to-action at the bottom to encourage people to buy.

You’ll have a choice in ads to publish either an image or a video. Whatever you decide, make sure your Story is attention-grabbing to snag the users who swipe fast through their content.

Shoppable Posts

In 2018, Instagram released a great feature that allows people to purchase an item without leaving the app.

Called Instagram Shopping, the core functionality of this new feature allows businesses to tag products in their Instagram content, after which potential customers who click on tagged items will be taken straight to the product page on the company’s website.

Let’s say you’re a women’s accessories brand, and you have pictures of a model wearing a few of your products. Potential customers can tap to view the items and then buy them directly in the app.

You can sell products via posts and Stories once you’re approved as a seller. There’s even an option to create an Instagram shop if you want to take things up a notch. Just remember – you need a connected Facebook business account to use this feature.

If you’re new to all of this, you can read our beginner’s guide to Instagram Shopping. It’s a deep-dive into how the feature works, how you can integrate it into your Instagram marketing strategy, and how you can increase your visibility on the photo-sharing app.

3. Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is one of the most popular forms of social media marketing out there today. Instagram influencers are people who’ve grown an organic, dedicated following based on their content niche. They exist in every industry, from fashion to tech to finance. And influencers in general exist on pretty much any social media platform you can think of.

When you can find the right influencers to match your brand, it can give you a serious boost in followers, sales, and overall brand recognition. The key here is that it’s imperative to find the right influencers.

In this example, Audible’s Canada division partnered with tech influencer @thetrendytechie. In her typical post style, she explains what she’s listening to and why she likes using Audible.

Here’s an influencer marketing post for the foodies out there: pierogi brand Mrs. T’s Pierogi’s collaborated with Ashley C. of @spoonfulflavor to create unique content. Ashley created a recipe using the pierogies and shared it with her followers, encouraging them to try it for themselves.

She sealed the deal with a relevant hashtag, #easyweeknightmeal, which makes the post searchable to Instagram users who want home-cooked meals but don’t have extra hours to slave away in the kitchen.

Another common form of influencer marketing is partnering with other brands to cross-promote contests and giveaways.

In this example, recipe curator @thefeedfeed partnered with DeLallo Foods and furniture company Room & Board to host a contest with prizes from each of the three brands.

As an added bonus, the image used to promote the contest is an actual entry – a gorgeous and mouth-watering appetizer spread from one of TheFeedFeed’s existing followers.

Now that you have the gist of the various forms Instagram marketing can take, let’s get to the juicy parts. First up: the dos and don’ts of setting up your profile.

Setting Up an Instagram Business Profile

Before you dive into Instagram marketing, make sure you have a proper business profile – not just a regular personal profile. This way, you can reap the benefits of business features like ads and Instagram Insights, which we’ll discuss later in this post. Plus, it’s more credible in the eyes of your audience.

Let’s take a look at how to create a business profile and some best practices that can turn a good profile into an awesome one.

How to Create an Instagram Business Profile

To create an Instagram business profile, you’ll need two things:

An Instagram account, which can be your existing personal profile or a new one you’ve created just for this purpose. We recommend creating a new handle with your company’s name for brand recognition.

A Facebook business page for your company. Instagram requires this for verification purposes, so go ahead and make one first. Here’s a step-by-step guide to create your Facebook business page.

Without further ado, here’s an overview of how to make an Instagram business profile:

On your smartphone, log in to Instagram with your company handle.

Tap the circular icon in the bottom right corner. The screen will expand to show another menu. Tap “Settings” in the bottom right corner.

On the Settings page, scroll down until you find “Switch to Business Profile.”

Instagram will then ask you to connect the account to your Facebook business page and edit your business’s public contact info: email address, phone number, and location. This will be public on your profile, so avoid adding private info.

And voilà. You’re ready to add some flair.

What Makes a Good Instagram Business Profile?

When you optimize your Instagram profile, it’s crucial that you stay consistent with your brand. This means including the same colors, fonts, and images that you have in other places, like your website and other social media accounts. This makes it easy for you to promote your business in a clear and recognizable way.

There are two main elements of your profile: your profile photo and bio. For the photo, we recommend using your company’s logo. It helps with brand recognition, which is why most companies use this technique.

For your Instagram bio, here are a few tips to make sure it gets some attention:

Make it about your customers, not your business. To do this, explain the benefits that you’re offering. Instead of saying something business-oriented like, “We post amazing travel photos,” National Geographic’s Travel account says, “It’s a big world. Explore it through the lens of our photographers.”

Use it as an opportunity to promote any important events or content on offer. Oberlo does this by encouraging users to join the Oberlo 101 course for starting your first online business.

Encourage users to engage with your brand. Wayfair does this by asking users to share their style in an Instagram post with the branded hashtag #wayfairathome. In exchange, the company features some of these posts on their account.

Include a link for users to explore. Your bio should lead users to experience your brand, whether it’s linking to your website, a specific sale or piece of content, or a content aggregation tool like Linktr.ee or LikeShop listing. MVMT uses a shortened URL to link to their new Element watch line, which we recommend if your URL is long or unsightly.

Use emojis. You’ll notice that most brands using Instagram for business use them. That’s because emojis are a quick, visual way to get your point across. Not to mention they’re super trendy. Bulletproof, a brand that’s widely associated with coffee but does much more, has a short-and-sweet description, “Coffee is just the beginning.” A single coffee mug emoji drives it home.

As you can see, there are many ways to build a stronger relationship with your audience through your Instagram profile. Just remember: you only have 150 characters, so use them wisely!

The Most Powerful Instagram Features for Businesses

Instagram has plenty of cool features that help connect users and enrich relationships. Even if you’re not a religious Instagram user, you’re probably familiar with the most popular ones.

Let’s look at a few features that can help boost your Instagram marketing strategy.

Instagram Hashtags

It seems that hashtags are virtually everywhere on the internet these days. When applied to your marketing strategy, Instagram hashtags are a clear signal to users that your posts are relevant to what they’re looking for.

In fact, many users look for content based on hashtags alone. So if your posts are related to a trending topic, be sure to include the associated hashtag. This can help you get in front of the eyes of people who are genuinely interested in what you have to say.

You can search directly in the Instagram search bar to find trending hashtags and scope out content that others are posting.

Other cool tools like Keyword Tool will generate hashtags for you based on your keywords. Many of these tools offer some free results, but require a paid upgrade for more extensive lists.

It’s also a smart idea to create a branded hashtag and use it frequently. This hashtag might include your company’s name or the name of a particular campaign, event, or promotion.

Instagram Stories

As of January 2019, more than 500 million people use Instagram Stories. The psychology makes sense: they’re a more exciting and ephemeral way to share with your followers, since they can only be 15 seconds long, they disappear after 24 hours, and they aren’t listed on your main profile or feed.

Stories are a worthy addition to your Instagram marketing strategy, as they give you an opportunity to touch on things that are more timely or in-depth, or don’t quite warrant a standard post.

Here are a few ideas for how you can use Instagram Stories:

Answer popular questions within your company’s niche or about your company specifically

Show “behind-the-scenes” content to give your audience a peek at how you do your thing

Promote your content, like a new blog, ebook, or infographic

Have a “takeover” where one of your employees (or an influencer) posts their own content for a day

Poll your audience on a popular topic or ask them for feedback about your company

Host a contest or giveaway in which you ask users to create a post a story that tags your account or includes a branded hashtag

Men’s clothing brand Chubbies has a creative “Welcome Back from the Weekender” series every Monday, which features a compilation of stories that act as a fun news-style show.

Be sure you mind your Instagram Story dimensions so your images and videos don’t look wonky to your viewers.

Instagram Live

Just as the name suggests, Instagram Live is a feature that allows you to engage your audience in a real time “live broadcast” format. This is an especially helpful feature for if you’re attending an event or discussing anything timely or urgent.

The cool thing about Instagram Live is that your story will show up first in your followers’ Story feed, and they’ll also get a notification that it’s happening when they open the app. But with great power comes great responsibility: don’t use this feature unless you have some truly good content to share, or you might push users away for wasting their time.

IGTV

While each Story can only be 15 seconds long, IGTV was made especially for long-form videos. These can be 10 minutes, or up to an hour for accounts with more followers. You can think of it as Instagram’s take on YouTube.

IGTV allows users to search for videos that pique their interest, and also makes recommendations based on their past behavior and activity. This helps make sure that audiences are connected with content they’ll like.

If you’re just starting out, IGTV may not necessarily suit your needs or goals. But if you’re a media company, or otherwise produce long videos, it can be a useful tool for getting your message across and engaging your audience.

Creating an Effective Instagram Marketing Strategy

Just like any other type of strategy, your Instagram marketing strategy will work best if you have a clear goal, choose individual tactics that will gradually build toward that goal, and keep track of your progress along the way so you can tweak where needed.

And that’s exactly what we’ll discuss now.

Identify Goals and Objectives

Your goals and objectives are the pillars of your marketing plan. We like to follow the SMART acronym for goal setting:

Specific: Give exact numbers and milestones instead of a vague goal.

Measurable: Choose goals that are trackable and measurable with analytics and insights.

Attainable: Be realistic. A million followers in a week is prooooobably not going to happen. (Unless you’re an egg.)

Relevant: Stay aligned with your industry, business, and outlook.

Time-bound: Give yourself a timeframe to accomplish the goal.

So instead of saying, “I want more followers,” try something like, “My goal is to gain 500 authentic followers in three months.”

Instead of, “I want more sales,” try, “My goal is to earn $1,000 in revenue from Instagram Ads sales this month.”

And instead of, “I want a more engaged following,” try, “My goal is to grow my engagement rate by 1 percent in six months.” (Check out this article to learn how to calculate and grow your engagement rate.)

Once you set a goal, it’s time to flesh out your Instagram content strategy.

Build Your Instagram Content Strategy

As we discussed earlier, you have several posting options for building your Instagram content strategy. Choosing the right ones depends largely on knowing your audience.

Ask yourself: What are the key demographics of my audience? What do they like to do, see, and experience? What entices and entertains them? How do brands generate trust and motivate them to make a purchase?

You probably won’t know all these answers right away, which is perfectly normal. It’s a learning process that you’ll get the hang of as you go. But you’ll find that as you get a laser-focused understanding of your audience and what makes them tick, your Instagram marketing strategy will perform better and better.

Here are some pointers for building a strong Instagram content strategy:

Make sure every post is aligned with your branding and aesthetic.

Keep a consistent “vibe.” For example, if your brand is high-fashion, ensure that all of your images are high-quality, conjuring feelings of elegance and sophistication. If your brand is quirky or funny, Instagram is a great place to let your true colors shine.

Shoe company Allbirds knows that their audience loves animals and memes, so they incorporate these regularly into their content strategy.

Like this post, which shows a photo of some lambs wearing sweaters, with a caption that reads: “When the whole squad has their fall fashion looks down.” Cute.

Get valuable intel from your friends and enemies.

If you’re just starting out, it can be a huge help to peep at what other companies are up to. Check out top-performing posts from similar brands, your biggest competitors, leaders in specific niches, and the most broadly popular accounts on the platform.

Doing this competitive research will tip you off when it comes to important trends, best practices, and little-known tricks and Instagram hacks to take you to the next level.

Create a social media content calendar to stay on track.

Create a social media content calendar so that you can always stay on top of your Instagram content strategy, ensuring that it’s cohesive and consistent.

To start, write out all of your posts for the next month, scheduling at least three posts per week. If you’re looking for inspiration or having trouble filling in all the spots, take advantage of free templates that follow common post styles and popular posts from other brands.

If you have a few bucks to spare, you can buy full packs that feature several templates with consistent visual themes, like this 48-template Instagram Commerce Pack from Tugcu Design Co.

If you really want to stay on top of things, you can use a tool like Later or Buffer to schedule automatic publishing for your posts. We’ll cover some of these apps a bit later, but in the meantime, here’s a handy guide for scheduling Instagram posts.

Use Instagram Insights to track your performance.

Instagram Insights is a free tool that’s available for everyone with a business profile. It gives you a valuable look at key performance metrics of your account, like how much attention your posts are getting and how engaged users are.

You can also see demographic info on your followers, giving you better intel on finding your target audience on Instagram. While this built-in analytics tool isn’t mind-blowingly comprehensive, it’s a fantastic tool for starters.

Now, let’s go through some tips to get more Instagram followers.

Growing Your Instagram Following

How can I get more followers on Instagram?

It’s a question we get asked all the time. Though there are some great techniques that work well if you already have a popular brand, the good news is that there are also several fantastic Instagram marketing tactics that work even if you’re starting from scratch.

Here are some of the methods you can implement right now to grow your Instagram following.

1. Host a Giveaway with Another Business

Partnering with another business to host a contest or giveaway can work wonders for your following.

Low-sugar chocolate brand Truth Bar, for example, partnered with sugar-free Belgian chocolate brand SkinnyMe Chocolate to host a giveaway that generated solid engagement.

The idea here is that if both of you have similar customer profiles, you’ll both gain high-quality followers. Request that everybody who enters the competition ‘likes’ the post and does some secondary action, like a tag or a follow.

2. Repost Other Companies’ Content

If you’re looking to gain a huge following on Instagram, consider sharing other brands’ content on your account.

This is both a smart and a natural way to get more exposure for your business. When you tag another business in your post and promote their content, they’re likely to reciprocate.

In some cases, they’ll follow you back and promote your business as well. And just as crucial, their followers are likely to take notice of your profile.

You can do this manually or use an app like Repost for Instagram for the purpose.

We suggest you go for the app because it lets you quickly select the accounts you’d like to repost. Plus, it automatically tags the original profile, giving it the credit for the content.

3. Give and Receive Instagram Shoutouts

Another version of the reposting strategy involves shoutouts.

This is where you ask another business in your industry if they would like to post your content, and in return you post theirs. The cool part of it is that you can give and receive shoutouts in various ways.

Digital cameras brand Canon, for instance, allows photographers who own a Canon camera to give it a shoutout using the hashtag #MyCanonStory in the description of their post.

Canon regularly returns the favor by sharing some of the most enticing work from those photographers. Here is an example:

This is a brilliant Instagram marketing strategy that benefits both the brand and its partners, who experience a significant uptick in their following and credibility.

You can learn more about shoutouts in our ultimate guide to Instagram shoutouts. All it takes is finding the right partners who’re open to offering a mutual value exchange.

4. Let an Influencer Take Over

This is a popular tactic that connects your business with an influential person who’s prominent within your industry.

For example, if you’re in the business of selling athleisure, you might collaborate with an athlete or fitness model.

This will expose your company to the influencer’s followers as they announce the Instagram takeover in the days leading up to it.

You can find relevant businesses and individuals to partner with by signing up to influencer marketing platforms. These are online tools that automate the discovery, vetting, and reporting processes, enabling you to focus more on developing influencer relationships and planning memorable takeovers.

5. Write Captions That Move Your Audience

Many people scroll through their Instagram feed when they’re bored or trudging through a mundane daily routine. You can attract and get this audience to follow you by creating intriguing Instagram captions.

The goal is to convey the story or feeling behind your video or image.

If the video or image is about a product, the caption is your canvas to fill in a quick description of your item. Explain why people should care, and don’t forget to include a few emojis.

In general, posts with strong captions can help shape your company’s personality and story. The key is to craft a copy that encourages engagement and makes people realize they need what you’re offering.

These four strategies offer a simple and effective way to increase your follower count. That said, it can take some time for results to come in if you’re starting from scratch with zero followers. That’s because no one knows who you are yet, which makes it hard to get initial followers.

But don’t let that deter you. To hit the ground running, check out our recommended strategies on how to gain followers on Instagram. Who knows, you might get 10,000 followers in as little as six months.

The Best Instagram Apps for 2019

Instagram itself offers tons of useful tools and filters, but sometimes you need a little extra push to set yourself apart from other businesses in a crowded feed.

Fortunately, there are plenty of Instagram apps available to help you do just that.

The best Instagram marketing apps will make your posts memorable, distinguishable, and share-worthy. While you might not be able to entice all 1 billion users, you should be able to attract the attention of those that matter most to your business.

Whether you’re looking to create better images, schedule posts in advance, or delete inactive followers, we’ve rounded up the essential apps that every business should add to their Instagram marketing toolbox. Note: Most of the Instagram apps in the list below are available for both iOS and Android devices.

Photo Editing Apps

There are dozens of flavors of photo editor apps to help you perfect your images. Some of our favorites include:

Snapseed (iOS and Android)

Snapseed’s brush tool enables you to adjust for saturation, color temperature, and exposure, which is ideal for situations where you don’t want to auto-enhance every detail in your image.

VSCO (iOS and Android)

VSCO is popular for its movie-like filters and editing features that often beat Instagram’s in-app offerings in terms of creativity. You can use it to adjust contrast, enhance skin color, darken edges, and more.

Afterlight 2 (iOS)

With this app, you can add text and special typography to your photos. This is an opportunity for you to do something like create hype for a product or promote a sale.

You can also download Instagram video editor apps to edit your clips. Thanks to features like clip trimming and noise reduction, you can create good-looking videos without hiring a pro.

Scheduling Apps

Once you figure out the best time to post on Instagram, you can use scheduling apps to create and push more content to your audience. Here are our picks:

Later (iOS and Android)

Later is extremely simple to use. You just have to upload a media item from your phone’s library into Later’s dashboard, and the scheduler will pop up. You can also write a caption, tag the location where the image or video was captured, and tag profiles of other users to increase your content’s discoverability.

Hootsuite (iOS and Android)

Hootsuite’s “Compose” window lets you decide whether you want to post content now, save it as a draft, schedule it manually, or queue it for later. Other Hootsuite features allow you to measure content performance, follower growth, and more.

Sprout Social (iOS and Android)

Videos and images can be posted and scheduled directly from Sprout Social’s mobile app. You also get access to several features, including a calendar that lets you see all of your scheduled content across social networks.

Content Apps

If you want to get more followers on Instagram, you have to publish content that stands out. That’s where content apps come in. Our favorites include:

StoryLuxe (iOS)

This is one of the best Instagram Story apps out there. You can use it to apply a variety of stylish filters, colors, textures, and templates to your Stories. Most of these are trendy and creative, often inspired by cinematic photography.

Layout (iOS and Android)

Layout is a super-smooth, feature-rich image mixer that instantly lays out up to nine images in several combinations to create a collage. You can select photos from your camera roll or capture them with the built-in image booth as you go.

Splice (iOS)

GoPro’s Splice comes with simple-yet-powerful editing features. You can use it to combine your favorite images and videos into one cohesive media clip, and then use the integrated music library and transition effects to create a masterpiece.

It’s worth experimenting with these apps and using Instagram Insights to monitor how they’re impacting your marketing strategy. Use the ones that have made a positive impact in conjunction with other mobile marketing apps to grow your business. With all the incredible apps available in the market, you’re sure to land some good combinations.

Making Money with Instagram Marketing

If you love being active on Instagram and have a decent number of engaged followers, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to make money from this platform.

While top influencers make millions per post, even those with a following between 1,000 and 10,000 have the potential to turn Instagram into a healthy source of income.

To help get you started, check out these three ideas to start making money with Instagram marketing.

1. Sell Your Own Products

You can start making money by selling any digital or physical product that you manufacture yourself or buy from suppliers.

Physical products require keeping some inventory, meaning you’d need to spend some money to rent a place where you can keep the items. However, not everyone has the startup capital or funds to rent storage space.

The good news is that you can always sell dropshipped products. This technique lets you sell on Instagram without ever holding any inventory.

Once you’ve made a sale the supplier will ship the ordered goods from their facility, straight to the customer’s home. You’ll never need to worry about shipping, storing, or packaging your products.

2. Sign Up For an Affiliate Program

Alternatively, you can sell other people’s products as an affiliate and receive a cut. There are many people and companies that make money from Instagram like this. Make sure to use relevant hashtags on all affiliate posts to reach more audiences who might be interested in taking up your offer.

Affiliates earn their bounty via a promo code or a trackable link (most Instagrammers put it in their bio) to ensure any clicks are converted to sales. You can use these eye-catching post ideas to ensure your content draws people in to check out your affiliate product or service.

Find an affiliate program that pays the commission you want, and is related to the niche of your business in some way. For example, if you’re a veterinarian by profession, you may sign up for an affiliate program promoting a certain pet food brand or supplement.

The best way to do this is to search for your niche or profession on Google, along with the keyword “affiliate programs.” A veterinarian can search for “pet affiliate programs” or “dog food affiliate programs,” for instance.

3. Become an Influencer

With an influencer status, you can start pitching brands to promote their products and services in your posts.

Companies tend to partner with influencers to create sponsored content that helps spread the word about their offerings. Common types of content include an Instagram story or Instagram post that will include an explanation of the business or its products.

So, once you have increased your follower count above a thousand and have a good engagement rate, start your influencer outreach. The easiest way to do this is to send direct messages to brands you think are relevant to your business. If you’ve seen them collaborate with other influencers of your level, they’re likely to be open to hearing what you have to offer.

Top influencers make hundreds to thousands of dollars per sponsored story or post. If you create one piece of sponsored content per day, you can potentially make thousands of dollars per month.

With all of the new features and opportunities available on Instagram (and more to come), the platform is becoming one of the more popular channels for people and companies to make some cash.

Don’t let a small follower count discourage you from selling what you have to offer.

As long as you’re selling high-quality products, signing up for the right affiliate programs, and collaborating with relevant businesses, you’re on the right path to earning money via Instagram marketing.

Or, if you’re looking for tips that will help you create additional streams of potential revenue, check out our detailed guide on how to make money on Instagram.

Harness the Power of Instagram Marketing

Instagram is an absolute powerhouse in the social media world. For brands, there’s a virtually infinite amount of untapped potential to get attention, stimulate engagement, build strong relationships, and cruise past those annual financial goals.

While it can seem like a vast and intimidating world of its own, new companies have nothing to worry about – as long as they’re constantly watching, listening, and learning as they go. If you start your Instagram marketing strategy with a growth mindset, you’ll find that it gets easier and more lucrative as you go. It also gets pretty fun, if you play your cards right.

The post The Complete Guide to Growing Your Business with Instagram Marketing appeared first on Oberlo.

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