In the jungle of the debates surrounding that acquisition, a couple of articles analyzed aspects of what lead Instagram to such a sky-rocketting success.

Among the success factors mentioned, let’s recap the most significative ones, inspired by Ann Handley’s article and augmented with my own filters:

- the power of visual story-telling
- a sense of intimacy mixed to universality
- a true unique mobile experience
- the power of the emotional connection
- some technical easy-to-use tricks, aka filters!, making any amateur feel like kind of a pro, but also giving new support to true photographers
- the ability to share with other networks
- the ability to augment pictures with geolocation data and any other data embodied in #hashtags.
- of course, all the “social glue magical features“, such as the ability of following, liking, commenting, mentioning, sharing, #hashtaging.

Many of the above mentioned elements are explained in this excellent article of the NYT, particularly in this statement: “You see that in Instagram. It’s not a technology triumph. It’s a design and psychology triumph.”

But at my great surprise, I never read any mention of a crucial element in Instagram success, in my opinion: a strong community management!

To me, Instagram is a model of community management.

Here are some key elements that make Instagram more than an app, but a vibrant community:

- shared values:
love of photography, of visual communication, of beauty, exchange, empowerement, to name only a few.
- existence, names and community managers for sub-communities:
@igerssuisse, for example, or #teamrebels. All sub-communities related to a country or region have their own account , hashtag, community manager. They tend to emerge freely, and thus have all their own specificities. They highlight members (their pictures!) in their region/country, they often run contests, related Facebook pages with lots of information, provide helpful information, they organize meetings, and so on. In Switzerland, for example, there are 2 dynamic community managers for the country, running the account @igerssuisse, a Facebook Page , Twitter account and Google+ page. And as sub-sub communities, you can find local Instagram communities, such as @IgersGeneva, @igersZürich, @igersvalais, etc…
- a community manager, @philgonzalez, playing a central role in the dynamics of the community (and its fast growing rate, too, I am sure):
He, Phil Gonzalez, is at the heart of the community dynamics, which, in turn, spilled further by its own. You just have to turn to the website “Instagramers” to understand the work behind, sustaining the Instagram users community: practical help, contests, gatherings (with a specific name “the Instameets”), with slogans such as “Let’s Instagram the World”.
- a name for the community members:
the “Instagramers” or “IGers”, strenghtening the identification to the community
- gatherings:
one of the glue of the community identity stems from numerous meetings “in real life”, called “instameets”, largely publicized on Instagram, obviously through pictures and tags! But having people meet, share a passion, tricks, wander together and taking pictures, then sharing them plays a big role in the community feeling, loyalty and growth.
- contests:
hubs, themes, many contests have blossomed, relying, as any contest, partly on the gaming trigger.
- members empowering and rewarding:
By following closely their community members, commenting, liking, highlighting their pictures (in some specific occasions), the community managers feed the – uncounscious – need of recognition (love?).

Of course, at the heart of the mechanics, there’s the technology and particularly the power of #hashtags, allowing to curate, gather, highlight, communicate, integrate, etc…

Another striking element to me is the volunteer-based work, but just as you can see in many communities. And this is maybe also a reflection-worthy element, if you’re in the community management activity: how to leverage and/or empower the community members strongly enough for them to become volunteer and help the community – and in the end become the strongest evangelists?

I just wanted to highlight a phenomenon mainly ignored (from outside of the community at least) and that could be helpful for any community manager.

As a side note, and in the light of the previously listed main elements of Instagram community management, I just wonder if it has been valuated and rewarded in the transaction..?! Maybe Phil Gonzalez would like to add a word? Or anyone knowing more about it?

Also, I would be glad to have you comment here about this discussion and other aspects of the community management that have maybe been undervalued.

To finish, it was funny to follow the saga of the acquisition on different platforms, from “the outside” (as already related at the beginning of the article) and from the “inside”, to emphasize the feeling of community!

The story can therefore be told with different angles (as it is true for any story) and fueled with different emotions. I first took notice of the news on Instagram, via the image shared at the top, and saw there the first, mainly hot! , reactions! Then I turned to Twitter and Facebook for more factual and less emotional information.

Here, 2 reactions, from which some tempered quickly :)

Update, April 23:

Here’s the answer of Phil Gonzalez on Twitter:

The conference was very rich, with many inspiring talks.

BUt the one that stroke me the most and for which I mostly wanted to attend the conference, was Michael Yaziji’s – Rethinking the structure of corporations .

No slides, a clear vision, that intends to rethink capitalism, integrating social aspects.

Coming from a finance professor at IMD, the prestigious Business School, expected ( I wrongly assumed) to perpetuate a – hard – capitalistic vision, really surprised me, and delighted me!

So it is with a huge pleasure that I share here his talk at TEDxLausanne and invite you to listen at him.. and think about what his vision could change to our daily life.

Taken from the video:

Michael Yaziji, professor at IMD http:://www.imd.org focuses especially on the relationship between corporations, NGOs and government. He has a strong interest in issues associated with sustainability and the environment, and in the role of the corporation in a changing world.

In his talk, he argues that the existing corporate structure is no longer optimally adapted to the needs of society or of corporations themselves. He proposes some bold suggestions about the modifications he sees as necessary.

• set a couple of objectives before going: business objectives (e.g.meet x people with a specific purpose) as well as more personal objectives, more about new perspectives. This will help you focus your attention on the most important things for you, even if serendipity can bring along good surprises. 
• take time to have a look at the participants, again with your objectives in mind, even if the presentation doesn’t facilitate this (participants are lisited by alphabetical order and with no keywords visible, for example)
• in order to facilitate the networking and growing highly targeted contacts on Twitter, have a look at the participants on Twitter, here’s a list by B-M Switzerland
• create a list on Twitter to follow the hashtag of the conference #lift12, and , of course, connect, connect, connect!
• try to add your personal point of view/additions, when live-tweeting, always with the hashtag (#lift12), but don’t spam the timeline neither!
• If you can, try to organize a workshop, it’s a good way of diving deeply into your subject and a unique opportunity to get experience and input from brilliant people, from diverse horizons.
• be prepared with your personal “tagline”, matching your objectives: the way you’ll present yourself will play a big role in the success of your “networking” (seen in its broader meaning)
• avoid facility, don’t stick too long with known friends, even if you’re happy to see them, but instead don’t hesitate to place yourself in uncomfortable situations, where you’ll have to do big efforts towards “strangers”!
• if you can, take notes and wrap them up on a blog, it will help you “digest” the rich content and add another look or perspective to the Lift experience for others
• use and abuse of the experience corner: arts mixed with all kinds of experimental projects, interaction design, among others, will truly help you think out of the box and infuse new perspectives into your life. Maybe. Surely. 

Enjoy!
And comment with your own advice!

After having read “This Is Generation Flux: Meet The Pioneers Of The New (And Chaotic) Frontier Of Business”, I definitely decided to embrace my different sides, without boundaries of “professional” or personal or whatever other artificial frontier. No, we are all made of multiple facets, every one nourrishing the other ones.

Once again, it is an intimate event that forced me to take a slight distance with my usual “stance”, to take a step back.

And it finds its natural place here, where I aim at bringing together convergent tracks.

It’s a story about a loss. Such a big loss that one cannot keep going as if nothing had happened. Because the world will no longer be the same. Never. Ever.
Loss means “hole”. Disbalance. Dizziness. Grief.

The risk is seing the hollow instead of the full. To fall into the hole.

But one can also chose to see the “full”, the bright side, what has been received, more than what has been lost.

That’s what I have decided to do.

Being of that “Gen Flux”, it naturally came to my mind to mix different elements in order to achieve a result full of meaning, diving into the intimate to extract some universal sense. A sense of humanity. Of sharing.

Strangely, it brings me back to the origins of this blog, initially created at the death of my uncle, a visionair.

So, this project is called “Ursulove”, to celebrate what I received from my 27 years of friendship with my friend Ursula, who so tragically passed away 2 months ago. This is the intimate part. I will share some bits of thoughts via Instagram, linked to a tumblr blog.
Why this format? Because I very often have thoughts to share, but never have the time to build them more consistently. So I thought that an addition of pictures, augmented with texts, related by a common tag, #ursulove, would create, in “the end”, a true story rich of meaning.

But, I’ve been thinking, too, that personal losses have a universal side. And that it would be enrichening to have in addition testimonials of other people about what they have “received” through similar events, losses. So I would like to encourage people to share their stories on Instagram, with the tag #lifeisgoodclo. Or to participate to the blog.

So that it wouldn’t be just a personal testimonial of a loss , but a sense of universality in this experience. That coul be helpful or inspiring to many other people.

The project URSULOVE is HERE.

It is just in its raw shape.

But if you feel like participating, adding your voice, your own experience, I would love to add it to the blog. So contact me at cbenassi at convergenttracks dot com.

The project is in French, but open to any other language.

One of the first presents that I received through this experience, is the need to connect back to a passion: writing.

But I am forever grateful to my friend for every second shared together, for every smile, laugh, worry, for her children smiles, for connecting back to old friends, for being her, simply. I will cultivate the flowers of this garden.

Traditionnally, you have the 4 P’s of the marketing-mix: Product, Price, Placement (distribution), Promotion.

With new technologies and new media, the 4 P’s remain, but they can be influenced and enhanced in new ways: internet has deeply modified the distribution channels, technology can augment information about the product and the experience with the product (or the brand), you can have more price segments and price calculation, such as dynamic pricing (think of EasyJet), and last but not least, the promotion opportunities have grown exponentially, bringing along huge progress (segmentation, tracking, social graphs, etc..).

But considering the contribution of new media & communication tools to the above mentioned objectives, coming back to the basic sometimes cannot hurt.

And for me, explaining the different aspects, in a very simple (yes, a bit simplistic, too!) way would be as in the image. From there on, you can dive into details, explain the points of convergence, how social media mechanisms impact almost all aspects and how to leverage them in an optimal way according to your company’s objectives. But at least you can get the big picture.

The mobile is in grey, but it could be illustrated in another way, as it permeates all aspects of communication, now.

Do you agree with the general idea? What would you add or change? And why? I would love to know!

This time is dedicated to celebrate joy, love, even for a little tiny second, it matters.

Life can be stolen so abruptly, sometimes, it’s good to remind the moments of “fullness”, to be thankful for what we’ve got and stop a second to think about it.

In a period where I can feel the loss, where a part of me has been teared away, making the ground uncertain, bringing waves of saddness, I want to see everything that has been sowed and that I can cultivate.

And, from there, I’d like to share with you some thoughts, on what to cultivate in 2012, for any of us, to make it sparkling & joyful:

* the joy of a smile
* a kind word
* listening
* giving: time, attention, a thought, a gaze
* opening the space

For, every moment cultivated in that spirit will help make the following come true. And it matters:

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel” -Maya Angelou*

I felt good so many times thanks to my friend. To her, I say “Thank you”.

And other friends and family help me feel good, and to them I say “Thank you”.
And to all of you: A Happy 2012.

* Quotation offered by a friend. :-)

Powerful for brands that have a channel to communicate with their community in an emotional way, a way of strenghtening the love.

But there’s more than that: there’s also the power of the “# hashtag”, allowing for themed, convergent channels, the hub of “the shared love”.

There’s a big potential for brands to tap into the emotional and technological power of Instagram, with a good use of the “# hashtag” as a hub and it’s surprising to see so few examples, yet.

The best example so far is given by Ford, who has launched a campaign in Europe for the Ford Fiesta using all the above mentioned elements: the Fiestagram, in addition to more typical marketing tools, such as contests with incentives, prizes, etc…

There’s a channel on Instagram and a dedicated Facebook page.

And to make it more relevant and lasting over time, there are more than one #hashtag. There’s the main # for the contest, #fiestgram, and then there are different themes, where people will be asked to take pictures of selected items or situations and tag them accordingly, to make them participate to a weekly challenge. The aim is to highlight the technology, pleasure, special features, etc.. #hidden (for hidden gems), #listening, etc.. In other words: to share the love.

And here’s the challenge’s rules in video: wXme8JAMPwM

Another example that I really liked, mixing also some of these elements is given by Bergdorf Goodman, extracting all pictures on Instagram containing the tag #bgshoes and displaying them on an interactive map of New-York: http://blog.bergdorfgoodman.com/bg-shoes/. They ask people having bought shoes at their store to take a picture “of their shoes in NYC” and to upload it on Instagram with the tag. The result is a map “augmented” by a very special look of NYC, it’s beautiful, emotional, original and mixes the love of the shoes, of New-York, and, in the end, of Bergdorf Goodman!
So, it’s your turn now to imagine original campaigns, tapping into your customers’ love for your brand, to empower them and highlight the result!

UPDATE 24 Nov: seen on PSFK, more stat about the contest: “The submitted images appear in a Facebook gallery and the best submissions will be published on billboards and photography galleries across Europe. The contest has received over 11,000 images in just over 4 weeks and the winner will be announced December 9th.
UPDATE Jan. 24: a couple of weeks later, I stumbled upon this great article on MarketingProfs, written by Ann Handley (love her!), I had the feeling of reading the reflection of my mind! Except that it added an important notion that I forgot in my article: the notion of “story”. True. Just read the full article!
UPDATE Jan. 17: there’s been another innovative campaign using Instagram “power”: the bmibaby campaign, asking people to tag their pictures with specific tags related to their country. First I saw it was about “#myswitzerland”. This allowed thousands of – beautiful – pictures, with as many perspectives as there were peopple and pictures. It results into a destination catalogue made out of pictures taken by others, with a much more powerful impact.
And, also, as mentioned in the article, AirFrance embraced Instagram too with a contest and beautiful pictures. See pictures below.
Did you notice other examples of brands using Instagram? Would you share them here? Or more personal experiences on Instagram?
Or would you just share your Instagram ID so that we can connect?
Mine is @clodia_me :)

Students (MBA, Masters and undergraduates) will get a essence of…

Answer on the 9th !

Initially, this post was a mistake! It wasn’t intented to be published here, but on another blog, where I post more “on the go”. What is specific to Posterous, is that you can automatically link it to other platforms (Facebook, Twitter, blogs). But this is at the same time a tricky functionnality, since having multiple blogs usually means different “targets”. And you don’t necessarilly want to overflood your “public” (friends, followers) with the same content. Usually, I manually choose to what platform what content to share.
What happened is that I tried Instagram, a mobile application that lets you transform your pictures and give them a 70′s feeling. I linked it to Posterous, thinking it was a nice place to start with. But, O surprise! I found the same picture on all my social networks, automatically published! The system didnt’ allow to select to which site to publish the photo.
I decided then to delete some of them (on Twitter, Facebook) and leave it on some blogs, and to build meaning around it.

What kind of meaning?, one could ask.

A meaning arising from different perspectives brought together: a service like Instagram is more than just another application. Photos have a strong emotional power. Moreover, by its “retro-like” effects it convokes nostalgia; by having you transforming your own pictures, it makes you more engaged; by connecting you with other people and giving to all of you the possibility to interact, to share, to like, to comment, it touches you.

And creates an emotional connection.

You are free to live the experience on a personal level.
But you can also see it as an opportunity as communications’ link for a brand, a company. All while keeping live the genuine aspect. Just interacting on a more emotional level, to share passion, to connect in the instant. And go.

It can be seen as anecdotic, but it represents an opportunity to create a connection, a link. The famous one to one relationship. Without being intrusive or “evil”!
I see it as an opportunity, for example, for hotels: being located in beautiful places, like many of them are, in Valais, for instance, gives them an advantage. Pictures are an ideal way to convey the beauty of a place. And social networks like Facebook (Page) a perfect medium to share it. That’s what I explain (with the same picture, posted there automatically !), on a blog dedicated to hoteliers and tourism pros (in French).

So, now, you know: I am on Instagram, too. Let’s connect!
If you’d like to discover other mobile applications for photography, here are 2 links really interesting: on NYT and on Mashable.
Enjoy! And come back here and share your experiences with those applications. Or others. Do you use mobile applications for photography? How? With what purpose? In a private way? Professional? Both?

Your company is on many different markets, with people speaking several languages?
This is a highly challenging situation faced by social media/communication/marketing – name them as you want – strategists.
If you add to this that you are a small company , aka with limited ressources, I bet that you have to be very creative to overcome some obstacles!
Let’s assume that the objectives have already been set (and shared), some of the challenges will be:

• What kind of information for what market on what social platform?
• Content production:
• think languages/translations before creating content
• Share and (try to) avoid redundance (between languages, personal and company’s profiles, for instance)
• Centralized/decentralized content creation? Both? How? by whom? How to allocate resulting costs?
• Who’ll be responsible? With what margin of freedom? (to be outlined in the guidelines)
• Guidelines: anticipate a maximum of mistakes, unpleasant, akward things that might happen. Clearly set the objectives. Translate them. Yes, it might seem anecdotic, but to translate 10-15 pages PPT into at least 2 languages, is a bit of a pain (and a hidden cost)! Plenty of things don’t need to be translated, but the guidelines are strategical and must be understood. (in my opinion). How to give directions, instructions, balancing autonomy and restrictive input? Where to set the limits? What kind of control to apply?
• Training: even if the guidelines are the most thorough possible, training people before they get into social media is necessary. To give them confidence, to help them dive into “it” and to guarantee as much as possible consistency throughout the different media.
• Keep a track record of results, aggregation, re-distribute for sharing insights-> organize, plan
• Monitoring: train – with no pain (?)! Control.

I stop here, my purpose wasn’t to do a how to or “do’s and don’t's”, but it was just to share a challenging situation I’m facing right now.
If you already went through that kind of problems, I would love to know how you handled them, if you found some tricks to make it smoother, maybe?
If you faced unforeseen difficulties, or, on the contrary, good suprises or unexpected positive results, it would be great if you could share them :-)
For the fun, I share with you an extract of our guidelines (still in process), for our Italian partners: it’s in Italian, and you’ll understand why ;-)