Using Instagram as a marketing channel?

What are some strategies to use Instagram as a marketing channel for your website?

It's a misconception that you need to sell visual product to use Instagram for marketing.

There are lots of brands killing it on Instagram with things like:

• Photos of their culture (Starbucks posts photos of their baristas in action).
• Photos of the company's good will (eBay did this recently by posting photos of employees helping out at Second Harvest Food Bank).
• Celebration of an event.
• Photos of schwag (Hipmunk did this and make it a contest to get them for free).
• Photos of your people at work (Almond Surfboards shows hand crafting of their boards).
• Cute photos that relate to your brand (MailChimp does this with their monkey).
• It dosn't have to be a photo! Some brands post coupons every now and then also.
• Photos of customers using your product / service (Ben & Jerry's does this).

You can even measure the impact of your Instagram efforts with these tools:

• Sumall
• Statigram
• Simply Measured
• Nitrogram

To add to Bruce's great answer:

1. Use hashtags in your photos
Add 1-2 relevant hashtags when you post photos -- it'll give you more visibility in the search.

2. Connect all other social channels
Don't forget to connect all your other social accounts to Instagram -- so people can reach you there from your bio.

3. Post quality, personable photos
One thing I've noticed is that the most popular brands aren't using professional equipment to take their photos. The photos are of quality, but taken with a normal phone camera to be more personable.

4. Write short, concise captions
A picture is worth a thousand words, but a relevant caption only enhances your communication.

5. Tag people
But don't go overboard. Only tag the actual people in your photos. This makes your brand more personable.

6. Like photos and leave comments
Be on the look out for photos that are going viral which relate your own niche and message. Like them and leave a memorable comment.

7. Respond to questions
Respond to people when they leave questions in your photo comments.