Instagram is among the most popular of social media networking websites. It brings people together and allows them to share their lives through pictures. But how useful can Instagram be at driving traffic to your site?

Though this may not be the traditional route to getting new visitors, it can certainly be done. Let’s discuss a few tips on how you can use this social media site to improve your online visibility.

Use Watermarking Strategically

We typically think of watermarking as a way to prevent digital images from being stolen. However, it can also be used as a form of internet marketing by inserting your web address as the mark. It’s important that this mark is dark enough to be noticeable, but transparent enough so that it won’t intrude upon the image.

Use Creative Captioning

There is no better way to drive to your website than an excellent caption. Provide a link to your website and interesting description to go along with it. However, you should be careful when using this method. If the link is not relative to the image it could be viewed as spam and inevitably do more harm than good.

Provide Your Website Address

Make sure you provide a link to your website. This may seem like common sense advice, but surprisingly, it’s something that most people tend to forget. Though Instagram may not be your number one source of traffic, your visitors should always know where they can find you.

Take Advantage Of the ‘Related Images’ Concept

There is a reason why many image hosting sites have a ‘related images’ option. If a user views one image, then there is a very good chance that would like to view similar images. Use this concept to your advantage and post a link to your website that has images that are like the one they are currently viewing. In the caption, encourage them to click your link to review the related images. Remember, don’t post all of your pictures to Instagram; save a few for your website.

Use Fresh Content As Link Bait

Sometimes simply supplying your link isn’t enough. Post images that are new and that would inspire curiosity in your visitor. Maybe something to do with your latest press release or a blog post that you recently added to your site. The caption should hold back a little information in order to entice the reader to click your link.

Be Stingy With Your Image

Sometimes it’s not what the user can see that catches their attention–it’s what they can’t see. Try posting only a small portion of an interesting image. Use a photo editing software to crop the image to the size you’d like. And then provide a link and have them follow it in order to see the full image.

Those who take advantage of Instagram as an internet marketing tool will increase their traffic by leaps and bounds. All it takes is persistence and a knowledge of where to place the links to your website address. One should also be aware of what will grab their audience’s attention.