Incorporate photo-sharing app Instagram into your social media strategy with the help of advice from the Entrepreneur.com article “5 Ways Instagram Can Boost Your Marketing Plan.” With 80 million active users, Instagram is becoming a major player in the social media world, and it’s a great tool for building brand recognition and customer loyalty. Here are five ways to use Instagram to boost your marketing efforts:

1. Promote your goods and services. Keep your products and services fresh on the minds of your followers by regularly posting photos of your offerings. Showcase new products and services and try to be creative with your shots to gain more attention.
2. Host photo contests. Photo contests are one way to reach new audiences and interact with your followers. Offer a small prize for the person who posts the best or most creative picture in a category of your choosing. Choosing a contest category that reflects your brand and will allow pictures to serve as free ads for your business is the key. For a change of pace, hold a “caption contest” where you invite followers to submit entertaining captions for one of your pictures.
3. Create images that feature promotional codes. Offering exclusive discount and coupon codes through your Instagram photos will help you build followers quickly. Make sure to use the hashtag #promocode to reach deal seekers that might not see your photos otherwise.
4. Go behind-the-scenes. Familiarize your followers with your business and staff by posting candid shots of employees and “behind-the-scenes” business activities. It’s an easy way to personalize your business.
5. Make your followers stars.  Select a “follower of the day” and give him or her a shout-out with a @mention. It will build buzz and surely get the attention of at least one person per day.

Click here to read the entire article from Entrepreneur.com.