by Mandy de Waal (@mandyldewaal) Africa’s top Instagrammer, Gareth Pon, is not yet in his 30s, but has crafted a global career as a creative who uses pixels to tell stories. Most of those pixels are on Instagram where — as of August 2015 — the mobile photographer and videographer has more than 246 000 followers.
Pon could easily be a person to envy. He is sponsored by Samsung — the South Korean technology brand that has given Apple a run for its money — and jet-sets to the most-incredible destinations where he meets really interesting people. These include his legions of fans from across the globe.
But it is impossible to covet 28-year-old Pon’s success because he’s genuinely likeable, incredibly smart, undeniably talented and loves sharing the experience and understanding he’s acquired of social media. In short, he’s a lovely person, which is partly the secret to his success.
Get with the medium
Here, the man voted Africa’s top Instagrammer twice running, spills the beans on Instagram and what marketers could do to ‘get’ the medium, and connect to its bountiful audience. Created in 2010 by US coder and entrepreneur Kevin Systrom, and Brazilian software engineer and entrepreneur Mike Krieger, Instagram is unique in that the images and photographs shared are a very specific square format.
A year after launching the service, Instagram already had more than a million users. In April 2012, Facebook acquired the image-sharing site for US$1bn. Today, Instagram has a community of well over 300m.
Gareth Pon: I always recommend that brands use Instagram. It’s a great way for them to visually communicate and tell stories. Brands need to know that the approach to Instagram should be well thought-out and curated, if these brands hope to do well on the platform.
The entire culture of Instagram is different to other platforms and many brands have posted aimlessly in the hopes of doing well. When consulting, I always begin with telling brands that they need to find a clear intention when they start on the platform.
MdW: How should brands position themselves on Instagram?
GP: Brands need to always find a unique creative way to break through the noise; there is A LOT of content out there and among this content is some really great content. When brands interact with the platform, it needs to be an approach that foremost involves a creative approach.
MdW: Which brands on Instagram do you respect?
GP: @nike — Culture drives their content. Their photography is beautiful and their approach is always powerful; @oreo — there’s a huge fun approach to everything they do; [and] @samsungmobile_de — the perfect combination of brand and product.
MdW: How can brands work with Instagrammers?
GP: Brands usually utilise Instagrammers as influencers, but the extension of this is to have brands focus on content that will live forward with that brand. Many brands partner with Instagrammers long-term, allowing them to have ongoing relationships that involve creating great content, influence and culture.
MdW: What advice do you have for brands in this regard?
GP: Start fresh. Don’t duplicate what someone else has done; rather come up with something unique. There is a huge opportunity for brands to do really unique campaigns on Instagram. Never forget that Instagram is first and foremost a visual platform, and strong imagery will always do way better than average content.
MdW: Any other thoughts or advice for marketers?
GP: Remember any business relationship should always be a conversation; if you don’t have an open approach to the platform, you’ll never be able to create something amazing.
MdW: What are your thoughts about Instagram opening up its advertising platform?
GP: To be honest, I think this is has tainted the platform a bit, but it was also inevitable. In reality, it’s part of the usual evolution of every platform; it’ll take away a lot of opportunities for influencers but it’ll also create a lot of new opportunities. Only time will tell how this will influence the platform as a whole.
MdW: What advice do you have for Instagrammers wanting to work with brands?
GP: Think forward, understand your value and offer what you’re best at. Instagram is still growing and many people are still only starting to understand the platform. Instagrammers should direct their type of content toward arenas where they’d hope to work — for instance, if you want to work with food brands, post more food content.
MdW: What’s your best advice to other emerging creatives wanting to grow their brands?
GP: Be unique and tell your story. There is a lot of content out there — what makes you unique?
Find Pon online on Twitter, Instagram or at GarethPon.com.
Mandy de Waal is a writer based in Cape Town, South Africa. Follow her on Twitter at @mandyldewaal or email her at MandyLdeWaal [@] gmail.com.
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This (and Gareth) is very insightful. I love the advise he gives brands who wish to work with Instagram.
Here (in Kenya), a week-long feature using an influencer running the brands account or some quick turnaround project is what advertising agencies and brands push for when it comes to Instagram. With a camera in everyone’s pocket, it takes a long term vision to be stand out.
I hope to see brands in Africa change their tack and understand the gain of long term engagement over short bursts of sporadic advertising.