Back in April, Facebook purchased Instagram, the popular photo-sharing application, for about $1 billion in cash and stock - its largest acquisition to date. Zuckerberg and his colleagues believe that Facebook (News - Alert) and Instagram are two different experiences that truly complement each other.
Months after the acquisition, the two social networks are finding success in their partnership. A provider of Facebook fan page management, TabSite, has introduced a new Instagram Contest app for Facebook Pages. This innovative tool enables brands on Facebook to engage mobile users via Instagram for a Facebook-Instagram social campaign.
“We recognize that with Facebook's purchase of Instagram and the continuing rise in smart phone use, a great way to reach people and drive engagement is through mobile friendly social promotions,” said TabSite co-founder, Troy Rumfelt, in a statement.
Image via Facebook.com
TabSite was established in 2012 to meet the growing demands of digital marketers who were looking to use Facebook as a marketing tool. Today, the company’s custom content solutions and social engagement applications inspire fan participation, drive traffic and increase exposure for businesses around the world. The Instagram Contest App easily allows Facebook users to create, promote and manage an Instagram contest, enabling brands to interact with the smart phone user base.
Using the app, participants upload photos by including the brand’s specified hashtag and @mention of the brand’s Instagram handle. Individual entries are then automatically populated with user information including name, location, and Instagram handle, on the Facebook page tab. To encourage votes, fans can share entries with friends and followers on Facebook, Instagram, and other social networks to strengthen the campaign reach. Additionally, brands can promote the contest within the manager by scheduling social messages via HootSuite, Buffer, Plan Your Post or Sendible.
To Zuckerberg, the fact that Instagram is connected to other services beyond Facebook is important. He wants to keep features including the ability to post to other social networks, the ability to not share your Instagrams on Facebook if you want, and the ability to have followers and follow people separately from your friends on Facebook.
“Millions of people around the world love the Instagram app and the brand associated with it, and our goal is to help spread this app and brand to even more people,” said Zuckerberg.
As one of the first developers of social marketing tools for Facebook, TabSite gives businesses the latest tools and technologies to market their businesses successfully. Businesses of all sizes have access to a variety of solutions, from design control and integrated social sharing to engagement apps and custom language tools.
Rumfelt continued, “We are excited to offer this leading edge tool to companies wanting to maximize their social and mobile marketing.”