As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. What better way to speak to people than a thousand words at a time? Whether you’ve been on this platform since its inception or you’re new to the "insta-game," all brands should be utilizing Instagram if they want to resonate with their targeted audience. Instagram is wonderfully simplistic and the most personal of the mobile platforms. It’s full of potential for connecting with a brand on a more intimate level. And if you’re thinking it’s just for millennials, you’re wrong. All ages and brands can benefit from what this app has to offer in terms of marketing. Here are eight reasons why all brands should be using Instagram.
1. Smart Phones Are Growing In Popularity
Since Instagram is a smart phone app, it is crucial that people have a smart phone to access it. Thankfully, smart phones are becoming more ubiquitous by the day. While people used to rely only on their computer or tablet to surf the web, now the majority of people use their smart phone to access the internet. Unlike Facebook and
2. Customers Are Guaranteed To See Your Posts
Since Facebook started charging for marketing, it is becoming more difficult for companies to compete with bigger brands. With Instagram, 100% of the content you post will be seen by your "followers"; there is no way to block content from a newsfeed without completely unfollowing an account. This means more customers will be able to view all of your photos and content, which in turn will create more recognition for your brand.
3. People Engage More With Instagram
A study recently showed that 71% of online adults are plugged into Facebook, whereas only 26% of online adults use Instagram. However, that smaller group of Instagram followers is far more likely to engage and even share your content than the large percentage of people on Facebook would. Instagram delivers an engagement rate of 4.21% per follower, a whopping 58 times more engagement per follower than Facebook.
4. You Can Build A Targeted Following Through Hashtags
Hashtags are an important feature because they allow you as a brand to target your marketing to individuals who are directly interested in your product or service. Most companies average about seven hashtags per photo they post. If you search for hashtag topics that best relate to your company, you can find people who are specifically interested in that product or service and then directly target those people instead of wasting effort by directing attention at people who aren’t at all interested.
5. Instagram Allows For Creativity
Instagram is essentially a visual storytelling app. There are so many different colors/filters you can add to your photos to present them in a way that tells a story of your brand. Not only that, but it allows to you to tell that story over an extended period of time. Users can scroll through your profile and get a feel for what your brand is without even necessarily clicking on a specific picture.
Creating content for your Instagram account can be a bit of a challenge, but it is well worth the effort. Not only do your pictures showcase your product or service, but captions also aid in branding your platform. Regardless of the industry you’re in, creative captions can take your post from simply an alluring image to something that resonates with followers enough for them to turn around and share your image with their own followers. Free advertising. Boom.
7. You Can Relate To Your Audience
Many fashion brands love to post "behind the scenes" images of their work. It gives fans a look at not only the finished product, but also the inspirational process that drives the designer to create that certain piece or even an entire collection. This doesn’t only apply to fashion, either. Followers love to see the daily routines of their favorite brands. The day-to-day normality of your work gives followers a more personal connection with you or your brand, which will solidify their support of whatever you’re offering them.
8. It Makes Your Brand Easier To Search For
Even if not for all the other reasons above, being on another form of social media can optimize your ability to be found by potential customers. Research shows that, based on the 81% of American adults who use the internet, 52% now use two or more social media sites, which is a significant increase since previous years. To be easily found on search engines, you need to have content on many different channels. This means using multiple outlets to build your online reputation. So, while having a Facebook page or even Twitter account for your company is a good start, adding Instagram can do wonders to help boost your overall online presence.
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