Instagram: The New Platform For Online Businesses

Instagram is undeniably one of the most advantageous social platforms for businesses today. With over 1 billion monthly active users, the platform is a great digital marketing platform if utilized effectively. But what exactly makes Instagram, a social channel used mostly for posting filtered selfies or food pics not too long ago, the go-to platform for not only millennials and Gen Z but big brands and businesses too?

This visual-based social media platform has seen massive growth over the last few years. It combines some of the most popular features from other social sites like disappearing Stories with face filters (Snapchat), archived video creation and sharing (YouTube) and a newsfeed (Facebook) that’s more visually appealing and less content-heavy. Most importantly, they continually keep rolling out new features like the more-recent innovation – IGTV. Here are some key Instagram statistics for 2020:

Image Credits: Hootsuite

Image Credits: Hootsuite

So, whether you are a big brand or a small business, if you are not on Instagram then you are missing out on a great opportunity to reach a large section of your audience. We give you 6 reasons why Instagram marketing benefits for your online business below.

1. Storytelling

People are engaged by stories as storytelling is a part of human nature. From a business perspective, engrossing your audience with an interesting story is a great way to create an emotional connection with them. And Instagram is a great platform for building such stories. It helps you build a relationship with potential future customers and brand ambassadors. Use the Instagram feed to focus on feelings and emotions rather than pushing your products.

2. Visual Content

Over the years our patterns of content consumption have evolved. Just a few decades ago we relied heavily on print media like newspapers, hoardings and auditory media like radio. But today the story is different, it’s all about visuals. So creating visual content is essential to your marketing strategy. Photos and videos are the most engaging content on the Web and Instagram is a great platform to engage your fans and keep them coming back for more.

3. Wider Reach

As mentioned earlier, Instagram sees a huge number of monthly users. This offers businesses a huge potential audience. Hashtags, again a popular indexing tool in this modern era, are the best means of getting your content out there so that the people searching for them or following them find you easily. Be sure to use relevant hashtags that resonates with your target audience. Targeted ads can also widen your reach to include more potential customers.

4. Community Engagement

Among all the popular social media channels, Instagram has the highest average engagement rate. It also has a higher brand engagement rate, which means users are more open to branded content here than on other platforms. This is good news for brands looking to build a community of customers talking about your brand or sharing. Start conversations using your brand hashtags and inspire followers to join in. Remember to engage with them with genuine replies on comments and showing that you care. Real engagement leads to loyal customers!

5. Feedback & Insights

With modern tools like social media listening, you can keep track of your mentions on Instagram. Since most users are on Instagram, chances are they are talking about it too. They would be publishing pictures of your products or services with their genuine feedback. This can be a smart way to gather insights. You can use these feedbacks to understand customer perception, identify brand advocates and create relevant content to capitalize or address any issues.

6. Competitor Tracking

Another great way to use Instagram is to keep an eye on what your competitors are doing. Digital engagements formats change at a rapid rate and ensuring success is all about hopping on the latest trend and making it work for you. If your competitors are doing a good job on that you should follow their activity and then re-evaluate your own strategy. By keeping track of this, you will be able to identify some best industry practices and evolve your own marketing strategy.

So, we hope you have the answer as to why Instagram is crucial for your online business. Having said that coming up with an Instagram marketing strategy is not that simple. You have to take a lot of factors into consideration to make that strategy work for you. As a growth marketing agency, our forte is not only developing a strategy that works but also one that drives your business growth. Feel free to reach out to us to discuss an effective growth strategy for your business.