Are you wondering if you should use Instagram for business? Based on the recent growth and engagement rate of this network, it’s wise to consider adding it to your social media marketing plan. Here are 7 reasons why it may work for your small business.
1. Instagram was the fastest growing social network in 2014
With Instagram’s growing popularity, there’s a good chance some of your target audience is on the site.
As noted in this article from Fast Company:
The number of users has increased 66%…the fastest growing of the top 10 mobile apps.
2. Be an early adopter and get ahead of the competition
How many of your competitors are on Instagram? Your company can put a serious strategy in place now, and be ahead of the crowd.
Test the waters if you’re not sure about a business account: you can start to incorporate the occasional post about your business into your personal account and see what kind of response you get.
If you see a chance to connect with your target audience, you might consider creating a second account just for business.
3. Visual content is “king”
As visuals become more important in your content strategy, it makes sense to have a presence on at least one visually-based platform. Instagram and Pinterest are the two big ones in this arena, and if you already have a Pinterest account, you’ll find that you can make posts that look great on both sites.
Take a look at what some of the bigger brands in your industry are doing on Instagram, and research a few of the top hashtags of interest to your target audience. Iconosquare or Tagboard are a couple of sites that can help you search for popular Instagram hashtags.
If you’re a B2B brand, then check out what some of the top Instagram accounts are doing here.
4. Instagram users are engaged
According to recent statistics cited in this article from Entrepreneur magazine:
Engagement on Instagram is 15 times that of Facebook’s
If you share interesting posts with hashtags that relate to the topic, you can attract some very engaged users on Instagram. Remember to respond to comments and engage with other users as well.
5. Easy integration with your Facebook Page
Here’s another interesting statistic from Entrepreneur:
94 percent of Instagram users are on Facebook
Is your organic Page reach declining on Facebook? You may find that Instagram sends more traffic to your Facebook Page. You can put your Facebook Page link in your website field on Instagram or reference your Facebook Page occasionally in posts.
Or you may find that the visual content you’re sharing from Instagram to Facebook results in more engagement on your Facebook Page. There are a variety of mobile Apps that help you create eye-catching images for Instagram that also look great on Facebook.
Sharing posts from Instagram to Facebook (either your Profile or a Page) is very easy to do, and any hashtags you’ve included on the Instagram post are “live” on Facebook as well.
6. No filtered feed (for now)
Unlike Facebook’s News Feed, your home feed on Instagram is not filtered. There are no algorithms to worry about: your Instagram followers will see everything you post (in real-time, if they’re on the site when you post it; and by easily scrolling through posts and your profile).
7. People to People (instead of business-to-people)
Sharing the personal side of your business is one way to make better connections with your target audience. So by posting a few Instagram photos of you, your employees, behind-the-scenes of your business, etc., you are connecting in a more human or “people-to-people” way.
This can lead to stronger online relationships in the long-term with your prospects and clients.
So if you have time to add Instagram to your marketing mix, I’d suggest you jump on the network sooner rather than later.
Need help with your Instagram account? Contact us now – we’d love to assist you!
About Terry League