Businesses cannot ignore social media and, in particular, Instagram is an invaluable tool with over one billion monthly audience and more than 800 million users of Stories.
Officially released in October 2010, Instagram has risen to fame as an essential marketing tool not only because 90 percent of the top brands around the world are now using it. Here you can find the main opportunities that Instagram provides to companies, and how to harness them.
1. Visual Appeal
Related to the app’s visual presentation and strong focus on images and videos, it becomes quite suitable for business promotion as it attracts attention. Promotions help organizations to appeal to their audience by using their products and allowing interested clients to make their own decisions. Information that is captured from behind the scenes, the milestones of the players, or even the corporate goals and objectives also make the businesses approachable and personal with followers.
2. High Engagement Rates
Of course, the most valuable asset has always been Instagram placed at the forefront in terms of user engagement. Information such as images and videos generally garner high levels of likes, comments, and shares: though if the posts incorporate, a hashtag callback, there is a 12.6% increase in engagement. Instagram has polls, quizzes, as well as question stickers, which create an environment to engage the followers and make them stick around. User replies and direct messages are effective in cultivating the community feel to maintain high levels of consumer loyalty as well as brand loyalty.
3. Targeting and Advertising
Instagram provides enhanced targeting features that allow businesses to engage customers by age, geo-location and interest, and previous communication with the particular brand. By using features of custom and lookalike audiences, brands can target rather certain segments, which leads to a higher degree of advertising relevancy. Other advanced techniques in remarketing also assist the brands to target those consumers who have interacted with the ads sometime back and increase the value of marketing for the campaigns.
4. Driving Sales and Purchases
More and more often, it becomes one of the tools for performing e-commerce. A third of users who actively engage on Instagram have bought something within the Instagram marketplace. Including tabs such as the ‘Shop’ option, or shopping within posts, purchasing items can be completed right within the application through the use of tagged products in photos. Thus, thanks to interest and purchasing behavior targeting, the advertising tools available on Instagram allow brands to find the right consumers and bring in sales.
5. Building Brand Connections
That said people are willing to interact and engage with brands on Instagram and share them on their pages organically. Compared to other social media sites, engagement rates are much higher thus companies can share information with customers without necessarily having to advertise. To reply to likes, comments, and messages fosters loyalty and is and creates a sense of affiliation hence encouraging repeated interactions. Having an active and happy-go-lucky Instagram feed is one way to make your brand stick in the minds of the consumers and be their choice.
6. Directing Traffic to Websites
The right strategies implementing Instagram can certainly act as an efficient way of attracting traffic to a business website. Businesses are allowed to use a bio link where businesses can create a single link that directs fans to specific pages within the business website, using direct CTA in posts, and if the business has more than 10,000 followers using the ‘Swipe Up’ feature in Stories. Working with influencers also allows making sure that the business becomes more visible, and people start directing more followers toward the business.
Conclusion
Instagram presents organizations with flexibility when presenting their products and services to the target readers and viewers. When applied properly it can foster brand advocacy and contribute towards major marketing objectives.
