Instagram

instagram for business

Show Not Tell: When to Use Instagram for Your Business

by Melanie Wolske May 19th, 2017

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 31 seconds.

Social media apps are an increasingly vital part of successful marketing campaigns—they can spread a brand’s message quickly and broadly. Now that more people are searching online on their smartphones than on their computers, reaching out via mobile apps that allow users to easily browse social media can be immensely effective.

One of the most popular social media apps these days is Instagram, which has also been catching marketers’ attention more and more in recent years. In fact, ad impressions on the platform multiplied more than 13-fold from 50 million in August 2015 to 670 million in December 2016. 1

About Instagram

Instagram is a social network that allows the mobile sharing of photos and videos. Launched in 2010, Instagram’s popularity has soared rapidly.

  • By December 2014, the platform counted over 300 million users, surpassing social media giant Twitter. 2
  • Facebook acquired the service in April 2012 for approximately $1 billion in cash and stock. 3
  • While Facebook grew by 3% in the following year, Instagram expanded by a whopping 23%.
  • The company’s COO Emily White credited “the sophistication of cameras on smartphones” for the app’s remarkable rise, citing the ubiquity of smartphones at fashion shows as an example. 4
  • In 2013, Instagram introduced sponsored post advertising for U.S. users with promotional ads by fashion brand Michael Kors. 5

Instagram: Sharing Moments Instantly

Instagram’s success essentially lies in making it really easy for people to do what they already love doing—taking and sharing pictures. In addition,
Instagram offers a vast number of photographic filters that can be applied to uploaded photos and videos, making photo sharing creative and fun. Any uploads may be accompanied by hashtags or geotags. Users can also leave comments below posts.

In 2013, Instagram added the “Direct” feature, which allows users to send photos and videos to others directly. Instagram accounts can be linked to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Flickr. The app is distributed through the App Store, Google Play, and Windows Phone Store. Even though users can only upload pictures and videos through mobile devices, users may also access their feed on a desktop computer.

In May 2016, Instagram introduced several big changes, including an algorithmic newsfeed. Three months later, the platform added a new feature called “Instagram Stories,” which lets users create short videos (and add text, drawings, filters or stickers) that are deleted after 24 hours, ostensibly responding to Snapchat’s immense success. Shortly after its launch, the “Stories” feature had already garnered 100 million daily views. 6 In late 2016, Instagram added a live video streaming future similar to Periscope or Facebook Live.

Is Instagram Right for Your Business?

Given Instagram’s wild success, it is no surprise that countless brands have joined the network to promote their products and services. According to Simply Measured, more than half of the world’s leading brands have an Instagram account. Instagram, however, also has plenty of marketing opportunities to offer for small businesses.

Real and Personable Applications

The photo- and video-sharing platform can help you add authenticity and warmth to your brand. While visually driven industries like fashion or food are perhaps most commonly associated with the network, all kinds of companies can benefit from Instagram’s enormous user base and easy-to-use application.

Simple and Easy to Use Anywhere

First of all, Instagram is extremely accessible. You simply download the free app, take a picture, make some edits, add a caption, and share with your followers. In order to increase your reach, include a geo-location and a number of relevant hashtags. For instance, if you are a local pet groomer, you might post pictures of freshly coiffed pups, use popular hashtags like “DogsOfInstagram,” and make sure that your business information is complete and accurate.

Let Your Brand Story Shine

If your product or service is not exactly visually enthralling, you can still make your brand more personable by sharing fun office moments or showcasing your community engagement. Loyal Instagram users follow business accounts because they are interested in that particular industry and because they like the type of content the company is sharing.

Evaluate How Instagram Can Enhance Your Marketing

Instagram is one of the perhaps most accessible social media platforms, but it’s still worth considering whether Instagram is an appropriate channel for
your social media marketing strategy. Just because it is a popular platform does not necessarily mean that it is the right one for you. A common mistake businesses make is treating social media as an afterthought. Failure to develop a thorough social media marketing plan can easily result in a waste of time and money. Determining the ROI of social media campaigns is already a difficult undertaking, so maximize your chances of success by carefully evaluating if and how Instagram can meet your marketing goals.

Examine your business’ needs and ask yourself these questions:

  1. Can you create magnetic visual content?
  2. Do you want to reach a wide audience?
  3. Do you have the time to post regularly?
  4. Can you express a strong brand identity/aesthetic?
  5. Are you willing to engage your community?

Next Step: Acquaint Yourself with Instagram’s Features

If you confidently answered these in the affirmative, you will want to familiarize yourself with Instagram’s features and practices. Six years after its
introduction, Instagram has expanded its features immensely, giving you a multitude of possibilities for channeling the app’s marketing potential. To develop an effective Instagram marketing strategy, you can now begin to think about Instagram best practices to enhance your campaigns.

Additional Sources:

1 – http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/267898/instagrams-popularity-pushes-brands-toward-more-v.html
2 – http://mashable.com/2014/12/10/instagram-300-million-users/
3 – http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/04/facebook-buys-instagram-for-1-billion/
4 – http://wwd.com/globe-news/digital/instagrams-emily-white-talks-engagement-in-a-mobile-world-7255132/
5 – http://thenextweb.com/facebook/2013/11/01/fashion-designer-brand-michael-kors-becomes-first-run-ads-instagram-screenshot/
6 – http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/instagram-stories-views/

How to Use Instagram for B2B Marketing

by Rebecca Bleznak August 28th, 2014

With more than 75 million active daily users and 200 million monthly users, Instagram is a marketing channel that’s too significant for B2Bs to ignore, both for its filtered images and short video features. Even if your company is not selling a product that looks great when it’s photographed – like the clothing, food, or household objects sold by B2C businesses – your company can still leverage Instagram to build awareness around your services, corporate culture, and brand values.

Major B2B providers including General Electric (GE), Intel, Maersk Line, VMware, and Cisco have been utilizing the visual medium’s video capabilities. At only 15 seconds long, Instagram videos allow companies to deliver their brand’s message in a concise manner with innovative, creative, and sharable content that makes a major impact in just 15 seconds.

If your business is new to Instagram, it’s natural to wonder how to use Instagram for Business for B2B marketing. Focusing on GE, they’re a company that continues to communicate their core message of innovation through its use of social media. In addition, GE Works is GE’s mission to showcase not just their technology, but also the people, places and stories behind this technology. Here’s what they and other companies are doing right – and what your business can use for inspiration:

 

1. Showcase your products. 

Let’s be honest: your latest technology may be truly revolutionary at solving an industry problem, but if you can’t clearly communicate what this technology does, it becomes hard to convey its value. Breaking things down in short “bite size” tidbits will help you produce a series of content that becomes informational. This can be helpful in understanding your latest technology while at the same time controlling the message, benefits and value.

Additionally, if you are pitching a reporter a story for some publicity, most reporters don’t have the time to do all of necessary research in order to fully understand your technology or product. This is where an Instagram campaign can really come in handy. Intel, for example, introduced businesses (and consumers) to the company’s new tablets with a series of clever Instagram posts where the new tablet “frames” famous cities and landmarks, like the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building.

2. Provide demos and tutorials.

In addition to showcasing new technology or your company’s services, Instagram video can be a great platform for introducing your current customers to new product features. The social media management software company Sprout Social uses Instagram to roll out new features to its software platform, such as this simple video that shows users how easy it is to drag and drop images into posts directly from the Sprout browser extension.

3. Get innovative.

GE has taken on the difficult task of presenting somewhat boring information in an attention-grabbing way. Their popular time-lapse “Juice Train” video, for example, follows a train delivering orange juice from Florida to New Jersey. The video showcases GE’s on-board analytics that make the trip operate smoothly, and a short version of it could now be created with Instagram’s new Hyperlapse app. Cisco also knows how to make technology humorous, posting holiday-themed images created from systems hardware and hardware jokes. Popular posts include the Bruce Springsteen tribute “Cabling in the USA” and a “motherboard” Mother’s Day card.

4. Showcase the people and culture behind your products.

Instagram can easily provide and inside look at the people and core values that drive your business from behind the scenes. Oracle, for example, uses its Instagram account primarily as a “community and culture” channel, with videos and images that feature a staff member cruising through the office on a scooteroffice ping-pong battles, and summer BBQs.

5. Share company news. 

Did your business just win a major industry award or land an amazing new hire? Are you celebrating a major company milestone? Rather than putting out a generic press release, use Instagram to share your big news with followers. Check out how MailChimp used Instagram to announce being named “Atlanta’s Most Bicycle-Friendly Business“.

The Generation Gap: Social Media By The Numbers

by Rebecca Bleznak June 24th, 2014

According to Media Bistro, the number of social media users continues to grow, which means plenty of opportunity to get your message out to users looking to share unique, valuable content with their network of friends, family, and professional associates. But the use of each platform varies depending on a variety of factors, including the age of the user. While adults are now the primary Facebook audience, teens and young adults are spending more time Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. Depending on your brand’s target demographics, you’ll want to pay more attention to certain social media platforms than others to ensure that your marketing efforts are reaching potential customers.

Code-switching Kids

If you’re looking to market your product or service to a younger demographic, social media marketing may seem like an obvious fit. Preteens, teens, and young adults are using social media on a daily basis, but don’t let the apparent quantity of these interactions obscure the quality of this demographics’ attention. Teens, according to several researchers, use different social media platforms for different purposes. NPR reports on a recent book that revealed the importance of context for young users, making clear that kids will carefully cultivate public personas while simultaneously connecting to the things they care about most.

A piece on HuffPost concurs; today’s teens are reportedly better equipped to use the Internet to research potential friends, employers, and yes, brands. Facebook is where teenagers will reportedly put on their most public face; this is where you can expect them to “like” only peer and parent-friendly brands with trusted reputations. The news feed and timeline features allow their friends to see every action they take, and, rather than attempt to “hide” these actions from their parents, they find themselves spending less time on Facebook.

On sites like Twitter, however, teens appear to show less hesitation, as every one of their actions isn’t so obviously on display. There, they are cultivating more personalized identities and will be more willing to seek out and “follow” newer, up-and-coming brands. Cultivating a Twitter and Instagram presence is vital should teenagers be a part of your core demographic.

Capturing the Older Market

While Facebook started off with a college market, it quickly became a coveted space for teenagers post-Myspace. However, once these young adult users grew up, and Facebook opened its doors to all, it became a place to share wedding announcements, baby photos, and other adult milestones. In fact, a reported 72% of all adults are using at least one platform, and Facebook is the most heavily populated. In other words, if your target audience is 25+, Facebook is likely your go-to social media marketing tool.

However, though Facebook still dominates the majority of online interaction for adults, there are other sites that will continue to gain popularity. According to recent data from the Pew Research Center, only 1% of all teens online use Pinterest, while 15% of all adults do. Pinterest has amassed young adult and adult users (33% of which are women) in the 18-49 age bracket, making it the right place for a product with an adult market.

And if your target demographics fall into the older age range, fear not. The data shows that while the majority of adult users fall into the 30-49 year old range (78%), 43% of all adults over 65 are using at least one form of social media. You can reach your audience with powerful social media marketing campaigns, but it’s worth paying attention to the numbers in order to make sure your message doesn’t fall through the generation gap.

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