Gone are the days of taking out ad space in your local newspaper to attract new customers. In today's all-tech society, Instagram has proven to be one of the most effective tools for businesses, both big and small, to grow their brands; and it isn't hard to see why.
Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms out there, with over 1 billion users. By taking to Instagram to advertise your services, you are unlocking the door to unlimited growth. Instagram is free to use and is a great way to keep your customers informed of special deals, new products and so much more.
Why Instagram?
Statistics show that of the more than 1 billion users, 500 million of them use Instagram every day, 200 million visit at least one business page per day, and 130 million clicks on at least one shopping post per month. In fact, according to Instagram, 62% of users said they were more interested in brands after seeing them on Instagram Stories.
Consumers are also using Instagram to help them to decide whether or not to make a purchase. With the easy-to-use app for mobile devices, you can research brands, compare prices and read reviews without ever leaving the app. This is why is more important than ever to bring your business to Instagram.
Instagram provides you with a way to advertise visual content competitively, and their business page options give you access to analytical reports that you can't get with personal pages. This means you'll be able to see who your target audience is and what they like, so you can adjust what you post accordingly.
Since Instagram is owned by Facebook, you can save yourself precious time by linking the two platforms. What you post on Instagram can easily be pushed to Facebook as well, and ads run on Facebook can be run on Instagram. This simplified approach to cross-platform advertising is just one of many reasons over 25 million businesses are already using Instagram.
Follow The Leader
Followers can really make or break a business on Instagram. The more followers you have, the more likely people will be to trust your brand. The more people that trust your business, the more likely they are to purchase from you. This is why building a solid following is easily the most important step in developing your Instagram page.
What's even more important is attracting the right kind of followers. Having 100,000 followers is great and all, unless none of them are actually interested in what you are offering. It is extremely important to make sure your posts are reaching the people you want them to reach. This can be done through the use of compelling posts and relevant hashtags.
If you need to gain followers to serve as social proof for brand partnerships you can opt to buy followers, as many mega-corporations and influencers already have. You can buy Instagram followers and likes as a sure-fire way to boost your following with people who are more likely to be interested in your products and engage with your page.
A Picture Says A Thousand Words
Instagram is first and foremost a platform for photo sharing. The picture you choose to accompany your post is what will initially catch your customer's eye. The photos you use in your posts can really make the difference in setting you apart from your competition. Just be sure to choose photos that are visually appealing and that accurately represent your brand.
Choosing the right photo doesn't have to be rocket science, just make sure the photo is relevant to your post. If you're posting about the amazing new product your business has just started carrying, combining it with a photo of the product will help your posts stand out and be more appealing to potential customers.
One business owner that we spoke with even said she has a continuing theme of using wood backgrounds in all of the photos she posts on her business page. This simple, yet effective method has given her page a consistent aesthetic, which her loyal customer base can recognize even without seeing her business name attached to it.
#Hashtags
Since their debut in 2007, hashtags have become a great way for businesses to reach more potential customers. Hashtags can also provide businesses with analytical insight into what Instagram users are interested in. By simply typing #trending into Instagram's search bar, you immediately have access to a list of Instagram's hottest topics and photos.
Many businesses choose to come up with a brand-specific hashtag that they use for every post, accompanied by other hashtags that are relevant to the content of the post. Some businesses also choose to create hashtags for customers to use when reviewing the products or services on Instagram, in order to generate online feedback.
This doesn't mean you need to use a million hashtags to broaden your reach. As you gain followers you'll find that you don't need to use as many hashtags in your posts to reach as many people, because your followers will already be engaging with you.
In this day and age, Instagram is one of the biggest assets for business owners to grow their brands. Not only are people more likely to buy from a brand they follow, but they're also more likely to spend more money on that brand.
With the incredible advancements in technology, more and more people have taken to social media when deciding to make a purchase. Whether it be to research the company, read reviews, or compare pricing amongst competing brands, Instagram has played a huge role in the way people shop online.
