In 2019, social media ranks right up there as one of the things that we spend our time doing. Probably too much of our time. Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube - everywhere you look, people are sharing posts and tweeting and snapping and taking pictures of their dinner for thousands of people to see. If you have Instagram on your phone time, with followers that send those loving hearts to all your pictures, then you know the power of Instagram for your personal life.
Thousands see the photos and videos you share, and you "heart" all the posts that you love, too, regramming them and ensuring that your followers see your “lifestyle”. If you are already doing all of this for yourself…. then you should already know that the way you share your personal life on Instagram can also be applied to your business.
So let's go back a little bit. Let's pretend you're new to social media and Instagram and how it could all come together to make your small business grow to heights you didn't picture. Below, you're going to learn all about how Instagram could work for your company, and how you could harness the power of followers to grow.
Instagram is a social media platform that has proven itself as a powerful marketing tool for many. Those little squares of joy are the perfect way to embrace visual marketing. People are turning more toward pictures and vlogs to learn about their favorite business, and pretty product pictures are gold in the marketing world today. With the fact that 25 million companies worldwide are using Instagram as a way to market their business to over 800 million users, that's a slice of social media pie that you just cannot be without.
Most of your target audience is going to be on social media. Those who have been using Facebook for forever are branching out because Instagram is a wholly different platform to Facebook. Facebook is excellent for informative posts and punchy content marketing, but Instagram marketing packs a different kind of punch. Any customer using your products can tag you in it, and if that customer has a thousand followers, that's 1,000 more people you have reached without even trying.
You can use your Instagram page to post upcoming events, story your day at the office to give your customers a "behind the scenes" view of your business culture, showcase products, share stories of customers using your products and even post short interviews for people to see. The level of interaction that you can gain from Instagram has transcended from Facebook and other apps, allowing you a fresh approach to your business and the way that you speak to customers.
Abso-popping-lutely. How many times have you headed online to get recommendations and reviews of a product or service before you buy? Well, your customers do the same. All they have to do is type your company name into the search bar on the Instagram app, and bam - they can see every single post from you and others talking about you.
Any time you get tagged into a picture or post and re-gram it on stories, you're a part of the interaction and are able to connect with people. It's powerful. It's what customers want to see so that they can trust your product. People trust recommendations from others over the things that you say about yourself.
Opening your business up to the stories that you post and taking some stunning photos of products go a long way to forging excellent customer relationships - and that's what people appreciate the most.
Oh, the mystical hashtag. It's something that seems so trivial in the grand scheme of things, but your business is going to benefit SO much from these little ditties. The short links that are preceded by the '#' may look like they don't matter, but they are a huge piece of connecting to the audience in front of you. With a word that starts with a '#,' you can turn it into a link. So, if you typed "#blessed" and then clicked on that word, you're greeted with hundreds of thousands of posts that have also included that tag.
If you used '#socialmediamarketing' as a tag, you would then be found by anyone else that was searching that same hashtag. It can show you all the other posts are mentioning the same subject, but in real time as well as historically. Hashtags are a great way to link to both your audience and to other businesses with the same objective as you, which is a great way to find people to collaborate with and share blog posts.
By now, you should see the merit of Instagram marketing for your business, but it's okay if you're not convinced. Not everyone is okay with change, and the unfamiliarity of Instagram to you could be the reason you're finding it so difficult to take that step when you're so happy with Facebook or Twitter. Of course, you're not obligated to set up a business Instagram account - but can you really afford not to?
It's 2019. Digital marketing is booming and is going to continue to grow. You must ask yourself whether you plan to join in on that growth, or you want to stand back and watch your competition do it for you. Let's take a look at some of the very valid reasons you should be jumping on the Instagram bandwagon.
The bots and bosses over on Instagram are reporting that there are over 800 million active users on Instagram. Of that figure, 500 million people are sitting on Instagram every single day. That's an awful lot of thumb-scrolling, eyeball-rolling customer action that you are missing out on. Can you afford to miss that? Your Instagram strategy could reach all of those people, with at least a few sharing your fantastic company.
It doesn't matter how large or small you are; there is a place for you on Instagram. You can really grow on Instagram, and all it takes is some dedicated posting. This can come from you, or you can choose some select influencers to advertise for you. Either way, you can have unlimited potential on Instagram, and while it's a process rather than an overnight success story, you are going to gain a solid audience that you didn't have before.
Okay, so passion is first and all that, but money? Money keeps you going. Instagram has really evolved, and there is way more emphasis on making some cash through the product placement of your posts. Shoppable posts are a thing, and you can tag your products and include the ability for people to "swipe up" and shop now. It takes people to your online store, and if you have a few swipes a day, those sales are going to build.
Instagram is about connections. Your business? It's foreign to people until you make it familiar. The stories and photos you post are going to provide your audience with an overall picture of who you are and what you're about, and your message can really be conveyed with Instagram live posts where customers can ask questions. You can also do it with multiple stories and tags throughout the day.
The main message here is that you have so many chances to make an impression on your followers, and you can include other areas of digital marketing if you wanted to. You can build a good relationship with your followers, with people seeing you as a company full of humans rather than buttoned-up robots - mightily important!
Ideally, you're convinced that Instagram could be the cherry on top of the cake that is your company. What you need now, is to get in touch with Today Creative. We can work with you on your Instagram strategy, help tell your story, and get your company face out there into the little squares that have a significant impact.
