How Instagram is leading the promotional shift to social media

Instagram

Ever since it went mainstream, the Internet has offered its users the opportunity to innovate and change the way that human interactions are conducted.

This has had a huge influence on how we keep in touch with our friends and family through the advent of email, Skype and social media.

However, this is especially true in the case of using the Internet for businesses as it provides them with a unique platform that can be used to place products in services in a shop window that anyone with an Internet connection anywhere in the world can access.

This means that thousands of small businesses that do not have the financial resources to invest in expansion on an international level are still able to spread their message around the world and have millions of people see it.

This means that any number of small businesses are able to set up an online shop and have their business reach dozens of different countries without the need to physically relocate to them. This possibility for any prospective business is one that has such potential, it simply cannot be ignored.

The advent of social media as a promotional space

Bearing this in mind, it is also worth referring back to the impact the Internet has had on communication between people all around the world. This is relevant because social media, while it may have originally sprung up as a response to people wanting to connect with their friends and family who were far away, is now emerging as an important focal point for businesses who are looking for more direct contact with potential customers and also for more engagement with their brand through social network interactions.

This has seen business accounts become extremely popular on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. However, as with social media in general, the current lightning rod for attention is Instagram, with people companies flocking there en masse.

What is the attraction of Instagram?

With so many people drawn to using Instagram, it is no wonder that businesses have spotted their opportunity and have swooped in as they look for new ways to attract customers as well as keeping current customers up to date with what is going on in their company.

With more than a billion people maintaining active Instagram accounts on a monthly basis and half of these logging into Instagram every day, there is an enormous amount of people out there who are regularly engaging with Instagram.

It can also be seen that Instagram has becoming a point of reference for younger people who frequently use Instagram to get the latest updates from friends and family and famous people they follow.

Companies are now becoming aware that they themselves can also use the social network for keeping their loyal customers updated about the latest developments while also being able to promote their brand to younger people in the hope that they will become lifelong customers.

The most relevant statistics about Instagram

This sudden increase in interest in the social network has seen thousands of businesses looking towards Instagram and seeing it as a possible space to promote their brand.

Companies of all shapes and sizes, from the biggest multi-nationals to the smallest businesses that are based out of someone’s living room are tapping into the potential that Instagram offers.

Some of the more interesting statistics regarding the commercial side of Instagram include the fact that 200 million users check out a business on a daily basis; 60 per cent of users find products through the social network; Instagram’s interaction rate is bigger than that of other social networks; and Instagram users are 70% more likely to use their phone to buy a product. All these stats make Instagram an attractive prospect for companies looking to engage with customers and tap in to new markets.

How can businesses make an impact on Instagram?

If you are a business looking to use Instagram to boost the profile of your brand and therefore increase the interest in your products and services, you need to work on building a successful profile, one that Instagram users are interested in. With Instagram, its not enough to simply have a high quality product, you have to be able to sell it.

To sell it, you need an audience and, with so much competition on Instagram for people’s attention, the way to get an audience is by offering something interesting and different. This can be a struggle and it is not going to come naturally to everyone.

To those companies looking to set themselves up on Instagram and who may need a bit of help, websites are beginning to appear which offer help in the form of purchasing features, such as likes, comments and followers.

How do these features work?

For instance, you can buy 50 followers on Instagram. Once you have these followers paid for, they will then proceed to interact with your account and its content in a way that regular Instagram users would normally do.

These Instagram users are real accounts. They have their own followers, they follow other profiles and accounts, they upload content for the world to see so they understand how Instagram works and, therefore, know the interaction and engagement required for a company’s account to grow organically. By getting more likes and comments and views, Instagram makes your profile visible to a wider audience and, naturally, this gives more exposure to your brand.

Instagram is proving to be a new forum for promotional material as businesses are rapidly being sucked in. If you want to help your company expand, it is worth your while getting involved in the Instagram promotional journey.