10 Reasons to Use Instagram for Your Business

Every marketer wants to use Instagram to promote their business. With over 1 billion monthly active users and 500 million daily active users, Instagram has become a powerful marketing tool since it originated in 2010.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, saw the potential of Instagram and bought it out for $1 billion just 18 months after it launched.

Since then, Instagram has continued to grow and businesses have started to use it more and more to reach their target audiences.

And, if you look at the top 100 brands in the world, you’ll see that almost all of them have an Instagram account.

With such a large number of brands and businesses using Instagram, you may wonder what incentive they have to keep using it. Is it simply to post cool photos of their brand?

While that’s part of it, there’s more to it than that. As proven by some of the top brands in the world (as well as by some of the small to mid-sized businesses that LYFE Marketing works with!).

There are several clear-cut methods for generating sales, leads, and more via Instagram.

1.  More people are using Instagram

According to Instagram, they have over 1 billion active users on their social media platform. Of those millions of people, over 500 million use the platform on a daily basis.

With that many potential customers available, businesses can see a lot of success by dedicating themselves to creating a strong Instagram strategy.

2. Any size of business can thrive

There are a lot of users on Instagram, so it’s a great place for businesses to be active.

Whether you’re a large company or a small mom and pop shop, you can use Instagram to raise brand awareness and reach your target audience.

Of course, it takes time and effort to be successful on Instagram, but if you are consistent with your posting (at least one post per day), you will eventually see results.

3. Businesses can make money directly from Instagram

Over the years, Instagram has become more and more focused on allowing businesses to make money through on-platform e-commerce sales.

The latest update is the Shop tab, which is located prominently on Instagram’s home dock and allows users to discover and purchase from brands directly through Instagram.

Instagram also offers shoppable posts, which allow businesses to add tags to the products in their photos with links that include a product description, price and the ability to “shop now,” which will lead the user to your online store.

4. Stories make your business relatable

There are several ways that Instagram can help you connect with potential customers and show them that there’s a real person behind your brand.

Live posts and stories are a great way to give your followers a behind-the-scenes look at your company.

For example, you could share videos of your team members working together or answer questions live on air. This will help humanize your brand and make it more relatable for your audience.

5. You can partner with influencers

When it comes to social media, there are your everyday users, and then there are online celebrities, known as influencers.

These people often promote a brand or product to help take it into the mainstream. If you choose a dependable influencer, they can help increase your company’s sales and ROI, as well as reach new demographics.

A well-known influencer can publicize your company or product to millions of followers with just a few posts.

6. Hashtags can increase your visibility

If you’re a new business, you might feel like you’re up against a brick wall when you see how much competition there is out there. But don’t despair!

Hashtags are a great way to make your company stand out from the pack. Just take a look at some of the most popular hashtags out there, like Coca-Cola’s.

7. You can effectively engage with customers

There’s nothing more gratifying than having customers know your business exists. But what’s even better is the opportunity to engage with them on a daily basis.

People like to share their opinions, especially if they’re pleased with something. Instagram is a platform that allows users to like, comment on and share their favorite posts.

The more likes and comments you rack up, the more visible your company becomes. You can score even more likes by taking high-quality photos, using local hashtags and partnering with other brands.

8. Mobility is king

Unlike Facebook and Twitter, which started out as browser-based sites, Instagram was created to be an app from the start. This means that your company should take advantage of this and make your posts accessible to viewers wherever they go.

Smartphone users tend to turn to Instagram because it has a cleaner style than the cluttered view that Facebook can create, and with engagement on Instagram being 10 times higher than on Facebook, you will want to get on the bandwagon.

9. You can keep an eye on competitors

Although it may be time-consuming, one way your company can research your competitors is by stalking their social media.

See how frequently they post, what type of content, and how much engagement their posts get. With this data, you can shape your own social media strategy.

10. It offers many ways to get creative.

A great benefit of the photo-sharing app is the creativity it provides. On Instagram, your marketing team can get really creative and have fun coming up with new ways to draw attention and add followers and new customers.

Show the public that your brand has personality and that it is cool to shop with you by mixing it up with contests, shoutouts, vivid images, interactive videos, and more.

Must Read: Benefits of YouTube Marketing for Business