Why Instagram is an inevitable platform for Business

Since its inception, Instagram has proven to be a powerful marketing tool for businesses looking to expand their presence and the visibility of their products. If you have not jumped on the Instagram bandwagon yet, you may be doing your business a great disservice.

More people are using Instagram.

According to the folks at Instagram, their social media presence currently brings with it over 800 million active users. Of those millions of people, over 500 million are on the platform on a daily basis, with 80 percent of them being outside of the United States, 34 percent of them being millennial and 38 percent checking the site multiple times each day. With that many available eyeballs, there is no limit to the success a business can reach with a dedicated Instagram strategy.

Any size of business can thrive.

With all of those users to choose from, the sky is the limit to what a business can achieve. That goes for large, well-known companies as well as smaller mom and pop shops and one-man operations.

Of course, even for the best-known companies, success will not come overnight, but if a marketing team wants to get their organization on the map, they can do so by keeping an active presence and maintaining a routine of at least one post per day. This is how both household names like Coca-Cola and Adidas as well as a slew of small businesses have effectively used Instagram to thrive.

Businesses can make money directly from Instagram.

Instagram has evolved over the years, and now there is a greater emphasis on making money through product placement.

Stories make your business relatable.

Instagram is a great way to show potential customers that you are more than just a faceless corporation. This can be done through many of the app's features, but you can really make an impression with live posts and stories.

The best way to use live stories is to show behind-the-scenes insights into your company and the people who work there. Some examples are videos that show how products are made, videos of office employees interacting with each other, and live Q&A sessions between you and your audience.

Instagram live posts are also an excellent way to build rapport, trust and credibility with followers, as well as showing that there's a human side to your business. If consumers see you as more than an entity looking to take their money, then they may be more trusting of your brand.

 You can partner with influencers.

When it comes to social media, you have your regular viewers, and then you have influencers. For those not in the know, influencers are online celebrities who will often promote a brand or product and take it into the mainstream.

A dependable influencer can bring your company’s sales to a whole other level through increased return on investment and access to demographics that you wouldn't normally reach. If you use a well-known influencer, then they can spread word of your company or product to millions of followers with just a few posts.

Hashtags can increase your visibility.

As a new business on the block, you may be intimidated by the competition, but with the proper use of hashtags, you can separate your company from the herd.

You can effectively engage with customers.

What is better than having customers know you exist? How about the opportunity to engage with them on a daily basis? The fact is that people like to make their opinions known, especially if they like something, and Instagram is a platform for users to like, comment on and share their favorite posts. The more likes and comments you get, the more visible your company becomes. You can get more likes by taking high-quality photos, using local hashtags and partnering with other brands.

You can keep an eye on competitors.

Your company can use Instagram to keep an eye on your competitors and see how they interact with their followers. Watch carefully to find out how often they post, what they are posting and how they engage with their followers. You can use the information you gather to better define your own personal strategy.

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 go wild coming up with new ways to draw attention and add followers and new customers.