Why Use Instagram for Marketing?
We know you don’t need to read another blog post telling you to embrace social media marketing in your business. What you need is someone to explain why social media, in particular Instagram, matters and can help you find more paying customers.
That’s exactly what this blog post is all about. Keep reading to learn the data and statistics behind why you should be using this popular, image-based social media platform to connect with current customers and engage new ones.
What is Instagram Marketing?
Instagram marketing is the process of creating compelling content about your brand to engage with your current customers. It’s also about helping potential new customers discover you on the platform by using targeted hashtags related to your company.
Think this isn’t happening? Think again. Research shows that 83% of Instagram users use the social media platform to discover new brands.
A well-planned Instagram marketing strategy may consist of:
- Daily organic posts using targeted hashtags related to your content or your brand.
- Posting Instagram Stories (especially with stickers, since using just one sticker in an Instagram Story has been shown to improve its performance by 83%).
- Depending on your industry, working with Instagram influencers, who are users with large followings who also influence their followers’ purchase decisions. According to the social media management platform Sprout Social, 91% of luxury, 84% of sports clothing, and 83% of beauty brands work with Instagram influencers.
- Sponsoring a select number of your organic posts so they reach people who don’t already follow you or discover you by searching a specific hashtag that you’re using.
To effectively use Instagram for marketing, you should have an entire month’s worth of content planned out in advance so you don’t find yourself scrambling to make a post every day.
But remember to keep that content calendar fluid. Since Instagram traffic so heavily relies on the use of relevant hashtags, a current event in your industry, geographic location, or related to your brand may be an opportunity to quickly create a compelling post or Story that will resonate with your followers and get discovered by others.
Why Should You Use Instagram for Marketing?
Your brand should use Instagram as a marketing tool because it’s a social media platform that’s used by millions and millions of people, especially younger generations. Simply put, it’s like a big public square where target audiences are paying attention.
Here are some facts on Instagram users:
- 1 billion people use Instagram every month.
- 500 million people use Instagram Stories every day.
- 89% of users are outside of the United States, which makes using Instagram even more important for brands that sell internationally.
- This year, it’s projected that Instagram will have 112.5 million US users, which, despite its international popularity, makes the platform very relevant for businesses that only operate in the United States.
- Instagram is used pretty equally by men and women, with 48% of users being male and 52% of users being female.
Additionally, Instagram is a fantastic place to find GenZ, Millennials, and the youngest members of Gen X. Here’s a breakdown of Instagram users by age group:
- 18 to 29 years old: 67%
- 30 to 49 years old: 47%
- 50 to 64 years old: 23%
- 65+ years old: 8%
As you can see, the younger your target audiences are, the more likely you are to find them on Instagram.
What Should Your Company’s Instagram Content Look Like?
Your Instagram content should reflect your brand. It should look and feel like you. When relevant, you should update your bio link to direct people to specific URLs related to your posts (this is when you’ll see posts that read “link in bio”).
Instagram is also an incredible way to humanize your brand to your followers and people who discover you via hashtags. Examples of ways that companies use Instagram include:
- Offering users a behind-the-scenes look at how your company operates.
- Posting images of real people who work at your company and make your products and services possible.
- Sharing photos of your team working together in a meeting, celebrating a coworker’s birthday or baby shower, or volunteering together on the weekend or a company day of service for a cause that matters to your brand.
- Showing how your product or service is used in everyday life by real customers or even by company employees
When users see this type of content, they find your brand more relatable. They see the human side of your company and its offerings and feel more connected to you. Simply put, this type of content resonates.
While you don’t want your Instagram feed to be a 24/7 newsreel of your shouting about your products through a megaphone, you should also occasionally promote your goods and services. But do it in a way that makes the content relevant to users.
If you’re a local coffee shop and you have a new specialty drink, post an enticing picture of it while also using relevant hashtags both related to the drink type and your geolocation. This will help your post be discovered by people who are in your neighborhood and actually likely to walk into your shop to order said drink, versus someone who may be halfway around the world and just think you posted a nice photo.
Expanding Your Reach with Paid Instagram Ads
Organic Instagram posts can help you engage existing customers and get discovered by new ones via proper hashtag use. But if you really want to increase the number of eyes seeing your Instagram posts, you need to consider sponsored posts or Instagram ads.
Paid ads on Instagram are promoted to users who fit your targeting data. And the great thing is, Instagram lets you pinpoint exactly who you want to see your content, including selecting their age, gender, and geographic location.
Best of yet paid Instagram ads display in users’ feeds and appear the same way as organic posts. They just have “Sponsored” text above them.
Get Help with Your Company’s Instagram Marketing Strategy
If you know you need an Instagram presence but don’t know where to start, or you need help livening up your existing feed, we’re here to help. Your Marketing People has extensive experience helping brands stand out on Instagram and other social media platforms. You can reach out to us for help with Instagram marketing, including creating and managing Instagram ads, by calling 949.484.9104 or filling out our online contact form.
