If you own a small to medium-sized business, you need to get on Instagram. The burgeoning niche platform is getting closer and closer to Facebook-sized audiences every day. Today, the exploding social media platform boasts 600 million monthly active users (that’s nearly twice the population of the United States, by the way), of whom 200 million sign in daily.
That’s 200 million unique opportunities your small business can make an impression – or instant sale – every single day. Need more convincing? Here are 4 reasons your small to medium-sized business should invest in an Instagram account:
- Instagram demographics: users from all backgrounds.
Although the typical Instagram user tends to be a female urbanite between the ages of 18 and 29, as the popular visual platform grows, its audiences are diversifying. According to new stats from the Pew social media report, older generations are signing in more: 18 percent of 50 to 64 year olds and 8 percent of people 65 and older have embraced the photo-sharing app. Even more than one-fourth of men (compared to 38 percent of women) on the internet are signing in, while 31 percent of rural folks (compared to 39 percent urbanites and 28 percent suburbanites) look to the app for inspiration.
Businesses of all kinds can tap into these key Instagram demographics to tailor their marketing campaigns for maximum impact.
- More than a pretty picture: Visual content converts.
For small businesses looking to snag more sales, Instagram can be a reliable asset as videos and images increase conversion rates by 64 percent. Internet and social media users are more likely to engage with visual content, including videos, images, and infographics, than they are to read a written passage in its entirety – and this is no surprise as nearly two-thirds of the population are visual learners. This is also why websites with visual content bring in close to twice the amount of views than text-only pages.
Put simply, if you want to increase your sales, increase your use of eye-catching visuals.
- Generate immediate sales: In-app purchasing.
Instagram users aren’t just signing in to relieve boredom: 60 percent of users sign in to research products and services, 75 percent of whom take an immediate action when inspired by a branded post.
Businesses can easily convert a screen shopper into an online buyer by providing instant access to their products and services through call-to-action ads (e.g. learn more, download, sign up, purchase) or linked posts. The platform has also made posts more “shoppable” by introducing shopping tags for regular posts (i.e. not ads) for a frictionless and secure, in-app buying experience.
- The relatively low-cost of social media advertising campaigns.
Compared to traditional forms of advertising, including direct mail, billboard, and television, social media marketing campaigns are a relatively low-cost strategy – it’s the only form of advertising that can get you in front of a thousand people for less than $3 (not to mention the fact that platforms are free to sign up). The accessibility of social media platforms has truly leveled the playing field, allowing small businesses to compete with deep-pocketed corporations.
Want to maximize your impact on Instagram? Contact Social Spice Media. Unlike traditional advertising firms who have hastily added social media management to their menu of services, we’re experts in social media marketing – it’s in our name.
