Instagram for Business: Genius Tool or a Waste of Time?

This year Instagram is turning 7 years old. It first launched in 2010 and in just two short years got Facebook´s interest and was sold to it for a whooping 1 billion dollars in cash and stock. Today Instagram absolutely dominates photo and video sharing on smartphones with 600+ million monthly users, 400+ million of which are checking the app daily.  Out of those daily users 100+ million are also posting daily. Posts on Instagram get around 4.2 billion likes every day. Yes, billion. Per day. If these statistics alone are not impressive enough, here are a few more:

• 33% of all Internet users are on Instagram
• More than 80 million of  the U.S. population is on Instagram
• 80% of users live outside the U.S.

With all that being said, let´s go back to the original question; is Instagram for business a genius tool or a waste of your precious time?

In my opinion and experience, Instagram is hands down one of the best business tools you have at your disposal! Compared to the most popular and well known social media – Facebook, Instagram is delivering 4x more engagement for brands. It is easy to setup, easy to use and it is a perfect on-the-go tool to connect with your customers whenever you may be. Instagram is also more popular with younger generations, and with Facebook demographics getting older you will see even more people transitioning to alternative apps such as Instagram to communicate with the world around them.

Another interesting, but less known fact, is that human brain processes visual information 60,000 faster than it does text. Moreover, 90% of information sent to the brain is visual. No wonder Instagram performs so well; with its photo and video content, users are able to process a large amount of information in a very short period of time. And if that wasn’t enough, we are not only processing images and videos faster, we also retain 80% more information when in comes in form of visuals. For comparison, average person only retains about 10% of what they hear.

Even though these statistics are startling, we still don’t see every business jumping on board. Why so? One most common question for not joining Instagram I hear is “I am already on Facebook and Twitter. Why do I need another social platform?” First of all, Instagram is a unique platform that can showcase your business from a completely different side. Share your behind the scenes, show how your consumers use your products or services, or walk your followers through a manufacturing process. Of course you can share the very same content on Facebook and other platforms, but given that people already flock to Instagram to only see photos and videos, it is your chance to capture new clients with original visual content. Another reason I often hear is “I don’t sell tangible products, so I don’t have any pictures to share.” Even if your business is B2B or service-oriented, focus on showcasing the process behind providing the service. Show your company culture, talk about your employees and share your mission with the world. You can also focus on educational content sharing tips and tricks or how-to videos.

As you can see, your possibilities to connect with your customers on Instagram are only limited by your imagination. If you are not using this handy platform, now it is your time to start. Need help? Send me a message!