Once a trendy teen hangout, last year Instagram reached a new milestone of one billion users and has surpassed Facebook in advertising revenue . As a marketing hotspot, the cost-effective channel offers huge potential for businesses seeking to connect with target audiences, reach new customers and grow their brand with engaging content. According to a recent study, 77% of the U.S. population has a social media profile and active users spend more than five years of their lives on social media which breaks down to 8 months on Instagram alone. Here are our top 10 reasons to love Instagram.
1. You Could Easily Dominate Your Niche
With so many small businesses and organizations on Facebook, it can be difficult to cut through the clutter and stand out among the competition. Many small businesses are differentiating themselves with Instagram. According to a recent study by small biz trends, 52% of US small businesses are using Instagram. If you’re part of the 48% not using the network you could seriously be lagging your competitors when it comes to marketing your services.
2. Instagram Stories has 200 Million Plus Daily Active Users
When the company launched its Instagram Stories features, it was lapped up by users, quickly reaching 200 million daily active users. Using Instagram Stories helps small business convey messages that are too lengthy to be confined to just one photo. Furthermore, the Stories feature allows you to add links to direct followers to your website, blogs or other social media handles.
3. Instagram Nurtures More Engagement than Facebook
Community building is an inherent aspect of social media and Instagram, in particular, enables businesses to cultivate audiences around trending content. If you’re looking for optimum engagement with customers, you’ll be interested to know that Instagram has 58 times more engagement per follower than Facebook.
4. Millions of Photos and Videos are Added to Instagram Daily
Did you know that 95 million photos and videos are uploaded each day onto Instagram? Consequently, if you’re not adding your brand’s images and videos to Instagram regularly, you’re very likely to fall behind your more social media savvy competitors.
5. Facebook has Plateaued
The percentage of adults that marketers can reach on Instagram without paid ads has grown by 115% since 2012 whereas Facebook has declined by 63%. As a channel, Instagram offers greater growth potential than Facebook, but utilizing both channels creates a robust synergy for all marketing initiatives.
6. Instagram Users “Like” More Than 4.2 Billion Posts per Day
An announcement by Instagram in 2019 showed that users like 4.2 billion posts daily. If you’re not posting on Instagram, your products and services simply won’t be among the billions liked every day.
7. Hashtags on Instagram are 70% Brand Specific
Hashtags are a marketing force to be reckoned with on Instagram. For example #JCMakeItYours has been used approximately 160,000! If your business isn’t already using them, now’s the time to start getting #hashtaghappy!
8. Instagram Encourages Regular Engagement with Brands
Not only is brand engagement on Instagram prolific but it’s consistent, with 68% of Instagram users engaging with brands almost daily. This compares to 32% of Facebook users who engage with brands on a regular basis.
9. There are Millions of Google Searches Made for Instagram
Want to be found more easily on Google? Statistics show there are 16,600,000 Google searches for ‘Instagram’ per month, meaning simply signing up to Instagram could help your business get found online more easily.
10. Half of Instagram Users Follow a Business
Another Instagram statistic no business can afford to ignore — 50 percent of Instagrammers follow a business!
A well thought out social strategy integrating Instagram will provide a platform for your business to connect your unique content with communities, customers and clients. By adding a face to your brand, your visual feed helps to define your unique brand to help you stand out from the competition.