- By Camila Ante
Instagram is much more than just a platform for users to share the experiences they enjoy most in life. It has become a great ally for all types of companies due to its reach (more than 200 million Instagram users visit at least one company profile every day) and the tools with which you can measure and analyze the campaigns you launch.
However, there are still many companies that refuse to use it due to the lack of knowledge of the benefits it can bring to their sales. If you are not currently on this social network, it is time to give it a try. You will see that your positioning and the increase in conversions will make you consider it as one of your favorite social networking strategies.
The vast potential of this social network is in itself a factor for any brand to have a presence, as there are more than 1 billion Instagram accounts active every month worldwide and 80% of those accounts follow a company.
Instagram has managed to shake off the label of being simply a visual social network (although that was its origin) and has been evolving to be a platform to interact in a digital community and to compete with the other social networks globally. In fact, Instagram is the third most preferred social network below Facebook and YouTube, thanks to its continuous updates.
Therefore, in this article we want to share with you the advantages that Instagram has. You can use them to your advantage to increase your sales and become a recognized brand.
1. It provides greater knowledge of consumers
Instagram users make use of the social network to expose their tastes and lifestyle, thanks to this, companies have all the information they need about their location, beliefs, preferences and behavior, to devise content strategies taking into account what will most appeal to them.
This data helps to create a more accurate profile of the type of consumer you have and the one you are looking to attract. This way, you improve your marketing strategies and increase the number of verified users in the long run.
Another way to be always aware of what your audience is doing and saying is to keep track of the most popular hashtags in your market. This way you will know what they are thinking, what they want, what they are interested in, what their concerns are, their happy moments and how they celebrate them.
2. It has a large number of recipients
Globally, Instagram has more than 1 billion monthly users. In Latin America, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia are the countries with the highest use of this social network. This large influx of people is daily in search of new products or services.
Its main attraction is its instantaneous use: buyers go there to consult visual content in order to make better purchasing decisions. It is precisely this feature that makes Instagram so popular.
At least 60% of people who use Instagram report discovering new products. Therefore, exposure through creative images, videos and stories, with the aim of increasing sales, is an excellent strategy to get closer to consumers and obtain information from them.
In addition, the content that a company offers is increasingly accepted (and sought after) by users. And businesses can use resources such as tags, thanks to the updates that the social network has added to its configuration.
3. Promotes better customer service
Nowadays, users are increasingly demanding to get attention and unforgettable experiences. With Instagram you can create a better relationship with your followers through the valuable content you offer, the immediate information you provide and the agile response to their questions. Good customer service builds loyalty and people become brand advocates.
4. Target the right audience
We know that finding the perfect leads is a complex task. Don't worry, because Instagram helps you reach them more easily. How? With its targeting features, where you can find detailed information about your followers, such as:
- Location
- Demographics
- Interests
- Behaviors
- Similar audiences
Demographics are essential to creating a good marketing strategy, as they allow you to create content for a specific audience. The more familiar the user is with your sector or industry, the better leads you will attract. In addition, it is vital to know who is using your products or services to know their behavior and adapt the content of your publications to guide them to make quicker decisions.
5. Boost the website
Although Instagram helps to boost a brand and its products, it is a tool that many companies are not yet implementing. If you want users to know more about you and what you offer you can attract them with links in your posts and stories.
The success of these links lies in optimizing the link in the Instagram bio. To create a link you must take into account the business goals you are looking to achieve: improve your sales, increase your number of subscribers? Once you have identified the main goal you want to achieve, you can determine which link you should publish.
For example, if you want people to know all your products, you should add a direct link to the corresponding catalog. If you have a special promotion on certain items or services, add a link so that the first thing users see is your great offer and they feel attracted. Another way to make the link more eye-catching is to use resources such as emojis, icons or special characters that motivate the user to click.
Calls to action in the description of a post are also a recommended alternative. A simple message can make a huge difference in getting more direct traffic to the website.
6. It's free!
Undoubtedly one of the best attributes of Instagram is that you can find a wide variety of leads and sales opportunities for free. This represents a support for small businesses and entrepreneurs who do not have a large investment for their social media strategies. With a little creativity and updating on consumer trends you can grow your brand more than you can imagine.
7. Build trust
If you want to become a trusted brand, make use of user-generated content. Seventy-nine percent of customers say that user-generated content has a strong influence on their purchasing decisions and more than 90 percent of consumers take positive reviews into account when buying a product or service.
Users know that this type of advertising is not the result of a targeted investment or imposition by a brand. It is created by real people satisfied with the products or services.
User-generated content becomes more honest and human; it shows ordinary people using and recommending products that others might be interested in. If you create a hashtag that represents the brand, many users will want to join in and share their experience, thus consolidating the good image of your company.
Among the main benefits of using this strategy are that:
- You increase your brand's reputation: people love to receive recognition and have their content shared by a brand; it makes them feel special and important (and they are). This generates positive feedback and provides the opportunity for more customers to celebrate their satisfaction with the brand. The possibility of appearing among the shared images is invaluable.
- You attract new followers: users who have managed to become part of a brand's content can attract tags or comments from their friends. This leads to greater reach and new visitors (in the best case: more customers).
- You collect information from your audience: these publications generate all kinds of comments with which companies can know the opinion of other users: what they enjoyed most about the publication, what they think of the product or service, what else they would like to see published.
The more trust you give users, the more they will be attracted. And for one reason: what better opinion than that of someone who has already tried the brand?
8. Support the launch of advertising campaigns
While it is possible to achieve organic results on Instagram, the launching of advertising campaigns is an essential resource for businesses looking for a larger audience and to increase their sales.
In this social network, marketing strategies can be targeted to three types of audiences:
- Core audiences: shows ads to users chosen by gender, age, location, demographics, among others.
- Custom Audience: users who already have some kind of connection with the brand through the website, social networks or email.
9. Provides easy ROI measurement
Having return on investment (ROI) information is a very important element for companies. This way they can check the return on their investments and verify if the strategies implemented are giving the expected results.
Instagram provides all the necessary information to measure ROI as accurately as possible. You will be able to know links, leads, price per result of each campaign carried out, among other data that prove the profitability.
This is useful to better plan your next strategies and choose where it is better to invest your money. To achieve this, it is necessary to track Instagram statistics to know which ad is meeting more objectives. This way you can make decisions based on trends, behaviors and results of each campaign.
10. Facilitate the use of cross-promotions
Do you want new users to follow you on other platforms? Another great benefit is that all the information obtained from your Instagram stats can also be used in your other marketing efforts. In addition, the traffic reached on the Instagram website can be directed to other profiles, such as Facebook, Google, YouTube or Twitter.
Cross-promotions allow you to increase reach and encourage users to follow your brand on other platforms. The more touch points you have with your consumers, the more likely you are to become their primary purchase option.
11. Generate strong community engagement
Instagram is known for its challenges and popular real-time videos. That's why it's a good option to get more engagement, especially with younger audiences, as it generates more interactions compared to Facebook.
Instagram fosters greater engagement precisely because of this type of linkage. If you manage it well, you will generate a solid commitment from the community. Instagram users are more loyal to brands: once they are attracted to a brand, they consume what it publishes.
12. Enables product sales
70% of consumers search, compare or intend to buy something on Instagram. That is why the social network offers the possibility of opening an online store from the platform, so you can highlight products in your publications. This option has a wide potential for businesses. We will surely see that, over the years, it will evolve even more to be a more robust commerce option.
13. It offers a diversity of formats
On Instagram you can publish still images, GIFs, videos, InstaStories, reels, videos and edit them using the filters provided by the application. This diversity has been key for more users to use this social network.
Try to use the formats with creativity so that your brand's message generates more interaction.
14. It has private messaging
Instagram has tried to maintain private communication between accounts, so its private messaging and chat service is an advantage for certain contexts. This will help your brand to establish an individual communication through this channel, thus promoting personalized attention and providing support related to your products and services.
15. It allows you to see who others follow
On Instagram you can see, in a transparent way, who another account follows. This becomes an opportunity to learn more about the audience and make a comparison with other brands, with which you will have more information to strengthen the communication of your business.
Just remember that it is not about being invasive or using this tool to copy what others do; it is simply a way to analyze the market, profiles and consumers.
The use of Instagram can bring many advantages for your business, however, there are elements or limitations to fully exploit the attributes of your business, below we will tell you what they are.
Source: Hubspot
