Bought by Facebook for one billion dollars in 2012, (BBC. 2012) the photo editing and sharing app Instagram is fast growing and now bigger than Twitter… and is expecting it’s user base to top 100 million by 2018. (eMarketer. 2015)
Although Instagram may initially have been seen as a social networking tool for sharing ‘selfies’ , it is quickly becoming much more than that…. a valuable platform for a vast variety of businesses.
Instagram claim that having a business account with them will provide ..
So these seem like pretty big claims for an app…..
but the results seem to back this up!
(Click on the name’s to read the full report)
The ice cream ads reached 9.8 million people in the U.S and saw a 17% more people aware of new flavours as they were released.
With frequent fashion posts, Levis ads were seen by 7.4 million U.S users and observed a 24pt lift in their ad recall.
Using a combination of Instagram and Facebook ads, Mercedes Benz noticed a 54% increase in website visits and 14pt lift in ad recall.
Unsure about what to do or how to get started?
Instagram offer a business blog… which gives tips on setting up, shows how other businesses are most effectively using their platform and provides plenty of information or news with regards to a business Instagram account.
Personally, on my own Instagram account, I tend to follow fashion retailers. Often there is a promotional deal which will post a unique code if you are following them for 10% off and likewise!
Once a business begins sharing content and creating hashtags, it will soon be followed by User Generated Content (UCG).. perfect for marketing on a budget! Once you have posted your own photos etc, you have a host of users who will want to also share their own photos of your products etc …. Potentially this can work in your favour… but there is always a risk that this content will not always be positive! If customers do complain or have issues with their products, this is a prime opportunity to demonstrate excellent customer service and publicly deal with the problem. Ultimately building credibility and a brand that potential consumers can trust. Therefore, agreeably a risk worth taking! (eMarketer. 2012)
But no app is perfect . . .
Firstly, Instagram is yet to offer a publishing-application-program. This means posts cannot be scheduled in advance and post themselves at certain times… someone has to manually do it…from a phone. (Unlike Facebook & Twitter who offer this facility) Logistically, this is not ideal! (Delo. 2014)
Secondly, the digital marketing considerations which apply include;
- Ownership – Who owns the content that is being created and shared? All content must comply with copyright laws.
- Permissions – Content needs to abide by The European Union Data Protective Directive, the right permissions are required to share content.
- Security – Accounts need to be secure, an account hack could be devastating to the brand reputation. Fraud and identity theft do not apply so much to Instagram as no personal details are used.
- Accessibility – Can everyone who wants access, have access? The account and it’s content must comply with Disability and Discrimination laws.
(Baines. 2011)
Thirdly, how relative is Instagram to your target audience? The app is available to all smartphone platforms (Dredge. 2013) but is this platform being used by your particular audience? Instagram is mostly used by the 18-29 age demographic…(eMarketer. 2015) so if your intended audience is a bit older it may be worth looking at this article to see if there would be a more suitable social media platform instead. In addition, Instagram only allows for sharing photos and short video clips, no text documents. This may be worth considering depending on the type of business operated in.
Once you’ve managed to start racking up some followers.. you need to make sure you keep them! All content needs to be of a similar theme to keep the users interested and ensure they stay following the account, if this is done correctly the customer engagement with the brand should increase. (Evans. 2012)
On the note of racking up followers…
Instagram is fantastic in that you can post something and people from all over the World, of all ages, of all backgrounds, of all genders, (ETC you get the point) can view it! HOWEVER..it is inevitable that not everyone is going to like every post on your Instagram account, that can’t be helped. BUT it is important to make sure that content does not upset anyone. Unlike standard advertising campaigns rolled out world-wide, where the marketing strategy will involve adapting the campaign to particular cultures, for example McDonalds …this is not possible from one singular Instagram account. So it is important to consider the wider community when posting pictures or videos.
It is also important to read the small print about the ownership and privacy rights you have to the content you upload. Click here to see what Instagram say about this.
References
Baines, P. Fill,C and Page, K. . (2011). Digital Marketing. In:Marketing. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p 625 – 629.
BBC. (2012). Facebook Buys Instagram Photo Sharing Network for $1bn. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17658264. Last accessed 8th April 2015.
Delo, C. (2014). Why Its hard to be a brand on Instagram. Advertising Age. 85 (8), p 10.
Dredge, S. (2013). Instagram arrives on Windows Phone (and yes, you CAN take photos). Available: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/nov/20/instagram-windows-phone-photos-videos. Last accessed 10th April 2015.
EMarketer. (2012). For Brands, Social Media Shows Returns but Measurement Hurdles Remain. Available: http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Brands-Social-Media-Shows-Returns-Measurement-Hurdles-Remain/1009011. Last accessed 27th January 2015.
EMarketer. (2015). Instagram Will Top 100 Million US Users by 2018.Available: http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Instagram-Will-Top-100-Million-US-Users-by-2018/1012148. Last accessed 8th April 2015
EMarketer. (2015). Young Users Zoom In On Instagram. Available: http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Young-Users-Zoom-on-Instagram/1011795. Last accessed 10th April 2015.
Evans, D. (2012). The Social Feedback Cycle. In: Social Media Marketing. Indiana : John Wiley & Sons Inc. . P75-85.