You are busy preparing for that big exam the next morning and *boing* – your cell phone rings.
This is where everything changes….
The big exam no longer matters. All that matters is that you check your phone. And once you do, there is no going back!
Why we say, it’s the point of no return…..
Once you have picked your phone, you will be sucked into the vicious circles of social media applications constituting primarily of the big 4: Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram.
You will navigate through each of the applications on your phone (perhaps even multiple times) before you can think about getting back to what you were doing.
But let’s talk about the Internet in general too. Statistics show that people spent about 3 hours and 45 minutes on the internet back in 2015. Any guesses on how much time they spend today?
6 Hours and 42 Minutes! In comparison, the recommended amount of sleep for each day for adults is about 7 to 8 hours.
In light of this fact, businesses have found a new arena. The internet is where they find customers and engage them to make their impact. This is where conversions take place now, and this is where organizations set themselves apart.
The infographic below shows the prevalence of digital marketing among all organizations today, be it formally or informally.
The Rise of Instagram in the Digital Marketing Scene
But when you talk about the channels that present themselves within the realm of digital marketing, statistics show that the most popular channel is social media. This aligns with the 2 hours and 22 minutes that every internet user spends on social media every day.
But among the major social media platforms, one of the best platforms emerging today is Instagram.
Launched in 2010 and later acquired by Facebook Inc. Instagram is more than the photo and video-sharing social networking platform.
Today the platform captures the true essence of a social media platform with its messaging and stories feature.
Why Do Organizations need to Understand Instagram?
But what has caught the eyes of businesses and their marketing departments is the ease it allows organizations to market their products.
With Instagram Live Videos, Sponsored stories and posts, Instagram Business Account, Hashtags, IGTV and Instagram Analytics, Instagram is a Marketeer’s dream.
But what makes Instagram stand out is that it is the best when it comes to user engagement.
According to stats, Instagram is 58 times more likely than Facebook and 120 times more likely than Twitter to engage users on branded content.
Keep in mind that Facebook and Twitter are one of the first and most popular Social Media channels today.
This sheer power of Instagram is what grabs the attention of all Organizations – big or small. You can find every type of business online from an online leather jacket store to furniture brands like IKEA.
Although this sheer power is one reason, there is much more that makes it necessary for organizations to understand it. It is its ecosystem and has its intricacies. Failure to understand these makes an organization’s marketing efforts ineffective.
Here is why every organization should learn about Instagram:
Story Oriented
Unlike most other social media applications where business pages are all about promotion, Instagram is all about a story.
For any business to grow on Social media, it must present a story that resonates with its fans.
So, while a Facebook page will have an entire online store for the brand, an Instagram page will not.
An Instagram page will most typically talk about the values of the business in question, the ideas, the lifestyle, and whatnot. The Facebook page will display articles of the business and present its prices.
Failure to understand this dynamic will mean that the business cannot present its story effectively. Hence, a complete failure of the digital marketing strategy.
Optimized for Mobile
According to Statista, the mobile phone internet user penetration from 2014 to 2019 has been 61.2%. So, more and more people today prefer the ease of browsing the internet through their cell phones.
This automatically means that the platforms operating on mobile phones are better suited for the mobile segment of any organization’s digital marketing strategy.
Guess what platform has the largest and primary reliance on mobile browsing?
Instagram!
Failure to understand the dynamics of Instagram as a tool for digital marketing means that the business is unable to optimize mobile digital marketing.
Given that the percentage of mobile internet users has been rising over the years, this could be disastrous for the company.
Influencer Hub: Hijacking minds the right way
Traditionally, organizations have tried to use media and television celebrities to endorse their products. They have paid millions to create advertisements and play them throughout the day to grab the attention of potential consumers.
However, the trend has changed and social media celebrities, who are sometimes called influencers, have come up to take charge of endorsements.
Twitter, Instagram, and their influences
Twitter has always been the place for celebrities to engage; Instagram has now also become one.
This is again due to Instagram’s dependence on storytelling and its flexibility in its stories feature. As a result, influencers have come to establish themselves on Instagram and use it as their primary mode of interaction.
Source: https://blog.hootsuite.com/instagram-statistics/
On the other hand, statistics say that 70% of teens trust influencers’ more than traditional celebrities.
Failure to understand Instagram’s changing dynamics means that no organization could effectively engage these celebrities to make better conversions.
Final Word
All in all, it can be claimed that Instagram is where the bulk of social media marketing is focused on. In the absence of such a channel from any organization’s digital marketing strategy, its marketing effort will remain incomplete.
In turn, failure to understand Instagram’s changing dynamics will render the marketing effort ineffective, too, even with Instagram’s presence on the marketing strategy.
Happy Instagramming!
Author Bio:
About Michelle Joe: Michelle Joe is a blogger by choice. She loves to discover the world around her. She likes to share her discoveries, experiences, and express herself through her blogs. You can find her on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook