Why Instagram & Why Now?

Some of you might not have even embraced Facebook or Twitter yet. Others might be active on these platforms but be struggling to gain a following and engage with your audiences. There might also be a lucky few of you that jumped on these platforms early, built up large followings and are now reaping the benefits. Well now is the time to do so with Instagram.

With over 600 million monthly active users it has become the 2nd largest social media platform, following in the footsteps of Facebook. No surprises then that Facebook actually owns Instagram.

Why Instagram?

• It is the 2nd largest social media platform and it is growing fast.

• It is a platform where brands and individuals can mingle, unlike Facebook where your brand/business page is very different from a personal profile.

• Instagram has the highest engagement rates so is ideal for brand awareness campaigns

• You can grow followings on your personal profile rather than have friends. This appeals to many people who want to share their interests with other like-minded people rather than just their friends and family (as is the case with Facebook)

Why Now?

• Why not? Why wait until everyone is on it to try and compete for customers attention. Get it now. It is fairly easy to grow a following on Instagram with the right content.

• Instagram is about to roll out an e-commerce feature will be very attractive to companies but you will need a substantial following to benefit from it.

• Using Instagram stories you can now add clickable links to your posts. Instagram stories are posts which disappear after 24 hours.

• The algorithm is changing all the time, get in early, build a good following and reap the benefits.

• It is not a fad and will not go away, it will just keep on developing and appealing to more and more people.

• The average user age group is slowly but surely creeping up as people enjoy this instant image platform. You grow followings on your profile rather than have friends.

• Many companies have amassed tens and hundreds of thousands of followers and made a huge amount of money.

My take on this is... jump onboard Instagram, grow a decent following from your niche market then promote your products and services. As with all social media platforms, it is not a quick fix, it is a long term strategy. If however, you do not take this approach, you could be left out as your competitors reap the rewards and due to constantly changing algorithms, it could be too late. Marketing is not an exact science but if you don't dip your toe in the water, you will never know how warm it is!

At SPC Marine Marketing, we can post regularly to your Instagram account, create attractive and engaging posts and grow a following fast. If outsourcing is not something you want to consider, please read the article 5 Tips to using your Smart Phone Camera for social media images and Improve your Visual Content and Increase your Social Media Engagement.

For a FREE 'no strings attached' consultation whereby we can offer you advice on how to move forward with Instagram yourself or how we can help you, please get in touch.