Today, Instagram is what the billboard was back in the 1950s-1970s. Or the old black and white TV. Except they’re a lot cooler and more fun to look at. Unless we’re talking about one of those cool digital billboards, which are definitely the way of the future, my friends.
Instagram is no longer something just used for sharing your wanna-be foodie pictures and inspirational quotes that nobody wants to read (we’ve all been there, folks).
Sure, it’s still a personal sharing space in a lot of respects, but the platform has grown to include so much more than that! It’s a fact: Businesses promote products. Influencers promote their brand and other products they love. People still post wanna-be foodie pictures.
So, why should you be using Instagram as your marketing bomb? Well get off your Instagram feed and read on!
1. You can access key influencers.
All of a sudden, a couple of years ago, a new career path opened. It’s a magical position called a digital influencer. These “top dogs” have the dream job of any Millennial or Gen Z kid out there. Check this example:
Career Counsellor: “So, Anna, what are your plans after graduation? I have some great material on finding the perfect employer.”
Anna: “Well, I actually plan on becoming a digital influencer. I have around 5k IG followers right now, but I’m betting I can increase that to 10k by graduation day. Then I’ll be able to get sponsorships for posts, maybe start up a blog and bring revenue in that way, and eventually expand to YouTube and musical.ly.”
Career Counsellor: “I don’t think I have material on that…”
This is the world we’re living in now. It’s also the world you’re missing out on if you’re not engaging Instagram influencers as part of your overall marketing strategy.
They are the kings and queens of this world. Bow down to them. Do it.
Then ask them kindly to work on a campaign for your product or service. Some investment may be needed, but these influencers have a target audience. (Business is business, remember?)
Just make sure your prospects and potential customers are in the correct demographics you want to be reaching out to!
A simple post by an influencer can drive an incredible number of customers to your door.
2. You can share your story with the world.
You know that your company is special. It’s special for you and it’s special for the people who help to run it. But does the world know it’s special? Does it know just how much work you’ve put in to make it incredible?
Using Instagram to share your story is the perfect way to get people to actually care about your brand. And any good marketer knows that when someone cares about the brand, they’re going to be returning customers. (Hopefully for a lifetime.)
And isn’t it more fun anyways?
Would you rather be pleading with customers to buy into your brand or share what’s special about your company and having them come to you? IG lets you do that and if you’re not using it, you’re definitely missing out. It’s story time!
3. You can build a real (OK, almost real) community.
You know the old saying “It takes a village to raise a child”? Well, that totally relates to the world of Instagram marketing.
Building an engaging community through here can transfer into real profits for your company (and more importantly, for you). It’s one of the best parts of using this platform as your marketing bomb. Here’s why:
Almost EVERYONE is on IG. So, you’ll get the chance to give your company a bit of personality. Some pizzazz. A chance to prove how you’re different from the competition. Someone comments on your last picture with an emoji and you can send your favorite emoji (read: sunglasses emoji) right on back. Someone sends you a direct message and you can respond directly with a link to your product. Win win.
There are plenty of marketing avenues out there, but if you’re not using savvy Instagram marketing for your business, you’re going to be missing out on so many potential customers and the chance to help them. The way of the world is digital and it’s not different for growing your business.
This is all a part of engaging with and growing your digital community and, in turn, turning them into loyal customers. (Remember: happy customers = happy wallet.)
4. You should keep an eye on those pesky competitors.
The Instagram world is full of people and companies pressing for the attention of potential customers or trying to build an audience around what they’re offering. And just like the outside world, these accounts can either be of competitors or potential allies.
Using it as a marketing tool gives you the shot at either A) networking with these potential allies and sharing advice/tips and B) keeping an eye on what your competitors are doing.
Turning on IG notifications will keep you from being left behind by other companies, and the ones who offer similar products you do. Plus, you have the ability to spy on them and see what they’re doing. Hopefully, you’ll get an idea or two of how to change your strategy. Borrowing some ideas from competitors is never a bad idea. (Ever.)
(Just don’t copy and paste content, or say that work is yours when it clearly isn’t. Steal ideas, not execution. In direct mail advertising, many copywriters attach a dollar bill to the top of a sales letter. This idea is not new, as it goes back to Robert Collier, a copywriting and marketing genius. Be ethical about what you steal.)
5. You can offer cool contests to your followers.
The marketing platform isn’t just for selling your products up front to your customers (even if that is your end goal). Add a little fun into the mix by offering contests in some of your posts! People gobble up this stuff like chickens do to… well… chicken feed.
Tons of companies and influencers do giveaways to engage with their audience. A good tip to get even more people looking at your page is to have your followers tag two or three of their friends in the comments section to enter the contest.
(And we all know how effective peer pressure is!)
There are tons of successful ways to make creative, and monetarily beneficial, contests. If you do them right, you’ll have tons of new engagements in an instant!
Conclusion
Like I said in the beginning, IG is the new mode of marketing that your business should and must be using if you want to be successful with a profitable business. With around 500 million users around the world, Instagram is the place to be in the digital marketing world.
And if you’re not using it, you’re missing out on tons of potential customers. What are you waiting for? Get to work!
Featured photo credit: via pixabay.com via pixabay.com
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