7 Reasons To Invest In Instagram Marketing
Every day, over 200 million people on Instagram visit a business profile. Given that the average person spends about 53 minutes on the platform per day, the potential reach for Instagram marketing is huge.
Businesses are growing their Instagram ad budget year-on-year which is why the site now rakes in more a quarter of Facebook’s sales.
The platform has the highest engagement rates in the industry which is why more and more businesses in the US and the world leverage it to boost their sales.
Here are 7 reasons why you should invest your effort and money into Instagram marketing so that you can grow your business effectively.
1. Instagram Has a Huge Reach
Since its humble beginnings in 2010, the app has grown to be the third most popular in the world behind Facebook and Youtube. It has more than 1 billion monthly users and 63% of these log in every day.
The United States makes the biggest share of Instagram users, with 116 million users. India follows at 73 million and Brazil at 72 million. Russia, Turkey, Japan, and the UK follow close behind.
What matters to your business, though, is what percentage of these people you are able to reach with your ads. There are 500,000 influencers on Instagram, who you can turn to actively influence people favorably toward your brand.
However, instead of shooting for the big influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers, you can have a higher engagement rate by using many small-scale influencers (5000-20,000 followers).
The reason for this is that such influencers have a stronger bond of trust and a more close-knit community. When such an influencer markets your brand, it comes out more as a recommendation from a friend rather than a commercial advert.
2. Instagram Is an Effective Alternative Sales Funnel
There are already thousands of businesses that sell their services and products exclusively through Instagram. However, the biggest sensation is coming from traditionally brick-and-mortar businesses.
A great case in point is Nike’s revolutionary focus on Instagram as a tool to drive sales. The campaign focuses on creating a personal rapport with consumers, making its Instagram marketing campaign part of its customer care. Nike has been using the platform to increase customer engagement, which creates a bond of trust that later results in a sale.
Even when you’re not shooting for direct sales, Instagram is a vital tool to help you maintain relevance in a world that is increasingly becoming competitive. You must use every edge you can get, and like Nike, you should use it well.
Instagram can funnel new sales and increase your revenue greatly once you learn to use it right. It is an alternative marketplace where you get to showcase your brand and draw in buyers, much like a virtual expo.
3. It Helps You Remain Responsive to Your Customers and Competition
There is hardly a better platform to ‘follow’ your rivals and customer base than on Instagram. You get a live feed on what everyone is doing.
It is especially important to maintain that ‘ear on the ground’ feel of the market so that you can know when and how customer expectations change. Agility is one key to success because products are being reinvented every day.
Even better, you get to see what your rivals are doing and how successful they are. You can learn a lot from their online marketing strategy and keep on top of new developments.
4. Instagram Is Cost-Effective
Unlike many other marketing alternatives, Instagram is a very cost-effective way of implementing your online marketing campaigns. Unlike Youtube and even Facebook, you don’t have to spend a lot on creating unique content.
Even better, Instagram’s cost per click varies between $0.2 and $2, or about $6.7 per 1000 impressions. It may sound expensive, but it is actually average according to the same source.
Instagram has one of the best ROI in social media, with a 1.6% average engagement rate compared to Facebook’s 0.09%. You can easily achieve 5% or more conversion, with returns being felt months after a successful campaign.
For reference, 3% is considered a good conversion, and the top 10% of companies operate at about 10% or slightly more.
5. It Helps You Cultivate Loyalty
The only way to ensure that your business is sustainable is to have customers coming back again and again. To do that, you need to interact with them on a personal basis and make them feel that your brand really does care about them.
Instagram is the only platform where you can do that cheaply and effectively. By posting original content, reacting to customer posts and feedback, as well as listening to criticism, you can ensure total satisfaction.
Once you reach a point where a percentage of your customers are happy and vocal about it, you get your advertisement being done for you free of charge.
6. Instagram Drives More Traffic Towards Your Website
Once customers come across your brand, they will want to know more about what you are selling and what your company is all about. This means you get that chance to impress them, tell your story and increase conversions.
60% of Instagram users discover new products on the platform, according to Brandwatch. With an engagement rate that is 10 times higher than Facebook, the platform is promising valuable website traffic.
7. It Enhances Rankings and Authority as a Business
If you simply rely on a magnificent website to get you there, you are mistaken. Social media marketing is becoming more important in SEO rankings because it drives traffic to your site.
If you truly want to establish yourself as a leader in your industry, you need to consider marketing through Instagram. There are several Instagram tools to help you with achieving success. Your competition is doing so, at any rate, and will soon overtake you if you don’t take action.
Final Words
Instagram is quickly becoming a leading social media site globally. These seven reasons prove that you need to invest your time and money in Instagram marketing.
The short of it all is that if you want your business to grow in this new digital world, you need to open your eyes to new possibilities. The biggest of these is Instagram.
