First off, what is Instagram anyway? Instagram is an application you can download to your smart phone or tablet. It is a social networking app that was created to let you share videos and photos online. It’s been around since 2010, and has really exploded in popularity since 2016. The growth of the online social hangout has picked up steam as the cameras in smart phones have become better at taking high-quality pics and videos.
When you open an account, and it is free to do so, you have a profile and a news feed. Snap a picture with your smart phone camera, and when you share it on Instagram, it is displayed on your profile. This is similar to the experience on Facebook. If someone searches for a particular term and you have added a caption or hashtag with that term to your photo or video, that person may see your content.
When someone views content on your profile, they can follow your activity. This means whenever you post a new photo, it shows up in their news feed. It is pretty much a direct copy of Facebook, except the focus is on visual content and mobile use. People can comment, like, tag and private message on Instagram, which is currently available as a download on any android or iOS devices.
Why should you be marketing on this popular online hangout? Take a look at the following Instagram statistics as of mid-2017 and you will probably be raring to go open your own account and start snapping pictures to build your business.
Why Instagram Marketing?
There are plenty of places online where you may already be marketing your blog or business. To get the best bang for your marketing buck, and the biggest payoff from your efforts, it makes sense to go where the biggest crowd of prospects are. As one of the largest and fastest growing sites where users share content and connect with each other, Instagram definitely deserves your attention. Here’s why:
Source http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/04/20/instagram-statistics
- In just 7 years, Instagram has grown to more than 700 million active monthly users.
- Over 400 million Instagrammers are active every day.
- More than 140 million Instagram users access the social media site several times a day.
- Nearly 100 million videos and photos are shared on Instagram each day.
- 6 out of every 10 online adults has an Instagram account.
- 26% of Instagram users make over $75,000 per year.
- 50% of the users on the social media site follow at least one business, and 60% say they have learned about a product or service through Instagram.
- In March 2017, over 120 million Instagrammers visited a website, got directions, called, emailed, or direct messaged to learn about a business based on an Instagram ad.
- Consumers are 58 times more likely to engage with branded content on Instagram compared to Facebook, and 120 times more likely to take some action than users on Twitter.
Those statistics are courtesy of WordStream, and show just how active users are on that website, and just how many of your prospects are waiting for you there. While 700 million active users is certainly impressive, there is still room for a lot of growth. The Internet is not going anywhere, and more people are getting “plugged in” and online every day. You have only to realize that Facebook has 1.9 billion active monthly users to see the potential for this video and photo sharing site.
The above statistics should get you really excited about what is possible. Since the social networking application was made specifically for access from a smart phone, you can snap a picture or shoot a short video anytime and anywhere to reach out to your audience. This is an absolutely free marketing opportunity all businesses, large and small, should be taking advantage of.
