Internet users were sharing photos before Instagram, but nothing like they do through Instagram. With cool filters and video capability, it seems everyone has jumped onto the photo-sharing bandwagon. This includes over one million top advertisers, including 96% of U.S. fashion brands.
As a small business owner, are you leveraging Instagram to grow your company?
Why use Instagram?
If you need further convincing that you should take advantage of Instagram in your marketing plan, here’s a few more stunning statistics:
- Instagram now has 800 million monthlyactive users
- Over 60% of users log in daily, trailing only Facebook as the second most engaged social media platform
- 32% of U.S. internet usersare now on Instagram
- 90% of Instagram users are under 35
- Instagram records 5 billion likes every day
- On an average day, 80 million photos are shared
- Instagram usage has doubled in the last two years
- When Instagram introduced videos, more than 5 million were shared in 24 hours
- Out of the top 100 brands in the world, 90% have an Instagram account
- Engagement with brandson Instagram is 10 times greater than Facebook, 54 times greater than Pinterest, and 84 times greater than Twitter
- Over one third of Instagram users have used a mobile device to make a purchase online
How Can I Build My Instagram Audience?
Building an audience on Instagram doesn’t have to be hard or consume great blocks of time. Follow these simple steps to grow your Instagram audience gradually.
Step 1 – Spend 5 minutes a day posting to your Instagram account.
Marketing professionals agree the best times to post on Instagram are Monday and Thursday at 2 am, 8-9 am, and 5 pm. Instagram best practices would be no more than 30 hashtags, although 3-5 is best, and 3 emojis. Always remember, every audience is different, so you should test what frequency and time frames bring you the greatest level of engagement.
Step 2 – Once or twice a week, find your target market and follow them.
Locate a competitor on Instagram, and follow their followers. Seek to add 25 – 100 new accounts during each session. Once your audience begins growing, don’t forget to engage with their posts. This is a good time to note the top hashtags and topics being used by your competitors and their audiences for use in your own posts. Also note the times and days of the week they are posting.
By using these great tips, small business owners can use Instagram to build a vast audience for engagement and marketing that will grow their business. More exposure generates more leads, and more leads produces more sales.
