Should your business be using Instagram for marketing?
Social media is a powerful marketing and sales tool for many New Zealand businesses in almost every industry. In this section of our social media guides, our content specialists share insight on whether Instagram is right for your business and how to use the platform effectively.
How does Instagram work for businesses?
Over many years of development, the once exclusive ”photo-sharing” platform is now a hub for business activity. Offering in-app shopping functions, live broadcast fundraisers, and the ability to make business enquiries through your account, the options are endless. Check out all the tools Instagram has in place to support your business here.
What are the benefits of your business posting on Instagram?
Increased brand awareness
Because of Instagram’s extensive user base, the platform is a low-cost, high-exposure way to increase brand awareness. The image-centric nature of Instagram creates familiarity with your brand’s presence and imprints on the mind of your existing and potential customers.
So, using Instagram for business will keep you at the forefront of your audience’s mind, no matter where they are in their customer journey.
Increased website traffic
While Instagram is typically a place for making audience connections, and your website is where most real business is generated, Instagram can allow you to transform your followers into website visitors!. Using Instagram as an advocacy tool, you encourage your audience to find more information on your site!
Audience insights
Instagram offers in-depth insights about your audience, including gender, age, location, and the times when they are most active online. While this is useful for helping you to make your Instagram content more effective, it also informs you about the demographics of people most interested in your business. With this valuable information, your business can further tailor your offering to the needs and wants of your most engaged audiences.
Increased brand awareness
Because of Instagram’s extensive user base, the platform is a low-cost, high-exposure way to increase brand awareness. The image-centric nature of Instagram creates familiarity with your brand’s presence and imprints on the mind of your existing and potential customers.
How do you measure success on Instagram?
Most KPIs (key performance indicators) can be measured on Instagram, including:
- Sales
- Website traffic
- Engagement
- Followers
- User-generated content
If one of your goals is to build brand awareness, your follower count, engagement, and post reach are excellent indicators of whether your content is performing well.
For businesses that want sales leads or people to learn more about product offerings, you will want to keep an eye on your link clicks and website traffic referrals from Instagram. Learn more about useful Instagram KPIs for your business here.
Boosted vs. Organic Instagram content: What’s the difference?
Organic Instagram posts have a short ”shelf life. With new content being added to the platform every second, your post can be easily lost amongst the noise, especially if you do not have a large follower base.
Boosting is a quick and easy way to help you reach more Instagram users that your organic content usually wouldn’t. It is an excellent approach to raising brand recognition and improving website traffic!
Is Instagram right for my business?
While Instagram is one of the best marketing tools, some businesses will get more value from it than others. There are two essential aspects to consider.
Your target market is the first step in deciding whether Instagram suits you.
Instagram users are primarily aged 18-34, with a slightly lower percentage of 35+. People also mainly use Instagram for entertainment and lifestyle content. If your target audience fits within these demo/psychographics, Instagram marketing is probably worth it!
You also need to ask whether your product or service is ”visual”. Instagram requires time spent on delivering high-quality, thoughtful content. Because Instagram is a visual storytelling platform, your business needs a product offering that can be translated well into images and video.
If you’re thinking Instagram might not be suitable for your business, plenty of other social platforms could provide excellent opportunities to market your business online.
Are you lacking the time, resources or knowledge to do Instagram marketing right?
Marketing on Instagram takes planning, creativity, and an in-depth understanding of the constantly changing social media world. If you need more time to focus on core operations whilst reaping Instagram’s benefits, consider a Content Cartel social media package.
Our content producers work to understand your brand’s unique needs and voice, then strategies and deliver impactful social media content.
Contact us today to learn more about our social media services.
