The Importance of Instagram for Businesses

A strong online presence can prove to be a stepping stone on the path to success if you know how to do it right. Advertising and marketing have always proven crucial for businesses to spread the message of their products and in the modern world this has not changed at all. However, what has changed is the way of delivering marketing and advertising that reaches a receptive audience. With the advances in modern society and the wholesale shift to online interaction in many different areas, the future of businesses and their ability to grow will certainly involve some amount of being able to master the online world. This applies to all areas of businesses, from recruitment to product development to selling but, for the purposes of this article, it is especially the case for promotional activities. Different websites continue to pop up online and some of these offer new possibilities for companies in how to manage their online activities. One such online innovation, although one that is not exactly new, is Instagram.

What is Instagram and why is it popular?

Instagram has built up a strong following in a relatively short period of time. The social network came into being in 2010 and in that time has gone on to build up a user base of over a billion active monthly users, with around half of this number using Instagram on a daily basis while about 350 million of their users log into the social network several times throughout the day. Instagram’s success led to Facebook paying $1bn for it in 2012. Instagram continues to attract new users for many reasons, such as: of its stripped-down graphics which make it easier to focus on the content at hand; its variety of creative options for presenting the photos users share on the social network which means that each is different; the interaction that is possible with people spread all around the globe; the popularity of the service with popular personalities who use it as a way to communicate directly with their fans. It is also popular because of the speed and ease at which content can be added to it. Instagram has so much going for it that it is no surprise that businesses are looking to make the most of its popularity.

Instagram and businesses

Instagram can be a useful tool for businesses as it provides a direct link with customers and potential ones and it offers companies the opportunity to put products and services in a massive shop window that reaches all around the world. There is also the possibility of having a specially-designed business account which offers more functions to Instagram users who are using their profile for business purposes, including access to analytics which allows you to better understand the people who are visiting your profile; the ability to create Instagram ads and the ability to be directly contacted through Instagram, thus making your business more accessible for those looking you up on Instagram, an important point as Instagram users, in general, tend to use social media to get in touch with businesses when they are looking for information. There is a lot of competition for businesses on Instagram as 25 million have signed up for Instagram accounts but the massive potential audience is more than enough reason to give it a go.

What’s important for businesses to know about Instagram?

The key for businesses to making a big impact on Instagram is exposure and this comes from having a large amount of interaction with other Instagram users. The way to get a lot of  attention is by making the most of the features that Instagram consider important for engagement statistics. These are likes, comments, followers and views. These come from the interaction other Instagram users have with the content you add to your profile. Likes come when a user indicates a positive response to content that you have posted and wants to let you know while a comment can be in a similar vein but may include more description about why the user likes it. Comments may also be added in a bid to look for more information; to engage the profile in conversation or to draw other people’s attention to it by tagging them. Followers are quite important as they are people who are interested in your profile and therefore want to get easier access to the content you add. They will see your updates appear on a regular basis and will naturally engage in Instagram user behaviour such as liking content and adding comments.

How do you get more of these features?

Now that you know what you need, the next thing is to get more of it. A quick solution is to go to websites like insta4likes.com where you can pay for a certain amount of these features and add them to your account as you wish. You can purchase likes, comments or followers and these will be provided by real Instagram users who are instructed by you. You can get them to like different posts, add comments with relevant or specific content or become followers and proceed to behave as regular Instagram followers of your page. This is a quick way to improve the engagement statistics of your profile and, with this done, you will see how your popularity on Instagram increases and, in turn, you become more visible to a wider audience.