There are millions of people on Instagram, so perhaps it is time for your business to venture onto the platform as well. However, Instagram isn’t perfect for every business and there is a large time commitment involved in the process. Is the payoff of brand awareness and increased traffic worth it?
There are various factors that you need to consider before setting up your company’s Instagram account. That’s why, in this article, the Maxweb team explain all of the benefits and drawbacks of creating a company Instagram page in detail.
What are the benefits of using Instagram?
Instagram is one of the fastest growing social media platforms among individual users and businesses alike. This is for good reason too. Its unique take on content-oriented posts is a nice change from overshared generic posts on sites like Facebook and Twitter.
This is why consumers are using Instagram more and more but what are the commercial benefits to your company?
Increased traffic to your website
Instagram has over 1 billion monthly users. This is a userbase that is only topped by YouTube and Facebook. Your company can capitalise on having all of these people in one place by creating an Instagram account and sharing your story with the world.
By placing links to your website in your profile description, anybody who sees it has the instant ability to be directed to your website. The more people who visit your website, the more likely it is that you will make a sale.
Increased brand awareness
Brand awareness is more difficult to track than hard sales, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not just as important. In fact, many businesses spend thousands of pounds on increasing their brand awareness – something you can do for free with Instagram.
Brand awareness means the amount of people who know who you are and what it is that you do. Naturally, the higher your brand awareness, the more people will consider going to your company to purchase something.
If you’re targeting a specific audience, Instagram can be very useful. It uses hashtags in the same way that Twitter does – meaning that people can filter content based on their interests. Do some research into what hashtags that relate to your business are being used frequently and you’ll be able to see directly how many people might view your posts.
Develop the “personality” of your business
Instagram (as with many social media platforms) is a lot less corporate than any other form of advertising or customer service. For example, there is less of an expectation for you to be formal on these platforms.
You can use this as an opportunity to show some of the people behind your operation and add a personal touch to your organisation’s online presence. Customers really value this human touch as it makes it easier to imagine that they are dealing with these people directly, rather than just a faceless company. Remember that people buy people first.
Develop your company’s branding
All of the largest companies in the world have consistent branding across all of their social channels. Coca Cola’s Facebook page will look similar to their Twitter page and their Instagram page because consistent branding is important.
It is another way to show your customers that you are professionals and that every aspect of your business (even your company social media) reflects that. Also, consistent branding shows your customers that this is the official page for your company at a glance.
What are some of the drawbacks of using Instagram?
There are two sides to every coin. Here are some things that you should consider before hitting the signup button:
It takes time
You can’t expect to register your company’s name on Instagram and have 5,000 followers within a day. Granted, some very large companies with large customer bases can. However, for an SME, this is unlikely.
You will have to spend time on writing your bio, getting a profile picture made up, and writing each of your posts. For many business owners, your time is valuable and Instagram is a big time investment. If you can afford to spend the time creating a solid Instagram presence (or delegate that task to somebody else), then it is worth it.
It’s not right for every company
Because of Instagram’s very visual nature, if your company cannot create beautiful and engaging content then you should consider a different social media platform. When users are searching for content, the combination of hashtags and smaller versions of your image are all they can see when they choose to view one of your posts.
Another thing that you need to consider is what hashtags you can use. For instance, #Manufacturing is no where near as popular as #Fashion. Your industry will greatly influence your success on the platform, based on what users want to see.
A good rule of thumb is that B2B products and services are better advertised elsewhere, whereas B2C will thrive on Instagram. Even so, some B2C products aren’t as conducive to massive success on the platform. An existing level of excitement about your products is a large benefit in this department.
It can take time to gain momentum
Follower counts grow over time. To see tangible results (like sales) from Instagram, you might have to wait for weeks, months, or even years in some cases. And it’s not passive waiting either. You’ll need to commit to a regular content schedule, with the knowledge that you won’t make any sales from your efforts for a while.
Instagram is a long-term investment for your business, which can be daunting for many businesses. That being said, Instagram isn’t going anywhere any time soon – and neither is its userbase.
Develop your company’s branding with Maxweb Solutions
If you need help with developing your businesses branding across Instagram, your website, or any other social media platform, contact Maxweb.
Our design and branding specialists can help you create multiple templates and designs so that your branding is consistent throughout your entire online presence.
To find out more, call us on: 0151 652 4777.
Posted on Monday, November 19th, 2018 in Social Media.
