Should Your Business Be on Instagram?

With over 1 billion active Instagram accounts – and the numbers rising every year – it’s clear that brands are investing in the platform as part of their marketing and sales (yes, sales!) strategies.

Here’s why your business should be on Instagram, no matter the industry

Increase visibility

These days, customers expect your brand to be on Instagram. In fact, over 90% of Instagrammers follow a business, while 200 million users actively visit the profile of a business daily. Plus, a whopping 500 million accounts use Instagram Stories every day, and 1/3 of the most viewed Stories are from businesses.

Consumers are actively looking for businesses and brands to follow on Instagram. You can’t sell your products or services unless people know you exist, right?

Drive sales

The ‘gram isn’t just for pretty posts – in fact, it’s a wonderful place to find new products or services. 60% of users first discovered a product on the platform, while 30% have actively purchased an item they’ve come across on Instagram.

Whether you’re a B2B company or a creative professional, Instagram has various account types to suit your business needs. With the app you can advertise your products or services, and drive traffic directly to your website or contact details via Stories or your profile. If you have an e-commerce business, you can even sell your goods directly from the platform.

Connect with your audience

Having an Instagram account – especially a verified account – is a sign that your business is real and reputable. It builds trust.

Moreover, you have an opportunity to engage with users on a regular basis. We’re not talking about shoving hard-sell adverts under their noses 24/7, but rather finding ways to meaningfully connect. This can be in the form of regular posts, IGTV, or live videos. Whichever format you use, your audience is looking for a brand they can trust, that provides value, and understands their needs.

Gain valuable data

Another way to connect with your audience while simultaneously gathering customer data is to straight up ask what they want and expect from you. Don’t be shy. Users love to provide feedback, and you can use tools provided by Instagram’s Stories (such as the poll feature) to harvest their opinions.

When you use a Business or Creator account, you also gain access to Insights, Instagram’s native analytics tool. Here you can see who your followers are, what kind of content they engage with, and much more. You can’t make informed marketing decisions without data on your target audience and their behaviour, which Instagram happily provides for mahala.

No matter the industry you’re in, Instagram is a cost-effective tool to market to your audience, gain their trust, stay competitive, and make data-driven decisions. Until next time 😊