Do you know how Instagram began? It got its start way back in 2010, although it was in development for longer than that (fun fact: Instagram’s original name was “Burbn”, but its creators decided that it was too similar to the already-existing Foursquare under that moniker). As you might expect, the name is a portmanteau; it’s a mixture of the phrase “instant camera” and the word “telegram”, which is essentially the service that Instagram offers. Clever, no?
Fast forward to today, and Instagram is one of the world’s dominant social media platforms. It still enjoys well in excess of a billion monthly active users, meaning that it’s essentially a hive of activity. The benefits of using Instagram when it comes to your brand are almost innumerable; you’ll gain so much that you’ll wonder why the platform is completely free to businesses and end users alike. Here are 4 key benefits to building a brand on Instagram.
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1. You can build brand awareness
Establishing a presence for your brand on Instagram will help you to build overall awareness of that brand. Building a profile, posting regular content, and engaging with your community will all contribute towards a greater knowledge of your business on the part of the public, and that could well drive conversions as well. Of course, you’ll need to structure your content properly in order to take maximum advantage of your following, but you won’t be able to do that if you have no Instagram presence, after all.
It’s fair to say that a high Instagram follower count is critical for any business. Many brands, for example, will avail themselves of ProfileFollower services in order to organically create a following before posting, thus ensuring there’s a ready-made audience in place for its content. You should consider doing the same for your brand; if users see you’ve already got a high follower count, your authority will seem all the more unassailable as a result.
2. You can engage with your community
Every brand has a community that follows it, purchases its products (or uses its services), and is generally somewhat loyal to that brand. Instagram is a great way to communicate with that community. You can talk to your followers, ask them what they think of your brand identity and values, and ask how you could improve things going forward. Users are often happy to talk to brands, as it puts a human face on something that can otherwise feel a little impersonal and imposing.
This also has the added benefit of giving you a way to address and manage any controversy that may arise surrounding your brand. Whether it’s a badly-managed influencer marketing campaign or an ill-judged round of advertising, your brand will almost certainly eventually fall foul of a faux pas. Building your brand on Instagram gives you a way to directly address that controversy, thus going a long way towards extinguishing the flames of animosity and giving you a clear path forward.
3. You can tell your brand’s story
When your brand has a direct outlet for its narrative like Instagram, you’ll find that it’s much easier to tell that brand’s story and for people to discover it. You can decide what kind of content you post; will it be images of your products, snapshots of your team at work, or even memes you’ve constructed? You have to be careful with the kind of content you create; social media users can be merciless, and if you misjudge it even slightly, you could take a serious PR hit.
Despite the potential pitfalls, telling your brand’s story is a clear, unequivocal strength of Instagram. You can also decide with which causes you want to align yourself. Is something happening in the political sphere that makes you uncomfortable or angry? Instagram is the perfect place to declare that anger and stand in solidarity with those who feel the same way you do. This can also be a positive thing for brands, as it can show there’s passion and ferocity behind the corporate facade.
4. You can track analytics
Like many other social media platforms, Instagram includes an extensive suite of analytical tools designed to help you understand how your posts are performing. Not only can you see how many people have seen your posts, but you can also break down demographics and other statistics, allowing you to tailor your content better for the audience you’re trying to reach. Audience location, age, gender, and more are all available for you to see within Instagram’s built-in analytics window.
If you don’t want to use the standard, included Instagram analytics tools, you can also download a range of Instagram analytical tools to help you. Some of these tools are free, while others will require payment, so think carefully before you make a commitment. Whichever you choose, however, being on Instagram is a great way to get some much-needed audience insight and learn what makes your core demographic tick so that you can provide better content and services for them in the future!
These are just four reasons why building a brand on Instagram is a good idea, but there are many more we haven’t even touched on here. Like other social media platforms, you get from Instagram what you put into it. If you invest the time and effort into Instagram, you’ll almost certainly be rewarded with more followers and more engagement with your brand!