Why your new business needs to market on Instagram

Instagram is among the top social media platforms due to the large user base and abundance of visual content. You may have noticed plenty of brands interacting with their fans on this channel. And it’s clear that they’re getting plenty of benefits from this choice. But will it work the same way for a newly established business?

The truth is that Instagram can be one of the most effective social media channels for startups to build their following and engage with a new audience. With 500 million active users on a monthly basis, Instagram is one of the most widely-used social media platforms. This gives you the opportunity to reach out to a huge audience even as a startup.

There’s also a huge chance that your target audience is among these millions of users, which means that you’ll be marketing where your audience is. Here are some of the top reasons why you should market your new business through Instagram:

1.   It’s a great channel to work with influencers: You know that influencer marketing is an effective channel for overall growth. From building brand awareness and increasing visibility to boosting your conversions, influencers can leverage your business efforts significantly. According to influencers, Instagram is the second best platform for influencer marketing next to Facebook.

This is perhaps one of the reasons why Daniel Wellington was so successful in growing their startup through Instagram influencer marketing alone — the $15,000 company has managed to generate revenue of $220 million in just five years.

The brand worked with thousands of influencers, who posted eye-catching images of the watches along with discount codes that encouraged fans to make a purchase. In the screenshot above, fashion and makeup influencer Diara posts an image of a Daniel Wellington watch with a discount code. She has 1.1 million Instagram followers and generated over 32,000 likes for the photo.

1.   It’s a great platform for audience engagement: Next to Facebook and Snapchat, Instagram has one of the best engagements per audience penetration rates. A comScore study conducted in December 2015 studied the reach and engagement of top social media platforms. For the study, they analysed how each platform penetrated an audience between the ages of 18 and 34.

Based on the study, Instagram performs among the top three social media platforms in terms of engagement and is second in terms of reach. Facebook continues to dominate, but it’s clear that Instagram is an excellent platform to help you engage with your audience. The better you engage your audience, the better your chance at building your following.

This is exactly how Postable attracted a new follower in the form of Stephanie Hawkins of Kuno Creative. Postable uses Instagram to post visually appealing images of their products. But a notable trend is how they interact with followers on their posts. Hawkins wrote a case study on how the brand’s interaction with someone she follows on Instagram caught her attention.

She had never heard of the products before and was unsure about trusting the company. But Postable won her over with their friendly and attentive attitude towards their followers. Here’s a screenshot of how they interacted with one of their followers who was giving them a suggestion on what they could do better.

1.   You can leverage your marketing through Instagram ads: Targeted ads help you reach a relevant audience that is most likely to be interested in your product. You can conduct some research and find your relevant audience based on their behaviour. And Instagram makes for one of the best platforms to showcase your targeted ads, helping you raise brand awareness and acquire new customers.

Several startups and small companies have used targeted Instagram ads to gain new leads and boost conversions. Case studies on the Instagram business blog have showcased several brands using sponsored posts on the platform to boost conversions and increase their following. Grabble, for instance, used Instagram ads to showcase a few handpicked looks that will entice users to download their app.

The result was a 23 percent increase in users within just a month. Additionally, their sales increased threefold in some categories with the help of these sponsored posts. According to the post cited earlier, Instagram ads have contributed to a billion actions taken on the app.

Conclusion

These are three of the main reasons why you should market your startup over Instagram. The huge user base opens doors for you to expand your reach and engage with more potential customers. There are plenty of ways for startup marketing on Instagram as highlighted in a previous blog post. Check them out and get started promoting your new business through the platform.

How has Instagram marketing helped your business? Got any more ideas to include in the list? Go ahead and leave a comment below.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)