Instagram…
An online mobile photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take pictures and videos, and share them on a variety of social networking platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr.
- Instagram has over 300 million users.
- 70 million photos and videos are shared each day.
- Users tap the like button 2.5 million times daily.
In order for companies to succeed these days, the advertising, marketing, and public relations techniques, as well as integrated marketing, must keep up with the ever-changing world of promotional innovations to sell products and services. There is television brand integration, infomercials, word-of-mouth marketing, product placement, and more. However, the 21st century has brought the fastest growing category of advertising… online/social media marketing.
Now, there are many online and social media platforms that businesses can make use of. Yet, there is one in particular that seems to be underestimated. That is Instagram. Instagram is becoming a global phenomenon where businesses have the ability to advertise and build their brand in a unique way that does not require any money and is very simple to integrate into any social media marketing plan. Instagram is on track to granting select big brands (typically large and well-known companies) the ability to sponsor ads to targeted users. According to Instagram’s blog found on Wordstream…
” Our aim is to make any advertisements you see feel as
natural to Instagram as photos and videos many of you
already enjoy from your favorite brands.” As an avid Instagram user, I’d say they’re doing a pretty great job,
and that I’ve actually enjoyed many of the advertisements
I’ve seen thus far, like this Old Navy ad.
Instagram is also a great tool that can be used to boost a business’s brand engagement. Here are a few examples…
Feature Customers Using your Products
The brand benefit used Instagram to find images of real customers using their makeup. The hashtag #realsies was used in order to find images of those that users uploaded. This is fun for the consumer because by participating, they are entering themselves for a chance to win a year supply of makeup. Also, it builds brand recognition for those that have not tried this product but shows real people who love it.
Promote New Products
Ben & Jerry’s was actually one of the first brands to advertise on Instagram. According to an Instagram success story…
“Using Instagram to spread the word about the joy its ice cream inspires, Ben & Jerry’s reached 9.8 million users and saw a 33-point increase in ad recall. Of users who saw the ad for Scotchy Scotch Scotch ice cream, 17% not only became aware of the new flavor, they also associated it with Ben & Jerry’s.”
There are many more ways businesses can build their brand on Instagram. Can you think of a specific brand being promoted on Instagram? You may not have even realized it was advertising. The image may have flowed nicely within your news feed. Yet if a brand does it right, users will remember the post well after they have viewed it.
Jessica Ames 