Instagram & Modern Marketing

In our modern and fast paced digital world, that's all too often driven by an "I'll believe it when I see it" mindset, there are new forms of content, and new ways to market, appearing all the time. As an almost perfect outgrowth of this, Instagram, an online mobile photo and video sharing social network, seems to have captured this zeitgeist by offering every user the opportunity to be, or at least, believe they are, a creative genius. Instagram has managed to spark the seeds of creativity in even the least creative of people, and therein lies a large measure of its appeal: Anybody can use it.

Instagram Driven Marketing

As with any platform and medium that becomes widely popular, companies quickly took the leap and expanded their marketing to Instagram, and for many of them, it appears to have paid off to some extent. The key to successfully marketing on Instagram is to have a visual appeal, and the more appealing your visuals are, the more engaging the audience tends to be.  Obviously this works best for companies whose products already have, or can create, that visual appeal, and images need to spark the viewers curiosity and instantly attract the eye. Finding content on Instagram is driven by hashtags, allowing people to find you from practically anywhere, and giving them the opportunity to engage with your content.  Engagement ranges from liking or commenting on posts, to following your account in order to be automatically notified of new content you post.

Instagram & Sales

It's important to keep in mind that on its own, Instagram is not generally or specifically a sales tool. It's purpose is usually to attract potential customers to engage with your brand, as the first step in making future sales to them. Use striking images that are different, but (crucially) still relevant to your product.  The platform favours a "to the point" approach that is neither overtly sales pitch, nor meaningless fluff. Some brands and products are more suited to a visual medium like Instagram, although with a carefully planned approach most companies can get at least some brand building out of it.