Over the past decade, Instagram has grown from an obscure photography app into one of the world’s biggest social media communities.

Today, businesses of all shapes and sizes are using Instagram to connect with customers, promote products and build their brands.

4 Reasons to Use Instagram as a Marketing Platform

If you have yet to jump on the Instagram bandwagon, here is a look at what makes it such an impactful marketing platform from a business perspective.

Targeting tiny niches is a breeze

While there is some value to having all-encompassing marketing campaigns that are seen by the largest number of people to promote brand awareness and recognition, this is not a viable option for smaller firms.

Thankfully, Instagram is well suited to letting you target certain, specific niche audiences that will find your product particularly relevant and appealing, based on their interests.

By using Instagram Insights you can track all sorts of data points, identify the most valuable niches to focus on and build campaigns around this information.

You could even work with micro-influencers who may not have a large following but could have just the right set of people hanging on their every post who could then convert into customers for your company.

Telling stories is central to the attraction

Businesses are often told that their marketing efforts need to be structured like a story, in an attempt to engage audiences on an emotional level.

With Instagram, this is part and parcel of the whole experience, and it can be put to use in lots of ways by innovative organizations that are willing to embrace it.

Whether you use the Stories function itself to provide followers with a glimpse at what goes on behind the scenes in your business, or you leverage posts with an interesting and narrative-driven copy to encourage engagement, Instagram will let you show a more human side to your brand.

It can become your brand’s storefront

Instagram is about a lot more than generating likes, shares, and momentum for your brand; it can also be used to proactively sell products directly to your customers.

Since the introduction of Instagram Shopping, you can turn your profile page into a place where people can buy your wares and browse your line up without needing to head elsewhere.

Keeping users in-app means that they will be more likely to go through with a purchase, as they will not need to be inconvenienced by visiting a third-party site.

Feedback can be gathered to inform your marketing decisions

As with all social media services, Instagram is not just a one-way street, but rather a place where people and brands can have an open dialogue about anything and everything.

For businesses, this makes it straightforward to see what followers are saying about your campaigns, product launches, and promotional collaborations.

Working out what you are doing right and what could be improved will be simpler if you know how people feel about your business because of what they are saying in their comments and interactions.

For all of these reasons, Instagram is becoming increasingly indispensable regardless of the industry you occupy or the scale of your operations.

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