There is a reason that over 85% of the world’s top brands are now focusing more of their time, energy and advertising budgets on Instagram; engagement.
According to Forrester Research, brands that are consistently active on Instagram see an average engagement rate of 2.3%, far ahead of both Facebook (0.2%) and Twitter (0.02%).
Not convinced yet? How about I give you five more great reasons why Instagram needs to be part of your digital marketing strategy in 2016.
1. Instagram Already Has A Large User Base
More than 400 million users are now active on the social network, sharing more than 80 million selfies, food and cat photos every single day. It’s not just North Americans who have driven this growth; 76% of users come from outside of the United States and Canada.
2. It Continues To Grow Rapidly
Instagram has seen their user base jump by 4x in the last two years alone, and 2016 predictions see the social network growing another 16%. Social media observers estimate one-third of people in the United States will be active Instagram users by 2019.
3. It Has A Young User Base
There is no denying that Instagram is very popular among younger social media users; some 53% of the social network’s users are under the age of 29. Only Snapchat and Vine commands a bigger percentage of that demographic. For 32% of U.S. teens, Instagram is their go-to social network platform ahead of all others.
4. Who Are Very Engaged
Instagram users are very passionate about the platform, nearly half of active users look at their Instagram feed at least once a day. Posts by top brand accounts on Instagram receive on average 4.820 likes (or hearts).
5. Easy To Use Advertising Tools
Instagram has done a good job so far of implementing advertising into their platform without it feeling too intrusive. It now offers a powerful variety of ad tools to allow brands to interact with audiences including in-feed videos, call-to-action buttons in posts, carousel ads and demographic targeting.
Conclusion
Instagram is well-placed right now to take advantage of some of the key social, technological and content trends that will get stronger over the next few years: more creation and sharing of video content, the continued growth of mobile, a bigger emphasis on content curation and more use of messaging.
Don’t believe that Instagram only works for the big brands either. It is proving to be a very effective platform for many small businesses in Edmonton who are using it daily to grow and engage with local users.
Some Edmonton Instagram accounts doing great marketing on the platform include @cafemosaics, @duchessbakeshop, @coreythebutcher, @organicbox oh, and some company called @woodandcocreative – I hear they are great!
John is a tea-drinking, 43-year-old (not old, just well-seasoned) digital marketer who remains intensely curious about new ways to market online. He believes the best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing, it is about telling stories that resonate enough with people that they want to do business with you.
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