We all spend longer than we should scrolling through the endless content available to us on Instagram. If looking at the posts and stories of the accounts you follow aren’t enough to satisfy, there’s the explore page, Instagram reels, and if you want to get more specific, hashtag searching. There is always something to be found and since its creation, having an account for your startup has gotten more crucial.
Why shouldn’t your post be the one to make people stop in their tracks and discover their new favourite business or product? Plus, without an Instagram, your startup can look like it has something to hide or is, as the kids say, sus. To negate that, we’ve put together the Top Five reasons you need an Instagram.
1. It’s where your target audience is
Like podcasts, everyone and their dog will have an Instagram account as there are a mammoth 1.082 billion users and 500 million daily active users globally, with roughly 90% of these accounts following at least one business. Which, if you think about it, is a massive chunk of the population. 32% of 25- to 34-year-olds have an account, 18% of 35- to 44-year-olds, and 11% of 45- to 54-year-olds all actively use the site. So, the likelihood is that a large amount of your target audience will already be on there, waiting to follow you (that sounded a bit sinister, didn’t it?).
Plus, compared to Facebook and Twitter, Instagram is where the engagement is. Photos and videos shared to your feed can expand your engagement levels for all they’re worth. Not to mention, this increased traffic to your Instagram will serve to increase your traffic elsewhere, as users will need to head to your website and other social media pages to purchase items and find out more about your brand.
2. It’s a place to build your startup
The nature of Instagram is that it is visual and used to tell the stories of people’s lives. Similarly, a startup can use Instagram to tell the story of their startup in the way they want to. You are in the driver’s seat of how you use your profile. However you choose to use it, this profile is a place where you give your startup a face, ultimately creating a personal connection with your business and your customers.
Making sure your feed reflects your startup, if it’s quirky, serious, light-hearted, or anything else, is a way to gain trust with your followers and to keep them engaged. For example, Good Dye Young, a hair-dye brand, regularly reshares pictures and videos of customers who have created looks with their dye. Their Instagram grid is always kept colourful and centred on hair, with a millennial/gen-z tone of voice in their captions, as this is their target audience. It shows they listen to their customers and cater their experience to one of familiarity and that really gets them.
3. It’s the most interactive platform
Following on from the previous point, there are many different elements within the app itself, from your grid, to your stories, to being able to upload short video reels, the possibilities for content creation are endless on Instagram. It can really get your creative juices flowing and means there’s a wealth of interaction with your followers to be uncovered.
If a follower just wants to see pictures, that’s what the grid is for. Photo and video updates here can be a lot of fun and the place to allow your branding to shine through in a massive way. A lot of the time, you’ll hear from others on the platform that they need to keep their grid within a theme. This is so when someone looks at their profile, it’s cohesive and easily identifiable as that business. Sticking to a theme, like the colour palette of your branding, will reinforce your credibility.
If your followers would like a deeper look into the day-to-day of your startup, this is where the other elements like stories and reels can come into play. It’s also the best platform for you to receive feedback from followers and for them to feel like they’re being heard. For a lot of small businesses, the story function is used to host Q&A’s and polls for customers to take part in. It’s a simple way, and a quick way, to get real feedback.
4. It’ll save you time
If you ask anyone what’s the one thing they want from life, the answer will probably be that they want more hours in the day. By having and using an Instagram account for your startup, you’ll be able to see within hours if a marketing campaign you’ve implemented is having the desired effect or not. Rather than spending a large chunk of your time into waiting to reap the rewards of a campaign that may not take off, having an Instagram for Business account means you’re able to check your metrics and insights from the moment you send a post out.
Instagram is also one of the most user-friendly platforms as well, so it won’t take long for you to become a master of it. All you need is an image, a graphic, or a video and you’re practically good to go. Any content you use on Instagram can then be repurposed for your other sites.
Have we convinced you yet?
5. It’ll raise your sales
This will be the one that’ll convince you which is why it’s been saved for last.
83% of users say that they find new brands or products by using Instagram and 80% of users say that it helps them in deciding whether to make a purchase or not. With the addition of the shop tab in 2020, it is now easier than ever for a customer to make a purchase from viewing a single post or story from a business. Approximately 130 million users tap on the shopping posts to find out more about an item every month, which would be crazy to miss out on.
If you have an account already that needs a push in the right direction, or if the thought of diving into the grid makes you nervous, get in contact with us. We are on hand to make sure your content showcases how great your startup is and that it’s dazzling enough to get its many users to stop and take notice.
