Instagram is the latest sensation to take the digital world by storm. Although it’s been around for a few years now, it seems that companies are just starting to catch on to how useful the app can be for business needs. Before too long, Instagram will likely be to businesses what Facebook is today – a necessary part of their social media efforts. So, since we know Instagram is becoming more and more significant for businesses, it’s easy to wonder if it will eventually become more important than Facebook.
While it’s hard to look into the future and guess what will be relevant in a few years (MySpace, anyone?), it’s probably safe to say that Facebook isn’t going anywhere. There are more than 1.28 billion active monthly Facebook users worldwide. It’s hard to imagine that something so insanely popular will fade out anytime soon. 802 million people log in to Facebook every single day, and ages 25-34 are the most common age demographic of users. This also just so happens to be the target buyer demographic for many businesses. What all of this means is that a business would be crazy to give up on Facebook and jump ship to go to Instagram, or anywhere else for that matter.
However, Instagram has some pretty impressive stats of it’s own. With 200 million active monthly users, they aren’t hurting for visitors. For a company that’s been around for less than fours years, the fact that they see an average of 60 million photos loaded each day is quite impressive. Making the decision to join the fun would be a smart one for most companies.
Since we know Facebook isn’t fading out anytime soon, but we also know that Instagram is a growing phenomenon, a safe bet would be to create an active profile for your business on both platforms. While many of the same people will be on both sites, there will be still more who choose one or the other. Having a presence on both would allow you a broader reach.
The great thing about any social media platform is the fact that they allow you to build a relationship with your customer base. Whether you are a B2B or B2C company, the opportunity for developing a beneficial connection with your clients on both Facebook and Instagram is one to take advantage of. Both have different benefits to offer to your business, and both allow for a different type of relationship.
Even though it’s a social media site, Facebook still allows for a very professional image. You can create your profile to include as much information as you desire, showcasing your logo and displaying your business history for all to view. You can create photo albums for specific product lines, to feature philanthropic activities, to give a behind-the-scenes look into your business, or basically anything that your heart desires. Customers can post questions, comments, or concerns on your wall, where you can then respond for all to see.
Instagram, on the other hand, started as an app. The website and app are both pretty minimalistic still today. Profile photos are small, and there is room for a brief description and links to your website or blog, but no room for detailed information. The entire point of Instagram is to share photos, and to share photos only. You can respond to comments, use hashtags to show up in relevant searches, and tag users in your photos. But there aren’t too many more frills than that. It’s a purely visual medium, and one that is growing like crazy.
Since these two spaces have such completely different purposes it’s easy to see how they could be mutually beneficial for your business. Having an active presence across all social media outlets, from Instagram to Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn, is becoming more essential for your business every day. While it’s incredibly difficult to say which site is more valuable, the fact of the matter is that in order to have a truly successful social media presence for your business, you should have a presence everywhere.
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