Social media has become an integral part of the daily lives of Americans, and businesses are increasingly realizing what a valuable tool it can be for marketing. You may have considered using Facebook or Twitter for marketing purposes, but what about Instagram? The social media network skews much younger than Facebook – 90 percent of its users are under the age of 35 – which gives you a valuable, traditionally high-spending audience to market to.
If you want to use Instagram to market your B2B company, here are some pros and cons to consider:
Pro: It puts you ahead of the curve
Many businesses are struggling to embrace social media properly, which means there is lots of opportunity there. Because of the relative newness of social media, many businesses feel intimidated by it. But if you aggressively pursue Instagram marketing, it’s going to put you well ahead of dozens of meeker companies. And as mentioned above, Facebook and Twitter are the most commonly considered social media platforms for marketing – plenty of opportunity remains with Instagram.
Con: Social Media is unpredictable
But because it is so new, social media is really the Wild West of the marketing world: unexplored, full of potential and fraught with peril. Social media, Instagram included, thrives on openness and public discussion. However, you can put restrictions on your Instagram account, such as making it “protected” (which requires your permission before a user can follow you). If you do not do this, your account can be susceptible to spam or offensive users. To combat this, you need to remain vigilant and active on your Instagram account, to weed out problems quickly.
Pro: It’s easy to use
Of all the social media platforms, Instagram may be one of the easiest to master. The platform is exceedingly simple: you post pictures of stuff you want to share. That’s it. There’s no special pages to worry about, no additional permissions. Every business or organization on Instagram has an account identical to any other user’s account.
Of course, you can get creative with the kinds of pictures you post, the hashtags you include and how you use them to market to your audience, but the platform doesn’t change.
Con: It requires a significant time commitment
Building a social media audience takes time and dedication, and it’s a problem many businesses struggle with; just do a Google search for buying “likes” or “follows” and see how many results you get.
If you want to successfully market via Instagram, you need to post on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times a day. You also have to interact with your audience when they comment on your posts, and watch out for the aforementioned spam. It will take time for your Instagram following to grow, but with persistence, it can develop into a valuable audience for your company.
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