Why is Instagram so Fond of People and so Attractive for Business?

11:48 28 January 2022

Instagram is one of the largest social media platforms with over 2 billion users. In a world with about 7.9 billion people, imagine the power that comes having almost a quarter of the world’s population in one place. It’s a world with endless possibilities for business marketing, research, and sales.

Interestingly, this app not the only social media platform on the internet. But then, the numbers show it is doing better than its competitors. Its growth has led to the growth of many businesses. This is because, users are more likely to interact with user-generated content by leaving comments, saving content, and giving likes for photos and videos posted on Instagram. All of this indicates a high level of audience engagement. It also implies that converting these followers and viewers into customers will be easier.

This helps businesses build a strong appeal to their audiences while driving marketing and sales for their products.

Many people have argued that the growth of this platform is mainly because of its visual appeal. While this is true, it only explains a little of the story. This article explains why Instagram is so popular and why businesses are starting to take advantage of it for marketing and sales.

Why does Instagram Have so Many Users?

To understand why Instagram is attractive for business, one needs to understand why people use the app. That will also give an idea of what the app is about and the types of users there.

Instagram Relies Heavily on Images and Videos

Instagram is so popular because of its heavy reliance on video and imagery. People are highly receptive to imagery, as 65% of the world’s population are visual learners. That means people learn best and understand things better with pictures. More so, a recent study from MIT shows that our brain processes image 60,000 times faster than texts. According to the study, it only takes about 13 to 100 milliseconds for our brains to understand images. Instagram was the first social media platform to use only images. Even now that the app has evolved, photographs take center stage. Captions in the main feed are chopped off at a particular word count to show that pictures are the most important.

Instagram is Designed for Mobile Devices

Technology is shifting rapidly, and mobile devices are taking over. Today, most people prefer to do things on their phones than on their computers. At the end of 2021, over 54% of the total internet traffic came from mobile phones, excluding tablets. In a world that is gradually going mobile, it’s easy to see why this app is so popular. Even though it has a desktop version, its significant functions are only available to mobile users. Therefore, as people use their phones, they interact with the app.

Instagram is User-friendly

Another great reason why this social media platform is so popular is its user-friendliness. It uses a straightforward interface that almost anyone can understand, irrespective of age or exposure. Interestingly, as they bring in new features, the app gives you easy guidelines for using them.

Instagram is Free to Use

One of the reasons this app is so popular is that it is free to use. Like many other social media platforms, anyone can create an account on Instagram. All you need is the internet and an internet-enabled device.

Now to the big question, what makes this platform an ideal place for online businesses?

Why is Instagram Attractive for Businesses?

The following are reasons why business thrives on Instagram and why brands love the platform.

Instagram has Lots of Users

Instagram claims it has over 2 billion active users as of 2021. Over 500 million of those millions of individuals use the platform daily. As we mentioned earlier, it is a mobile-based application. That means businesses that use this social media app sit where most of the internet’s traffic flows.

At the moment, over 54% of the world’s internet users use their mobile phones. And most people spend up to 4 hours or more every day on average checking their phones. Therefore, for an app that works mainly on mobile, these numbers show the vast potential of this app. That considerable number presents a large audience through which businesses can achieve their aims with the right strategy.

Any Business can Thrive on Instagram

Instagram is a robust platform for businesses with so many consumers to select from. This applies to major, well-known corporations, small businesses, and start-ups. The app helps all these businesses to put their organization on the map.

Businesses can use the platform to increase brand recognition and reach their target audience by having an active presence and posting at least once every day. This is how well-known brands like Coca-Cola and Adidas, as well as a host of tiny enterprises, have embraced the app to prosper.

Large companies might have resources to grow faster, but then, small firms can also do well with the right team and proper planning.

Visual Content is Vital for Marketing

As you read earlier, pictures and videos are the most engaging material on the internet. Sharing visual material is the best way to inform customers about brands and establish a relationship with prospective future customers and ambassadors. This is the primary reason why marketers like to incorporate pictures into their social media marketing strategy.

By design, it is one of those platforms that makes it easy for users to share pictures. As a result, the app is an excellent tool for engaging clients and keeping them coming back for more.

Besides, brands can use this app to evaluate what visually connects with their audience. That way, they can improve their identity across other platforms. Also, the images used on Instagram can be incorporated into other marketing channels, such as your blogs and email newsletters.

Instagram Provides a Platform to Connect with Communities

Instagram provides its users with an excellent opportunity to become involved in communities.

The app has an excellent average engagement rate that is 4 times higher than the engagement rate on Facebook. In fact, it has a more effective brand interaction rate, indicating that the audience on this app is more open to marketed content than those on other platforms. That means, even though there are more users on Facebook, firms are likely to get more engagement on Instagram than on Facebook.

The good part is that getting this engagement is easy with this app. All that is needed is a solid strategy while creating a deep connection with the audience. Companies can also create conversations with their hashtags and encourage their followers to participate. All these are important as it creates social proof for the company.

Instagram Has Higher Conversion Rates

Conversion rate is an essential metric for online businesses. It allows businesses to measure the productivity of their marketing channels.

Social media has the potential to generate lots of referral traffic and prospects. But then, this can be costly, especially if the company depends on paid ads. By measuring conversion rates, the company can quickly see how each channel is doing so they can put their resources in the most productive areas.

According to a PracticalEcommerce survey, the Instagram average conversion rate for eCommerce enterprises is 3 percent. Not only that, but referral traffic resulted in an average order value of $103. This is significantly greater than on Twitter and Snapchat. This is surprising considering that one cannot utilize clickable links anywhere on the app. Clickable links are displayed solely in the bio, shoppable feeds, and stories.

Despite that, Instagram continues to provide tremendous returns. This is because customers find the app less spammy. It also helps advertisers save money on unnecessary click expenses. That goes to explain another reason why this app is so attractive for business.

Instagram Allows Businesses to Get Quality Feedback

Savvy marketers understand the need to have quality feedback on their products because it helps businesses improve their products and boost sales. As a result, most marketers and business owners check social media conversations about their company and products. Like other platforms like Twitter and Facebook, businesses can keep track of their brand mentions on Instagram. As people use products, they tend to post photos of their purchases. They may also make product review videos and comment on each other's pages about their level of satisfaction from the product they used. These inputs are critical as they help businesses understand how their clients view your brand. It can also be a strategy to help brands discover suitable candidates for their brand ambassadors.

Instagram Allows Businesses to Monitor their Competitors Easily

For businesses to thrive, they must understand their competitors. By understanding what others in the industry are doing, one can easily do better. Instagram can help new companies find their competitors and what they are doing quickly.

Businesses can simply follow the hashtags of their competitors and see how they connect with their community. Also, they can check their websites to see the material they publish and how frequently they do so. Marketers and business owners can also ask important questions like, how do they interact with their followers? Is there a contest going on? Answering these questions will help the business identify best practices in its market and build its creative strategy.

Final Thoughts

Today, Instagram has more users than ever before. That means it is the best time ever to join the platform. Businesses that do not use this app are probably losing thousands of their prospective clients unknowingly.