You would have to be living under a rock not to realize the power that businesses, brands, and influencers have gathered to themselves through social media. Whether it is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, or YouTube, these businesses and individuals have been able to drive MASSIVE amounts of traffic to their business interests. They have been able to amass small fortunes from this traffic by directing it to their websites and offers. Yet, as the title above discloses, why should you focus your attention on Instagram in particular. Put another way, why use Instagram for business?

Instagram-The King of Social Media?

          The short answer to this question is you should because Instagram is the ALPHA of the social media world. To begin showing why this is the case, read what Gary Vaynerchuk (Gary Vee’s Instagram) says about Instagram:

              “Anybody right now who is not spending a disproportional amount of time trying to figure out the hashtag culture, the Instagram ad product, organic Instagram posting, working with Instagram Influencers is making a huge mistake to not set their business up properly in the 2018-2019 world. We have not even seen the real revenue come in from Instagram yet. It is a beast. It is the current social network.”

              Why listen to Gary Vee? Simply put, he is the top thought leader in the world on using social media to build brands and to drive revenue for businesses. And once you look at his following on all social media platforms, the numbers themselves prove that point!

              To buttress this point by Gary Vee, Jeremy McGilvrey, in his book Instagram Secrets (see our review here), lists twelve reasons why Instagram (in his words) “is dominating all other social media platforms.” He says:

1. Instagram allows you to reach up to 100% of your followers, Facebook only allows you to reach about 6%
2. Instagram’s engagement is amazing-58 times more than Facebook and 120 times more than Twitter.
3. Instagram is extremely easy to use- next to no learning curve.
4. 2016 (old data, but still relevant): Instagram has 23% growth compared to 1.8% growth for Facebook. Twitter lost users.
5. Instagram has equal distribution among iPhone and Android users.
6. Instagram currently has 650-plus million active million users (high currently).
7. Organic engagement has grown by 115% on Instagram- compared to a 63% decrease or organic engagement on Facebook.
8. The average order is $65 on Instagram versus only $55 on Facebook.
9. Instagram’s growth rate continues to double every other smartphone app.
10. Instagram is extremely efficient at deleting fake or spam accounts.
11. Ninety-six percent (96%) of marketers use Facebook, while 36% use Instagram (on Instagram you only must compete with about a third of the marketers online).
12. The average Instagram account grows in followers by 16% per month (200% per year-this refers to business accounts).

              After seeing this data, albeit it is a little dated (2018) you can see why you MUST use Instagram if you desire to promote your business, brand, or product/service online.

Instagram Is Easy to Learn, But You Have to WORK To Make It Work!

              Now, despite the fact above showing how it IS easier and more rewarding to market on Instagram than other platforms (though I do think you should market across ALL platforms), it does not mean that it is EASY. It is not easy to attain success on Instagram and it is not for the LAZY.

              Many people want to attain levels of success that are reserved for the 1% of all Instagram users, yet they do not want to put in the HOURS, WEEKS, MONTHS, and YEARS that it takes to get to that level. If this is you, then go ahead and get this fantasy out of your head. As McGilvrey says in Instagram Secrets, “Successful Instagram marketers do what 99.9% of people will not do.”

              He continues saying, “They do not treat it like something that can be hastily put together and updated without care or attention. Each element is carefully and purposefully engineered to achieve their goal: improve and increase traffic, increase engagement, boost sales via higher conversion rates.”

              You must master the basics of Instagram, commit to publishing, promoting, posting, and engaging your audience, and then leveraging your audience by constantly giving them value. Once you have begun doing this, then you will be able to promote your products and services to your audience, and they will trust you. It takes time, effort, and A LOT of work, but the price is worth it for your business and brand! Stay tuned for more articles on using Instagram to promote and market your brand or business! Leave your comments and questions below!

              (If you would like to read our reviews of McGilvrey’s Instagram Secrets, then click here)

Joshua R. McIntyre, M.Div., Th.M.

Founder, Senior Editor

Tenth Legion Solutions