Whilst marketing on Instagram may seem easy on the surface, in actual fact, this process takes time, patience, and above all else, creativity. Nevertheless, there is a reason so many brands in the UK are utilising this technique. According to Social Pilot, 150 million Instagram users utilise the platform on a monthly basis to communicate with brands – a statistic you just can’t ignore!
Instagram’s Demographics
Wondering if Instagram is a good fit for your marketing strategy? Whilst this platform is suitable for the vast majority of businesses, the demographic you’re looking to reach will have a bearing on just how much time you need to be putting into the platform.
Unsurprisingly, Instagram has a fairly even split between the sexes. Overall, 51.8% of their demographic are male whilst the remaining 48.2% are female. This being said, when you look at demographics by country, this varies slightly. In the US, females utilise the platform more commonly and make up 56.5% of their users. This is very similar to the UK demographic, where 57% of users are female.
As for age, generally, it is younger people who are using Instagram the most. Reportedly, 59% of internet users aged 18-29 use the platform. Overall, 90% of their users are under 35 years old. Meanwhile, 2.5% of over 65’s in the UK report that they also use the platform regularly.
Should My Brand Be Marketing on Instagram
If you’re looking to target some of the demographics mentioned above, Instagram is certainly the way to do it! This platform tends to work best for B2C brands, although there is always benefits to B2B companieshaving a presence here too.
Instagram works best for those selling tangible products. Given the visual nature of the platform, those with physical goods are at an advantage when it comes to generating content. However, any business can use Instagram!
4 Ways to Build Your Following (Quickly)
Something that most businesses struggle with is increasing their following on social media sites, such as Instagram. Whilst having an engaged audience is more important than a huge following (more on this later), it’s only natural that you want your audience to grow. As such, below, we have listed 4 ways to boost your followers right in time for Black Friday!
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Engaging With Your Community
Sharing, commenting, and liking local businesses posts and accounts helps you to build your online community and a support network. When doing so, these brands are more likely to give you shoutouts on their own profile and engage with your content as and when you post.
A ‘follow spree’ is an old but effective method that many of you have likely already heard of and may have even tried. This being said, there is quite a process to seeing effective results from this technique. When you work with a specialist social media agency like VerriBerri, we will carry out community engagement on your behalf.
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Sharing Relevant Content
When it comes to effectively marketing on Instagram, your content needs to be relevant, eye-catching, and engaging. Getting professional photos or videos taken of your products is a great way to ensure you are always grabbing people’s attention. Beyond this, you should also consider the pain points of your customers and address these within your posts. Ask yourself, why might someone need your product or service? Offering a solution to someone’s problem is a sure way to guarantee results!
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Utilising CTA’s
CTA stands for ‘Call to Action’ and does what it says on the tin. These are imperative sentences that tell the reader to complete a command. Adding a simple ‘follow us for more’ may not seem that impactful. In actuality, CTA’s are incredibly effective in every medium of marketing. Click here for some useful stats.
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Hosting A Giveaway
Where possible, hosting a giveaway on your social media profile is a great way to get lots of engagement on your account. Within the requirements for entry, you should ask people to share your post (and profile) on their story, tag people within the comments, and follow your account. Each of these steps are great for exposure. Moreover, a large portion of people who follow accounts as part of a giveaway entry will likely forget to unfollow later.
Why You Should Avoid Buying Followers at All Costs
Ultimately, Instagram makes more money the longer people are utilising their app. As such, their algorithm is centred around keeping users on the platform for as long as possible.
When marketing on Instagram, the platform first pushes your content out to a smaller percentage of your audience. If lots of people engage with the post, they will then share this with more and more of your followers and eventually, you may even appear on the explore page. As such, it’s important that the people following your business on Instagram are active.
When brands or influencers purchase followers on social media sites, the majority of the time they are buying ‘follows’ from inactive accounts. If your content is then shared with these profiles and they don’t interact, this will stunt the reach of your posts. It’s for this reason that it’s vital you avoid this method. Moreover, that you are also monitoring and removing any old accounts who may be following you too.
Contact Us
Interested in getting professional help with marketing on Instagram? We’re here to help!
For more information on any of our digital marketing services, get in touch with our Essex office by clicking here. You can also call us direct on 01376 386 850.