In 2021, Instagram had 1.21 billion monthly active users, representing more than 28 percent of global Internet users. By 2025, Instagram is expected to reach 1.44 billion monthly active users, representing 31.2 percent of global Internet users. As of January 2023, more than half of Instagram users globally were 34 years old or younger. Instagram, one of the world's most used social media platforms, is popular among young people. Instagram's main function is to upload and share photos and videos, and businesses can use Instagram to post pictures and videos of their products or services to market their brands. As of January 2023, according to a global survey, 80% of social media marketers surveyed use Instagram to promote their business.
Learn more: Data about Instagram marketing
Instagram has more than one billion active users who cover a wide range of demographics. Businesses can reach out to a wide range of people on Instagram, no matter what age group, region or interests they are targeting. In addition to the feature of huge users, Instagram also provides various interactive features such as likes and comments. In addition to strengthening the communication between users, these functions also enable companies to interact with their audiences, thus shaping the brand image and enhancing brand loyalty.
Compared to other social media platforms, such as Twitter or Facebook, Instagram is a visual content-based platform that provides a larger and more prominent space for displaying images. So businesses can showcase their products or services by posting high-quality images and videos on Instagram, especially for businesses in the fashion, beauty, food and travel sectors. Instagram offers a powerful visual promotion channel where they can more directly showcase their products, services and values as a way to attract potential customers.
Instagram's advertising services enable businesses and brands to showcase their products and services to a wide user base. Instagram offers a variety of different types of ads, including image ads, video ads, dynamic ads, and story ads, each of which has its own unique features and available functionality. Advertisers can use Instagram's ad management tools to categorise users and target ads based on their geographic location, age, gender, interests, etc. Instagram also offers ad performance tracking tools that allow advertisers to monitor key metrics such as the number of times their ads are displayed, click-through rates, engagement and conversion rates. This data helps advertisers assess the effectiveness of their campaigns and make necessary optimisations and adjustments.
Instagram offers Instagram Shopping, which allows merchants to create a product catalogue on their Instagram account and tag and display items directly in posts, stories or profiles. The products you SHOPLINE are also automatically synced to Instagram and all products are updated in real time for easy management. This means you can sell your products on Instagram and enable them to checkout without leaving it.
Attractive username: Choose a username that is concise, easy to remember and relevant to your brand image. Avoid complex numbers or symbols to make it easier to find.
Interesting profile: In your profile, summarise your brand values in a few sentences. Try to use humorous and interesting language to attract potential customers.
Visual style: Make sure that the photos you publish have a consistent visual style and colour adjustments. This will help you build your brand image and add beauty to your Instagram page.
Associate other social media accounts: If you are active on other social media platforms as well, consider adding links in your Instagram profile that direct users to your other accounts. This helps to increase your online presence and expand your social media reach.
Update profile regularly: If there are new achievements, activities or projects, make timely updates in your profile to showcase the latest status of your brand.
Posting schedule: Create a posting schedule to ensure that content is posted at a consistent frequency. Posting quality photos and interesting content on a regular basis will attract more followers and increase the exposure of your Instagram account.
High-quality visual material: Visual content is crucial on Instagram. Use beautiful images in high resolution or well-crafted videos and make sure they are clear, engaging and consistent with your brand image.
Emphasise unique selling points: Highlight the unique selling points of your product or service and incorporate them into your ad content. Let potential customers know how your product solves their problems or adds value to them.
Adopt attractive titles and descriptions: Creative and compelling titles can attract users to click on your advert. At the same time, convey the core message succinctly and clearly in the description to pique users' interest.
Utilise user-generated content (UGC): Encourage users to create content for your brand and display it in ads. User-generated content has authenticity and credibility, and can increase brand awareness and interaction.
Focus on brand consistency: Make sure your ad content is consistent with your brand image and style. Use consistent colours, fonts and icons to make your ads visually relevant to your brand.
Relevant and popular hashtags: Choose hashtags that are relevant to your brand's content and target audience. Using popular hashtags increases the chances of content being discovered. Inspiration can be gained by looking at related topics or competitors' hashtags.
Unique branded hashtags: In addition to using common hashtags, you can create unique hashtags specifically for your brand. This helps build brand recognition and makes it easier for users to find your content.
Hashtags in moderation: While using hashtags can increase the exposure of your content, overusing hashtags can make your content look noisy and unprofessional. Choose a few key hashtags that are relevant to your content instead of piling on a lot of irrelevant hashtags.
Hashtag placement: Placing hashtags in the body section of the post or in the comments is effective. If you want the hashtags to be more hidden, place them at the end of the post.
Geolocation: Adding geolocation tags can help your content to be found in specific areas, which is especially important for localised brands or campaigns.
Follow and respond to comments: Regularly check the comments under the post and respond to comments related to the content. Respond to as many comments as possible to show that the brand cares and values its customers. Responses should be friendly, positive and meaningful, demonstrating the brand's image and values.
Private Message Interaction: In addition to replying in the comment section, you can also interact more directly with customers through private messages. If a customer asks a question, expresses interest or provides feedback in a private message, respond to them promptly and try to provide useful information or solutions.
Like and share customer content: Actively like and share user-generated content (UGC) that is relevant to your brand, as this encourages engagement and increases their recognition of your brand. Remember to tag or mention the original publisher so they know the brand supports and recognises them.
Interactive content: Create content that inspires user interaction, such as polls, quizzes, challenges or sweepstakes. Encourage users to answer questions, share ideas or tag friends in the comments to increase engagement and the number of messages left.
Timeliness of replies: Try to reply to comments and private messages in a timely manner to show that the brand cares about and values its users. Delaying replies for too long may make users feel ignored and reduce their engagement.
Make personal connection: If there are specific users who regularly engage with your content or purchase your products, consider making a deeper, personal connection with them. For example, send personal thank you emails, offer exclusive deals or invite them to offline events.
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