Instagram Emerges As A New Home For Brands as Facebook Shifts

  • Date: 22 February 2018
  • reading time: 3 Minutes
  • Blogger: Gurby Bulo

Instagram is now emerging as the social media platform for visual brands. Despite the fact that Facebook still enjoys the lead in the social media arena, visual brands from all over the world are seeing Instagram's edge when it comes to products that are in need of a good visual platform.

Last year, Instagram was successful in getting 100 million users in just five months. It is now being enjoyed by about 800 million monthly users from the 30 years old age bracket segment of the society. Today, it is considered the impact on social media.

How is this made possible?

Instagram is very good at embracing other networks’ features. These may include: live videos, private messaging, to inspired filters for creative selfies. It has also introduced chronological stream to an algorithmic news feed like Facebook, which gives developers and advertisers control of what users see. Instagram’s ability to reinvent itself is important in sustaining user growth.

Brand engagement on Instagram is incomparable to other networks

Engagement means: the degree to which users actually interact with social media content through liking, sharing and commenting. Based on a recent study, it was found out that brands are getting more engagement on Instagram compared to Facebook or Twitter. Because it is a visual platform, and because visual content is processed faster and more efficiently by the brain, it elicits stronger emotions and makes users react more often to what they see. This process triggers engagement on the network. Brands have seen positive engagement because of their visual images.

Girl on her cellphone

Instagram embraces brand content

It's highly visual format is a definite place for branded content. Beautiful visuals are always beautiful; either they are coming from a friend or a company that sells something. Instagram has introduced new features that embrace brands and their businesses. This includes the Explore tab which automatically connects people to companies and other indiviuals outside their immediate connections. It is also in-app shopping which is tagged in users posts. Integrations with Shopify make this happen. This is Instagram's way of welcoming brands and connecting them deeper to customers.

Instagrams' ad tools have improved

In the past, Instagram was an ads free network. However, this has changed since 2015, when it opened a platform for ads. Recently, it innovates ad formats through integrated Stories-style ads . This allows companies to combine pictures, videos and texts on their story posts. Advertisers number has doubled last year by 2 million and those who get in now will get better chance of getting noticed by customers.

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Instagram's better business tools are coming

Third party Instagram tools are being developed. These are new generation tools that allow companies to scale and measure the results. Like Facebook (as a project), Instagram will become a marketing channel for various companies. 
Instagram, as visual portal for everything under the sun, has greatly grown. Its ability to engage users more than any other will be even more important in the coming years.

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  • Blogger: Gurby Bulo
  • E-mail: [email protected]
  • Online Marketing Strategy Expert at Social Media Gids
  • Internet entrepreneur Gurby Bulo is the Founder of Social Media Gids and host of @SMG Hangout. With his virtual team, they follow the latest online marketing developments because they like it ;-) and to provide you with information, strategies and support necessary to increase your online marketing knowledge, sales and growth on your way to (financial) freedom.
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