For the new year, we have a new scenario for you. 

Imagine someone (your boss, most likely) sits you down at your computer and tells you that you have to write something eye-catching and gripping if you want to keep your job – under two conditions. One (besides the fear of being fired): you can only write it in a few sentences. Two: it’s unlikely anyone’s going to read it. 

This is a bit what writing for Instagram is like. The social media platform is made for photos with captions relegated as afterthoughts. 

Brevity is the key to wit. 

This is why Instagram was always destined for success. An amalgamation of instant + telegram, social media platforms, and digital communication have always strived to be faster, easier, and more visual – all of which Instagram has in spades. When you include the ability to share, add Stories and vintage-type edit these photos, you get a lot of positive results. 

So why should Instagram matter to anyone in digital marketing?

This social media platform is different from others in quite a few ways. 

• Engagement 

When most businesses look at their followers on social media, they realise that platforms like Facebook or Twitter have a lot of followers, but Instagram a lot less – which isn’t a bad thing. Instagram more than makes up for the lesser followers in terms of engagement with your audience, as this study by Burberry found. 

• Advertising 

More audience engagement = more ad visibility. Not only do your advertisements get seen by a highly-engaged audience, but these people are also more likely to remember your ad. 

• Designed For Mobile 

From its inception, Instagram was designed to be used on the mobile, and this includes advertisements, Stories, and photos. This helps to flow rather than disrupt user experience (UX), making people less likely to ignore your brand. 

• Share Cross-Platform Seamlessly 

When Facebook bought Instagram, it meant that now users could share photos on Instagram and have it instantly shared on their Facebook Walls too, thus increasing exposure. For digital marketers, this is great because it means you don’t even need to have an Instagram page in order to advertise there, just through Facebook Ads. 

When anyone is asked what Instagram is, they’ll tell you “a picture is worth a thousand words”. But how do you craft the perfect post? 

For example, we have the New York Times (NYT) who came out with an advertisement to promote their crossword app, and this is what it looked like: 

Image Source: The New York Times on Instagram 

It’s eye-catching, minimalistic, and to the point. When you’re scrolling through photos of people’s new year celebrations and polls on 2020 resolutions, you’re suddenly hit with this solid block of colour that makes you want to stop and stare – which is more than half the Instagram battle won right there. 

In short, be interesting, consistent, and engage your audience. Instagram can be a potential goldmine for businesses, with super effective ads and allowing you to connect with your demographic on an intimate and personable level.  

Want to know why your brand should adapt to add memes to its social media marketing campaign? You can read our article on the meme-ification of Instagram here. 

Instagram is a great way to get your brand’s unique vibe and personality out there for people to see, and Tribe of Brands can help you stay on top of trends to effectively navigate the complex waters of the internet. Our marketing agency can help you with further ideas on how to design world-class websites, seamless user journeys and digital marketing campaigns.