Instagram has become an integral part of everyday life for many (especially younger) people. Logically, companies have also long since discovered the platform for themselves and for advertising purposes.
Instagram is and remains popular
With over one billion monthly users worldwide and more than 20 million users in Germany alone - and rising - the social media platform Instagram has seen consistently strong user growth over the past few years. If you compare the development of the channel from 2013 to today, Instagram has become increasingly popular, especially in recent years.
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In addition to the social channels Xing, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube, Instagram also serves as an important tool for applicants. The platform is not only used to search for job advertisements, but also helps potential applicants to get an idea of the company. As part of employer branding, Instagram therefore offers the opportunity to present yourself to the public as an attractive employer.
Many companies have now also recognized the increasing popularity of the channel and the associated potential of the platform and are now active on Instagram. Among other things, Instagram promotes this through special business profiles and ever new advertising opportunities that are available to companies.The advantages of Instagram
- More than 95 million photos and videos are uploaded to Instagram every day. Most of them from users and influencers, but also from companies. These photos and videos form the core of the platform and also serve as a means of generating attention. As a result, Instagram's great potential lies in visual storytelling. In addition to providing insights behind the scenes of the company, the posts can also be used to shape the brand image, communicate products and extend campaigns.Instagram is also suitable for strengthening the relationship with customers by presenting the company authentically and close to the user.
- In contrast to other social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest, Instagram stands out above all because only images can be shared and not links. As a result, unlike Pinterest, it is not possible to add links to photos and videos on Instagram. As a result, direct traffic to your own website via Instagram is not possible. Instagram ads and stories are an exception, which can be provided with a link and thus have the possibility to generate traffic. Instagram is particularly suitable for addressing a younger target group. The platform is particularly popular with millennials. If companies want to address this target group specifically, a presence on Instagram is unavoidable.
Advertising on Instagram
The growing number of users on Instagram means that the platform also offers great potential for companies to reach customers. The numerous advertising opportunities in particular are an attractive option for targeting the Instagram audience. Many companies have already made this advantage their own and are placing their advertising messages on Instagram alongside Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Instagram has a projected turnover of around 40 billion dollars from advertising in 2023, putting it well ahead of Facebook.
There are four main types of ads on the popular photo-sharing app. In addition to Photo Ads and Video Ads, Carousel Ads can also be placed. In addition to reach, video views and conversions, the primary objectives are visitor traffic and app installations. Ads within Instagram Stories or now also Reels are also possible. The latter are placed as sponsored content on Instagram Stories, whereas the first three ad types are listed in the user's feed.
Tips for your business profile on Instagram
Instagram is one of the most effective branding tools on the social web today. A clear and structured approach is required to address the target group in a way that is appropriate for the platform. We have therefore summarized eight tips for your professional brand presence on the platform:
Define an Instagram strategy
Before setting up the channel, it is advisable to carry out strategic considerations. First of all, you should define your goals for Instagram. These should be based on your company goals and be SMART. An example of an objective would be to increase brand awareness. Determining the posting frequency, publication times, content topics and hashtags are also part of the Instagram strategy. In this step, it is also important to develop special Instagram guidelines, in which, for example, responsibilities or how to deal with critical fan comments are defined.
Focus on visual content
Due to the strong focus on visual content within the platform, you can use Instagram particularly well to showcase your company or brand visually. All content should be self-explanatory and understandable without text. In addition, you should always determine what content your photos and videos should focus on. This can range from pure product presentation to the presentation of your own company culture and character. It often helps to take a look at the profiles of your target group or followers to identify trending topics and popular forms of presentation. Insights from this can then be transferred to your own content. The design of your Instagram profile and the content displayed on it should always be based on the principles of your defined strategy. Your content should also be easy to understand without text, as the latter only plays a subordinate role on the platform.
Post regularly
As with all social channels, the same applies to Instagram: Post regularly, but don't flood your followers' newsfeed with your content. On average, you should publish 2-3 posts per week. The timing of publication depends primarily on your target group. Studies have shown that posts published during the week generate more interactions. However, an individual test of the posting frequency and the time of publication is essential. To get a good overview of the postings, it also makes sense to set up an editorial plan.
Think square and mobile first
The heart of the Instagram platform is the images and videos posted. To achieve the best possible result, the following applies to image creation for Instagram: Think square. For images with the best possible resolution, an image size of 1080px x 1080px is therefore recommended. When selecting your images, you should also bear in mind that Instagram is a mobile-first platform. The selected image material should therefore also be shown to its best advantage on a small screen. For this reason, images and videos must always be of high quality and in high resolution.
Use hashtags
Hashtags are mandatory on Instagram. The reason for this is the fact that Instagram users often search for content via the search function using hashtags. You should therefore use suitable hashtags for every post that are relevant to your company and the topic being discussed. In addition, you should always make sure that the hashtags are selected in the respective national language of the users or in the language defined for the communication. It is also advisable to use hashtags with high popularity, as these are increasingly searched for by users. Hashtags with a (still) low popularity should also be used, as these could be relevant for your own target group and it is also easier to place your own posts prominently here.
Be stringent
Whether in terms of images or text - stringency also plays an important role on Instagram. The aim is to create a high recognition value so that users associate posts directly with you as the sender. With regard to the images, this recognition can be achieved, for example, through a uniform color scheme or the way the product is placed in the images themselves. In addition to the images, however, the tonality of the texts should also be consistent across all posts. Stringency also applies to the profile picture. A consistent image across all social media channels is mandatory so that users always recognize the company immediately, even on different platforms.
Build subscribers
Especially at the beginning, communicating the account on selected channels, such as your own website or other social networks, is crucial in order to establish a certain background noise and achieve initial interactions with published posts. The extension of the Instagram account via Facebook offers particularly great potential. A large overlap between Instagram and Facebook users can be identified here, meaning that the first Instagram followers can be built up quickly. Of course, it is important that users feel addressed by the content on Instagram and that the channel focuses on individual content that is tailored to the requirements of Instagram.
Analyze
In order to be able to draw conclusions from previously published posts and keep an eye on the development of your Instagram profile, you should continuously analyze the performance of your posts etc. and derive optimization approaches. You can use the "Statistics" tab in your business profile for this purpose. Important key figures, such as reach and number of subscribers, are listed here.
Examples of successful Instagram channels
Business accounts in the B2C sector:
Example 1: dm-drogerie markt
1.8 million subscribers and over 2,300 posts - dm's Instagram account guarantees a particularly high reach thanks to its large following. The drugstore posts on average every other day. The posts focus primarily on the presentation of its own products. A big plus point of the page is the high visual standard of the images and the company's interaction with users.
Example 2: Mailchimp
Mailchimp's cracklingly colorful Instagram channel with 171,000 subscribers is also a lot of fun. The brand ultimately manages to transfer this positive feeling to the product itself. The fact that the content is also well received by followers is reflected in the numerous interactions per post. The brand's mascot, which is depicted in every shape and color in the image and video content, creates stringency in the channel and a high recognition value. By using popular hashtags such as #tbt, the brand can also increase its reach and gain new followers.
It should be noted, however, that Instagram must be seen purely as a branding channel that only indirectly supports the sales objectives set. The fact that, apart from Instagram ads, there is no option to add links to the posts means that posts rarely lead to a direct action or a purchase.
