Is Instagram The New Face Of eCommerce?
InstaCommerce: The sudden surge of Instagram in eCommerce
Are you on Instagram yet? Instagram is reaching new heights and it’s taking a lot of businesses along up there. Being an Instagram fanatic myself, I realised that there are numerous business profiles these days. More than 25 million business profiles, to be precise. This number is as of November 2017 compared to 15 million in July. Exponential growth, isn’t it? Are you planning to make use of Instagram for business, too? If not, you should totally go for it.
Along with the many SMEs, top brands like Louis Vuitton, Adidas, Renault, Maserati to name a few, are also in the game. And they are doing pretty great. Why is Instagram getting so much hype amongst businesses? Because…
- Instagram for business is obviously trending.
- Instagram relies on eye candies.
- It already has a huge user base and increasing as we speak; 800 million + active users as of December 2017.
Why Do People Use Instagram So Much?
1. Visual Content
Let’s run a little comparison between Facebook and Instagram.
The depiction says it all. While both the platforms rely on images and videos, the text has very less work to do on Instagram. It is marked in green because less text is actually an advantage. The brain tends to remember visual content more than anything else. So, people are naturally more drawn towards the platform with highly engaging (eye-catchy) posts.
Every user on Instagram is there because they like seeing great visual content and be a part of it. At first, it started out as just another social media platform where people follow (or unfollow) people. Same old likes, comments, sharing and DMs. Typical. But the vividness of images and videos kept increasing the number of users gradually, to result in the current huge user base.
2. Huge ‘Young’ User Base
Instagram has 800 million+ moderate / passive users and 500 million+ active users according based on data. That sure is a LOT of people. But what do the terms active, moderate and passive mean?
Can you think of a person who uploads a picture of themselves or their food or pet or anything on Instagram, no matter what? I am sure you can. I can too. All of us can think of at least one such person in our lives. They are the active users. Instagram stories are a boon to active users as they can share literally every half a minute of their lives. And there are people like me who like recording some nice moments of their lives on Instagram — the moderate users. The passive users exist as well, who just scroll their feed for a while and go back to the real world.
However, there is one thing common in all three kinds of users. Most of them are young. And we hang out where our friends do. This is another reason why Instagram is trending in addition to the great user experience and highly engaging content.
Instagram For Business
Instagram For Business = User Base + Visual Content
Why wouldn’t Instagram want to use its ever increasing user base and the visual content for further improvement? There came Instagram for business and it is taking eCommerce by storm as we speak. Like I mentioned earlier, many SMEs and MNCs are using Instagram to engage their customers. And clearly, given the increasing numbers, it is trending among the business owners. Why?
Why Is Instagram For Business Trending?
The number of existing users and the potential of getting them to notice your business through catchy content, is one of the main reasons why it’s trending as an emerging eCommerce platform. Here are some perks and nuances of Instagram for business:
- You can directly get in touch with your potential and existing customers. Follow your customers or influencers to affirm your presence.
- Post exquisite pictures and videos of your products on your profile (which people will love).
- Most business profiles add an element of suspense in their posts engaging the customer further. For example, teaser videos.
- Hashtags are meant for trending. Successful business accounts use them well. Adding Geo-locations on posts help with the post visibility.
- Advertising has never been easier or more precise. There are 1 million+ advertisers on Instagram.
- You can also create Sponsored Stories which are basically Facebook Ads that appear on Instagram stories.
- Instagram analytics are pretty intuitive.
- Customers like to know the behind-the-scenes of businesses. Instagram stories and live videos serve this purpose really well.
- Businesses are mostly targeted at the youth who make the majority of users in Instagram.
- You can add Call to action buttons on your ads and stories. Or you can add a link in your bio.
The list can go on and on. The rise in the number of business profiles is so exponential that it is now hard to say if the number of users are increasing due to the businesses or the businesses are increasing due to the users.
Fact: Posts with Location get 79% more engagement.
Is Business On Instagram Worthwhile?
Many business owners wonder if their social media posts drive any traffic at all. If you are one among them, then you need to know some unwritten rules of business in Instagram.
People DO Checkout Business Profiles Before A Purchase
The shopping behaviour of people in today’s scenario has a lot to do with their Instagram account. Here are a few data driven insights:
- 80% of the active and moderate Instagram users follow at least one business account.
- As of March 2017, over 120 million Instagram users visited a website, gotten directions, called a business, emailed or direct messaged a business.
- Data from an Instagram statistics reveals that in USA, shoppers on Instagram consume 2 times more content than non-shoppers and spend about 85% of their week exploring the newest products and services. How crazy is that?
You get to directly follow your customers, or advertise yourself, showcase your products with exquisite pictures and videos, generate traffic to your website and do a lot more.
Business On Facebook Vs. Instagram
Several studies and data show that Instagram has better engagement rate than Facebook. So, I made my little survey with Nike’s business profiles on both platforms. Here’s what I found.
Their Facebook page has 29.5 million followers and Instagram pages has 75.7 million followers.
A post with LeBron James on the thumbnail that appeared on both Facebook and Instagram got different responses.
This is not just the case with big brands.
Small and medium businesses are also largely benefited. They only need a comparatively smaller audience than big businesses and can reap a high engagement ratio with Instagram.
While a Facebook page is mandatory to open a Business profile on Instagram, you can focus on your Instagram business profile if you are looking to increase your business through social media.
Key Takeaway
Instagram: Less cluttered than Facebook, high engagement, growing exponentially, trending among users and businesses, VISUAL.
Is Instagram the new face of eCommerce? Yes!
And the answer to whether or not social media posts create any impact on your business really depends upon your answers to these questions:
- Who are your target audience?
- Can you find your target audience on this particular platform?
- Are you posting interesting visual content on your business profile?
- Are you doing it right?
If you can answer these questions with clarity, and if you think Instagram can best serve your purpose, go for it. Even if you are not sure about , you can definitely give it a try.
So, are you on Instagram yet?
