Why Businesses would utilise Instagram?

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1. Customer Connection - Communication between customers and a business is key. Informing customers about changes to a product/service shows customers that they are a valuable part of the business. Thanking Customers for supporting a campaign that the business has taken part in ensures customers that their Efforts weren’t for nothing. This boosts loyalty of the customer to the business and this means that the customer will support the business more in the future.

2. Branding - Instagram allows the effective spread of a business’ brand image that will be seen by many potential customers. In recent years, the number of consumers using the Internet to browse for products has dramatically risen. And by gaining a large following on Instagram, businesses are able to present their brand to an audience of hundreds, if not, thousands, strengthening your brand presence in your market space over time.

3. Businesses can make money directly from Instagram – Instagram has changed from it first started in 2010. It has introduced posts that lead the consumer straight to the business page / web page. Businesses can tag products in their posts and this will provide customers with prices, a description of the products and a link to the business main store page. 72 percent of Instagram users admitted buying products directly through Instagram. [1] If this is the case, why wouldn’t a business make the most of this money-making opportunity?

 

Why would politicians use Instagram?

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Instagram is not something that is traditionally thought as an access point for political information; however, it is becoming an increasingly prominent tool used to both share political ideas and drive politician’s campaigns. There are several factors which have caused the rise of politics within Instagram

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Firstly, the sheer amount of people using Instagram mean it is essential that politicians pay attention to the platform. Statistics show that there are roughly one billion active users in 2020 [2], and that the number of adults using Instagram in the US has increased from 35% to 37% in the year 2019 [3]. The growth rate of Instagram also dwarfs that of its direct competitors, with Snapchat and Facebook growing 2.13% and 3.14% respectively in Q1 of 2018, whereas Instagram grew by almost 5% [4]. This means that any politician or party not using Instagram is missing out on a huge audience and a platform that shows increasing popularity when compared to its rivals.

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It is also important to consider the user age demographic of Instagram. The Pew Research Centre shows that Instagram is predominately used by young people. 75% of users aged 18 – 24 say that they use Instagram, followed closely by Snapchat at 73% [5]. Facebook still boasts 76% in the same category, but it is important to consider the overall user base of each social media. In 2020 Instagram’s user base was 30% aged 18 – 24 [6], compared to Facebook’s 24% [6], with an overall user base of 1 billion and 2.4 billion respectively [2]. This shows that, despite having more users in the 18 – 24 categories overall, the young people user base of Instagram is more concentrated. This makes Instagram a potentially easier platform for politicians to target young people, a voting population showing a steady turnout in the US [8] and a recent increase in the UK [9].

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‘Stories’ are another way in which politicians can influence their followers, but on a much more personal level. Most video media we see of politicians are debates, paid adverts and interviews, all of which are scripted to varying degrees.  What we don’t often get to see is the person behind the politician, and that’s the area where Instagram stories shine. The non-linear short videos often include the everyday life of the politician. Whether it’s a family meet up, walking the dog or a moment of spontaneity, it allows those involved in politics to seem more human, and thus enhance their political profile. US senator Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is considered is the current pioneer when it comes to politics and Instagram. Not only do we see much more of her personal life through the platform, but she also uses Instagram story’s user-friendly video editing and overlays to educate her followers on various political issue’s and procedures.

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Instagram may not be as big as some of its competitors, but this powerful photo and video sharing tool is increasing in popularity faster than its rivals, and is becoming increasingly popular with politicians due to its large and growing user base, as well as the number of young people who use the app regularly.

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References

[1]

Zach Benson, "10 Reasons to Use Instagram for Your Business",  May 10, 2018  https://expandedramblings.com/index.php/important-instagram-stats/

[Accessed 06 03 2020].

[2]

J. Clement, "Most popular social networks worldwide as of January 2020, ranked by number of active users," Statista, 14 02 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/. [Accessed 24 02 2020].

[3]

J. Chenn, "Important Instagram stats you need to know for 2020," Sproutsocial, 23 01 2020. [Online]. Available: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-stats/. [Accessed 25 02 2020].

[4]

J. Constine, "Instagram hits 1 billion monthly users, up from 800M in September," Tech Crunch, 2018 20 06. [Online]. Available: https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/20/instagram-1-billion-users/. [Accessed 25 02 2020].

[5]

M. A. Andrew Perrin, "Share of U.S. adults using social media, including Facebook, is mostly unchanged since 2018," Pew Research Centre, 10 04 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/10/share-of-u-s-adults-using-social-media-including-facebook-is-mostly-unchanged-since-2018/. [Accessed 25 02 2020].

[6]

Statista, "Distribution of Instagram users worldwide as of January 2020, by age and gender," Statista, 14 02 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/248769/age-distribution-of-worldwide-instagram-users/. [Accessed 25 02 2020].

[8]

Statista, "Distribution of Facebook users worldwide as of January 2020, by age and gender," Statista, 14 02 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/376128/facebook-global-user-age-distribution/. [Accessed 25 02 2020].

[8]

P. L. Abby Kiesa, "Do We Actually Want Higher Youth Voter Turnout?," Stanford Social Innovation Review. , 21 03 2016. [Online]. Available: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/do_we_actually_want_higher_youth_voter_turnout#. [Accessed 25 02 2020].

[9]

J. Burn-Murdoch, "Youth turnout at general election highest in 25 years, data show," Financial Times, 2017 20 06. [Online]. Available: https://www.ft.com/content/6734cdde-550b-11e7-9fed-c19e2700005f. [Accessed 25 02 2020].

[10]

https://183263-537949-raikfcquaxqncofqfm.stackpathdns.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Instagram-Engagement-iDigic-1.jpg

[11]

https://www.oberlo.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/second-most-engaged-social-channel.jpg