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Social media has become an important focus for most mainstream businesses. In fact, mainstream businesses spend millions of dollars per year in social media campaigns. However, when many business owners think about social media, they think about the big three, Facebook, Twitter and Google+. However, there's one key social network that many tend to leave out. That network is Instagram.
Why Instagram Is Important
Instagram is a social network that revolves around images rather than text. That's exactly the reason that it is so important for businesses to consider. Online, content that contains an image or video draws an audience that is 94% larger than pages with text alone. At the end of the day, consumers don't like to read. The average online user's attention span is just over 8 seconds. So, if you can convey your message via images or video, consumers are more likely to pay attention.
Instagram gives business owners to put a face to their brands. Since consumers would rather do business with a person than with a company, this helps to increase sales. Not to mention, Instagram is a great way to promote your specials and drive more traffic!
Tips For Creating A Successful Instagram Profile
Now that you know why Instagram is important, it's time to talk a bit about creating a successful. Here are some tips that will help:
Tip #1: Your Smile Is Your Biggest Asset On Instagram
There are a massive number of successful Instagram profiles. If you'd like to see a good example of one, take a look at the T. Harv Eker profile and Russell Ruffino's profile (screenshots above). Nonetheless, they all seem to have at least one thing in common. The first thing that users will see when they visit the profile is a smiling face. As mentioned above, consumers would rather do business with a person than a brand. So, putting a face to your business will help. However, it goes far further than that.
At the end of the day, happiness is a contagious emotion. When people see a smiling face, they tend to smile. Perhaps more importantly, the smiling image will show that you are easily approachable and enjoyable to be around. It all ties in to showing your audience that you are a person that they would want to do business with.
Tip #2: Share Often But Be Interesting
Instagram is all about starting conversations around images that you share. So, you'll start more conversations by sharing often. However, you don't want to just share anything for the sake of sharing. The idea is to be interesting and take a targeted approach when it comes to attracting consumers to your business.
For example, if your business is a restaurant, share images of your food, atmosphere and drinks. Share pictures of your customers smiling. You want to show your audience that your restaurant is a place where you find not only good food, but good times! The key here is making sure that your images fit three key factors. They must be interesting, inviting, and about your company in one way or another.
Tip #3: Link To Your Website
There are too many Instagram profiles out there that are made by businesses, but don't link to a business website. The idea here is to use the social network to grow your audience. So, when your audience finds you through Instagram, it's important to give them a path to learn more about your company. That is done by linking to your website.
Final Thoughts
If used properly, Instagram can lead to incredible growth for businesses in just about any sector. Because consumers are more attracted to images than text, the social network gives you a way to interact with your audience that isn't offered in other networks. Now, it's time to use the tips above to create your Instagram profile and start the conversation about your business!
