Could Instagram be the most profitable social media platform for your business?

You may have already heard of people who are making lots of money through Instagram, or from a friend who is receiving free stuff or extra cash.

The truth is, Instagram can be a really powerful tool for business growth, and it is currently the social media platform with the largest engagement rate of all. Mobile usage has also increased highly, with it the use of social media apps.

The top benefits of having a well-maintained Instagram are as follows:

• Selling: it is now very common for businesses on Instagram to directly advertise their products on their accounts through videos, images or a ‘Story’ (Stories are short videos/image updates which disappear after 24hrs, similar to the App Snapchat). It is also handy to post images of your products and followers could directly click on ‘Shop the whole look’ by the tags on each article, and make purchases as in a website. It has features that make shopping online a much more interactive and in an easy way.
• Collaborations: many businesses collaborate with others to attract possible new followers that can turn into clients. It is an efficient way of showing your work/services through the other users’ account (who are not your audience, and generally there is no cost by either side.) ‘Collabs’ can be done with other Instagrammers that you don’t even have to know in real life, in fact, the majority of collaborations are with people who are not physically close to each other.
• Influencers: It is a very popular trend in social media, where you can advertise your account/business through another popular Instagram account/user. The majority of times, the other more famous account promoting your business will charge a fee for each post/Story. Frequency, main message, and wording can be personalised depending on your budget.

If you haven’t opened an Instagram account yet, it is worth looking at whether doing so could help your business. You will be able to reach thousands of new users by promoting it with the help of an ‘Influencer’ or by doing ‘collabs’ with other more popular accounts (even if your business is new to the platform.)

For more information to grow or start your business in other ways, keep reading our weekly AIMS blog posted Tuesdays and Like us on Facebook. For accounting-related requests please get in touch with your local accountant.