Instagram for business

For small and medium-sized businesses, Instagram is a channel of communication with the audience and a sales channel “in one bottle”. Ksenia Bondarenko, partner at FAQ-Agency, an Instagram expert on the women's ecosystem WE ARE, talks about the business opportunity of the network.

The most interesting Instagram in Ukraine is for companies whose target audience is women from 18 to 35 years old. The new generation is no longer google. Young people, having barely opened their eyes, begin to scroll the Instagram feed. For them, there is no separation between offline and online, and a social network is the same extension of a person as his clothes, appearance, words. And, what should be remembered by the business, the new generation is looking for purchases on Instagram in the same way as older people do in the web.

Here they buy cosmetics, clothes, shoes, decor and furniture, jewelry, handmade, weight loss and diet programs, baby products, various services. Therefore, almost all B2C products can be successfully promoted through the Instagram channel.

B2C product + TA women - 70% / men - 30% from 18-34 = Market in the Ukrainian Insta-channel

Instagram Power Secrets

The Instagram team has individual employees who follow the updates of all social networks in the world. Developers instantly implement their most popular functionality on Instagram. Today it combines the functionality of SnapShat (stories), Facebook (publications), Pinterest (photos), YouTube + Vine (IGTV video, video story, video publication), instant messengers (chat function). And recently there was information that Instagram is preparing “Karaoke in history” to compete with TikTok. That is, the user receives all social networks in one.

Most importantly, Instagram is constantly updated. Monthly new opportunities appear, which attracts the new generation most of all.

The power of Instagram for business

Entering the Instagram channel, a business can count on three main things:

• Reach. Today Instagram gives organic (without promotion) coverage of 40-60% of the number of subscribers, while Facebook has only 2-10%. Tags and hashtags make it possible to be seen even by users who are not subscribed to your channel. So, 5-7 Instagram bloggers in 5 days can provide coverage of almost 500 thousand (!) Unique users.
• Attraction and direct communication with customers. Company / brand competitive and interactive mechanics work with the audience. They talk about new products, company and brand benefits. For example, before launching a new restaurant menu, you can conduct a survey in history. So you announce the menu, and raise loyalty, and carry out a small R & D (Research And Development).
• Direct sales. Today Instagram stores are becoming as popular as online stores in their day. Companies specializing in the provision of services can also include the Instagram channel in the sales funnel. But the promotion itself, for example, of an online store and a local clinic will differ in content and advertising strategy. Therefore, this should be considered.

Promotion Specifics

Today, for most B2B products in Ukraine, Facebook, Telegram and LinkedIn are more effective channels. But there is a gradual migration of business people to Instagram. Therefore, there is a high probability that in a few years Instagram will become a key business platform among other social networks.

In the meantime, on Instagram you can advance and be visible for less money than on Facebook. We had a case of working with a blogger when 200% of the total number of subscribers organically saw the publication.

However, it should be understood that Instagram is a resource-intensive tool. First, without a budget, promotion will be ineffective. Secondly, working on a channel takes time. So, it takes 4 to 36 hours of team work each day to manage one account - an SMM manager, a photographer, a video operator, a copywriter, a designer, etc. Therefore, if you have one marketer on staff, be aware that half of his working time will be spent on maintaining one only Instagram.

Thirdly, it’s cheaper to allocate $ 100-200 for targeted advertising, work with opinion leaders than to rely only on organics. Believe me, the money will be beaten off if not in the same, so next month. Provided that a specialist who understands the matter is working on the promotion.