Reaching Out to the Digitally Social Consumers
I’d rather be on Instagram than Facebook. Others may not see any difference but I certainly do. As a user, Instagram has been a hub for me where I can share my passion for visual storytelling and learn from the influencers I follow. As a consumer, I can quickly check my brands and I could even speak to them directly and feel the sense of connectedness. I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual. Let me know if you agree or not🙂
Back to business…..
The changes in consumer behaviour shaped by the dramatic changes in the world wide web particularly the emergence of social media platforms has led to a lot of discussions about the best online business model to promote brands. Social media has become so prominent that it is now part of our lives in so many ways. It has shaped the way we engage with friends, family, organisations and brands we consume.
Indeed, social media is not ready to move away from us or should I say we are not ready to give it away. The power of social media and the value it provides for businesses is too big to ignore. However, this possess the question which is the best platform to use?
According to Michael Rappa, (http://digitalenterprise.org/models/models.html) Community Model which includes social networking sites like Instagram – users have high investment in both time and emotions. It is based on loyalty. The Internet is inherently suited to community business models and today this is one of the more fertile areas of development, as seen in rise of social networking.
I absolutely agree with Michael with so much care though because not all businesses are the same.
So, what makes Instagram a must for brands?
Simplicity and Authenticity
Instagram gained its popularity since 2010, because it is quick, easy and simple to set up, fun and free to use just like any other social networking sites like Facebook but not as saturated, cluttered and not as old.
The length of videos and words you can post are just ideal for consumers who mostly have a very short span of attention. The platform has been a popular hub for communities who share creative contents and these communities could potentially promote brands to their followers. Hence, reaching consumers without getting paid.
Great Consumer Reach
The simplicity of Instagram has made it to where it is today. It has more than 1 billion users of which more than 500 million are actively sharing contents every single day. See figure below. (Source: http://mediakix.com/2016/03/top-instagram-statistics-you-should-know/#gs.1va85z.)
Organically Connect with Consumers
Instagram is now considered a home for social media celebrities known as “influencers” where they can effectively engage users and consumers instantly and more importantly the creative contents they create are more organic compared to the typical advertisements produced by production houses that pay celebrity endorsers to act and get paid big bucks.
Using influencers is obviously a much cheaper option than paying celebrities to promote brands. #Potentialsavings
This ability to organically connect has captured the hearts of consumers. Hence, creating a valuable impact for businesses. Instagram has become a means to strengthen the relationship between brands and consumers that’s never seen in the past.
Just like any other social media, Instagram is a room for attention seekers, devotees, connection seekers and entertainment chasers as identified by Hodis et al. (2015). That is why Instagram’s viability is rooted on its high engagement rate and high social presence.
However, businesses need to realize that their brand positioning must align to the image of the influencer. Also. creative contents must be controlled to avoid potential negative impact for the brand.
I believe that Instagram is a must for businesses in order to survive on this day and age and there’s no other way forward but to blend in and adapt to what consumers like.
I’d be more than glad if you can share any of your thoughts by leaving a comment. Adios!
#likeforlike #commentforcomment #digitallysocial
Back to business…..
The changes in consumer behaviour shaped by the dramatic changes in the world wide web particularly the emergence of social media platforms has led to a lot of discussions about the best online business model to promote brands. Social media has become so prominent that it is now part of our lives in so many ways. It has shaped the way we engage with friends, family, organisations and brands we consume.
Indeed, social media is not ready to move away from us or should I say we are not ready to give it away. The power of social media and the value it provides for businesses is too big to ignore. However, this possess the question which is the best platform to use?
According to Michael Rappa, (http://digitalenterprise.org/models/models.html) Community Model which includes social networking sites like Instagram – users have high investment in both time and emotions. It is based on loyalty. The Internet is inherently suited to community business models and today this is one of the more fertile areas of development, as seen in rise of social networking.
I absolutely agree with Michael with so much care though because not all businesses are the same.
So, what makes Instagram a must for brands?
Simplicity and Authenticity
Instagram gained its popularity since 2010, because it is quick, easy and simple to set up, fun and free to use just like any other social networking sites like Facebook but not as saturated, cluttered and not as old.
The length of videos and words you can post are just ideal for consumers who mostly have a very short span of attention. The platform has been a popular hub for communities who share creative contents and these communities could potentially promote brands to their followers. Hence, reaching consumers without getting paid.
Great Consumer Reach
The simplicity of Instagram has made it to where it is today. It has more than 1 billion users of which more than 500 million are actively sharing contents every single day. See figure below. (Source: http://mediakix.com/2016/03/top-instagram-statistics-you-should-know/#gs.1va85z.)
Organically Connect with Consumers
Instagram is now considered a home for social media celebrities known as “influencers” where they can effectively engage users and consumers instantly and more importantly the creative contents they create are more organic compared to the typical advertisements produced by production houses that pay celebrity endorsers to act and get paid big bucks.
Using influencers is obviously a much cheaper option than paying celebrities to promote brands. #Potentialsavings
This ability to organically connect has captured the hearts of consumers. Hence, creating a valuable impact for businesses. Instagram has become a means to strengthen the relationship between brands and consumers that’s never seen in the past.
Just like any other social media, Instagram is a room for attention seekers, devotees, connection seekers and entertainment chasers as identified by Hodis et al. (2015). That is why Instagram’s viability is rooted on its high engagement rate and high social presence.
However, businesses need to realize that their brand positioning must align to the image of the influencer. Also. creative contents must be controlled to avoid potential negative impact for the brand.
I believe that Instagram is a must for businesses in order to survive on this day and age and there’s no other way forward but to blend in and adapt to what consumers like.
I’d be more than glad if you can share any of your thoughts by leaving a comment. Adios!
#likeforlike #commentforcomment #digitallysocial
Instagram is definitely a huge force for promotion right now, even I have been pulled in by brands while swiping through!
ReplyDeleteblog: https://paulmonje.home.blog/2019/03/23/crowdfunding-for-eggs-and-humanity/
I guess Instagram is here to stay, its simplicity and uncluttered nature compared to Facebook makes it more appealing and I hope it stay the same.
ReplyDeleteIG is direct and concise. I think it promotes also simplier interface for social media. It also allows you to have less time in social media unlike other platforms. If you want to have life without compromising your virtual world. Go for IG, though it's also owned by Facebook but for me it's a classy channel because you'll only see the best of the best pictures. Thanks for sharing this. Love it. :)
ReplyDeleteI think IG is definitely a solution for the reduction in the span of attention of more discerning consumers. With this, content creators need to be creative in attracting consumers in a very short span of time. Do you think Instagram would eventually change the way they operate?
ReplyDeleteI have been an IG user for a couple of years now, i have seen several improvements like the videos are getting longer from 15 seconds to a minute now. I have seen one post also which allows more than a minute but a permission has to be asked from a viewer also the improvement for swiping which allows you to check more photos.
ReplyDeleteI like how IG utilizes the space to give advertisers to promote their products by putting the sponsored and paid by pins which gives impact to user but doesn't compromise your browsing experience.
I would say IG will continue to improve their system based on demands and innovations of technology but I think they will stick with how it was originally made, like simplier interface and allows the user to be more productive.
Great insight! I just hope they won't do too much and keep their simplicity because this differentiate them from other platforms. I know they need revenue but if they focus on that they will compromise their original positioning. Users will get saturated with ads and maybe annoy them and eventually move away and look for other sites.
DeleteI feel like Instagram is definitely taking over! Engagement is way down on Facebook. I feel like the apps are all starting to copy each others structure and so Facebook is falling behind because they cant capture the same effect as other apps
ReplyDeletehttps://s3599853.home.blog/2019/03/25/your-morning-coffee-has-a-warning-label-should-your-social-media-have-one-too/comment-page-1/#comment-27
DeleteI definitely agree with you. Facebook has now fallen behind especially for more discerning consumers.
DeleteI also believe that brands need to adapt to what social media is becoming, adapting to consumers and being where they are is a must to engage with the audience and create a business/consumer relationship. I also prefer using Instagram, Facebook not that the problem is that its older but cluttered and it use to be a good place to connect with friends and family but ads have taken over with the opportunity of using our interest to target us and bombard us with ads. I like insta for being able to share what you love and engaging also with your friends but also following others that inspire you and feed you with creative, and interesting content
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. IG is the same as FB but less cluttered and more interesting.
DeleteI totally agree I think that businesses have to adapt to what consumers likes and the way they interact, the platform they use, and if social media is the way, then businesses have to be present where consumers are to reach them as other companies will. Social media to me is a lot more present then facebook, collaborating with endorsers for examples and i can see a trend shifting from facebook to instagram, myself but also from my friends. Businesses have to adapt quickly and follow to survive that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteI think social media platforms really need to act quickly and decisively to be competitive.
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