It is hard to remember a life before Instagram, but there was one. It
didn’t even exist until 2010, but now, eight years and 500 million worldwide
users later, it has become the most popular social media channel, opening
up possibilities and opportunities for people in all walks of life.
Whether you primarily use it as an outlet for personal photos on a social
level, for following your favourite celebrities, sports stars or bands,
or whether your business uses it as a marketing tool, Instagram has overtaken
all the other social media platforms as the most fashionable around. So
why is that?
Engagement
Instagram is perfect for artists, businesses and for brands, because they
can connect to their audience and show a human side to themselves. And
it is great for regular users because they can connect with friends, they
can seek out influencers and take some tips off them and they can maybe
use it to start their own business.
Instant
Undoubtedly, Instagram is fashionable because it is ‘living in the moment’,
it is live, it is on the go. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing,
you can share it worldwide within seconds and people are attracted to that.
It is also a pretty simple app with a robust structure, and not too many
options to make it confusing and complex when you are just trying to capture
the moment.
Visual
Of course the major attraction of Instagram is that it is visual and exciting.
Scrolling through your timeline is a constant feed of something new and
often unexpected. If you mix your timeline with friends and celebrities
your feed will be both funny and inspirational and even aspirational. Where
else can you scroll from an image of your best friend to Kylie’s latest
post and check out how they both look? Your feed is a cosy little hub that
is unique and only you control.
Young and fresh
Instagram has a younger average demographic compared to Twitter, Facebook
and LinkedIn, for example. It is of course more image-led, and has more
energy and vivacity than other platforms, which can be more of an outlet
for personal thoughts or political messages.
Maximum exposure
Of course you can play around with your security settings, but Instagram
offers you maximum public exposure in an instant, which can be a great
outlet for your message or images. Other social media platforms have limits
and are more text-based, but hashtag well on Instagram and the world’s
your oyster.
Light
Instagram is not a place for heavy or extended engagement, it is a platform
for fun, colour, ideas and inspiration. Brevity is the order of the day
and in today’s fast-paced, on-the-move environment a short, sharp, strong
message is what creates attention, and Instagram is perfect for that.
Check out what’s happening
Finally, it is so easy to track trends on Instagram and appreciate what
is happening, whether you are looking for fashion, music, dining out, art,
culture or interior design. A quick search will open up everything you
need as a reflection of what is happening now. This is great for brands
or start-up businesses as it acts effectively as cheap market research
and gives you instant access to what people in your target market are doing.
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