Social media takes the form of a swiss knife in the Business world. Social media have revolutionized the way one conducts business. Who would have thought that decorative glass displays on the streets would be out of touch? Shopping in Paris would seem like a dream due to the brand presence in the country. But today, no matter where you are in the world or which country’s citizens you are, brands can ship worldwide instantly with the power of social media. Small businesses can benefit from social media services like Instagram and Facebook, considering a low investment when starting the business. One can get heavy returns when social media is used in the right way. If you have the question, “How do small businesses grow on Instagram?” then you are in the right place. Here is how small businesses have grown on Instagram.
Pictures are more appealing than displays today
Today, it is tough to interact with each other physically, and with the social distancing norms during the pandemic, there is no interaction at all. While walking on the road, people tend to stick to their phones and text rapidly with their fingers, not even bothered by a car hitting them. A shop display will merely be noticed in such a world. What people notice is the mobile phone screen, and to get there, a social media presence would help. Social media accounts like Instagram will help you achieve your goals of marketing. Posts in the form of pictures and videos are therefore highly preferred than mannequin displays or glass displays outside shops.
Establishing a brand name and turning it into a popular keyword
A social media presence is establishing a name for your brand. Entitling your brand to a classy and catchy name is the first step towards venturing into your small business journey. When you create your account on Instagram with a brand name, people tend to notice it immediately. Instead of referring to the products by color or description, users affiliate them to a name as users tend to promote products like the name starts gaining popularity. Therefore, the name becomes a trending keyword on social media that boosts reach and creates a wider follower community. This creates traction, and a demand for products is created, thereby a higher volume of credit influx in the brand.
Statistical insights on Instagram and identifying the target audience for your brand
Millions of Instagram users fall in the age group of 15 – 24. If you identify these groups as your target audience, then ditching away Instagram will not help. For instance, youngsters prefer shopping online, rather than traditional methods of shopping. Due to this, small businesses can easily catch up with the evolving global market. Furthermore, 33.1% of the IG users come in the 25-34 age group, while 18-24 years old take up 22.8% of the population. When you make your brand presence on Instagram, you can rest assured that you can target these age groups and have a boom in sales.
A vast majority shop online
The age group above 40 rely on their children or grandchildren to shop for them. Even though they prefer local markets, the onset of online banking has changed the traditional ways of shopping. The age group above 40 not being educated about online banking; therefore have no other option but to turn back on the younger generation of the family. Thus, have a social media presence on Instagram can make the task of youngsters easier, which they would rather prefer. Youngsters or teenagers spend around 9 hours of their day on Instagram. Therefore, a small business can grow by having a social media presence.
A platform to trade
Trading merchandise and raw material become extremely easier. If your business focuses on supply raw material, then finding ideal clients is a one-tap task on Instagram. For instance, if you supply raw material such as cloth material, then using hashtags and keywords, you can find clothing brands instantly and present them with your offer. Therefore, Instagram can help develop connections for trade and make sure to earn to get that daily bread. Conversely, if you plan on finding raw material dealers, you can be beneficial as well, making room for a successful business partnership.
A single employee for the marketing division
Marketing agencies charge a bomb when you ask for brand promotion. Furthermore, hiring a team of marketers would cost a lot. Considering you start as a small business, you can not afford to invest a lot of money in advertising and marketing when there is an easy and cost-effective way to do it. Hiring a single social media expert can help you reach popularity easily. With the right push and the right touch, Instagram can help you move the boat of money and fame. It is easier to buy Instagram likes or Instagram Followers and have relatively fewer charges than hiring marketing experts and the resources they spend. Instagram requires almost negligible resources to host a successful marketing campaign, and so a one-person marketing army will suffice to cut down your costs.
Social Collaboration cutting down digital marketing costs
Social Collaboration is another easy way to reduce the cost of hefty marketing investments. Social Collaboration can be described analogously with symbiosis, which refers to mutual benefits of collaboration. Instead of devising competitive marketing strategies, Instagram can help you be collaborative mutually where both the parties can benefit equally provided they can attract an audience. For instance, if you have a friend running a business with an Instagram account, you can collaborate with them. Sharing each other’s products on your stories or as posts can create traction, which would help in the migration of users from one account or the other, establishing reach.
Another source of income
When you are successful in developing your brand and gaining popularity, your Instagram account can be turned into another income source. For instance, your account’s ability to reach a wider audience can be used as a tool by other brands that do not have this benefit. You can ask for commissions to promote their brand from your account. Such a partnership will be beneficial, and the returns can be used to develop products. Furthermore, writing a review, supporting the brand, and many more methods can be used that will help you grow your small business with the help of Instagram.
Likes are equal to interest in the products
Do you know Instagram likes equals the interest people have in the product? The answer is Yes! Instagram Likes can help you develop a community of individuals that have an interest in your products. Initially, you can buy Instagram Likes to give a kick-start to gain traction. Looking at the popularity and the interest in the brand, users have a mentality of purchasing it. Furthermore, higher demand can help you increase the price of your product. Overall a win-win situation is dependent on your Instagram Likes and receiving traction for positive brand promotion.
One-on-one client customer services
Emails are a good way to communicate but not to have a good chat. Customers always rely on have a one-on-one conversation to put forth their grievances and to resolve their issues. On Instagram, things get simpler, and if a customer slides into your DMs, you can directly have a chat regarding the product without any restrictions in a quick time span. This direct communication method creates a client-customer relationship establishing trust that will help you grow your business. There is a saying that “A happy customer has an aura that attracts other customers as well.”
Instant notification of offers to your customers
Instead of spreading leaflets, banners or investing in highway hoarding advertisements and getting a delayed response from the customers, Instagram can issue a notification of new posts directly into your customer’s smartphones and emails. This new post or story can be about attractive offers and discounts that help stir the sales. Furthermore, attractive offers will tempt customers to purchase the product, and repetitive posts will add longing. Overall, Instagram notifications can be used as a means to communicate offers and devised a sales plan.
Get insights into analytics
Another tool in the Instagram toolbox to grow your business is the analytics tool. To activate the analytics tool, you will need to turn your account into a Business account and purchase few features for upgrades. These upgrades do not cost a lot and can be free as well. You might wonder, how can analytics help you grow your business? The answer lies in Instagram views and likes. For instance, if you have posted two different products and viewing the analytics can suggest which product had lower reach and lower audience engagement. With this method, you will identify your client’s likes and dislikes and can be incorporated in future productions.
Brand improvement data and polls
Getting data from Instagram analytics can be used to improve the brand’s image. This data can be verified using the Instagram poll feature. You can post two images and ask your audience to vote, thereby getting insights into the product’s popularity. You can also ask for client reviews using another tool called Questions. In this way, the brand image is maintained, and insights about future production can be obtained.
Reduced cost on the manufacture and no need for space for display
A small business is often started with savings of the past or very little investment. In such a case finding a shop in an ideal location can be a huge task and a financial burden. Doing business on Instagram can help you create a virtual shop in the form of videos and posts. More people are shopping online than offline, which needs to be kept in mind. Furthermore, you will reduce excessive production as no shop means no display products on mannequins. You will only supply what has been ordered by the customer online.
There is no need for a warehouse when doing business on Instagram
Hoarding packages for sales will not be a problem when doing business on Instagram. You do not need to pile up stocks in a warehouse. This cut shorts the warehouse renting cost and the loss of product not being sold. This is possible because customer places an order by viewing your Instagram post. You only supply what has been demanded. This is an effective way of doing business, and losses can never be expected.
Collaborate with Influencers
Influencers can help you receive a new audience, increase traffic and drive sales. Collaborating with Influencers can also establish trust as reviews are always trusted by customers rather than expensive adverts. Influencers are like fertilizers that will help your business grow at a faster pace. Collaborating with influencers is not expensive, and you can land up with a good deal. If you do not have money to offer, you share the cost of products purchased by customers post promotion. The customers brought to you by the Influencers can be identified by promo codes. Therefore, a good deal can be achieved, and the small business’s growth will be eminent.
Negative comments: Is it a marketing stunt?
A social media presence always triggers hatred, and competitors or haters might use it to create negative comments on your feed. Instead of being upset and cranky about it, you can overcome this by turning these negative against them. These negative comments are, in a way, the critical suggestion that will help you open up a new perspective towards your brand. The commenting feature is better on Instagram as compared to other social media accounts. Furthermore, negative comments create sympathy towards the brand by other users. As positive users outweigh negative users, the ball is on your court. In this, haters can put themselves in the muck.
Spread the brand motto using the Instagram platform
Today’s youth, or Gen Z, prefer knowing about the brand motto and the brand stand on Environmental issues. Gen Z comprises a larger audience in the Instagram community, and you can win over them by using your Instagram platform. By demonstrating your methods of reducing environmental harm and that your products are green and safe, you can drive your sales. For instance, a bamboo toothbrush is likely to be purchased than a plastic toothbrush. Furthermore, posts, stories, and captions can be framed concisely that can resonate in the customers’ minds. The issues of communicating your brand’s motto can be done creatively and concisely on Instagram, which will help you gain customers that will drive sales.
Creating an ideal client based on past data
Our past data recorded by Instagram analytics can be utilized to understand patterns in the client’s behavior. The likes and dislikes based on the color or other factors can be identified by viewing past data. By using this, an ideal client can be created on which a content team can work. This will help you connect with many customers. Furthermore, a sales pitch can be devised by generating simulations with the ideal client. All this is only possible with Instagram’s ability to collect data. One thing that needs to be kept in mind is that the customers are Gods when it comes to business, and making your ideal customer happy infers a higher chance of success in sales.
Engaging in Giveaway contests
A giveaway contest on Instagram can generate traffic. With this, you can get more followers, likes, and views on your posts—an instant way to increase new audience reach. A new audience reach can help you obtain more customers. In this way, your business can grow by increased customer community. Giveaways can be cheaper and stimulate social collaboration in return for a reward. Due to this behavior of followers, you will be able to sky-rocket sales.
Small business can survive anything as long as it is on Instagram
Small businesses are always on the brink of shutting down. The very cause of this is limited resources, piling up credits, and limited customers. With a single economic hit, small businesses are prone to shutdown inevitably. This is evident as what happened during the pandemic. Major small business owners have lost their business and are drowning in loans. This problem can be resolved once and for all when small-scale businesses make their social media presence on Instagram. Instagram is like an immunity bond for small businesses. Even if there is a natural disaster or a pandemic, customers will always be able to view products and offers online. Not just viewing but paying can be done online and keeping the business going despite the economic hardships.
Therefore, even if there is a major disastrous event, small businesses will always be on the market by their immunity booster: Instagram.
Conclusion
It becomes evident that Instagram is a skill that every small business owner should know of. Instagram can reduce costs and at the same time give in a large influx of credits due to sales. Amalgamating Instagram in promotional schemes, sales, and distribution will have a long-term positive business effect. Growing your Instagram account will hardly be required 40 bucks to buy Instagram followers or buy Instagram likes which is quite low. You can therefore be confident in being a small business owner you club with an Instagram account.
