Instagram has quickly gone from a trendy millennial icon to a widely-used and reputable social media marketing platform. It is reputable because it has proven results—companies worldwide have used Instagram to great success (and great profit), and you should be too.
Contrary to popular belief, Instagram is not just about photos. Instagram relatively recently made itself video-compatible, and now videos are just as re-gram and viral worthy as picture posts are. If you haven’t jumped on the instagram video bandwagon yet, just consider these statistics:
- Instagram has 300 million monthly active users
- That’s the equivalent of more than 75 million daily users.
- 20% of Internet users use Instagram
- 27.6% of the U.S. population is estimated to use Instagram in 2015
While Instagram’s popularity is spreading among age groups, it still is a platform of the young—90% of Instagram users are younger than 35.
What Instagram Offers In Terms of Videos
Each social media platform offers its own rules on and benefits for videos. Here is what Instagram brings to the table:
Length: Instagram Video offers up to 15 seconds per video, versus Vine’s 6 seconds.
Editing: Instagram allows users the ability to delete a segment from their video, but for marketing purposes, videos are better edited with a professional video editor program.
Filters: Instagram offers a range of filters, but, again, it is better to professionally edit your videos on another platform.
In-Line Viewing: Instagram videos are ideal for integration across platforms. For example, Instagram videos play directly in-line on Facebook for desktop users. That means that users don’t have to click out of Facebook to watch your Instagram video
Ways to Use Instagram Video
The advantage of instagram videos is that because they are so short (15 seconds), production doesn’t need to be complicated, and production costs are kept low.You can use them for almost anything you can think of. Your creative options are infinite! Here are some ideas:
- Product demos. Give customers a better view of your product and its proportions and functions by putting it on video. Often, a video helps customers put the product into a real-life context, helping them better envision how they would use it. A voiceover with instructions is beneficial for these sort of demos.
- Video lookbooks. Just show off your product! Make it visually appealing by playing with lighting and angles. These videos are easy to make and can be made often. An example is a video of your coffee store’s barista pouring a cappuccino, or a 360 view of your product.
- Highlighting special offers or events. These can be done in just a few seconds, and they can make use of a montage of pictures instead of video footage. Use videos to introduce promotions, upcoming events, or special offers.
- Showcase customer videos. Invite fans and customers to submit videos of them using your product. Tell them to tag their video with your company-specific hashtag, and then re-gram their videos so all your followers can see!
- Connect customers with your brand. Humanize your brand by providing a behind-the-scenes look into your company. Videos of your products, office, production process, and promotions, give insight into your company in a light-hearted context on Instagram.
Watch Engagement Grow!
Employ the above tactics and watch both interest in and engagement with your brand grow! Instagram is a great platform for profit-generation, when used right!