These days it is hard to believe that Instagram has recently turned 11 years old and it seems as if it has been out there forever. From being a simple photo-sharing app with a bunch of nice filters it evolved into a massive social phenomenon with millions of users from all over the world. In September 2015 Instagram’s global audience had reached an impressive number of 400 million users; adding over a 100 million during 2016 alone. The rapid growth of this app was predicted to grow (according to the modest forecast by Cowen Group) till 2020, where Instagram’s user base will have reached 680 million people worldwide.
Huge and highly engaged audience makes Instagram extremely appealing to businesses because they need this perfect channel to connect with existing and potential customers. No surprise that apart from its main function of sharing pictures, Instagram becomes a marketing and sales tool with the help of countless third party services. However, you don’t even need anything other than your phone and the app itself to start selling. It might be a surprise for some of you, but while you were reading this introduction, thousands of new products were uploaded for sale into Instagram.
The secret behind Instagram’s amazing success with individual users and businesses is the extreme simplicity in using this app and her viral component. Anyone with a smartphone and access to Internet can cash in on the app’s ever growing audience within a short period and with minimal financial investments. You just need to have a good plan in place and that is exactly what this book is all about – helping you get a better understanding of Instagram and its audience in order to work out a perfect business strategy.
Visual Media Marketing on Instagram: New Techniques
