Hardwood Floors August/September 2018

BUSINESS BEST PRACTICES MARKETING

Instagram: How to Get Started

In the June/July issue, we shared how three hardwood flooring companies are using Instagram to showcase their work and share best practices. In this issue, let’s dig a little deeper into creating a business profile, navigating the various menus, and advertising on Instagram. WHY INSTAGRAM MAKES SENSE FOR BUSINESS With more than 800 million monthly active users (only Facebook and YouTube have more), Instagram continues to grow, especially among the under-30 crowd. And these Instagrammers are not just young; they’re smart, engaged, urban, and nancially stable. is active and social-media-savvy group will continue to grow in in uence and economic relevance as they graduate, start careers, get promoted, marry, have children, buy and build homes, or renovate and remodel older homes. ey’re already using Instagram, and so are smart businesses. But to take advantage of Instagram and all of its new features, you’ll need a business pro le. ESTABLISHING A BUSINESS PROFILE According to eMarketer, from 2016 to 2017, the number of businesses using Instagram almost doubled, perhaps due to the introduction of business pro les. A business pro le gives a business of any size access to analytics about followers and posts, a professional looking pro le, and the ability to promote Instagram posts as ads. Currently, more than 25 million businesses worldwide have an Instagram business pro le. See the owchart on the next page from Later, an Instagram marketing company, to see if an Instagram business pro le makes sense for your company. Even if creating a business pro le doesn’t make sense for your company, using Instagrammay. Consider that 80 percent of users follow at least one business, top brands post 4.9 times per week on Instagram, and 75 percent of Instagram users take

action such as visiting a website, a er viewing a post, according to Global Web Index. NEW TO INSTAGRAM FOR BUSINESS? Because Facebook now owns Instagram, both options for creating a business pro le require a business Facebook account. Companies or individuals that have never had an Instagram account can immediately set up a new Instagram business account. And, individuals who have been using a personal pro le for business can easily convert it to a business pro le. 70% of American Instagram users have a post-secondary education 59% of users visit every day 35% visit several times a day 60% live in urban areas or suburbs 26% of users make more than $75,000 annually 30% earn between $50,000 & $74,999 According to a 2015 Pew Research Study:

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