Blog 4: Effective of Instagram on Business

Introduction

Instagram is one of the most popular social networking sites where allows users to share their life images and videos to other users. Currently, roughly 75 million Instagram users active every day, and approximately 16 million images are uploaded and shared with their followers (Ting, H., Wong, W. P. M., de Run, E. C., and Lau, S. Y. C. 2015). Additionally, Ting, H., Wong, W. P. M., de Run, E. C., and Lau, S. Y. C (2015) agreed that Instagram is not only as an effective interaction way for the personal reason but it also for organization commitments. For example, many companies use Instagram as a marketing medium to promote their product and service and reach more potential customers. Instagram are unlikely as the other social networking sites, because, Instagram is operating a visual based tactic. Moreover, Instagram is an efficient adverting method as it is said that an image speaks a thousand words (Huey, L. S., and Yazdanifard, R. 2014)

Literature Review

Nowadays, People are living in the busy era; many consumers prefer to look at visual advertising as images and snap videos than traditional advertising with a lot of words Huey, L. S., and Yazdanifard, R. 2014). Therefore, Instagram is an effective marketing tool for industries and firms to promote their brand images, goods, and service to vast of customers with saving cost for designing. This is because, Instagram is offering functions to support every image to be edited and filtered before posting and sharing to their followers (Huey, L. S., and Yazdanifard, R. 2014). Additionally, Instagram not only allows to users and marketer upload their snap photos and videos, but it has also let them interact with other by allowing users to comment on each other’s posts, so marketer could identify their viewers and receive their feedbacks from audiences. However, Instagram is not only offering advantages, but it is also giving disadvantages. For example, images and videos are also known as a reliable tool of Instagram to use for adverting, but it might be the main disadvantage to marketers. This is because, users are trusting on images and videos, so poor and unattractive images or videos will let users unfollow business’s page and bring the business reputation down. (Marko, 2016).

Conclusion and Implications

In the development of networking era, many companies are commonly preferring to use social medias as marketing tools, especially Instagram, to promote their products, service and enhancing brand image. Instagram is the difference from other social networking platforms as it is focusing on offering a better visual based platform and make it convenient for people to communicate with other. However, every marketing tools always offer challenges as poor or unattractive images or videos can affect to business reputation and decreasing followers of the company. Therefore, Marketers need to consider when to create or design photos or videos and mindful of the posted or shared pictures. Moreover, ensuring producing professional and attractive pictures of products or service and offering right messages to right customers. This is because a picture is worth a thousand words.

References:

Huey, L. S., & Yazdanifard, R. (2014). How Instagram can be used as a tool in social

network marketing (Doctoral dissertation, Master’s thesis. Retrieved from http://www. academia. edu/8365558/How_Instagram_can_be_used_as_a_ tool_in_social_network_marketing).

Ting, H., Wong, W. P. M., de Run, E. C., & Lau, S. Y. C. (2015). Beliefs about the use of

Instagram: An exploratory study. International Journal of business and innovation, 2(2), 15-31.

Marko, M. (2016). The Advantages and Disadvantages of Instagram. Mikemarko.com.

Retrieved 28 May 2017, from http://www.mikemarko.com/advantages-disadvantages-of-instagram/