social snaps: instagram

Instagram has hit the scene as an increasingly valuable marketing and branding tool, especially for ecommerce. Apparel brands and shoe brands particularly have been finding instagram to be one of the most rewarding ways (currently) to reach their target audience, drive more traffic to their main websites, and, most importantly, drive an increase in sales. So, why is Instagram thriving in our current social environment? For one, Instagram is free. These days, disposable income is not the easiest to come by! You can post as many pictures (potential ads) as you want, and for the most part, without any limitations (they do not get down with nudity: http://live1015phoenix.cbslocal.com/2014/04/30/rihanna-gets-kicked-off-of-instagram-for-these-nsfw-pictures/). It seems as if boys and girls of all education levels are using it, although use does appear to be more prevalent in households with lower incomes (<30K) vs. those with higher incomes (>40-50K). The main age demographic is 18-29 year olds, though you can definitely find older and younger users as well. What seems to be so enticing is the fact that Instagram is completely visual. Our society increasingly values pictures more than words: The “show me” over the “tell me”. There is more trust designated to “raw images” and to real people liking and posting photos of clothes or shoes and accessories they like, versus seeing pictures of models in advertisements paid for by brands. In this way, Instagram has served as an asset without little to any effort to the brand itself… if people like your product and they see others that do as well, loyalty seems to follow. Free advertising to a larger demographic than could potentially be reached without such a tool?…It almost seems too good to be true. Instagram has been regarded as the “second-most important social network to American teens” (tied with Facebook, behind Twitter). Given that it is really the first completely visual-based SM tool of our time, is it really so shocking that is has taken off the way it has? Whenever the first new whatever comes out, there is always someone else trying, and often achieving, to make their spin on it better. Sure Instagram is great now, but with sites like Google+ entering the mix, we’ll see just how long this Instagram reign can last.