The only social network that has more active people than the Instagram platform is Facebook, both companies are from the same business group. Filters, effects, frames and stories are the characteristics that make Instagram an extremely interactive application.
It is not only used by private subscribers, but also many businesses around the world find it useful, using this social network for commercial purposes.
Almost any platform that can connect companies with the population is ideal as a marketing tool. Instagram is emerging as one of the most useful sites on the entire internet to be used as a means of reaching potential customers, here we leave a bit of its history and uses corresponding to the field of digital marketing.
Evolution of Instagram from the moment of its launch
October 2010 is the date that corresponds to the official launch of the application. Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom are the names of the creators of the platform.
Instagram's popularity was achieved quickly, the first 100 million users were reached shortly before the second anniversary of the launch, and precisely by April 2012, Instagram achieved that number of registered users.
Originally the application was designed for Apple devices, the popular iPhone, iPad and iPod were the first Instagram players. It was not until 2012 that the Android version was released, thus abandoning exclusivity with the iOs operating system.
A notable change occurred from version 4.0, from this presentation the uploading of videos of up to one minute in length is allowed, leaving behind the unique possibility of uploading photos to the social network.
The company was acquired by Facebook on April 9, 2012 and the amount paid was 1 billion dollars.
Three years later, the possibility of creating advertising from the Facebook ads interface is incorporated into the platform, being one of the most important changes in its recent history and thus becoming a powerful tool to be used in multiple digital marketing campaigns. Currently the application enjoys great popularity worldwide.
Digital marketing practiced from Instagram and the use of stories in said process
The Instagram platform is ideal for establishing digital marketing strategies. The large number of users, the direction and interactivity that the social network gives to publications and the possibility of segmentation offered by options such as advertisements, make this social network a powerful tool from the point of view of marketing.
There are many possibilities that open up to companies when they make use of tools such as stories or the advertising platform, in the case of paying for ads directly we have a large number of segmentation options to exactly match the customers we want.
Instagram is the main digital channel used by online stores today due to its high rate of popularity.
In the case of Instagram Stories (or stories in Spanish), they were added from 2016 as part of the company's strategy to combat the competition from Snapchat and its publications that last 24 hours.
Since the option appeared, it has managed to gather around 250 million users in this feature, a figure that is much higher than the number of people who use Snapchat stories.
Beyond the recreational point of view, Instagram stories are an ideal tool to be used in creative ways in a digital marketing strategy.
If we want to implement these functionalities in our promotion strategy, we must know the specifications exactly and thus give the desired result in the most efficient way. The instagram story sizes are 1080px x 1920px, and if the material that is uploaded in the option is taken with mobile phones, it will normally adapt perfectly to these sizes.
Knowledge of measurements is essential for professionals who make use of tools such as Photoshop or Illustrator, in this way they will be able to obtain the desired view of the content.
It is important to know the measurements, as well as other characteristics of the stories, since if they are handled correctly they could represent a great advantage over competitors within the network itself.
Not only Instagram stories, but the social network in general, is a tool that should not be missing within any digital marketing strategy.