Earlier today, Instagram announced that it had raked 25 million active business profiles. The social media giant launched its business tools in May 2016, which gives business owners the opportunity to market their products on the platftorm effectively.
The newly announced number exceeds the last count back in July at 15 million, which Instagram considers a big milestone. The Menlo Park-based company says that the growing number of business profiles is a testament to how many business owners view the platform as an important tool when it comes to connecting and gaining customers. Additionally, it said that most Instagram accounts follow a business account, with millions of users clicking on an Instagram-based business each day.
According to Instagram’s Director of Product for Business Vishal Shah, nearly half of business profiles on the platform solely rely on social media, without any link to an outside website or third-party tools. This goes to show that Instagram is their only way of transacting with consumers, suggesting that businesses that are “natively born” on Instagram see the platform as a complete tool in gaining revenue.
With Instagram’s growing number of business profiles, it creates tension among competitors. To recall, Facebook previously received a lot of flack from business owners who found the platform extremely difficult when it comes to organically reaching customers if an ad hasn’t been paid for. To address the issue, the company released a statement saying that the lack of views or engagement was a result of the increased stories shared on each News Feed, thus a decline in organic reach.
Instagram is working to avoid that, according to Shah, who says that business profiles need to have a strategy when posting products. According to the social media executive, regular content update isn’t enough; hashtags and other tools for customers to find you easily is essential.
On Instagram, Shah says that two-thirds of business profile visits come from non-followers, a thing made possible by efficient use of hashtags. Further, Instagram aims to let business owners know customer behavior easier, by adding a tool that shows where visitors come from before visiting a specific business profile.
Instagram is also pushing for transparency in ads, considering the widespread misinformation that’s rampant in most social media platforms these days. Shah adds that Instagram is working hand in hand with Facebook to launch ad transparency. In fact, the team is going to be a part of Facebook’s forthcoming ad transparency campaign, which goes live this month.
Dil Bole Oberoi
