Before we jump in to the discussion on whether or not your company should be paying attention to Instagram, or more specifically, whether you, as a marketer, should be spending time and resources on Instagram, let’s address some of the main arguments I hear about why a company is not on Instagram.
“I can’t be everywhere, I need to prioritize and Instagram didn’t make the cut.”
“Why should I be spending time on a platform for sharing pictures of my food?”
“My target audience is not there, Instagram is for the younger generation.”
All of these claims and many more are not that much different than the reasons that I heard eight years ago regarding Twitter. Well, today, I think most brands recognize that Twitter is a significant platform that should not be ignored. But that doesn’t answer the question most marketers ask themselves, whether to spend time and resources on Instagram or not.
All the Other Platforms Offer Distribution
When you look at the value proposition of Facebook or Twitter for a brand, among the many advantages of the platform, the main one will always be distribution. You write good content on your blog? Use Twitter to distribute that content. You spend time sharpening your messaging and defining your positioning? Use Facebook to distribute those messages.
Distribution is absolutely a key element to your overall marketing strategy and must not be ignored. I like to say that Facebook has replaced Google as the first place I look when trying to assess a brand and its strength. No activity on Facebook has become somewhat of a red flag. To a lesser extent, the same goes for Twitter.
While distribution is important, and while Twitter and Facebook cannot be ignored, you are missing out on one key component if you don’t leverage Instagram. This one key component can make or break companies, even with extremely wide distribution.
That component is culture.
Company Culture Is What Leading Talent Looks For
If you are a leading developer, chances are, irrelevant of location, you are being actively pursued by several companies. There is never enough top technical talent out there. Same goes for top marketers and top sales people.
If ten years ago, the compensation package you are being offered was your main concern regarding your next job, today, company culture has taken that spot.
What is it like to work at your company? How is the overall environment? Are people happy? Is the office nice? Will I be working with good people? What does the company do for fun?
All these questions can and should be answered in the company Instagram feed. With all the distribution in the world, you still need top talent to join your team if you are going to build a successful company.
Now, I am not saying that top talent won’t consider your company if you don’t have an active Instagram feed. What I am saying is that if you leverage Instagram to communicate the company culture you have created, that will be an extra selling point when recruiting talent, and it might be the tipping point of why they choose you over other offers they have on the table.
Leverage Instagram to share what it’s like to work at your company, what it’s like to work with your team, and communicate visually to your Instagram audience why they should want to work alongside you and that team.
If resources are the issue and “Instagram” didn’t make the cut, then you should shift priorities and not neglect the importance of company culture.
If you think Instagram is a platform for sharing silly photos of your food, you are in for a major surprise as Instagram is quickly replacing other main platforms as the go-to site for young professionals.
Finally, if you think your target audience is not on Instagram, you are either very mistaken, or you are right, they are not there, but they will be soon enough, so, you, as a professional, should be following the famous words of Wayne Gretzky and “Skating to where the puck is going.”
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