What sets Instagram apart from other social media platforms?

by Harris Scott, Guest Contributor

​With the advancing technology and the speeding internet, social media and the virtual world is practically reigning over everything else today. There are so many different social media platform and millions of people across the world are part of them. Undoubtedly, Facebook, Twitter, Google plus and some similar platform are leading the social media world today. However, Instagram has also gained much popularity and not only that; it is one of the top social platforms for business and marketing today.

Why is Instagram different?

The social platform of Instagram is solely based on exchanging images, and the primary focus of this platform is image upload and image and mini video search. However, Instagram is still different from Facebook and Twitter in many ways, and in many ways, it is more beneficial for business compared to other platforms. Here we are going to point out some features and ways in which Instagram is put to use and how this makes it unique to users.

Primarily photo sharing platform
Unlike the other social media platforms, Instagram is primarily about photo sharing, and in case users do wish to interact and chat, there is the direct message option though the focus remains on the photo sharing feature. Since the primary focus is on photo sharing, different brands can upload and feature their best products here and in turn get more exposure to customers who are interested. The customers can get a good view of the product since the platform focus on high-quality images in particular and this way they can determine what they want from your brand. The picture quality is good for Instagram uploads when compared to other social platforms which compress the images that are being uploaded and as a result leads to bad image quality.

No added charges for business profiles
You can create a profile on Instagram for your business, but you would not be charged additionally for the profile unless you opt for sponsored posts. You can just create a profile with the brand name as the profile name and include all the details associated with the brand on the profile. Add the various photos related to your business with proper hashtags and captions and your business profile would be ready. Unlike other social platforms which have separate charges for boosting your posts or getting you followers, the Instagram platform is free, and you can also get free Instagram likes when you have properly used the hashtags and ensured your profile is public and visible to the right people.

Hashtags
The hashtags are the primary way in which a post gets visibility and exposure. Other social media platforms have different ways of providing this exposure to the posts but Instagram is different, and you can easily get the right kind of exposure to the right people through it. The various innovative hashtags which are trending when applied to your posts can ensure that it would come up every time a user search for this particular hashtag on the social platform. None of the other social media platform makes such extensive use of hashtags like Instagram. Business has aced with the help of these hashtags and by using them very strategically. Unlike most platforms you can opt for, Instagram has the option to market your brand with negligible investment in marketing. The only thing you need is to have a very innovative approach to the marketing of the product.

The privacy
Instagram has a stringent security and privacy settings which ensure that your images cannot be downloaded and misused in any way. The privacy that is offered by Instagram is suitable for users across the world for getting a proper branding of business through it. You can also ensure that your images are hidden when you want to protect them. You can also upload mini videos that can be one minute long at most as well. The features altogether are beneficial for any promotional work. You can give behind the scenes of our brand as well through this platform. The overall focus can be given to ensuring that the images are of high quality, but at the same time, the users can experience complete safety and privacy regarding the use of their images.

The identity of the users and the followers for Instagram can be discreet since the bio of Instagram has a word limit and you can simply input the essentials about your brand and avoid getting any personal data in the profile. However, it is always appreciated by followers when you have some personal touch even on your business profile. This helps to build the trust with the clients, and hence you can easily gain more business when you are being trusted by them.

Millions of users
Currently, it has been observed that Instagram gets approximately 6 million active users every month and they are very active and post at least once a day. If you are working on your business and marketing strategies properly, then you can get some free Instagram likes as well. However, it is important that you built quality posts and gave time to each post specifically to attract more followers and viewers on Instagram. The quality of the post regarding the image as well as the captions and overall appeal altogether determine the impact it would have on your followers.

If you are using Instagram, you will notice the differences that it has when compared to other social media platform. One can draw closest similarities between the Instagram and the Pinterest. However, the marketing facilities which you can innovate based on the different features of Instagram are unlike any other social media platform. An entire brand can be developed with the simple features of Instagram. Being a mobile application primarily it has added advantages since with passing the time, internet surfing through mobile is overshadowing every other mode of using the internet and surfing the internet for any reason.
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Author Bio:

Harris is a leading blog writer and content marketing professional with thousands of real Instagram followers for his postings. Learn more on Like4Like Instagram technique on his blog.