Picturing the next move

Instant marketing

by Danilo Kekic

Picture this: What if we gave you the possibility to build a fan base of loyal customers who admire your company so much, they would buy anything you offer?

You would only have to share a new product with your community and, without hesitation, they would buy it - just because they like you and take their time to listen to you. And realize this: only a thousand fans could be enough to lead to financial freedom. But, how big is the actual potential to build your own brand on social media? And what are you going to do with this information?

Right now, social media is killing the TV, just as the ​video killed the radio star (in the words of The Buggles in the 80s). We are witnessing the evolution of self-created entertainment for the future. People are recording their own podcasts, recording YouTube videos, representing themselves on Instagram, and getting connected on Facebook and LinkedIn. In only a few short years, classical media will no longer be needed. And if you consider millennials, our target group, sometimes they are checking five different screens at the same time; there is no easy way left to catch their attention. Even Georg Kofler, MDAX CEO of the biggest German mass media company P7S1, said that his focus is switching more on to social media than on to his eight German free- and pay-tv channels. ​The great reason why we love to use social media for our clients is that the platform captures important information on how many people watched your stories and posts, and what they did afterwards. This insight is the best way for companies to rate the effectiveness of their social media profile. Compare this with TV or radio spots, where it is virtually impossible to know how many people have seen your product or service. In my opinion, social media is giving us the perfect platform to catch the attention of every target group, as long as you know to whom you want to advertise. They are mostly seen as annoying and, thanks to the innovations of Spotify and Netflix, you are not going to be interrupted by adverts anymore.

People between the ages of 18 and 35 prefer to use Instagram because Facebook “is out.” In other words, our future clients are on this platform and we should introduce ourselves to them to be a brand in the future. Instagram has been a growing social networking service. Today more than 500 million active users share, like and comment on photos and videos. 300 million of them are online daily. Yes, Facebook is way bigger with 2 billion active and 1.3 billion daily users. And even the industry believes in Instagram as one of the best tools for marketing their products. But: Why? Instagram users are following others who they do not know in real life - and therein lies the biggest potential for companies! The “Instagram User” is living a codex: like for likes & follow for following. That means, if you like a post or follow somebody, he or she has to at least check out your profile. There is no similar culture on Facebook or LinkedIn. On Instagram, the algorithm is verifying your posts and if they are liked and commented, they will give you more visibility to users who do not yet follow you - and that is only one of the secrets. E.g., on Facebook, you need to subscribe to a profile to see their posts in your feed - being connected is not enough. At the beginning of Instagram, many users were focused on building a huge amount of followers, just to have their very own community. We call them ‘influencers’. Their audience admires them so much that they would buy nearly anything from them. It is not really a phenomenon when you say it out loud: They trust them because of their authenticity and credibility. They like and even love them and hope to get more attention or individual advice from their idols. Some of them think they are qualifying themselves by being their client or customer.

Luckily, it is easy for companies to find the perfect influencer to advertise for their products. Usually, they will contact your company as long you are branded enough or you already have a loyal community - if not, you could need help from experts like us. An Influencer knows he or she can only live their lifestyle if they monetize their account and start advertising for others. By collaborating with companies, influencers receive commissions, e.g. @Bibisbeautypalace with 5.5 million follower earns up to 22.500€ with one post. It goes without saying, if an individual is getting big on social media, they reach celebrity status as well. People ask to take pictures with them and so on. Our clients and most of the influencers are creating their own products for sale over Instagram. The best example here is Kylie Jenner. She has 125 million followers on Instagram and uses her profile to market her products of Kylie Cosmetics. The company was created in 2015. Since 2015, Forbes magazine estimates, she sold products worth $630 million, more or less through Instagram. Clients who handle their social media like a business and who take it seriously and use our feedback are still getting really big on these platforms.

Now we know Instagram is great as a marketing tool, but there is so much more. You can create your own brand, start a business and earn money with there. If you are interested in learning more about that, just read along - in one sentence: You only have to create content. Something that helps your community with their individual problem. By the way, there is no need to get yourself an expensive camera; use your smartphone to start instead. Just ensure your profile looks clean and professional. Also, give thought to the desired message of your postings or story. You only have to put in the effort and work to create your own community. And the things you might think are the easiest are actually just the opposite. The next step is to post regularly and maintain the high quality of your content. Stay online to keep in touch with your followers and answer messages - talk to your future clients and treat them like current customers.

Instagram is a platform, which no one can ignore in the future. It is the modern way of marketing. There are plenty of strategies and possibilities to ensure every individual can be successful through social media - our job is to consult you on this path or work on a way for your company and make the whole experience easy for you. ​If you decide not to jump on this train, you will be a future client of the influencers. If you choose to start now, you will be the paid party. ​So how do you see this working for you and your business? Tell us at www.keco.tv