THE COMPULSORY NEED FOR ALL BUSINESSES TO HAVE AN

INSTAGRAM PRESENCE

Prepared for
BUS 300 GWAR
San Francisco State University

Prepared by
Rose Yin
Group 5

April 12, 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I
INTRODUCTION
Background ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1
Problem or purpose ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1
Significance --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1
Scope ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1
Organization --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1
FINDINGS
Instagram Captures the Most Sought After Audience on the Planet ----------------- 2
Instagram Represents the Future of Social ---------------------------------------------- 3
It is Just the Trendy Thing to do ------------------------------------------------------- 4
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary of problems and procedures --------------------------------------------------- 6
Summary of findings ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 6
Conclusions ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6
Recommendations -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7
WORKS CITED ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 8

LIST OF ILLISTRATIONS
Figure 1: Instagram Usage Among Key Demographics --------------------------------------- 2
Figure 2: Visual Data Chart ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
Figure 3: Leading Brands Ranked by Number of Instagram Followers --------------------- 4

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
This business reports purpose is to address the compulsory need for every business to have an
Instagram handle. Also to stay consistently active on this social media outlet. The current trend in society
and popular culture shows that there could be insidious consequences of neglecting Instagram as a social
media platform for brand exposure. The benefits of having an active account on Instagram will cater to
many aspects of the marketing and branding needs of a business. The specific evidence observed from
popular culture that supports the claim of this business report is presented in the following sequence.

LIST OF FINDINGS
Instagram Captures the Most Sought After Audience on the Planet Instagram is the most
favorable social media platform for Millennials who are 18 to 24-years-old and earn $50,000 to
$74,000 specifically; over those of the same age earning $25,000 to $49,000. Making it the outlet
that could reach the highest concentration of the most important market segment.
Instagram Represents the Future of Social The future of social is visual communication. 90
% of the information transmitted to the brain is visual, Instagram targets the single most crucial
part of how humans retain information. It also eliminated the text heavy mediums of
communication.
It is Just the Trendy Thing to do Almost two-thirds of the worlds top 100 brands, that is
65%, now have an active Instagram account. There is simply not a negative effect to having a
presence on Instagram, as most of these top brands saw positive feedback from remaining active
on Instagram.

CONCLUSION
On the bases of the evidence presented, it is recommended that a business should develop an
Instagram presence as soon as it is established, and remain consistently active by posting relevant content.
This action will increase brand awareness and brand loyalty, also creates more edge against competitive
businesses.

INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND
There is a rapidly increasing need for businesses to adapt to the ever changing society. Branding,
marketing and advertising are some of the most important elements to the success of a business; after all,
if there is no public knowledge of the brand, it doesnt really exist. Instagram is the platform that provides
the answers to the most important aspects in modern branding and marketing.

PURPOSE
This business report is to voice the importance of the presence on Instagram for any brand and
business. Also, to provide evidence of why this specific social media platform is compulsory. By listing
the reasons why, the most popular businesses use Instagram, to raise the awareness of the significance of
having an Instagram.

SIGNIFIGANCE
The consequences of not having a presence on Instagram or remaining relatively idle on
Instagram is quite insidious. With the main audience of Millennials present on Instagram, not being
present on Instagram alienates that whole segment. Then, with the customer loyalty and brand awareness
that the business is losing, its competitor will gain a steady upper hand.

SCOPE
The evidence presented in this business report will range from statistics to trends present in
society. The findings will list the demographic of Instagram, focusing on Millennials; proving the
importance of the audience on Instagram. The findings will also present the statistics of the connections
between people and visual communication, showing the importance of the platform that Instagram offers.
Then the findings will provide some numbers of top brands that are active on Instagram, showing the
success that can be achieved by advertising on Instagram.

ORGANIZATION
This Business Report outlines the fundamental reasons why any business needs to have a
presence on Instagram. The evidence is organized based on topic and its significance within the findings,
from the most crucial point made to the more mundane. Then end with recommendations on ways to
attack the issues presented.

FINDINGS
Instagram Captures the Most Sought After Audience on the Planet
The attention of Millennials is crucial for most businesses. They are the generation that is
currently seeking out brand new products and services, and they are also the new working class with fresh
disposable income. Not only does Instagram capture this generation, shown in the infographic in Figure 1
below, Instagram is the favored social media platform amongst Millennials who are 18 to 24-years-old
and earn $50,000 to $74,000 specifically; over those of the same age earning $25,000 to $49,000. This
makes Instagram the most useful social media platform to target the most important market segment.
Figure 1: Instagram Usage Among Key Demographics

Source: Sprout Social http://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/

These Instagram users are using the platform beyond browsing through random content; 47
percent of Instagram users rank it as one of their top 10 channels used for product discovery. Research
has shown that 21.8 percent of consumers discovered a product on Instagram and had purchased it within
the last six months. With those facts, it seems to be crucial for brands to have a presence on Instagram in
order to reach the core audience and increase awareness.

Instagram Represents the Future of Social

As it is now a different era than Mad Men, the implementation of advertising has obviously
evolved with time. Instead of billboards and magazine ads, businesses are dealing with not only multiple
outlets of advertising platform, but multiple mediums of ad content. Though there is one thing that
remained the same, the fact that people are still perceptive to visual messages. Studies show that 90
percent of the information transmitted to the brain is visual, people can process over 36,000 visual
messages per hour and the human eye can process an image in 13 milliseconds. The charts in Figure 2
below outlines the relations between people and visual data.

Figure 2: Visual Data Chart

Source: Content Marketing Institute http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2014/08/visual-content-effective-brandstorytelling/

Instagram is the platform that targets the most important medium of information. It has
eliminated text heavy methods of communication making itself the future of social. Additionally,

Instagram brings visual content that is personalized to the user; and content with relevant visuals get 94
percent more views than content without. Therefore, the exposure to the target audience is promised.

It is Just the Trendy Thing to do

While it is important for a business to establish identity and a unique culture, there are certain
things that are just compulsory. Such as having an Instagram handle. Almost two-thirds of the worlds top
100 brands, that is 65%, as determined by Interbrands Best Global Brands report, now have an active
Instagram account. The graph below in Figure 3 shows the influence of some of these top brands. Nearly
all of them post at least one photo per week, proving the importance of creating brand awareness on
Instagram. From 2012 to 2013, Instagram presence of the top 100 brands grew significantly. The
businesses are posting more material as the number of Instagram users grow to 150 million. Additionally,
with Instagram launching its video service, there is no restrictions present when presenting ad content to
the users.
Figure 3: Leading Brands Ranked by Number of Instagram Followers

Source: Simply Measured http://brandchannel.com/2013/12/20/nike-mtv-are-top-global-brands-on-instagram-in2013/

With all important brands active on Instagram, a business without one could even be considered
to be illegitimate to society, especially Millennials. The awareness and brand loyalty of the business will
plummet; as other competitor brands pull traction by providing consistent content to their Instagram
presence. To ensure the trust and loyalty of its customers, and to simply remain relevant in society, a
business needs to have an Instagram handle.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY OF PROBLEMS AND PROCEDURES
The insidious effects of not having or having an idle presence on Instagram can influence the
short and long term success of any business. Building consumer awareness is crucial in the first stages of
a business entering the market, and not having an Instagram account slows or even stops the growth of
knowledge of the brand completely. Brand loyalty is something just as important as brand awareness,
demonstrated by the 20/80 rule; which states that 80 percent of a businesss revenue is generated by 20
percent of its customers. Loyalty is generated by keeping the customers close, providing them with a
personalized experience, where they feel a connection with the brand beyond making the purchase. The
consistent presence on Instagram that posts brand content on each one of the customers Instagram feed
keeps the connection present and relevant.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Instagram attracts Millennials the most out of any generations, but specifically Millennials that
make on average higher incomes then their peers. These specific users are not only using Instagram as
just an average social media outlet where they interact with their circle of influence, but rather treating it
as a way of gaining knowledge of new products. The reason why Instagram works as a platform to gain
knowledge is because of the visual communication it provides, without any text heavy material. Visuals
are effective in gaining higher brand awareness and ad recall. All of the top brands around the world have
an active presence on Instagram, and the results they have achieved presents only benefits.

CONCLUSIONS
It is already a given that Instagram has an extremely extensive coverage when it comes to
audience with its 400 million active users. The specific audience that favors Instagram being Millennials
with higher income makes the social media platform even more crucial to business marketing. The
plethora of users on Instagram are there for the visual communication, which is the future of marketing
and advertising. To ensure the popularity of the brand, providing the medium of information that the
public wants is crucial. Lastly, with the massive influence Instagram has on current cultural trends;
having a presence on Instagram is compulsory for a business just to stay relevant in society.

RECOMMENDATIONS
It is highly recommended to make having an active Instagram account mandatory for all
businesses, big or small. The low cost and effective advertising needs to be implemented. It is advised to

post at least once a week to keep a consistent presence. Additionally, depending on the product or service
of the brand, the business can choose to use the video platform of Instagram for fitting content.

WORKS CITED
http://curatti.com/10-reasons-to-use-instagram-for-business/
https://blog.kissmetrics.com/drive-sales-with-instagram/
http://brandchannel.com/2013/12/20/nike-mtv-are-top-global-brands-on-instagram-in-2013/
https://business.instagram.com/gettingstarted/
http://blog.business.instagram.com
https://business.instagram.com
http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2015/06/04/why-instagram-should-be-part-of-everybusiness/#gref
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2014/08/visual-content-effective-brand-storytelling/