WHY STEM BUSINESSES NEED INSTAGRAM

Ever heard the phrase 'a picture is worth a thousand words’? Of course, you have, it’s a staple argument for any pro-Instagram marketeer. And the fact, 90 per cent of the information processed by the brain is visual – but we’ll avoid such tropes, shall we?

By Richard Stone.

Despite the favourable statistics, tech and STEM businesses often neglect Instagram from its social campaigns altogether, thinking it to be a filtered collection of avocado on toast and influencers – you’d only be partially correct in that assessment. In reality, Instagram has over one billion active users, including many tech behemoths such as Dell, Google, Sandvik Group and, most likely, your competition. 

But forget them for a moment, think of all the lovely China-sized Instagram users who you’re neglecting. Every one of them is a potential customer, a potential click to your website and even a potential fan for life. Sounds rather dreamy, doesn’t it? At least it would do if you were on Instagram in the first place. 

Greater access to potential customers 

Let’s go back to this ‘potential customers’ idea, as that’s really the aim of the game. 

It’s common sense that the more social channels your business uses, the greater your pool of customers – it’s the same reason why you might stock a product with various suppliers, or a PR agency will approach multiple publications for features. The bigger the net, the more fish you’ll catch. 

But the fish in this particular Instagram pool, are actually the best of the best. According to Forbes UK, the ‘Gram (which is what cool people call it) delivers an engagement rating of 4.21 per cent per follower, a whopping 58 times more engaging than Facebook – one reason perhaps why Facebook now owns Instagram. That’s not to say engagement is a synonym for a boatload of leads and money, but having more interested people hitting the like button isn’t going to damage your chances of conversion, is it?

Since lockdown, an additional 10.5 per cent of working professionals are on their mobile phones – yep, we see you surfing during that Zoom call. Instagram has the distinct advantage of being solely designed for the mobile world; infinite scrolling (which is psychologically addictive), eye-catching content and post-post editing. It would be foolish, wouldn’t it, not to capitalise on all these extra, engaged heads of purchasing or OEMs. 

Being available across separate channels means people can find your business more readily. For example, someone searching for thought-leading automation content might come across all your Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn pages rather than just one. Not only does this provide them with a plethora of branded information but it also adds to the legitimacy of your company. Nothing promotes trust like an obvious social presence – but more on that later. 

Once found, there are plenty of Insta-specific tools that keep customers alive and clicking. Since its inception ten years ago, Instagram has introduced Reels, stories, Instagram Insights, IGTV, shoppable tags on posts and Insta ads. All user friendly and many unique to business profiles. This allows you to analyse your target market, what they interact with – and importantly, what they don’t – how they navigate your page and what they click on. So not only will Instagram give you the followers in the first place, but also the means to understand them properly. 

Want to read the rest of the article? Of course, you do, check out the last two tips here at Connectivity. 

Richard Stone is the Founder of Stone Junction, a specialist technical PR agency delivering international and digital PR and marketing services for scientific, engineering and technology companies. 

He knows quite a bit about the ol’ gram and you’ll often find him posting the (empty) contents of a whiskey glass or Bamboo toilet roll #notspon. 

If you want Stone Junction to take over your social media campaign – Insta or no Insta – then why not email him on richards@stonejunction.co.uk .