Written by Shane Barker

A quick look at Instagram statistics shows that there are more than one billion monthly active users on the platform. Furthermore, 90% of the accounts follow a business on the platform. And that’s not all. Instagram Stories have over 500 million daily active users.

These statistics establish the fact that Instagram is not some run-of-the-mill platform for sharing photos and videos. Marketing and advertising are among the significant driving elements that sustain the flow of users. These constitute what Instagram is today.

Instagram enables you to advertise your business and products by letting you tell a story about them. The best part about this platform is that it’s a visual platform. So, you can leverage images and videos in different forms to attract and engage your audience.

Videos, in particular, serve as a great way to engage your audience as they’re short and entertaining. Creating high-quality videos using free video editing software can help you attract your target audience and engage them well.

But there’s a lot more to video marketing than just that. Here’s why you need to use video marketing on Instagram.

1. Enhanced Brand Discovery

First of all, the average engagement rate for Instagram is higher than all major social media platforms. It beats Facebook and Twitter, drawing more user engagement.

Naturally, if you are new in the industry or trying to gain new customers, it is easier for your business to get discovered on Instagram. The high engagement rate of the platform can provide a massive boost to your brand awareness.

Particularly the Explore feed on Instagram is a powerful tool for generating brand awareness. After executing the algorithmic calculation of a user’s interests, Instagram features your business videos in their Explore feeds.

You can leverage catchy thumbnails, popular and relevant hashtags, and other optimizing methods to push your videos up in the Explore feed. By posting videos, you can get your brand discovered easily.

Reaching and engaging the right people is the key to building a successful account on Instagram.

2. Customer Engagement via Videos

Instagram was built on keeping images as the primary element. Since its inception in 2010, almost a decade has passed by. With time, Instagram has matured and started riding the video wave.

Over the years, it has rolled out multiple new features for videos such as video posts, Stories, Live videos, IGTV, and Reels.

Needless to say, businesses can take advantage of these features to drive more consumer engagement. The videos you upload on your Instagram feed directly show up in the feeds of your followers too. This allows your followers to stay updated about your latest products and ongoing offers.

3. Influencing Purchase Decisions

Instagram video ads allow businesses to target their potential buyers via their feeds.

Customers often prefer to watch a video to learn about new products instead of reading about it via text as videos are more engaging.

In addition to typical video posts, video ads enable you to embed a call-to-action (CTA). With powerful CTAs placed at the bottom of the video ads, you can easily redirect users to your product landing pages on your ecommerce website and give them a quick option to buy it.

Users also save a considerable amount of time by not having to visit your website manually. Moreover, it creates the possibility of an increase in the time spent on the site. Users can also browse other products and services, which can increase your sales too.

By analyzing the engagement history of video ads, you can narrow your target audience to increase business prospects. To set up an Instagram video ad, you have to use the Facebook Ads Manager.

4. Swift Advertisement via Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories is another potential avenue that can boost your business marketing through photos, videos, and other interactive elements. They allow businesses to reach new people and connect with their audiences quickly.

While videos can get lost in the sea of other posts in your followers’ feeds, Instagram Stories are showcased at the top of users’ profiles. And they may not be your IG followers. You can put up teasers or show a glimpse of your products to grab their attention.

Don’t miss using up to 10 relevant hashtags in your Stories (if you want to reach more people).

The photos or video clips promoted through Instagram Stories can successfully help you generate engagement and leads. Unlike long videos, this format reduces the cost of video creation.

You can also add CTA buttons to Instagram Stories to direct the viewers to your website. While you can swiftly and engagingly introduce your products, Stories can make it easier for you to get traffic with just a single swipe gesture.

However, to use the Swipe Up feature on Stories, you need to have a Business account on Instagram with 10K+ followers.

5. Establishing Emotional Connections

In the modern world of digital marketing, it is vital to establish an emotional connection with your consumers. You need to create informative videos that can engage your audience and also showcase your products and services.

You should also try to establish an emotional connection with your audience. You can create videos that talk about your brand’s story. Additionally, you can create videos about things your audience can relate to. This will help them feel connected.

For example, you can host a casual poll related to your niche for fun and engagement. Or, you can display two patterns of the same product and let your consumers vote for their favorite. Club it with an option to Swipe Up and buy to drive sales.

The continuous presence of your business in your consumers’ Instagram feeds can positively impact their purchase decisions. Thus, as a business, you should connect with your audience on a personal level first and then encourage sales.

Final Thoughts

Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms and enjoys higher engagement rates than the rest. This makes it a great place to promote your brand. Over the years, it has also added numerous options through which you can leverage video on Instagram marketing to grow your reach, engagement, and sales.

Video marketing on the platform can help you influence purchase decisions, establish connections, grow your brand awareness, and even drive traffic to your website.

Therefore, you should use every video feature on Instagram to promote your business. You can also take advantage of Instagram video templates from reputable sources to create innovative content and get a higher ROI.

Do you have any questions about why you need to use videos on Instagram? If so, let us know in the comments below.

About Author

Shane Barker is a digital marketing consultant who specializes in influencer marketing, content marketing, and SEO. He is also the co-founder and CEO of Content Solutions, a digital marketing agency. He has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, influencers with digital products, and a number of A-List celebrities.