CC BY
38
https ://doi.org/10.29013/EJEMS-21-1-7-10
Sokolova Polina Valerevna, Russian State University of Justice, postgraduate student, the Faculty of Law E-mail: [email protected]
INSTAGRAM IS NETWORK OF THE FUTURE
Abstract. The prospects of Instagram and its importance in marketing sphere are examined in the article. Also, there is an analysis of keeping a blog in a right way which shows some nuances and pitfalls. Keywords: Instagram, blogger, story, post, algorithms, target audience.
Instagram is an application for sharing photos and videos with elements of the social network, which allows you to shoot photos and videos, apply filters to them, and distribute them on Instagram itself and several other social networks [1]. According to official statistics, 1 billion people use Instagram monthly, 500 million users watch Instagram stories daily. Currently, three main types of profiles are available on Instagram: personal (personal use), creator (influencers, public or notable figures, and all kinds of content creators), and business (brand management, conversions, and marketing). The numbers are astonishing, so what is the reason for such incredible popularity of this social network? Firstly, people like sharing events with others. Eyecatching photos in the newsfeed and stories capture followers' interest; thus, people start blogs to share their life and partly enjoy a flavor of success. Recently many entrepreneurs, companies, brands have rushed on Instagram to get the desired audience [2, 353]. Secondly, Instagram facilitates profit-making for ordinary users, namely bloggers.
What exactly do bloggers make money on: Product advertising; Advertisement of another blogger; Information products release; Collaboration with brands.
Everything sounds simple enough: shoot a video, take pictures, and get your money, but Instagram has its own rules, and you need to play according to the laws of this social network. The rules mean algo-
rithms without which any even the most fascinating and informative blog will not be a success. Instagram algorithms will be discussed in this article.
Let's start with stories' algorithms, as now they success on Instagram. For the audience to be familiar with a blogger, he needs to shoot from 10 stories per day; each story lasts a maximum of15 seconds. There are 5 kinds of stories:
• text story (no video, text only);
• animation (program edit video);
• "talking head" (a blogger films himself);
• shooting from the other side (creates an impression of watching a blogger's life);
• Screenshot (e.g., correspondence).
The five most basic rules for keeping stories should be presented.
The most important rule is that all these types of stories should be mixed among themselves. If a blogger wants to shoot a story to the audience, then the consecutive videos of the "talking head" should be no more than 3; otherwise, followers will swipe stories, which will lead to a decline in coverage. In this case, it is best to combine the "talking head," text stories, and shooting from the other side, and then it will look more diverse and capture the attention of the audience.
The second rule of having stories is to involve the audience as much as possible. Engagement means provoking followers to write in direct or to have quick story reactions. Engagement is when the audience participates in the quizzes and polls and
asks questions; thus, interaction with the audience increases and views grow. Instagram begins to show the blogger to more followers. The third rule of stories is to encourage followers to view stories several times. The most popular techniques are considered:
• finding 5 differences (a blogger posts several photos, one of which is photoshopped and asks the audience to find differences between pictures, thereby followers flick back several dozen times. Usually, the blogger also leaves a questionnaire where he asks to write those differences down, and one of the guessers gets a cash bonus);
• a large amount of text on a quick story (a blogger instead of a photo posts a text story on a short video, simply removing the sound and making it one-tone. Consequently, the follower returns to the story several times to finish reading);
• «Have you noticed that on the first story?» (at the end of the day, the blogger posts a story with the words "you have also noticed something bizarre on the first story" or "remember what color I had the hat on the first story" and leaves a questionnaire, so followers return to the very first story, and then back to answer the question itself). The fourth rule is to obtain one style only. All stories should use the same process (or none at all) and the same font. Thus, stories will reflect individuality, and the follower will understand whose story he has viewed even before looking at the upper left corner. Thus a personal brand begins to develop. The fifth and final rule for stories is their regularity. Stories should be told daily. As a rule, if a blogger decides to take a day off from In-stagram, he warns the audience about this. Although someone also uses this to engage followers, the blogger suddenly disappears, and followers start worrying about writing him some messages if everything is fine.
Let's look at the subject of posts. The post contains a photo/video or several photos/videos (up to 10) and text. To draw followers' attention, a beautiful picture and an informative or a simply touching text with an interesting story are implied.
These are posted according to the blog's theme. For example, if the blog is about psychology, then these are posts about raising self-esteem or working out childhood injuries. If the blog is about cooking, then we will talk about some dish recipes or life-hacks for confectionery.
Information divided into several posts is extremely popular; for example, the history of acquaintance with her husband or the top 10 tips for proper nutrition.
Thus, thanks to the posts that the target audience of the blog is selected. Target audience is a term used in marketing, referring to a group of people united by common features or united for the sake of any goals or tasks. In the blog, the main theme is childbirth and parenting; the target audience is women from 25 to 35 years of the country/countries in which language(s) the blog is conducted.
An important point for a successful post is the time when the blogger posts it. As a custom, the post has a go when followers have already finished working/studying, that is, in the evening. Thus, they have the opportunity to view and read the post, which results in high coverage.
It is vital to note that Instagram has all the necessary functionality, especially when the profile is a business account, since there is an access to statistics, namely, engagement, coverage, information about the target audience, the number of followers who followed and unfollowed, and so on. Also, the Direct feature has made it quite convenient to communicate with potential customers. Besides, the use of hashtags facilitates the search for goods and events [3, 386-404]. By the way, hashtags continue being one of the free promotion methods on Instagram, as followers have the opportunity to look for pages/ posts by hashtags, so the blogger needs to note the
most popular and suitable hashtags under the post so that the user can read it and follow in the future.
Of course, this method is not as effective as, for example, target ads. Target ads are an online advertising method that uses methods and settings to search for the target audience according to people's specified features (characteristics and interests) [4]. Target ads are a good way to promote; blog-gers usually advertise either very useful and informative posts to show users the value of their blog, or a very intriguing and hype post. However, there are disadvantages: firstly, target ads should be paid, the blogger makes payment to Instagram itself, and secondly, a specialist is required to set up advertising - a target specialist.
The most effective way to promote is to advertise a blog from another blogger. So far, this method is popular only in Russia, and bloggers from other countries are practically not promoting this way, but the truth is it is the best way to promote today. How this interaction occurs:
The blogger agrees on advertising and selects a site - a story or post. As a rule, bloggers are advertised through stories, and brands through posts. A blogger who wants to promote provides all the necessary information for advertising (the scenario of what another blogger should say in his stories), while a blogger who includes advertising shares information about his statistics (target audience and views). Next, the cost of advertising and the number of stories are discussed. In Russia, the advertising cost is calculated from the average number of views multiplied by 0.33, but the blogger himself has the right to set the price for advertising in his blog. Further, on the appointed day, the blogger posts 3-4 stories on advertising, on each marking a blog that advertises with an appeal to follow, then
part of the audience of this blogger follows to the one who bought the ad.
In this matter, the most important thing is to choose a blogger with a similar target audience. No one will sign if a beauty blogger advertises the blog about tires. And it is also important to correctly formulate the main thoughts of the blog, so that for several stories it hooks the audience; this is called "filing." It is also important to note that more people follow a private profile instead of an open one.
Besides posts and stories there are some more nuances in registering a profile: Instagram bio and highlights. It has become fashionable to design the covers of highlights in a single style. It is important that they also fit the profile. As for the profile hat, it already depends more on the blog itself. But here are the most important rules:
• the bio should reflect the main essence of the blog;
• theses should not be repeated with theses in the advertisement;
• must be short and enticing, so that when they see their person wants to subscribe even to a closed profile;
• the first line should tell what this blog is about, for example, a beauty blogger or a fitness blogger. This is also necessary because the search on Instagram is carried out precisely on the first line. The correctly formulated beginning of the profile bio will go the way that followers themselves will find the blog.
Of course, in Europe and many other countries, Instagram is not as popular and developed as in Russia. However, the sooner bloggers begin to use these tips, the faster and more they will have the opportunity to earn because bloggers and information products are not yet overpowered.
References:
1. Frommer Dan Here's How To Use Instagram. Business Insider (1 October, 2010).
2. Best Article Award 2017 // Business Horizons. 2018-05.- Book 61,- Vol. 3.
3. Zhang Ye, Noor Hazarina Hashim, Fakhri Baghirov, Jamie Murphy. Gender Differences in Instagram Hashtag Use // Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management. 2017. - P. 10-31.- Book 27,- Vol. 4.
4. Plummer Joe Rappaport, Steve Hall, Taddy. The Online Advertising Playbook: Proven Strategies and Tested Tactics from the Advertising Research Foundation.- John Wiley & Sons, 2007.
