Institutions Anxieties over Instagram
Instagram. The photo-editing and sharing app which has quickly become a social network in its own right. Famously purchased by the growing conglomerate Facebook in April 2012 for a staggering $1billion, Instagram now has (as of March 2014) over 200 million users snapping, editing and sharing small square pictures across the platform, ranging from pictures of breakfasts and dinners, cats and dogs, holidays and Harry Styles to the protests in Kiev and tributes to Mandela. This vast diversity in user-generated content, alongside the sheer number of users that Instagram attracts daily (over 7.3 million), is perhaps why so many big name brands have turned to using the app to better engage and communicate with their audiences.
However, despite the likes of Nike, Starbucks and American Express all keenly advocating the benefits of the photo and video sharing application, many corporate institutions still remain absent from the social network. For example, despite being keen users of not only Facebook and Twitter but also YouTube and Flickr, the British, multinational bank Barclays has no official Instagram account, as don’t HSBC, Deutsche Bank and many other organizations.
So why are so many top organizations not harnessing this powerful, and quite frankly simple, tool. Do they not have anything interesting to photograph? Or is it merely a case of camera shyness? Well, with data indicating that more and more users are turning away from Facebook and Twitter and spending more of their time of Instagram, it may be time for many companies to conquer their fears and dive head-first into this new world of filters, hashtags and selfies if they want to continue to connect and resonate with their followers.