Happy #10thBirthday Instagram from Swansway Group

Did you know that 6th October was Instagram's 10th birthday? So let's pause and reflect on how 10 years of the world's favourite photo-sharing application has affected our marketing practices.

First and foremost, whilst Instagram and other social media platforms have come into some severe criticism for their negative impact on mental health, it can also be shown that they have diversified what we mean when we use the word "beautiful". There is now such a wide variety of "beauty" displayed and admired by the users of the various platforms, consumers are no longer restricted to the narrow channels dictated by "main-stream" media. This means that there are rich sources of loyal fans to be found when we explore other definitions of what "beautiful" means to consumers.

Instagram has also changed the types of lifestyles we aspire to. Instagram-inspired travel has really impacted on tourism strategy, with a rise in popularity of some destinations being directly linked to their Instagram popularity. And who could have predicted the impact of the influencer? The group of people now able to make a living by posting about their lifestyle and practices and inspiring others to do likewise.

Instagram has also breathed new energy into the value of a still life image. This challenges the perception that to have effective marketing you have to have a range of expensive equipment and editing facilities. Hand in hand with the advances in technology of the smartphone, anyone can produce an effective and popular image, with the device they carry round with them all the time.

For Swansway Group’s Instagram, we have learned to:

engage with new audiences and build new types of brand loyalty; experiment with different types of imagery and copy to engage consumers in new ways; and recruited to a different skill set, in order to ensure that we appeal to the users of this and other platforms.

Instagram is only 10 years old and already has had such an impact – it will be fascinating to see where the digital world will take us next. In the meantime, here are the top 3 posts for Swansway Group for the last 12 months. To help us with our marketing strategy going forwards, we’d love to know which is your favourite…answers on Insta to @swanswaygroup.