When stay-at-home orders were put into place, tasting rooms who often rely on in-person tastings for about ⅓ of their sales were left scrambling. How could they offer a similar experience of education, sales, and interaction with their customers, while honoring the need to stay at home?
For some, the answer was obvious: Instagram Live.
Instagram Live has been around for a while, and quite a lot of brands were already using it very effectively to grow their audiences and increase engagement, but in this new world where staying at home is safer than venturing out into society, Instagram Live is now just another way for people to stay connected.
In fact, in the last few months we’ve seen 70% more brands using Instagram Live than prior to the COVID-19 outbreak!
But, why use Instagram Live in the first place?
WELL I'LL TELL YOU!
It increases engagement: Instagram sends your audience a push notification when you go live AND it pushes your icon to the very front of the Stories feed, meaning that even if your audience doesn’t usually see your stories or posts, they will be more likely to see that you’re live
It increases reach: Instagram rewards accounts that use all of its features. If you use Instagram live consistently, you’re more likely to show up on someone’s discovery page, thus increasing the potential for new audience members.
It increases trust amongst your audience: By showing up in such an authentic and interactive way, you humanize your brand, which increases perceived trustworthiness amongst your audience.
It’s virtually free: Social media is a FREE marketing tool! It will only cost you your time and the ROI makes it worth it.
The data is there: 80% of people say they would rather watch a live video than read a blog from a brand and 82% of people say they would rather watch a live video than consume a social media post.