Today we’re talking about how not being on Instagram is costing you, and it’s costing you big time.

A lot of folks are not on Instagram yet, but I want you guys to know why you need to be on Instagram. So I’m going to give you the top 10 reasons why not being on Instagram right now is costing you money. And spoiler alert! I’m going to give you three really cool apps to help you on Instagram, to get you started. Let’s dive in!

1. A billion monthly users. A billion. That’s crazy, those numbers are huge. 500 million people daily on Instagram. It’s right up there with Facebook as one of the highest used platforms. It’s something you really need to consider integrating into your marketing plan. 

2. Instagram is the second most engaged network next to Facebook. 

3. Instagram users average 53 minutes of user time a day. 

4. 71 percent of U.S. businesses use Instagram. If you have been following me for any length of time, you’ve heard me talk about a book titled Marketing Revolution where the author talks about how community is the new method of marketing and you have to really grow your tribe. It’s huge, the younger, under 30 folks are more likely to feel validated if a brand or a business likes one of the posts or interacts with them online. So 71 percent of businesses use Instagram, and the folks who are talking to those businesses expect you to respond. 

5. 83 percent of Instagram users say they use Instagram to discover new products and services. 

6. 500 million Instagram account use stories every single day. Stories are huge. Its engagement far surpasses that of actual Instagram itself, and we’ll talk about that in a second.

7. One third of the most viewed Stories are from businesses. 

8. 50 percent of Instagram users follow at least one business, and most people follow more than one business. 

9. Instagram generates four times the amount of interaction as Facebook. Think about this for just a second. Instagram posts generate almost four times the amount of engagement that Facebook posts do and Instagram Stories generate three to four times that amount. So Stories are huge, especially if you’re asking a question, taking a poll, or expressing an opinion. People are a lot more likely to engage with you there. 

10. Instagram helps 80 percent of buyers decide whether to buy a product or service. 

Instagram is second only to Facebook, it is very visual, and if you’re trying to reach a younger audience — and the average user age is growing — you really need to consider it for your marketing plan. I know it can be a little daunting and there are some folks that give me a lot of push back because it’s just not something they’re used to. 

Now you know why you need to be on Instagram, so let’s talk about some apps that can help you with the how to be on Instagram.

You probably already know and love Canva, but haven’t been using it for Instagram. Canva is an awesome graphics tool. I have several clients that create things using their Canva account and share it with my team so we can go back and forth. That means that I can go in there and create templates for Stories or posts so that they’re branded for the specific customer. You can use Canva to create five or six different templates, put your logo in, and it’s quick to create. Once you have the opportunity to sit down and create those templates, they’re always there so all you have to do is drop in new images. It’s just so easy. Because Canva sizes everything, you know that if you use it for Stories it’s going to be the right size. It’s very frustrating for me to get on Instagram and part of the picture’s cut off. I can’t stand that. So Canva is a great tool for Instagram that a lot of people don’t use. 

A second app I use quite a lot is Inshot. It’s super simple, you can take an image and quickly add text, it allows you to put stickers, it lets you change the font or the color, and it’s fast. To me, it’s one of the most user-friendly apps. If you’re doing multiple Stories it can be overwhelming but Inshot makes it easy. It’s good for video editing, too. 

The third app I use all the time for Instagram is Repost. Repost is awesome. You don’t always have to post original material, it is totally okay to repost from a brand or from another business. Repost now allows you to share as a Story or as a post on your news feed. If you’re mentioned in a Story, you can now repost that Story directly from Instagram. 

These are just three of my favorite apps that make your life a lot easier on Instagram. Again, Instagram is tremendous and it’s growing all the time. So if you guys have not started using Instagram, please consider it!