The best kept marketing secret most brands and marketers aren't aware of

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With that said it’s no secret that most brands need to be on social media with the most popular channels being Twitter and Facebook. Many brands however fail to replicate the same marketing efforts on other channels such as YouTube and Instagram, this according to research done by Yes Lifecycle Marketing last year. Most brands and marketers still don’t seem to understand the value that both platforms can bring to their marketing efforts mostly because they are not sure how to utilise them effectively.

A huge opportunity is being missed especially when you consider this:

“80 percent of businesses used Facebook and 82 percent were active on Twitter. Among those same businesses, just 60 percent engaged customers on YouTube, while a paltry 23 percent used Instagram. Those numbers might make sense if YouTube and Instagram weren’t popular among consumers. But Instagram—brands’ least used channel—boasts 400 million monthly active users. Twitter—companies’ favorite social channel—reported only 301 million during the first quarter of 2016.” – Adweek.com

What’s more, according to the same research, it’s been proven that visual content receives more social shares than other content and the best way of doing so is through collaborations with established Instagrammers and Youtubers.

Instagram and influencer marketing

Instagram influencer marketing is one of the most effective tools for marketers to reach different audiences regardless of the niche they specialise in. The appeal in it comes from the fact that consumers can now look to, well, fellow consumers and their favorite Instagrammers (who usually have a good following) when making their purchase decisions. That combined with its reported 400 million users, why wouldn’t you want to take advantage of that?

Youtube and influencer marketing

Of all the other aforementioned platforms, YouTube’s content has the longest shelf life thanks to its visual appeal and diverse creator base that leads to dynamic content. According to CMO.com “For teen and young adult consumers in particular, it is especially effective. In its annual survey, Variety found teens’ emotional attachment to YouTube stars is as much as seven times greater than that toward a traditional celebrity. Additionally, YouTube stars are considered 17 times more engaging than mainstream stars.”

Judging from the above, there is no doubt that both YouTube and Instagram are incredibly popular among consumers and will be for many more years to come. So if you’re among the 60 percent of marketers planning to increase their influencer marketing budgets this year, why not put that to good use and invest it in your voice on Instagram and YouTube?