-
Essay / Social Media Overview: Advantages and Disadvantages of Instagram
Instagram is a global online platform or application in which people can share photos, videos, stories, and messages. It was created in October 2010 by Kevin Systrom and then sold to Facebook in 2012 for $1 billion (Aslam, 2017). The acquisition of Facebook generated the possibility of uploading Instagram posts to the Facebook platform. Additionally, as of August 10, 2017, Instagram had 700 million monthly active users, of which 77.6 million were from the United States (Aslam 2017). Instagram is a very common and used platform that serves to entertain and connect people. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay This platform has gained such importance because of the impact of visual communication. According to Russmann and Svensson (2016), “images are considered an additional source of communication complementing written or spoken text” (p.3), meaning that when visuals are depicted, they complement information that attempts to communicate. be sent. Images help people understand things better and become more interested in the material. So, Instagram is an effective method to communicate what a business is. Additionally, Instagram has many benefits, including being a very useful business tool that can help in the advertising and marketing efforts of any for-profit or non-profit organization. In this application, when someone creates an account, they have the possibility to change the account to a business profile, in which there are many useful options for the business, such as having the possibility to promote (for a price) something related to the business. business, have an account overview regarding followers and posts, and have the ability to repost via other accounts. For example, for each published article, the editor has the choice to check the number of likes, comments, impressions, reach and engagement obtained by the photo or video. Thus, evaluating the market and quantifying the effectiveness and efficiency of marketing. Additionally, Instagram also serves as a very effective analytical approach. Communicating via these types of platforms is sometimes more effective than text (Russmann and Svensson, 2016, p.3). Therefore, non-profit organizations trying to convey a message of solidarity, integrity or values in general can achieve this by using visuals on Instagram with videos and images. For example, nonprofit organizations such as Samaritan's Purse use this app to show their contributions to different causes, such as natural disasters, and explain how people can help. Indeed, Instagram aims to spread the message to thousands of people around the world. On the other hand, Instagram has many disadvantages like having unhealthy promotions, which create a negative influence on people. Since posts on this platform are only restricted if someone reports it, policing thousands of negative posts is impossible. This is an issue for nonprofits because harmful posts promoting, for example, posts related to killing animals for fun, can affect an organization's impact non-profit organizations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature. Therefore, nonprofit organizations should increase their influence on these social media outlets to minimize the negative influence of harmful posts. Keep in mind: this is just a sample..