Should your company build a presence on the image-sharing site Instagram? 

With so many social sites and limited time, companies need to choose the best social sites for their business. Some factors to consider include demographics of the site, what type of interaction your company is looking for (ie customer service vs product promotion), and engagement levels.

So where does Instagram rank? 

Here are several pros and cons for you to consider before adding Instagram to your businesses social media strategy:

Pros:

+ Instagram has seen the highest member growth rate of any social site.

+ Instagram has the highest level of brand engagement of any social site, 60 times higher than Facebook and 137 times higher than Twitter.

+ The age group of 18 – 30 year-olds prefer Instagram to Facebook.

+ 60% of users report using the platform daily, the second highest usage rate of all social networks (second only to Facebook).

Cons:

- Facebook still has the highest overall penetration at 71% compared to Instagram’s mere 17%.

- Instagram is still very new, and has yet to prove its staying power among the fickle younger demographics.

- High rates of brand engagement are due in part to the lower number of brands on Instagram – overcrowding could result in the same dramatic decrease in engagement that many brands see on Facebook.

- Analytics and tools for brands on Instagram are still limited, but will undoubtedly see an increase as  more brands move towards the platform.

Here are 5 Instagram tricks a University of Wisconsin study found to be effective in driving sales:

1. Using yellow and blue in images. The study notes that other scientists have found that these colors are also effective in ads. 

2. Writing longer captions. When captions are short, "the sentimental content is likely to be minimal," the researchers write. Communicating more with shoppers increases the likelihood that they'll feel connected. 

3. Avoiding question marks or exclamation points in captions. Dramatic punctuation was found to have a negative effect on shoppers. 

4. Not using filters. "A surprising thing about this study is that while Instagram is all about users making their photos more beautiful with filters, they expect brand images to be more authentic," Olapic co-founder Pau Sabria told us in a telephone interview. "There is a different standard for brands." 

5. Posting infrequently. Shoppers don't want to be inundated with brand images. Brands who were selective about posting but had high follower counts did better than those who posted several times a day, according to the study. 

Deciding to join? Connect with ApogeeINVENT on Instagram! Do you think Instagram is worth adding to your strategy? Share your thoughts in the comments below.