Instagram is slowly revolutionising the way that businesses operate online as it brings businesses into direct contact with their customers through the social network's unique features that allow for greater interaction. With the opportunity for businesses to have a closer look at the live's of their customers and for their customers, in turn, to be able to interact with businesses on a closer level, the playing fields have been levelled and this means that businesses need to put a lot more effort into their public relations in order to keep their customers onside as there are plenty of others out there who are more than happy to put the extra effort in and charm Instagram users who are using the social network to look for information about products and services.

Closing the gap between big and small businesses
By opening up the promotional market to all kinds of businesses, regardless of their size and resources, Instagram can be extremely beneficial for smaller businesses in particular as they can go up against the biggest enterprises in their sector. The advantages these larger corporations had previously possessed owing to their significant resources are wiped away as they are now restricted to promoting their products and services in the same way that smaller businesses do. Whereas these companies can afford to advertise on television, all over the internet and on billboards while smaller businesses need to make do with advertising in their offices, Instagram eliminates this competition and the result is that both companies have the same access to the same features and the same way of presenting material. While the bigger businesses still have the advantage of the amount of resources they can put to work for them, they can still only prepare their Instagram posts to be presented in the same way as their smaller rivals; that is to say: using pictures or videos with captions and hashtags to get their message across. This aspect makes Instagram an incredibly useful tool for small businesses or ones that are just getting started.

Instagram itself becoming a big business
The important role that Instagram can play in a business' success in the modern world is reflected in the amount of advice given online to people wanting to discover more information about the ways in which Instagram works, how it can benefit your business and, also, how you can pay Instagram users to interact with your profile in a bid to increase its popularity and its visibility on a larger scale. This latest area is one which has appeared in recent times and is proving to be a very helpful endeavour for those still getting to grips with the ins and outs of the world's most influential social network. Websites like www.insta4likes.com give you the chance to pay Instagram users to engage with your account and boost its profile in the battle for attention and customers that is emerging on the social network.

Standing out from the crowd
With so much competition out there, it is important to offer content that is fresh and interesting and to always be looking for something that will set you apart from your competitors. This is even more important for businesses who must compete with other businesses for the same customers and must give Instagram users the impression that their particular version or interpretation of a product or service is the one that will serve them best. This leads to numerous businesses looking in to different ways to stand out from the crowd when it comes to promoting themselves on Instagram.

Instagram Stories are taking over
The latest innovation to catch the attention of many, if not all, of Instagram's users is Instagram Stories. On the surface, Instagram Stories is not much different from the regular way of adding photos or videos to Instagram. However, the real benefits of Instagram Stories can be seen when you take a closer look at what it offers.

Why Instagram Stories is different
Instagram Stories has one key definining characteristic which sets it apart from other methods of posting on Instagram and that is that with Instagram Stories, the content you upload, whether it be a video or a photo, is only available on your profile for other Instagram users to see for 24 hours. Once the 24 hours have passed, it is stored within your own private database and you can decide what to do with it. The importance of this time limit is psychological: if people log in to Instagram and see that someone has added an Instagram Story then they will be quicker to have a look at it as they now it won't be around forever. Instagram Story also allows you to document your experience as it progresses (this being the story itself) so you can make a post and then come back to it and add more pieces to it over the course of the day. This is another way to keep the interest of your followers as they are intrigued to find out how things will pan out.

Variety of Instagram Stories leads to more interaction
Other features belonging to Instagram Stories that are not available in normal Instagram posts include the ability to add gifs, tag locations, namecheck other Instagram users in the content itself as well as being able to add a wide range of interactive actions that provide a more interesting prospect for Instagram users. The combination of these make it a more appealing way for Instagrammers to make announcements and draw other users in. In the case of businesses operating on Instagram, this