For a long time now, you've been hearing of Facebook and Twitter as valuable social media platforms for e-commerce. But have you wondered how much greater reach you can achieve if you're able to tap into Instagram too and ride along with its popularity?

With the proliferation of mobile technology these days, it's no surprise that more and more individuals are making it a habit to check their social media accounts daily. And because Instagram was one of the first in the mobile social media app scene, it has strongly and continuously thrived over recent years since it came out.

Do you know that around 150 million users are actively checking and updating their Instagram accounts every month and about 70% of them actually log in at least once each day? These days, many people have grown into the habit of fishing out their smartphones and tablets every time they have idle time or are feeling bored. One of the top things they do is to check Instagram. Furthermore, a lot have also fallen into the practice of taking snapshots of what they're eating or doing and immediately uploading the photos to Instagram.

The bottom line - it's a MUST to place your online biz on this platform. You shouldn't be letting this opportunity pass. It's HIGH TIME for you to take advantage of Instagram's popularity.

Just like in any other social media, building relationships is key. Instead of focusing all your energies toward collecting more customers, why not strengthen your rapport and friendship with existing followers while also attracting more connections? What would make people want to connect with you?

Please don't sell directly. This is a surefire way to turn off your target market. You should instead share relevant photos, videos, and quotes that can capture the attention of the individuals you want to appeal to. Just like with friends, you ought to learn how to tell stories, share about yourself, and find out more about your followers. Like and comment on their posts. Give gifts and even throw virtual get-togethers. For example, post your teasers and invites on Instagram but use Facebook for the actual online party.

Always think up creative ways to interact. For example, if you're offering skin care products, you can ask something like "What's your nightly beauty regimen?" or "What kind of make-up should you wear on a first date?" Such questions will most likely evoke reactions and encourage comments. Fix them up as photos against plain backgrounds.

Most Instagram users love to use hashtags with their posts. Don't miss out on this wonderful chance to channel all the sharing related to your business toward one place. Come up with your very own hashtag so that you can keep track of customer feedback and other posts that people want you to take note of. This is also a great way to draw the attention of other users. Let's say you're running a business called My Favorite Tutor and offering tutorial services to help kids with their schoolwork. Come up with various hashtags like #myfavoritetutormathproblems, #myfavoritetutorworksheets, and #myfavoritetutorpromo.

Many posts on Instagram can easily get buried in the newsfeed. This is why it's important to post when your target market is likely awake and active on this social media. Don't post in the middle of the night because they won't discover that the next morning anymore.

Carrying this out gives no guarantee that new followers will also discover it. Unless they go to your profile page, they really won't. In the same way, your current followers who have seen it will tend to forget about it in an instant. This is why you need to make sure that your important posts are sustained.

How can you do this? Well, a lot of social media marketers suggest practicing cross-posting. This means that some posts should also appear on your Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and/or Pinterest accounts. What's more, you can also try coming up with a dedicated section on your website for "Most Favorite Instagram Posts" or "Happy Customers' Feedback on Instagram". This way, web users and even mobile browsers can easily locate these posts.

Instagram certainly has great potential when it comes to online marketing and e-commerce. Being run by Facebook only means that there are possibly more great things in store for Internet entrepreneurs and marketers in the future.