"Only through an Instagram account can anyone become a famous and successful business owner. Posting photos or ads on Instagram has become more effective than spending hundreds of pounds on billboards, TV ads, flyers, and street posters," said Farah Sherif, a social media specialist. Throughout the past three years, the popularity of Instagram has been strongly growing among worldwide users. Among millions of accounts on Instagram, some are personal ones, but a sizeable bulk of users are marketers. Instagram has become mostly a marketing platform, filled with photos of fashion, food, and other businesses' products. It is the second most popular social media platform after Facebook, attracting more marketing and customers than other social media sites such as Twitter. In a phone interview with Sherif, who is also food blogger, she explained how people can achieve fame through Instagram and to what extent marketing through social media, specifically Instagram, is powerful. First of all, Instagram users are from specific social categories, but Facebook's users are of all types. Bluntly, not all people have Instagram accounts, but now, rarely is there someone without a Facebook account, she noted, adding that marketing on social media varies from one platform to another. "We cannot deny that Facebook remains supreme as it has the largest number of active users worldwide who spend long hours on the platform. However, Instagram users interact and engage more with products," she said. Sherif continued that anyone can start any type of project on Instagram, believing that there is no doubt that it could ever fail due the strong customer engagement on the platform. Instagram is different than any other platform; people socialise and interact through photos and short videos, which is a method focusing on capturing live moments, she said. Commenting on why brand owners prefer Instagarm, she said, "it is a free marketing opportunity and a win-win situation as the blogger, certainly a famous one, will post a photo with a commentary review, and in exchange, the brand owner will give them money or gifts or invitations to public events." "With a very low-cost, you can market your product to your target audience during your desired timing on Instagram," Sherif said. This service or product can be food, catering, cosmetics, clothes, decorations, or accessories, among others, she concluded. Food and nutrition marketing empire No one can ever deny how Instagram boosted the food market in Egypt, through self-proclaimed "foodies"; those who continuously post photos of food and tagging the locations of different restaurants and spots. Aya Hussien, 26, who considers herself an active user on Instagarm, said, "I know new food spots only through Instagram. I follow many foodies who regularly post about new restaurants. They are my source of information to learn about new places to enjoy on my weekends and try new cuisines. They also tell me about new offers and discounts. I also see their reviews as beneficial for me before jumping into any bad experience." Dozens of accounts publish photos of food with eye-catching filters, lights, and portions, along with a large number of hashtags so marketers can easily find them for business. People also create text or video recipes and post them to their accounts. Food marketing on Instagarm is not only about restaurants; online catering projects are becoming increasingly prominent on the platform, as they publish their menus and list their numbers for orders. Salma El-Banan, 23, said Instagram was the first thing that came to her mind when she wanted to make her sister a birthday cake. "On this platform, many accounts are making really amazing baked goods. I was able to surprise her with a very sweet candy corner, like those posted on Instagram." Moreover, Instagram also plays a good role in marketing healthy food through giving nutritionists space to market their recipes and post about them. Nermeen Wahby, a coach at BeFit (a fitness company), is followed by over 37,000 users. She helps others design and follow an eating plan that helps them meet their health goals. Wahby publishes, on a daily basis, new recipes for her followers, clarifying their nutrition facts. She also posts photos of those who followed her plans and succeeded in reaching their weight goals, in order to motivate her business. Instagram is a good space for exhibiting art Photographers, painters, designers, and other artists have found that Instagram is a good place for exhibiting and circulating their artwork and attracting fans and clients. Nada Khaled, 25, has over 5,000 followers. She draws doodling sketches in notebooks and on other items. Her artwork on Instagram helped her doodle the walls of famous restaurants in Egypt, in exchange for payment, and marketing them on her page. You can learn about beginner event designers who have great talent through Instagram, as they publish their designs which then attract people to request their services to decorate their celebration through very affordable packages. Furthermore, in Egypt, makeup has become a form of art. One can find dozens of its artists on Instagram. Makeup artists' presence has greatly increased on Instagram. Their accounts on this platform are more effective than any other social media platform due to their ability to upload visual content which is more effective at showcasing their skills. "I don't usually wear makeup. I am not very aware about famous makeup artists, but I know that there are a lot on Instagarm. For my engagement, I kept on searching through hashtags for the one who can offer me a very simple and decent look for that day," said Sahar Saad, a 28-year-old dentist. Fashion is dominating Instagram Fashion bloggers, known on Instagram as fashionistas, are occupying a large share of the platform's activities, making it more like something of a style blog. Female users on the platform post their stunning photos, mentioning the brand of every piece of their clothing. At times, they could be wearing colours that are not even matching nor pieces that are particularly attractive. Nevertheless, they are more focused on marketing certain brands. In return, the brands send items from their new collections to those bloggers to further market them to the large number of followers they have. In today's age, Instagram has become a platform where anyone can start their business, promote a product, and quickly get famous. As such, many brands and services that first started on Instagarm have become very reputable among users. On this platform, the majority of users are famous people worldwide. Meanwhile, personal accounts are not as effective on Instagram compared to the prowess of public bloggers.
