Small and midsized businesses have increasingly turned to Instagram as a resource to promote their brands, and Jim Squires, director of market operations at the Facebook-owned photo- and video-sharing network, shared his seven predictions for the SMB sector in 2017 with SocialTimes:

The shift to mobile will continue: It?s no secret that people love their mobile devices, with American consumers now spending three hours per day on their mobile devices, according to eMarketer. In fact, shopping on mobile reached record highs this holiday season, with Black Friday becoming the first day in retail history to drive more than $1 billion in mobile revenue at $1.2 billion, up 33 percent over last year. Customers are increasingly turning to mobile, so small businesses need to, as well. The good news is that reaching customers via mobile is becoming simpler than ever. If SMBs have a smartphone and an Instagram business profile, they have all the tools they need. Video will rule the day: In the shift to visual communication, video is becoming the medium of choice for marketers. Third-party research predicts that 75 percent of all data will be video by 2020. With new features like live video on Instagram Stories, businesses can connect with customers in real-time and take viewers behind the scenes of their business. And easy-to-use tools like Hyperlapse and Boomerang allow anyone to create engaging and relevant videos in just minutes.
SMBs will deepen customer relationships: Customer...