by Sofi | Oct 21, 2019 | Social Media Marketing
High Instagram engagement can help you increase your brand exposure and create better relationships with your customers, which can ultimately lead to increased sales. Even if your strategy is posting high-quality content on a regular basis, we assure you that’s not good enough. There are many other things you can do to engage your followers. So, here are four recommendations on how to create more engaging Instagram posts:
#1 Add long tail hashtags
When you post your content to Instagram, add long tail hashtags. Make sure they are relevant to your brand and industry, and don’t make them too general or too specific. Posts with too general hashtags will easily get drowned in other posts, while posts with too specific hashtags will be harder to find. Try to think like your audience and imagine what type of hashtags they are most likely to search for. Using the right long tail hashtags on your Instagram posts will help you attract and engage many followers.
#2 Use emojis
Emojis may not seem so relevant, but they can actually make a big difference when it comes to Instagram engagement. A study by the Social Media Lab found that posts with emojis had a 15% higher interaction rate, which means that using emojis on your Instagram posts can result in higher engagement. However, if you think that emojis are not really right for your brand or industry, then it’s better if you don’t use them often or at all.
#3 Add location
This one might seem like a no-brainer, but many users forget to add location to their posts. Adding location can increase your visibility to people that live in a specific place and to people searching for content related to that place. This is true for both posts and stories. So next time you post something on Instagram, don’t forget to add a location.
#4 Add a call to action
Adding CTAs to your posts is another way to boost engagement on Instagram. This means that to be more engaging your posts should include some kind of CTA statement that encourages your followers to take action, such as: click the link in bio, answer this question, tag your friends, etc. You can also include CTAs in your stories by using question or poll stickers for example. Make sure you include CTAs in your posts more often, but be careful not to overdo it because you will risk becoming annoying to your audience.
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If you want to learn more, read the following articles on this topic:
- https://www.falcon.io/insights-hub/topics/social-media-strategy/21-tips-increase-instagram-engagement/
- https://www.quicksprout.com/instagram-engagement/
- https://www.socialinsider.io/blog/boost-instagram-engagement/
by Sofi | Sep 14, 2018 | Social Media Marketing
As one of the leading innovative social media platforms, Instagram released it’s newest feature over the summer: IGTV. This feature allows users to take longer videos in a vertical format suited for mobile devices with enhanced discoverability through channels. Instagram took advantage of the statistics revealing more people are watching digital videos than television, with mobile videos accounting for the majority of mobile data traffic. Using a simple and intuitive design fit for your mobile device, anyone can create content on IGTV. So, how can you utilize IGTV for your business? Check out these tips.
#1 Build stronger connections with customers
Use these longer and more permanent videos for deeper storytelling behind your business. IGTV allows for videos up to an hour long, and it stores them on your personal channel. This can be used to a brand’s advantage by showcasing other dimensions of your business without being limited to one type of content, length, or format. Sharing stories that resonate with your customers will build a stronger relationship between them and your brand. Meaningful connections that show the human side of your business are longer lasting.
#2 Create a better mobile experience
With 800 million users, it’s important to cater to the mobile Instagram user in a way that best suits their mobile experience. One of IGTV’s biggest boasts is the vertical format that perfectly fits mobile screens. Do not repurpose and upload old horizontal videos. Instead, start fresh and take your time creating new content that embraces the vertical format. Online audiences are more in touch with amateur videography than that of professionals. Vertical videos feel more personal, less produced, and are therefore more appealing to your audience.
#3 Know when to post
The general social media tip of knowing what times are best to post to reach your audience still applies. Instagram is currently giving IGTV priority by adding notifications for new videos, so users scrolling through their feed will instantly know when you upload content. This makes posting when your users are most likely using the app very important. Now is the time to take advantage of this new feature’s extra promotion. Be one of the first to step out and use IGTV! Consumers will remember that.
These tips will help you take advantage of IGTV as a feature. However, you might be wondering what kind of content will help you grow your business on IGTV. Check out these video content ideas.
#1 Frequently Asked Questions
Do your current and prospective customers continually ask the same questions on your posts, website, by email, and by phone? You can film a weekly Q&A answering all of the frequently asked questions you collect. This provides your customers with important information with a personal touch that can build their relationship with your brand. With some luck, you can save customer service time as well!
#2 Behind the Scenes
Everyone feels more connected to a brand when they can see what happens behind the scenes. You want your audience to respect your work and feel loyal to your brand. Bringing them behind the scenes, even digitally, makes people feel included. Customers want to see the real you, and using IGTV provides a more authentic approach.
#3 Product Reviews
Most likely, your Instagram followers follow you because they are already interested in your product. IGTV is a great way to give more in-depth product reviews that are visually appealing and personal. Tag other accounts that are relevant or included in your product reviews to make them aware of your content to increase reach.
by Sofi | May 4, 2018 | Social Media Marketing
Instagram is now one of the largest social media networks with over 800 million monthly active users. Therefore, all kinds of businesses are increasingly using this platform to promote their brands, products, and services.
There are plenty of good reasons you should use Instagram to promote your business, so here are a few you should seriously consider:
#1 Visual content
I often say that visual content is king because it never fails to engage your audience. People are visual creatures, and they process and remember visual content faster than any other type of content. The good news is, Instagram exclusively posts visual content: photos, videos, and stories. Adding relevant hashtags on your visuals will make them easy to find and increase engagement.
#2 High engagement
Instagram has massive engagement rates, higher than the other social media platforms. For instance, according to Influencer Marketing Hub, “the average Facebook or Twitter user has an engagement rate of only 0.5 – 1.0%. The average Instagram account, though, has an engagement rate of 3%.”
#3 Connecting with customers
People can find and follow your brand on Instagram by a simple search. You can engage with your followers in the comments by answering questions or remarks they might have. They can also share and tag your photos, which helps to further increase interest in your products as well as reach new audiences.
#4 Having a business account
On Instagram you can create a business account that gives you some additional options in addition to the ones you get with a basic profile. By creating a business account, you will be able to get useful insights which let you learn about how your followers interact with your profile and help you measure your performance. Having a business account will also increase the credibility of your business.
#5 Instagram ads
If you want to reach targeted audiences on Instagram, you can take advantage of the Instagram advertising platform and create paid ads with targeting options like location, demographics, interests, and behaviors. Currently, you can choose to create one of the following ad formats: photo ads, videos, carousel ads, and stories ads.
#6 Sharing content on other marketing channels
You can fuel your other marketing channels by sharing the content you post on Instagram. You can easily connect your Instagram account to other social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter, so when you post something on Instagram it gets automatically shared on those networks as well. Or, you can save your photos in your phone gallery and share them on other networks whenever it’s convenient for you.
#7 Driving website traffic and sales
To attract visitors and generate traffic to your website, you should put a link to your website in your profile’s bio. You can also mention your website as well as include different calls to action in your comments.
By promoting your business on Instagram, you can generate sales as well. To achieve this, you should make sure you frequently post nice photos and videos of your products with creative captions and CTAs such as “Buy Now,” “Shop Now,” “Learn More,” etc.
by Sofi | Nov 24, 2017 | Social Media Marketing
Instagram is currently one of the most popular social media networks in existence. According to Statista, they had 800 million monthly active users as of September this year. The platform is mainly used for sharing photos and videos from smartphones, and about a year ago Instagram launched their new feature – Instagram Stories, which was an instant success.
Since there are so many users on Instagram, many companies are taking advantage of the platform to promote and grow their business. They create accounts and share content to engage with their customers. However, certain types of content perform better than others. So, here is a list of the most engaging types of content on Instagram.
#1 UGC
User generated content (UGC) is when brands repost photos from their customers on their own profiles. It has become a popular social media marketing trend, and for a good reason. It is affordable yet powerful strategy for increasing your brand’s visibility and customer engagement. Regramming your customer’s photos shows them you appreciate them and their opinion about your products. Additionally, you always have available new content to post on your profile, and you save time and money for creating your own. GoPro is the best example of a brand that superbly uses UGC. They continuously engage their customers by encouraging them to post cool photos taken with GoPro cameras, and then reposting the photos on their profile which has millions of followers.
#2 Behind the scenes
By posting behind the scenes photos you show the human side of your brand. Keep in mind that everybody likes brands that value their employees. You can post photos of your happy employees working hard, activities where they show off their specific skills, their work spaces, and different types of events, such as birthdays, holiday celebrations in the office, or even a simple launch break. By posting this type of content you show you have a great company culture and a good working environment. This may also inspire your employees to share photos on their own profiles, thus further increasing their popularity and reach.
#3 Motivational and inspirational quotes
People like stuff that makes them feel motivated and inspired. If you post a motivational or inspirational quote that really hits the nerve of people, chances are they will like it and share it with others. Quotes from famous people that your customers admire can always perform well, but if you can come up with something original and awesome yourself, then you should go for it.
#4 Contests
Contests are a great way to engage your followers and promote your brand. You can organize fun contests with simple rules and give different kinds of prizes to motivate people to participate. The prizes don’t have to be something glamorous or too expensive as long as they’re exciting enough for your customers. For example, you can reward the winners with gift cards, discount cards, or they can win some of your products for free.
#5 Funny posts
If it’s appropriate for your brand, consider posting something funny from time to time. Everybody absolutely loves positive content. A hilarious joke, or a funny photo or meme can go a long way. This type of content gets shared a lot, and generates huge engagement. So, brighten up the day of your customers by giving them a good laugh.
#6 Product photos
Your audience follows you to keep up with news about your brand and products, so don’t forget to post photos of your products highlighting their features. You can post photos of what you have in-store, your best-selling items, product pairings, etc. Make sure you post quality photos with great colors and make use of the Instagram filters to make your photos look even better. By promoting your products, you also promote your brand, thus increasing brand awareness, and boosting sales.
by Sofi | Oct 6, 2017 | Social Media Marketing
Hashtags are words or phrases that appear as clickable links on social media posts. They are preceded by the # symbol, also known as pound sign, or hash sign. People use hashtags to give context to their posts, and make their content easily shareable and easily found. Hashtagging categorizes and aggregates posts based on a common topic. When you click on a hashtag, you can see other posts that include the same hashtag.
Hashtags first appeared in 2007 on Twitter, as a way to categorize messages. Today, they are used on all major social media networks, such as Instagram, Facebook, Google plus, etc.
Adding hashtags can be fun, but it can also help you create a great social media presence and build brand awareness for your business, if you do it right. Instagram has become the leader in hashtags usage, so we will give you some tips on how to use them on this social media platform.
#1 Right wording
If you decide to use hashtags in your posts on Instagram to make them more discoverable, it’s best to use words or phrases that are relatively short and common. Long and complicated phrases confuse people, and might not be frequently used or searched for by others. If you add an unusual or uncommon hashtag, people won’t search for it, meaning your post won’t show up in their feed.
According to HootSuite “when it comes to choosing Instagram hashtags, the golden rule is: use only hashtags that are relevant to your brand, industry, and target audience.” If you want to build brand awareness, you need to tailor your hashtags according to your business. Use words that people will easily connect to your brand when they see them. It’s usually clever to come up with an original word or phrase that you will constantly include in your posts, so whenever people search for it, it will bring them to your posts and page.
#2 Number of hashtags
Depending on your post, you need to choose the optimal number of hashtags you’re going to use. This number varies greatly among different social media networks. For example, Twitter users are limited to texting 140 characters per tweet. This leaves them little room for experimenting with hashtags. On the other hand, Instagram has a limit of 30 hashtags per post. However, this doesn’t mean that you should add so many tags in all your posts. According to a research from TrackMaven, the optimal number of hashtags to include in an Instagram post is 9. So, keep this data in mind if you plan to add tags on your photos and videos on Instagram.
#3 Choosing hashtags
When it comes down to deciding on the actual tags you will use, there are few things you can consider, to help you choose the right ones. Generally, two types of Instagram hashtags are used: branded and community hashtags. Branded hashtags are the ones relevant to your brand and industry, and community hashtags are used to connect people based on mutual things of interest. You can use both types in your posts, to achieve optimal results. Start by researching your competition, see what kind of hashtags they use and how well they work. Then, you can use this information to come up with different, more relevant tags to reach more audience. Also, a good way to grow your audience on Instagram is to use trending hashtags. You can research which hashtags are trending at the given moment, and find tags that are relevant to your business. Finally, create your own hashtags that you think will resonate with your audience, but don’t forget to use the right wording.
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Adding hashtags on your Instagram posts can be very valuable. It can help you reach a wider audience and increase brand awareness. So, next time you post a photo or video on Instagram, use these tips to come up with some awesome hashtags.
#HappyHashtagging ?
