Wednesday 2 December 2015

Instagram Tips and Tools for Marketers

Improving your Instagram content and boosting engagement can be as simple as adding a few tactics and tools to your marketing routine.In this article you’ll discover nine tips and tools to improve your Instagram marketing. social media marketing blog Once you find one that targets your ideal demographic and follow them, Instagram will show you “similar accounts.” You’ll know these accounts accept paid sponsored posts if they have an email address in the bio. Usually it will say something like “For Business Inquiries” as well.From there, email them (briefly) about your brand/company (the smart ones are also looking for a good fit) and ask for their sponsored post pricing.Once you strike a deal with the account, make sure you review their past posts to see what type or style of photos receive the most engagement and consider this when you’re creating your ad image and copy.Your best bet is to link back to your Instagram account, instead of trying to send users directly to your website, since Instagram doesn’t allow linking in comments.Using this tactic makes it easy to gain thousands or tens of thousands of new followers in your target demographic overnight. The key now is cultivating these new followers with great content that appeals to them and slowly introducing them to your brand.
For Canva’s dailydesigntips, we combine striking graphics with a piece of sharable content, social media marketing experts like an inspiring quote or a practical design tip.Complete the image with a detailed caption and all relevant hashtags, and the entire combination results in a compelling post packed with nuggets of knowledge. While you can access Instagram from your laptop to engage with content from your followers, to update your account with new content you’re confined to a mobile device such as your tablet or smartphone.For those of you who work primarily from a laptop, making the switch to using a tablet or smartphone for posting to Instagram can be challenging; especially if you’re trying to manage multiple Instagram accounts at once.To help make the transition to using a mobile device for posting much more convenient, I recommend creating an editorial calendar.Once you use your editorial calendar to plan out your Instagram posts. Then all you need to do is create your content and post it to Instragram – I prefer batching content because it helps save time. You can choose to add these tasks to your to do list and post them from the native Instagram app or use some of the scheduling tools available to help.

Use Text Overlays on Images

Sharing generic content that doesn’t connect to your brand is a missed opportunity on Instagram. social media marketing dallas Many marketers opt for generic content because their product or service isn’t inherently visual. How many photos can you really share of your team sitting around a conference table? Not many.Instead, create messages, graphics and designs that tell users something valuable. This could be a quote connected to your brand, or an announcement about a new product, contest or sale.For example, the Huffington Post Instagram account uses graphics to share a quote from a story or to start a conversation. In this example, the graphic asks an engaging question and promotes a hashtag. The question started a long conversation in the comments and led to broader use of the hashtag . There’s no need to reinvent the wheel with every graphic either. Consistency wins on Instagram. Keep your template and change the text or background to share a new graphic each week. My personal favorite contest is to tag a friend in the comment section. It’s the Instagram version of word-of-mouth marketing. There are many different types of Instagram contests, including like to win, user-generated photos with branded hashtag or regram to win.
What’s great about using this technique is that as your business grows and you use Instagram more, learn social media marketing you’ll be able to scale it up to meet the demands of your business. Find influencers within your specific vertical who will showcase your products in a fun and innovative way!There are more than 40,000 influencers on Instagram covering all verticals, including fashion, beauty, health and wellness, home décor, food and more.Instagram influencers are modern-day celebrities and are creating high-quality digital content. They have a large follower base and are trusted for their opinions on the latest products and trends. Align your brand with the right influencers and you can expand brand awareness and follower reach.There are many ways to work with influencers to promote your products. From contests to giveaways, find a unique angle on how you want to carry on the relationship.Make sure the influencer’s Instagram post includes your brand’s handle. The influencer can either tag it in the photo or in the social media copy. Ask the influencer to include any relevant calls to action as well. Common calls to action in Instagram marketing are Shop Now or Learn More on our Website.

Tell a Story With the Caption

Yes, Instagram is a photo-sharing app, but writing is also a key component to your success. importance of social media marketing The most engaging brands on Instagram use microblogging to tell a story in the caption. As a result, they see stronger engagement and create deeper connections with their audience. This leads to more sharing, commenting and loyalty.Hey, Sweet Pea writes long stories that are like personal letters to their audience. In fact, they use them to tease what users can expect from attending their classes. Then they plug the classes in the caption and with a link in their profile. Use an app like Hemingway to help you improve your caption writing. This tool marks adverbs, passive voice, overly long sentences and more. Paste your text in the editor to make sure that your writing is active and easy to read before you hit publish. By incorporating influencers and contests into your Instagram marketing strategy, you are tapping into two of the most powerful ways to find new users and convert them into customers. There’s no better way to step up your business game than to be active on Instagram. The platform is constantly making improvements, so individuals and businesses can get more out of it.
You can choose to direct users to a permanent page, such as your website’s homepage or your blog. social media marketing agencies But an even better option is to link to your most current content, whether that’s an article, blog post or promotion.For example, take Mashable’s Instagram account. In the description of their latest upload, users are encouraged to click through to the link in Mashable’s Instagram bio. Clicking this link will take them to an article related to the Instagram photo. Plus, there are tactics, aside from Instagram itself, to increase organization, engagement and visibility. Explore these tools and tips, and see which ones work best for you and your business.What do you think? Do you use any of these Instagram marketing tips and tools? What has been your experience? What other little-known Instagram tips do you have to share? Please leave your comments and questions below. Instagram has become a necessity in social media marketing for brands, even with limited ad options and other challenges. The platform passed 300 million monthly users in Dec. 2014, so its social stronghold can’t be ignored. The visual focus, simplicity and popularity of the app all combine to make it a powerful, yet difficult, platform for brands.

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