Learn how to create branded images on Canva to help keep your brand consistent on social media.
All aboard! It’s time to jump on the Instagram Stories Train. Did you know that Instagram Stories has over 800 million people that use this feature??? WOW! That is amazing. Below is a video that talks about the best ways to use Instagram Stories for your business.
Some tips to remember:
- Have a plan for your stories – what are your goals when creating your stories
- Use all the features that Instagram offers you, the stickers, colors, text, selfie sticker, location, as you use more of these options Instagram will push your story to more places
- Try out the different features of stories to mix it up with Type, Live, Normal Picture or Video, Boomerang, Superzoom, Rewind, Hands-Free, and Stop-Motion
- Build your brand through Instagram Stories
- Stories only last for 24hours – be sure to share to Facebook Stories and as IG posts
- Videos for Instagram Stories can be 15 seconds
Topics for Instagram Stories:
- Talk about products or services you offer
- FAQ
- Being an expert in your field
- Exclusive offers for your Instagram Followers
- Signing up for FREE offer or newsletter
- Behind the Scenes
- Testimonials
- Contests
- New Blogs
- Recipes
- Podcasts
We would love to hear about your Instagram Stories Successes!
What is it like as an entrepreneur? How have you found ways to keep your life organized?
Behind the scenes
I know I feel like each and every day I am running around like crazy. Taking my daughter to school, client work, networking, videos, errands, letting the dog out, house chores, you name it! I have been an entrepreneur for 10 years now, WOW time flies! It can be hard to balance work and life, some nights you are working late, some mornings you are up early, trying to fit everything in in one day! To be honest with you I have really been an entrepreneur at heart since I was 5 years old. I would travel back to Michigan each Summer and started helping my grandma and grandpa in their H&R Block office in Oscoda, MI. I helped make coffee, answer phones, once I learned how to read they had me filing paperwork, getting forms, speaking with the customers and from that moment I knew I wanted to own my very own business. The joy of having my own clients, my own desk, my own business name it was so exciting to me! Once I set out on my own in 2007 I have been like the energizer bunny who just keeps going and going! I really don’t know how to STOP! I love working, I love having a busy schedule and learning new things. I feel that to be a successful entrepreneur you need to keep yourself busy with the right things, set your goals, be organized and set boundaries.
Who’s with me as a female entrepreneur we wear many different hats during the day. I can be on a conference call while changing laundry or letting the dog out. We have to organize the family schedules, work schedules, and fun schedules. People have NO clue what goes on behind the scenes of your day to day life!
Being Organized
I have always been organized in life, ask my mom! I love things neat, clean and organized. I have realized over this past year, life is NOT always like that. We have been going through a remodel of our house and it has been a bit challenging. We have contractors in and out all day, trying to organize their schedules is like trying to find a taxi in New York!
I try really hard to remain ORGANIZED, but sometimes I feel like I am just overwhelmed. I am shifting my schedules and my day around to find time to write blogs, make videos, and take calls. It’s easy for calls because they CAN’T see my office or lack of space for an office. When I do my videos I NEED a nice clean background, that can be hard to find right now. So, what I guess I am trying to get at it, it’s ok to be disorganized once in awhile. It has shown me the importance of setting that foundation early on in my career of being able to adapt to different situations and know what I need to get my work done each day. You just have to be a little creative some days.
A few tools I found to keep my family and business organized:
Google Calendar – Everything I do is on my calendar! I can invite my husband to family functions or my business partner Caitlin to team calls. I can color code each of my calendars, from networking, personal, writing, videos, etc. It keeps me on my toes. I love when things are color coordinated, so this is perfect!
Google Drive and Google Pictures – these allow me to share documents with my family and business life. I can have different folders for personal and business. I have my daily task sheet on Google Sheets for everything I need to get done each day, our client information, social media posts and more. I am able to share documents or folders with the people I want. The thing I like the most is I can access the items from any device I own! It makes my life SO much easier.
It is important to find these systems to put in place to help you stay on track. As an entrepreneur we can get lost in creating our own schedules so staying organized and setting boundaries is key!
Putting systems in place and being able to delegate
One thing we have earned over the past 10 years is we can’t do EVERYTHING! In order for our company to grow we needed to find people to help with daily tasks, maybe twitter followers, Facebook Likes, Content writing, etc. We wrote down one day things we LOVE to do for our clients and things we know we need to do, but not in love with it. We then reached out to the local colleges and found interns to help! We have been able to put systems in place for each client on what needs to be done and when. how much time it should take and when the project should be complete. We were then able to implement these systems with our interns and now contractors. By putting these systems in place it allows us to be able to create a schedule for what we want to get done and the flexibility for our team to work when they can.
Don’t get me wrong this did NOT happen overnight, it took us awhile to find the right people and what the right tasks were for them, we have had about 7 people work for us and some didn’t work out, some went their own ways but still keep in touch and for our interns they all ended up getting awesome jobs, thanks to us!
It’s like that motto, “You have to spend money to make money” well in a way it is true. If you try to manage everything in your business you will limit yourself. Start making lists of the things you love to do in your business and the things that you don’t love. Maybe like your books, calls, networking, social media, etc. Then start looking for other businesses that offer those services. Ask friends or even post to Upwork.
It is scary taking the first step to delegating something, trust me coming from a control freak, nothing is the way you do it! HAHA Once you find the right person or company it takes a BIG weight off your shoulders that is one less thing you have to worry about and you know it is getting done.
We have the basics set for Instagram, but now it is time to step up your game and create a cohesive strategy for your images and your Instagram feed. I wish I could say do X for a beautiful Instagram photo every time, but unfortunately, it all depends on your brand and the sentiment or feeling you are trying to evoke with your images.
In this post I’ll be exploring some of the ways to create an Instagram feed that you can be proud of! And, guess what? It all comes down to the images you plan to post.
Step 1: Make a List of the 3-5 things you/your business brand LOVES.
Common themes may be nature, organization, people, community, animals, sketches, etc. Think about what sentiment or feeling you get from these or that your brand wants to communicate.
Then think about the visual elements you are drawn to as they also relate to the sentiment of your brand.
For example, if you are a business coach and you value bringing clarity into your client’s lives and one of the things you are passionate about is organization, what other ways can you visually display this? What about crisp shadows and light filtering through architecture, or clean and clutter free office spaces.
Maybe your office values authenticity and personality. Would behind the scenes photos of office dogs capture a sense of playfulness?
In this stage, just brainstorm all the different types of things that encapsulate your brand, your passions, and the sentiment your want to convey.
Step 2: Find your color theme
By now you should have your brand colors selected, but if you don’t, that’s okay. Your Instagram can take on a slightly different color theme than your other marketing, as long as you are consistent.
To create a cohesive look for your Instagram photos, you need to always be thinking about the colors you are capturing in your images.
Which 2-3 colors do you want to bring into your color palette? I often enjoy feeds that are either vibrant with greens and colors found in nature or feeds that are crisp with whites and pops of color here and there. As you create your own ideas around colors, take a look at what some other popular accounts are doing below.
Once you have these colors, make sure to space them throughout your Instagram feed so you don’t have multiple photos in a row with the same color present.
Step 3: Use the same filter
One of my business partners is a photographer who emphasizes the need to edit photos before applying any filter. Personally, I think that is too much work for the average Instagram user, but I do agree that you should always be applying the same 1-2 filters in your posts so they all work well together.
However, as you you are taking the photos, pay attention to the natural light and backgrounds of your photos. Just being aware of what else is around can help you find consistency.
Step 4: Zoom in!
Sometimes on Instagram we try to pull too much into our images. Let’s say you are taking a picture of your office space for Instagram. Rather than trying to capture everything in one photo, zoom in on a single element. Not only will this make it easier to post more images of your office space, but you also will have a more visually appealing photo.
Sometimes I find that taking multiple photos at once can help keep the lighting consistent. So, pick a morning before your day gets busy and spend 30 minutes just taking photographs of small details within your office.
You aren’t going to publishing these all at once, but the simple zoomed in elements can provide a nice break within your Instagram feed.
Step 5: Always crop the same
Rather than trying to include both square and rectangular photos in your feed, it often is easier just to always crop your photos to square. There are some beautiful feeds which combine different photo orientations for a very playful feed, but for most of us, square works best.
Step 6: Create templates for any image with text overlay
We love utilizing Canva to create templates for any of those images where we share a quote or are announcing a sale, etc. Canva makes it easy to create that square image, incorporate your colors, and utilize your brand fonts.
Take a moment to think about what types of images you may want to use that will need a font overlay and how you would like the image to be displayed. Then, jump into canva and make a few variations of your designs that use different combinations of your brand colors. Below is an example for one of our clients.
Step 7: Don’t plan one image at a time, look at your entire Instagram feed
As you are compiling your posts for Instagram, I always recommend looking at how everything flows together. Apps like Later and the Preview App make it easy to visualize your entire Instagram feed rather than only one photo at a time.
Some common elements to consider are:
- Tile Grid Layouts
- Diagonal Grid Layouts
- Row by row
- Lines
- Puzzles
As you can see, these take planning and sometimes if you are in a pinch, it is easier just to remember to rotate through your topics, your colors, and the various design elements of your photos 🙂
Step 8: Above all else, high quality photos win
As I’m sure you guessed, you always want to make sure you are using high quality photos for your Instagram feed. Some tips to remember as you are taking pictures:
- If you use your phone for your images, the back camera is higher quality.
- If you repost an image, use a reposting app rather than a screenshot. Better yet, reach out to the original photographer and ask if you can have the original photo to republish (and tag them in).
- Quickly ‘enhance’ your photo on your phone with the built in photo editor.
- Take multiple shots of the same item to ensure you use the one that is the most infocus with the best lighting.
- The best times of day to take advantage of natural light are the mornings and the late afternoon. Here, the sun is still strong, but you won’t have such harsh shadows or bright spots in your images.
That’s it! Have fun with your Instagram photos and try to view your entire feed as an ever changing piece of art rather than each block as an individual element.
Please note, all images of Instagram Feeds are taken from The Preview App.
Now, that you have your Instagram Business account set up, and ready to rock and roll, right? We have spoken about the importance of having the business Instagram account, all the data it gives you and how it can help you define your target market. So, what now? It’s time to start posting! Before you just jump right into posting anything, it’s important to have a plan. What topics do you want to talk about on Instagram, what’s the story you want to tell? What value do you want to give your audience?
These all help you organize your Instagram posts. Hootsuite, Buffer and Later, you can actually schedule your posts to your business Instagram account. Although this is great on time-management, we still highly recommend posting manually. If you are posting 7 days a week maybe you can schedule 3-4 posts per week and manually post the others. You still want to engage with your audience, follow people, comment and share posts. It can be easy to get comfortable with these awesome scheduling tools you forget that Instagram is a 2-way street.
The Twitter Checklist covers the top things you need to remember as you are setting up your Twitter account for business.
The Pinterest Strategy and Goal Setting workbook walks you through how to create your Pinterest boards and posting strategy as well as how to establish your goals on the network.
What’s all the hoopla about hashtags? When it comes to social media, hashtags are a BIG deal! They are the key or more appropriately, the “link” to helping your target market find you.
How “#” Hashtags Work:
If you click on any given # in a social media post or enter it into a social media search bar, instantaneously, you will receive all of the most recent posts and content that have been “tagged” with the hashtag word or phrase you clicked on or entered. For example, if you are using Instagram and you type in the search bar: #SocialMediaRocks you will see there are over 1,200 posts you can read that are all about the topic “Social Media Rocks.” This same practice can be used on all the major social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. Fun Fact: Twitter is considered to be the “birthplace” of hashtags. Due to the way Twitter operates and the enormous amount of “Tweets” that are posted every second, hashtags are critical in order to keep up to date and track the content available surrounding a certain topic, trend, conversation, event, or issue.
How Should You Use #s For Your Business?
This is a common question we get asked…a lot! The good news is, we have answers for you! We recommend you break down your hashtags into 3 major categories. Those categories are:
- Branded Hashtags – certain words or phrases that specifically describe your brand. Stumped on what you would use for branded hashtags? See if you can guess the brand behind these hashtags: #ShareACoke, #ShamrockShake, #MacchiatoMondays
- Industry Hashtags – use hashtags to describe the industry you are in.
- Trending Hashtags – use hashtags that are trending as long as they are relatable to your business or the content of your posts
Hashtag Research
Finding industry hashtags and trending hashtags requires some work but we have some resources to help you. Below is a list of resources to help you find the perfect hashtags for your posts:
- Be a stalker – this is the one time it’s ok to stalk people on the internet. Find out what industry influencers are using as hashtags in their posts. Chances are if an industry influencer is using the hashtag, it’s trending!
- Hashtagify.me – is a great tool to see what is trending in your niche and to get hashtag suggestions
- Hashtags.org – use this tool to find trending hashtags
- RiteTag.com – this tool will provide suggestions and tell you which social platform the hashtag will perform its best on
The best way to optimize your hashtags is to really understand your business, who your business attracts and how to speak your tribe’s language. Once you figure that out, you can design and craft the perfect hashtag words and phrases to attract them.
Hashtag Best Practices & Tips:
- Create 3 types of hashtags for your business (branded, industry, and trending)
- When using hashtag phrases, use capitals to separate words, example: #SocialMediaRocks
- Avoid including #hastags in the #middle of #sentences as it #makes your #content #difficult and #unpleasant to #read
- Instagram will accept up to 30 hashtags per post, post these in the comment section below your post content
- When posting hashtags on Instagram, avoid using the same hashtags over and over again as it will hurt your rank. The Instagram algorithm treats repetitive hashtags has spammy practices (a.k.a. “shadow banning)
- Always include content in your post. Refrain from just posting a string of hashtags. Your followers won’t appreciate it and they will begin to unfollow you
Download our hashtag organizer by clicking HERE
Happy Hashtagging!
If you have set up an Instagram account and have not yet converted it over to a business account, don’t wait any longer! You are missing out on a TON of data! There are not a lot of differences between your personal Instagram and Business Instagram as far as looks go, BUT the key to the business Instagram is that you get to really know who your audience is. The insights of your business account will really let you know who is engaging with your brand. It will tell you age, gender, location and more!
By switching to a business account you will have the ability to:
* Run ads and promotions
* Link to your Facebook business page, Twitter, and Tumblr accounts
* View Insights
Who doesn’t love Instagram?
Beautiful images, user friendly, frequently updated, but is it something you can actually use for your business?
YES!
Instagram is a power marketing tool that can transform your ability to connect with your market online. It is the platform where you can showcase your personality, but also connect with other businesses and consumers on a professional level.
In the past, I used to tell businesses that if they needed to cut one network from their marketing, it should be Instagram. Now it is one of the first networks I recommend. Whereas we used to never see traffic from Instagram, businesses are now being flooded with clicks from their profiles. Additionally, Instagram is now the network where businesses are seeing the most engagement. If increasing engagement and brand recognition is one of your goals for social media, how could you not have your businesses account already set up?
Below I’ve put together some steps for you to ensure a successful Instagram strategy for your business.
Step 1: Convert your Instagram Account to a Business Account
As a business account you have access to analytics and you can also share content directly to a Facebook Business Page rather than only your personal profile. You also gain the ability to add Click to Call button or other buttons in your profile.
Some highlights of the Instagram Analytics include:
- Profile Views
- Top Posts
- Engagement Metrics
The steps to make this change are straight forward. Click to edit your profile settings and click the option called “Switch to Business Profile.” From here you are all set to get rocking and rolling with Instagram for business marketing.
Step 2: Have a Game-plan and Stick to It
We recently were working with a business that had just created its Instagram account and after a month they were ready to give up. Growing your network on Instagram takes time, just like any other social media network. However, it does grow fairly quickly!
This client was upset they were only at 90 followers in 20 days, and I explained to them that the strategy we followed of “following your complementary businesses followers” took time. Sure enough, a month later the business was up to 400 followers.
Having a game-plan is more than just how to grow your network. You also need to create a game-plan for the types of posts you are going to be publishing. I find it easiest to create a calendar of must-post items and then filling in the rest with consistent topics.
If you are a chef, you can consistently share recipes, if you support a cause, you can consistently post about the cause. Just make sure if you post 3 times per day for a week that you then don’t jump to posting only once per week as your followers will forget you even existed.
This brings us to this week’s Action Item!
What topics can you post about on Instagram? Please download this sheet of 100 Instagram post topics you can integrate into your Instagram strategy!
Step 3: Align your Images with your Brand
As you are posting images, you want to make sure they have a similar look, feel, and tone. You don’t always have to include your brand colors, but if you do use fonts on images or color blocks, make sure they are aligned with the content viewers will see elsewhere.
To keep your images consistent, try to use only a few filters on instagram. These filters will help make images appear as though they were shot in the same light and will help to increase brand recognition.
Additionally, you can use apps like Canva to create templates for your images. This way any image that has a text overlay uses the same colors and fonts.
Step 4: Include a Call to Action in your Bio
Rather than just saying what your business is about on your Instagram bio, also add a call to action. We love using Linktr.ee in our profiles to add a menu of links that people can click to learn more.
A non-profit, or example, could add links to their programs, donate pages, and events on Linktr.ee whereas an ecommerce store could use the space to highlight specific products, blog posts, and sales.
This functionality can greatly increase the effectiveness of your Instagram Marketing.
Step 5: Gain Exposure with Hashtags
Make sure that as you are writing your post you are also using hashtags.
We use Hashtagify.me to search for related hashtags and often have a database of hashtags for different types of posts that we can copy and paste.
Also, look out for banned hashtags. Instagram does a great job penalizing accounts that are using derogatory hashtags, however sometimes these are legitimate for businesses to actually use. Let’s say you are a dog walker, #dogsofinstagram may seem like an appropriate hashtag. Unfortunately, because of other connotations, it is on the banned keyword list!
Good luck and have fun on Instagram! Showcase a behind the scenes look at your business and try to fully connect with your followers!