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Boundless Internet Marketing Solutions, Instagram, LinkedIn, Social Media

4 Types of Photos You Should Never Use on Your LinkedIn Profile

In today’s digital age, a lot of people have been using social media to help them build a strong online presence, develop their personal brand or use it for professional networking. Although social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter can help you achieve these goals, nothing compares to LinkedIn in that regard.

When it comes to your LinkedIn profile, there are 2 areas that matter most: your headline and your profile photo. In fact, your profile photo is your first point of contact with other professionals on the site.

With that in mind, we’d like to share with you a list of pictures you should never use on your LinkedIn profile.

Party pic

Using a picture of yourself while in a social event may seem like a good idea. You look friendly, relaxed and approachable. However, using photos that are out of your work context may send the wrong message to your network. We understand the work hard, play hard mentality, but this type of photos aren’t appropriate for a professional site like LinkedIn.

Group picture

Your LinkedIn profile represents you and your expertise. It baffles me why some people would use a group photo as their profile picture. Having more than one person in your profile photo may send a confusing message to the viewers. And how are we supposed to know which one is you?

No photo

Some people choose not to upload a photo and leave it blank instead. But if you do, you’ll be missing out on a lot of opportunity. LinkedIn profiles with profile pictures are 11% times more likely to be viewed than those that don’t have one.

Selfie

There’s nothing wrong with using a selfie as your profile picture; people just don’t know how to take them. If you are to upload a selfie, make sure, that it’s not a photo of you with your arms stretched, trying to snap a photo. Remember, your profile photo gives users an idea who they are going to deal with. The shot still needs to look professional. Save your smug, snapped-in-the-bathroom selfie for Facebook or Tinder.

November 29, 2016/by admin

Boundless Internet Marketing Solutions, Instagram, Internet Marketing, Social Media

How to be Successful with Instagram

how-to-be-successful-with-instagram Are you in love with Instagram as much as I am?

Are you a business owner that has an account on Instagram and not sure how to build your business on it?

Don’t worry I am here to help!

Here are just a few fun facts about Instagram that will blow your mind:

Instagram has over 500 million active monthly users.
Instagram users have shared over 40 billion photos to date and share an average of 95 million photos and videos per day.

80% of Instagram users come from outside of the U.S.

Instagram is used by 31% of American women and 24% of men. Read more stats here from Hootsuite.

Now that we have those stats out of the way, it is clear that Instagram is the place to be! It is also owned by . . . what’s that social media platform that has the blue f on it??? Oh yeah FACEBOOK! The two of them got hitched in 2013 and Instagram has grown into this beautiful, amazing beast of a social media platform!

What does this mean for your business? Nothing really if you are not posting correctly!

There are many different ideas, ways and theories out there about how to post to Instagram page and what will work best. I wish it was that easy to say ok if you follow these 3 steps your Instagram account will grow by hundreds, you will see an ROI right away and it is SO easy! BUT there’s not, the only way to see what will work for your business is to try each of them! Each business is different and their audiences are different, the key with Instagram is to make your posts visually appealing that it draws your audience in, to get them engaging on each post. Either by liking the post, commenting or even reposting.

How do you get that visually appealing content? Do you need to hire a professional photographer? Get a studio to showcase your products or services? Invest in a super high-end camera to get the best quality pictures? NO, NO, and NO

All you need is a smartphone! That is great news right?

Here are 2 blogs that show you how to use your smartphone for images: Shopify Article and a RealSimple Guide

There are so many different apps that really do the work for you nowadays. The camera on your smartphone will work perfect, you just need to be creative. You may need to spend a few bucks for a simple background like buying a piece of foam board and covering it in marble contact paper so it looks like you have a marble countertop, or purchase a small tripod to help keep steady while taking images, go to the dollar store and find a few fun props if needed.

I want to highlight a few Instagram accounts that I follow and how they are being successful with their content. Some posts are very long like a full blog length and some are short sweet and to the point, then some are in between.

Let’s take a look:

The first one I want to showcase is one of our clients Coach Jessie May she is a branding coach, so her posts have a theme to them and her content is longer on each post. We love that she uses plenty of #hashtags and emoticons on her posts, by having more content she is adding more value for her audience which increase her engagement through likes and comments.
The second one I love is Mantra Magazine this is a simple motivational quote that is not very eye appealing BUT has a GREAT message on it. What they did on this post they kept it short and yet gets you thinking and engaging. They used 24 #hashtags on this 1 post and got 1,465 likes and over 20 comment, sometimes keeping it short and sweet is good, asking a question to get your audience commenting always works!
The third one I wanted to show you is Boulder Magazine, they used someone else’s image (gave credit) but this image is very creative and thinks outside the box! This is showcasing that listening and watching your audience can be good for your business. Sometimes it is hard to think of NEW, Fresh content everyday, so when you look at your audience and what they are posting you can share their images. Remember to give to give them credit by @mentioning them and thanking them in your post. This post generated 672 likes and over 15 comments!

These are 3 different types of businesses here and each of them is using Instagram in a different way. So what I am telling you is test the waters, put a post up that is short sweet and to the point like a motivational image and ask a question, then try a longer post like a blog post and use #hashtags, and then try a repost from someone you are following, see which one gets the most interaction and then you can start building your strategy from there. We recommend posting to Instagram between 3-5 times per week.

Instagram takes time, this is the one social media platform (besides Pinterest) that you cannot schedule posts to go out, you have to post manually! There are a few tools out there like Buffer, Hootsuite, LaterGram that allow you to schedule posts on their platforms then they push you a notice on your phone that you need to post your scheduled post to instagram, it’s a little complicated right?

So here are a few apps that I love to use when I am creating images for our Instagram account and our clients, most are free but some I have paid for and WELL worth it!

PhotoCollege

LiPix Pro

Canva

WordSwag (Paid $4.99)

There are literally hundreds of image Instagram apps to try, download a few and see which ones you like the most and are easy for you to use. You can also check out some free picture sites to help with background and images. Canva, WordSwag and Pixabay are good for free images. In the beginning it may take more of your time to take images of your products, or download a bunch of free images so you can create a stockpile of them and then just grab and create. Use Pinterest as creative motivation and pick 3-5 businesses that you really like what they are posting on instagram and use them as a guideline.

I have filled your head with TONS of content, tips, how to and now it is time for you to step into the Instagram world and get busy!

If you are interested in a FREE, yes I said FREE 30 minute consultation with me on evaluating your existing Instagram account or on how to get your business started on Instagram please email me at Marketing@TheBIMSTeam.com I would love to assist you with your success on Instagram!

November 17, 2016/by admin

Hashtag Marketing, Instagram, Internet Marketing, Social Media, Twitter

Tips for Creating a Hashtag for Your Marketing Campaign

These days, hashtags are everywhere. We see them in advertisements, in weddings, on our newsfeeds. We even see them on the corner of our TV screens when we watch our favorite TV shows.

Creating a hashtag for your business can have a lot of benefits. It gives users a new way to get in touch with your business and spread the word about an upcoming event, your products or services. Of course, these things can only be achieved with an effective hashtag.

Here are some tips for creating a hashtag for your marketing campaign.

Less is more

When creating a hashtag, always remember that less is more. Come up with something short and brief. You may use a few words or a short phrase, but make sure it’s not too. Two to three words is ideal. Long hashtags can be tricky to read and easy to misspell. Remember, the shorter, the better.

Be unique

Sure, there’s no rule that says you can’t use an existing hashtag. But if you opt for a hashtag that is currently being used by another company, this may create confusion among people.

Since there are millions of active social media users all over the world, it can be difficult to create a unique hashtag, but it’s doable. Use your creativity. Alliteration is your friend.

Double-check your hashtags

Make sure you check across different social platforms to make sure that it doesn’t already exist. If another brand is already using it or if you find thousands of posts with the hashtag you have in mind, then you might want to come up with a new one. But if there are only a few posts, then go ahead and claim the hashtag.

Make sure it’s relevant

You may have successfully created a unique hashtag, but it won’t benefit your marketing campaign if it has nothing to do with your brand. Make sure you create a hashtag that is relevant to what your company has to offer.

November 15, 2016/by admin

Instagram, Internet Marketing, Social Media

4 Ways to Boost Engagement on Instagram

You may know Instagram as a great platform for sharing selfies, vacation photos and mouthwatering dishes, but did you know that it’s also one of the best social media channels to build your fan base and promote your business? In fact, Instagram has 40 times more engagement than Twiter and 15 times more user engagement than Facebook.

Whether you’re working on behalf of a company or growing your own business account, use these tips to boost engagement on Instagram.

Be active

We know you’re busy, but posting once or twice a week isn’t going to do much for your engagement and brand growth. When it comes to social media, consistency is the key. You need to be consistent with your posting schedule. Find the best time and days to post and stick to it. This way, your loyal followers will be more likely to catch your posts.

Engage with others

Social interaction is the key to improving your engagement. If someone tags you in their post, respond to their post or give them a shout out. Make it a habit to communicate with your followers regularly.

Use eye-catching images

This may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at the number of businesses that fail to use eye-catching images.

People don’t spend too much time scrutinizing every post as they scroll through their feeds. With more than 70 million images uploaded on Instagram every day, you have to make sure your images stand out. Otherwise, it won’t get noticed.

Use hashtags

Hashtags are the language in which Instagram users speak. A hashtag is a great way of organizing your content and growing your community. It can also help engage your audience and increase your exposure to a large and targeted audience. To ensure you’re being searched by the right people, make sure that the hashtags you use are relevant to your brand.

November 1, 2016/by admin

Boulder Marketing, Boundless Internet Marketing Solutions, Facebook, Instagram, Social Media

Why Are Hashtags So Important?

Once upon a time, Twitter was the only place hashtags were used. As understanding of how hashtags work grew, they became widely embraced by social media users. Today, hashtags have become a prominent feature within other social networks as well. In fact, they are used in all social media channels, except LinkedIn.

Whether you’re a business owner looking to make a splash on social media or looking to grow your business, make sure you incorporate hashtags into your social media marketing campaign. Here’s what hashtags can do for your business.

Track relevant conversations

Sometimes, you want to know what your audience is talking about. Hashtags make it easier to cut through the digital clutter. It provides an efficient way to find specific content or information.

The first thing you need to do is to create a list of keywords that people often associate with your brand. This will help you determine the popular topics and latest news, which will make it easier for you to start a conversation and engage with your fans and followers.

Expand your reach

Although we can’t deny the effectiveness of a unique hashtag, some business owners and marketers seek out popular hashtags and use them to promote their brand. When done right, riding a trending hashtag can help increase your social reach and improve brand awareness.

In this case, relevance is the absolute key thing to remember. Only use hashtags that are relevant to your business, audience and industry.

Promote an event

A well-chosen hashtag can bring all information and online conversations about your event together. It can also increase awareness and visibility of your events. Use the hashtag every time you post something that is related to the said event. Encourage your fans and followers to use the hashtag to gain more exposure. Keep your hashtag short, easy to remember and relevant. Also, make sure that it hasn’t been used recently.

September 27, 2016/by admin

Connecting with Customers, Instagram, Social Media

4 Ways to Increase Your Instagram Followers and Likes

If there’s one thing on social media that makes people happy, it’s getting more followers and likes. Why? It’s because the more followers you have, the greater the visibility. The more likes you get, the more business you get in return.

If you’re sharing a lot of photos, but aren’t getting a lot of love from fellow Instagram users, don’t fret. In this blog post, we’ll show you how to gain more likes and followers on Instagram. Here’s how.

Connect and interact

There are a ton of activities happening on Instagram. One of the best ways to gain followers and likes is to reach out to other users. Check out some of their contents and let them know that you appreciate their content by liking and commenting on their photos. Hopefully, they’ll like your photos or even follow you in return.

Take better photos

Your Facebook and Twitter followers may forgive a few bad posts, but a bad photo is a big no-no on Instagram.

Picture quality matters on Instagram. Data tells us that high quality photos with interesting captions get the most engagement on Instagram. To improve the quality of your photo, use natural light as often as possible.

Hashtag it

Hashtags can increase the likelihood of your photos being viewed by users, even if they aren’t following your account. Use hashtags that are unique yet relevant to the content you’re posting. This way, you’re targeting a more closely grouped set of people.

Timing is everything

With so many people posting pictures on Instagram, it can be difficult to stand out. If you want to get noticed, you need to be mindful about when your audience uses Instagram.

The time that you publish your content could certainly help in reaching more people. Remember, a photo is most active during the first 3 hours of posting. So if you don’t get some engagement during this time, you are less likely to do so in the succeeding hours.

March 1, 2016/by admin

Instagram, Internet Marketing, Social Media

4 Top Reasons Your Business Should be on Instagram

Instagram is a social networking platform that allows marketers and business owners to use photos and videos to engage with their target audience. Having reached 150 million active users faster than any other platform, it is easy to see why you should consider it for your business.

In this article, we have compiled a few reasons why we believe you should use Instagram for your business. Check out 4 of them below.

Invite users to window shop

Since this app centers on the use of photographs, you can provide window-shopping opportunities for your target audience.

Instagram users are shopaholics. Attract your followers by giving them a sneak peak to your newest products. Also, find creative ways to showcase your products.

Targeted marketing

Hashtags allow you to reach users who are interested in your products and services. With Instagram, you no longer have to waste time and effort just to capture the attention of your target audience. You can search for hashtags and trending topics that are related to your business in order to find your target audience.

Mobile media consumption

The way people access the internet has changed drastically over the last decade. Not so long ago, people would rely on their laptop or desktop computer to surf the net. With the popularity of smart phones, more and more people are now using their mobile devices to go online.

Unlike other social media channels like Twitter and Facebook, Instagram thrives off of their mobile app. Since 89% of mobile media consumption comes through an app, your business will benefit from having an Instagram profile.

It offers better engagement

Instagram is a very interactive site that allows you to connect directly with your audience. A recent study by Forrester Research revealed that Instagram users are 120 times more likely to share, comment and like a brand’s post as compared to Twitter users and 58 times more likely than Facebook users.

May 19, 2015/by admin

Instagram, Internet Marketing, Social Media

How To Strengthen Your Business’s Image Through Instagram

Since it’s launch in 2010, Instagram has grown to be one of the most successful social media platforms of all time. What makes Instagram stand out amongst the rest is how it enables it’s users to be creative and to tell a story through images. Whether you are a major brand or a small business, having a presence on Instgarm is crucial to strengthening your success and putting a face to your brand. According to a Q3 2014 Instagram study, 86 percent of the top brands in the world are active on the network, and 73 percent post at least one photo a week. Some of the top brands such as Louie Vuitton and Gucci have over a million followers and their posts have reached over 100,000 likes! Which strategies are these brands employing to drive Instagram engagement and follower growth? First of all, it is important to understand that most small businesses, especially those new to Instagram, are not going to reach a million followers over night. But, it is crucial for any business to follow the same tactics that the big brands use to heighten their success on Instagram.

Campaigns/Contest

The two main aspects of Instagram that people are most concerned about are followers and likes. But if you’re a small business who just set up their Instagram account, how can you engage with a wider audience and gain more followers? A great tactic that has been used by many successful businesses is using a friend and family themed campaign, asking your audience to tag a friend for a chance to win a reward. This could also be done through a photo contest, which are hugely popular on Instagram. Doing this will get your already existing audience to spread brand awareness to their friends and family.

Caption Content

Although Instagram mainly revolves around a creative image and grasping your audience’s eye, that doesn’t mean the content in your caption is less important. The caption under the photo is your place to hashtag, tag people, and lead consumers to your blog. The newest Instagram app update makes it easy for people to search for specific things that they are looking for, which makes the use of hashtags crucial for expanding your reach and gaining more followers. Also, you should not be limited to only getting loyal followers on Instagram, but leading them to your website will ensure that your time on Instagram is being put to good use. Without a link to your site, followers are just liking your photos and not digging deeper to see what else your business offers

Regram

Regramming is a tactic that people often underestimate. If your consumers post a photo with your product, or mention your business in their caption, regramming is like giving them a big “thank you”. Not only does this help you get more exposure, but it also strengthens the bond between you and your audience, and is more likely to lead to loyal followers.

Conclusion

The tactics mentioned above are ones to always keep in mind when marketing your business through Instagram. It is more than just showing off products and posting pretty photos, it is about putting a face to your brand and connecting with your audience. Instagram is continuously growing to be more popular, and the sooner you hop on board, the sooner your business will attract more consumers and overall have more success.

February 19, 2015/by admin

Instagram, Social Media

4 Ways to Boost Sales Using Instagram

Since its launch in 2010, Instagram has grown and has been steadily growing as one of the biggest social networking platforms. Today, Instagram has been taken full advantage of by businesses to promote their products and services, develop their brand, gain customers and help them drive sales.

Now, it’s your turn to take advantage of this social networking channel. Here are a few ways on how to use Instagram to boost your sales.

Provide valuable content

In order to attract the attention of your target audience, you have to know what they’re interested in and provide content that they find relevant. Once you have found the right content, match it with clever photos and graphics.

Reach out to customers

One of the simplest and most effective ways to build followers is by reaching out to your customers. Re-post customer’s photos and show the world that your customers are highly satisfied with your products.

Re-posting photos is advantageous as it also encourages other people to share photos of their own.

Hashtag everything
Using the right hashtag is important as it is an important formula in attracting potential customers. It’s also effective in building a buzz and developing and maintaining your brand.
You can use your brand name as the hashtag or create unique hashtags that are associated with your products or brand.

Don’t push the sale too hard
Today’s buyers are smart. They can easily sense if they are being pitched and led to the close. And they will only be interested to purchase your products or use your services if they trust your company. So, it is important to build a good reputation before asking them to buy.

Once you have decided that it’s time to present an opportunity to make a purchase, make your call to action clear.

August 19, 2014/by admin

Advertising, Boundless Internet Marketing Solutions, Instagram, Internet Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Social Media

Tips on How to Get Your Business Started on Instagram

When Instagram was introduced in 2010, no one could have predicted that it would be so popular. In 2 years time, Facebook decided to acquire this app for $1 billion. Interesting, right?

Instagram is a great platform that allows you to provide your followers with unique visual content. With the popularity of photo sharing apps, Instagram has been on top of the list of almost every marketer out there.

There are a lot of little fishes that make it big on Instagram. If you have an Instagram account but are not sure how to use it, read on and get your business started as we give you a few tips on how to get your business started on Instagram.

Connect other social media channels

By connecting your Instagram account to your other social media accounts, you’ll be able to simultaneously share your content on multiple social platforms. Your Twitter and Facebook followers will also see that you are on Instagram and will surely follow you there too.

Share a variety of content

Visual contents like photos and videos usually get great response, especially in social media. In order to capture the attention of your audience, you have to choose a diverse mix of content. Since you don’t want to focus on just 1 aspect of your business, make sure that these posts would feature the different elements of your business.

Use relevant hashtags

When posting a photo, you should make it a point to accompany it with relevant hashtags that are related to your post and business as well.

Hashtags are used by users when searching for specific content. Since you are using a variety of platforms, this is an excellent way of getting your content noticed.

Engage with your followers

Feel free to ask your followers to post their own photos and share their experiences while using your product. It’s a great way of developing a community and gaining more followers. The key is to ask them to post and tag. Most importantly, don’t forget to respond.

May 19, 2014/by admin

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