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Clever Ways to Get More Comments on Instagram

Instagram is one of the biggest social media platforms today, with over 1 billion monthly users worldwide.

With so many users on the platform and the ocean of posts being published every second, odds are you’re getting fewer and fewer comments and engagements on your posts. Worse, some of your posts may not be reaching your desired audience.

But with the right strategies, you can level up your Instagram comments rate and watch your notifications go wild.

If you’re not getting enough comments on your Instagram posts, keep reading. In this blog post, we listed down some tips to help you get more comments on your posts.

Create Quality Content

Instagram centers on photographs and captions. Many businesses embrace Instagram because it allows them to feature their products and services. To get the most out of your posts, you want to feature your products in the best possible light. If you own a restaurant, we recommend posting pictures of your signature item menus.

Instagram users respond to beautiful, captivating photos. If you feature delectable dishes, not only will it will garner more likes and comments, they can also drive customers to your restaurant.

Make Use of the “Videos” Properly

Instagram started out as a photo-sharing app, but eventually, they realized the power of video content. Now, Instagram offers a full suite of video options — from a standalone 60-second video to reels, live, and IGTV. The most successful brands on Instagram are the ones who capture videos, so be sure to explore each of these video formats.

If you’re running a bakeshop, you can post a video of you preparing some bread or pastries. Show them how your products are made. Consumers like it when they get an exclusive behind-the-scenes look. If you’re a plastic surgeon, you can record a video and share educational content to potential patients who might be interested in undergoing certain procedures. This will likely attract more comments.

Ask a question

Social media involves 2-way communication. While it’s a great place to promote your products, services, and upcoming events, you can also use it to get the opinion of your target audience. To earn more comments and prompt responses, ask your followers a question. You can seek their advice or simply ask them if they agree or disagree on a certain topic. Asking questions on your captions makes your audience think of a response.

Hold a contest

A fun and easy way to get more Instagram comments are to hold a contest. If you take a look at the social media accounts of different businesses, you will notice that the most liked and commented posts are all contests and giveaways. Come on, who doesn’t love giveaways?

Before you get too exciting planning your giveaway, be sure to set a goal. You can create the coolest contest in the world, but if you don’t know what you’re looking to achieve, then it won’t do you any good. Also, be sure to give away something that would be of value to your target audience. People are more likely to put some effort into your content if you have an amazing prize.

If you’re running an Instagram giveaway, this blog post might help give you some direction.

Final thoughts

Posting regularly on Instagram isn’t enough to get more comments and engagements. You’ll need to put more effort into creating comment-worthy posts.

Engagement is a great indicator of how well your posts perform. The more likes and comments your posts have, the more Instagram likes you. As a result, more people will see your posts.

If you need help creating engaging posts that will capture the attention of your target audience, we’re here to help. Schedule a free 30-minute call with us, and we’ll help you jump higher in the feed and get the attention you deserve.

December 22, 2021/by Caitlin McDonald

Instagram, Social Media

6 Powerful Tips to Improve Instagram Engagement

In today’s social media era, engagement is like a form of currency. The more likes, comments, and shares you get, the better your online visibility is.

Instagram engagement isn’t just about the number of followers. It’s more about how your audience interacts with your brand. The good news is that boosting your engagement isn’t rocket science.

Wondering how to improve your Instagram engagement? These six tips are all you need.

Have a visually consistent Instagram feed

A visually consistent gallery is a great way to make an impression and earn yourself a follow. When creating social media posts, don’t forget to spare a thought for building your overall visual brand.

You might want to start by deciding on a color palette or selecting 2-3 filters you can maintain throughout all your posts. For instance, you can create a visual feed that features some light colors. Or you can go all black and white.

Of course, you want your Instagram feed to look appealing to your audience. But you also want to make sure that it’s in tune with your brand.

Write engaging captions

While high-quality images are necessary, they aren’t enough to capture the attention of your audience. You should also include interesting and engaging captions.

There is no such thing as a perfect caption. But people are more likely to like and comment if they find your posts helpful or if they can relate to them.

You want to create captions that evoke emotions, highlight the value of your products and services, or something people will find valuable. You can share a story your audience can relate to, provide actionable tips, or share something informative.

Embrace Instagram stories

More than Instagram posts, Instagram stories pique immediate interest and engagement for most users. They sit at the top of the screen. They’re displayed with a colored ring and only take a few seconds to watch.

A simple yet clever way to increase your story’s engagement is to use stickers. They’re fun and will make your stories more interactive. You can use the poll stickers to encourage your audience to provide feedback or get in on their preferences. Question stickers are a great way to connect with your audience or answer questions about your products or services.

Add geolocation to your posts.

Most businesses encourage their customers and clients to check in on their location. However, many fail to realize the benefits of adding geolocation to their posts.

Make geotagging a key part of your social media strategy if you have a physical location. Adding a place to your posts can expand the reach of your posts and make it easier for users to find you. Instagram users will be able to see where your business is located on a map and how far it is from their location. They can even see recent posts from this location.

Activate Instagram Reels

Are you already using Instagram reels? If you haven’t already, now is the best time to get started.

Instagram reels are short-form videos that allow you to express your creativity and bring your brand to life. It will enable you to play with creative tools and add effects and music to make your videos pop. It is an excellent way to share sneak peeks of your products and services or show what goes on behind the scenes.

Time your posts for maximum effect

Instagram’s algorithm loves posts that generate more engagements in a short period. In fact, the more engagement your posts get, the more likely will it appear in users’ feeds.

You can limit your engagement when you post at the wrong time. This is why it’s essential to discover your best time to post. This can help you reach more people, increase your engagement, and grow your brand.

Every Instagram account has different followers with different time zones. Spend time tracking and monitoring your Instagram analytics to find out when your audience is most active.

Final thoughts

Amplifying your Instagram engagement is no longer just about posting high-quality photos. It’s also important to get to know your audience, interact with them regularly, and double down on creating content that will keep them coming back for more.

If you need help developing a concrete strategy to increase your Instagram engagement, we’re here to help. Schedule a free 30-minute consultation call, and we’ll help you build your brand and cultivate an audience online.

October 13, 2021/by Kathlyn Angeles-Timbol

Instagram, Social Media

8 Reasons Businesses Should Use Instagram Stories

When Instagram stories were first introduced in 2016, most users didn’t even give it much attention. They thought of it as a “copycat” of Snapchat. After all, Snapchat came up with the idea first, right? It was a bold, unthinkable move… or so we thought.

Over the years, Instagram stories have continually evolved, introducing new features that businesses can take advantage of to engage with their audience. Eventually, it has leapfrogged its competitors and actually became a better version of Snapchat.

Instagram stories are something you should consider incorporating into your social media marketing strategy. Here are 8 reasons you should give it a try.

Preserve a high-quality business profile

Normally, the content you publish on Instagram gets saved on your profile. But with stories, the content you share disappears after 24 hours. That means you can share as much as you want throughout the day without cluttering your profile with less-than-perfect images.

Now, you can treat your profile as a portfolio, showcasing only your best and evergreen content.

Stay on top of mind

Instagram puts stories at the top of your feed, marked with a purple ring. This indicates that there is a new story published. This feature enables you to stay top of the feed – and mind – of your followers. With stories, you no longer have to compete for a spot in your follower’s feeds.

Instagram seems to favor accounts that use stories often. If you want to stay connected with your followers and show up at the very top of the newsfeeds, then you need to bring in new ones. Don’t just post stories, watch other accounts’ stories too!

Have some fun with your audience

Instagram stories have tons of features that encourage audience engagement – using stickers, taking polls, asking questions, linking music, and so much more. Dressing up your content with these features can work wonders for driving more audience interaction.

With stories, you have the freedom to let loose and have some fun with your audience. You can experiment with different types of content and test out what works. Plus, you don’t have to worry about making each post so polished. In fact, more and more consumers find unpolished and goofy content increasingly endearing.

Show another side to your brand

It can be difficult to show the fun side of your brand on Instagram since you want to maintain the quality of your feed, but stories allow you to show another side to your brand.

Instagram stories let you humanize your brand. It enables you to add a personal touch to how you engage with your audience and showcase your products and services in exciting ways.

You can use stories to share your ideas with the community, ask them questions, or share some out-of-the-box content. You can also try showing some behind-the-scenes videos, feature people who are working behind your brand or share photos and videos from team events. Light-hearted, humorous posts also work well in helping you build rapport with your audience.

Grow your audience

Instagram Stories are discoverable. Meaning, even non-followers can see your stories. This provides an excellent opportunity to reach a wider audience. If your content is interesting and engaging enough, this could lead people to check out your profile and follow you.

Instagram stories are a must if you’re looking to expand your reach and grow your audience. But if you need more tips on how to Grow Your Instagram Following Organically, we have a separate blog post for that.

Real-time marketing

Instagram stories are usually real-time, which makes them feel more human and authentic, and people like that.

Instagram Live is a growing trend, and for good reasons. Live videos allow followers to see you face-to-face and take a peek as to what happens behind the scenes. Here, you’re developing real conversation, and people appreciate it when you’re genuine with them.

Going live can also be a great strategy if you’re looking for an instant engagement boost. It triggers a notification to followers who are using the app at that moment. You can live stream events, host Q&A sessions, or just to speak directly to your audience.

You won’t be bombarding your audience

Being active on Instagram is good, but you don’t want to annoy your followers either. This is where Instagram stories come in handy.

With stories, you can post as much as you want without being intrusive. The stories appear on top of a user’s Instagram feed and it’s highlighted when there’s a new post. Users can watch them at their convenience or choose not to view them at all.

Create buzz around a deal

These short, immersive clips are visually impactful and come with a range of features that are sure to capture the attention of your audience. The temporary 24-hour time frame is a great way to create a buzz around a deal or event.

When used appropriately, Instagram stories can help you promote discounts, deals, and events, and even urge people to take decisive action quickly.

Final thoughts

More than half a billion people consume Instagram stories on a daily basis. It’s a great opportunity to open new pathways to increase engagement and brand awareness. If you’re not using stories to your advantage, now is the time to get started. Use Instagram stories to share ideas in a creative way or tell stories about your product or services.

If you need help creating a more solid Instagram marketing strategy, we’re here to help you out. Schedule a free 30-minute consultation so we can get to know you and your business better, and see how we can be of help.

June 9, 2021/by Kathlyn Angeles-Timbol

Instagram

8 Ways to Grow Your Instagram Following Organically

Instagram has grown to a whopping 1 billion monthly active users. The competition on the platform is palpable. If you’re wondering how you can shine in this overcrowded space, you’re not alone.

Growing your Instagram following organically can be a challenge, but it’s not impossible. In this blog post, we’ll share with you some foolproof ways to take your Instagram game to the next level.

Get to know your target audience

The number one rule for marketing is to know who you’re posting for. You’re not supposed to please everyone. If you do, you’ll end up pleasing no one. Remember, the only truly valuable Instagram followers are the people who care about and engage with your brand.

Start by getting to know your audience well. Once you do, it will be easier for you to create content in a way that would appeal to the right people.

Don’t compromise on content

Today, people use Instagram not just to connect with their friends, but also to connect with their favorite brands and shop online. In fact, 80% of Instagram users follow at least one business account. That’s a lot of people who could potentially see and engage with your brand. followers to pause and engage with your posts.

Content is the lifeblood of your Instagram account, so make sure that you create interesting posts that will capture the attention of your target audience. Remember, there’s a lot more noise on Instagram feeds these days. If you want to stand out, then you need good quality content.

Consistency is key

If you have no plans of spending money and still curate a high-quality audience that will connect with your brand, then you need to post consistently.

According to a study that was conducted by Buffer, profiles that posted seven or more times a week gain more followers faster than those that post less frequently.

Start by planning your content strategically. Curate your Instagram feed and schedule them in advance. This will not only help you reach your target audience at peak times, it also ensures that everything fits together visually before you post.

Also, creating a consistent brand story and aesthetic is a must. You want to give your grid a consistent look and feel. Your posts should easily be recognizable at a glance.

Embrace Instagram Stories

Instagram stories are great because they help you stay top of mind for your audience. It allows you to maintain visibility in your followers’ feeds and gives you an opportunity to be creative with your content.

There is so much potential with Instagram stories to engage with your followers and attract new ones. Plus, there are plenty of fun features to experiment with such as chat stickers, questions, poll, filters etc. Utilize these features to keep your content fresh.

Use quality hashtags

Hashtags could be your best bet for growing a fast following on Instagram. Use hashtags in your posts or stories to expose them to people who aren’t still following you. The right hashtags can expose your image to a larger and more targeted audience.

Find out what hashtags are most popular among your target audience and your industry. It’s also a good idea to create a unique hashtag that reflects your brand. Don’t forget to use them in your posts and stories.

Collaborate with influencers

One effective way to grow your reach is following is to collaborate with influencers in your niche. Don’t be afraid to reach out to see if you can work together.

One survey suggests that 60% of users say they’d follow a brand on Instagram after seeing it promoted by an influencer they trust.

Run contests and promotions

If you want to boost your follower count organically in a short period of time, running contests is a great place to start. In fact, an Instagram contest or giveaway can help you grow your followers 70% faster than if you didn’t host a contest at all.

When running contests, make sure you’re giving away prizes that your target audience will feel compelled to have. Otherwise, you run the risk of attracting followers that don’t care about your business or the services you provide.

Spread the word

Most people have more than one social media account, so don’t silo yourself on Instagram alone. Talk about your Instagram account on other social media platforms as well. Think specifically about other social media platforms with the potential to reach a larger audience, like Facebook.

It is also a good idea to add Instagram links to your website. This is a great and cost-effective way to increase your fan base.

Final thoughts

There is no doubt that Instagram is a great platform for marketers and entrepreneurs. But with more than 25 million business accounts on the platform, it can be a tough battleground for those who do not have a well-planned growth strategy.

While it is possible to grow your Instagram followers organically, you need patience and consistency. Remember, building an authentic and engaged audience doesn’t happen overnight.

November 11, 2020/by Kathlyn Angeles-Timbol

Digital Marketing, Instagram

6 Instagram Mistakes That Keep Your Brand from Growing

When Instagram was launched in 2010, its primary focus was to feature photos that were specifically taken on mobile devices. The platform quickly became known for selfies and food pictures. Later on, it became a marketing platform for businesses and professionals to tell stories, deliver meaningful messages, and engage with their followers. If you play your cards right, Instagram can help you build a huge and loyal community and eventually grow your brand or business.

Unfortunately, Instagram is not the easiest platform to master. Knowing what mistakes to avoid is important to help you succeed on the platform.

Let’s take a look at six common Instagram mistakes that can keep your brand from growing. If you’ve fallen prey to any of these mistakes, be sure to fix them immediately.

Buying Instragram followers

Building a huge following can be a tedious, time-consuming process. But there’s a shortcut. You can buy instagram followers. Yes, you can instantly grow your followers from 100 to 10,000. It can be tempting, I know, but please resist the urge to do so.

You see, bought Instragram followers are not the same as the followers you genuinely acquire through your posts. Why? Because they have zero interest in you. Some of them aren’t even real people. That means they will not engage with you nor buy your products or use your services. What’s the point of having lots of followers when no one seems to be interested in what you have to offer.

Also, Instagram will purge your account once they spot that you have fake followers. Not only will it be a waste of money, but your fake followers will also be removed from the platform one-by-one.

Using poor quality photos

Most people are drawn to beautiful things. The same principle applies to social media, especially on Instagram. If you want to capture your audience’s attention, make sure that your posts are visually appealing. Remember, Instagram is a visual medium.

You don’t need to invest in a topnotch camera to take great photos. These days, your smartphones can take some pretty incredible shots. For best results, use natural light when taking pictures. If you’re taking pictures inside, take them in front of a window.

Not using Instagram stories

If you’ve only been using Instagram to post photos to your feed, you’re missing out on many valuable features the platform has to offer.

Instagram stories allow you to share “moments” of your day quickly and easily. It enables you to show your fun and creative side without affecting your Instagram feed. It’s a fantastic opportunity to experiment and engage your followers in a unique way. It’s fun, colorful, human, and different.

With Instagram stories, you can post as many photos and videos as you want without annoying your audience.

Focusing on photo quality rather than audience value

While photo and video quality is essential, you should also consider the value of the content you’re publishing.

When Instagram users follow you, that means they’re interested in you. They want to benefit from your content. Create quality content that will provide value to your audience and something to engage with. Share industry news. Ask questions. Use quizzes and polls. Get your audience involved.

Don’t just post for the sake of posting. Give people a reason to start following and keep coming back for more. Take time to create posts that your followers actually care about.

Posting duplicate photos

Instagram users want to be entertained. And users follow you because they want to get to know you better. And one of the best ways to do so is by telling stories, sharing updates about your practice, or your recent offers.

Instagram users will be quick to unfollow you if you’re continually posting duplicate photos and videos. Come to think of it. Why should they bother following you if you’re not sharing anything fresh, new, and exciting?

No link in bio

Traffic is the lifeline of all businesses, be it online or offline. After all, you can’t generate sales when there is no one to sell to.

Your Instagram bio provides a small window of opportunity to tell prospective clients and patients everything they need to know about you and your practice. So make sure you have a link in your bio at all times. Used correctly, it can help drive traffic to your website and convert leads to patients.

September 23, 2020/by Kathlyn Angeles-Timbol

Instagram, Social Speak

Instagram Stories Features

On today’s blog, we are going to be talking about Instagram Stories. We’ve done a few videos in the past on Instagram Stories, but Instagram is always adding new features to the Instagram Stories, different options you have when you do a new story, and I wanted to just walk through those today so you can see why it’s so important to do Instagram Stories.

So, let me jump on out of here real quick, and let me go into our Instagram account. And as you can see our screen, the circle icons up top are the Instagram Stories. These are what people see right away when they get on to Instagram, and people tend to scroll through Instagram Stories before they scroll through their Instagram feed. With that being said, you can see the importance of having Instagram Stories a part of your Instagram strategy. Instagram Stories only stay up for 24 hours, unless you highlight them to one of your boards, and I’ll show you how to do that.

Creating an Instagram story

Let’s go back to our home page and we wanna create an Instagram story. So you’re gonna go up to the top where you see your circle icon with the blue plus sign, you’re gonna click onto that, and this is gonna bring up the different options.

So I’m gonna put this in the background instead of my computer, so this what’s called normal option. Instagram has added a few different options for you, so this one is breezy.

If you want this effect again, you can save it here, you can send that post to somebody. This is also where you’re gonna get the twinkle. So you’ll see when people take selfies or pictures of things, that you’re gonna see these twinkles, this is underneath this normal option.

Live video

You can still do a live video, which would be just like this us talking. It will automatically cut it the correct way, and this is gonna tell you right now that you have six active followers that have the potential of watching your Instagram Live and being able to engage.

So, you would hit record here on this button and being able to start that process. So that is the live option.

Create

The next option is Create. This is where you saw in the beginning slide, the welcome to Social Speak Network. Now, I can go to create and I can click onto this happy face up here, and this is all the options that Instagram gives you, so you can add a location, you can mention somebody, you can add hashtags, you can add cute little images which are called stickers. What I love this feature is really the data that you’re able to collect from an Instagram story.

Poll

So if you have an event, you can do a register link here, but if you’re wanting to find out what your audience is looking for, where do they need help?

This is really good for your content strategy if you’re trying to figure out where people are needing help at. So you can do a poll and I can say, “Do you need more help with your social media?” You say social media marketing or your SEO website marketing. Okay, they’re two different things, but just so… And you put the answers here, social media and SEO website. So this is gonna be my question.

Now, I can change that text that I want, and I can say, “Do you need help with your social media marketing or your SEO website?”

If you’re a fitness coach and you’re wanting to do a new Zoom class, this can be something along the lines of, Would you rather do a morning class or an afternoon class? And then you can add another poll, so you would add another question here on the next slide.

Quiz

So this is just a really great feature. You can also do a quiz where… True or false.

If you’re a health coach and you’re wanting to see what your audience knows about their nutritional facts of their food, that’s a great option. Also, you can ask questions. Rather than doing a poll, you can just ask a question to your audience as well, and you can do a countdown.

So, there’s a lot of different options here on this area under Create that I really like, and so we’re just gonna exit out of this real quick, we don’t need that.

Boomerang

Boomerang is those fun videos where it takes a two-second video. Again, this is great for the Monday morning coffee cup, cheers to Monday morning. This could be a happy Friday, this can be different quick little snippet videos.

Layout

Then the one new thing that they have come out with is this layout. This is an awesome feature for product, so you can have a four-picture grid up to a six-picture grid. So this is great if you wanna take a picture of new products that have come in or if you’re highlighting staff members, you can just keep taking those and then being able to have that as a story.

Super Zoom

Then Super Zoom this is good if you can go in here, and this usually has options like hearts or flame. You’ll see it as you hold your thumb on that button, and it’s gonna just slowly but surely go deeper to an object. So this is just something if you wanted to have maybe like a quote of the day or just different features that Instagram Stories has to offer.

Highlight a story

Let’s go back to Create, and I wanna show you how to highlight a story. I’m gonna go on here, and you can change your colors if you want to as well, down here on the left, or the right-hand corner.

So, I’m gonna go back to this bluish-purple, and I’m gonna click onto the icon and I’m gonna do a poll. And my question is going to be, Would you rather have a company manage your social media marketing or your SEO and website marketing?

There’s a certain character count here, so we may have to think of that question. Let’s say, “Do you need more help with your social media or SEO website?” So let’s keep it short and simple. And then in this option here, you can say website and SEO.

So, now that I have this complete, now I just want to hit… You can change this to close friends if you have a list already made. Otherwise, I just like the stories going out to everyone, and what you can do is then just click on your stories.

Now, this can link to your Facebook as well. So if you click on to your Send to, it can go to your Facebook stories or just Instagram Stories. So what I always do is I just click on the bottom here and it’s shared. So now when we click onto that icon again up top, our story’s uploading, and it’s right here.

Now, if we want to highlight that we’re gonna click on to highlight, and if you already have these boards created, you can go into tips for you, whatever board you have that you want this in particular slide to go to, you could click right on to that and then it would say it’s added to those tips.

So, this is a way that you can go from having that Instagram story only show up here for 24 hours, to now showing up here at the end. So they’ve got through, they’ll say, “Oh, this is so great.” And then they’re gonna be able to then see that story right there.

Final thoughts

So this is just, again, another way to help you get in front of your audience stay top of mind, and this is what people are going to be seeing, as they get on to Instagram, they’re going to see the stories and click on those before they go on to the feed.

So really thinking of behind the scenes photos that you can put into the Instagram story, Instagram Exclusives for just your Instagram followers, promoting webinars, new blog posts. Those are things that Instagram Stories work really well for.

If you have any questions about your Instagram strategy, please let us know.

August 5, 2020/by Amber Irwin

Healthcare Marketing, Social Speak

How to Use Instagram to Promote Your Medical Practice

At this point, it’s no question whether or not your practice needs to be on social media. Almost everyone understands the importance of having a solid social media presence. However, most are overlooking the benefits of Instagram as a marketing platform.

Why Instagram?

Instagram is one of the most popular social networks on a global level. It has grown immensely over the years, with over 1 billion monthly active users.

Whether you’re a dentist, dermatologist, cosmetic surgeon, plastic surgeon or an oncologist, marketing your practice on Instagram is going to bring you the business you seek.

Here are some tips on how to make use of Instagram to promote your medical practice.

Plan out your grid

Instagram is a predominantly visual platform. If you’re looking to turn your viewers into followers, then you’ll need to put aside time to visually plan your feed.

Your Instagram feed is one of the first things a visitor sees when they land on your profile. You want to create a cohesive Instagram aesthetic while still showcasing content that aligns with your field of specialization. This will give visitors a feel of what your brand is about in a matter of seconds. Plus, they are more likely to follow you if they see a visually attractive and cohesive grid.

Share images people can connect with

As a medical practitioner, the last thing you want is to put off your audience with gory surgical images or pictures of intimidating medical equipment.

There are 3 things you want to accomplish when planning your Instagram content:

Engage your audience
Provide content that is informative, interesting, and inspiring to potential patients
Highlight a service you offer.

The goal is to share images people can connect with. If you’re a plastic surgeon, you may use your Instagram feed to show before and after photos. Consistently post photos of your best cases to keep people coming back for more.

With patient approval, you may also post about your patient’s success stories. This can go a long way toward alleviating fears and finding inspiration through a life-changing illness.

Use your captions to prompt discussion

While we agree that photos matter most on Instagram, that doesn’t mean that the caption should be treated as an afterthought.

People like to know that you value their thoughts and opinions. Ask them questions, tell a story or ask for their opinions. It shows you care about them and you’re interested to connect with them. Really get in there and converse with your audience.

It may seem awkward at first but go for it. You’ll be surprised at how many of your Instagram pals will be chatting and engaging with you.

Add video to your content

A picture paints a thousand words, they say. But videos can convey even more. Video has been found to drive more interactions and provides more opportunities for you to stand out. It gives you an opportunity to reach a much larger audience, show your personality, and educate your audience.

Videos can be shared in stories, in the newsfeed, and can be used to create a high-converting ad campaign. To maximize your use of video, make sure that the first few seconds of your video is attention-grabbing.

Find something that will set yourself apart

With one billion monthly active users, Instagram has become an integral part of every brand’s marketing activities. If you’re looking to amplify your presence on Instagram, then you need to up your Insta game to cut through the noise.

For instance, Dr. Sandra Lee (aka Dr. Pimple Popper) is a big hit on social media. She has more than 5 million subscribers on Youtube and over 3 million followers on Instagram. She has both entranced and grossed out her followers with her knack for popping.

Find something that will set yourself apart and give your audience a reason to keep coming back.

Hashtag strategically

Hashtags are a great way to categorize your content. It makes it easier for users to find you and reach out to your prospective audience.

Use trending hashtags to get in front of more people. Make sure, though, that these hashtags are related to your niche. You may also consider using a branded hashtag. It could be something as simple as your name or your tag line.

Prompt your followers to use your custom hashtag, and you’ll soon learn just who your superfans are.

Collaborate with influencers

These days, social media influencers are like modern-day celebrities. Consider reaching out to other influential Instagram users if you’re looking to increase your visibility.

When looking for influencers, look beyond the follower count. You want to find an influencer who will resonate with your audience and drive engagement amongst the community.

February 5, 2020/by Kathlyn Angeles-Timbol

Instagram, Social Speak

How to Master Instagram for your Business

Instagram is one of the fastest growing social media platforms and it is so important for your business to be utilizing this amazing tool!

In this blog, we will help you understand Instagram and how to master it for your business!

We will cover the following:

What Makes a Good Post
Hashtags
Strategy
Tools
Stories

About Instagram

Instagram is a social networking platform made for sharing photos and videos, you can only upload content from your smartphone or a third-party application. You can edit your profile, follow, and research via your computer, but cannot post.

Facebook owns Instagram, so, you will see some similarities. You have your profile and news feed, you can have multiple accounts, most people have a personal account and a business account.

When you post a photo or video on Instagram, it will be displayed on your profile. Your followers will then be able to see your post in their newsfeed. This also is the same for people you follow, you will be able to see their posts within your newsfeed similar to Facebook.

Instagram has a strong emphasis on mobile and visual sharing, a few things to point out with your Instagram account, links to websites do not work within the content area of the posts, most people will have a link to their website in their bio and tell their audience within the content to click on link in bio.

Instagram is all about building authentic followers and great for increasing engagement with your audience.

Let’s talk about what makes a good Instagram post and some guidelines to follow.

Instagram Posts

Now, that you have your business Instagram account all set up and you are ready to post, it is important to think about what makes a good Instagram post.

There are a few variables that go into a great Instagram account.

Here are 8 things to think of before you start posting:

1) Audience – You want to know who your target audience is and what they like. You will want to make sure you are giving them value in each post.

2) Length of post- With being able to have 2,200 characters to craft together just one Instagram post, that is a whole blog post if you think about it. When crafting together each Instagram post you want to think of the outcome for each post, you can share a blog on one Instagram post or full recipe and you will want to try shorter posts and longer posts to see what your audience prefers.

3) Call to Action – What is the outcome or goal for each Instagram post? Are you giving a tip, valuable content, asking a question and looking for sign-ups, wanting people to sign up for a product or service? What do these Call to Actions mean? Likes, comments, tags, shares, etc? You need to be clear about what those CTA (Call to Action) should be, they can be different for each post.

4) Hashtags – This is a little bit of trial and error, meaning do some research on http://hashtagify.me/ to find out the most popular hashtags that are going to be beneficial for your brand. Instagram also has an amazing internal hashtag research tool, if you open up Instagram and click on the search icon you can put in a #hashtag and see how many times it has been used. Some people say use your hashtags in your content of the post and some say put your hashtags in as a comment. We recommend both. Here’s why, if you put them in the content are people will be able to see the important words/ hashtags, then also utilize the comment area to add more, up to 30 if you would like.

5) Tag fellow followers – This is a great opportunity to gain more exposure. You want to find people that are in your tribe, power partners, cheerleaders, etc. On certain posts, you can tag your tribe for their followers to see and then in return, this helps grow your followers and helps your tribe grow theirs. It’s all about collaboration!

6) Brand – Instagram is a great platform to really allow you to show your brand. You can create images through Canva with your brand colors, fonts, and styles to make sure each image showcases your brand. A well branded Instagram account has a good flow and the images align together.

7) Schedule – When are you posting? When is it the best time for your audience to see your posts? Well, you may be surprised. According to Later the best times to post on Instagram by day of the week are:

8) Grammar – Instagram is just as important as any other social media platform, and since you are posting as your business grammar is important to pay attention to. I have found prewriting my Instagram posts either on a word doc, Google Doc or in an email, allows me to make sure I am not misspelling words and have correct punctuation. I found a tool called Grammarly this checks grammar, punctuation, and spelling. This tools has been a huge help for myself and our team!

What is a Hashtag?

An Instagram hashtag is a word or phrase comprised of letters, numbers, and/or emoji preceded by what was once referred to as the pound symbol (#). Instagram hashtags categorize content. Click on a hashtag and you’ll be able to browse posts that have been tagged with it. Attach one to your own photo or video and it will be discoverable to anyone searching the hashtag. How likely it is to be seen by other users depends on how often the hashtag is used, how popular your post is (does it already have a lot of likes and comments?), and how strong your following is. Hootsuite has a great guide to download detailing what an Instagram Hashtag is, click here to read more.

When and How to use a #Hashtag

• When you are talking about a hot topic like a keyword, example #SocialMediaTips #SocialMediaMarketing things that people are looking for.
• Look at the #Hashtags your competitors are using
• Look at what industry influencers and what #Hashtags they are using
• Anytime you post to Instagram you want to use between 3 and 30 per post
• You can insert your #Hashtags in the body of your content or also as a comment on your post
• Create brand #Hashtags #SocialSpeak #SocialSpeakNetwork
• Instagram now allows you to follow hashtags so you can keep up on the trends!
• BONUS Tip: Great tool to find #Hashtags check out Hashtagify

Three Questions to Think of:

1) What type of content do you want to share on Instagram?
What are your goals for your business Instagram account?
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2) Who is your target audience? Are they on Instagram?
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3) How will you integrate Instagram with your overall marketing plan? Are you going to promote products, workshops, events, services, tips etc?

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When thinking of your strategy and goals, here are some things you want to think of:

Increased brand awareness
Show your company personality and team
Increase customer engagement and loyalty
Showcase products and services
Promote events or workshops
Share company or industry news
Build a more engaged community
Connect with influencers
Drive sales through traffic to website

Tools for Instagram

The tools are improving all the time for Instagram, the best way to post your content is manually through your tablet or mobile. There are third-party apps like Hootsuite, Buffer, and Later that you can put your posts into their system and then it will give you a push notification on your device when it is time to post to Instagram. This helps you schedule your posts out and easily post them to your account.

Here are a few tools we have found to make the Instagram strategy easier:

Trello – This lets you work more collaboratively and get more done. Trello’s boards, lists, and cards enable you to organize and prioritize your projects in a fun, flexible and rewarding way. You can create your posts in Trello for Instagram, upload your image and content using bullet points, emojis and spacing, the formatting will stay the same when you copy and paste it to Instagram.

Canva – Easily create beautiful designs + documents. Use Canvas drag-and-drop feature and professional layouts to design
consistently stunning graphics. Design eye-grabbing social media graphics, and more with thousands of beautiful layouts. In Canva you can also add your brand fonts and colors.

Buffer – Buffer for Instagram The easiest way to plan, track, and amplify your Instagram marketing. While Buffer can’t do the posting for you, we’re here at every step. As you may know, Instagram does not allow outside apps to post directly to Instagram. With Buffer’s Instagram support, you can create an Instagram reminder in the web or mobile app, and when it’s time to post, Buffer will send a notification to your phone that loads your photo into Instagram with your prewritten caption saved to your phone’s clipboard, ready to be pasted.

Hootsuite -Now you can schedule your Instagram posts and engage your followers with Hootsuite. Hootsuite lets you do more with Instagram. Schedule your Instagram posts Save time—and keep your social presence active—by easily scheduling your Instagram posts in advance. Monitor your brand, your competitors, and keywords to get the full picture of your space. Share the workload and have your Team Members post photos and reply to comments. Use a single dashboard Schedule and publish content directly to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ all at once, and engage with your followers across your social networks.

Later – Plan all your visual content from photos to videos Organize weekly and monthly visual content at a glance across social channels. Plan in calendar view Preview posts as they’ll actually appear. Schedule across platforms Queue up Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Optimize your workflow with Media library, Sync up from your computer, Drive & Dropbox. Organize all your media with labels and keep them all – Bulk upload to save time, Sync photos and videos from a desktop, Drive, or Dropbox. Label & organize your media, index visual gems for future reference with Labels. Work like a dream team brings creative minds together in Groups.

LinkTree – Linktree is a free tool for optimizing your Instagram traffic, whether you’re a blogger, an artist or run a content platform. You’ll get one bio link to house all the content you’re driving followers too. Let your content live longer than the feed.

Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories is a feature that lets users post photos and videos that vanish after 24 hours.

Here are 4 tips for great Instagram Stories:

1) Special Offers – Create a special offer just for your Instagram audience. If you have a special service or event you can create a code for a discount that ONLY your Instagram followers will be able to get and that offer will ONLY last for 24 hours. You can post a coupon or a teaser image to get the hype up before you post your story with some of the details, then give the code or discount in the Instagram Story video! Remember to give a direct link where they can redeem that discount!

2) Highlight a Creative Process – Show something in the process, maybe design, sketch, graphics, product. People LOVE to see how things are being made. If you are a home stager you can show before and after, decluttering. If you make jewelry you can show the creative process of how your items are made. This can also include a sneak peek to new items or new services.

3) Behind the Scenes – Since Instagram stories are temporary this is a great opportunity to show behind the scenes. Helping out in the community, setting up events, interviewing customers, giving tips on different processes that help you. Bringing that human feel to your brand. Similar to #2 as in highlighting something, but this type of video would be more focused around you as a business owner.

4) Instagram takeover – This is something you would do later on in the game, once you have developed a strong following and a good group of power partners. Instagram story takeovers are quick and easy, also a fun way to grow your followers. You exchange login information with a power partner or someone that can compliment your business and you do an Instagram story from their account! It lasts for a 24 hour period, the videos only stay up for 24 hours as well. This draws special attention from your followers. It shows your partnerships with other businesses and helps build that support and community.

Tip: When putting together an Instagram Story make sure you are adding VALUE! You can also add in #Hashtags, Links, Stickers and more! Have FUN with it!

Time to get started! Just remember these things:
1. Take advantage of free Instagram tools we mentioned in this ebook.
2. Cross promote Instagram posts as much as possible.
3. Keep your audience in mind when posting, you don’t want to overwhelm them.
4. Engage with your followers, like and comment on others posts also take time to share posts.
5. Use Hashtags

As you can see there is a lot to managing your Instagram account, it’s all about being clear and consistent. This platform is great to build authentic relationships and really grow your sales funnel.

If you need help managing your Instagram and are ready to take it up a notch schedule your FREE 30-minute consultation today

March 25, 2019/by Amber Irwin

Blog, Growth Prompts, Instagram, Membership Only, Social Media

Step up your Instagram Game – What makes a good image (or feed)?

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.

March 20, 2018/by Caitlin McDonald

Instagram, Membership Only, Social Media, Video

How to convert your Instagram into a Business account

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

March 9, 2018/by Amber Irwin

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