How to Use Instagram in Digital Marketing

Posted on by Chris Jenkin

Instagram has been proven as a useful tool for business owners, especially now that more and more people are using this social media network to connect with their friends. The latest numbers show that Instagram has more than 300 million users per month. This is a big reason why brands are always looking for ways they can grow their Instagram community.

But even though your business may already have its own Instagram account, it does not automatically guarantee success. Instead, you need to make sure that you make use of your Instagram account to the best way you can. And the best way you can do this is to know what this social media network is mainly for– shopping.

Based on a study conducted by Iconosquare last 2015, 70 percent of users on Instagram look up a brand on the app. Not to mention, 62 percent of users tend to follow a brand they like on the platform. With this massive reach, you need to be able to attract your target audience through your posts. You can do this by following these tips:

Have an optimized business Instagram account

If you intend to use Instagram for your business, you should keep it separate from your personal account. By keeping things separate, you can concentrate on posting things related to your business instead of posting your selfies or food shots on the business account. These things are not relevant to your followers and will not increase your numbers.

Your business account should not show any photos of you, as much as possible. This way, you can keep a professional looking Instagram account that will be more appealing to your customers.

Remember to include a link on your profile

Instagram works differently than other social networking platforms. Any links you post, other than your bio, are not clickable. This is why you should remember to include your link on your bio underneath your name and description. Use this spot to link to your website or another landing page you intend your followers to visit.

Stay consistent to be recognized

Remember to stick to one name on Instagram and photo of your brand. You need to do this so that you build your reputation with your followers. When you do this, they will easily recognize you. Keep the same social media handle across different channels so you won’t end up confusing your followers.

Avoid hard selling in your posts

Your posts on Instagram matter a lot. As a matter of fact, they can influence an individual to follow you or to make a purchase. Instead of forcing your followers to buy a product you are selling, allow them to make that decision for themselves.

Use creative photos

When you want to post something on Instagram, see to it that it is clear and professional; especially if you are selling something. Instagrammers aren’t on the platform for a sales pitch but to look at pretty photos. This is why you should make sure your photos are high quality and reflect professionalism.

Use Instagram to give exclusive offers to followers

One way you can grow your followers is by using the platform as an exclusive tool where they can get insider information as well as special offers and bonuses. Remember to make these announcements using a text overlay on a photo so that your followers won’t end up scrolling through without reading your caption.

Come up with active and inviting captions

Your captions on Instagram can make or break your product. This is why you need to come up with an effective caption that can stir up conversation among your followers.

Remember to use hashtags

Without the right hashtags, your posts can easily get buried by newer posts. These hashtags work as a keyword that gets linked together when a person searches for them. But while you use a hashtag, don’t go overboard with them. The most you can do is 5 but that’s already risky.

Post consistently

In order to remain relevant with your followers, you have to remember to post on a consistent schedule. A good rule to follow is to post around 6 photos per week. You can schedule your posts between 5:00 to 6:00 pm on weekdays, as this is the best time to post.

Engage with your followers

Instagram is a great tool with which you can build your brand’s reputation and appeal among your followers. This is why you should make sure to use it properly to get the most results.

Re-share content from your followers

When you encounter a customer who has posted one of your products or used your service, make sure to re-share this with your own followers. You can then give a shout out to the person who posted the photo so they will appreciate your way of getting in touch with them.

Instagram can be a very useful tool for your brand. Just remember to be mindful with what you post and how you engage with your audience.

 

 

YouTube Never More Relevant

Posted on by Chris Jenkin

Trends change every so often whether it’s in the food, fashion, or any other industry.  This is the same case with trends being utilized to improve a website’s traffic. Because of this, analysts try to figure out what specific tools and trends are worth using on a yearly basis. By identifying these tools, analysts can replace the time they use the tool with something that will yield them better results at a lesser price and effort.

After 10 years of ownership by Google, Youtube has never been more relevant. Through the years, YouTube has continually been a useful tool to help business owners gain the audience they need for their business. But with the emergence of other social platforms, websites like Facebook, Vimeo, Instagram, Snapchat, SlideShare, DailyMotion, and others are establishing themselves in video content. Here are some reasons showing that Youtube is more and more relevant.

YouTube is the Second Largest Search Engine on the Internet

Next to Google, YouTube has been recognized as the second largest search engine on the Internet. According to data gathered by Alexa and SimilarWeb, YouTube is already the third most visited website. To support the claim that YouTube is a large search engine, Google has also released figures that show the number of users that use the platform as a search engine. The success of this website is largely due to the fact that video content is more engaging compared to reading a page of text. And in certain cases, it can be more informative.

YouTube is Owned by Google

Back in November 2006, Google bought YouTube for US$1.65 billion. Ever since then, the video sharing website has been operating as one of the subsidiaries of Google under Alphabet Inc. Each month, YouTube has over 1 billion unique users visiting the website. These facts mean that it is accessible by millions of people in the planet. By utilizing video content marketing through YouTube, website owners are able to make the most out of their efforts.

More Users Want to See Videos

Last year, Hubspot Research released data revealing that 43% of customers and audiences prefer seeing more videos. This means that video is gaining a significant audience. This number just proves that YouTube is still relevant in 2017.

So what does these all mean for a digital marketing? Simple. YouTube is a vital tool to use for promoting a website. Through video content, you can tap into a market that you may not have engaged in the past. By using this website, you can improve your efforts in increasing your website’s traffic.

 

3 Important SEO Tips for 2017

Posted on by Chris Jenkin

As a business owner, you need to make sure your website is seen by your target audience. Especially if you do business locally, you have to do everything you can to have a good rank on a search page. This is essentially the reason why SEO is such an important skill for business owners.

Now that it is 2017, it’s important to know how you can customize your website to fit current SEO trends. Here are 3 vital tips for you to improve your local SEO ranking:

Go Mobile

If you still haven’t created a mobile-friendly website, there’s no point of being on the internet. Nowadays, a responsive website is no longer an only option. The reason is because of the immense demand by mobile users. In fact, the number of people who use their mobile device to search for a local business has far surpassed searches conducted on a desktop computer. Because of this, Google has started to rank websites that are mobile-friendly.

When you implement a mobile-friendly website, you are able to reach your target audience more effectively. So if you’re still not using a responsive website, you have to make that switch today.

Direct Data is Important

As a business on the internet, you have to know that you’re not the only one with a unique business. And even so, there are other websites that will make use of the same keywords you are using. In order to land a good position with search engines, you have to realize that direct data is important.

With this in mind, you have to provide more detailed information about your business. If you are a restaurant, this means including your location, pricing, phone number, and whether or not you offer take-out. This extra information can play a huge part in improving your visibility to other people looking for you.

Voice Search is on the Rise

In the past years, there has been a big number of voice assistant products that have been released to the public. This new technology has become very efficient as a way for people to help them locate something very quickly. Many find that it’s even faster to speak into their device instead of having to type down something they are looking for.

Because of this, it’s recommended that you optimize your website with this strategy. You should use voice search friendly phrases that your potential customers could be using.

Apart from concentrating on improving your local SEO ranking, you need to remember to work on providing quality customer experience. Throughout the years, this has always been proven as the best way you can grow your business. In doing so, you get to have an edge over your competitors.

15 Social Media Tips You Should Live By

Posted on by Chris Jenkin

If you’re planning to put up a business this year, it’s important that you also have some knowledge on how to conduct the business online. Especially with the growth of social media, you need to know how you can make this work for your advantage. Here are some social media tips that will help you grow your brand:

Tip #1: Have a Strategy

Before implementing social media channels, make sure you have a social media plan or strategy that you can follow. Otherwise, you might not be able to grow your business. You won’t be able to regularly post things on social media without a strategy to follow.

Tip #2: Differentiate Each Social Media Channel

One thing you have to remember is that not every social media channel is the same. Each one works in a different way so you have to remember to follow what works best for each one. As the business owner or social media manager, you have to learn what works best on each channel you plan to use. You should also learn when and how often to post things on these accounts.

Tip #3: Don’t Be Spammy

While the reason your business is on social media is so you can sell to your customers and attract new people, you should not spam your followers. Avoid ending your posts with “Buy Now” or “Sign Up Now” as this will hurt your reputation on social media. These words are counter-productive and will not be good for your campaign.

Tip #4: Be Consistent

Even though you should be customizing each post according to which social media channel you’re posting to, you should remain consistent. This means that you should use the same logo, brand colors, links, and other things that identify your brand. This way, your followers can easily recognize you whenever you use a new social media platform.

Tip #5: Don’t Buy Fake Followers

While it’s good to have a lot of followers on your social media channels, you should also identify whether these followers are real or fake. This is because there are so many fake profiles on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram that are used to follow certain accounts. If you are hiring a social media manager who promises you can get a certain number of likes in a short amount of time, you should be cautioned already. This is a dirty tactic that could potentially backfire on you in the long run.

Tip #6: Avoid Talking About Your Brand Too Much

The idea behind social media is to be, well, social. This is why it is good that you don’t only post things about your business. You should also take time to post about your industry and things that are related to it. Your followers might find it annoying to see you talking about yourself all the time. If this happens, they’re likely to unfollow you or see you as spammy.

Tip #7: Share Original Content Too

Even if you’re sharing the posts of other individuals you feel is relevant to your business, you should also remember to share your own unique content. Invest in a blog so your followers get more acquainted with your business. If you haven’t put up a blog yet, it’s important that you get this up online before starting a campaign on social media.

Tip #8: Make Use of Social Media Tools

Thankfully, there are a number of tools you can find online to help out with your social media strategy. These tools can help you manage your posts so you don’t have to stay connected to the Internet 24/7. Try to do more research on which tools will best work with your business.

Tip #9: Be Wary of Your Metrics

From time to time, try to see how well your social media campaign is working. This will give you a deeper look at how efficient your efforts are. Since most social media channels have their own analytics features, you can take advantage of these tools to help you see your progress.

Tip #10: Properly Use Hashtags

Hashtags are important. It’s important that you use hashtags sparingly and not at every single word you post. One or two hashtags is recommended. Anything more than that is considered overkill. You should research on the best hashtags to use so you can achieve the right results you need.

Tip #10: Engage with Your Followers

Remember to reply to all the comments, messages, and the shares you get on your social media channels. This is a good practice to follow, especially if you are a startup.

Tip #11: Identify Your Target Audience

One of the best ways you can do a good job on your social media campaign is to properly identify who your target audience is and find out where they are found. If your business targets other businesses, the best platform to use is LinkedIn. If your target includes women, Pinterest and Instagram are the best websites to use. Do a lot of research to get the results you need so you can have an effective strategy.

Tip #12: Don’t Share Too Much

You should also remember not to post too often on your social media channels. Even though you share other people’s content, you have to limit the number of posts you share.

Tip #13: Make Use of Paid Ads

Set aside a small budget that you can use for paid ads. Though this will cost you some money, you’ll be able to reach other people who do not have access to your posts.

Tip #14: Work with Influencers

Look for influencers whom you can work with to promote your business. These are individuals that have established profiles and a large follower count. With just a few posts, you can get your business noticed by these individuals.

Tip #15: Show Your Culture

Let your followers peek into your business. If you can do this, you’ll have a winning social media strategy. Your followers want to see the people who are behind your brand, letting them realize that you are human after all.

Try these tips to see how well your followers will respond to them. As always, social media is a continuous experiment that you get to learn a lot from. Don’t be afraid to explore your options and research new trends.