Large, Small, or No Budget At All: Social Media Tips and Tricks for All! (#2)

In August I shared a few tips and tricks to help out businesses on Facebook. I hope they proved useful for you! This month I'd like to take some time to discuss Instagram. After growing at an exponential rate, they have become a top platform for social media. Instagram focuses on simplicity and inspiring creativity amongst it's users.

We live in an age where there is a camera in everyone's pocket and with over 400M users, Instagram has become a powerful tool for large and small businesses alike.

So, let's talk Instagram!

 

Tip: #UseHashtags!

Depending on the article, you will find that most suggest using between 10-15 hashtags per post. According to Buffer there isn't a real cut off point with hashtags but interactions are highest on posts with 11+ hashtags. The important part is to find popular hastags that relate to your industry and then remain consistent when using them. Wondering what the most popular hashtags are? Here's a short list of the most popular, but don't forget to look up what relates to you specifically.

Looking for an easy tool to help you discover good hashtags? You can always use the discover screen within your Instagram app, but there are also some great tools available (Iconosquare & WEBSTA) that will pull up Instagram users and hashtags based on your specific keyword searches. While you are there, check out the statistic tools that are available, Iconosquare specifically can help you figure out when the best times to post and what content works best for you based on your followers.

Tip: Put a face to the name and relate with your followers.

You might have the most beautiful products or you might not have any physical products at all. That's ok. People want to know you, they want to relate to you. Get creative! Find valuable, compelling, and entertaining images to share with your audience. Share your culture, your employees, your celebrations, and your merchandise.

Make that human connection. Share candid shots and just have fun!

 

Wake up, and smell the Javanac! A little hump day motivation from our fearless leader, Fred Matt. #HumpDay #saranac #gotsoul

A photo posted by Saranac Brewery (@saranacbrewery) on Oct 7, 2015 at 5:33am PDT

I love what Saranac does with their Instagram profile!

Tip: Re-post customer photos.

Who doesn't love seeing their favorite brand share their own photos? It excites the customer, furthers the relationship, and helps generate more content for you! It will build engagement and encourage other customers to post their photos using your product or service. How do you get them to do that? Promote your #hashtag and gather content that way or you can hold a fun contest! Instagram contests are worth the time and effort because they give an incentive for users to share better content and allows you to reuse the content.

Tip: Promote your Instagram.

This goes without saying...

1. Put icons on your website, maybe even embed your Instagram feed on your hompage.
2. Cross promote on Facebook and Twitter.
3. Encourage employees to promote the brand.
4. Add the icon into your email signature.

The possibilities are endless.

And now for some fun Instagram facts courtesy of Hootsuite!

-Instagram photos with faces get 38 percent more likes

-On average, posts that include another user handle in the caption net 56 percent more engagement

-Posts tagged with a location receive 79 percent higher engagement

-Instagram is considered the most important social network by more American teens (at 32 percent) than any other network

Check out these tips in action, follow me on Instagram using @br1twh1t and @quadsimia too!

Next up on the agenda ... Twitter!

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Looking for some more Instagram help? Let me know! Or share your thoughts below.