Category: Instagram Marketing

8 Incredible Twitter Marketing Secrets

A good amount of the people who are using Twitter are actually following brands. This makes for a wealth of opportunities when it comes to marketing. If you are able to use Twitter to your advantage, you can bring about awareness for your brand, drive a good deal of traffic to your pages, generate leads and start to built up a great customer base. Even if you have mastered the best ways to get around this social media platform and you are well aware of tags and trends, you still need to be able to learn some of the top marketing secrets to help put your business over the edge.

These are 8 of the best Twitter marketing tips that will definitely help you to kick your social media game into high gear and make it so that you can really stand out from all of the competition:

1. Add Commentary For Any Shared Content

Whenever you are going to be sharing your content on a social media platform like Twitter, you need to be able to find a point where you can fit in commentary that is related to the content or even flag a crucial portion of the piece. This is something that can be very beneficial as you work to establish your brand and to get you a good name in the industry. In some cases, you will also be able to put across the fact that you are looked at as a leader, showing that your company is made up of people who are knowledgeable about the industry.

In case you have a piece of content that you find that was authored by one of the major influencers in your chosen field, you can make sure that you tag them in a follow up question or in the post itself. This can be a good idea of you are hoping to connect with the community and followers as a real and natural relationship.

2. Determine The Optimal Times To Tweet For Your Given Audience

You might already have a grasp on the best times to Tweet to your advantage and you could have it right down to the hour. However, you need to be able to understand your audience and know what they are doing, as this will also help for you to get a better feel of optimum Tweet times for the best interaction and views. For example, if you are running a business that caters to a busy mom, you may not want to schedule your Tweets when they are apt to be out in the morning running kids to school or the hours after school when they are heading to sporting events and other school sponsored activities.

Picking and choosing your times very wisely will help you to make sure that your target audience is never left out and that they will be able to see and engage with your posts. When you are able to plan out the right Tweet times, it can give you a great nudge in the right direction to bring up your engagement rate. There are even a number of tools that are available today that will help you to find the best times to dive deeper into your audience base, right down to the sub-segments that you really need for success. These sub-segments can include everything from location and entertainment preferences to how many followers each user has.

3. Use A Calendar To Mark Out Real Time Opportunities

Twitter is a nice platform if you want to get in on real time marketing. If you are able to offer a response that is dead on and just minutes after an event, it can really make your social profile skyrocket. There are some events that you cannot plan for, but you can mark out dates on your calendar with some of the big events that are most relevant to your audience. With this calendar planning, it is best to have a response ready or have the ability to produce something right away.

4. Tag Any Relevant Profiles In Your Images

Because you have the ability to tag up to 10 other users in a Twitter image, you need to make sure that you are making the most out of them. Strategically choose the best accounts to tag that will bring about the best response. When you stop to think about it, these tags are even a way to get more text in that would have eaten up your character limit within the original post. Tag anyone from competition winners and celebrities, to groups and politicians. Just be sure that all of the tags are relevant to the image for best results.

5. Know The Hashtag Game

With smart hashtag practices, you can get your Tweets discovered by a lot of people that are outside of your normal community. It could be a trending topic or a hot button issue, you just need to know what the best hashtags are to use in your Tweet. If you want to look further into your hastagging, you can take a look at the analytics platform offered through Twitter.

6. Scoop Up Leads In Twitter Chats

Twitter chat is a hotspot of people who are looking for info on a certain niche. Pick and choose the right one that is going to fall in line with your chosen audience and look for leads. Connect with helpful comments and some great interactions and you are going to see the benefits.

7. Share Your Quality Content More Than Once

It is not possible for everyone to be checking out Twitter 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is always a chance that people will miss something the first time that you post it, so think about putting out a second post of the same content at a different time. This is also a nice way for you to be able to experiment with new images or text to see what it is that draws in your followers and those who comment on your Tweets.

8. Make Sure Your Profile Is Properly Optimized

Retweets and shares can be wonderful, but you need to remember how important it is that you have a fully optimized profile to allow people to find you when they are searching on their own. Not only do you need to be easy to find, but it needs to be clear what the next step is once your audience arrives.

Offer a cover photo that boasts a specific link or message and think about tweaking your bio a little bit to help you to get the recognition in the searches throughout Twitter. You could have the best profile in the world, yet if nobody is able to find you, you will not be discovered. Weave in some of the key industry terms and you will start to see that the top Twitter users will be able to find you and your following will start to grow quicker than ever.

The bottom line is that you really want to have a stronger presence on Twitter and you need to know the tips and tricks to get you there. While none of these may give you the results you want immediately, they are perfect building blocks you need for a smarter strategy moving forward. The more involved that you are with your audience and the better the understand that you have of Twitter and how to get the most out of the marketing opportunities, the more successful you are going to be.

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7 Instagram Marketing Secrets That Actually Work

A company that has made a significant impact in social media is a business called Instagram. Although this company is relatively new, it is one of the most popular social media platforms in existence today. It allows people to communicate through video sharing and mobile photo sharing, a platform that has actually made some people famous online. You can share this information privately or publicly, and also through other social media platforms including Twitter and Facebook.

This mobile app is distinctive in that it initially cropped photos into a square shape, very similar to old Polaroid cameras. Today, you can post photos in a multitude of different aspect ratios, and also apply their very distinctive digital filters, something that Instagram is known for. What most people do not know, however, is how useful this social networking service is when it comes to marketing products online. Here are seven ways that you can use Instagram to start generating more traffic to your website.

Initial Steps To Take

Before you implement any of the strategies, you need to become familiar with Instagram and how the platform works. It is recommended that you take a few photos, get a few followers, and test how the system works. This will allow you to become comfortable with this platform as you begin to disseminate images related to your business, as well as videos that you are going to share. You will then be able to see the power of this platform, especially how it integrates with the largest social media networks, and how this can drive a substantial amount of traffic.

Create A Facebook Business Page

Once you have become used to Instagram, you will want to create a Facebook business page. This is simply a page that you can create that will be dedicated to all things related to your business, allowing you to brand yourself and your company. Although creating images can help your business grow through this connection to Facebook, it is the creation of the 15 second videos that you can make with Instagram, whether they are straight through or stop motion videos, that can help you make the most of money. Videos have become a very powerful tool for businesses online because of their popularity. Not only are they popular, but people love to share videos, and this is how you can begin to utilize the power of Instagram.

Creating Instagram Videos

There are two specific reasons why you will want to create videos on Instagram when you start to do your promotions. First of all, statistics have shown that videos get up to 100% more engagement than images or text based posts, which means they will be shared with hundreds or thousands of people. You can also now embed Instagram videos on your website or blog, allowing you to create a video blog that people can visit to learn more about the products that you sell. Once you have created a format for your videos to showcase your products, preferably with an intro, outro, and a call to action at the end of the video, you need to learn how to properly use hashtags.

Using The Right Hashtags

Hashtags are used by virtually all social media platforms. This is how people search for new posts and photos that come out. By using the same hashtag at the end of your photos, people will be able to see the new ones that come out by searching for them on a regular basis. Make sure that the hashtags for your business photos are completely different than for your photos that you are sharing with friends and family. Finally, limit the number of hashtags that you are using on your new photos as this can become very confusing for people, and you want them to simply focus on your business promotions. Now that you understand how to operate Instagram, creating both photos and videos, and also how to use hashtags, it’s time to move into one of the easiest ways to promote your business which is by running a photo contest.

Running A Photo Contest On Instagram

The first Instagram marketing strategy that you will use is to run a photo contest. This is how you can begin to build your audience. You simply post a photo and ask people to vote on it, using a specific hashtag, and this will get more people to follow you which can become potential customers. They will also share your photo, if it is good, with people that are following them, and the viral effect will begin. The next strategy involves following other social media accounts, and here is how you can do that with Instagram.

Follow Major Instagram Accounts

The second strategy is to start following as many large Instagram accounts as you can, specifically those that are selling or promoting similar products. If people are following these accounts, they will likely be interested in what you are selling on yours. This puts you in contact with thousands of potential followers that may begin following you. However, you need to take this a step further which involves following these other people.

Follow Other Followers

The third strategy is to actually follow other Instagram followers on these larger accounts. As mentioned before, if they are following this other person or company, since you are selling or promoting similar things, they may also be interested in what you have to offer. You simply follow a user by clicking through to their Instagram and now they will be notified every time that you make a post. This is a great way of building your followers quickly, but it’s even better when you like a photo.

Like Photos Of Instagram Users

The fourth strategy is to look at photos that have been posted by users and like the photo that they have posted. By doing so, they will be able to see who you are and potentially also follow you. Since thousands of photos are posted on a regular basis, if you are following enormous Instagram accounts, you can easily build hundreds of followers to your account every day. This works very well, but the next strategy is even better.

Comment On A Photo

The fifth strategy to use is going far beyond simply liking a photo. You want to comment on a photo that someone has posted. When you do, they will see a link directly to your Instagram account along with all of the other comments, and based upon the quality of your comment, they may click through to see what you have to offer. These are individuals that have already shown an interest in the topics that you are presenting, and more than likely the products that you are selling. This is the fastest way to build a quick list of followers that will actually be interested in what you have to offer.

Send A Direct Message

The sixth strategy to use is to actually send a direct message to Instagram followers on these major accounts. You can simply introduce yourself, or even better, simply state that you really enjoyed a photo that they have recently posted. People love compliments, and the law of reciprocity will definitely kick in, prompting them to follow you. By doing so, they realize that you are a real person, something that is very valuable when you are interacting on social media platforms.

Rinse And Repeat

The final step of the process is to simply repeat all of the steps that you have already done, doing this with new large Instagram accounts every day. You could end up attracting thousands of additional followers, and by posting videos and images on your account daily, these can be shared with their followers, causing your following to grow even more.

This simple seven step process for using Instagram to generate a massive following, one that will eventually lead to consistent sales, is what most people are doing either on their own, or they are outsourcing with companies that will do this for them. It is an organic way to build your Instagram account up very quickly, and you will know that all of your followers will actually be interested in the topics and products that you are presenting. If you start using this today, at the end of 30 days, you could have a very successful business using nothing but Instagram to help you out.

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11 Tips For Building 10K New Instagram Followers

Instagram currently has over 300 million active monthly users globally and is the top photo-sharing community worldwide. If approached correctly, Instagram can be a very powerful marketing tool for businesses.

Studies show that most people are visual learners. This implies that whatever images you post to Instagram, whether they are product promotions, funny, etc., will be understood and retained by most people viewing them.

Instagram provides a wonderful platform for organizations, businesses, and individual marketers to build relationships, interact with clients, and increase revenue through product promotions.

As with any marketing platform, the money is always in the list and Instagram is no exception. Read on to learn more about the top 11 tips for building 10k new Instagram followers.

1.    Hitting Your Base

The easiest and probably the quickest way to build 10k new Instagram followers is by simply announcing it to the base of friends or followers you have on other social media platforms.  You can consider announcing it on Twitter, Facebook, blog/website, email list, YouTube, LinkedIn, and posters/signs. Immediately upon announcing it, you can expect to gain a small follower base that grow with time.

2.    Liking It Up

If you are operating on a shoestring budget, liking it up is the quickest way to build additional followers. You can build thousands of followers in just a matter of weeks by simply doing this. It is exactly as easy as it may sound. All you have to do is like relevant images to your niche and sit back and watch your follower base grow.

You can search hashtags to find relevant listings and then like each image up until the current day under every hashtag. The reason why this method works so well is that you are connecting with like-minded people. Once individuals see brands liking their images, they will usually view their profile, like the images, and follow them. This in turn helps to boost traffic especially if you have an effective website link and profile text.

3.    Hashtags Reign Supreme

If you haven’t figured it out already, hashtags are the best thing on Instagram as well as Twitter. Hashtags help you find and connect with like-minded individuals and brands. They also help others to find you, which is ultimately your goal. Any time that you post an image, ensure that the hashtag associated with it pertains to what you and the image are about.

For instance, if you own an SEO company in Los Angeles, it is a good idea to tag things such as #SEO, #SEOLosAngeles, #SEOServicesLosAngeles, and #SEOExpertsLosAngeles, etc. These hashtags will immediately put your image under each hashtag category and expand additional avenues to followers.

4.    Posting Quality, Engaging Content

When posting to Instagram or any other social media platform for purposes of interaction, it is good to post quality, engaging content. Nobody will ever follow people or brands that fill up their feed with tons of barely acceptable images. People have been known to go on an unfollowing spree for any brand or person that posts too many pictures every day.

When posting images on Instagram, ensure that it is relevant to whatever you do and represent and ensure that it is something that people will enjoy interacting with.

5.    Quality Commenting

On Instagram, likes largely outnumber comments. This means that comments are more highly appreciated than likes. Therefore, if you can just take the time and leave a positive comment on another person or brands picture, chances are high that you will gain a new follower.

6.    Following At Will

Even though it is perfectly fine to have 10k followers while following only 100, it is always a good idea to follow the people that are relevant to your industry. You must always keep in mind that social media is a two-way street. Since people interact with your brand or yourself, it is advisable to do the same.

Through interaction, you are able to expand your circle of influence by following people. For instance, if you are following 100 people and have 10k followers, you are only allowing yourself to keep up with the 100 you are following. However, if you are following 500 people and have 10k followers, you will be opening doors to relationships and interactions with 500 as opposed to 100 previously.  In the end, you will get more interaction on your posts and increase the likelihood of people sharing your posts.

7.    Be A Pro Hash-Tagger

This will take some time. You must first learn about the common hashtags used in your niche. The next thing is to find out about the ones that are effective and the ones that are not. The easiest way to do this is finding out what the pros in your niche are tagging. Find out the hashtags they use to gain thousands of likes and apply the same ones that are applicable to you.

8.    Tagging People

This is probably one of the most effective ways of getting your post shared at once. You need to tag every brand and every individual that is relevant to your post but ensure that you obviously do it with their consent. Once you do this, it will show up on their pages and they will probably repost it and tag you in it. In the end, your promotion will gain quicker traction.

9.    Geo-Tagging

Instagram has an amazing feature of geo-tagging that people love. Fans always love to see where you are at. Once you geo-tag the location of your photo, it helps people keep up with where you are currently and enables you to create a better and more personalized relationship with your followers.

In case you want your location or store to appear on Instagram maps, you will have to register it on Foursquare, which is totally free.

Creating a photo map is important since it creates another dimension to your brands story. Bands have used this feature successfully for sharing photos from the road. With photo maps, the fans of these bands can view photo collections arranged by location.

10.    Posting At The Appropriate Times

After you have the perfect photos, the next important thing is to ensure that you post at the appropriate time. When it comes to social media, timing is critical and this also applies to Instagram. However, posting times are not set in stone and it will be up to you to determine the best posting times for maximum engagement with followers. It is basically something that you have to do by yourself but will pay great dividends once you get the information you need.

11.    Using Filters

Instagram has this amazing feature known as filters. Filters are important since they help you turn regular pictures into works of art that are more appealing and engaging to your followers. Some of the top filters for Instagram are Valencia, Hudson, Hefe, Lo-fi, Amaro, Earlybird, Normal, X-Proll, Rise, and Brannan.

Conclusion

Instagram is the top photo-sharing community in the world with over 300 million active monthly users globally. If you would like a share of these users and gain 10k new followers all you have to do is follow the tips discussed in this article. Please understand that since you are not Halle Berry, it will be impossible to gain 10k Instagram followers overnight. Gaining such a huge number of followers takes much work, time, and dedication. However, in the end it will all be worth it. If you have not included Instagram to be part of your social media marketing methods, use the tips discussed above to gain 10k+ new followers and build your brand.

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