Category: Instagram Messages

The Many Benefits of Instagram - Part Two!

11/26/2019

We are back at it again, finishing up our blog about how and why Instagram can be such a wonderful tool for you and your company!

“Content is the reason search began in the first place.” - Lee Odden

I just love this quote - because, during this whole process of really digging into Instagram more than we usually do on an everyday basis, it was fun to go searching. It's so fun to think of the people who are interested in our clients going on a mission and searching for what they can offer them. It's a modern-day scavenger hunt that makes all that screen time worth it at the end of the day!

Welcome back to the blog, I hope you've been doing well since our last post. Being excited about turkey day and spending time with family, I have been making the most of my working hours before that vacation starts. It's been fun to come back and work on this two-part blog series - and I can't wait to pick up where we left off and share with you some more tips and hints on how Instagram can give you and your company a serious boost!

Let's start with something called "batching". Batching is not cooking up some holiday cut out cookies, as much as you want it to be. It's creating a bunch of content at one time to make your workflow as simple as possible. To run any part of a business, it takes time. Social media for a lot of companies is the first thing to suffer when there just isn't enough time to go around. This is such a shame, as social media is one of THE LEADING platforms of advertisement - and as I mentioned before - FREE advertising, sometimes! There are tons of programs (be careful - not all of them include Instagram yet) that allow you to plan out all of your posts for the upcoming days, weeks, or months, all at one time. You sit down and make a plan of what your posts need to be based on your company's needs, create the content, and schedule the content for every day from now until whenever you deem necessary. Once they are scheduled in these programs, they will be posted manually so you no longer need to stop what you're doing and post them manually. It is SO handy.
Stay in touch with your followers, customers, and future dream clients. You need to respond to any direct messages or comments as quickly as possible. It's polite and it makes the people who took the time to engage you feel appreciated and that they're being listened to. Turn around time on emails are still terrible, and can hurt your business if you let it get out of control. Using this platform of a more social environment can open up a comfortable space of communication. Your followers might feel the freedom to ask things and make supportive comments that they wouldn't feel comfortable doing in any other form of communication. Plus, everyone loves getting a glowing comment or two. You aren't the only one who sees these posts either. Potential clients will be paying attention to those as well, and it could influence their decision to buy something or use your services.
Stay consistent! Make sure your profile is clean, crisp, and gets right to the point. Don't leave your followers or future followers feeling unsure of what you do or what you offer. Make it consistent with all of your social media platforms. That profile page laying out all of your content on Instagram always needs to echo your voice and your brand, and it is the first thing followers see when they find you on Instagram. This will be your first impression.
The use of hashtags has always been an interesting debate. But in fact, they can help you in more ways than just looking "hip". When you start researching the concept of hashtags and thinking seriously about adding them into your Instagram posts, don't get overwhelmed. Start with creating a company hashtag. You can start by adding this to your posts, and as you gain more followers encourage them to use the hashtag every time they post about using your product, visiting your store, or when they receive your services. It's an easy little thank you that can draw new eyes to your Instagram page without even trying. Tons of apps can help you generate appropriate hashtags. Pick ones that have a decent following for more eyes on your account (it's true, people are now following hashtags on Instagram, not just accounts!). Make sure every hashtag you use is appropriate to your post and to your company. Make sure that it is an appropriate hashtag in general. Sometimes a hashtag can have multiple meanings. Make sure you aren't attaching yourself to something you don't want to be. Studies currently show using 3 to 5 hashtags a post is your best bet. But, you can use up to 30 per post. You just need to figure out what number works best for your company. Not all social media platforms benefit from the use of hashtags, but that is a story for another post.
Always connect, collaborate, and share with others. Social media was created to be a SOCIAL gathering space, a new-age place to make friends. Who doesn't love new friends? Share other's posts, collaborate with other local businesses or charities that you support, always tag companies or people you're working with in your posts, and give credit where credit is due. When tagging other accounts and giving them a little free press, their followers tend to come over and visit your account. This whole process brings more eyes to your account, can help you gain more followers, and show off another human side of your company. Creating content is a form of art, please be respectful of that. It's harder to catch but still just as painful if you steal someone's work and call it your own or share something and don't give credit. Continue to make social media a positive place, and give that credit out!

There you have it! There is so much to Instagram, that this could turn into a ten-part blog. But I want you to find your groove with the help of these last two blog posts and see where that takes you. Social media is constantly changing, you just need to find out what works for you. Most of all, don't be afraid of it and give it the time it deserves. If you don't have that time, that's where we come in! Don't hesitate to give us a call or visit our website. We love our social media at Creative Consulting and love to talk about it! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Stay caffeinated and we will see you next time!

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The Many Benefits of Instagram

11/19/2019

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We've talked about how to use social media and other online tools to better your business and not to shy away from them. They are there waiting for you, so use them! Instagram has become one of the biggest platforms to build your business today. Do you know all the tools and options this budding business tool has to offer?

"Design is the silent ambassador of your brand."
-Paul Rand

Happy November friends! How excited are you that Thanksgiving is almost here? The turkey is on its way, but it's not quite time to relax just yet. The holidays are an incredibly busy time for any company, ours included. Don't get overwhelmed with this, instead ride the wave of the good it can do for your company. I discovered this quote while working on our first blog of the month, and I thought it was the perfect food for thought before we settle into our big Thanksgiving plates. We are so focused on creating a brand, that it's so easy to forget about the powerful tools that are at our fingertips waiting to be taken advantage of. They are there to make your company and brand stronger than you could ever imagine. What is even crazier to think about, a lot of these tools are free! That's right - FREE! There is something to be said about the adage that you do need to spend money to make money. But when there are moments to save money and still help your company grow - take them! This is why our next two blogs will be focused on tips on how to use Instagram to build your business into a powerful platform one day at a time! This is a holiday gift from us to you, and we are happy to share what we know!

Don't just drown your followers with constant posts about all the products you sell and the services you provide. Their brains will shut down and turn off. They will begin to scroll right past. Instead, creatively show your audience that you can offer them a solution to an everyday problem, that you would make their life better, and that your company can give them joy if they decide to choose your business or to buy your products. This can be SO FUN for your image and content creators! You can truly connect to your audience and followers in such a unique and personal way once you understand who they are and how your company can give them something special. Show that through your ad campaign and enjoy the process.
Instagram is an app that is all about visuals, it's just a plain fact. But you do need to recognize your audience as a whole. Some will just scroll for hours and will need a beautiful picture to make them stop and take the time to read your content or even earn a "like". Once you've had that moment that got them to stop, you still have to put just as much work into the content that you write below your image as you've put into the image. There is still also an audience out there who is looking for good content. Yes, they will enjoy a beautiful picture, but they are looking for humanity, truth, and reality in what you have to say to them. They want a good story, and one they can believe in.
Always put some kind of call to action into your content, this is a great opportunity that should NEVER be missed. Cute content is nice and has a time and place. But always invite your audience to do something. Have them comment below, invite them to the like the post, share the post on their own stories, to have them visit your website, or even your blog. Each post is creating a conversation, so why should it end with the post? Let it go beyond that one picture, and invite them into your whole world.
When you are writing your content, make sure you have established your voice and how you want to talk to your audience. Always make sure this is used consistently. Having multiple voices can quickly confuse an audience, make them subconsciously uninterested in who and what you are as a company, or just not trust you or what you're selling. Also, be genuine when you're talking. Using flowery cute wording that is popular at the moment is fun to throw into any post. But if this isn't your voice, don't fall into peer pressure and feel like you have to use it. Throw it out! Always be authentic in how you talk. Make sure it's a real, honest, and human voice than anyone can connect to. The first subconscious goal you want to reach is forming trust between your future followers and yourself. No one will spend time following you or buying from you if they don't trust what's beyond their phone or computer screen. The first step to earning their trust is showing who you are to the world. Another human will always trust the real human behind the screen.
Make sure you are using all the tools that Instagram is offering you. Use your stories, highlights, and pay attention to your audience and insights tab. These tools are giving you so much free information to quickly access your followers and to get your information in front of them at the best times possible. These awesome tools are there for a reason. The more you use and understand them, the more you can grow with less work on your end. Use the insights to see when your followers are online the most so you can get as many eyes on all of your posts as possible. Use these times to get as much foot traffic to your whole account as well. It all starts with a picture leading them to look at your whole site to see what you're all about. It's almost like free advertisement. You can also use the stories and highlights to show a human side to any business. You can keep your feed chock full of beautiful graphics and perfectly written prose. But in the stories, you can lift the veil to give a behind the scenes look to everything you do. Your followers can get to know the people behind the company. They can see the funny things that happen, relate to the bad days, and celebrate victories with you right there in real-time.

Are you getting as excited as we are about Instagram? It's easy to have a love-hate relationship with apps that you use as part of your advertising goals, but if you spend the time getting to know them, it'll be worth it. Enjoy these tips for now, but don't worry, there are more coming. Until next time friends, stay safe, caffeinated and excited about your company!

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The Switch: CC's Blog

The Many Benefits of Instagram - Part Two!

The Many Benefits of Instagram

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The Switch: CC's Blog

The Many Benefits of Instagram - Part Two!

The Many Benefits of Instagram

Author

Archives

Categories

105 SOUTH CEDAR STREETSUITE ASUMMERVILLE SC 29483

Home | Graphic Design | SEO Social Media Management | Contact​Employment | Our Team

105 SOUTH CEDAR STREET
SUITE A
SUMMERVILLE SC 29483

Home | Graphic Design | SEO
Social Media Management | Contact
Employment | Our Team