The Many Benefits of Instagram - Part Two!

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! 
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• 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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