The Lowdown

Social Media Tips & Tricks: Instagram

You might have heard that Instagram is quickly becoming one of the most successful social media channels. But as a business, do you really need another online profile? Especially one that is, “just pictures of stuff”? Our digital marketing team are here to give their verdict…

What Is Instagram

Instagram is a social media platform that can be used to reflect the visual side of your brand. It is an easy, user-friendly channel with pictures and videos at the heart of its offering. It can a great way to draw attention to the services and products you offer. It essentially uses visual representations to convey descriptions.

You can also showcase your day-to-day activity or projects that you are working on. It can help to share a personal connection with customers and put a face to your brand.

Instagram Stories is a (fairly) new feature on the app. In a nutshell, you can create a ‘story’ which will disappear after 24 hours. But what’s the point in that, we hear you ask?

Well, this sort of digital marketing can create a sense of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). In this golden age of social media, Generation Z is obsessed with not missing out. Whether it’s a new product launch, interview with a celebrity, or the announcement of a sale. This is a great way of connecting with your audience and keeping them interested in what is happening.

If you are able to successfully harness the power of Instagram, you can create a truly compelling picture of your business. Add to that the opportunity to create targeted, paid adverts, and suddenly you can reach out directly to your audience in an effective and measurable way.

Sharing posts on Instagram…

Sharing an Instagram post is easy. It only requires a couple of clicks. Here is a simple guide to achieving the perfect post:

• Download the app and create an account (if you haven’t already).
• Choose/take a photo that you want to post. Top Tip: Make sure it is a good quality image. No one wants to see a blurry picture.
• If required, add a filter and edit the post. Although you may wish to do this beforehand using Photoshop or another third party app.
• Come up with a caption relating to your post. Try not to be too wordy.
• Make sure you add some popular hashtags. This will allow for easy searching and will help define the topic of your post.
• Tag your location so that people can see where you are.
• Now share your creation for the world to see.

Social Media Is More Than Nice Pictures

You should aim to update your Instagram account a couple times a week. Uploading often provides customers with regular content relevant to their interests. Top Tip: Make sure you figure out when your posts get the most engagement. Is it early in the morning, lunchtime or in the evening?

Remember, photos make it easy for people to understand what you have to offer at a quick glance. Make sure it is eye catching and something your target audience will love.

Why is Instagram effective?

Like all social media channels, Instagram provides an easy way to stay connected with your customers. But it can also be used for research. Top Tip: Want to see what your competitors are doing? You’ll likely find them sharing updates and, more importantly, giving you an insight to any missed opportunities within your industry.

Anyone has access to Instagram and there are options to ‘like’, ‘comment’ and ‘share’ posts. By analysing the engagement you receive you can narrow down your target market and highlight key factors which they are interested in.

Maintaining your Instagram…

So, your Instagram page is up and running, now what? Maintaining the appearance of your Instagram page is essential. It is a reflection of your business and can instantly create a good or bad impression. Top Tip: If you use the same filter on each post you will be able to create a consistent feel to your account. You could even consider experimenting with the layout if you are feeling creative.

Need Help With Your Social Media Strategy

We understand that creating an effective social media strategy is vital to the success of your online activity. If you need support producing content or creating targeted online adverts to suit your demographic, speak to our digital marketing team today on 01743 366336.

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Social Media Tips & Tricks: Facebook

Someone somewhere will have told you that your business must use social media in your marketing strategy. It might have even been us.

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and many others have changed the modern world. We are now raising the next generation who haven’t known a time where social media didn’t exist. It has become interwoven into society and is an unbelievably powerful tool.

From a business point of view, social media is something you can no longer ignore. If your customers are using it, then you probably should too. But, with so many channels available it can be difficult to optimise your output.

Fear not! Our digital marketing experts have put together a few helpful tips for some of the main channels. So let’s get started with the biggest of them all, Facebook.

Understanding What Facebook Does

You’ve probably got a personal Facebook account. If so, think about how you use it. Do you follow any brands? Do you share content and, more importantly, engage with any businesses? Have you ever reviewed a local restaurant? Do you send products you like to any of your friends? Do you upload photos of the places you visit? If you answer yes to any of these questions, then that is your answer to, “Why should my business use Facebook?”

It’s easy to get your business on Facebook. Whilst signed in, go to the top right and click the drop-down menu. Click ‘Create Page’ and follow the basic setup options. Top tip: Make sure you use an appropriate name so that it is really easy for people to find you.

Once you have created your page, you should think about uploading a profile image and header. Here’s a helpful size guide to get you started?

These images should reflect your brand and be high quality. Also, try not to use too much text on them. Top tip: Too much text will turn people off. If you are trying to squeeze text into a small square profile picture, it isn’t going to look good.

If you want to stand out from the competition, instead of using a header image, you could consider a short video, like this one.

Tell People About Your Business

Make sure that you fill in all of the details ‘About’ your business on your Facebook page. Include your opening hours, contact details, and your address. Users will love these little features if they are able to find them quickly and easily. Top tip: Anyone on Facebook can leave you a review. So try to encourage people to do so. This will help you to show off how great you are, as well as building trust with users who haven’t used you before.

Sharing Content Via Facebook

Once all of your information has been populated, start to think about what content you will share. Ultimately you want to be able to drive traffic to your website via Facebook.

If you’ve written a great blog post about the benefits of your product, share a link to it. Make sure you give users a reason to engage. Whatever you do, not publish the entire article on Facebook. This will away from your website. Plus, this won’t give you any SEO benefit. If you need a few tips when it comes to writing a blog post, see our ‘How To’ guide.

How Often Should You Be Posting Updates?

Continue to post content on Facebook every few days. Showing that you regularly updating your page means that you are active. If someone makes a comment, reply. Show them, and anyone else who visits your page, that you care.

Top tip: If a user posts a negative comment, do not ignore it. Reply and discuss options to talk about the matter privately. The last thing you want to do is get into an argument with a customer in view of everyone.

Your Facebook page is up and running, so what happens now?

Firstly, make sure you link your website to your Facebook page and your Facebook page to your website. This will allow users to navigate between the two with ease. Make sure you continue to post relevant content, and where possible, link it back to your website.

Use Facebook as the channel that directs users to the awesome things that you do as a business. It is a good opportunity to reach your audience directly. You also have the option to chat with them, share photos and update them on the latest news in your industry.

Once you feel confident enough with the platform, you could start to advert on Facebook. This will allow you to gain access to the vast amounts of customer data. You’ll be able to produce highly targeted campaigns which can be evaluated on a daily basis.

Thinking about social media advertising? Speak to our digital marketing experts today and discover the true potential of this powerful tool.

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