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The Instagram Marketing Trends You Need To Know Today

The Greatness Blog

The Instagram Marketing Trends You Need To Know Today

Instagram has made some serious changes in its operations in everything from the newsfeed, to the SEO enhancements on-site. These changes could maximize Instagram’s popularity, help the site get more views, followers, and overall users.

Instagram is a popular social media platform that has billions of users from around the world. It is currently the sixth most used social media site in the world. It is also the 10th most visited site in the US, with over 0.9 Billion visits in January 2021 alone. The social media platform was also the 5th most downloaded app in the App Store back in 2020, which all means that Instagram is here to stay. 

Like other social media accounts, Instagram is making some serious changes to its algorithm. The good news! Instagram has shed some light on how their algorithm works and which changes are coming up. 

 

These instructions and guides can help you better grasp what changes you can expect from future Instagram trends. As these trends evolve, we’ll be updating this content so you can always get the most relevant changes!

So let us begin. 

 

Videos: The Future of Instagram in 2022

 

In a word, it’s VIDEOS! Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, recently shared his vision related to Instagram. He claims that Instagram will consolidate all its content around videos and reels. They removed the IGTV brand to replace them with longer videos. However, users need to tap on these videos to watch them properly.

The platform also plans to introduce more monetization tools into the system to support and motivate content creators to produce more changes. Furthermore, the head believes they will focus more on their messaging app and provide more options to users.

Let us have a look at these changes on Instagram ahead.

 

Changes for Creators

 

Instagram plans to introduce several monetization tools including a Partnerships messaging folder. This is a dedicated folder to help creators keep a closer look at their sponsored opportunities, and communicate with brand marketers.

We may also see the application introduce a subscription option on the platform to boost the monetization process for content creators online. Some of these monetization tools also include the following:

Storefront Option: This will apply to creators that are a part of an affiliate program, which would allow them to create their products.

Photo App Update: The photo app is testing new branded content added to boost monetize the platform.

Sponsored Mark: Branded content tag ads will have a sponsored mark on them, rather than a paid partnership tag.

Subscriptions: The subscriptions options allow content creators several benefits including subscriber lives, stories, and badges. However, these additional options are only available for selected profiles and accounts. 

Messenger

Messenger is getting revamped this year! 

There are plenty of useful tools and additions on the messenger app. It includes special features like swipe to reply to messages, reacting with any emoji, chatting with friends who use Facebook, etc. The best part is that users can do all of this without leaving the Instagram app at all.

How to know if you have the latest messenger features on Instagram?

Users who want to check if they have the latest messenger features on Instagram should check out this page.

 

 

Reels Feed 

 

As the platform shifts from image-only to mostly videos, we are seeing how Instagram is focusing on enhancing its Reels features. 

 

They have announced that all their videos will have Reels features. For instance, regular videos have features like “Remix,” so that others can open their camera and share a video reaction.

 

Video reactions are generating plenty of engagement, which is another recent update.

 

Since the algorithm favors those accounts that use their new features, we highly recommend staying on top of Reels trends, to get the most out of your Instagram Marketing.

Redesigned Home feed

Instagram has confirmed three new feed options will soon be available in the app. These include: 

Home, 
Favorites, 
Chronological Following feed. 

TikTok has been using this model since it went mainstream in 2018, and it works. It helps make surfing the app much easier and allows users to jump between pages with a single tap. However, one of the best features we believe is the following feed. Now, users can view their following feeds in chronological order so that they don’t miss out on the latest buzz in their profiles.

Veredict

When apps are shifting, it will bring a never-ending list of updates that you’ll need to keep up. Stay focused on your big picture! Remember that social channels are simply your distribution channels. If you don’t have a close community, this is your sign to create it! I predict that Facebook Groups will gain more popularity for businesses and creators this year! 

Instagram’s Most Impactful Changes So Far (Trends)

Instagram has achieved several milestones regarding these focuses that we mentioned earlier. Interestingly, these changes helped create new trends for Instagram in 2022, and we believe that they are here to stay for the upcoming future.

Following are the most interesting changes and trends that Instagram experienced in recent times. 

Story Swipe Up

Instagram removed the swipe-up link in the Instagram stories in August of 2021. The popular addition helped high-profile creators to direct their Story’s viewers to a website; for more info on a product, or to read an article. It also allowed users to sign up for a service or promote other things that the creators wanted.

However, accounts with 10,000 followers or more could enjoy this feature. However, this restriction doesn’t exist anymore and now all accounts have a link sticker. They can use it to add links to their profile stories.

 “Tap the link” is the new call to action for these accounts, and honestly, people love it. The link sticker is customizable too. This allows users to change the old swipe-up call to action button as they want. For example, you can alter it for a specific and branded call to action. All you need to do is edit the URL 

How do you Swipe Up?

The short answer is you do not because the feature has changed on Instagram. 

Reels Get More Organic Reach

Reels have become a key frontier for organic reach on the app. The increased reach of Reels seems to have a knock-on effect of boosting your overall engagement, too.

 

Keep in mind that not all Reels are created equal. The performance of one Reel is by no means a predictor of the next.

The best thing you can do is to keep the consistency. 

 

How can you get more views on Reels?

There seems to be a few different factors at play here:

 

Timing and hashtags are likely still important for dictating the performance of Reels, but not as important as the quality and relevancy of the content. 

New Reels users of those who haven’t posted in a while may experience some ‘newbie’ gains ie. 

The Reels algorithm seems to work in a similar way to TikTok, where how your video performs in the first hour seems to affect how many people your video will ultimately reach.

Entertainment content works best!

 

SEO Enhancement

Instagram started optimizing its search bar for SEO requirements. It is because Instagram result ranking also matters in the long run. The platform introduced several new additions to make the site SEO friendly. 

For example, keywords are now displayed in the search bar, which allows users to choose relevant content, filter out unwanted creators and content and maximize the effectiveness of creation. This has also helped new creators introduce more content frequently for maximum reach and output. 

The explore page is not only displaying hashtag-based content, as it focuses on the broader content available on-site, rather than just what is trending. Moreover, the algorithm is using ALT features and artificial intelligence to recognize the content, beyond hashtags.

Virtual Reality Filters

Platforms like Snapchat gained popularity from their virtual reality filters that allow users to create content using these filters in the environment. Instagram has already announced that they will keep enhancing their VR filters.

B2B marketing

Instagram is a fantastic platform for B2B marketers. It provides a space for making new connections in almost any industry, at almost any stage in their development. For B2B marketing, Instagram works great to showcase your brand values, company culture, recognize your team, and humanize the brand. We expect the B2B marketing to improve quickly on Instagram.

Bottom Line

Instagram has made some serious changes in its operations in everything from the newsfeed, to the SEO enhancements on-site. These changes could maximize Instagram’s popularity, help the site get more views, followers, and overall users.

Instagram users should keep these algorithm changes and trends in mind while creating content in 2022 and ahead. For more tips and information about Instagram marketing, you can always reach out to us. We also suggest you check out our trend tips for other platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Tiktok, etc.

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How To Sell A Product On Instagram Using Attraction Marketing?

Instagram Trends 2022

Trying to figure out how to sell a product on Instagram in 2022? You’re not alone. There are many ways you could go about this, but one of the best is using attraction marketing. 

In this article, we’ll talk about how to use attraction marketing strategies in order to generate more sales in 2022. We’ll cover how it differs from direct push marketing and what tips can help increase your conversion rates!

New To Attraction Marketing? What Is Attraction Marketing?

Have you ever come across a story on Instagram from your favorite celebrity or influencer, explaining how they use their own brand’s services or products?

You’re probably familiar with this. Maybe your favorite Instagram influencer just posted a video about their date night, with the caption sharing tips about work-life balance, inviting you to learn more about work-life balance techniques in the link in bio.

You get my point!

You can probably recall a recent time when someone you respect praised a product, and your attention was attracted to it. That person has explained how the product benefits their life or makes things simpler, and you’ve been inspired to learn more about what they do. That’s attraction marketing!

Attraction marketing is also called demand generation marketing

The greatest thing about attraction marketing is that you don’t need to sell directly. Your magnetic online presence will get your future buyers come to you, instead of the other way around. Now how does it work?

Attraction marketing works by getting someone who is already interested in your brand to take action. You don’t have to go out there and find potential customers – they are the ones finding you.

How Do I Use Attraction Marketing To Sell A Product On Instagram?

First, you’re going to need an audience. For the purpose of this article, we will use how to sell a course as an example. Think about the following:

  1. Who needs this course today?
  2. What problems or challenges are they experiencing today?
  3. How will your course help them?
  4. What will make them buy from you today?

What should your niche be?

Instagram accounts that have a niche topic tend to grow faster, because they can build a community spirit by connecting with people with similar interests. For this reason, we recommend picking a niche (or one topic) at a time. Keyword here: at a time. This means that you can always change your niche; especially once you are known.

Narrow your solution as much as feasible to make your brand stand out. Narrow it down to “a fitness course for new moms who want to recover their shape and energy naturally,” for example, if it’s a fitness program.

Once you define your audience, make a bio that will resonate with your target audience. For example: “I’m on a quest to help new moms get their bodies, energy, and confidence back in shape the natural way.”

Make your feed catchy, and try to avoid predictability. Create interest by sharing content that connects with your target audience and encourages them to learn more. In other words, don’t spill everything on your Instagram posts.

Once they’re interested in what you do, if you make it easy for them to take action, they will.

Instagram Captions Length 2022

People don’t want to read through long descriptions, so get straight to the point! You can use words and phrases that will make people curious about how it works.

Oprah Winfrey Made $12 Million After One Tweet About Bread

You might remember the famous Tweet. Essentially, she revealed that she eats bread every day — and is still burning calories. “Eat bread. Lose weight. Whaaatttt? #ComeJoinMe,” she captioned the post.

That was a perfect example of attraction marketing. 

Attraction marketing example

Hashtags For Followers In 2022

As Instagram by Facebook is turning 10 years old in 2022, Instagram made headlines (including this one) when product head Adam Mosseri said that the app is “no longer just a square photo-sharing app,” since it’s pivoting its focus to shopping and video.

The platform has modified their Community Guidelines and has added resources to shine light on what are considered Instagram best practices. 

Moving into Instagram Marketing 2022, we see a change in how hashtags are being used by the algorithm. While hashtags are a crucial component of a winning Instagram marketing, the algorithm has been modified to include keywords in order to pick which content lands on their public feeds, known as the Explore Page.

The new approach to Instagram Hashtags 2022

Instead of using hashtags with the intention to gain visibility and followers, if you want to sell on Instagram using attraction marketing, leverage hashtags. Use them to get connected with industry leaders, find trends, and engage with others, more than just adding a code to gain followers. 

Search your industry hashtags to get insights about the featured content for two reasons: those posts have been favored by the algorithm so you can get ideas for aesthetics and captions and you can also read comments from the audience and get content ideas.

If you’re selling online fitness courses for new moms, then use #fitnessmom, #postpartumfitness, and #newmom and get insights from the top posts. You will notice that the top posts have between 2-5 short paragraphs.

Find how-to posts and use the same hashtags. For example, if your how-to post is about how to get rid of stretch marks in a month using natural ingredients, then use #howtogetridofstretchmarks or #getridofstretchmarks.

You can also create a unique hashtag for users who want to follow along with what’s happening in regards to your product.

How many hashtags are recommended in 2022?

Instagram allows you to add up to 30 hashtags. But, should you? 

The consensus is that about 11 hashtags is a good number to start with. But the most common number of hashtags to use on Instagram is between 1 and 3.

How to create a winning hashtags strategy?

Instagram has been enhancing their SEO features. They launched keyword searching features, which means that your content can be found, not only from the hashtags you use, but also from the keywords included on your captions.

Moving into 2022, a winning Instagram strategy needs to factor keywords, in addition to hashtags. 

How many hashtags should you use in 2022?

According to the Guidelines, you can add hashtags in the caption or comments of your post. So, posting hashtags in comments is not a mistake. Do A/B testing! Instagram is enhancing their SEO features as you read this!

How To Sell On Instagram Using Stories In 2022

Stories are a great place to sell for various reasons:

  1. You can develop your list of close friends and acquaintances if Instagram shows your stories to your trusted connections, which are then displayed.
  2. Stories come with features to make your content more enjoyable and engaging for your audience.
  3. You can use stories to build community by hosting fun challenges.
  4. You can build trust by featuring other creators.
  5. By creating a positive environment in your stories, your audience will feel attracted to your brand.
  6. Stories highlights can be turned into call to actions, which will increase your website traffic and conversions.
  7. If you want to sell how-to courses, stories are a great way to tease your course, and drive viewers to your sales page.

Post Often

This will keep your audience engaged and also help showcase how much value you’re adding to the community. It’s important that you post regularly so people don’t forget about what it is that you have to offer!

When posting, keep in mind that your Instagram posts should create curiosity. You will sell, later, via Instagram Stories.

Leverage the power of Reels and ignite curiosity! They are great to drive brand awareness.

Limit Your Instagram Shopping Cart

Since you will be using attraction marketing, we recommend to limit your shopping cart to featured offerings, to build trust by leading with value, not with promotions. Remember, attraction marketing is all about curiosity. Sales will happen, but not like e-commerce. They will happen by leading your future buyer into a journey where they can get inspired- get educated – and make a purchasing decision when they feel like the timing is right.

As you can see, there are many ways to approach the question of “how do I sell a product on Instagram?”. But our advice is to take it back to basics and try attraction marketing. You aren’t selling anything when you use an appeal that attracts people in their feed with your products or services – they just want what you’re offering because they trust in you!

And if one person wants it, then others will too. So let us know how we can help put together a plan for your business today! We have all sorts of ideas about what works well so schedule a call today! 

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How To Get Real Instagram Followers Using Seductive Copy

How To Get Real Instagram Followers Using Seductive Copy

Did you say you want to know how to get real Instagram followers? What about marketing leads and sales from your Instagram marketing? ⁣

Help is coming your way 💸💸💸⁣

More than 200 million Instagram users visit at least one business profile every day, and 90% of Instagram profiles follow at least one brand.

Instagram is the #1 social platform to grow a brand using organic marketing strategies. Organic Instagram marketing is a great strategy for solopreneurs and small business owners looking to grow their brand without breaking their banking account.

How To Get Real Instagram Followers in 2021

 

 

If you’re looking to add visibility to your brand, you certainly want to use Instagram marketing. Your most logical question is “how do I get followers fast?” I get it. The last thing you want is to put in a lot of work and only have 7 followers. That makes no sense!

While it’s logical taking shortcuts to gain Instagram followers fast and free, the key question here is “real Instagram followers”.

Real Instagram followers mean targeted followers. People who could be your clients at some point. Buying followers just to have some numbers to show up for, it’s not a strategy that we recommend unless all you want is to have an account with thousands of users, knowing that they won’t ever be your real followers.

As tempting as it sounds to pay $50 and get 5,000 followers by tomorrow, let’s get you to stay away from that and do try my Seductive Instagram Funnel Strategy instead.

 

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 ⁣

I’m sure you have read from Instagram gurus all kinds of tricks to hack the algorithm. Those tips on how to get hashtags done right, how to get more reach from each post hacking the best times to post, etc, are effective, but they are just tips, not a strategy.

Since you want to grow a real audience, your Instagram marketing plan must be strategic. Would you be open to put in the time to market your business if you knew the specific activities that work? What if those would take you less than 1 hour a day? Would it be worth it?

Do you see? You are willing to put in the work. We just need to create a strategic plan to ignite conversions from your Instagram marketing.

If you want to get real Instagram followers and see cash coming in, content marketing is the way to go.

 

What Is Content Marketing Anyway?

As a matter of fact, content marketing won’t be effective without a content strategy.

I’ve been teaching Instagram marketing and content marketing and one of my favorite concepts to teach is persuasion.

Certainly, when you say “I want real followers”, you’re saying “I want to learn how to win people and influence them”. That is exactly what you want, even when you don’t say it in those exact words.

Is it possible to persuade people on Instagram? Absolutely yes.

When you think seductive, think like “porn”. Anything “porn” ignites your imagination.

Why? These pics cause your brain to crave something that it has not had for a while or that it feels like it needs. This is not wrong because it wants what it needs. But this is food porn and it stimulates your craving. So, now you are craving this food that you can not have, and you keep scrolling through your feed and see a post saying you should eat what you want because your body will always be beautiful, regardless of what you eat.

Food porn gives you cravings!

It’s all science! Our right brain gets activated and starts thinking about food and connects your emotions. ⁣

Well… that’s seduction. ⁣

You certainly can seduce your audience. It takes some technique and practice. But … that’s one of the topics I covered in my new book on Social Selling, called Your Social Visibility Blueprint.

 

 

Instagram Content Strategy – The Seductive Way

The seductive Instagram Marketing Funnel starts with your strategic thinking!

When users are on your page, your goal is to captivate their attention and show them your value in less than five seconds.

Do you think your Instagram page can do that?  Be honest.

The best way to connect with your audience on any other social channel is by mapping their experience, all while considering each stage of their decision-making process.

That is where your content marketing strategy comes handy!

 

Content Marketing Strategy – The Practical Way

Your content is your message. That’s easy! However, the way that message is perceived by your users is what turns this process into a very complex one.

Since we don’t know how each of the users will think about the brand message, I can only focus my content marketing strategy based on the science that we know.

Using the science of persuasion we can eliminate the guess on how to influence people. In other words, when you’re building your content marketing strategy, you can’t miss the elements of persuasion.

The science of persuasion or Science of Influence comes from social psychology. Books and Influence: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini shows us how we can develop our communication skills in order to influence the decisions of individuals.

Here’s a recap of how Dr. Cialdini’s 6 Principles of Persuasion work, and how to use them in your own marketing strategy:

 

  1. Reciprocity
  2. Commitment & Consistency
  3. Social Proof
  4. Liking
  5. Authority
  6. Scarcity

 

A Checklist To Craft Content For Your Instagram – The Seductive Way

 

1- Instagram strategy

Think about your future buyers and ways to activate the science of persuasion, such as:

 

  • Social proof: show your accolades in stories and add them to Instagram stories highlights
  • Authority: share content where your audience can see you as a leader in your industry

One of our most recent authority building campaigns was “Meet The Author”. This was a series of 12 posts dedicated to sharing highlights of our marketing career to tease our audience about the upcoming book. By the end of the series, I had users sending messages with questions!

2- Audience research

Use Facebook’s Audience Insights Tool to define your target audience and do some research. You’ll find out details about which brands do they follow and this will give you ideas for content – knowing that your target audience will receive it well.

By taking an extra step to know what your audience wants, you can activate the science of persuasion by using likeability.

 

3- Instagram Bio

Since your strategy is to raise your influence over those users who are about to find your Instagram, think about ways to influence them in 3 seconds or less.

Note: remember that your Instagram BIO needs to fit in 150 characters or less.

Tips to craft your Instagram Bio

 

  1. Use a professional profile picture
  2. Mention your accolades
  3. Be consistent in your user name and brand
  4. Don’t oversell yourself
  5. Use keywords to activate SEO

See an Instagram BIO idea from Julia McCoy, founder of Express Writers, our #1 content writing partner. They simply get content writing done the right way!

 

 

4- Freebie that converts

One of Cardini’s principles is reciprocity.

What is reciprocity in the science of persuasion?

If a request is preceded by an unexpected gift, it has a greater probability to convince potential customers. The gift will make them feel the importance of returning or reciprocating the favor.

Social norms compel us to respond to a favor with another favor, in order to not be considered ungrateful. Think about your daily life… Isn’t it easier to get a person to do you a favor after you have given them a gift or done something for them? That feeling of obligation makes them more inclined to agree to your request.

An initial favor will be reciprocated many times over in the future.

For that reason, we encourage you to do more freebies and market them in your BIO. Since your goal is not only to attract real followers but also turn them into real customers, a freebie will allow you to activate sales funnels and further develop content for all your sales funnel stages. Mixing email marketing with your Instagram marketing will turn a simple and organic activity into a powerful one. You will be able to nurture your audience and cultivate relationships.

5- Giveaways on Instagram

Instagram giveaways are limited-time promotions in which brands promise to give away a product or service to one (or more) lucky entrants according to a specified set of criteria.

If you want to speed the process of prospecting on Instagram, a giveaway is the way to go!

 

An example of content for a giveaway

 

Giveaway Time
♡ G I V E A W A Y ♡What better way to kick off______ than with a giveaway. 
 We partnered with @______ to give one lucky winner a______________ ✨⠀
To enter:♡ Like this photo ♡ Follow @_____ & @______
♡ Tag as many friends as you want on this post (1 comment = 1 entry)
♡ BONUS: get 10 extra entries when you share this post to your stories, tag us both, & mention the giveaway! (Public accounts only)〰️Giveaway is open WORLDWIDE 🌎 and will run until _________.
Winner will be announced on stories the following Friday. This giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram. Good luck!! 🌸

 

Instagram giveaway pickers

Once you launch your giveaway and its end date, be consistent! We’ve tried several giveaway pickers and Simpliers.com has been very useful.

 

6- Consider done-for-you content (for free)

If the process of elaborating content, especially implementing seduction, feels overwhelming, try using my content planner, with done for you content that you can literally copy and paste and boost your social media!

 

How to get Instagram content for free?

Well, my book has them – a full year, done for you! And it’s technically free! This content will save you literally dozens of hours per month.

Check out an example of one week of content that you will find in my Social Visibility Blueprint, part 4:

 

Week 19

Post 1: Dramatic Joy
Strategy:Promote your business!
Template:
Don’t wanna be dramatic but I’m jumping of joy with this amazing news: MY NEW _____  LAUNCHES ON _______!

Past 2: Best Deal Ever
Strategy: Promote your business!
Template:
Let’s make a deal: Can we trade something?
(Explain how did you come up with the thing you’re about to launch)
____ months later, I’ve decided to stop making excuses and start having fun.
I know I can totally fail at this. But I’m willing to try.
Can we make a deal? I am willing to trade my fear for fun and launch this ______ thing. 
The future is ours for the taking.
Reach out, hold on, and grab tight as it takes you where you want to go.
Are you ready to make this trade?

Post 3: Office Tour
Take a product or a service on a tour and make an amazing picture.
Today we are taking our _____ to (public and popular location). We totally loved the fact that we get to impact people in _______. 

 

Organic Strategies To Get Real Instagram Followers

While content marketing will allow you to be ready to receive strangers, getting Instagram followers will require activities to FIND users from your niche market.

 

Ways to Get Authentic Followers on Instagram

 

  1. Search by hashtags and leave out-of-the-box comments (remember to use seduction)
  2. Follow industry leaders and join a discussion
  3. Join Facebook groups
  4. Leverage email marketing to ask your email subscribers to follow you
  5. Start with your connections – find them on Instagram!

Don’t forget to add offline marketing into the mix!

 

  1. Promotional products
  2. Business cards
  3. Trade shows
  4. Speaking at events
  5. Networking events
  6. Press releases
  7. Workshops
  8. Direct mail
  9. Coupons
  10. Flyers
  11. Cold calling

 

Closing Thoughts on Getting Real Instagram Followers

Instagram and social media channels in general have a lot to offer.

Consider discussing your Instagram marketing strategy with an expert! Here’s my calendar!

 

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How Many Hashtags On Instagram? A Forensic Digital Marketing Answers

Are you wondering how exactly you can find the gold of Instagram Hashtags that everyone talks about? Are you confused about how many hashtags on Instagram? 

Some marketers say it’s 30, but others say don’t do it because it’s spammy. This is very confusing, especially because they don’t tell you a logical reason. 

Spoiler alert! My Instagram Hashtags Cheat Sheet is coming your way. But… numbers truly don’t matter, unless you are using each # with a specific strategy in mind.

I promise! You will get the golden ticket via Instagram marketing, just keep reading! 

Key Elements Of A Successful Instagram Strategy

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of where the gold is, let’s cover the key elements of a successful Instagram strategy and why you need it now more than ever.

Make sure you don’t confuse Instagram marketing with Instagram strategy. As a forensic digital marketing and educator, I can assure you, they are not the same.

Social network marketing is a way for businesses to interact with their target markets over the Internet via various social media platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram (to name just a few).

A social media strategy then must consider how social media can be used and if it is needed:

  1. For social communications internally and externally
  2. To harness value from collaborative relationships
  3. As a tool to manage and monitor brand reputation (internally and externally) 

Setting up your expectations and goals from each channel is the first key element of a successful social media marketing strategy.

4 Most Important Elements Of Your Instagram Hashtag Strategy To Get Followers In 2020

  1. Who do you want to attract?
  2. WITFM (what’s in there for me). What will be the one thing that your users will stop at your account, follow you, and make them come for more?
  3. Metrics and benchmarks so you have a GPS to track your route to success
  4. Amazing content, not just based on what you think but based on your metrics

How Do You Use Hashtags on Instagram?

Don’t feel bad if you don’t know exactly what this # is. This is one of the most asked questions during my social media workshops and webinars.

In information systems, a tag is a keyword or term assigned to a piece of information (such as an Internet bookmark, digital image, database record, or computer file). This kind of metadata helps describe an item and allows it to be found again by browsing or searching. 

A hashtag is a type of metadata tag. Ok…. This didn’t seem too basic…

From a user standpoint, hashtags are used to categorize content, making the discovery of new or related articles and insights easy to do. 

Every time a post has a hashtag at the caption or on the first comment, it will be added to a tag category that makes people find your post. 

Important note: your posts will only be visible in public walls if your profile is public.

Instagram Hashtag Search

What many Instagrams marketers seem to miss is that search engine marketing is applicable on Instagram. 

Search engine marketing (SEM) is a digital marketing strategy used to increase the visibility of a website or a social media channel, in this case.

I know what you’re thinking: Can I really employ the same SEO techniques I use to optimize web pages for a social media app?

Fortunately, you can. 

The trick isn’t shoe-horning Instagram into your existing SEO strategy, but rather to use what you already know about SEO to drive organic growth to your Instagram account. 

Think of Instagram as its own search engine. The platform has built-in search functions that act like its own mini-Google.

You can search and see Instagram search trends. If you are familiar with SEO and Local SEO, you can also use locations to see the top posts and quickly identify a strategy to climb up there!

For now, even if you’re not a digital marketing expert in SEO, just know that you can use the search bar to see the popularity of a hashtag. 

Instagram Hashtags For Likes

Who doesn’t want to feel like the Kardashians? I mean, hello! We all want to reach that level of visibility … but… What is the point behind showing likes?  Read this again.

You certainly can explore what are the top hashtags using a tool like All Hashtag and get ideas to get more likes… but you need to be careful in the application of those #’s.

Adding a # on a post means that your picture will be visible on that # wall. You better watch what else is there before using those #’s with millions of images.

Therefore, when hashtags are used incorrectly, people looking for new content have to dig through irrelevant, miscategorized content to get to what they’re actually looking for. 

You don’t want this bad user experience associated with your brand! 

So, as a forensic digital marketing expert, I say, stay away from this practice. You want to see your very own # planner and explore how they perform. I will discuss this so keep reading!

Top Instagram Hashtags To Attract Real Instagram Followers

Hashtags are supposed to help users to search particular topics and join conversations. When done right, a good hashtag strategy should help you get visible in front of your ideal users. 

Be strategic. Take some time to think about your imaginary buyer. 

  1. Interests
  2. Journey
  3. Vibe
  4. Location
  5. Associations
  6. Influence
Come back later and learn more about my Visibility Planner.

Attract Users Who Are Ready To Buy

Instagram is not Amazon. Users are not there with their credit cards ready to buy. 

If you are not getting users who are ready to buy, maybe you’re reaching users who are not ready for you.

Instagram has users ready to buy! But remember, it’s not like Amazon. They don’t have a credit card in hand and are actively searching for a product or a service.

But…

Great news! More than one in ten users are using the platform specifically to shop or find new products. 

Your future best client is active on Instagram and yes, could buy from you! 

Maybe they are searching for ideas and find your picture. If they stop and click on it, they will come to your profile. That is a conversion!  Of course, you don’t see this activity unless they hit like, comment, or follow you, which might not happen for about 50% of people.

Once they see you, the ball is in your court! 

The Seductive Instagram Marketing Funnel

The game is on. 

When users are on your page, your goal is to captivate their attention and show them your value in less than 5 seconds.

Do you think your Instagram page can do that?  Be honest. 

The seductive Instagram Marketing Funnel starts with your strategic thinking!  

As a forensic digital marketer, I always advise marketers to design their social media channels using Information Architecture Principles. 

Never take a digital marketing plan from anyone. As a business owner, you know your audience best.

Seductive Instagram Marketing

Here is the template we used to seduce users to buy our Social Media Planner.

Who are our raving users?

  1. Entrepreneurs who want to create consistent content. They see themselves as content creators or brands.
  2. For them to be ready to buy, they would be looking for “planner templates”, “planning tips”, “productivity tips”, “business tips”.  
  3. Users who are into personal growth, self-help, positivity, and creativity 
  4. Location: USA
  5. They could be moms and hang out with other moms. Also, they associate themselves with entrepreneurs, agency owners, freelancers, content writers. 
  6. They are considering other planners in the market, such as Erin Condren. Also, they follow content creators and content marketing experts. 

What makes them buy a planner from me?

Following the Visibility Planner example, the imaginary user is considering creating more content. Is actively searching for a social media calendar, social media templates, marketing calendar. 

My imaginary user will like the idea of the planner, but won’t buy from me unless I create an amazing call to action.

How To Turn Users Into Customers

Remember, Instagram users are mostly searching. They are on top of your funnel. Your goal is to lead them as close to you as you can. 

Direct messages are a great option, especially when you are starting. Therefore, get used to having real conversations with your users and invite them for a call.

Collaborate With Other Brands For More Visibility

In our case, we also collaborated with Vcita.com to help them spread awareness about the COVID experience, so that worked very well with our Visibility Planner campaign.

How Many Hashtags On Instagram

You definitely want to attract as many users as possible to your Seductive Instagram Marketing Funnel.

You will be using 30 hashtags. Why? Because … why not. 

The caveat here is how will you turn this magical number into deposits on your banking account.

We recommend dividing them into 6 categories.

  1. Your expertise: what kind of expert would your imaginary user listen to?
  2. Your segment or niche: think about how those users who are actively considering 
  3. Your brand voice: what would get users to join a conversation?
  4. Your content: description of your picture.
  5. Your location: your city or place where you want to do business.
  6. What’s today: leave room for spontaneity! 

Pick 5 of each category so you can get the 30 hashtags.

Hashtags Cheat Sheet

Instagram Hashtags For Realtors

 
 
 
 
 
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🔑 🏡 Tag a #realtor who needs this strategy for yesterday. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ I’m a mentor and coach for professionals, freelancers, entrepreneurs and marketers who have one thing in common: passion for what they do.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ The best way I can describe what I do is by showing you these words of love from some of my clients:⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 💫 I’m on Jessica’s Boot Camp and just one module gave me a strategy that worked like a gem! I’ve doubled my followers and have 2 new clients from just this class! Can’t wait for more! ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 💫 In my first year working with her, I doubled my revenue!⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 💫 Wow! What a year. I have increased revenue 50% over last year. I now know what social platforms will make the most impact on my business and my SEO skills have soared. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 💫 Within one session with Jessica, I had a name for my program, a price and a strategic launch plan!⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ 💫 I always look forward to our mastermind calls and always get nuggets I can use to grow my business.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ ❤️ Marketing relief is coming your way. We can just chat here or have a quick call. ⁣Check link in Bio – Forensic Marketing Session. It’s free. ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣⁣ #socialmedia #marketing #branding #socialmediamarketing #business #marketingdigital #digitalmarketing #joy #purpose #realtor #redvelvet #bizzle #realestate #parksooyoung #purposetour #kidrauhl #belieber #beliebers⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣

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Instagram Hashtags For Life Coaches

 

Best Places To Get Hashtags Ideas?

There are many features to automate the tedious work of searching for hashtags.

Hashtag Generator – a hashtag generator that generates top, random or live hashtags and shows you the best hashtags you need.

Hashtag Creator – helps you create your own hashtags

Hashtag Analytics – analyzes a hashtag to get some analytic information about your hashtag for your marketing strategy.

Top Hashtags – tells you which hashtags are the best and which hashtags are the most popular

If you want to get new followers as quick as possible, we recommend to combine the following tools:

Hashtag generator 

Display Purposes

Later.com

All Hashtag

Don’t forget that Instagram search will also serve as a tool to get hashtags ideas. 

Where Do Hashtags Go? In Comments or Caption?

The question “Instagram hashtags in comments or caption” is very popular. 

My answer: Mix them!

Post some hashtags in your Instagram captions and the rest in the first comment.

While adding hashtags to your posts is one of the best ways to boost your engagement and get your posts in front of your target audience, too many hashtags in your captions can look untidy (or worse, spammy!).

Instead, posting your hashtags in the first comment is a great way to make your caption the star of the show, without compromising any of the engagement you can get with hashtags.

If you have a social media management platform such as Later.com you will be able to automate your post with the first comment with hashtags! 

Be Careful About The Instagram Themes 

Since the boom of influencers on Instagram, it seems like everyone uses the influencer style to boost their channels.

I’m the first to admit that I fell for that! 

I wanted the color-coordinated feed. The beautiful pictures. Well… I was boosting my vanity… but not my banking account. 

In this example, which picture do you think got the most conversions? 

Picture A has 60 ways to get Instagram Followers. Picture B has just me with an inspirational story.

Picture A got viral in just about minutes and I booked 3 appointments within 3 hours of sharing this post.  

Picture B, not so much.  It helped with awareness, but it’s not an authority post. 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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💵 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬? Here’s a list of 60 ways. I can probably come up with 200 but let’s start here. Literally woke up inspired 🦄! ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣ 💫 𝐓𝐚𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐞𝐫 you know who needs this. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ✳️ My short bio: ⁣⁣⁣ Jessica Campos, JD, BBA⁣⁣⁣ Forensic Digital Marketing Mentor & Partner For Purpose-Driven Business Owners Seeking Sustainable Growth & Profits.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ✳️ If you Google me you will find my old videos from 𝐏𝟗𝟎𝐱. That’s how I became obsessed with the online marketing world. Sadly, I put my efforts in a pyramid that collapsed. But I’m grateful for those hardships because they sharpened me to be where I am today. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ✳️ I’ve traveled the world teaching social media marketing. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ✳️ Let’s connect for real. Send me a message! I do NOT use robots it’s me. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ✳️ I’m in the ATX zone and run a Marketing Firm conveniently from my home office. I also host Austin Networking – we are 4,600 business owners. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ✳️ I’m a mom of 4 and happily married to the love of my life. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ✳️ I love partnering with business owners!⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ – #instagramtips #instagram #instagramstrategy #likeforfollowers #marketingtips #socialmediatips #socialmediamanager #smm #facebookmarketing #instagrammarketing #instagramcourse #keynote #morefollowers #realfollowers #givingback #giveawaycontest #giveaways #lifecoachmentor #mentor #ceo #workfromhome

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The more I understand who my audience is, especially their ages and digital preferences, the more I can share content that is relevant for them. Even if it’s not color-coordinated and doesn’t make me look like an influencer.

Be Careful About The Shadowban 

As good as Instagram is, the platform still has plenty of spammers. From time to time, #’s can get blocked and if you use one of them, your post won’t get visibility. This happens typically when you use hashtags for followers. They will activate those spammers and your content will get blocked.

The good news! You can test if you have been banned.

Use this shadowban tester to get out of the doubt.

In Closing

The number of hashtags matters for your social media marketing, but the content you share matters the most for your banking account.

Commit to getting to know your audience and give them what they want!

Virtual coffee? Let’s chat! I would like to discuss your questions!

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Turn On Custom Instagram Notifications Feature To Nurture Your Sphere Of Influence Consistently

From generating new sales leads to finding the perfect recommendation for a service, your sphere of influence can be the driving force behind your success as an entrepreneur.

Your sphere of influence is the fundamental marketing force behind your business success, and just like any other business keeps its fundamentals warm, you need to keep it warm for it to keep producing benefits. 

If you’re wondering how to grow your SOI with your Instagram account, you’re so at the right place. Keep reading! 

Your Sphere of Influence (SOI) Is Not Just About Your Close Friends

They say you’re the result of your closest 5 friends. While this is accurate, when you are in growth mode, meaning, you want to bring new clients to buy your products or hire you, your circle cannot be just those 5 closest friends. This is where the SOI comes handy.

To start your SOI, build a database of people you know (250). This includes everyone. Start with your phone, then check your social media channels. You will be surprised! Then, next to each name grade them A, B or C based upon the last time you spoke to them. Someone you grade an “A” would be someone you feel absolutely sure will refer you, a “C” is your long lost elementary school buddy that you haven’t talked to in over 20yrs. 

Don’t worry is you can’t get too many A’s on that list. That’s about to change once you finish reading this article. So let’s keep going! 

WARNING! Your database might get you excited and you might want to craft a pitch and send it to every breathing human being on that list. I beg you to please DO NOT do it. That is called spam and you will be burning connections instead.  I don’t know about you, but, whenever I get a pitch from someone who I haven’t talked to in a while, I get very irritated. It makes me feel like they are all about a transaction and not the relationship.  

The Confession Letter: How To Get Back In Touch With Old Friends

If you haven’t kept in touch with many of the people you know, don’t worry about it. Life happens, you move, new schools, jobs and you simply lose contact. How do you then call them out of the blue as if nothing had happened? This is where the confession letter comes in.

You craft a letter that admits to your friends or clients that you are taking a new approach to business that puts relationships first. You confess that you haven’t been as proactive in your personal communications as you would like, and that you’ll be keeping in touch much more regularly from now on.

For your various groups, the letter would be written appropriately for each. Try to customize it as much as you can. And one thing … by letter it actually means a real letter, printed, and mailed. Email and chat can work, but if you truly want to go above and beyond to make it up to that connection, it’s better to send them a letter.

Let’s get you committed to getting as many A’s on your database as possible, and here’s how.  

Instagram Can Help You Expand Your Circles Easily

Since Instagram allows people to have public profiles, if you follow them, you will instantly get access to all their content. Note that this does not happen with Facebook or LinkedIn. So, there is no protective wall between you and your future best connection.  Interesting …

So how can Instagram help you grow your SOI with individuals?  

You will want to start with your database. Start with those A’s and B’s. Connect with them on Instagram.  Then, navigate to the suggested connections.

One of the very common questions asked by Instagrammers is how actually Instagram determines suggested profiles? The people you see on your suggested list are sometimes familiar but most of the time they can be random people you do not know. There surely is an algorithm behind how Instagram determines suggested profiles to you.  

Say, for example, you want to connect with people with high net worth. Start by being intentional about the connections you add. Don’t connect with random people, or profiles that don’t show high activity. 

Monitor your follower count and quality. Once you have a good amount of the kind of audience you want to build, say, about 250 great connections, engage with them consistently. A great way to keep up with your connections is by adding them as close friends. In this way you will see notifications of your updates and it will be easier for you to stay in touch with your Instagram followers. 

Follow this strategy, consistently, for about 2-4 weeks and Instagram will send you potential connections who have the same qualities of your current SOI. 

But … Why Do People Unfollow You On Instagram?

In the early days of Instagram Marketing, everyone wanted ways to get more Instagram followers. 

One of the ways to get those most wanted numbers was simply to follow people and then unfollow them so you could look like a celebrity. 

Make no mistake, most micro celebrities earned that status following this method. 

Have you ever received a message from a random person offering you followers for sale? I must admit, I tried that method and realized that it made no sense. Why would you want to add robots? Even when they tell you that you could get people to “follow” you for real, they will unfollow you.

The follow and unfollow game is part of the Instagram Marketing strategy. But for different reasons that, sadly, most business owners still can’t comprehend, due to the excessive misinformation out there. 

It’s Ok To Unfollow Connections 

  1. If you put some effort in engaging with them and they never reciprocate. 
  2. If they are inactive. 
  3. If they don’t have real pictures, especially their profile picture.
  4. If they share content that’s gross, repetitive, boring, and you sincerely dislike them.
  5. Those who are fishing for compliments.

Tips To Avoid The Unwanted Unfollow

  1. Share Instagram-worthy content. This is serious. Instagram is like a magazine. Your audience is not expecting to see your pictures of your scrapbook. 
  2.  
  1. Claim your authority and expertise, starting with your BIO. 
  2. Be strategic with your content.  
  3. Use hashtags to expand your reach.
  4. Engage in comments with like-minded individuals

A Pro Tip To Grow Your Sphere Of Influence And Nurture Those Connections (And Generate Leads On Instagram)

As a social media marketer with over 10 years of experience, I consider myself a master! When I hear tips and secrets, very often, they are not Instagram-only secrets. They apply to social media marketing in general.

One of the rules to generate leads is to engage in conversations just like in real life. Have a system to track the connections to follow up and get conversions.

Facebook allows you to edit your friends list so you can customize your notifications and feed. So does Instagram.

How do I turn notifications on or off for someone I follow on Instagram?

When you turn on notifications for someone you follow, you’ll get a notification every time that they share a photo or video. To turn notifications on or off:

  1. Go to their profile.
  2. Tap Following > Notifications.
  3. Tap next to one of the following to turn notifications on or off:
    • Posts
    • Stories
    • IGTV
    • Live Videos

If you’d like to turn notifications on or off for multiple people, you’ll have to visit each profile and turn them on or off individually. Keep in mind that you may get a push notification when someone you follow shares something for the first time in a while, whether or not you have notifications turned on for that person.

People aren’t notified when you turn notifications on or off for them.

Learn more about managing your notification settings. 

I wrote the Six Golden Rules of Social Media and shared the system I engineered and followed to generate multiple 7 figures in sales using social media marketing.

You might want to watch the recap of my 6 golden rules video!

https://youtu.be/4fBK0xsHeW0

Building your SOI using Instagram marketing will catapult your success. Especially because you can do it without leaving your home. 

Don’t forget that consistency is key to seeing real engagement. You certainly want to have a long term vision for your Instagram marketing strategy, just like any other digital marketing activity.

Strategy Yes, Tactics No!

Gone are the days where marketers promise get-rich-quick tactics. And if you have been following those, I suggest you take the time to craft your Instagram Marketing Strategy.

If you want, let’s keep this conversation on social media. 

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Vulnerability In Social Media. What You Need To Know To Do It Right.

When my husband asked me for a picture of us in 2009, I immediately knew the #10yearchallenge went viral. He is never up to social media trends! So, of course, I wanted to jump into the challenge… until I checked out the stories that people were sharing.

What’s wrong with the #10yearchallenge? 

There is nothing wrong. In a simple answer, you’re just supposed to share a picture side by side comparing your life in 2009 vs your life in 2019. The problem is that the trend went way too far in how people curated their lives.

In case you haven’t checked, go ahead and search on Instagram for the #10yearchallenge. You will the search results and will find Instagram influencers with unbelievable stories!  Based on those search results, you will think that the world turned into a better place within the last 10 years.

This made me wonder… why do most people feel the urge to curate their lives on social media? Don’t we connect better when we are vulnerable and real? Then, why don’t people just show more vulnerability?

If you’re wondering where the line is between sharing your life- raw and vulnerable and attracting people to you- the real you, then keep reading! 

The Mandatory Question: What The Heck Is Vulnerability?

One of the most quoted definitions of vulnerability is from Brené Brown “Vulnerability is about showing up and being seen. It’s tough to do that when we’re terrified about what people might see or think.”

As small children, we are open and free, sharing all of ourselves with others. Until something very painful happens: your best friend reveals your secret to someone and that someone decides to share with everyone. And now you’re exposed. This can be one of the most traumatic experiences for a child. Did you ever experience how is like being exposed and ashamed as a kid? I did… plenty of times.

As we grow and mature, we soon learn that the world can be a very painful place. We learn that not everyone is on our side, and not all situations are going to go our way. We get disappointed and go through growing pains, and that’s how the fear of vulnerability is formed.

Think about your first love. You believed in eternity. You thought this was the only person you could ever loved. And then… You got hurt. 

The fear of vulnerability is ultimately a fear of rejection or abandonment. You have been hurt before, so you seek to minimize the risk of being hurt again.

Why Is Vulnerability A Good Thing, Especially For Your Marketing?

Vulnerability is scary. However, if you are business owners, c-suite executives, leaders, or trying to build a name and a personal brand, vulnerability is needed.

Here’s why:

The well-known neuroscientist, Antonio Damasio stated, “We are not thinking machines that feel rather, we are feeling machines that think.”

Damasio made this discovery: every human decision depends on emotion — every single one. 

We make each choice somatically. In other words, we feel each decision out.

In sum, it’s about EMOTIONS. 

Your personal-vulnerable stories will get you closer to your audience. Even more than your superhero stories. In general, people relate more with struggles than with wins.

Vulnerable Leaders Are Confident 

People who do have a lot of self-confidence, are actually willing to show more of themselves. They’re willing to be vulnerable because they’re not afraid that someone might come in and take advantage of that. A recent set of studies calls this phenomenon “the beautiful mess effect.” It suggests that everyone should be less afraid of opening up—at least in certain cases.

The best example: video marketing! 

Have you ever used video to increase your business? Have you thought about it but decided it wasn’t for you? Did you try it and feel embarrassed and not want to do it again? Even if you are a pro in video marketing, you know that the struggle is real, especially for women!  We need to have the perfect background, the perfect hair and makeup, perfect nails, and of course, the idea of what we are saying. It’s exhausting. 

With video, the more you do it, the more confident you get on camera, and then you learn that it’s ok if you mess up. You laugh and move on.  By the way, I want to add a side note here and feature Barnes Team Media from Austin, Texas. They are educators on how to perform better on camera. You should check them out! Mike & Kim Barnes!

The next time you’re hesitating about sharing a great message on video, just think about the beautiful mess effect.  People love messy! People love reality shows!

But what about your content marketing, in particular, social media marketing, how vulnerable do you really need to be? Where is the line between vulnerability and privacy?

The Golden Rule of Social Media: Be Personal, Not Private 

In my book, The 6 Golden Rules of Social Media, rule #3 is Be Personal, But Not Private. 

We all have that one friend on social media who tells us what she had for breakfast, what she wore to work today, the fight she just had with her mother, the supervisor at her job that constantly calls her out and, you know, I could go on and on about her life, or, just go check her social media pages to tell you exactly what is going on with her. 

This is exactly WHAT NOT TO DO on social media. It is a desperate cry for attention and while you need the attention and you want new visitors to your social media profiles and pages, this is not the way to get it. In fact, this type of behavior attracts the attention you really don’t need.

You need to be more intentional with what you share on social media, especially if you want to attract a high-level profile. 

While you’re here, download a PDF of my book, The 6 Golden Rules of Social Media

Give Your Audience What They Want (It’s 4 Things)

Think about what your friends want to see from you. 

Normally, people are open to know about things that benefit them, such as: 

  1. How to save money
  2. How to make more money
  3. How to save time, or 
  4. How to save efforts. 

Those are the top motivators. You see, it’s not about you! It’s about them.

People don’t want to remember how dramatic your life is or how tough it is to be a parent. We all go through highs and lows. People don’t want constant reminders of your lows; especially when you have poor judgment on your images.

Your friends don’t need to see your c-section scar, bleeding, to know that you have a baby and it was a c-section. 

You are entitled to a private life that you share with your family and close friends, away from your business. Do not cross the line of displaying your private life on social media.

Marketing is all about igniting human connections. You want to activate the power of emotions by being a human, to ignite those connections and then, give your audience what they want. 

Is that simple! If you’re a content creator, having a clear understanding of how to humanize a brand without crossing the line is very important.

My Vulnerable #10yearchallenge

 
 
 
 
 
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My #10yearchallenge ⁣ ⁣ Disclaimer: Do not believe everything you read. People are sharing on this 10 year challenge what’s convenient. They want you to believe that life is like going on an elevator and you get older and everything gets fixed. ⁣ ⁣ That’s not true. ⁣ ⁣ 2009 – 2019 Was a very hard period. I was either pregnant, or coming out of a pregnancy. ⁣ Trying to figure things out.⁣ ⁣ ——⁣ Career wise, a roller coaster. Won a lot and lost a lot. ⁣ ⁣ —-⁣ ⁣ I’m grateful for the blessings but I’m more grateful for the adversity I’ve lived over the last 10 years. It has sharpened me to be who I am today. ⁣ ⁣ —-⁣ ⁣ So… the picture! 2009 we came to Austin to visit some family. They took us to Mount Bonell. We were living in Connecticut and honestly this trip planted the seed of us moving to Austin. ⁣ ⁣ We moved in 2013 when I was pregnant of Priscilla. ⁣ ⁣ We were a family of 4 and now a family of 6 and 2 dogs. And yes, we ended the rat race which is a big win! ⁣ ⁣ But again, there were plenty of challenges too. ⁣ ⁣ I hope to read your 10 yr story! Tag me! #10yearchallenge #adecade #growing #growthmindset #mondaymotivation #instagood #inspiredaily

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I wish I could tell you that in 10 years, I moved a magic wand and my life changed mysteriously.  Well, that’s not true.

I wish I could tell you that in 10 years, I went from my 30’s to my 40’s and I retired with millions of dollars in the bank. This isn’t the case. I had multiple wins between 2010-2013 and several losses in 2014. Those generated plenty of changes for all of us. Changes that were scary, but we are now grateful for all.

I wish that in 10 years I didn’t find myself 50 pounds heavier, and still struggling with my diet. But that’s not the case.

In reality, I can claim some wins. More wins than losses. But I would be a fraud if I tell you everything has been incredibly great. Our family of 6 has seen adversity.  It’s extremely difficult pursuing your personal goals, business goals while raising a family with intentionality.  I wish more people were real when sharing their #10yearchallenge.

My goal for the next ten years is to be present. To be real. To be vulnerable.  This might explain why my personal Facebook is off. I want to figure some things out before I go ahead and create content: for whom?

The last decade was all about growing a massive audience. For some reason, it doesn’t serve me well. I’m all about quality, not quantity.

I have realized how much I love being a small business owner, in particular, a solopreneur and how much I love helping others succeed; especially those who need me the most.

This is me- the real me. With grammatical errors and a crazy accent.

Being vulnerable has opened plenty of doors for me. I wish I had known this 9 years ago, when I was hiding my mistakes, my accent, and tried to be someone else.

If you’re in the process of building a personal brand, take vulnerability seriously and build an audience that you can connect with. Find that line that allows you to connect with your tribe, for real. And just focus on being you, just a little bit better each day.

Don’t Forget This Marketing Secret

The most important element of your content marketing strategy or social media marketing strategy is your reputation. Without great customer service and a great reputation, every marketing effort will be worthless.

Explore my new Business Accelerator Program! Click here or the image below!

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If You Want To Grow Revenue, Here’s How You Should Be Posting On Instagram

Are you wondering if Instagram has more to offer than playing with images and hashtags? Looking for Instagram marketing tips that can actually get you clients?  

With modern social media strategies, millions of people tend to believe that likes, comments, and clicks will help to achieve more revenue on Instagram. I’m sure you’re starting to question those “strategies”.  You should!  

To put it bluntly, clicks are not clients. 

No matter how much noise you are making on Instagram, if you are not connecting with users who are interested in knowing more about your products or services, you’re not growing a business. You might be just feeding your ego. 

In this article I want to put the Instagram hype to rest and instead, show you an Instagram marketing strategy that will take you to experience growth revenue, not just background noise. 

Let’s dive into this basic formula.

1. Why Do You Have An Instagram Business Account?

I guess this seems like a very basic question, but mandatory when it comes to defining revenue goals. You want to cut the noise and truly define what is social media used for when it comes to business. 

Ask yourself why are you really on social networks, in particular in Instagram?

Are you doing it to promote your business? Get more leads? Create a fan base? Help your business flourish? Connect with your clients on a more personal level? Your answers should be yes to all of the above. 

But in order for your business to grow, you need to have clear and measurable goals within your marketing strategy. At the same time, those goals should be attainable and realistic, just like the SMART criteria when you set any goal.

A great initial goal is brand awareness, as it should be! In fact, 74% of small and medium sized businesses say their top goal on social media is brand awareness.

Let’s say that you want to achieve brand awareness with your Instagram business account. In simple words, what you want is to generate a comfortable platform that your potential customers can relate to. Keep in mind, your future buyers will search your social media accounts and your website. 

Why should you always have your website and social media accounts updated? 94% of people don’t trust outdated websites. (MyTechlogy)

Now, why businesses need a solid Instagram marketing strategy to increase revenue and generating leads, besides brand awareness?

  • ✔️It has over a billion active users.
  • ✔️You can encourage your audience to respond to the content you post – something that applies to their lifestyle.
  • ✔️Users can easily shop on Instagram.
  • ✔️The platform makes talking to customers very easy, whether you are private messaging them or liking/replying to comments.

Take some time thinking about your why. This will motivate you to have an open mind and even take some Instagram courses along the way! 

2. Who Is Your Target Audience? Define Your Future Buyer.

At the brand awareness level, the best way to connect with your ideal users is not by profiling them one by one and seeing if they meet your criteria. 

You never know who needs your services, if they know someone who needs your services, or if they are purchasing a product from you for someone else. 

You want to earn trust from them. It all starts with finding ways to ignite conversations with like-minded individuals.

There are tons of ways to utilize your Instagram that will help you ignite conversations. Businesses usually overlook hashtags for example. Hashtags are one of the easiest ways to find people to connect with.

For example, we just got a new puppy. I don’t sell dog products, but I still can use dog-related hashtags to ignite conversations with other users that have dogs. Since we will have that in common, it will be easier to connect and have a conversation. Just like real life! Come and check the post here!

Get the point? And the main point of this article is to engage. Engage, engage, and do some more engaging. 

Comment on your own posts, reply to followers, comment on other people’s posts. You want to be friendly and approachable, and you want your business to have a face/voice behind it that makes consumers attracted to what you’re offering.

3. What Are The Demographics Of Your Target Audience (Why Does It Matter?)

It is true that Instagram has over a billion users. However, we need to be aware of or their demographics. 90% of Instagram users are below 35 years old. This is a key factor to consider if you’re targeting a mature audience.

In theory, social media is for all ages. However, let’s face it, different generations and age groups expect different content and engage with content in a much different way.

To make it simple, let’s narrow this plan to four different age group generations:

Baby Boomers (Roughly 50 to 70 years old)

Generation X (Roughly 35 – 50 years old)

Millennials, or Generation Y (18 – 34 years old)

Generation Z, or iGeneration (Teens & younger)

I know that you have heard that Instagram is all about visuals and hashtags. You need to take that advice very carefully. One size doesn’t fit all here. 

We need to understand how age groups like to consume content.

  • ✔️Baby Boomers – Simplified design – want to find out information easily.
  • ✔️Generation X – Enjoy clear and concise information- Enjoy comparisons and reviews/ testimonials.
  • ✔️Millennials aka Generation Y – React to incentives and offers- Brevity is key – want information quickly.
  • ✔️Generation Z aka iGeneration – Often enjoy whatever is most popular as they will be embracing this first-  Enjoy visual and interactive experiences (Click, click!!!!) 

If you’re targeting a mature audience (Generation X or Baby Boomers), Instagram will be the place where your audience do “window shopping” but it won’t be where they swipe their credit cards! Your Instagram marketing strategy needs to be tailored to attract these generations. 

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Do NOT follow what Instagram coaches tell you on the tactics. When you want to drive sales, you need to be more focus on what your users want. Not what Instagram Gurus think that your users want. That’s a totally different game! 

Not sure if you’re posting on Instagram the right way? Get a free Instagram Health Check!

4. What Do They Want To Talk About?

It’s very important to consider what you’re talking about and who you’re reaching out to, but most importantly, what are your potential customers interested in and how do they prefer to have those conversations?

Have you noticed that some of the most popular posts on Instagram are about life reflections, sentimental, and emotional and they typically have a model with an amazing picture? That’s the kind of content that appeals to a certain generation. But warning! You don’t need to post like that !!!!

I’ve found a very helpful guideline to content by generation that can be useful to craft your content to your target audience.

Baby Boomers

Guides/ books – more detailed text

Testimonials and Reviews

Video (longer lengths & more detail, if useful)

Generation X

Testimonials and Reviews

Video content (again, longer content OK if useful, otherwise keep it short)

Email newsletters

Blogs

Concise information – overviews, facts etc.

Millennials aka Generation Y

Video (short)

Promotional emails & discounts

Blogs (shorter)

Social media

Lists and facts

Emotional content – i.e. (real life perspectives, stories)

Beneficial content i.e. recipes, checklists, guides

Generation Z aka iGeneration

Social media

Videos (very short)

Quizzes

Memes

Imagery – photographs, graphics, (Instagram) 

If there’s something I want you to achieve from reading this article today is making the decision of targeting your demographics by generation. Who do you want to connect with on Instagram? Your answer will help you refine your marketing strategy and most importantly, your content.

The truth is, you can know using analytics and data what your user wants. We don’t need to invent this! And this is the part, I believe, that separates those marketers who market to make noise, from the ones who market to drive sales

5. How Do You Attract Your Audience?

I hope you’re ready for a big “aha moment”.  Instagram isn’t a platform where you post and all the sudden leads come to your inbox! 

You look – it’s as simple as that. Don’t wait for them to come to you. 

Like previously mentioned, you can find them by using simple searches, related posts, and hashtags. Build a connection with these people – they are your potential buyers/clients. Figure out what you have in common with them and use it as a pivotal conversation point. I’ll say it one more time…engage. 

6. The Right Way To Post On Instagram

If you’re here, this means you know your demographics and what do they want. The right way to post will be the way your users want to experience it.

  • ✔️Use your best visuals! Choose the best looking pics. But, where is the crowd?

  • ✔️Search the hashtags that are the most relevant to your topic and discover trending posts. What do they have in common? In case you need a hashtag finder, try Display Purposes. It’s a great tool to find hashtag ideas by popularity. Just one thing to remember, always search trending posts on that hashtag.

  • ✔️Your caption! Here is where your content marketing fits in! Remember to talk to your generation! Once you have a masterpiece of a caption and have your picture ready, go ahead and post! But…don’t leave yet!

  • ✔️Now that you’ve posted, find people who are posting about the same topics you are. Imagine you’re at a party and you’re in a group of people talking about your favorite Netflix show. What do you do? You’re going to observe, comment, and join the convo!

Learn this method! SSSF= Share, Search, Speak, Find. It will be easy to remember!

How To Turn Your Instagram Users Into Customers?

The strategy we are covering today fits a game plan that will get you to find users and generate brand awareness. However, once you reach to a great number of users who are engaged consistently (say about 1,000 users), we will jump from organic engagement to paid engagement. This means Facebook Ads.

With Facebook Ads you can build a custom audience based on your Instagram Engagement. This means that your ads will be seen by users who have engaged with your Instagram, but that also meet certain interests or behaviors. 

Your Instagram users have a Facebook account. And if you’re targeting a mature audience, they rather engage with you on Facebook. So now you can combine this plan with your Facebook marketing strategy. 

Perhaps your next advertising campaign for those Instagram users who are more mature and have an active Facebook is to offer them a Guide or showcase a testimonial.  

You will be surprised by how powerful testimonial ads can be. One of my clients reached $1M this in 9 months just using testimonial ads.

Takeaway Notes

See? Boosting your Instagram by thinking outside of the social media box is simple, it just needs to be relearned. Honestly, it’s no different than talking to peers in real life. Instagram is an extremely fast-paced, but if you do this regularly (at least five times a month) you will find an amazing tribe!

There’s so much noise on Instagram.

The reality is, there’s no right or wrong when it comes to marketing your brand on this platform. You do what you gotta do in order to engage in conversations with the people who truly matter to you and your business.

This blog is full of great strategies so make sure you subscribe to be the first to know when we publish new content.

 

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Everything You Need To Know About Local Influencers (List of Local Influencers of Austin Texas)

True story: I’m in conversations with the management of a very popular local business in Austin, about planning an event.  During the process, I was asked a question that made me stop and think.

The question was, “Are you an influencer?” 

My instant response was, “What do you mean?” So they said, “How did you turn yourself into an influencer?  How does your influencer events work? What is your process? We want to know, because we hear a lot about influencers and see them on Instagram but we don’t really understand how does that work.”

Bingo! I then understood the nature of their question. I told them my story.

This makes me feel very old, but I had to clarify, I became a brand ambassador during a period that people didn’t even know that word meant, back in 2009-ish. I never planned to NOT work as an attorney, but my success, which was a result of recommending products, working from home and spending time with my babies, made total sense. Who wants to divorce people when you can make more money taking selfies and doing creative videos? NO ONE! 

How did I become an influencer? 

I clarified to them, I am not an Instagram Influencer. I consider myself a professional marketing strategist who has a background in law and business, that happens to be a natural connector and is passionate about helping people.

I know that some people think that influencer is a buzzword, but actually, influencer marketing isn’t new. What has changed is the number of people that have “influence” in this modern age of media. And now, our ability to measure the impact of influencer marketing has .increased and morphed into what we once knew as the ability to influence.

If you’ve ever been in direct sales, you probably were presented with a Get it Started Guide at some point and were asked to make a list. If you were a top recruiter, you know about the Memory Jogger.

I did direct sales for about 6 years and was a top recruiter. I used to teach a lesson on how to enroll 20 people in 30 days and it all had to do with ONLY prospecting influencers FIRST. Not family and friends. That strategy got duplicated and it was one of the ingredients of our recipe for success.

The conversation I had with these business owners inspired me to write this article. So buckle up and get ready to read my manifesto about the power of micro and local influencers these days.

So What Makes Instagram Influencers So Popular These Days?

Instagram influencer marketing is a $1.7 bn industry, and shows no signs of slowing down. Google searches for Influencer Marketing grew 1500% over 3 years, according to Influencer Marketing Hub.

And while these numbers speak for themselves, the number one question that most people ask is: what exactly is an influencer? Here are the 5 traits I consider, before calling someone an influencer.

The 3 Types of Influencers

Since Instagram Influencers is such a buzzword when you first think of social media influencers, you likely picture individuals with flawless Instagram aesthetics, and follower counts in the millions. That’s the perception of most people, however, there are different kinds of influencers that exist:

✔ Celebrities. Think, for example, The Kardashian Effect.  

✔ Micro Influencer. The emerging stars.  Most in this category are personal brands who have a significant group of followers who trust in their recommendations. They can also be called brand ambassadors. You can find them by mostly searching under popular hashtags and will notice that they have gotten some posts viral (not always organic).

✔ Local Influencers. Local influencers are leaders in their community. This concept refers to those who have an active voice in their community. They might not consider themselves as an influencer (but they are).

Despite the various types of influencers, they have things in common: 

✔They are passionate about their interests, are wildly authentic, and genuinely engage with their audience.

✔They have earned the trust and respect from their audience (so they can influence them). 

✔Their influence is due to their authentic connection with their audiences, developed by being a leader or expert in a particular field, and directly engage with their community.  

One thing to remember: influence is directly related to leadership. Would it be more accurate to then make a difference between Instagram influencers and local leaders? 

I say yes, to end with the confusion! 

Local Influencers Are In High Demand

More than 65% of businesses say they find it challenging to find relevant and suitable micro-influencers or local influencers. 

I believe that business owners are very open to adding influencer marketing to their marketing endeavours; but they don’t understand how it works. In some cases, they have reached out to Instagram influencers because they hear the buzzword, without a clear strategy, and don’t see the expected results.

Small Business Owners Should Implement An Influencer Marketing Strategy

Small business owners very often spend many resources in their location, operations, staff, and management, and leave their marketing for the end of their priorities, with very limited budgets.  So it makes sense for them to rely on the audience from influencers to push their products or services, instead of paying for expensive Google Ads or Facebook Ads. This is Eespecially true if they are in an industry where their cost per click is prohibitive (fashion, makeup, luxury brands).

Social media influencers are a great addition to a marketing campaign, but in my opinion, this can’t be the only piece of their marketing strategy.  

How To Find The Right Local Influencers (Or Leaders)

Define your goals. 

Do you want to drive traffic to your location or website? Online or offline? 

Some influencers have an amazing online presence, but they have no offline presence. So you need to make sure that you define your goals and if, for example, you want to host an event and want the influencer to invite people to your event, clarify if they are experienced in hosting events. This is a very particular skill set that will be needed.

Launch your influencer marketing campaign to a niche

Even when your audience is all women from 25-75 years old, you don’t want to launch an influencer marketing campaign to such a broad crowd. Be specific as much as you can so you can have the right influencers representing your campaign.

Build Your Influencer Marketing Playbook

The more equipped you are for this campaign, the more successful it will be. Define clearly what is the message that you want. For example your brand, your story, facts about your business, all of those are pieces of information that you need to provide to the influencer, so they can share a very clear message. 

Create a folder where you can add all the information about your business and share with the potential influencers.  Get into the habit of tracking your activities by adding codes or links, for example.

Interview Process

Your business is special. Your audience is special. If you are working with a local influencer, call them for an interview. Again, their main quality should be charismatic. But what if they are not? We see so many cases where people are amazing in pictures, but they are completely the opposite in real life.

Another factor to consider is their values. I love this definition by Paul O’Brien, one of the listed top influencers of Austin.

To recap, Instagram influencers are not necessarily Local influencers. Local influencers, not only have followers who like them and trust in them, but they go the extra mile to help others.

Are you ready to meet some of the top movers and shakers of Austin?

Meet Some Amazing Austin’s Local Influencers (Summer 2019 edition)

Since I have no choice but claiming the influencer status, I want to shout out to some powerful leaders in our Austin community and local influencers, in case you are considering adding influencer marketing to your business and need a voice for your message!

Follow them closely! 

Ellen Smoak Founder & CEO of The Society of Women Entrepreneurs — Austin’s largest community of female businesses owners.

Lani Rosales Has been named in the Inman 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders several times, co-authored a book, co-founded BASHH and Austin Digital Jobs.

Julie Larkin Niehoff Speaker, author, and marketing coach, named one of America’s Top Small Business Influencers by Small Business Trends magazine in 2011, and founder of Local Biz Camp.

Paul O’Brien Founder of MediaTech Ventures, listed in the top 25 successful online marketing experts.

Cash Matthews Founder of The Solomon Group and creator of Money University. Cash also leads one of the top fun and productive networking events, Austin BONG.

Lisa Copeland Powerful female keynote speaker, a business leader and a dedicated pioneer in sales and brand strategy. Lisa also leads Big Sellers Mastermind Group.

Ricky Aviles Vice President at Novo Dia Group and leader of BNX Network.

Jamie Steele Professional organizer, and president of NAPO Austin.

Emily Montgomery, A power connector and leader in the healthcare industry, president of Cedar Park’s BNI Chapter, Lonestar Go Givers.

Lauren Johnson Pryor Real estate leader and founder of Austin’s The BOMB. 

Enid Jones Professional photographer and a powerful connector who is into serving others first. Follow her on Instagram!

Brian Johnson Think Great, Lose Weight with over 100,000 followers around his social media platforms. A great content creator and active networker.

Darlene Templeton  Speaker, coach, business consultant, and founder of Amazing Women Alliance.

Jennifer Hutchins TV producer, Leader in branding, networking, fundraising, pitching, and creating projects & characters that rise above the rest.

Julia McCoy, Founder of ContentHacker.com and Expresswriters.com, named by LinkedIn as top content marketing experts, keynote speaker, and an amazing friend to many.

Monica Peña Founder of MUNDU Media, active leader, event producer, and leader of North Austin Influencers.

Elisa Sepulveda A community builder who thrives on mobilizing people toward a common goal.

John P Garrett Founder of Community Impact Newspaper. He has been named Best CEO by the Austin Business Journal and a Distinguished Young Alumnus by Sam Houston State University.

David Poku Founder of ATX Food Truck Fest, a community builder, event producer, and advertising genius. 

Jessica Campos, founder of Austin Networking – Professionals & Entrepreneurs, a natural leader, recovered attorney who now does Forensic Digital Marketing.

So here’s the list of local influencers of Austin, Summer 2019 edition! Check out their communities, attend to their events, and reach out! They are successful leaders, connected, and believe in giving first!

If you know a leader in Austin who is giving-first oriented and have an active community, please reach out! We want to expand the list!

We are always into planning amazing events in Austin, Texas, connecting local business owners, so follow our events page! 

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Is It Possible To Buy Instagram Followers? How Do Buying Real Followers Work?

You might know that your social media marketing strategy isn’t complete without a powerful Instagram account. You’re tempted to buy Instagram followers or even by getting free Instagram followers, but you’re not sure about how it works, or even if it’s a good move for your social media strategy.

To answer your first question, yes, it is possible to buy real followers.

When my clients ask me if they should buy followers, my first question is WHY? Why exactly do you think you need to buy followers?  Their answers have been:

✔ My account is new and I don’t think people will take me seriously with an account that has a few followers.

✔ I’ve been trying to follow some of the best organic practices like commenting on people’s posts, sending messages, but my account doesn’t really grow.

✔ I have heard that I should buy followers so that my account can have the 10,000 users and I can get the swipe up feature.

I get it. You want to see big numbers. I agree with you. So let me cover in the rest of the article everything you need to know before you buy real Instagram followers.

Digging Deeper Into Your Instagram Strategy

Time is the most precious asset we all have. The last thing you want, especially if you’re the one in charge of marketing your business, is wasting your time.

Every great social media marketing strategy starts with GOALS. When it comes to Instagram marketing, this platform can serve you to funnel connections, with 3 different goals:

✔ You want to use Instagram as a channel to get people to visit your website.

✔ You want to promote your products or services directly on the platform.

✔ You want to be known by more users to expand your brand and your message.

Which one is your goal with this social media channel?

Instagram Funnel For Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

If this is the first time you’ve heard of SEO, it pretty much means Google (yes, Yahoo Bing and other navigators, but mostly Google). Search engine optimization is the process of increasing the quality and quantity of website traffic by increasing visibility of a website or a web page to users of a web search engine.

Instagram marketing can be part of your SEO and website traffic strategy. To activate this funnel, you need:

✔ A business account with over 10,000 followers to activate the swipe up.

✔ A great content marketing plan with strategic long tail keywords to turn your users into readers.

✔ Instagram stories with links so that users can visit your website.

Your actionable metrics will be:

✔ Target audience

✔ Followers

✔ Users reached

✔ Website sessions

Buying real followers in order to grow your Instagram profile for SEO purposes is something I recommend, but with a lot of warnings. It can be done, completely legit (without getting suspended) but it needs to be done right.

Marketers don’t share their buying sources because it’s common practice by Instagram to monitor those services and shut them down. But they do exist and they work.  You can get 10,000 followers in a week. They will be targeted based on a hashtag or based on followers who follow a targeted brand.

You could buy Instagram ads, but they don’t seem to drive such a great service to get more followers, in comparison to the other methods to buy followers. Another big plus is that you can buy followers cheap.

Typically, I recommend this strategy for service-based businesses who have an established content marketing strategy in place.

The negative side of this strategy, when you buy followers, is that your account will experience a low engagement rate; but that should totally be ok with you since you’re not basing your strategy on that metric. Your metric is website traffic.

You will also need to track and analyze your Google Analytics account, using the channel grouping feature so you can measure the ROI of your Instagram Marketing efforts.  

What do I do before I hit the 10,000 followers? Can I add links (swipe up feature) to my story without the 10K followers?

Yes, you can have swipe up before hitting your 10K followers mark. You can use IGTV. Read my tutorial here.

Watch my FREE webinar on demand, Why You Need 10,000 Followers and How To Get Them
Watch my FREE webinar on demand, Why You Need 10,000 Followers and How To Get Them

Instagram Funnel To Build Your Revenue

Since most of Instagram’s users are millennials, if you’re marketing to that audience, especially fashion and beauty, building a funnel to get more users on your e-commerce funnel sounds like a great goal.

Keep in mind, that just sharing photos and videos won’t create and instant delivery of the results you’re expecting.

The essence of successful e-commerce marketing lies in knowing your potential customers well.

✔ Where are they in their buyer’s journey?

✔ What are their main problems?

✔ How can you solve those problems for them?

✔ And so on.

I like how Julia McCoy from Express Writers wrote on her Granular Guide To Creating A Buyer Persona  

When you answer these questions, you’ll know how to convince potential buyers to take the next desired action.

What if you can’t answer all the questions about your buyer persona?

If you can’t answer all your questions about your buyer persona, there is a good chance that you need to focus on other business activities to get more clients.

Now, let’s assume you know your buyer persona and you want to monetize them.

Affiliate Marketing is a great way to monetize your Instagram Account. This is a very common in an influencer marketing strategy.  

Instagram isn’t a shopping app like Amazon, Etsy, or Wish. When you visit Amazon, you’re ready to buy. However, when you’re navigating on Instagram, you’re not necessarily looking to buy. You might; if you feel inspired and influenced enough to take action.

I’ve seen great results from influencer accounts who promote affiliate links to market their fashion styles.  If you’re open to monetize your audience with affiliate marketing, here are some websites who offer great commissions.

To activate this funnel, you need:

✔ A business account with a real audience who like you, trust you and believe in you.

✔ An impeccable feed with amazing visuals.

✔ Cutting-edge hashtags strategy.

✔ A real audience who can relate to you, so you can inspire and influence.

Your actionable metrics will be:

✔ Target audience

✔ Followers

✔ Users reached

✔ Link in bio clicks

Should you buy real followers if you want to make money with affiliate marketing?

No. I would not recommend buying followers for an e-commerce or affiliate marketing funnel.

Your goal is based on quality vs quantity. You want to have real conversations with your audience. I recommend Instagram ads to drive people to visit your link in bio, on top of other organic strategies to grow your account (except for buying followers).

Instagram Funnel For Brand Awareness

Brand awareness refers to the extent to which customers are able to recall or recognize a brand. Brand awareness is a key consideration in consumer behavior, advertising management, brand management, and strategy development. Wikipedia.

If your business is working toward better brand awareness and you’re doing everything possible to grow your audience on social media, it’s critical you get granular about your message, your target audience, and the metrics you need to watch in order to measure your ROI from social media.

Personal brands can have great success with this Instagram funnel. You’ve probably heard about micro celebrities and micro influencers of Instagram.

Brands and small business owners are considering influencer marketing as a way to grow their business.

Unlike celebrities with hundreds of thousands or millions of social media followers, micro-influencers may have anywhere from 1,000 to 50,000, possibly more. While the exact numerical definition varies among experts, statistics suggest smaller niche players may wield more influence when it comes to effective social media marketing.

Micro-influencers drive engagement, which is key in influence marketing, according to digital marketing solutions firm MediaHub. Retail and entertainment clients saw about 50 percent higher engagement using micro-influencers, the firm said last year in a post on its parent organization’s website.

If your goal is to become a micro influencer, then a branding awareness funnel is where to start.

To activate this funnel, you need:

✔ A business account with a real audience who like you, trust you and believe in you.

✔ An impeccable feed with amazing visuals.

✔ Cutting-edge hashtag strategy.

✔ A real audience who can relate to you, so you can inspire and influence.

Your actionable metrics will be:

✔ Target audience

✔ Followers

✔ Users reached | impressions

✔ Engagement

Engagement, Reach, and Impressions, which metric matters?

Reach is the total number of people who see your content. Impressions are the number of times your content is displayed, no matter if it was clicked or not.

Think of reach as the number of unique people who see your content. In a perfect world, every one of your followers would see every piece of content you posted.

Unfortunately, that’s not how things work on social, and not all of your followers will see every single post you publish. For instance, Groupon has 17 million followers, but their organic content doesn’t come close to getting that number of engagements because only a fraction of their audience sees it.

However, an impression means that content was delivered to someone’s feed. A viewer doesn’t have to engage with the post in order for it to count as an impression. Also, one person could have multiple impressions for a single piece of content.

Best Practices for Instagram Insights

Instagram Insights can help businesses learn more about their followers, find out the types of content their audience enjoys, and learn more about how people engage with their business on Instagram. The three primary insights you can use in this tool are:

Discovery: This insight measures how many people have seen your content and where they find it. The main things considered are the reach and impressions of your content. Reach is the number of unique accounts that have seen your posts. Impressions are the total number of times your posts have been seen.

Interactions: This insight measures the actions taken on your account from a certain length of time. Actions can include profile visits and website clicks.

Audience: Insight on your audience can help you inform about your potential customers, where they are located, and give you insight on your current Instagram followers.

At this level, when you’re growing your brand awareness, pay attention to the reach, more than any other metric. Also, keep in mind, that Instagram uses hashtags boards, so your content will be placed on boards and it will be discoverable. This is why you can see people interacting with a post that is a year old (for example).

What if I’m in a rush to grow brand awareness and monetize my audience?

Some business owners want to drive quick results; especially local business owners. If you’re a local business (franchise, brick and mortar, spa, dentist, medical practice, attorney), you still want to use Instagram marketing, but this won’t be your only source to drive visits to your location or calls to your office.

You will require a granular digital marketing strategy that integrates social media with other avenues like SEO, Google Adwords, and event marketing.

I love recommending SEO for 2 reasons: it’s scaleable and once it hits results, your traffic comes from passive efforts. The only downside: it’s a lot of work.

When is it recommended to buy followers?

In closing, if you’re using Instagram marketing as a funnel for your SEO, since this isn’t your main source of traffic and you won’t be counting on a mirco-influencer status, buying followers will be the best route to take, to accelerate in your traffic.

Once you have the 10K followers, you can change your game plan to drive real awareness, following the brand awareness funnel game plan as explained above.

This educational piece is part of my #summersocial series. Follow my Instagram stories to never miss an article!

Can I schedule a consultation with you to discuss my Instagram strategy?

Yes, of course. You can use my scheduler bar on this page, or simply click here.