It can be really hard to go through all the digital clutter to find the answers you’re looking for. I’m so glad I started this series on my Instagram Reels to help people in my community over on Instagram. As many of you may already know, one thing I love to repeat over and over is that we do not own the space we have on social platforms. We don’t even pay rent! But what we do own is our websites. We pay for the domains, hosting and the platform it lives on. Having said that, I realized all the digital gold that lives on my social channels and the lack of giving it space on my own website. I hope to update my blog readers with the same tips and tricks, or a bit more trendy, let’s call them hacks. Whether you’re a blogger, influencer or a business. I hope these tips help you to reach your social media goals on Instagram. Tag me in your efforts on social media, I would love to share them!
how to use Instagram for business
Instagram Profile Hack
A big part of your brand image is the way your profile looks at first glance. That first glance is a big deal. It’s your digital first impression to potential customers, companies who may want to work with you and most importantly your audience and community. Have you done an audit for your Instagram profile? A quick Instagram profile hack to remove titles for your highlights, especially if the title are within the highlight cover.
Those dots instead of a highlight title as a filler were so messy! If you’re also using something as a filler title (emoji perhaps?) on your highlights then you can clean that all up with this Instagram profile hack.
Go to emptycharacter.com and under method 1, tap “copy to clipboard”. Go back to Instagram, click on your highlight cover, and now title name, paste what you copied and save. That’s how you leave that area empty.
This summer I had lots of fun catering to my sweet tooth in Toronto. So many new ice-cream shops popped up in the last few years. With so many to choose from, I’ve narrowed them down to this summers favourites. Here are my 5 Toronto Ice-Cream shops you won’t regret trying. Call me crazy, but I’ll be going back to these places this Fall/Winter:
1. BANG BANG Ice-Cream
Location: 93A Ossington Ave
I remember the first time I came here with our dear friends, it was a cold Saturday afternoon some time in the Winter/Fall. There was a line up out the store, down the street. That should say a lot on its own of how good this place is.
It’s not big inside, very minimal space to sit or stand. It didn’t matter, we ate ours just outside the shop.
cookies to choose from
We went with the ice-cream sandwiches. You choose the cookie and ice-cream combo and
I was on a mission to try their cookie monster ice-cream! One of the things I remembered about the cookie monster ice-cream was that it wasn’t overly sweet and the cone was my absolute favourite part!
Inside the shop you’ll find about 5 – 10 seats and a huge chalkboard menu/graffiti. Feel free to write your name on the wall or whatever.
The wackiest ice-cream shop I ever saw. With Aladdin on his magic carpet, vintage decor and overall known to be a children’s fantasy land. You pick your ice-cream flavour, pick a cone and then pick your toppings.
A post shared by Lifestyle • Fashion • Beauty (@humjk) on
There was a long line-up for this place and very little space inside the shop, but there’s a bench right outside if you have someone to wait for. I love that this place has so many creative flavours that actually taste good! Plus, when’s the last time you saw a lit candle on an ice-cream cone?
The digital age where social media has become a huge part of our generation, the opportunity curve is going through the roof for the guy/girl next door becoming famous overnight over an uploaded video, tweet or instagram post.
My Facebook feed had this one article that was being shared over and over again by different people and even made it to a few of my whatsapp group conversations. A YouTuber becomes famous and some of the videos have a word for word resemblance with another YouTubers videos. Some viewers feel cheated and have shown their outrage via YouTube comments, twitter and other social platforms. Everyone has their opinion on whether this is unethical or not. If you ask me, before judging someone online for copying another persons content and resorting to cyber bullying take these points into consideration:
If you believe someone has done something unethical, being unethical back (ex. cyber bulling) does not make things right
The person copying others online content may not be aware that this is even wrong (or not allowed) and may not know that they should be giving any kind of credit to the person they were inspired by or copying (if that’s the case)
Person may have seen creating the copy of the video as their own variation of it
[Tweet “Fame = many responsibilities & few understand these responsibilities right away..”]
You can learn from making mistakes and either correct or continue to do the same and ignore all negative feedback from your fans and only take the good. Although if you ask me, any kind of criticism, especially bad, can be really good for you if you take it with a grain of salt and use it to build your online image into something even better. After all, if you win all of your fans hearts, it only feeds into your popularity even more. It can even be inspiring to other content makers and they may even follow suit.
Here are some guidelines to follow when sharing or creating content on social media platforms:
Twitter
On Twitter when you share someone’s tweet it’s called a Re-Tweet. Click on the Re-Tweet button under the Tweet.
You can also start a new tweet and start the copied tweet with ‘RT’ which is short form for Re-Tweet. When you tweet this way don’t forget to also add the person’s Twitter name. Should look something like this:
This is a great way to give the other person credit on Twitter and also you’re engaging with the user. That user might even appreciate you giving them credit and mentioning them in the tweet that they may even Re-Tweet your tweet. Especially if you added your own comments to the tweet.
Facebook
We are able to easily ‘share’ a post on Facebook by clicking on the share button. When you share a post, viewers of the post can see where that post derived from. (Facebook page, Facebook user, outside Facebook source)
Instagram
There are a lot of ways you can give credit to Instagram users you’ve either been inspired by or just want to copy the exact image and post it on your account.
Download a reposting instagram app (Ex. App called Repost for Instagram on Androids) Apps like this will automatically add a side bar with the repost symbol along with the original content creators name.
You can tag the person in the image before posting when in edit mode
You can also mention the original image post-er in the edit mode: #regram @piperlime
Vine
Vine has a one button share option or just like Instagram you can use a hashtag like #revine.
Tumblr
This microblogging platform and social networking website also allows you to press a button to share or use hashtag #reblog.
YouTube
On YouTube it’s a bit more tricky because there are no share buttons and most YouTubers videos are not their own original content. YouTube doesn’t have the processes in place like other social platforms to encourage users to give credit. It’s kind of like a free for all. Built up of so many videos that tell the same story by different people/characters. It’s evident in beauty channels with similar looks being created by different beauty experts, comedians with the same punch lines, tutorials teaching the same technique and more. It really comes down to the YouTuber. Do you want to give credit to the content that was created by another that inspired you to re-create? Or would you rather just create the video and put it out there because it’s different enough that you’re in it? How about the fact that the video you created is different in your eyes because you had a different approach, a slight change in the story, different technique…innovative?
Plagiarism is the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own.
With a platform that doesn’t give you the option to tag, share or promote to give shout outs to those who inspired you to create your content, it’s no wonder why there are so many copy cats. Not everyone has come to accept YouTube for what it is. Some viewers demand and criticize YouTubers to admit or share who they copied or were inspired by. However you will rarely read or see a YouTuber mention where they got their content from or who they were inspired by. Everyone wants to be an original, some with little to no effort. To each their own.
Social Media has a global reach and trust me when I write this, but there is no room for poor etiquette. Unless you would like to purposely rub your social media image in the dirt. Creating accounts for every popular social media application or website and leaving your accounts dormant, why? Many people do this. They think they need to be on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest and make their accounts, only to never open them again. If that sounds like you, both do your research and learn about each one and their benefits for you personally or your business so you can start using the application to your advantage, or simply just delete the account that you never use.
Some people fail to realize that having a social media account that hasn’t been watered and nurtured into an increasing amount of followers and content can be noticed by your next employer as lazy, careless and forgetful or lack of knowledge for that particular social media program. If you’re in the social media marketing field, then this is a really bad look for you.
Follow these social media etiquette tips and you’ll be on your way to having stellar online manners:
Facebook
[Tweet “#DidYouKnow Canada is the most active country on #Facebook? #SocialMedia”]
You should always Facebook message private matters instead of posting them on a Facebook wall. To some this may be common sense, but common sense isn’t very common to others unfortunately.
It’s okay to update several times a day, but keep at least a few hours of space between each post.
Respond to all comments, especially the rude ones in the nicest manner possible.
You don’t need to like and comment on every post your friends post. You may wander over to ‘stalker status’ in their eyes. Avoid that by being selective of what you like and comment on.
Yes Facebook hashtags do work but they’re not as popular on Facebook as they are on Instagram and Twitter. Limit to one or two if it’s a personal post. Posting to a business page? If they’re relevant hashtags then 4 is a safe number. More than 4 and you risk looking like you’re farming hashtags and don’t really know what the heck you’re doing. This isn’t Instagram people. However, a study done by Edgerank checker in June 2013 showed that posts on Facebook without hashtags were doing better than ones with. Because Facebook hashtags are still fairly new, I would use your own judgement and A/B testing to see what works best.
The number of ‘friends’ you have on Facebook doesn’t mean you’re popular in real-life. It may be true if you actually stay in touch with all 2000 of your facebook friends offline (which would be pretty impressive), but adding strangers doesn’t count. If you know someone through a business relationship then it is always best to add them on LinkedIn where you can keep things professional.
Use the 80/20 rule. 80% information, fun and entertaining posts, 20% of posts geared to a sale or a promotion.
Only ask people to like or share your post if you’re doing a poll.
Use first person plural when posting from a brand/business Facebook page.
Twitter
[Tweet “#DidYouKnow 46% of Twitter users use Twitter at least once a day? #SocialMedia”]
Hashtag was born on Twitter. Use relevant and popular hashtags on Twitter and you’re on your way to looking like a pro. Don’t use too many hashtags. (Side Note: A hashtag immediately expands the reach of your tweet beyond just those who follow you, to reach anyone interested in that hashtag phrase or keyword.)
Respond to comments and questions on Twitter right away. Twitter is a Social Media site that moves really fast in real time. Your answer may not matter in a few hours or tomorrow.
Don’t be afraid to favourite tweets you really like. Especially the tweets that you wouldn’t want to re-tweet because it’s not a tweet that your audience would really engage or relate too. If you’re managing a business/brand Twitter page then be careful what you favourite. Sensitive subjects like war, politics or competitor tweets can anger or confuse your followers.
Avoid sharing too much personal information. In recent studies it was shown that more recruiters are using Twitter to find talent and to find more information about you. 69% HR departments use Twitter and to assist with the recruitment process.
Check out this video from 2012. Social recruiting has become a lot more popular with more brands that have jumped on board in the last two years with recruiting twitter accounts like BCBG (@BCBGcareers), Disney (@TWDCjobs), Google (@Googlejobs) and more.
Don’t use all 140 characters. You still need room for people to re-tweet and add comments if need be.
You don’t have to follow back every person that follows you. Follow back if you actually DO want to follow their tweets. What do they tweet about? Is it something you may want to re-tweet or gain information from? Which brings me to my next point, don’t follow people to gain follow backs. When you do unfollow them, they will unfollow as well.
Google+
[Tweet “There are 63% Male users on Google+ and 37% Female. #SocialMedia “]
Always +mention users when commenting under their posts. This will allow for them to receive a notification and it will also direct your comment to the right person. It can get confusing when there are so many comments under the same post.
When you like something, like a comment someone made: +1 it.
Hitting the +1 on someone’s comment is a good way of saying, “I Agree”. You can +1 your own posts as well. Of course you love your own post, than why else would you post it? I feel most comfortable doing this on Google+ but I definitely wouldn’t like my own personal Facebook posts or Tweets. It just doesn’t feel right.
If you’re sharing someone else’s work, mention them in your post. Everyone wants to be appreciated or thanked for their work.
After you have +1’ed something, if you want to engage more, then add a comment. You may get into an interesting conversation and make a new friend. Yes, it’s okay to add someone who isn’t your real-life friend on Google+. The beauty of Google+ is that you can put them in circles (groups) that don’t share personal posts that you may only want to share with friends and family.
When you share a post, always add your own commentary to it first.
When someone shares your post, thank them.
If you’ve made mistakes in your post or forgot to add something then make sure you go back to edit it QUICKLY. This way, people aren’t sharing your posts with typos or missing information.
You can format your posts on Google+, so take advantage of that and make your posts intriguing by bolding or underlining words that will make your post stand out.
Add hashtags to your post. They are also automatically added to your post based on your content. (smart program). You can also add hashtags in your comments as well which is great!
Instagram
[Tweet “Instagram is about sharing a story. Create your own theme and stick to it. Consistent content.”]
If you’re a business, don’t use hashtags like #tagsforlikes, #doubletap, #likeforlike etc as it can look very unprofessional asking people for likes.
Posting with hours gap, minimum 4 hours is perfect for Instagram. Don’t over-gram, because no one wants to see their feed filled up with one users posts. That’s what Facebook photo albums are for.
If you want more engagement with your pictures, then you need to engage more with other peoples images. It’s only fair. If someone likes your picture or takes time to comment, it’s common courtesy to reply to the comment and take the time to check out their Instagram story.
[Tweet “#DidYouKnow interactions are highest on #Instagram posts with 11+ hashtags?”]
Quit using #too #many #hashtags! It’s not okay if your hashtags are exceeding a paragraph. Which also means it’s not cool and doesn’t work when you hashtag every other word in your caption.
Using unrelated hashtags under your image is confusing. Use hashtags that are related and save that #justinbieber tag for when you actually post and image of him.
The long hashtag can be funny or done totally wrong and not be readable because it’s all in lower case and just way too long.
#walkedthecattodayandsawanothercatthatlookedlikemycatandthoughtholycatmans or #IdenticalCatSoTrippy (along with the two cats side by side pic) See.
LinkedIn
[Tweet “#DidYouKnow there are 120 million users using #LinkedIn daily?”]
There’s an option on LinkedIn to update your status with images, links etc. Kind of like Facebook. But for LinkedIn keep it professional and only post things that are ‘industry specific’.
Recently I’ve been noticing a lot of ladies complain about being asked out on dates or asked questions through in mail for their email addresses because the male ‘professional’ is ‘interested’ in them. I’ve experienced this myself and quite frankly it’s messed up. LinkedIn is a professional networking site where you can connect with similar industry people. It’s a site to help you get up the career ladder, find jobs, connect with recruiters. It is not a dating site.
If a connection who has worked with you in the past recommends you. Take the time to write them a recommendation back. Same goes for when you’re endorsed for a skill.
Don’t obsessively look at someone’s profile, it’s very unprofessional and they can see that you’ve looked.
Starting your message to someone with “I see you viewed my profile..” is not a good idea. Sending them a personalized connection request is fine.
If you have any etiquette tips please leave a comment.
Just as soon as people started thinking Twitter was behind in its game, news sprouted up from social media channels about Twitter growing. At the moment Twitter has 241 million active users and it hasn’t been growing as fast as Facebook, Vine and YouTube. Time to play catch up?
Here’s a run down of what to expect and what has already popped up in Twitter News:
Last week Twitter rolled out a new platform for hosting video that gives iPhone and Android phone users previews of video clips in their feeds. With a single click you’re able to play the clip. This new feature on Twitter is called in-line video. You can see this feature being used on Vines. Twitter was behind in the video category and it was about time they started focusing on it.
It has been reported that Twitter is experimenting with the capability to see how many people have viewed your tweets, which at the moment only advertisers can see. The view count would be shown underneath each tweet, similar to how Facebook shows the amount of views underneath each Page post. How exciting is that?!
Tweet views will measure the reach of your tweets and help individuals and companies to recognize what they need to do or keep doing in order to get Re-Tweets and Favourites. Lots of views but no engagement says a whole lot to Social Media Managers. Fingers crossed this ‘experiment’ pulls through and every Twitter user can start benefiting from the data.
Twitter has also announced an update to its mobile apps that would give users more options when posting pictures. Many people on Twitter have already called Twitter out as copying Facebook because they changed the famous ‘Re-Tweet’ lingo to ‘Share’. I’m not a fan of changing the Twitter language, especially when so many users have gotten the hang of using RT. It’s one thing to expand, but changing something that isn’t broken. Not cool.
Why did @Twitter take out ‘Retweet’ and put ‘Share tweet’..?
There was another update to twitter mobile apps that would give users more options when posting pictures. One being the ability to tag up to 10 people in photos without lowering the character count within your tweet. Also, users will be able to post up to four photos in a single tweet and join them together like a small collage. Sounds like Instagram to me.
In-line videos, with one click view like Vines, yay or nay? How can ‘tweet views’ help you or your business? Will you use the new picture features?
You’ve decided to jump on the Instagram bandwagon and don’t know where to start. You’re wondering alright, another application to add to the rest. I’m sure you’ve come across at least one Insta picture without actually downloading the app or even knowing it. It’s everywhere!
Your Instagram account can be whatever you want it to be.
Just put in thought to your posts and you’ll see your followers grow. If you’re not sure what to post on Instagram, try doing A/B testing. Post different pictures and see what your fans prefer. Whichever images get the most likes, that is your category to target.
Keep in mind not everyone on Instagram has the goal to gain followers or likes. Some are on Instagram to promote their products, brand, post their opinions, speak out for a cause or a place to be recognized for their awesome food pictures. What ever it may be, you’ll need to know how to use this application. Check out the below youtube tutorials. On a side note I finished recording these videos right before the Instagram update. So add this to your learnings from the videos:
Instagram direct is Instagram’s new update. It allows you to choose if you want to share your photo with all your followers or just a few. Click on the “Direct” tab, and select the followers you would like to share them with. The picture will not show up in your public feed, and just the users you selected will be able to see your photo.
is marketing on or with a mobile device, such as a smart phone. Mobile marketing can provide customers with time and location sensitive, personalized information that promotes goods, services and ideas.*
SMWTO Learnings
There was a recent study done on the psychological connections with users and their mobile screens. The study found some areas where companies could make connections with their customers overlooked.* Most companies were missing a connection with their consumers hearts. To build your brand you need to connect with your consumers, it isn’t about connecting with the mind with fancy wordplay anymore. Email blasts with Sale, Last Chance or 50% off just don’t do it anymore.
Mobile allows targeting specific consumers who want to see unique content. The average user that looks at their mobile device looks in seconds. If it’s not interesting, consumer is lost.
Brands that are leveraging content know how to use vine, instagram, twitter, facebook etc to push content and gain new audience and in some cases re-establish their brands, especially in markets that didn’t exist before. Social media is about building an asset. Create a strong foundation for the next generation of consumers who will interact with your brand via mobile.
Engaging content is getting smaller and smaller. What started off at 50 second videos, are now 6 seconds on Vine. Consumers love it! The future of mobile video content = shorter attention spans. Content delivered through applications may be considered “less intrusive” than banner ads. Yes, banner ads are impersonal. Then here we have corporations saying “I don’t know if we should invest in mobile..” Ask those who are living in this generation. Do some studies of your own and you’ll be surprised to see that investing in mobile is your best bet. Consumers are also opting in receiving real time messages on their mobile devices.
So you’ve decided to get into Mobile Marketing. You need a full strategy if you’re building your brand on a social aspect. Content is key, but brands need to remember to be responsive to tweets and posts as well. Minimal content is better than lots of crappy content.
People focused content needs to be well thought out. Every company is a media company and therefore, every company is a publishing company. Did you know there’s pieces of content created every day?! The best people to talk to for free research are customer service. Have them make notes of what customers are calling in about. Customer service understands the customer journey. Let’s face it. It’s not about helping the seller to sell, it’s about how we help the buyer buy. 75% Canadians grab their phones at 4pm. Whether it’s to check what they’ll be having or making for dinner, check their facebook, instagram or other social platforms. What is your company posting to that 75% at 4pm? Are you sending promotion texts, updating your apps and social media profiles?
To move your buyer down the path to purchasing, your content should answer a consumers question before they’ve even asked. And then don’t just answer the questions no one is asking, maybe work on finding out what people are asking.
Mobile is predicted to surpass desktop usage in 2014. Consumer phone and smartphone usage is continuing to rise, and in 2014, content marketers will need to ensure that the huge online community they’ve built, need to be getting the same brand experiences on their phones as well. Prepare a mobile marketing strategy now if you haven’t already.
*SMWTO Content & Creativity Achieving Mobile Success with Content
SMWTO People Focused Content Strategy
Wikipedia
Looking back at this year, I must say that I am full of gratitude.This is the year I chose to expand on my web status. Come up with new ideas for the new year. Started this blog and a plan to share my knowledge with all of you!
2013 was also the year I celebrated my marriage to the most brilliant man on earth. Truly a blessing to have him in my life. Travelling to California, Texas and Egypt were experiences I will cherish forever. Tales of my travels are just ones to marvel at and lust to want to go as well. Purchasing a home and getting our kitten Beep! are just samples of 2013 milestones.
So what are your new year resolutions?
What steps will you take to make sure you acheive them?
The best advice I could give you is don’t leave things to tomorrow. Make use of the time you have today. You’ll thank yourself tomorrow.
To an even better year, 2014.
Thank you everyone for all of your love on Instagram!
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