Category: Instagram

Instagram is the biggest social media platform in the world right now with the most active users. It boasts all major celebrities and brands. Many people have made their businesses successful only by using this platform.

It gives your business amazing reach which you can use to drive conversion and drive up sales on your website. With Instagram adding the shop feature to their platforms it has become more business-friendly than ever.

One should take advantage of the fact that Instagram is now promoting people to have businesses on the platform. The introduction of reels means that there is going to be a more organic reach of content. Using the reels feature you can get millions of people to view your content and more often than not people will buy your product too.

One interesting way to lure buyers is to offer discounts, it is often portable to reduce your margins for some time. The money you lose will be made up by the number of people that buy your product. This is a very effective strategy that can boost your followers and sales too.

It gives the people a discounted product, which makes them think that they are getting a great deal. This tactic works for both of you as you can offer a great product for a discounted price which makes your customer base happy too.

Using discounts in tandem with these tips can help you get a large following in no time.

Content Production

Your content must be top-notch and must have great quality, in these times you will have to post multiple times too. It is because with people being online 24×7 you should engage with them as many times as you can.

Not only this makes your brand visible but it also firmly imprints your business into people’s minds. People can see your post once and forget about you. But if you are posting twice a day you will be in people’s faces as soon as they open Instagram. This way you can imprint yourself into their memory. Your discounts will come off as very attractive and being aware of your brand people will be more than happy to shop from you.

Cross-promotion

With the seamless integration of Facebook and Instagram cross-promoting, your discounts and businesses have never been easier. Use this to your advantage and show that you have a discount on your products or services on all platforms. With billions of users on all the platforms combined it has never been easier to reach such a large number of people.

The internet is a great leveller, it democratizes the playing field for big and small brands alike. This is great news for smalls and new businesses. You have the potential to outdo bigger brands with the organic reach of reels.

Cross-promoting brings more attention to your discounts and sales. It is a great way to expand and reach out to your demographic.

People-centric content

People love to see other people in content. You do not need a celebrity or an amazing looking person to be in your content. These days people want relatable representation in the media so that they feel closer to the product.

You can showcase your products in everyday applications so that people have clear ideas as to how they can use them. People like knowing what they can do with your product and how it would translate into their lives.

Branded and industry tags

You can create your own hashtags and get people to use them to get discounts or special offers. This way not only you can reach a wider audience you also give them an incentive to use your hashtag.

An Industry hashtag is something that your niche already uses. You can use these to make your brand synonymous with the hashtag and people will like you just through the association itself.

This tactic works great for people with limited marketing budgets. You can generate buzz around your products and sales without having to spend a lot on ads. Use it on a regular basis to gain a following.

Tagging

Tag brands or followers or locations whenever you can. This gets people excited and most people who must be in the area mentioned get excited too. This is a great way to engage with people and make your sale more appetizing to them.

It also generates a lot of buzz in local circles and growing big in smaller circles then going international is always a great strategy. You can even tag a few ardent followers so that they know that they are appreciated.

Do you need an Instagram expert to complete an in-depth evaluation of your Instagram account & provide you with an action plan?

We provide an expert Instagram Optimization & Hashtags Research service

Onsite posts

You should share your products and how people are using them in a daily setting on your website too. This way not only do you make a rapport with the people you also show your appreciation towards them.

A good review also makes the new customer trust you more easily, with trusted credentials the new customer has peace of mind. You should work on these aspects when you are offering a discount and ask the people to tag you when they buy your stuff.

Niche

You should not have your feed designed in a way that you are just uploading everything that is coming to your mind. Stick to an aesthetic and make sure that all your posts adhere to the same theme.

It is not easy to find a niche that you are fulfilling but if your discount’s theme is in tandem with your niche you will have problems finding new followers. People on Instagram go more aesthetics as compared to other platforms. So it is important that you establish an aesthetic so that your sale or discount does stick out for no reason.

Influencer marketing

Influencers are a great way to reach out to a big audience and gain recognition. With custom discounts tailored with the influencer’s name in the coupon, you can make each influencer’s audience go to your page and convert some of them too.

Influencer marketing is growing strong in 2021 and like vlogging, it is only going to get better. You should definitely try to capitalize on such things and make your product reach an even wider audience.

This type of marketing works as the person is putting their weight and reputation behind your discount. This not only gives it instant credibility but also makes your product look more genuine. Influencer marketing has seen great results and can be said to be a great tool for anyone looking to get the word about their business. Not only do you gain people’s trust you also gain a lot of followers this way.

Giveaways

Everyone likes free products and you can host a contest or a giveaway to get more brand recognition. It gets the people excited and you get a lot of publicity for not a lot of money.

Ask people to tag their friends to get a chance at winning something. This way you get more engagement but also more content for your feed. People love showing things that they win in a contest or giveaway. This boosts your credibility and also subsequently brings you more followers in the long run.

Reels and Stories

Whenever Instagram releases a new feature its organic growth is off the chart. You can take advantage of this fact and promote your offers and discounts. Not only do you get more followers but also better engagement.

Such a tactic is great for getting more people to visit your page and drive more conversions. Reels and stories can get you a lot of followers. Post a reel every day and multiple stories a day so that the algorithm recognizes your efforts. These are low-cost tools that have great returns.

Instagram offers make your branding and brand much more enticing than others. It is a great way to lure in more prospective buyers and get the recognition that you need to have a successful business.

Ad Campaign

With Instagram and Facebook now being emerged, it is easier than ever to have a dedicated ad campaign for your brand. Discount marketing is a great way to get Instagram followers and Instagram likes.

With platforms getting more entrepreneurs’ engagement than ever, it is best to spend some money and stand out from the crowd. You get a wide reach when you use both organic reach and paid ads. You should anyway use paid ads for your discounts and sales as it gets you more followers.

Instagram when used correctly can give your brand the boost that it needs. It is a great initiative for anyone looking to get their brand more recognition and followers. Getting them is not as hard as it seems but you need to be consistent and devise a strategy beforehand to get it right. You might become viral and get millions of followers but slowly and steadily your base will grow. Later on, this customer base will convert to a loyal customer base which will get you more profits in the end.

Instagram can be a wonderful place filled with fond families and comradery. It’s no secret that Instagram is a visual social media platform. Not all Instagram users can access and enjoy what the platform has to offer in the same way. While it’s easier to assume that people with visual impairments aren’t on the very visual platform at all, this is most definitely not the case. They do use Instagram, only, they’re not able to enjoy it as much because of the lack of accessible content and disability friendly accounts on the platform. This is not necessarily because people don’t want to make their content accessible, but rather because they simply might not know how.

Why Should You Make Your Account more Accessible?

Having an accessible Instagram account can serve more than one purpose. Other than being disability friendly, your account’s accessibility can improve your engagement while also strengthening the sense of community on your profile. Making content accessible is not as hard as people might imagine. There are simple ways you can make your Instagram posts accessible that doesn’t require you to put in much additional time or effort. Not only does it make your profile a more pleasing environment to be in, but it also makes your content available to a wider range of people.

Accessibility is not just a physical concept like climbing stairs or entering a building. Accessibility also comes into play in the digital atmosphere – especially when it concerns people with hearing or visual impairments. Accessibility plays an important role in making the differently-abled of the world feel more included. In today’s social and digital climate, it’s important that we take everyone into account when building a brand or business. Some people are left behind because they don’t have access to content in the same way as able-bodied individuals. Say no to this happening on your own Instagram page by getting ahead of the problem and being the change you want to see in the world.

Instagram is completely visual. This makes it difficult to navigate as a visually impaired person. As a business, you can make some simple changes to make your content more accessible and inclusive on Instagram. These changes will cost you nothing. Here are a few ways you can make your Instagram account more accessible so that more people get to enjoy, experience, and engage with your content.

1. Add Subtitles to Instagram Videos and Stories

Digiday reports that 85% of the videos on Facebook are watched without sound. Subtitles are great for people who choose to enjoy their videos without sound. But that’s not all they’re great for. They’re also essential when it comes to being more accessible to people with hearing difficulties. Not being able to hear content may make the hard-of-hearing feel less included and ignored. As such, subtitles can play a major role in accessibility on social media – especially for video and audio content.

Instagram is also doing a lot in terms of accessibility. The social media platform has released an accessibility feature that automatically adds captions to IGTV videos. The feature is available in 16 languages. You can now also caption your stories easily using the Threads app by Instagram. Threads is an app pioneered by Instagram that lets you keep up with close friends on the platform. It also comes with a helpful automated captioning tool that auto-generates captions on any recorded footage. You could also alternatively turn to third-party apps such as CaptionMax or Clipomatic to auto-generate video captions.

Do you need an Instagram expert to complete an in-depth evaluation of your Instagram account & provide you with an action plan?

We provide an expert Instagram Optimization & Hashtags Research service

2. Embed Photos with Instagram’s Alt-Text

For visually impaired Instagram users, the platform is not an easy one to navigate. Without any descriptors, the visually impaired is entirely left out from experiencing your post. This is precisely why Instagram’s alt-text feature is a game-changer when it comes to making posts more accessible. In the Fall of 2018, Instagram rolled out an update that allowed users to embed their photos with an alternative text. The text would describe the photo out loud, making it more accessible to those using screen readers. This was a revolutionary development from Instagram, making content accessible for a wider group of people. Here’s how you can find the alt-text option on your Instagram.

Before you share a post, on the same page as where you would add captions, you can

• Scroll down to find ‘Advanced Settings’ and click on it to find several options.
• You can find the option to ‘Write Alt-Text’ under the Accessibility header.
• Write a concise description of your post in the text box and click ‘Done’.

The alt-text option doesn’t seem to have a character limit so you can be as descriptive as you please. Keep in mind, however, that the alt-text will be read after your username and before the caption so be concise. You can even go back on an already posted image and add alt-text later on by clicking on ‘Edit’. On the lower right-hand corner of the post, you’ll find the option ‘Add Alt-Text’. This way, you can also make existing posts more accessible.

Instagram does have an option to automatically generate alt-text but this often turns out to be generic and drab, completely leaving the personality of the post out of the description. When you generate your own alt-text, you can provide extra context and add your own flair to the description, further showcasing your brand.

3. Stay Away from Decorative Fonts

Stylized and decorative fonts are a nightmare for screen readers to process. Screen readers look for readability. While a decorative font may add to the aesthetic of your page, it is completely inaccessible to a visually impaired person using a screen reader to be part of the experience. The screen reader will either;

• skip over these stylized words, only sharing what you’ve written in the native font, or
• produce a string of completely illogical sounds.

Essentially, this means that by using decorative fonts, you run the risk of losing all meaning to your post. The screen reader will either completely misinterpret your message, or skip over the whole thing. If accessibility is important for you, best to skip the decorative fonts all together.

4. Capitalize Each Word in a Hashtag

Hashtags are one of the best ways you can drive engagement to your Instagram profile. It plays an important role in discovering a post or profile. Capitalizing each word in an Instagram hashtag makes your post that much more accessible to the blind community. Screen readers can only read your hashtags accurately when they’re correctly capitalized. When you don’t capitalize each word, the screen reader registers the hashtag as one big word and reads it as such.

Similarly, an additional tip to make your hashtags more accessible is to put them in the comments section of your post instead of grouping them with your caption. While this is a controversial tip, it goes a long way to making your Instagram more accessible. If you’re one to fully utilize the 30-hashtag maximum, this tip is especially for you. By adding the hashtags in the comments section instead of the caption, you’re limiting the time the screen reader spends on a single post. Hashtags in the comments section are still picked up by Instagram but not by the screen reader. This way, you give the user a choice of whether they want to read all your hashtags or not.

5. Include Descriptions in Your Captions

Including post descriptions in the captions was a great way for accessibility-minded Instagram users to include the differently-abled before the age of alt-text and auto-generated subtitles. A good way to do this would be to place a description of your post after the caption, with #accessibility preceding the description.

Though you may find this tip futile when you’re also choosing to include alternative text in the option provided by Instagram, it does hold some value. These descriptions are for the many people out there who have difficulty processing information or visual impairments that don’t use a screen reader. The caption allows them to have a written description. Additionally, Instagram doesn’t let you add alt-text for video posts yet. So adding a description of your video post in your caption can also go a long way in making the post accessible for people who do have screen readers.

Instagram can be a wonderful community if it can be accessed and experienced by everyone. Instagram is a great place to find your crowd and explore your niche interests. By making Instagram more accessible, you’re allowing people to more easily find that community for themselves. These small changes can have a large impact on individuals with visual or hearing impairments. These practices cost you nothing and make all the difference in the world for the people that can’t engage with online content in any other way. As a brand, having a more accessible Instagram page can create a more accepting environment and inclusive space for everyone.

Instagram is a global photo and video sharing platform used by individuals and businesses alike. People use it to enjoy access to unlimited visual content from creators all over the world, while businesses and companies use it to expand their markets and increase profits.

The platform has now become the most important destination for social media marketing, and naturally, anyone would want to make the most out of it. Successful businesses and influencers with a huge number of real Instagram followers understand this and thereby utilize another platform available to them. The second platform is Pinterest, and it is incredibly important to align your Instagram digital marketing strategy with your Pinterest account.

Importance of Instagram marketing and growth

Getting followers on Instagram is not as easy as it once was. This does not mean that it’s impossible, but it does mean that the increasing competition on the app cannot be ignored. No matter the niche of your content, there will be competing businesses or content creators in the field.

However, using the right tools and being smart about the decisions you make can have a lasting impact on your Instagram growth.

Your brand depends on it

Whether you’re a small business or an individual creator, you’re a brand on Instagram whose content and products are consumed by your followers. How well your brand performs, how much of a following you garner, and how effectively you sell your products - all are deciding factors in how your brand is faring.

It boils down to having a reliable Instagram marketing strategy and using it to the fullest. Marketing strategies and businesses go hand in hand, and being on an online platform does not make your brand an exception to it. On the contrary, it becomes that much more important for you to have a clear view of your strategy.

More reach and bigger profits

Every business on Instagram constantly strives to expand into a larger audience and make their followers desire their product or content. When you know your strategy, you’ll also have a clear view of what you need to do in order to reach a new audience while keeping the old and long-time followers invested.

Your products will be consumed by followers who have been following you for a long time and who trust your quality. They will also be bought by new customers who want to give it a try. Once you gain more followers, the number of new consumers will also increase proportionally.

Why align with Pinterest marketing

Pinterest is another huge visual platform, and here’s why you need it to further your Instagram visions and goals.

Expand into a Wider Audience

There is always scope of reaching new followers, and Pinterest will do so by introducing your content to the prospective customer.

Exponential Scope of Growth

Your Instagram will have the advantage of gaining followers through Pinterest.

Link-Friendly Platform

The pins made on Pinterest can be further linked to your specific Instagram post. If a user finds the pin interesting, they may choose to click on the attributed link and visit your Instagram page.

High Referral Traffic

With its ability to send a follower directly to your Instagram, the traffic on your page gradually increases. With time, your engagement levels and following will also spike.

Do you need an Instagram expert to complete an in-depth evaluation of your Instagram account & provide you with an action plan?

We provide an expert Instagram Optimization & Hashtags Research service

Ways to align your Instagram marketing with Pinterest marketing

Now you know why it is important to identify the role that Pinterest can play in your Instagram growth. Once you know and understand the importance, you’ll be able to use these tricks of the trade that will help you achieve your goal.

Utilize Search Engine Tools

SEO is the best friend of anyone who wishes to put out their content on social media and gain a respectable reach or exposure. At its most basic level, Pinterest is simply a visual search engine visited by millions of people every day. What you want to do is take advantage of these daily visitation statistics.

Using target keywords specific to your product or content in your descriptive text will allow the content a chance to be viewed by potential customers or followers. Optimized content is the best way you can ensure that people to whom this niche is relevant can find you on Pinterest and subsequently on Instagram.

Claim Your IG Account

Perhaps the most crucial step in aligning both your Instagram and Pinterest accounts is to first claim your IG account. What this basically means is that your Pinterest and Instagram accounts will now be linked and, any posts pinned from your Instagram account will be attributed to you.

This works even if someone else pins your Instagram content. A “Follow” button will appear under the pin, and you can easily get traffic, and Instagram likes when the audience clicks on the pin.

Claimed accounts also get additional stats on the pins made, and everyone knows how instrumental they are in online marketing and growth.

Pin Content you Published on Instagram

Make it a point to first publish a post on Instagram and then use its URL to pin it on Pinterest. Once you’ve copied the link and chosen a relevant board for the post, pin it and wait for the traffic to roll in. With your final aim as an increase in your following or more Instagram comments, it is only natural that you should first post there.

After publishing and then using the link for Pinterest, the post automatically gets attributed to you. It is therefore extremely important that this step must not be skipped.

Focus on Quality

When you want your audience to click on a pin, you have to make sure that your content quality makes them want to do so. Pinterest is all about aesthetics and visuals, and your visual content must be able to push your followers into clicking on that Instagram link.

It is not just the picture resolution that is of use in this situation, you must also be mindful of the theme of your post and which board you’re tagging it in. Ask yourself whether your content provides value to your followers and what kind of content would make you click on it if you were a part of your audience.

When you have these answers, you’ll know what you need to post. Brainstorming and coming up with original ideas always pays back on social media. The more unique your content is, the more it will be shared. You don’t have to come up with something outrageous that has never been done before, you can simply be a part of your niche in your own unique way.

Use Hashtags Wisely

Like Instagram, Pinterest also uses hashtags. The trick lies in using a few hashtags that are extremely relevant to your account or the particular post. When you combine a description that has the ideal keywords with a few hashtags that bolster the text, you’ll attract organic traffic to your pin.

As your pins get pinned to the boards of other Pinterest users, you’ll slowly but surely notice an increase in your Instagram visit stats as well. Good pins ensure that your content plays the long run and stays in the game even when your Instagram post has become old news.

Catchy Titles Make All the Difference

Since Pinterest is basically a search engine, it is only natural that it should also have a title that catches the eye of a prospective follower. After a good quality photo, your pin title is what makes the user decide to stay and read what you have to offer.

If your title is boring and does not particularly appeal to the follower, they might save the pin but getting a click-through to your Instagram account would be difficult. This is where SEO plays a key role. You should know what your followers want and what would attract new followers.

Re-share Your IGTV or Reels Video Content and Pin Stories

Even though Pinterest is largely used to share visual content in the form of pictures, it also has video-sharing as another option. Now businesses are using IGTV and Reels to give their customer base even more information and get them more invested in their brand.

Like your photo posts, you can also repurpose your video content to Pinterest. From DIYs and life hacks to tutorial videos, you can post anything that you deem of value to your general audience. If an IGTV video or a short reel performed well on Instagram, there is no reason why it wouldn’t do the same on Pinterest.

Both Instagram and Pinterest have their own unique algorithms, and understandably, their marketing strategies vary as well. However, aligning your strategy for both platforms can make a huge difference in your online presence and brand exposure. The rules for achieving your online goals are not set in stone. The secret lies in knowing the basics and using trial and error to get the hang of what works the best for you. Once you have that figured out, growth will be a stone’s throw away.

Connecting with your followers on a personal level has never been easier. Instagram is still the go-to platform when it comes to engaging followers and growing your brand. Instagram has a vast number of tools you can use to redefine and market your brand with ease. According to data collected by Instagram:

• 90% of users follow a business,
• 50% are interested in a brand after they see ads for it, and
• 2 out of 3 surveyed Instagram users have reported that the social media platform has made interaction with brands easier and more accessible.

Instagram provides you with multiple tools to define your branding style, build your business, and engage directly with the consumer.

As with most social media platforms, Instagram is constantly evolving and updating its features and user database. As such, even though gaining relevance may be easy at first, staying relevant is the real task. Instagram users expect fresh content and it’s the brand’s responsibility to stay on top of this and provide them with the same. This is no cakewalk. With the changing algorithm, new features, and a myriad of filters to choose from, engaging with the customer also means staying ever-vigilant and up to date on new trends and audience preferences.

How to Drive Engagement Up on Instagram

According to a research study done by Mention, video posts garner twice as much engagement in terms of Instagram likes and comments as image posts. To stay on top of this shifting trend, savvy brands evolved their social media marketing strategy to involve more videos to stay relevant.

We’ve moved well beyond video posts. Instagram now has multiple features that brands can use to connect with their audience, like IGTV, Instagram Reels, Instagram Guides, Polls, Q&A stickers, and last but not least, filters. There are several ways in which you could use filters to drive up engagement on Instagram.

What are AR Filters?

Brands have been using Augmented Reality/ AR filters to build an interactive environment for their customers well before Instagram. For example, IKEA launched an AR marketing campaign in 2013 to digitally display furniture in the homes of customers. AR filters are an effective way to help the customer decide on a product by virtually trying it out for themselves. Before Instagram, there was no cost-effective or accessible way to do this. Now, brands can successfully create their own AR filters specifically designed to suit their product base on Instagram. This way, people interested in your brand can use your AR filter to interact with your products.

Instagram partnered up with Spark AR studio in 2019 and opened up the creation of AR filters to the public. Since then, Instagram filters have taken the social media platform by storm, with some filters going viral and getting well over 1 billion views. Brands are now opting to use this opportunity for their benefit, creating Instagram filters that highlight their products and drive their user engagement up. A prime example is NARS cosmetics, which created several filters that allow users to try different lipstick shades.

How Does it Work?

Brand marketers can create their own AR filters, share them on their stories, and have their followers try it out themselves. Followers can then also share these filters by posting them on their own stories, further broadening the market and driving up engagement. By using your filter on their stories, your followers are essentially acting as your brand ambassadors, opening doors for higher engagement and limitless reach. With Instagram being one of the top social media platforms for brand development and customer engagement, creating a good AR filter can do a lot. It attracts the attention of your followers, which can even allow it to go viral. This will get you more re-shares and encourage more users to engage with your content.

Brands should aim to create AR filters that allow followers to recreate their visual style and experience their product first-hand. Contrary to popular belief, Instagram filters aren’t that difficult to design. In fact, making an original, branded Instagram filter is actually easier than what a lot of people might think. And in today’s day and age, there’s never a short supply of creative individuals who are willing to help with the process. Here are a few tips you can use to get started.

1. Have a detailed creative brief.

Using AR filters can be invigorating. The Instagram AR technology itself is fun to use and easy to manipulate. Even if you’re just creating new filters to make the most out of the ‘wow’ factor, make sure you don’t miss the opportunity to build your brand in the process. Instagram filters can make a real impact when it comes to brand discovery and growth. Also, with the virality of filters being through the roof at the moment, there’s no time to waste. When you’re setting your creative brief, consider the following carefully:

Who are you targeting?

Determine your target market. Who do you want to appeal to? As with most market research, setting a target market from the get-go is important. Your target market is who you’re trying to attract. They’re the group of people you’re appealing to. These are the people who you’d want as customers to buy your products and engage with your brand. All future campaigns, including AR filters, will be catering to this group of people.

Be specific with your target market. It can’t just be ‘Instagram followers’. Which subset of Instagram followers in particular are you aiming to attract? Are you looking to attract new followers? Will you be reaching these new followers through sponsored ads or via your existing network of followers? Your aim is to capture the value that you want to provide your desired audience.

Do you need an Instagram expert to complete an in-depth evaluation of your Instagram account & provide you with an action plan?

We provide an expert Instagram Optimization & Hashtags Research service

What is your objective?

What do you want to accomplish with this filter? Decide what you want the filter to do for you - whether it be creating brand awareness, driving up engagement, or conversions. Finding a clear objective will help you set a goal for the campaign – which will inadvertently also act as a guide for your team of creatives.

What’s the tone you want to amplify?

Are you looking to work off an existing tone already known to your audience, or are you branching out and experimenting with a new tone? What do you want people to feel when they’re using your filter? Be it excitement, joy, or intrigue, be clear on what vibe you want your filter to put down.

What’s your call to action?

How does your filter support your objective? What does it allow the user to accomplish? Is it an evergreen filter or will it be event-based? Which way do you want the camera lens to face? Will it be from a selfie angle or from the user’s perspective? Look at existing Instagram filters to get some inspiration and find what works for you.

What is your promotion strategy?

The easiest promotion strategy is to promote it on your own stories and highlights and encourage your followers to use and share the filters on theirs. You could also promote it using influencer marketing or ad spend. Using influencers to promote your filter can be a great way to track its effectiveness and stay on top of follower feedback.

2. Pick your team of creatives wisely.

You’ll most probably need to hire outside talent to actually create the AR filter. Talent is never in short supply – especially on freelance networks. This is why you need to have a comprehensive brief. The more comprehensive your brief, the more efficient your creative team will be in crafting you a stellar filter. Once you’ve found your designer, collaborate on the specifics of the filter.

3. Analyse the results.

This is the part that determines whether you’ve accomplished what you set out to do in your creative brief. Measure your efforts to understand your audience patterns and the overall success of the AR campaign. Use what you learned to understand how you can optimize the Instagram filter and make it even better.

Instagram has valuable insight tools that track your filter’s shares, impressions, and captures. Use this to understand how your audience is interacting with your filter. Make sure you understand how your filter is doing in the social media world. This will also give you an understanding of what your next steps should be. Make your filter a part of the ongoing effort to engage and interact with your audience.

Your Instagram journey is never over. The app is constantly optimizing its user interface and introducing new marketing tools and features. You can tap into these new features and use them to grow your business and build your brand. Since we live in the age of the internet, it’s wise to give your Instagram page the same consideration as a traditional brick-and-mortar store. Your Instagram identity is an ever-growing and evolving enterprise. Instagram connects your business to the world and makes it more accessible to millions of people.

Interactive marketing is not a recent concept. It existed well before social media ever came into play. As such, social media marketing comes with a bigger responsibility and a larger target market, with influencers guiding the decisions of hundreds of millions of followers. Instagram has clever ways to promote brands and drive sales up. It provides cool interactive marketing tools like polls, questions, quizzes etc. It’s constantly coming up with new and creative ways to make audience engagement fun and interactive. The marketer’s job is to make the most of the tools provided to them.

While this doesn’t sound like much, it can be quite tough to navigate. The newest addition to the Instagram interactive marketing arsenal is the poll sticker feature available for stories. Instagram polls allow marketers to interact with their audience by asking them questions and having them vote on an answer. Instagram has over 800 million active users. This is why it remains to be the social media marketer’s dream platform. The potential clientele is massive and opportunities for brand promotion and growth is endless.

The Allure of the Instagram Poll

The Instagram poll can be a very useful tool for marketers. The poll feature itself can play a vital role in driving traffic to your page and promoting follower engagement. Not only does it provide an additional level of brand engagement, but it also enables you to gather very specific insights. Your marketing team can further use these insights to plan campaigns, come up with future products, and even change the entire outlook of the brand.

From an audience perspective, Instagram polls are very hard to skip. There seems to be an innate need in the human psyche to respond to and interact with a poll. Especially when the poll belongs to an account that the follower has no personal connection with. Polls tend to pique the typical Instagram user’s natural curiosity, pushing them to engage with the question being asked.

Over 60% of the businesses that post Instagram stories, use interactive features like polls, hashtags, and mentions to drive traffic and promote brand engagement. With all the new features Instagram has introduced for marketers, there’s never been a better time to grow your business and build your clientele. Whether you’re selling cupcakes, or offering courses online, Instagram’s interactive features like polls are there to help your growth.

How do Polls Work?

Instagram polls help in keeping your content exciting, novel, and fresh. You can add the poll sticker to your stories by:

1. Tapping the sticker icon in the top-right corner and
2. Scrolling down until you find the ‘Poll’ option.
3. Now add your question and customize the responses. Instagram has no character limit for the questions so feel free to get creative.
4. Check how your followers voted by swiping up from your story. The insights also show you how many people have viewed your poll and how many voted for each response.
5. Share the response with your followers after the poll ends in 24 hours. When you share their responses, you’re letting them know that their voices are being heard and that you do value their thoughts.

Ever since the Instagram poll feature came into play, top brands have utilized this opportunity to further promote and build their customer base. Here are some ways you could do the same.

Creative Ways to Use Polls in Instagram Stories

1. Play a quick round of trivia.

Asking simple yet engaging trivia questions is a great way to use Instagram polls. This idea is especially great for brands who are looking to establish their presence outside of the products they offer. Trivia polls are flexible, allowing you to make the poll your own. You could ask general trivia questions, questions referencing the products you offer, questions about current events, etc.

You can make these trivia questions as detailed as you please, like starting with easier questions and progressing to the more difficult ones. You can play with difficulty levels until you find a level of trivia that works best for your audience, allowing you greater brand engagement. A smart way to take the trivia polls up a notch is to plug the link to your website at the end of the trivia. This way, your followers have the option to explore your brand further.

2. Make a quiz.

Like trivia, quizzes are a fun and light way of interacting with and engaging your audience. There probably isn’t a single person who hasn’t heard about the media giant that is Buzzfeed when it comes to quizzes. They manage to keep the same energy going on their Instagram polls, by creating fun and playful quizzes for their followers to engage with.

For example, Buzzfeed News puts up a weekly poll asking their followers whether they can spot which news is fake and which is real. Not only is this informational because of its news value, but it’s also playful, boosting Buzzfeed’s brand image and follower interaction. These kinds of quizzes keep the audience engaged, entertained, and coming back for more.

Do you need an Instagram expert to complete an in-depth evaluation of your Instagram account & provide you with an action plan?

We provide an expert Instagram Optimization & Hashtags Research service

3. Curate content.

A really easy way to find out whether your audience is actually engaging with the kind of content you’re posting is by asking them directly. Instagram polls can be of great help in this area. Before you post content on Instagram, it’s your responsibility as a social media marketer to make sure that what you’re putting out into the world is what your followers want to see. You can use Instagram follower insights, your brand’s personal marketing strategies, knowledge of your target audience, and as a bonus, the intel you’ve collected on your polls.

Instagram polls can be used to “test” your content, before the actual take-off. If you’re planning on branching out from your usual content, you should throw up a quick poll to determine whether your new content is actually what your audience is looking for. This way, you also have a bigger picture of your followers’ interests, which is sure to come in handy down the line. Another benefit of polling before you post is that you ensure that you’re not going to lose any followers over unrelatable content. Asking first is not only polite but also beneficial to your brand.

4. Show off your products.

A picture can speak a thousand words. So why not show your audience what you can offer them? You can show off your various products and ask your followers to vote on which ones they prefer in particular. This way, you bring awareness to the variety of products that you offer, while also gaining insight into which products would do better than others. Market research has never been easier.

IKEA USA used this approach, asking their followers to vote on which range of kitchenware they preferred the most. These polls can work on all products as long as there are at least two products you can use to compare. This approach is especially helpful if you want to boost the visibility of a line of new products.

5. Ask your customers what they want.

Marketing to the customer’s needs is one of the most important responsibilities of a social media marketer. With the Instagram poll feature, this responsibility becomes ten times easier to manage. Are you unsure about what kind of products your follower base really wants? They can now let you know directly via the poll feature. Leading swimwear brand Mimi Hammer used the poll feature to ask their followers what kind of swimsuits they preferred. This involved going into detail about designs, colors, cuts, etc.

Polls are an intelligent way to essentially create a customer survey. The questions should be accompanied by high-quality visuals so that there is absolutely no confusion as to what is being asked. It’s important to maintain a good visual consistency for your brand so that your followers are not left wanting for more.

6. Drive your Instagram followers to your website.

Instagram polls allow for a seamless way for you to drive traffic to your website. This is free traffic with no ads, no payments, and no promotions involved! You can customize this approach however you want, driving traffic to category pages, product pages, or even a specific article that you want to give prominence to. This approach can work with any of the poll ideas such as trivia, quizzes, or choosing between two products.

Target makes use of this approach by offering their followers choices between two products on their polls. They then drive product sales up on their website by having customers swipe up, and directs them to the website. The redirected page usually lands on featured and similar products, the followers would be interested to get. This technique is not only limited to retail stores. Even service providers like salons and spas can avail this feature.

Instagram polls can be used to gather invaluable information about your followers’ preferences, allowing for brand growth. Although there are certain limitations like there being only two possible responses, it still provides you with clear feedback from your customer base.

Over the last few years, Instagram has become the leading social media platform for business marketing. Through Instagram, companies, and brands can reach more than 1 billion active users of the platform. Since the market is huge and the competition is intense, it is easy to reach this wide audience. To help marketers and businesses reach their potential customers, Instagram regularly launches new tools and updates. One of them is IGTV or Instagram TV.

What is IGTV, and how can it help businesses

Instagram launched the feature of IGTV in 2018 that paved the way for new opportunities for business growth. Through IGTV, users can create and upload videos of longer duration that were earlier not allowed on Instagram. The video length can be from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. It can also extend up to 60 minutes, but this feature is available only on larger or verified accounts.

IGTV offers numerous benefits to brands. Some of them are

1. Increased visibility of products and services:

Through IGTV, businesses got an opportunity to create Instagram videos for a longer duration. This gave them more chances to generate traffic on their profiles and websites. Consequently, their product and service visibility also increased significantly. Since online viewership is growing over time, using IGTV is a great way to enhance the effectiveness of your marketing strategy.

2. Source of education and entertainment for viewers:

Researchers opine that the most popular kinds of video content are tutorials and demonstrations. Obviously, both tutorials and demonstrations cannot be shown within a minute. The announcement of IGTV removed this barrier. It allowed marketers to educate their potential customers about their products and services in detail. Therefore, by creating engaging IGTV videos, marketers can educate and entertain the audience at the same time. This is undoubtedly the best way to market your products and services online.

3. Creates opportunities for higher engagement:

Video marketing has emerged as one the most effective marketing tools over the years. Using IGTV, businesses can leverage the benefits of both video marketing and the wide user base of Instagram. It is a wonderful way for growing engagement organically. The higher the engagement level, the greater is the probability of getting more conversions.

What is IGTV series?

Recently, Instagram upgraded IGTV by launching IGTV series. The announcement again created excitement among brands who could not wait to explore the potential here. IGTV series are similar to the playlists function on YouTube. It allows creators to group similar content together. Users can watch series both on IGTV app and your Instagram profile.

Why you should use IGTV series is that this feature encourages your audience to watch similar videos. This enhances engagement on your other video content as well. More engagement equals to more reach and higher growth on Instagram. In short, IGTV series can help you capture the interest of the viewers, drive traffic to your profile, and increase your visibility on the social media platform. Additionally, grouping related content in the form of series makes your profile look highly organized and streamlined.

Do you need an Instagram expert to complete an in-depth evaluation of your Instagram account & provide you with an action plan?

We provide an expert Instagram Optimization & Hashtags Research service

How is IGTV series created?

If you are thinking of starting your own IGTV series, here are some steps that can help you out:

1. Plan the content:

Planning video content for IGTV series is different from creating a regular one. To make videos for the series, you need to first think about the whole concept and theme of your IGTV series. As each series include similar content, you will have to plan out your videos such that multiple videos can be created under the same theme. Another factor to take care of when preparing content for IGTV series is that even though the videos will have a repeatable theme, the viewers should find them engaging.

Here, you need to research what your audience wants to see and how can you frame such content in an episodic format. You will also have to consider the budget, resources, schedule, video length, and other details.

2. Develop a storyline and create a script:

While preparing your IGTV series, it is better to plan out the basic content of all the videos that you will be including in a particular series. For this, create a storyline. Identify what exactly the flow of the videos will be and how you plan to achieve it. You have to take into consideration the camera angles, lighting, the people involved, and so on.

To save time and enhance the quality of your videos, script all the videos. It is also recommended to prepare captions and subtitles to increase reach.

3. Film the series:

Once all the base work is done, the fun part begins. Film the series as per your budget. You do not always need to have high-quality cameras, equipment, and videographers to create engaging videos. If the content of your videos is unique and entertaining, the viewers will get attracted to you and support you.

4. Upload the video:

Uploading an IGTV series is super easy and quick. After your video content is ready, upload it on the IGTV app. When you do so, you will be asked to select or upload a cover image for the video. Once this is done, move forward to the next screen, you will see the options for writing caption, adding location, tagging people, sharing on other social media sites, and so on. Among these options, you will also find a title called “IGTV series.” Underneath that select “Add to series.”

When you click on this option, you will have a choice to either add the video to an existing series or create a new one. If you are forming a new series, you must give it a title and a small description explaining what the series is all about. It is advisable to keep the title and the description as short as possible. Now that you have created an IGTV series, you can regularly upload and share videos on the same.

How to use IGTV series for business growth?

There are numerous ways through which you can grow your business using IGTV Series. Let us look at some of them.

1. Collaborate with Influencers:

Collaborating with influencers is perhaps the most popular way of growing engagement on Instagram. You can think of creative ways of creating IGTV series content with influencers. For instance, if your company deals in clothing, you can send your products to influencers and celebrities and ask them to make 5-10 minute videos informing their followers about the products. Each of these videos can be grouped under a series. Such an IGTV series will build trust and credibility among the audience for your brand.

2. Create Tutorial Videos:

Tutorial videos are the most-watched videos across the internet. They work well both in the case of marketing products and services. Various brands dealing in cosmetics create tutorial videos to increase their viewership. Companies selling technical or unique products also make tutorial videos to educate their audience about the correct method of using their products. In the field of services, fitness videos such as the correct way to do squats or lunges are some examples.

3. Create behind-the-scenes videos:

People love to watch what goes behind the making of a product or delivering a service. For example, if you are a fast-food company, you can create a video series showing the processes that go into making a single burger or a pizza.

4. Stories of Customers and Testimonials:

You can create a separate series covering the testimonials of real customers. This again increases the credibility of your brand in the eyes of the viewers. Thus, it helps in building customer loyalty.

Tips for creating engaging IGTV series

To create a highly effective IGTV series, take care of the following:

1. Maintain a consistent or similar aesthetic for all the videos in your series. This makes it very appealing and attractive to viewers.
2. Promote your IGTV series regularly not only on Instagram but also on other platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. This is necessary to earn more views and followers.
3. Create SEO-rich video content. When it comes to digital marketing, SEO is the utmost priority. Use proper keywords and relevant hashtags that will help people discover your content.
4. Measure your IGTV performance regularly using Instagram Insights. Instagram Insights is a free tool that lays out the performance metrics of your content on Instagram. Some metrics are views, saves, likes, comments, and so forth.
5. The attention span of viewers is short. Consequently, to hold them till the end, you must make the first 10 seconds of your videos highly engaging and attention-grabbing. It is best to clearly explain what the video is about and what you will be doing in this duration.
6. Carefully select your cover image, as this is the first thing that your audience will see. This must again be eye-catchy.

If leveraged properly, IGTV series can result in a lot of benefits for your business. Make the best use of this feature by applying the tactics mentioned above!

Instagram is the most used social media platform after Facebook. With algorithms constantly on the mend, it’s important that social media marketers and influencers keep up, so they don’t get lost in the change of the tides. Find a strategy that works for you and keep updating it as Instagram updates its algorithm. Your strategy needs to bring you more Instagram followers, increase your engagement, and liven up your comments section. Simply put, the more engagement you receive on a post, the more Instagram recognizes and promotes you.

Explaining the New Algorithm

Ever since it moved away from the well-known and much-loved chronological feed, the Instagram algorithm has raised many questions and concerns among influencers and users alike.

• Instagram shows people what it thinks they’re most interested in seeing. The more Instagram thinks a user will interact with your post, the higher it will appear on their feed. When you post regularly, your content is more likely to gain more engagement. The level of user engagement tells Instagram that people are interested in what you’re putting out. It sends positive signals to the algorithm, boosting your visibility and giving you more opportunities for interaction.
• Instagram favors timeliness. It looks for the latest, most interesting post to show users. You can hack this by looking at your insights. Find the best time to post with reference to audience engagement and most active hours. If you post at a time when most of your followers are online, you give your content a fighting chance at being interacted with.
• Instagram gives preference to users who give them more screen time. As the social media platform that runs on visibility, Instagram will want to boost your presence if your posts urge users to spend more time on the platform.

Instagram comments are the most important form of engagement as far as the new algorithm is concerned. The comment section is how you get to connect with your followers and even get them to promote your products. Interaction matters a lot when it comes to building a relationship with your followers, and as such, gain their trust.

The Instagram comments section is one of the worthiest platforms that you can use to engage and interact with your audience. Besides, a visibly engaging comment section also serves as proof that you have real Instagram followers. With the new algorithm going strong, simply posting every day is not nearly enough to stay relevant in the social sphere. If engagement is what you’re after, you’ll need to adopt some new habits while posting on your feed. Here are a few tips you can use to navigate the new algorithm and stay relevant while also gaining new followers.

Before diving into the strategies to attract more comments, let’s look at a few things you need to do first to increase your own visibility:

• Switch to a public account.
  New users can only find your content if your profile is set to public.
• Enable push notifications.
  These notifications will help you quickly reply to interactions you receive on your post. Remember that you can only maintain your followers when you engage with them.
• Curate engaging content.
  People won’t comment on content that’s not of any interest to them. Keep your feed interesting and fresh.
• Develop an editorial calendar.
  Pick your posting time wisely. Timeliness is a big factor in the new algorithm. Look into insights and audience activity before posting.

Do you need an Instagram expert to complete an in-depth evaluation of your Instagram account & provide you with an action plan?

We provide an expert Instagram Optimization & Hashtags Research service

Strategies that Attract More Comments

Let’s jump into strategies that boost your comments:

1. Respond to Comments

Responding to comments is not only polite, but it also opens the door for more comments and as such, more engagement. The higher the number of comments on your post, the likelier an average user is to stop by your post and interact with the post, even adding a comment of their own. Responding to comments also lets you create a conversation between you and the commentor. This makes you appear personable while driving engagement up.

2. Host a Contest or Giveaway

Hosting a giveaway is a fun way to get followers to comment on your posts. Your next posts should promote the giveaway, and ask followers to enter by commenting and tagging their friends. Not only will this increase the number of comments on your post, but it will also drive new users to your profile. You can decide the rules of your giveaway. A smart way to host is to make the contest about your users. Ask them to recreate an image, or post something on their profile and tag or mention you. This makes your followers feel involved while the focus remains on you.

3. Host an Instagram Takeover

Instagram takeovers are a great way to collaborate with friends and fellow influencers. Takeovers introduce fresh content to your profile, attracting new users and generating more engagement. Especially if your preferred guest already has a vibrant and active following of their own. An Instagram takeover involves one user taking charge of your feed for a predetermined amount of time. This could be for an hour, a day, or even a week. Takeovers generate more comments and engage the followers from both profiles.

4. Creatively Ask People to Engage in the Comments

An easy way to get more comments is to ask for more comments. You could do this with the classic prompt, “leave a comment!” or choose to get more creative. The content you post on Instagram should be shareable and engaging enough to interact with. Increase the intrigue by asking questions in your captions. This motivates users to respond with their own thoughts and opinions. A simple question of ‘Would you agree?’ or ‘What’s your opinion?’ would suffice. You could make it more interesting by posting a photo followed by a ‘Caption This!’ prompt.

5. Post Something Provocative, Funny, or Surprising

The most viral internet moments come from content that provokes high-arousal emotions like anticipation, surprise, curiosity, and uncertainty. Your followers will interact with the posts that they find most curious and thought-provoking. Which in most cases, is something funny, surprising, unconventional, or provocative. Among these viral moments were also posts inciting feelings of joy. Make sure your posts inspire emotion – so much so that your followers are compelled to add their own thoughts about it in the comments section. These kinds of posts don’t particularly have to be specific to your brand. Content that’s enjoyable for a broader audience is more likely to attract more comments.

6. Up your Hashtag Game

Niche hashtags are a good way to build a community that identifies with your brand. This also generates relevant Instagram comments. Using hashtags specific to your content will also help you rank higher, letting people find you with more ease using the hashtag browser. When you use relevant hashtags, your post has that much more chances of appearing in the explore tab, allowing new potential followers to discover you. Influencers and users will feel inspired to comment on posts that they identify with and are interested in. Ask your followers how they celebrated their #SundayFunday, post a #TBT (Throwback Thursday) every Thursday or a #WCW (Woman Crush Wednesday) on Wednesdays. When you start using hashtags the right way, your options are endless.

7. Post Videos

2016 saw an increase of 40% in the number of people watching videos on Instagram. Post engaging videos to get followers to stop and immerse themselves in your content. Make sure your video is intriguing and something that inspires emotion. Videos are most likely to garner comments when it comes to social media content.

8. Make Use of Instagram Stories

Stories are an easy way to interact with your audience. Since stories were implemented, users have taken to them like moths to the flame. When you post a story, your followers will feel inclined to click on your image at the top of their Instagram feed to fulfil their curiosity. Stories also allow you to interact directly with your followers using polls, quizzes, choose which buttons, ask and answer questions etc. Stories are a simple way to build a strong community of loyal followers. Stories also show up on the hashtag browser and explore page. Moreover, you can repost your posts on stories and tag them with an interesting question. This increases visibility while also increasing the likelihood of a flooded comments section in the shared post.

9. Tag Brands, People, and Locations

By tagging other users in your post, you attract their attention, having your content pop up in many new and different places. This increases your chances of being discovered by new users and their friends. Tagging locations can help people in that area find you. This becomes increasingly important if you’re running a local business. When you tag other brands or influencers, you might even get reposted by the accounts you tagged. This showcases you to a whole new set of followers.

Think engagement first. As a social media personality, marketer, or influencer, you have to keep honing your strategy according to the changes in the algorithm. Schedule your posts at prime time, make use of stories, tag popular personalities and brands, utilize the location tag etc. Keep checking Instagram analytics and your default insights tool to expand your perspective on when, how, and what to post.

If your business/brand is on Instagram, you must have seen people posting stories about what they are doing multiple times a day. It is a great way of engaging directly with your audience and getting feedback on your product and services. When used correctly a story can bring one on one contact into your customer’s unity.

Most of the people who use stories are on the younger side of the spectrum. If you want to market something to them it is best that you include Instagram stories in your portfolio too. Its interactive things like questions, polling, and Instagram AR filters makes it a fun little storytelling device.

AR means augmented reality and though it might sound complicated and uber futuristic it has been in use since 2017. Instagram’s AR filters can make you stand out in a sea of companies and many major brands like Coca-Cola and Gucci have used filters to great effect. They are very easy to make and can be made in a few hours in Spark AR Studio. You can now create your own unique AR filter which lets your brand be seen by many more people and drive engagement.

What are Instagram AR filters?

These AR filters are some computer generated effects that can be layered over a live image from your camera. They alter the image that is being displayed by your front camera or back camera. You can compare them to Instagram’s face filters that can be found on many stories.

For example, the dog filter superimposes an image of the dog’s ears. The AR filters make your animated face have a tongue that comes on screen only when you open your mouth.

The “Hello-2020” filter is also a great example of an AR filter. You must also note the fact that AR filters are very different from the preset Instagram filters that can be put on your images. They are far more interactive and made with the notion of making the stories more fun or sending a message across.

Can anyone make them?

In the “F8 conference” in 2019 Facebook said that anyone that has the Spark AR software can make an AR filter. You can make new AR filters from the comfort of your home that lets people interact and increase the brand awareness of your business. Since Facebook and Instagram are now part of the same company these filters work on all the platforms provided by both Instagram and Facebook.

Before it was made public only a select few people could make filters with the Spark AR app. Now, most people can download the software and make a filter for their business. This is part of the technological democracy that most of the tech companies are trying to introduce in the world. With the power of creation in the hands of as many people as possible, it has become easier to get widespread publicity for your creations.

AR filters are easy to find and anyone can find them on your profile. You can also find these filters in the Effect Gallery option when you try to make a story.

Do you need an Instagram expert to complete an in-depth evaluation of your Instagram account & provide you with an action plan?

We provide an expert Instagram Optimization & Hashtags Research service

Why create one for your brand?

While it is a great tool for people who are active on Instagram and use it on a daily basis it might not be for all. If your business appeals to a younger crowd then we would highly suggest using these filters.

They are trendy among young people and give your business an edge over your competitors with ingenious marketing. Many brands have become popular again due to these filters and challenges as they increase visibility. With more and more people having purchasing power this is the new way to market to them in 2021.

According to research most people who watch stories belong to businesses only. It is a great way to show off your brand’s unique persona and how in sync you are with youth culture.

They reflect how your brand operates and what tone you want to set for your products and services. They also reflect your brand’s environment and how you do things in your own world.

It gives people a signature of what you are capable of doing and also helps them identify. A unique identity goes a long way when it comes to social media and you should invest time and money into making one that sticks out.

Over 500 million accounts engage with stories on a daily basis and 60% of the Instagram stories have this interactive AR element in them. These filters are not very common and not many brands use them. You can get ahead of everyone else and sway things in your favor with these AR filters.

A feature on the app allows you to focus more on your Instagram marketing strategy and gets you good traffic too. These stories have great organic reach and can also help your brand visibility.

Fashion companies have made AR filters that help people virtually try on the thing that they are trying to sell. This makes people see for themselves how the clothing will look on them and whether they should buy it or not. This makes the interactive filter more useful and creates a buzz around the new product too.

You can always incorporate your brand’s mascot or logo into the filter and people will start to recognize that it is you. This makes for a fine Instagram marketing strategy and increases your brand awareness at the same time. This is the modern-day equivalent of word of mouth. People like what you are doing and people share it. Their followers see it and if they like it they also share it forward. It sets off a chain reaction and makes your brand even more popular than before. This increased engagement and visibility will definitely lead to conversion.

How to make an AR filter?

Now that you know that it is a great tool to appeal to the users active on Instagram daily, it is time to make one. It is very simple and can be done by anyone all you have to do is

• Download Spark AR Studio
• Download this software on your pc or mobile phone.
• Get used to it

Like any app, there is a bit of a learning curve to the Spark AR app. Make sure you are familiar with most of the things in the app and how you can get the best results. Go through a few lessons and tutorials on Youtube and make yourself familiar with the app.

There are a lot of nice lessons on the Learning Centre too which makes the app an in-house powerhouse. For exercise download the sample folder and make an AR filter using that.

Start Your Project

You can use the existing templates to start your project if you feel a bit overwhelmed. The Stimulator is another great app that lets you test out your AR filters before you release them.

Edit your filter as such so that most of the screens can handle them. If you make them too big they won’t fit on a mobile screen and if you make them too small they will look weird.

Test It

Send the file to Instagram and Facebook and see how it looks. You must do this step only when you are satisfied with your mock-up. Now you can try and use the filter on Insta or Facebook and have a first-hand feel as to how it looks.

Once you are done press the upload button and “test on device”. The AR filter will be published only after it clears the Spark AR’s guidelines and community standards.

Don’t Stop

Maybe your new filter did not catch on or it wasn’t the best in the biz. But that is okay there is always room for improvement. Make more filters and research how other businesses are using these. Up your filter game with face or hand-tracking enabled filters. You can also incorporate audio or aesthetics into your filter to give it a more wholesome feel.

Social Media platforms are growing and the popular ones are becoming more and more a part of our lives. They have become the new advertising medium for the younger generations and you popularize them using these tools.

Whether AR driven or not these apps will continue to grow and it is in your best interests to keep up with these developments. Having a good handle on trending things will make you stand out from the crowd but also more relatable to the younger audiences. These are impressionable people who are entering the workforce and you can capitalize on that.

They are a perfect audience for businesses as they have a great amount of purchasing power right off the bat. The younger generation is looking for fun marketing strategies that are worthy of sharing on their social media feed. If you can make your marketing fun and inclusive you will have a booming business in this decade. With trends and challenges taking over the social media landscape keeping up with the youth will definitely help your business.

Instagram has been the go-to social media app for most people in recent years. You can share pics and videos there and have a growing audience day by day. Instagram was founded with the purpose of capturing the moment but as a business, you can use it to expand your reach and create brand awareness.

The new “IGTV” feature is the long-form video format that Instagram uses. This was to keep users on the app for longer and have much more content on the app itself. The one-minute time limit can be rather limiting and the 30s reels even more.

With the onset of IGTV, many people say it is the most complete app in recent times. It opens up avenues for topics that could not be discussed in a short form.

Here are few reasons why you should have an IGTV Channel

Increase Visibility

Instagram is the biggest social media platform with the most active users in the world. As with all social media, it is great for businesses to promote themselves and constantly be in the public eye.

You can get more converts and traffic to your brands and sell a multitude of products with your IGTV Channel. With online viewership growing every year at an alarming rate it is best you use this boom to your gains.

Edutainment

Educating and entertaining your audience at the same time is the best way to engage them in a long video. Not only you can tell them more about your product but also tell them about how it is better than the rest.

Edutainment has a rise in its popularity and is a sibling of the infotainment category. People are entertained and at the same time get their doubts cleared about the subject at hand. This is the reason that most of the video marketing campaigns in the 90s and 80s were so effective.

People are interested in knowing how your products can make their life easier or how they incorporate them into their lives. If you are able to send this message across they will be lining up to buy your products or services.

More Engagement

A new platform being released means that its organic reach right now would be off the charts. Hop onto this trend and you can get many more conversions with your IGTV videos.

Video marketing has been the “King of Marketing” for a long time and this does translate to IGTV as well. You now have more creativity and can show your audiences how your product/service works in real-time itself. It is definitely a tool you want to use to engage with your audience and see how they react to you and your business.

More engagement means more conversion- it is as simple as that. Most people interacting with the videos will not buy your service outright but it is important that you leave a lasting impression. Because when they need a product or service that you provide the first name to come to their minds would be yours.

Do you need an Instagram expert to complete an in-depth evaluation of your Instagram account & provide you with an action plan?

We provide an expert Instagram Optimization & Hashtags Research service

Community Building

If you want to be in business for a long time then it is important to note that your customers are like a community. If they are satisfied with your work they will come back to you again and again because you have made a community of people that they trust.

This trust and credibility play a huge part in sales and how the public views your business. The connections that you build in the community play a vital role in referral marketing.

Combining the best of Instagram videos and Youtube, IGTV is going to be a very beneficial platform for businesses and influencers alike. The long-form keeps the users engaged for a longer time but also clears all of their doubts at the same time.

IGTV Series

IGTV series is a great way to make educational videos that cater to a variety of people. A series detailing what you are selling makes you look more credible and you can explain what you will be doing for them in great depth.

They are like playlists that have related videos together in one folder. It makes your brand look more organized and streamlined and anyone needing in-depth can find the info easily.

An IGTV series can be a regular occurrence on your channel which people can follow like a television program. This keeps you users engaged and excited for something that will be uploaded or part of a bigger picture.

Here is how you create an IGTV series

It is very easy and quick to make an IGTV series, all you have to do is upload the video that you want to share to Instagram TV. Then you will have to either upload a pic for the thumbnail or use one of the frames in the videos.

On the next screen, you can see the “Add to Series” option. Here you can either add the video to an already existing series or make a new one altogether.

After this, all you need to do is feed in the name of these series and a short description of it. The title needs to be short yet catchy and describe the essence of the series in a few words. It is best that you work with a copywriter on this to maximize the impact of the video.

Here are few tips for creating a high impact IGTV Series

These are few simple points that may seem obvious but will help you in the long run in creating high performing series.

Cohesiveness is Key

Your series will be a mess if they are not connected to each other. You will need a strategy in place so that people can come and watch your videos regularly without feeling lost. For example, if the videos are connected to each other and have a recap of the last video then people will be more comfortable with them.

Your audio and video should be done well but it does not mean it should be very formal. People have embraced the informal or casual side of things and it makes your business more relatable too. Great narration helps too and keeps the people engaged. Make the videos in such a way that you cover a lot of depth but also give examples of how it might be beneficial to people watching.

You will have to treat these videos like a T.V. series season and give them something to root for. Break the videos down into small and digestible chunks so that people can watch them at any time and any place.

Promotion

Getting views cannot be left on organic reach itself. You will have to promote your videos whether you like it or not. Promotion does not mean that you are running ads on the platform it can simply mean putting up a story on Instagram itself.

Sending to various influencers and asking them for a shout out is also a good marketing strategy. If someone shares your story to their stories section it is good practice to reshare that. It brings credibility and openness to your brand image.

You can just share a preview of the video and let people go to the video from there. Or you can share the video across your various social media and link it back to your IGTV channel.

Get their Attention

Share a screenshot of the video where it gets interesting or where there is some great information. In the age of social media, people have very small attention spans and if you do not get their attention in a moment you have lost them.

Look up some IGTV series covers by popular brands and businesses and take notes. Most of them are bright and very eye catchy. You will instantly see what the video will be about and how the brand is associated with it. Bright covers will do well on almost every platform. Take inspiration from people and businesses around you and implement it into your own videos.

Be wary of the length of the video

Just because you have a long-form video format available does not mean that you max out the time limit every time. Even though the video is long, it should be precise and to the point. This way you get real Instagram followers and your growth will be steep.

Filler content will chase away your audience and it will be hard to regain them. Make the videos as long as they need to be. Be prepared and always have everything planned when you are on video.

Instagram followers and Instagram likes have gained a new meaning in these modern times and can be said to be the new currency. Having them on your side will increase the chances of you becoming more recognized and trusted by the public.

IGTV series gives you the opportunity to maximize your conversion and get the customer that you have been looking for. Follow our tips and you will see an increase in your stats immediately.

A good Instagram feed is necessary if you want to grow your brand on the social media platform. When potential Instagram followers first land on your profile, your Instagram feed is what they see. A professional, well-curated feed can help you build a strong brand identity, as well as attract real Instagram followers.

Your Instagram feed should have a consistent appeal, and be designed in a way where it’s visually pleasant. As a visual-heavy social media platform, to gain prominence on Instagram, your content should be picture and video heavy.

Why Do You Need a Good Instagram Feed?

Instagram has become a prominent platform that has an influence over consumer purchasing decisions. From influencers who promote sponsored products to actually selling through Instagram itself, the platform is readily used.

If you want to reach a large target audience, attract real Instagram followers and get more Instagram likes, then you’ll need a good Instagram feed. To have a good Instagram feed, you need to maintain a consistent theme throughout your feed.

You can do this is various ways. You can choose a consistent color scheme, aesthetic, borders, typography, and more.

What Makes a Good Instagram Feed?

There’s no one uniform way to make a good Instagram feed. There are various kinds of Instagram feeds, such as monochrome or vibrant. Different influences, artistic choices and ideas lead to different kinds of feeds. What unites them however, is that there ad certain principles used that boost that kind of feed.

In vibrant Instagram feeds for example, nearly every picture will usually have bright, youthful colors. In a pastel aesthetic based feed, the content will tend to appear in softer shades of color. Monochrome feeds don’t feature color. However, aside from the color palette, these feeds also have to be styled so that the feed looks consistently good.

How Do You Style Your Instagram Feed?

When you start using your Instagram account for the first time, you aren’t presented with any set way to design your profile. You can take any visual content you want, edit and add your chosen filter, and then upload your content.

While this is great for normal user profiles, business profiles need to be choosy about their feeds. Brands, influencers and anyone looking to build a following on Instagram needs to consider how they’re presenting themselves on Instagram.

With billions of users and an active community of users, Instagram has successfully established itself as a social media giant. This also makes it a competitive environment, with all kinds of businesses vying for consumer attention on the platform. If you want your profile to stand out, then your Instagram feed is the first place to start.

Remember that it’s the first thing your consumers will see when they land on uour profile. If first impressions matter, then you want to make this one absolutely count.

Here’s what you should know about styling your Instagram feed:

1. Choose Your Aesthetic

Your visual aesthetic should be carefully considered. The reason behind this is that it’s going to a be a core part of your visual representation on Instagram. The kind of aesthetic you choose will depend on the kind of brand you own.

Your brand aesthetic is how you want others to perceive and feel about your brand. A brand aesthetic is more than just one aspect of brand design, it’s essentially how you want others to feel about your business. That’s why a profile based around selling cakes will have a different aesthetic to one promoting business values.

To understand what your brand aesthetic is, you’ll need to define your industry and your niche. What kind of brand do you have? Why do you want to build your Instagram feed? Do you want real Instagram followers and Instagram likes? What are the goals that your Instagram feed is supposed to help you achieve?

Say you want more website traffic and you want to use your Instagram profile to achieve website growth. In this case, you can keep updating your Instagram Bio area with new links to the content you want your Instagram followers to view. You can also add captions that point them to your bio to check out your website. If your Instagram account is designed to boost website activity, your aesthetic could be focused on your already established website aesthetic.

However, before you can get an Instagram follower to browse through your content, they need to like your feed. A consistent aesthetic limits what you can do, but gives you a brand identity at the same time.

Do you need an Instagram expert to complete an in-depth evaluation of your Instagram account & provide you with an action plan?

We provide an expert Instagram Optimization & Hashtags Research service

2. Choose Your Color Palette

Your aesthetic can inform you about what your overall Instagram feed should look like. But your color palette will help you expand on your aesthetic. What this means is that there can be multiple kinds of Instagram feeds within the same aesthetic.

You can choose a pastel aesthetic for your feed and choose pink and white as your core colors. Another profile can pick the same aesthetic but choose blue and grey as the core colors. This will completely change how their profile appears in comparison to yours. However, both the profiles have similar aesthetic choices.

The colors you choose to represent your brand should reflect your existing brand colors. If you use certain colors often in your branding and collaterals design, consider incorporating them into your Instagram feed. Colors prominently featured in a brand logo should be incorporated as well.

Ideally, your color palette should consist of no more than six colors. Whenever you make a new post, you can refer to your color palette to ensure that your content adheres to your brand colors.

3. Consistent Editing

Instagram is heavily focused on quality visual content. If you want real Instagram followers and Instagram likes, your visual content should be on par as well. Unfortunately, you can’t always rely on an unedited picture to compete against all the heavily edited content on the platform.

You’ll need to ensure that all your pictures have the same vibe and feel to them. They need to appear as if they naturally fit together in your Instagram feed. This consistency can be affected if your editing style changes from picture to picture. What you can do to avoid this is use preset filters and edits before you post your final content.

This ensures that similar edits are made across all the pictures, and ensures that your feed looks consistent.

4. Consider Grid Layouts

Grid layouts refer to how your Instagram feed looks in overall. From block to block, your Instagram feed evolves as you add new content. This keeps your feed fresh and allows users to seamlessly browse from the present to the past across your content.

For business profiles, this needs to appear professional at all levels. And one way to reach that professionalism is through grid layouts. How you design how your profile layout will look depends entirely on you.

You can choose a puzzle layout, rainbow layout, and more. Puzzle layouts are bith common and popular. In this kind of layout, a single pictures split into smaller pictures. Than the smaller pictures are uploaded together to give the appearance of a larger picture. You can do this across two grids, although many brands use the puzzle layout across using nine blocks.

In a rainbow layout, you choose to be more diverse with your color palette. In this layout, you should be changing your color palette after every few pictures, usually nine. You can go from one color to another, such as red based visual content to blue based. You can also make the changes subtle, such as going from red to pink, or violet to purple.

There are other kinds of layouts you can consider as well. A checker board layout uses one dark and one light colored picture alternately.

5. Videos Are Just As Important

To give your Instagram feed more prominence, don’t forget about videos. The right blend of pictorial and video based content can help you attract real Instagram followers and Instagram likes. Growth on Instagram is determined not just by pictures, but by videos as well.

You can upload the videos you create directly to your feed, or you can use them in Stories or Reels. Ideally, to ensure that your Instagram feed has a consistent design, you want your Stories and Reels to reflect that design as well. Creating videos that match your brand aesthetic can help your account stand out more.

Creating Your Instagram Feed

Your Instagram feed should be capable of portraying your brand story. Without even knowing about your brand, a potential Instagram follower should be able to tell what your content is about at a glance. Animal welfare groups post more about animals, while nature conservation groups post about nature.

eCommerce profiles showcase their products, while influencers create content centered around their brand personality. By understanding what you want to portray your brand as and what you hope to get in return, you can style the perfect Instagram feed.