People will weep and complain that the algorithm is throttling them etc etc, without actually knowing if the algorithm is actually doing that. The one advantage of this obscurity is that it is incredibly hard to game the system. No one actually knows what they are doing.  No one can tell you exactly, for sure, a step-by-step successful strategy for Instagram.  There are as many different strategies as there are users.

But, despite saying this, there are some things that will always help your Instagram page grow consistently.

1- Use carousel posts 

Carousel posts are simply posts that have more than one image in them, users swipe left to see them. You can put up to 10 images now. These posts are great for driving engagement, as users spend more time on them as they have more to see, and also they need to tap the photo to see what is next.

According to Hootsuite, carrousel posts drive 3x the engagement and 1.4x the reach of other post types.

 

2- Put Instagram story stickers

Instagram stories have a wide variety of interactive stickers you can use. these stickers range from polls, questions, sliders, to time stamps, countdowns.  These stickers are a fun, engaging, and awesome way to get feedback from your target audience. 

If your audience interacts with your stories this tells the Instagram algorithm that manages who sees your content that they are worth showing to more people  

 

3- Pay attention to hashtags 

Hashtags are primarily used for post categorisation. Swap your hashtags around regularly to make sure that they match the content of your post. There is currently a debate going on about whether using the full set of 30 hashtags or only using a few is the most successful. If you use all 30 hashtags then your post will pop up in the recent under more categories. But then there is a rumor that the algorithm punishes the use of all 30 hashtags with less reach. This last assumption is neither confirmed nor denied so do with that as you will.

 

4- Interact with members of your community online

When you tap on a hashtag Instagram will take you to all the other posts under that hashtag. If you look at the top posts section they will all have a lot of likes and will probably be from already successful accounts. If you go to the recent section you will get the most recent sets of posts regardless of the size of the account. Interact with those posts in a positive manner and you are more likely to get known in the community and that interaction will mean more people will come back to check out your account.

5- Check Instagram Analytics 

under the Instagram insights tab you can see rough statistics about your audience. This can help you understand which of your posts performs best and what type of content your followers enjoy seeing from you. Of course, being exactly accurate about what posts do best can be a little difficult since the data is quite simple, but it can help you point in the right direction

 

Instagram purposely keeps its algorithms a secret so as to prevent anyone from gaming the system. Because of this, no one can give you a surefire, exact step-by-step way to grow your accounts. There are simply methods that have been tested and over time have bought slow-burn success.

Remember kids, people promising you instant overnight social media success are the same people selling the overpriced courses. The only real way, apart from the lucky ones, is to turn up every day with something of value to give your audience.

Good luck fellow plodders!

Instagram is attempting to monetize itself in a similar way to youtube, by creating its own version of the partnership program. Interestingly, Instagram and Facebook are rolling out new and innovative ways in which creators can monetize their content, all while throttling the organic reach any new creators or small accounts will get.

Until recently Instagram has relied on basic advertising for revenue, but they are attempting to make the monetization all-pervasive to incentivize users to remain on the platform longer. Many of these rollouts will benefit already established big creators but will not really help smaller beginner creators. But despite this facebook held their first Creator week declaring the importance of creators to the platform and their promise to support them.

So below is a summary of the latest Instagram features for monetization

1. Instagram Affiliate Tool

One of the major launches is the news that Instagram is beginning to roll out a native affiliate tool. This new tool will enable creators to discover new products available for purchase in the app, then share them with their followers and earn commissions for any subsequent purchases that they drive.

The new process will enable eligible creators to choose from products available in the app to add to their posts. And if users tap through on their post, and go on to make a purchase, the creator will get a commission – so it’s essentially an influencer marketing process without the creator having to do any of the negotiation or leg-work to put the incentive deal in place.

The keyword is “eligible”. Of course, Instagram will not allow any old creator to enter into affiliate partnerships, as that might result in some embarrassing situations. But Instagram has not specified what makes you eligible yet. It will very likely be some kind of combination of follower count and verification or something like Twitter. 

 

The affiliated content will have a special ‘eligible for commission’ tag so the potential buyers can know that by purchasing that product they also support their favorite creator.

Currently, this tool is tested with US-based creators such as Kopari, Benefit, MAC, Pat McGrath Labs, and Sephora and it is planned to expand to more creators in the future. 

 

2. Creators Instagram Shops 

The beginnings of the shopping tools on Instagram date back 2 years ago when they first introduce Instagram Checkout and after a few iterations and rollouts, the platform has evolved in providing dedicated Facebook Shops. and also Instagram Shops, for each of the networks respectively that mostly use the same platform in the backend. 

Instagram Shops are extremely valuable for Creators who sell their own products. It is probably the most innovative mobile and e-commerce solution that makes it easy for the sellers and also for the buyers to make a quick and secure purchase right on their mobile phones. 

Instagram rollout a global option allowing Creators to link Instagram shops not just with their brands business profile but also with their personal accounts in order to expand the reach of their product lines

Creators can use Bravado/UMG, Fanjoy, Represent, and Spring to make new product launches and excite their Instagram followers. This will be available at the end of the year. 

 

3. Instagram Live Badges

These seem to be very similar to twitch donations for those of you familiar with that platform

Instagram badges are a feature that allows you to show support to creators during a live video. When you purchase a badge during a live video, a heart icon appears next to your name in the comments.

Once badges are purchased:

Badges will remain next to your name during that live.

Your hearts are highlighted in the comments field during that live.

Your Instagram name appears on a list visible to the creator of that live video for up to 90 days.

If you ask a question during that live, your question will be highlighted to the creator.

If you make a comment during that live chat, your comment may be pinned by the creator.

Also similar to this is Facebook live stars. These again your audience can send to you while you live stream For every Star you receive, Facebook will pay you $0.01 USD.

In the hope to boost interaction, Facebook is launching Stars Challenges. This allows Creators in the program to earn payouts from Facebook in the form of free Stars, if they meet certain milestones, such as broadcasting a certain number of hours or earning a set number of Stars within a designated time period

4. Waiving commission

Last but not least, Instagram has removed any commissions until the end of next year. ‘Products where users pay creators directly we are waiving all fees through the end of next year,”

… Which means, that once the year is over… you will be paying Instagram commissions. So yes, these new tools are very interesting and will probably be very beneficial to creators. But these new updates will be making Instagram more like a streaming platform, pay to play. These new updates will very likely skew the benefits towards pre-established creators 

Reels are a relatively new feature on instagram, installed on the platform in the middle of 2020. These 15-30 second video format was created to compete with the success of tiktok. Because of their relative newness to instagram has put a more user friendly algorithm on them. Meaning, if you make reels, instagram will show them to more people, instead of throttling the reach, like a standard post. So obviously,  you want to make reels… a lot. BUT! You aren’t a content creator! You have other stuff to do! How are you supposed to keep coming up with short video ideas regularly? Also, please don’t make me dance.

1-  One word: Audios

Because instagram reels is copying tiktok, when creators make a reel, the visual and the audio is separate. The audio can be shared, or reused by other creators. This is how you get trending audios. Instagram has also recently introduced a stitch feature, again imitating tiktok. This feature allows you to put your video next to a pre-existing video, allowing you to piggyback off other creators. 

So, the key to being able to churn out the reels is: save audios.

As you scroll through reels you will notice the same audios being used again and again, byt different content creators. This is called a trend, follow trends. As a small content creator all you have to do is save the audio and repeat the trend. You do not need to search up trends, simply scroll and if you notice an audio being used a lot save it. The interesting thing about a lot of these audios is that they are usually pretty self explanatory as to what you have to do visually. And before you panic, no, they are not all dancing.

If you save sufficient audios, all you then have to do is go to the saved audio section and scroll through and select an audio. If you lack inspiration, simply look at what other creators have done with that audio, and it will become very clear what you can do. This strategy allows you to create original content for your online presence 

2- timelapses 

A very simple idea for reels, if you are a creator of things, is timelapses. All you have to do is set up your phone, film yourself making an item or product, then speed it up. People are always fascinated by the process of making things. It is a very easy reel idea that should not interfere too much with your everyday work. You also do not need to do timelapses of your product, you could sit your phone in your office window and catch the street life below you. You could do a timelapse of your fingers typing on the laptop if you have a boring office job. Timelapses can be 

3- vlogs

Lastly, you know youtube vlogs. On youtube, these are usually over 10 minutes, and are very often high production value. But on reels you are limited to 15- 30 seconds. All you need is to take a few very short clips or photos of your day as you go, and at the end of the day string them together with a popular audio and tadahhh! Instant reel! You can do a voice over, or simply text, or text to speech. It is a growing phenomenon on TikTok, micro vlogs of a person’s day. It is very fast paced, very easy to make it look exciting, and you do not need to actually show all of yourself, or even talk to camera. if you are not able to film all throughout your day, you could simply capture specific moments that you think might look good, like if you went to get coffee, or went to a park over lunch, simply capture a 15 second shot of it

On instagram people want aesthetically pleasing videos. Instagram is the platform for impossible beauty standards, but also a shallow appearance of authenticity.  So keep in mind when you make your videos the word “aesthetic”. Put a good filter, film the most visually interesting part of your day. Catch a sun beam on your coffee mug. Zoom in on some flowers. But remember above all, the more you do them, even if they suck at first, you will end up being a genius at reels. 

What’s your favorite tip for content inspiration?

Good luck! And reel them in

Did you know there are over 4 billion email users worldwide? That’s more than half the world’s population and shows that email marketing is an opportunity your business can’t afford to miss out on. Whether you’re a small business with limited resources or a large business with an enormous budget, email marketing is a strategy that anyone can master and benefit from. 

In recent years social media has become the digital marketing tool that everyone’s talking about, and email marketing is often looked at as a thing of the past. However, email marketing is still up there as one of the best. In fact, according to a study done by McKinsey & Company, Email marketing can be up to 40 times more effective than social media. The key to this success is ensuring your email marketing meets the following three necessary elements:

• You do not bombard your recipients with emails. 
• Your emails contain high-quality content that meets the interests of your recipients.
• You include a compelling CTA, (call to action). 

What is email marketing?

Before we show you how to conduct the perfect email marketing campaign, let’s start with a definition of what it is. 

Email marketing is a digital marketing method that uses email to promote products or services and encourages brand loyalty. Email marketing aims to build customer relationships and keep customers engaged between purchases. In it’s simplest form email marketing is a type of advertisement.

So now we’ve covered the ‘whats’ let’s cover the ‘hows’… here are our four steps explaining how you can build the perfect email marketing campaign. 

Step 1. Plan your email marketing strategy

Planning is an essential part of building your campaign. Your emails are at high risk of becoming lost in overcrowded inboxes or getting sent straight to spam. That’s why it’s crucial that you strategise your approach. Here’s a little roadmap of how to do it:

• Define your audience

Just like every other marketing strategy, you must begin by creating your buyer persona. Who will you be sending your emails to? What are their needs and pain points? This is who you will tailor your email content to. 

• Set your goals

Motivation comes from having something to work towards, so research email statistics for your industry and set yourself some realistic benchmarks. 

• Choose your Email campaign type

There are lots of different types of email campaigns that suit different industries and recipient demographics. For example, standard promotional campaigns, newsletters, product announcements, abandoned carts, and more. Decide which campaign is best for your audience.

• Create a campaign schedule

The best way to stay organised and make sure your campaign doesn’t lose momentum is to stick to a schedule. When deciding how often your emails will go out, first consider how often is too often? i.e. don’t bombard your recipients, and secondly, think about what is the right length of time to leave between emails to ensure your recipients don’t forget about you. 

Step 2. Build your email list

Once you’ve finished planning your campaign you can start putting it together. Start by building an email list of eager prospects that are interested in hearing from you. Wondering how to do that? We’ve got you covered.

There are two elements to building a healthy email list, the first involves using lead magnets to lure in potential customers, the second involves producing compelling opt-in forms. Let’s take a look at these in more detail…

Lead Magnets

If you want to generate an authentic list of emails from people who are actually interested in what your business has to offer, then using lead magnets is a great method for naturally attracting these prospects. A lead magnet is essentially a piece of content, related to your industry, that you offer to people for free in exchange for their email address. Examples of lead magnets are:

• Ebook
• Whitepaper
• Infographic
• Template
• Webinar
• Software or tool

Lead magnets are effective for two reasons. Firstly, because lead magnets are related to and relevant to your business, they attract the right kind of prospects who fit your buyer persona and secondly, because they actually work, people tend to be willing to hand over their email addresses if they’re going to receive something of value to them in return. 

Opt-in forms

You’ve created an attractive lead magnet, and it’s drawing interest from potential customers. What next? This is where an opt-in form comes in. Not having one is the only thing stopping your future leads from accessing the incredible asset you’ve designed for them and stopping you from securing their email addresses. 

What is an opt-in form you ask? It’s a digital form containing a few simple fields to be filled in by your prospects. Once the form is completed, your potential customers will be granted access to your lead magnet, and you will receive the information they entered. 

Here are three things to remember when creating your opt-in form:

• Keep it simple

A lengthy form with too much copy and an excessive number of fields to complete will deter your future leads. Only ask for basic information and keep it to the point. 

• Make sure it’s attractive

Your opt-in form is the first thing people see so the design work needs to be tip-top. Consider adding an attention-grabbing header that will excite people and persuade them to sign up. 

• Only add relevant info

Your primary goal is to get people to sign up, but don’t do this by embellishing or through deception. Make sure all the information on your form is relevant and an accurate description of what they will receive. 

Step 3. Send your emails 

After all the time and effort that went into building the perfect email list, wouldn’t it be a shame if your email is sent straight to spam? Well, that’s exactly what will happen if you lose momentum now. Before you send your email, there’s a little more hard work to be done. Don’t worry though, it will pay off. Here are the next things you need to do:

Choose an email marketing service provider

Since you’re going to be sending out a lot of emails, it’s only wise to choose an email marketing service to support you in your marketing efforts. These are simply tools or software that allow you to design and personalise professional-looking emails which can then be scheduled and sent en-masse. They also offer a breakdown of the data so you can analyse your efforts.

Segment your email list

Your current email list can be segmented into categories which will allow you to send more targeted emails. For example, you may want to segment your list according to age-groups, interests or preferences. This will help you to be more personal with your campaign, instead of sending out generic emails containing ‘canned’ copy. 

Craft your email

You might know what the content of your email is going to be, but do you know how to optimise every inch of it to make sure it lands perfectly? Here are our top tips for crafting the perfect marketing email:

• Write relevant and consistent copy

Try and stick to one topic in your email so that there’s a clear, defined point that your CTA will follow naturally from. Also, decide on a TOV (tone of voice) that will be iconic to all of your brand’s copy, and be consistent with it throughout your emails.

• Include high-quality images

How do you make an email look nice? By including high-quality, attractive images that will make it more interesting and break up the text. Make sure they’re relevant to your topic. 

• Add a CTA

A CTA, or “call to action” is a word or phrase that prompts a response from the reader. For example, if the aim of your email is to direct the reader to your website, tell them to click on a link to it. 

• Consider the time of day

The best time of day to send a marketing email is between 8:00 am and 9:00 am. During this time your email has the highest chance of being opened. 

• Insert an enticing subject line

The first thing your recipients will see is the subject line, think of this as your elevator pitch. In less than 150 characters you need to convince them to open your email. Be clear, concise and use enticing language. 

If you’d like to see these tips in more detail, we’ve dedicated an article to just that. Don’t say we never treat you. Read it here.

Now you’ve crafted the perfect email, you should be ready to click send. Once your email has been delivered, the waiting game begins. However, your work isn’t over yet. Next up is email marketing analysis…

Step 4. Analyse your email marketing 

Measuring the effectiveness of your marketing campaign is going to equip you to make better decisions in the future that will help you to cater for your readers and subscribers and ultimately have a positive impact on your business. Here are four key metrics you should pay attention to when measuring the effectiveness of your campaign:

Deliverability

The rate at which your email reaches the intended recipient’s inboxes. 

Open rate

The percentage of recipients that open the email.

Clickthrough rate

The percentage of recipients that click on the CTA.

Unsubscribers

The number of people who, since receiving your email, have opted out of your email list. 

A/B testing

It can be hard to tell which aspects of your email campaigns are hitting a high note with your audience and which aspects are falling short. That’s where A/B testing comes to the rescue. Here’s how to do it: 

• Choose a variable to test, e.g. CTA, images, subject line.
• Create two versions of the same email, one containing the variable and one without it.
• Simultaneously send each email, one email should go to half of your email list and the other should go to the second half of your email list.
• Now you can measure the effectiveness of the chosen variable by seeing which email performed better.

This article was a long one, we know. But we wanted to treat you to a comprehensive guide so you can make better-informed decisions when crafting your next email marketing campaign. Good luck!

As Always, Good Luck!

Is there anything worse than not winning a new customer? Yes, losing an existing one. It’s every salesperson’s worst nightmare. You win some, you lose some, such is life. Here’s the good news though, in many cases customer churn can be prevented. We’re going to walk you through five steps on how to do it. 

What is customer churn?

First, though, let’s start at the beginning. If customer churn is a phrase you’ve never heard before, it’s simply this: the percentage of customers that stopped using your company’s products or services over a set time frame.

Here’s the formula for calculating your customer churn rate:

Customer churn rate = No. of customers you lost / No. of customers you began with x 100

So, let’s say you want to calculate your customer churn rate for the month of January. If you lost 15 customers and started with 50, your customer churn rate would be the following:

15 / 50 = 0.3

1. 3 x 100 = 30%

5 steps for preventing customer churn

Now you know what customer churn is, let’s have a look at some methods to prevent it. 

Outstanding customer service

Your customer service can make or break your company. Deliver poor customer service and you can say goodbye to both your customers and your reputation. 

Delivering excellent customer service will make your customers feel heard and that’s going to guarantee their respect. Don’t wait around for them to contact you either, you should reach out to your customers now and then to offer some support, they’ll appreciate that you took the time to contact them. 

Value beyond purchase

On top of outstanding customer service, you should also prove to your customers that your company can offer them more than just the one product or service they needed. If you can continue to deliver valuable resources they are more likely to continue being a customer. Examples you can send to them include:

• Newsletters
• Relevant blog posts
• Info on upcoming events

Personalised customer experiences

Customers like to feel special. That’s why it’s crucial that all of the interactions you have with them are personalised. You might not be able to hand-write every email you send, but you could segment your email lists into certain demographics and send tailored emails with relevant content to each of the different groups. 

Analyse churned customers

Struggling to figure out why you’re losing customers? It’s simple, just ask them. Consider sending out surveys to churned customers and find out what turned them off, and what you can do better in future. 

The data you collect will be instrumental in drawing helpful conclusions about the changes you need to make, then you can get on with implementing these changes and start reducing your churn rate. 

Study your strongest customer relationships

As well as analysing those churned customers, it will also be beneficial to decipher the things your organisation is good at. Knowing what is keeping your customers from churning means you can, well, keep on doing it. You can then focus on your positive attributes and keep improving them, making them more seamless and effective. 

Don’t let customer churn get you down. It’s a fact of life that all salespeople must face. Instead of allowing it to get the better of you, follow these 5 steps so you can minimise your customer churn rate and get back to doing what you love – selling! 

 

As Always, Good Luck!

Customer Retention

It’s human nature to want something you don’t have. That’s why there’s something very exciting about acquiring new customers. For this reason, some companies spend most of their time and energy on the hunt for brand new customers, when they should be spending just as much of it on retaining the ones they already have.

What if we told you that a returning customer is actually more beneficial than gaining a new one? Why? Because returning customers are loyal ones, and a loyal customer is a committed customer. If they’ve decided they like your brand, then the chances are they’re going to keep coming back. BUT! This does of course require some effort on your part. Don’t worry though, we’ve done the hard part for you. We’ve gathered six retention strategies that will keep your customers engaged and happy. 

Use customer service tools for Customer Retention

One foolproof method for keeping your existing customers satisfied is by providing top-tier customer service. This can be a difficult task when you have so many customers though… Enter customer service tools. 

Software such as a good CRM will take the stress out of it. You can record customer interactions and create support tickets, these will reside in one unified hub so that every rep has access to it and keep Customer Retention high.

Inspire customer loyalty with a mission

Give your customers a reason to stay loyal to you by introducing a mission statement. You can inspire commitment from them through what they stand for. Now, more than ever, people are choosing brands with a message that aligns with their own beliefs. Whether it’s a devotion to planting trees, investing in young people, or improving workplace diversity, having an ultimate purpose for what you do will give your customers a reason to stand by you.  

Keep them keen on convenience

A major reason people opt to stick by a company is due to ease of use or convenience. A prime example of this is when an online retailer provides the option to “save payment details”. Never again do you have to scramble for your debit card every time you want to make a purchase, and it’s simple conveniences such as this that keep customers going back to the same shop. 

Get personal with them

Create relationships with your customers by leveraging personalisation. A great way to do this is by utilising social media platforms and interacting with your customers in an authentic, human manner. For example, you could set up a company Twitter page where customers can tag you in posts, and receive personable responses from members of your team. 

Spark a rivalry between you and your competitors

There’s a reason why sports teams inspire mass followings from so many committed fans… even when the team isn’t a very good one. People love rivalry. Spark a divide between yourself and your competitors, using a bit of tongue and cheek of course, and your customers might just become your biggest brand advocates. 

Start a subscription service

This strategy is all about making your customers feel like they’re members of a VIP club. Offer them incentives for signing up, such as discounts or access to services that regular customers don’t have. 

The aim of the game for retaining customers is to give them a reason to choose you instead of taking their custom elsewhere. We hope you find these six strategies useful, good luck! 

Remember the days when you would log in to Instagram to find all the latest posts you’ve missed in a nice chronological order? Those days were bliss. 

These days your feed seems to present in a totally random order, and not to mention the fact that your Aunt is always mad at you for not liking her recent cat photo…it’s not your fault though, it didn’t come up on your feed! In fact, there’s a really simple explanation for this; it’s Instagram’s new algorithm. 

For many brands, the new algorithm definitely came as a shock. Instagram used to be one of the easiest social media marketing tools to navigate. You post a pic, people see it, and hey-presto, you gain customers. Now though, making sure your photos get seen is a little trickier, but do not to fear! We’ve got the low-down on how to beat the algorithm and get your posts ranking high in the feed. It’s all about engagement. The more people you’ve got liking and commenting on your posts, the better it will rank on the Instagram feed. 

How to boost Instagram engagement

Here are some clever ways to get more comments and likes on your posts, and ultimately rank higher in user’s feeds. 

Post frequently

Rarely active accounts just don’t fare well on Instagram, or any other social media platform for that matter. If you want to get people engaging with your photos, you need to get them interested in your account and looking forward to your next post. If you don’t post very often, people will inevitably forget about you, unfollow you, and sadly you’ll fade into the background. 

Host a giveaway

Who doesn’t love free stuff? Am I right? Hosting a giveaway is a great way to entice users to like, comment and share your content. Invite users to enter the contest by engaging with your post, perhaps by tagging three of their friends, (who may then also enter the contest). 

Host a takeover

Hosting a takeover means allowing another company, colleague or influencer to post on your account for a certain amount of time, (usually a day). This is a really clever way to attract their audience over onto your page so you can gather follows, likes and comments from a brand new set of users.

Ask people to comment 

We’ve all heard it before…‘why don’t you just ask?’. It can feel wrong to do it, but actually, asking for something is often the easiest way to get it. 

Applying this method to Instagram, find ways to ask your followers for their input on your most recent post. You could ask for their opinion on something, whether they agree or disagree with a statement, or even ask for their advice.  

Respond to comments

Following on nicely from our last tip, try and respond to comments. You don’t need to respond to them all, but perhaps the ones that stand out to you, or as many as you have the time for. 

Modern consumers love two-way marketing. It feels good to have a conversation with your favourite brands. It will also encourage people to comment because they will want a response from you. 

Post something funny or shocking

Want to really get people talking? Give them something to talk about!

If you post something funny, surprising or provocative, you’re bound to get a conversation started. This tactic will have users commenting about their responses and tagging their friends. 

Post a teaser on your story

Some people browse through their story feed just as much, if not more than they do their general feed. Don’t want them to miss your post? Add a little teaser to your story so they’ll be directed to your post. 

These tips should have you well on your way to beating Youtube’s new algorithm and upping your posts’ engagement. If you’re yet to establish a social media presence for your brand, take a look at this article we wrote on how to build a flawless social media marketing strategy. 

Good luck!