Category: Social Media

The Covid-19 pandemic has rapidly accelerated the transformation into a post-brick and mortar world for many businesses. The imposition of lockdown measures and social distancing as the pandemic spread led to a significant push towards more modern marketing approaches – with leveraging the power of social media key to gaining exposure in this new digital ecosystem. 

Although digital marketing is certainly nothing new, in a world that’s less dependent on physical stores, more marketers have become reliant on online campaigns for matters of lead generation, generating conversions, and building brand loyalty. 

As the chart above shows, as much as 69% of directors believe that the pandemic has accelerated their organization’s digital business initiatives. Meanwhile, just 3% opted to reduce their investment in digital business following the emergence of the pandemic. 

The shift towards online shopping underlines the importance of digital transformation following the arrival of Covid-19. As we can see, more purchases are being made online than ever before due to the impact of lockdown measures globally. 

This has created a necessity for modernized marketing approaches. With higher volumes of shopping taking place online, it’s essential for marketers to build modern campaigns to reach new customers and to bond with existing ones, too. With this in mind, let’s take a deeper look into the invaluable role that social media plays in generating leads in a post-brick and mortar world: 

Automation for Personalization

Chatbots were in vogue even before the emergence of the pandemic. This news is likely to be unsurprising for hardened marketers due to the sheer volume of benefits they bring. They’re a digital tool that’s capable of communicating and resolving issues with your customers within the need for a human point of contact. 

Additionally, chatbots can integrate with the platforms that consumers now feel most comfortable interacting through: social media. What’s more is that these bots don’t require any coding knowledge among the business leaders implementing them, and platforms like Chattypeople have simplified the process of integrating a helpful chatbot into your marketing strategy. 

In the example above, we can see how far chatbots have come in recognising text and working to respond affirmatively in delivering satisfactory solutions to customers. 

These bots can also go some way in leveraging more personalized experiences for your customers. In order to do this, be sure to stop linking your ads solely to your landing pages and instead make more ads that redirect your audience to a Messenger window with your chatbot. 

By linking your ads to your chatbot, you can help to break the traditional view of customers that you’re only interested in selling to them, it can make your customer’s experience far more personal, and generate a loyal customer base alongside boosting sales. 

Adapting to New Customer Expectations

Customers crave content, and in addition to more activity, customers’ expectations have changed in how brands should engage with their audience. Instead of one-sided conversations where brands simply ‘post and ghost’, companies now must learn to interact with their customers on a more personal level and respond to their needs. 

The brands that recognized this need at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and ramped up their social media marketing efforts accordingly are likely to benefit the most in a post-brick and mortar world. However, despite a significant level of change occurring in the wake of the health crisis, some brands have discovered new audiences through this greater level of personal interaction via social media and are set to thrive even despite a more difficult financial landscape. 

Above, we can see how brands like Starbucks help to treat their customers like individuals through social media interactions. Although the comments section of social media posts can be an unpredictable place, it’s certainly worth engaging with customers down there in order to build far greater loyalty. 

Taking a More Measured Approach to Sales

The days of intrusive traditional marketing are long gone in the age of social media. The reason for this is simple: people don’t want to be sold to. They would rather establish real connections and relationships with the brands that they’re buying from. 

Vitally, it’s important for you to get your audience or customers to build their trust in you. Rather than pushing a hard sell, simply win the trust of your audience and they’ll be much more inclined to make a purchase from you online. 

Rather than promoting newly published books or advertising seasonal offers in the case of this Waterstones post, the book shop looks to engage directly with customers by starting a conversation about the books that influenced their followers on Instagram. The company even took on a slightly negative stance in their post in asking for examples of unhappy reading memories – helping to further disassociate the brand with simply existing to make sales. 

Planning Content in Advance

Naturally, to be successful on social media, it’s vital to have high quality content to share with your audience. One of the biggest mistakes that businesses make is through being far too promotional – as we’ve already touched upon. 

With this in mind, it’s important to balance the content that your business shares on social platforms. There needs to be a healthy mixture of informative and entertaining items alongside a small percentage of promotional material utilized for good measure. You’ll also need to tactically work on your content curation strategies to cherry pick the best of external content to share on your accounts. 

One of the most significant reasons why influencers gain their status is because they know what their audience wants and they plan out their content far in advance to reach them in the best possible manner. As a brand, you’ll need to adopt a similar strategy in order to successfully reach your desired audience on social media. 

In a world that’s transitioning from brick and mortar operations to more digital business models, it’s also worth preparing for the mid-term future. As technology develops, social media is sure to remain a prominent platform for consumers and businesses alike. Today we’re seeing the development of more multimedia content, with some augmented reality integrations helping to better advertise various products. 

As we can see, Michael Kors has been quick to adapt its social media offerings to incorporate virtual try-ons via augmented reality. Businesses must have an eye on the future of advertising, with the arrival of smart glasses over the coming years, we may soon see a whole new level of interactive marketing available thanks to the availability of technologically advanced eyewear packed into discrete frames like those seen here in traditional eyewear outlets. 

Plan engaging content that blends engaging topics of conversation with light marketing, multimedia, and curated content. Also remember to develop formats that can fit into emerging technologies, like augmented reality integration for a future built on the prevalence of smart glasses or the consumption of media through smartwatches. 

In a post-pandemic world, social media marketing has become more valuable than ever. The businesses that move quickest in adapting to this new standard in generating exposure will be best positioned to thrive in the age of the ‘new normal’. 

Social Analytics Social Media Optimization (SMO) is a set of methods to attract visitors to website content by promoting it through social media. To succeed in SMO, an entrepreneur or marketer must always think of three parameters: Monitoring (watch), Measurement (web analytics and statistics), and Management (3M). Monitoring your e-reputation and viral phenomena via social analytics is an essential issue to control and improve the perception of your brand.

Digital today is the domain of everything is possible – “making things happen”. As a digital marketer, these facts have surely not escaped you. In addition to having a modern, attractive and optimized site, for 2021, we offer a selection of essential social media management tools that every marketer should have at their disposal to implement their digital marketing strategy. 

In this article, we’ve identified 15 free tools that allow small businesses (SMBs) to listen and monitor social media.

Here are 15 important social media tools for marketers.

1. Buffer

Buffer is a wonderful SMM tool that assists you plan a consistent schedule for your posts across your various social networks. You can immediately add content, videos, photos, and other content to the queue, even when you’re on the go. You can also stagger the publication hours, as you wish. This is possible by using the various Buffer mobile applications and the Chrome or Firefox extensions which also allow you to obtain valuable information about the traffic generated on your content.

You can use Buffer completely for free with their “Free” plan. It is one of the best social media scheduling tools that allows you to manage only 3 profiles and schedule 10 posts. You also have access to the Pablo Image Creator as well as the extension for your browser. You also have the $10 per month plan which allows you to manage up to 10 profiles and schedule up to 100 posts per profile. You will also have access to the calendar as well as statistics related to your posts. For the $99 per month plan, you will be able to manage 25 accounts and schedule up to 2,000 posts. You will also have access to advanced statistics on all of your profiles. You can also purchase a plan for $199 or $399 per month.

2. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is an easy-to-use web app for the average user, hence its success is not limited to Community Managers and similar specialists in the field. It allows you to manage within the same panel various accounts of various social platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, or WordPress blogs. From it, you can publish texts, images, schedule updates, and even monitor the comments of your different profiles. In short, you can do it in a very practical and fast way.

You will be able to use Hootsuite for free at first. You can then switch to the professional account for $19 per month. This program will allow you bundled programming, real-time statistics as well as unlimited RSS integrations. You can also use the “team” package at $99 per month. Finally, the $499 per month business plan will give you everything Hootsuite can do, including exporting statistics from your various accounts, priority support, and more.

3. Edgar

This SMM tool ensures that you get maximum engagement for each of your posts. This makes sure that all of your content gets noticed. To get this done, Edgar has a digital library where every single post you have ever made is stored under different categories, such as quotes, blog links, and images. A smart tool that will help you in your daily work.

You can start using Edgar by paying $49.00 per month. If you don’t like its features, you can cancel your subscription within the first 30 days and get your money back.

4. Sendible

Sendible is a growing SMM tool with an amazing user interface. With Sendible, you get 20 integrations with the best social networks, blogs, etc. You can connect Sendible to Slack, making communicating with other team members much easier. This multifunctional tool keeps you on top of important items that appear on your profiles through the inbox. You can follow all mentions of your brand and even respond to negative comments immediately. 

It also provides social CRM and automation tools to generate targeted leads for your business. Plus, you can get very well detailed analytics reports that show how involved your audience was with your different posts. Sendible has amazing automation tools such as automatic responses to tweets or DMs and welcoming messages. They also developed an Instagram automation tool.

Sendible’s prices vary depending on whether you subscribe to a 1-month or annual plan:

• “Micro package” – $24\month or $20/month if subscribed to the yearly plan
• Small package(small businesses) – $94/month or $79/month if subscribed to the yearly plan
• Large Package – $184/month or $156/ if subscribed to the yearly plan

5. Social Booster

Social Booster is another very complete and easy-to-use SMM solution. It automates the process of posting posts by scheduling them in advance (you can even schedule them weeks and months before) and keeping your social media presence active, even when you’re offline. It also gives you access to a unique dashboard that you can use to manage your accounts and stay in touch with your audience. It also allows your business to magnify its reach with its increased use of social media, without having to spend a lot of time on it.

You can create a free account, without having to give your credit card information. The four plans are Toolbox,  Personal, Enterprise, and Pro, with prices ranging from $7.16 per month ( for the annual subscription) or $8.95 per month (monthly subscription).

6. IFTTT

IFTTT(If This Then That) helps you set up or link to various pages, services, and social networks. In addition, it improves your productivity through an action-reaction mechanism. For example, you can automatically post a Facebook post or tweet after you publish a new blog post. So you can choose to connect your preferred network with the action of your choice via IFTTT. This trigger-action configuration for your profiles is called “recipe”. It is a free tool! 

7. Sprout Social

Sprout is a very effective SMM software that has a transparent posting system for posting your messages and tweets on social media. You can also get detailed analysis reports to track the results of your activities. Besides social content, you can also track keyword searches for your future posts.

Sprout Social has 3 types of plans: Premium, Corporate & Enterprise. The premium plan starts at $ 99 per month. It has all the basic features, and the ability to manage up to 10 profiles. In the “corporate” package you can manage up to 15 profiles. You will also have access to very detailed reporting, engagement and trend reports, etc. Finally, the “enterprise” package will allow you to manage up to 20 profiles. You’ll also enjoy personalized URL tracking, advanced keyword reporting, and more.

8. Agorapulse

Agorapulse provides you with updates on your social content, using the social media inbox (an inbox similar to an email). It keeps old conversations and syncs all your profiles in real-time so you don’t miss any comments, likes, tweets, etc. In addition, you can benefit from custom reports, which are offered in PowerPoint with great graphics, to assess your efforts.

With the “small” offer at $49 per month, you will be limited to 1 user and the management of 3 profiles. You will also be able to have detailed reports with 2 months of data retention. With the “medium” plan at $99 per month, 3 users can use it to manage up to 10 profiles. If you are an agency, the “large” package will be adapted to your needs. You can add up to 6 users and manage 25 profiles. Advanced watch and inbox synchronization, 24 months data retention for your detailed reports, 40 Facebook ad campaigns, and much more. Agorapulse also offers the possibility of subscribing to the corporate package at $299 per month.

9. Post Planner

PostPlanner doesn’t just help you plan your posts, it also improves your engagement with your readers and subscribers on your social platforms. It’s more about helping you find the right content and publish it (through a queue or schedule) to increase traffic to your profiles. It has this unique “viral content” feature which shows you pictures, videos, articles, news, etc. most viral in your industry. You can then use this content to improve engagement on your networks.

PostPlanner’s “starter” offer is only $3 per month. You can manage 3 profiles and schedule and post up to 300 posts. For the “love” offer, suitable for the self-employed, you can manage 10 profiles, post 100 posts per day and schedule up to 1000 posts.

10. Social Clout

It is another social media monitoring and analysis tool that helps businesses make decisions based on in-depth, scientific analysis of data. You can track all your social conversations, a keyword research feature, which allows you to keep track of what people are saying about your brand, business and competition. You can even get analytics on your competition and gauge where you stand against them.

You can use Social Clout for free, but this package is limited to managing 3 profiles and 2 reports per month. Then comes the “starter” package at $49 per month. You will be able to manage 5 profiles, have access to keyword research, analysis of your competitors and hold up to 7 detailed reports per month. You can also subscribe to the “value” package at $99 per month. There is also the business package available on request.

11. SocialOomph

SocialOomph was originally known as TweetLater.com because it initially focused on raising productivity for Twitter users. He later started to take an interest in other platforms as well. It offers the possibility of managing an unlimited number of accounts (with the paid plan) as well as the scheduling of posts. As for Twitter, it offers a few special features including keyword searches, people follow back, automated welcome messages, mentions, and retweets tracking, etc.

It offers several services for free, but there are also paid ones. With the SocialOomph Professional account, you don’t need long-term contracts and you can pay (starting at $ 17.97) every two weeks (after the initial seven-day free trial period). You can bump up from the gratis plan to SocialOomph Unlimited plan for only $6.97 (to be paid every two weeks). This package is useful if you use Twitter on a large scale.

12. Rignite

Rignite is a comprehensive platform that lets you get results for your social media activities from a single dashboard. You can schedule posts, establish goal-based campaigns (such as events, promotions, and giveaways), and analyze data from those campaigns.

You can choose between 3 packages, Silver, Gold & Enterprise. The first will cost you $ 28 per month per user. You can manage up to 30 profiles. The second will cost you $ 49 per month per user. You will be able to carry out advertising campaigns, have access to detailed reports, and manage an unlimited number of profiles. Finally, the rate for the third is only available on request. Here too, you will be able to manage an unlimited number of profiles, have access to telephone support, and much more.

13. Social Flow

It’s a smart SMM tool that uses predictive analytics to determine when to publish your content. The ideal time to publish content is determined by its software which uses real-time data, once you have put your content in the queue. Plus, it ensures that your posts reach as many people as possible by posting content when they’re most active and engaged. Unfortunately, no price details are shared on the official SocialFlow website as of yet.

14. Removal.AI

With Removal.AI, a few seconds are enough to erase the background of a photo and recover a portrait or a full-length silhouette! Removal.AI is the best free photo editor for social media

Thanks to a particularly efficient algorithm, including hair trimming, which is always delicate, this site performs the operation in record time. Even if everything is in English, the operation is extremely simple. All you have to do is upload a photo or enter a URL then click on a button to retrieve a cropped image on a transparent background, in PNG format. 

The strongest thing is that this service is completely free! Removal.AI even offers an API to integrate its clipping function into other applications. A site to discover urgently and to use without moderation!

15. Sked Social

Sked Social SMM tool is dedicated to the Instagram platform. It’s an easy and smart way to schedule posts (videos and images) and does bulk uploads for your multiple Instagram accounts through a simple web interface.

The price of your monthly plan will depend on the number of your followers. Up to 10,000 followers, it will cost you $16 per month, if you have an account with more than a million followers, you will have to pay $88 per month.

Share Your Social Media Strategies

In recent years, companies have fully integrated the challenges of information virality on the web. The social network then makes it possible to achieve instant effective communication. 

Through social media, brands are diversifying the sources of customer acquisition. We hope that these 15 tools will help you manage your social media strategies! 

Do you have your own suggestions and a list of tools that have helped you with your management?

Please share them with us! We’d like to learn from you too!

One of the biggest mistakes that you can make in terms of social media involves assuming that the only things you should be paying attention to are follower counts, likes and retweets. Yes, you obviously want to grow the largest audience possible and seeing how many people are following a particular account plays a big role in that. But at the same time, this is just one small part of a much larger story regarding not only how people are engaging with your brand online, but where and why.

This, in essence, is why social media analytics are of paramount importance to the modern marketer. Your social media accounts on sites like Facebook and Twitter are generating an enormous amount of data on a daily basis. Only by using the right analytical tools will you be able to dive beneath that data, finally uncovering the true story that it is trying to tell you in a way that leads to accurate and more informed decision making moving forward.

The Power of Social Media Analytics: Breaking Things Down

In a larger sense, the main reason why social media analytics are so important is because they help you understand your target audience in an intimate, emotional way.

Keep in mind that what you say isn’t the only ingredient for social media success. How you say it is also hugely critical, and social media analytics can be enormously helpful to that end. You could use analytical software to analyze all of your past posts, for example, to see which ones were the most successful at which times. You may not have realized that your posts made between 12:00 PM and 3:45 PM on weekdays tended to be more successful on average, but it’s true – and this is the type of trend that the right analytical platform can clue you into that would have otherwise gone undiscovered.

Likewise, everyone knows that social media influencers are powerful brand opportunities these days, but not all influencers are created equally. Analytical tools can help show you exactly which posts by which influencers your audience responded favorably to, thus allowing you to see which of your current activities are working and (more importantly) which ones aren’t. Not only will this show you your exact return on investment for these invaluable relationships that you’re trying to forge, but it will also show you where NOT to focus your attention, too.

Another one of the major reasons why social media analytics are so important is because they can’t help but reveal what your best social networks really are. It would be a mistake to assume that just because Facebook has billions of active users means that this is where the majority of your efforts need to go. Maybe your target audience doesn’t fall into one of the demographics that actively uses Facebook these days. Maybe you were taking the content you’re posting there for granted, thus leaving a lot of potential money on the table.

Likewise, there could even be smaller networks – like Pinterest or Snapchat – that would be better suited to your particular strategy.

Figuring out what social network works best for your strategy is something that requires a fair amount of experimentation, and the only way you’re going to be able to make sense of it all is if you have an analytical tool by your side that lets you go over everything with a fine-toothed comb.

You could even take the average engagement rates of each post on each network and put them into a flow chart creator like Visme (which I founded) to visualize the way your content makes its way across the world. By visualizing that data in a way that makes it easy for anyone to understand, you’ll be able to see the journey your collateral is taking from the moment its published until it finds the audience you were looking for.

But more importantly, you’ll also be able to use that data to prioritize the amount of time you spend managing each social network you’re an active member of. Maybe you don’t want to give up on Instagram altogether, and that’s okay – but if the data says it’s trailing Facebook and Twitter in terms of likes and shares, obviously you’re going to want to focus more of your attention on those networks while de-emphasizing the amount of time you’re spending on Instagram.

Possibly the biggest reason why social media analytics matter so much to your campaign is because the types of insights you’ll reveal will absolutely help you create better content in the future. If you know exactly what videos, images, links or long-form text posts performed the best on Facebook and Twitter, you suddenly know exactly what type of content your audience wants to see more of. Then, you can head to a site like Respona to research additional topics that you can chime in on to add something of real value to your customer’s lives. Respona can also help you connect with relevant bloggers and other influencers in your industry to promote your brand – something that will be easier if you have huge volumes of data to turn to that show exactly the types of influencers your audience members are already paying attention to, by the way.

With rare exceptions, you’ll never create the best possible marketing strategy on the first attempt – something that is especially true given the fast-paced nature of most social networks. You’re bound to make mistakes and at some point you’re going to be operating on assumptions that don’t quite bear fruit.

But by leveraging a good social media analytics tool to your advantage, you’ll be able to dramatically reduce the number of mistakes that you make and the overall time it takes to get to that perfect strategy that is a great match for your target audience. In the end, that may very well be the most important benefit of all.

In the end, it’s important to acknowledge that the commercial side of social media has evolved exponentially over the last few years. In the early days of Facebook and Twitter, it’s absolutely true that nobody was really sure what “worked” and, more importantly, why. There was a lot of guessing going on while people were figuring things out, leading to the development of a very “shoot from the hip” mentality.

Thankfully, those days are over. We have the analytical tools that you need to better understand the relationship between your brand and your target audience, and how those two things are connected to one another via social media. It would be an absolute mistake not to take full advantage of this – and in truth, it’s likely a mistake that you cannot afford to make.

Is your Facebook ads funnel producing the conversions you’re looking for? Are you targeting your end-user audience at the right stages of their buying cycle? 

If you can answer these questions in the affirmative, you’ll have a sales funnel that not only creates awareness at the top of the funnel and converts to a sale at the bottom; you’ll have repeat customers as you nurture existing relationships and build interest and engagement for the long haul. 

That all sounds pretty tasty doesn’t it? Whether you’re trying to build a Facebook ad funnel for eCommerce or just trying to drive traffic to your storefront, this article will share the secret sauce that will make your social content on this platform much more appetizing, filling, and tasty.

Understanding the Facebook Funnel

If you’re using Facebook to help your sales team capitalize on today’s consumer buying journey, the first thing is to understand how your marketing and sales funnels work in light of today’s consumer buying trends. Facebook typically has four primary stages for the customer buying funnel:

1. Awareness of your product
2. Consideration of your product
3. Purchase, when the conversion happens
4. Upselling and maintaining awareness of your brand

If you’re using Facebook in the right way and you have the right mix of products or services, you’ll have a sales funnel that perpetually fills itself as you both grab new customers and nurture existing clients into purchasing more of your products. You can use free and paid content to reach these goals. However, if you’re only selling one product, then your funnel will really end after step three.

Organize Your Account by Funnel Stages

To keep your campaign channels organized, consider structuring your Facebook Ads account by funnel stages. Targeting, optimization, settings, bidding, and your budget should all be different for each campaign, of course. But if you’re following the Facebook funnel stages, your ad campaigns could be segmented like this:

1. Campaign 1 – Awareness – Top of funnel
2. Campaign 2 – Consideration – Middle of Funnel
3. Campaign 3 – Purchase– Bottom of Funnel
4. Campaign 4 – Upselling – Sends existing clients back to the top for a repeat or new purchase. This could start a new campaign cycle called Campaign 1a. 

Then you can set your Facebook objectives to fit each stage of the funnel.

Each of these campaigns represents a different type of audience and messaging. It will be important to select the right naming conventions to keep your account and KPIs organized. This next section will tell you what advertising techniques are important at all four steps.

Creating a Facebook Sales Funnel

Now we can get to the fun part; creating the copy that drives engagement at each of the funnel stages. Remember that Facebook ads are designed to create awareness and not just passively wait for the customer to find you. Here are some strategies to engage at each funnel stage.

Campaign 1 – Awareness – Top of funnel

This target audience has not made a purchase but has a potential interest in your brand. They are the Look-Alike Audiences that simply aren’t warm enough to buy from you yet. 

You can use the Facebook Custom Audiences tool to help you reach people who have previously interacted with your brand but not converted. 

You can use several strategies to target these end-users, but the goal of each should introduce your product and why it’s needed:

• One thing to keep in mind: You’re not trying to sell your products just yet. Your top-of-the-funnel audience will turn away from something that tries to get them to buy right out of the gate. At this stage, you should focus on providing content that they’ll find interesting or valuable, even if they never convert.
• You could also do the same thing with a video. 
• You can use social proof to validate your expertise. For example, your copy could mention awards you’ve won or a client testimonial. 

Remember your goal is awareness, not the conversion, so your CTA should be to “find out more” on your website or with a downloadable.

For example: Consider a problem your audience might have. During the COVID-19 crisis, people who were no longer commuting to work weren’t using their cars for extended periods of time, and they may not know how to care for long-term parked cars. An eCommerce company specializing in car covers put out an infographic / blog post explaining how to care for long-term parked cars. 

There’s no hard sell there. Even people who never buy their car covers find value in this post, and might share it, or be primed for a later purchase down the line.

Campaign 2 – Consideration – Middle of Funnel

This target audience has engaged with your brand before. They may have liked a previous Facebook post. This ad should appeal to some sort of pain points and reinforce why the prospect needs your product to solve their problem. In the example we used above, the pain point is related to people who have to store their cars long-term without the benefit of a garage.

At this stage in the funnel, you should list the specific benefits and features of your product or service to tell people why they need to buy it.

Campaign 3 – Purchase – Bottom of Funnel

This is where the rubber meets the road, so go for the close. These customers know your product and its value. This is a good place to leverage Facebook’s dynamic ads to create content tied to the exact product the prospect viewed. To close the deal, offer an immediate incentive to purchase. That nudge toward the close could include:

• Running a discount or special offers such as 15% off or free shipping off your order. 

• Create urgency with a countdown to the end of a sale, “Only 24hours left!”

• Target specific use cases for the products they’ve been viewing. Going back to the car cover company, a hypothetical ad could ask if the prospect is worried about street damage from long term quarantine parking and offer a first-timer discount—boom! Done.

Campaign 4 – Upselling 

This sends existing clients back to the top for a repeat or new purchase. This could start a new campaign cycle called Campaign 1a. Or, call it what it is—remarketing.

The point here is that the journey shouldn’t be over once the first purchase is made. Everyone knows the acquisition cost of a new customer is greater than keeping old customers—so maintain the relationship at this point by kicking the current just-purchased customer back up into the funnel. 

Your goals should be not just for the repeat purchase, but also to capture new customer referrals, and even to drive up the average spending amount per customer. 

Even though technically, the customer goes back to the top of the funnel, it’s more like a slide straight to the middle; they already know your company, so from an ad perspective you can skip the awareness stage. (Unless you’re trying to make them aware of a different product in your service line.) Some Facebook ad strategies could include:

• Retargeting with a loyalty perk; thanks for your business, here’s $10 off your next purchase. 
• Mention your referral program: “Invite a friend and get free shipping on your next order.”
• Ask them to review your product and offer a thank you bonus incentive. 
• This is also a good place to run an ad campaign based on their unique purchase history. You can set up carousel ads to vary the versions of the products they may be interested in, interspersing the ads with products that are a slightly higher price point to drive up their purchasing averages.

If you take the time to create the perfect Facebook ads funnel you will be able to sit back and watch the conversions come in. If you build it, they really will come, but the trick is to match the prospect’s specific buying stage with the exact strategy to increase your conversion rates. When you’re done, the Facebook sales funnel will work like a machine, benefiting your bottom line with new and repeat business.

Consumers in the modern digital world have a perception of a brand based on the experiences they have with the brand. These moments are created across multiple channels enabled by the rise of the digital world.

Social media made it possible for brands to connect with their customers on an intimate level which was not possible before.  According to Gartner, a decrease in engagement by up to 15% is observed for businesses that fail to respond to messages on social media.

That’s how powerful social media is for companies, especially for big brands.

Crafting meaningful relationships on social media

With the emergence of Facebook and Twitter, social media has boosted like never before. It has impacted the lives of people in more ways than one:

• 91% of people believe in social media’s power to connect communities
• 78% of consumers want brands to help people connect through social media.
• 76% of respondents were more likely to buy from a brand they felt connected to on social media than a competitor.

(Source: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/data/social-media-connection/)

These numbers speak for themselves.

The times are changing and big brands aren’t ignorant. They understand the importance of engaging with their audience and thus are reaping the sweet results. The better the relationship is between a brand and a consumer, the higher the chances of him/her returning to the same brand.

Not just that, if the consumer feels there’s a connection between the brand and themselves, they’ll gloat about it endlessly – in front of friends, family, coworkers, neighbours and every person who might ask them about the brand.

Do you know what that means? Absolutely free advertising which happens to be genuine as well.

So, how do Big Brands do it?

There 7 ways Big Brands use Social Media for building customer relationships

1. Being Responsive

Responding to customer queries or comments is the reason brands are on social media. It’s extremely important for brands to respond to their customers and big brands know that. 

This is especially true about Twitter where things can get real messy real soon. It takes minutes for something to go viral on Twitter and big brands make sure that they respond to any tweet that might tarnish their image.

And not only critical comments, praises from consumers should be responded to in a way that the consumer feels valued. Brands like the fast-food outlet Wendy’s have understood Twitter far better and come up with creative tweets for their customers (or haters).

2. Offering Promotions

If there’s one thing customers love more than a brand is that brand’s promotions and sales. They look forward to any kind of promotion that might save them some bucks which is why it’s important to share promotions on social media.

Giving the customers what they expect is a sure way to have a healthy following on social media and which sticks around. Big Brands promote their sales, promotions, contests, and other offers extensively on social media, even urging the customers to share them which further accentuates the engagement.

3. Providing Educational Content

Educating customers about a brand is one of the most effective ways of building a strong customer relationship. The more a customer knows about a brand, the bigger the chances of them returning now and then. 

Some brands take it a notch higher by educating their customers about a cause they stand for or support. It could be something they do as part of their CSR activities or educating customers about something important (the way Brands are regularly posting precautionary recommendations about COVID-19 is a good example.)

4. Being Humorous

Make them smile and they like you, make them laugh and they’ll fall in love with you. Being funny or humorous in social situations acts as an ice-breaker and helps people connect which is why big brands use it to tell their customers that there are people behind those names too.

This makes the brand seem more humane and the perception in the customer’s mind softens a little, opening up ample opportunities for building relationships. 

However, this takes wit and a great sense of humour which is why only some of the brands are able to pull this off. Frankly, if you aren’t funny, you aren’t – there’s no point in faking, it’ll make things worse.

5. Exclusive Content

Sharing exclusive content with your followers on social media is another way a brand tells them how much they are valued. This is the reason those followers stay because the feeling of being part of an exclusive group of people who love the same brand makes them feel good about themselves.

It also tickles the primal desire of a human being – the desire to be accepted and to belong. This sense of belonging to an exclusive group or club makes the relationship with the brand a little intimate – so intimate that it almost feels like cheating when buying from a competitor.

6. Behind the Scenes

People have always wondered and have been curious about how things happen. Whether it’s a movie or the construction of the world’s tallest building, people want to know how it’s made. 

Big brands stimulate this curiosity by sharing behind the scenes images and videos on how they make the products that their customers love so much. This also helps build trust and connection between the brand and the customers as they realise the people behind the brand.

7. Challenging Competitors

Like being funny, this is something not everyone can pull-off. The rivalry between big brands is not a new thing but social media has made it more visible with brands having one-off on Twitter about who’s better.

This is risky because when a brand tries to challenge a competitor on social media and the competitor responds in a much better way, the whole idea falls flat on its face. The brand itself becomes a victim of its mockery. 

However, friendly banter between brands can benefit them both.

Why is it important for brands to be on social media

A brand-customer relationship is like any other relationship in the world and the key to all successful relationships is communication. The days of broadcasting advertisements might not be over yet but in the near future, it might.

People aren’t looking for one-way communication from brands anymore. They want a conversation, they want to know they are heard when they post a tweet, write a comment, or give a review. They want to be a part of the ideas that transform the brand from what it is to what it will become.

And this drive to hear has become public with social media where one tweet or post can become easily viral and not responding to it might become rude. It’s not like the victorian era where the sender of a letter was still worried if the letter reached the person it was intended for. 

It’s the digital world and anyone anywhere would instantly find something on the internet that’s meant for them. You cannot just ignore what your customer has posted, you have to reply to them.

Moreover, it helps increase your business. As more and more people fall in love with your brand, they’ll not only keep returning but also talk about you to everyone they know and word-of-mouth is hands down the best form of advertisement and absolutely the most genuine which is why it is the most effective.

That’s why big businesses are so keen on making a mark in the social media circles and they are succeeding. But then, is social media only for the big brands? Should a small business use social media to garner attention, especially when they are starting from scratch?

Should small businesses be on social media too?

Big brands have been doing it pretty well but there’s no reason a small business shouldn’t. Even a regional store with a very local audience can have an amazing social media presence where the sense of belonging is even more intimate because of geographical proximity.

Even a startup can become an overnight sensation on social media if they could plan a campaign that resonates well with intended audiences. The story of @worldrecordegg stands as proof that you can instantly become a social media rockstar within days with an interesting idea.

More importantly, there’s not one but enough social media platforms to make space for all kinds of businesses. There’s Facebook for “friendly-stuff”, Instagram for pictorial or visual stuff, YouTube for videos, Twitter for sass and wit, and then LinkedIn for professionalism. 

Based on the kind of business you have and the audience that you are targeting, you can choose the platform you want to be on. You could also have different posts on different platforms for showing a more 360-degree view of the brand.

The more engaging your content on social media is, the more likes, shares, and comments you’ll receive after which it’s a snowball rolling. It all boils down to how well you know your audience and how you make them tick with your words. If you manage to do it well, you’ll have an amazing following on social media.

Gone are the days when we used to stick to our television screen to not miss out on a live event. Now we get notified for it. 

Over the years, live-videos (aka live-streaming) have not only become more popular but also a more powerful tool for businesses. 

Live-streaming on social media came into being in 2011 with the app YouNow. Eventually, we saw other platforms acquiring similar features. In 2015, Twitter launched its live-streaming app Periscope, followed by Facebook launching Facebook Live in 2016, and so on.

With the help of early-adopters like Gary Vaynerchuck, this type of content became even more popular among marketers and now we see almost every business planning a live-video strategy. 

Various Benefits Of Live-Streaming

Real-Time

Live-streaming on social media creates a direct connection between you and your audience. This is where you can have a one-on-one conversation and get real-time engagement.  

Live-streaming also provides real-time information. For example, if you read a blog or watch a video online, you are consuming content of the past. You don’t know if the information is relevant now. With live streaming, you can easily provide (or get) the latest information. So much so that the global media channels use it to deliver first-hand news via go-live feature across all social media platforms.

Cost-Effective

Thankfully you don’t have to pay any given cost to go live. You can easily join, start, or publish live-stream videos for absolutely free!

An hour-long seminar to a quick-minute hack – your live videos can be as long or as short as you want. 

High-Reach

Platforms like Facebook and YouTube favour live-videos more than pre-recorded ones. 

You can easily ask your audience to like and share the video to enhance reach. The more people/likes you have on your live video, the more chances are that it will appear in the search results feed. This means it will be seen by more people. 

Builds Your Brand

It doesn’t matter if your business is small or large, everyone can benefit from live-videos. When you live-stream, you not only personally reach out to your audience but also provide a face to your business – which eventually humanizes your brand. People love to interact with businesses like this.

Live-Video Tips And Tricks

Live-streaming is indeed a fun and simple way to get in touch with your audience – that too in no time. But there are a few things that you need to keep in mind before you hop-on to setting up one. 

Here are some tips to create a live-video that your audience will enjoy and fully engage with: 

Tip #1: Pick An Interest-Grabbing Title

Before you go live, you need to mention what topic your stream will be about. It’s very important since a title can either make or break your stream. The audience makes up their mind to join a live-video after seeing the title – so make sure you pick a compelling one. 

For example, a title for someone who owns a bookstore can be “10 Inspirational Books That Can Change Your Life”.

The idea is to create the title and description of your live-video as captivating and attractive as possible.

Tip #2: Create A ‘Hook’

The first 10-15 seconds of your live-video decides if your audience will stay watching the video or not. That is why it is called a ‘hook’. 

A hook is nothing but the beginning sentence or two that catches people’s attention.

So, before you jump right on your topic make sure you introduce yourself to your audience. This is important because chances are new people might be joining in and they’d want to see the video from the very beginning. If they liked your content, they might also give you a follow or a ‘like’. 

Tip #3: Engage!

People do not join a live-video to see a person constantly talking to themselves – they’d rather watch a pre-recorded one instead!

The whole purpose behind a live video is to engage with your audience in real-time. Make sure, you ask them questions, answer some of theirs, reply to comments, etc. Don’t forget to do that at regular intervals!

You can also ask your audience to like and share the video. As mentioned above, the more likes and comments you will have on your live-video, the more the platform will increase your reach. 

Tip #4: Talk Of Something That Adds Value

Now that you have your audience’s attention with the title and the hook, it’s safe to jump on to the most important part – the content. 

Your content needs to be concise, add some value, and is actionable. This is where you do justice to your title that promised your audience to click on the video. 

Remember that on a live-video there are no edits or re-takes for people to not notice your mistakes. That’s why we’d suggest you take rough notes before you plan out to hit the ‘live’ button. 

These quick notes or pointers will help you to not stutter in between and create a smooth live-session. 

Tip #5: Add A Call-To-Action

What do you want your audience to do after watching your live video? Do you want them to visit your website? Buy the next seminar ticket? Buy your product? 

Whatever it is, make sure you mention it before saying ‘Good-bye’. 

A call-to-action is an opportunity you cannot miss if you are expecting your audience to do something after they exit your live-session. So, remind them!

These were just some simple tips and tricks that you need to keep in mind before you hit your next broadcast. So what are you waiting for? Your audience might be willing to see a live-video from you soon, make sure you plan one. 

But what kind of live-videos can you make? 

You cannot be more wrong if you think live-videos are only meant to answer questions from your audience. You can do an ample amount of things with a live video!

Live-Video Examples

Let’s take a look at some of these different examples so you can choose what may work the best for you: 

Behind The Scenes

‘Behind the scene’ videos are always the best way to connect your audience to your brand. 

People are curious to know how a business functions, what all goes behind, the real interaction between employees, the stories, etc. What better way than to show it through a live video?

In 2019, Amazon went live on Facebook and Twitch from one of their fulfilment centres. They toured the whole place showcasing the technology and the people that work behind the packaging process.

Q&A Sessions

Trying a Q&A format is great to get some high-level attraction and engagement in your live sessions. 

People might have a lot of questions they want you to answer maybe about your business, product, or industry. This type of valuable information that people get real-time is not the same when compared to blog posts or pre-recorded videos. 

Call up influencers and industry specialists from your niche and do a Q&A session with them! 

For instance, Audible partnered with author Mel Robbins for an hour-long Q&A on LinkedIn to promote her new book.  The live-stream generated a thousand views. 

Announcements 

There is no better way to announce the launch of a new product or collaboration than through a live video. 

Try and tease the announcement through a post and see how you build anticipation among your audience. 

Chevrolet’s live stream unveiling the all-electric 2017 Bolt EV at the CES 2016 attracted over 58,000 views. This is a perfect example of how live-stream can be leveraged effectively for a new product launch. 

Cover Events

You leave a lasting and positive brand impression when you include your audience to something as special as a brand event. 

But unfortunately, not everybody gets to attend it. Live streams, therefore, help you reach those people you miss out on. 

This is what Apple does. All of the company’s launch events are live-streamed and published on various platforms for everybody to be a part of it.

Conclusion

Live-streaming is a great way if you are looking to boost your brand awareness and engagement. 

The best way to use a live-video is to make it more interesting and compelling. Doing so, you open doors for several opportunities for your business – be it reaching new prospects, engaging current audiences, etc. 

We hope we brought some clarity about the basics of something as broad as live-stream. 

Do let us know your thoughts about it in the comments below! Which platforms do you use for live-streaming?

Submitted by Aayush Narang who is the founder of Spark Eighteen Lifestyle Pvt. Ltd a Digital Marketing Agency in Delhi. He is a Startup Evangelist. Entrepreneur. Business and Tech Enthusiast.

Influencer marketing strategies always indicate that we need to find the most humane aspect of our campaign: to inspire and motivate, to create stories, to engage personally through different channels … all with the goal of engaging our followers. All this is going to happen as the virtual has emerged as influential.

As its name suggests, social networks are conceived as a digital space where we can connect with other people, change attitudes, seek advice, learn more about our culture.

And it is in this ecosystem that some very influential individuals emerge. Especially those people who have been able to attract the attention of thousands or even millions of followers around the world because of their knowledge of certain subjects and charisma. An image that marketing experts know how to “humanize your brands” or how to take advantage of it by still creating a collective campaign.

What is a virtual influencer? 

The term “virtual influencer” is only very recent. What does it compare to? Where did this trend come from and how did it spread? We will cover all these points in this article.

Meaning 

“Virtual influencers” refer to entirely fictional characters representing a brand, a company, or others. This consists of filming or photographing a human face and capturing its movements in order to reproduce them on the character in 3D. Perfectly modeled, some of them. They would even be confused with real people.

Virtual influencers could dethrone human influencers

The growing popularity of virtual influencers is bringing great change. These artificially generated models gain a lot of followers on social networks every day, especially on Instagram. But how are these generated? And above all, why do they gain so much acceptance and trust among users?

First, virtual influencers are almost impossible to recognize from their rivals, human influencers. The raw beginnings of human representation in 3D are far behind and some of them have structural cartoon elements but they are apparently quite interesting.

The data published by the social analysis ensures that the performance of virtual influencers can pale any of their human colleagues.

According to the study, ” virtual influencers have almost three times more engagement than” real “influencers. This means that followers are more committed to the content of virtual influencers. “

This is a trend that never comes as a surprise, especially when we consider what it means for the future of influencer marketing. If these searches are correct, and virtual influencers are experiencing such a significant increase, logically more brands will follow this trend.

New influence … new regulations?

In addition, we must consider that virtual influencers are available free of charge, neutral, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. According to this study, they are obviously extremely popular, especially among women aged 18 to 24 years.

As we said before, the characters range from hyper-realistic presentations to cartoons, which does not discourage his followers. In fact, the virtual influential chief is Lilmicella, with 1.7 million followers, followed by a Bratz doll-like character named Nunouri with 332,000 followers. By country, 23% of the audience for virtual influencers is concentrated in the United States. Below are countries like Brazil (9%) or Russia (5%).

So far, many of these profiles have reported that it is a virtual influencer. But it would be interesting to see if these brands would be controlled in the future without identifying them as real.

For now, creating such realistic 3D models is expensive. At least more expensive than the integration of real influencers. But with the advancement of technology, these costs will decrease. And it will open the door for companies looking to use them.

What is influencer marketing and how can it help you to promote your brand?

Influencers marketing is a novel marketing strategy. It is effective to achieve a series of partnerships between brands and companies. And those with high visibility and prominence on the Internet, which is known as  ‘influencers’.

The internet and especially social networks have created the presence of a series of people who can be the equivalent of celebrities or celebrities in the conventional media, who have become the reference of a huge number of users.

This influential virtual world is characterized by having many hooks and charisma. Some, like YouTubers, have several thousand (and in some cases even millions) subscribers and followers.

Clearly, these national social networks are fairly real diamonds for brands, either because of their presence to criticize a particular product or simply because of the use of a clothing brand. Or any other item may go above the integer of many of the popular acceptance of a particular brand and it may increase sales like foam.

The advantages of influencer marketing

The main benefits of using influencer marketing techniques in our campaigns are the following:

• They manage to amplify the positive messages of our brand or company.
• Much conversation is generated online about our products or services.
• Traffic to our website or the landing page of our campaign is increased.
• Influencers are perfectly followed by a huge purchasing power and very consumerist: the target audience with thousands of generations.
• If designed well, a campaign with influencers does not have to be very expensive. And a satisfactory and profitable return on investment (ROI) can be achieved.
• The brand gains reputation and prestige.

How to design an influencer marketing campaign?

To design a good influencer marketing strategy to fit into our overall marketing campaign, we must follow these steps:

• All we need to do first is to identify the most relevant influencers. And, above all, the most suitable for our products and the values of our brand or organization.
• Once we have identified the influencers (or influencers) who are interested in our promotion, we need to get a favorable attitude from them towards their products or services.
• We have to get positive reviews of our brand or product from the influencer.
• Another option is to keep the presence (content) of these advertisers more or less hidden.
• We can also invite them to launch our products in order to promote them.

What do marketing professionals think?

Most marketing and advertising professionals (about 70% according to various surveys) are in favor of this type of promotion because they consider it effective. As such, a survey has confirmed that many companies are investing up to 20% of their budget in such effective marketing campaigns and want to increase spending on this item.

The ethical question

The use of influencer marketing sometimes leads to conflicts of ethical nature and professionalism. The bottom line is that many times influencers are dedicated to publicizing certain brands or their products or to talking for a fee or consideration of some kind.

The problem is that many times there is not enough transparency. It goes without saying that the influencer is criticizing a product because it is his real opinion, ignoring that he actually does it in exchange for something. In this case, their followers may be talking about a lack of honesty and a certain kind of deception, whose commercial interests of brands and companies do not need to know that their leader’s opinion is secret.

If you have been interested in this article on influencer marketing, you can read this post to know more about it. Hope you can apply so many tactics with the strategies for your business growth.

One fine morning in the sweltering summer heat of May, I noticed something odd on Instagram. I had lost 45 Followers, dropping my total following to a measly 356. It’s true, I was randomly losing followers for the last couple of weeks. But with this large drop, all my hopes of an aspiring career as an Instagram influencer came to a halt.

To be fair, I posted on Instagram once a month and most of my followers were friends and acquaintances. So this isn’t a huge loss. But unlike me,  you might be a content creator who depends on Instagram for business. In which case, it is fair to worry about why you’re losing Instagram followers.

For most Instagrammers their first instinct might be to recall on the great purge of 2014 and ask:

Is Instagram deleting my followers?

It is not unheard of for Instagram to delete your followers. In fact, back in 2014, Justin Bieber lost more than 3.5 million of his 23 million followers. Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian lost 1.3 million of her 23 million followers and Beyoncé lost more than 800,000.

In all fairness, the 2014 algorithm update resulted in a deletion of paid followers only.

Instagram has warned users that it will be cracking down on inauthentic followers. This includes bots, inactive accounts, and third-party apps.

But good news, is that unless you’ve been using shady tactics, your account is safe.

Here are some examples of black-hat practices to avoid.

1. Buying Followers

Buying followers are the quickest way of losing Instagram followers. If the purge is any sign, Instagram dislikes third-party apps and paying for followers.

But could you be paying for followers without knowing about it?

The answer is yes. Do you have a marketing agency managing your account? Could it be possible that they’ve used black-hat tactics like buying followers?

Steer away from shady companies who promise to get you, 10,000 followers for $10. If the offer sounds too good to be true it most certainly is.

2. Using Bots and Third-party apps

As I write this, I understand that I could be putting in all the wrong ideas in your head. But I guarantee you these shady tactics will get you banned.

Instagram has banned chatbots that reach out to people and encourage follow-backs. In recent years, several third-party bots/apps have had to close their operations.

So here’s a brain teaser – Did everyone who loses Instagram followers pay for their followers? Well, I didn’t. I never paid for an app or hired a firm to manage my account but I still lost followers. The hard truth is that sometimes you might be doing everything by the books and still lose followers.

Here are 8 reasons why you might be losing Instagram followers

1. Your follower’s preferences have changed.

Its been almost 10 years since Instagram launched and the platform is anything but new. In the 10 years we’ve been on Instagram, people have graduated from school, got married, and had kids. We’ve all done a lot of growing and it’s safe to say that we’re not the same person we were 10 years ago. 

The downside of being on Instagram for a long time is that your followers have changed. And as they grow as individuals they’re also growing out of old habits.

As an influencer or business owner, you too should grow in how you create content. If you’re interested in keeping followers, find out what they currently like, and cater to their needs. At the same time, you should also realize that some of these followers are never coming back. It would be better to find a new base of followers who are more relevant to the type of content you create.

2. You’ve changed too and some people don’t like that.

Growth is not exclusive to your followers. As a content creator, you too have grown and your tastes have changed as well. But even though growth is a good thing, it’s worth examining if the new you agree with your followers.

Often, as we get older and more experienced, we tend to be more cautious. It’s not uncommon for brands to be rebellious in their early days and dial it down later down the line. Most brands that follow this path alienate their core fan base and lose them in the process. 

3. Your followers haven’t heard from you in a long time.

We know that post frequency matters. But could posting less actually influence people to unfollow?

The answer is a definite yes. Most users on the platform are conscious about who they follow. As a brand, if you’re not creating new content, your users don’t have a reason to keep following you.

3. You are posting content too frequently.

Posting too much can be as big a crime as posting too little. As a victim of brands and influences who constantly bombard me with their content – I can say that it can be overwhelming and invasive. 

When we post too often, we deprive them of novelty that comes with consuming content from different creators. Naturally, when your followers realize that their feed is being bombarded by one creator, they’ll remove them to make room for others.

4. Your content is not differentiated.

As human beings, we are wired to seek out novelty. Our brain is designed to flood our neural networks with dopamine, a hormone responsible for giving us the sensation of happiness and satisfaction when we enjoy a snack, get good grades or hear good news.

But, the brain’s dopamine delivery system is severely flawed. As we rely on the same stimulation to provide us with a hit, our neural networks demand more stimulation to get the same amount of dopamine.

That is why we never feel the same satisfaction when eating our twelfth slice of pizza as much as we received while biting into the first one.

Content is no different. We get satisfaction and fulfilment from the content we choose to consume. But when content creators keep creating the same content as everyone else, our thirst for novelty remains unquenched. This is why many people stop following creators. Instead, they look for other creators who can offer something different.

5. Your content is too spammy, too pushy, and too sales oriented.

In other words, your content is self-serving and adds little value to your followers. 

Back in the day, commercials came in the way of consuming content on TV. This resulted in Youtube democratizing content and bringing interruption free content to people. When Youtube started spamming people with Ads. They moved over to Netflix.

When creators focus too much on ads and too little on value-added content, followers also exercise their power. They move on to content creators who can balance between self-service and fan-service.

6. You might be losing inauthentic followers.

Not everyone who follows you does so because they love your content. Following other people in hopes of getting a  follow back is a common practice. Once their strategy succeeds, these people don’t stick around for long.

Additionally, your account might also consist of spam, bots, and fake accounts. These accounts are periodically purged by Instagram and can result in a sudden drop in followers. 

There is no sure-fire way of knowing if you’re losing fake followers. but if you see a sudden drop, especially after an algorithm update, then chances are you’re just seeing Instagram cleaning out the trash.

8. You’re not gaining new followers.

Maintaining your follower count is difficult. You’ll win some of these battles and lose others. It is important to understand that you must always focus on reaching out to new followers as well. Without new followers to replace the ones you lose, your follower count will drop with time.

 

Instagram insights display daily net gains. Keep track of your followers by checking insights on a weekly basis. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few parting words

Instagram is changing, so is social media. New algorithm updates are burying organic reach in favor of paid ads. At the same time, competition is looming large for Instagram and its counterparts. For example, video-sharing platform Tiktok has already overtaken Instagram as the most downloaded app. Which will inevitably lead to people spending lesser time on Instagram.

 As creators, this could mean challenging times lie ahead. It’s entirely possible, we’ll never get some followers back. Some of us will see engagement and reach drop.  

We should be ready for the worse and explore all avenues that connect us to our followers.

Before I finish this article, I will leave you with one last piece of borrowed wisdom:

Accept the things you can’t change, change the things you can, and know the difference between the two.

Social media has long been a favored tool for promoting and growing businesses. And with the recent appearance of Instagram Shops on the radar, the eCommerce world is taking their game to the next level. Regardless of which of the platforms was used to build your online store, Shopify, BigCommerce, or Magento, there are many ways you can gain from Instagram sales.

On this page, we introduce you to Instagram Shopping and its importance to the eCommerce sphere, give tips on where to begin, and share the best practices of running the account.

Instagram Shops: An Introduction

As stated previously, Instagram is yet one more way for you to reach out to your prospects, speak about your brand, and sell more. One of the greatest things about Instagram Shopping is that it not only boosts the visual side of your digital storefront but also helps potential customers to check out the things that you have on offer without leaving their favorite application.

How do Instagram Shops look?

That said, just by posting and making Instagram Stories, you may display images with your products and place tags/product stickers on them. Those viewing the content can then tap on the picture to see a short overview of the item (or items) as well as their prices. And when clicking on “View Products”, the product page leading to your online store will be shown. On the images below you can see how Forever21 uses Instagram Shopping on their official account.

So how does all of this work?

Instagram Shops can be set up only if your business Instagram account is linked to your Facebook Shops. In this case, your Facebook catalog plays the role of a mediator, connecting your online store with your Instagram Shop. If you’re not sure about how to handle the integration, it’s wise to turn to the professionals for assistance; as such, Magento consulting services will provide you with expert help to integrate your Magento store with the catalog on Facebook, and have your Instagram channel running in no time.

Moreover, it is important to note that Instagram Shopping isn’t available from the desktop, it only works from the downloaded application on mobile devices.

Is Instagram Shopping available worldwide?

What’s for the global scale of Instagram Shopping, already more than 60 countries all around the world can use it. As such, it’s available if the account was registered in the USA, Canada, Australia, Brazil, the UK, or in one of the countries on the list. Mentioning the checkout functionality, currently, it can be used in the USA and for some shortlisted businesses.

→ Importantly, in case the account registration is handled from a country that’s not among the list or in case you’ve decided to work around the rules and opt for proxy or VPN to take advantage of this functionality, this may lead to you losing your opportunity for product tagging whatsoever. Therefore, it’s best to play by the rules.

Which business types are Instagram Shops suitable for?

Predominantly this solution is a great fit for those companies that have physical goods on sale. Thus, eCommerce and Instagram Shops are “meant to be”.

Getting Started with Instagram Shops

Some of the things you’ll need to get started with Instagram Shops include:

• a Facebook account to which your store’s catalog is connected to (i.e. a functioning Facebook catalog);
• the latest version of the Instagram application;
• an account on Instagram that is switched to “Business” and is tied to your store’s Facebook account.

In order to get the features of “Instagram Shopping”, your account needs to get reviewed and approved. When you’ve made certain to follow the requirements, go to your Instagram account: Profile → Settings → Account → Switch to Business Account, and wait for the approval. Generally, expect it to be reviewed within several working days.

Tips on Filling Your Instagram Profile

1. Begin with the bio & don’t forget about “highlights” circles

One of the things to not overlook is the bio of your account. Make sure to state all of the key information about your business in this area of the page. Make use of all the capabilities it offers to the most. To be specific:

• don’t overdo it with too much text, keep the phrases about who you are short;
• make sure there’s a link to your official website;
• optionally, you can add a link to your location, use hashtags, and CTAs.

What is more, after you’ll have enough Stories in your archive, make sure to break them down into categories and add them to your “Highlights” section (displayed in circles). It’s wise to create special-made Instagram highlight covers, often these are icons or single-style images.

Take a look at the bios and Highlights sections on the official Instagram pages of Shiseido and Hermes.

2. Choose what to post about & Post on a schedule

Selecting the products to be featured is a matter to be considered seriously. Apart from the photos, their quality, and touch-ups, it is also important to think ahead. That said, planning the sequence of your posts, which texts to use, and when to post them is important. Here are some tips:

• Have a content plan and make use of layout tools that are handy to visualize how your pictures and videos will look like together on your grid. As such, the official Instagram preview App can be a good choice.
• Making posts on a regular basis is also important. Consistency counts and your followers will be happy to see your products and new arrivals via Instagram.
• But don’t post too often, overcrowding the newsfeed of people following you can lead to irritation, and they’ll unfollow you. Once per day is more than enough for posts, and up to 5 Stories per day is okay.
• Plus, it makes sense to use tools for scheduling your posts and even automating the postings. This can save you time, some tool examples can be Hopper HQ.
• Speaking of time, research the top “prime-time” frames when it is best to make posts based on your eCommerce field and customer location for better results and engagement.

3. Stick to a style & tag your products

Another great trend revolves around the style of your account. Having separate post images connect into one appealing piece is something to consider. It may not be easy to do, of course, but the results are often very nice!

Also, don’t forget to tag your products on the pictures. After all, that is the point of doing this, right?

An outstanding example of what “sticking to a style” means is the official Instagram account of Pandora:

4. Hashtags, location & alternative texts

Use hashtags wisely. Too many hashtags won’t do you good. Likewise, combine them in a smart way, i.e. use:

• hashtags that are specifically relevant to your product or brand;
• those that are considered popular or target your audience.

Keep location in mind. This is especially relevant if you have one or several physical shops. Alternatively, you can attach different locations based on the areas to which you deliver your products. In any case, by adding a geotag, you can tell your customers that you’re near and available.

 

Fill out alternative texts. After you’ve posted, press the three dots in the top right corner of the post to edit it. On the image, there’ll be an opportunity to add an alternative text, keep it short and narrow it down to a keyword or phrase. It is good to have such alt tags in terms of SEO and it will help you to reach out to a broader audience.

5. Make use of Stories & IGTV

As mentioned a couple of times already, Stories are one more powerful Instagram move. You may also tag products in Stories, inform about new posts, and share a lot of what’s hot and happening. Take a look at how Chanel uses Stories on their official Instagram account:

Similarly, if you have large videos to share, why not use the IGTV channel? You can upload videos, shoots, and ads there, the latest news. Well, basically, any video content that’s relevant to your business.

What else can be done?

Another way you can get “the best of both worlds” is by getting your hands on user-generated content. By running contests and giveaways, you may both attract new users and engage the audience that you have. Brainstorming helps, so don’t be intimidated by experimenting.

Repost various content that you like. Team up with your partners for cross-linking. Put together combos with the client feedback and comments of your customers on your products. There’s so much you can do!

Analyze the behavior of your followers. What kind of content do they like? Which items have they bought more from your Instagram Shop? Do your analytic homework and work out your own best practices that are effective for your target audience and buyers.

In conclusion, the opportunities of using Instagram for uplifting your business are very broad and are constantly growing. There are many ways you can sell more of your goods and get more clients if you’re running your Instagram account properly. And this is twice as true for eCommerce!