Category: Social Media

Instagram or Snapchat — which one should you choose?

 

Both platforms are similar. They each have a huge audience base and are suited for visual marketing. So, it’s not an easy choice. But most marketers are picking Instagram over Snapchat.

 

Instagram has over a billion monthly active users while Snapchat has about 218 million daily active users, worldwide. But that’s not the only reason why marketers prefer Instagram for promotional campaigns. 

 

After all, 39.9% of social media users in the USA used Snapchat in 2018, making it a powerful marketing platform. However, the same study revealed that this share is projected to fall and reach to 35.3% in 2023.

 

It’s a tell-all sign that Snapchat is losing its sheen. 

 

So, where is Snapchat falling short?

 

Let’s get into the crux of the matter. Here are five reasons why marketers prefer Instagram over Snapchat to increase their overall online sales:

1. Instagram Does Stories Better

Snapchat was the first social media platform to come up with the concept of Stories. This feature allowed its users to share photos and videos of daily activities. Stories were exciting as you could add text, graphics, and more to them.

 

The Stories feature opened up a world of opportunities for marketers. Using it, they could tell more vivid stories, run contests, and make announcements. 

Soon enough, Instagram pounced on the opportunity to roll out their version of Stories. With another platform bringing in the same feature, the uniqueness of the idea was gone. 

 

Interestingly, Instagram kept most of the things the same, including the name and the basic features. Today over 500 million people use the Stories feature on the platform daily. 

 

So, what’s the difference between Stories on Instagram and Snapchat? 

Let’s take a look.

Instagram

Instagram is a marketer’s delight because the Stories are prominently placed. As soon as the users open the app, Stories are the first thing they see at the top of the screen. This makes it easy for them to capture their audience’s attention.

 

Additionally, the Stories keep playing one after the other in a sequence. Even if a user clicks on just one Story, the chances are that they will end up seeing a few more. 

 

What’s more, the platform offers plenty of tools such as stickers, augmented reality (AR) filters, and drawing tools to help you build a super interactive experience for viewers. 

 

Through Stories, you can also drive traffic to your landing pages. This can help you with lead generation and sales. However, for this, you must ensure that your landing pages are top-notch. To build such landing pages, you can use landing page builders. 

Snapchat

When it comes to Stories, Snapchat is more user-centric in its approach. For example, Stories did autoplay in the past on Snapchat, but they have removed this feature. 

 

This gives the power in the hands of the users. They get to decide which Stories they want to view. That’s a great feature for the users. But for marketers and influencers, it’s a dealbreaker. This cuts down the overall reach of their Stories and reduces the chances of users engaging with them. 

2. Organized User Interface

Consistent look and feel is a key aspect of brand building. This is why the ability to brand the Story with a visual layout that is consistent with the overall branding effort is a plus point for marketers. 

 

Let’s look at how both the social media apps stack up against each other in terms of ease of organizing the visual layout. 

Instagram

The organized layout seems like a priority for Instagram. From the visual layout of Stories at the top and everything in relation to navigation at the bottom, the interface is user-friendly and organized. Instagram focuses on maintaining aesthetics and order on the platform. 

 

But it also gives enough liberty to marketers and influencers to manipulate photos and order their placement. This allows marketers and brands to showcase the best versions of themselves. 

Snapchat

The focus is on the users, so when the user opens the app, they are instantly plunged into the camera app. They are nudged into creating something right away, regardless of whether they wanted that or not. This is good for people who have always something to say. 

3. Features to Put Your Best Foot Forward

The more features there are on the social media platform, the better it is for marketers and brands. A social media platform that brings more tools and features to the table that make content creation easy, will score. 

Instagram

Instagram offers a range of tools and features to help you create impactful content. For example, you can share your Stories with filters that can make your photographs look even better. 

 

You can seamlessly add flair to your images and videos by editing them in the app.

 

Additionally, you can use various tools to schedule and share them on multiple platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. This way, your posts can get greater reach as well. 

Snapchat

Snapchat also offers an array of tools and features to create great content. However, it had a rough time identifying its real purpose since its origin as a private messaging platform with disappearing messages. 

 

Some of its new features have led to a backlash as well. Over 1 million users signed a petition in 2018 to restore the previous version as well.

 

4. Ease of Use for Influencers and Brands

We live in a busy world and everyone is hustling to tick off items from their checklists. If a platform is overcomplicated, it is going to be a definite turn off for influencer marketing. It has to be easy and rewarding for influencers and brands to take it seriously. 

Instagram

Instagram makes it extremely easy for marketers to create posts or Stories and publish them on the platform. When you are building a brand, it’s more about building an experience for your target audience. Since so much goes into building a brand, the easier a platform is, the better.

 

Instagram seems to understand this very well. Therefore, it has simplified things at various levels. For example, you can easily find people to follow, remain updated with the latest topics, and also engage with others easily.  Additionally, Instagram allows you to save some of your Stories as Highlights to make them available permanently.

 

It’s also easy to partner with influencers on the platform. However, it can be challenging for brands to find reliable influencers, manage the campaign, and track the results. In such a situation, you can always partner with agencies that handle social media campaigns for brands.

Snapchat

It seems Snapchat has missed out in this area. If you want to follow someone with the help of their username, you will need to go through multiple screens to make that happen. 

 

The posts at Snapchat also have a limited lifespan and it lacks a Highlights section like Instagram. Thus, you can not find any old posts on Snapchat, which isn’t ideal.

5. Numbers Speak Volumes

In the end, everything boils down to numbers. The ideal platform for marketers is the one that enables them to reach and engage more people with the least amount of effort. 

Instagram

Instagram has 1 billion monthly active users, but with features that allow you to share your posts on other platforms, you have an even bigger market. Additionally, it gives you the option to create a public profile.

 

This increases your discoverability among potential followers. As a result, brands have a greater chance of reaching potential followers on the platform. These stats show that Instagram is a powerful platform for marketers and influencers.

Snapchat

Snapchat has about 314 million monthly active users. But since the platform is more focused on the users, you might find the majority of them busy sending photos back and forth among themselves.

 

This can make it difficult for marketers to reach users on the platform. Additionally, the profiles on Snapchat can only be viewed by the people who have added the influencer’s or the brand’s profile. This can drastically reduce your reach. 

Conclusion

Instagram is the clear winner when it comes to the preferred platform for marketers and influencers. Snapchat has fewer active users on the platform than Instagram, but the numbers are still significant. So it cannot be ignored if you are looking to build a brand presence on all the platforms where you have your target audience. 

 

Which platform do you prefer? Let us know in the comments.

 

Social media marketing is a vital part of the marketing mix of most businesses today. However, not all strategies end up generating the desired results.

Why is that so?

Creating effective social media strategies for your business requires careful research and planning. Plus, one small mistake can hurt your campaign results.

To avoid losses, you should keep five social media marketing tips in mind.

1. Map Out Your Goals

If you don’t know your destination, you’ll end up losing your way. Similarly, defining your goals is a pre-requisite for creating a successful strategy.

So, before you jump on to posting content, ask yourself what you want to accomplish. Then, come up with a strategy that can help you achieve those goals.

For instance, if your priority is to increase brand awareness, you can host contests and giveaways. You can also show off your product through unboxing videos, how-to-use content, and customers’ photos and reviews.

2. Comprehend Your Target Audience

Your content may be great, but your efforts will go in vain if your audience doesn’t resonate with it. That’s why understanding your target audience is paramount.

Find out where they’re from and identify their interests and pain points. You should also get insights about which platforms they spend most of their time on.

Then, plan your campaign to cater to the needs of your target audience.

3. Nail Content Marketing

Good content refers to the content that is valuable, relevant, and engaging. You should create content that can solve the problems of your target consumers. This will keep them coming back for more and also help you build loyalty.

You should also make sure that your content is visually appealing. Make use of impressive colors, graphics, photographs, and other visual elements. Reading through a wall of text isn’t interesting enough anymore.

If you need help creating high-quality content, partner with an influencer who shares the same passion as yours. Most influencers have a way with words and they can help you create content that your audience will love to engage with and share.

4. Optimize Your Social Media Profiles

This one only takes a few minutes but can help you leave a great impression on your first-time visitors.

You should choose a profile picture that represents your brand. It could be as simple as your logo. Also, make sure that you put some thought into writing your bio. It should be catchy and informative at the same time.

Most importantly, include important information like your contact details, links to your website, and links to other social media profiles.

5. Evaluate Your Strategy

Instead of wondering if your strategy will generate the desired results, set and track the right KPIs to evaluate the effectiveness of your strategy.

Some common social media marketing KPIs are engagement rate, social shares, growth in following, brand mentions, and profile visits. These can help you gauge the effectiveness of your strategy and make more informed decisions in the future.

Final Note

These tips can help you improve the ROI of your social campaigns.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed and need a helping hand, consider using a social media management tool. I’ve reviewed some of the best ones on my blog, ShaneBarker.com.

If you want to discover more social media marketing tips, the infographic below might be helpful.

Social media can help brands reach out to their target audience easily. However, developing a strong presence on social media does require a significant amount of investment.

It requires you to put in a lot of time and money.

It’s natural to expect a fair return on your investment. To help you boost your social media ROI, we’ve put together a list of do’s and don’ts. 

The Do’s

Let’s first discuss what you need to do to maximize your social media ROI.

Establish Clear Goals

Only if you know what you want to achieve, you can work on building a successful strategy. 

To sharpen your focus, it’s a good idea to narrow down your goals. Not only will this help you streamline your processes, but also maximize your ROI.

Collaborate with Influencers

By partnering with influencers that fit with your brand, you can take your social media game to the next level. These influencers have a strong relationship with their followers.

They can help you increase your brand awareness, sales, and reach out to a broad audience. Moreover, provided you hit the right chords, influencer marketing is exceptionally cost-effective.

The Don’ts

Now that you know what you should do, let’s discuss things that you should avoid doing. 

Prioritize Quantity Over Quality

The key to developing a successful social media marketing strategy is to deliver high-quality and engaging content.

There is a lot of content on social media already. It’s likely that your audience is already burned out from content fatigue. 

So, always put quality before quantity.

Forget to Track Your Success

Amidst devoting yourself to creating kickass content, do not forget the most crucial step—evaluation. While this may seem scary, it will help you eliminate ineffective strategies and leverage those that really work.

When done right, social media marketing can be a boon! 

You can leverage multiple social media marketing tools to boost your ROI. Plus, some of them are free!

For a list of the best ones out there, read this on my blog shanebarker.com. 

It’s no secret that social video has been growing at an exponential rate in recent times and with more than 70% of the global population expected to own a smartphone by the end of 2020, the significance of optimising your video content for mobile viewing is huge.

Social video does not have to be expensive or take up a substantial amount of resource.

Here’s five easy tips that can help you create the best social video for your audience.

Keep it short

Social video has always been short and platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram extended this trend. The majority of social video is viewed on mobile as consumers demand content ‘right now’ and many are watching on-the-go.

Attention spans are now shorter than ever online. Brands, rights holders and publishers must meet the expectations and consumer trends by providing short-form content that fits into the daily behavioural patterns of their customers.

By providing real-time, bite-sized chunks of entertainment, content distributors are able to connect with millions of fans in an instant and, by adding links and calls-to-action within the videos, have an opportunity to drive wider marketing objectives.

Make it square

Square video is not just for Instagram. Few people have recognised that:

• Square video is supported on Twitter and Facebook’s native video player
• Square video clips takes up significant more space in a consumer’s newsfeed on mobile giving fans a greater viewing experience and leading to higher engagement

Taking up more screen space, square video creates the least friction for mobile users when viewing content on mobile devices. With horizontal content, to view across the entirety of the screen, users are required to turn their device horizontally, which is not a natural behaviour when holding a phone. However, when viewing square videos, users do not need to move their phone to get the best viewing experience – it’s the same in every orientation

Use links and calls-to-action

Every video that you distribute to social media should have a specific purpose and objective. If you are publishing video for the ‘sake’ of publishing video, then you are doing it wrong! Social video presents a clear opportunity to increase brand awareness, create a loyal fan base, drive tune-in or OTT subscriptions, increase sales and support wider advertising campaign objectives.

Getting consumers to watch and share a video is fantastic and if you create engaging content then fans will be open to associated marketing messages and calls-to-action.

Mentions (user tagging)

“The message is your medium”. When you post a video to social media, the message you add to the post/tweet can be just as important as the clip. Where possible, tailor the message for each platform and the post should be specific to the audience on each channel.

However, just because Facebook does not have a strict character limit like Twitter it does not mean you should write paragraphs of copy. Keep it short and sweet to keep your audience engaged and encourage them to view, and more importantly share, your videos with friends and followers.

User tagging and mentions is a quick and easy way to increase your reach, and ultimately, video views. By ‘tagging’ users on Twitter and Facebook, you increase the likelihood of your content being seen by followers of the account you tag, even if they do not follow you directly. For example, if you publish a video that includes Thierry Henry, you can ‘tag’ him in the message and by doing so the content is more likely to appear in Thierry’s fans’ timeline.

No audio – the power of “autoplay”

When Facebook and Twitter introduced autoplay for video content last year, consumers no longer expect to have to click a video to watch it. When a video ‘autoplays’ on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter it will not include audio – this is an important consideration for social video publishing.

Traditionally, advertisers and content creators have distributed video to TV where users watch a full-screen experience with the sound turned up. As mobile usage surges and content consumption happens on-the-go (often in public places), viewers frequently play videos without audio by default. Autoplay exacerbates this trend by playing the content as users scroll through their feeds:

• Will your audience understand your video without any sound?
• Will your fans be enticed to watch your content for longer than 3-seconds if no audio is playing?
• How can you provide assistance to viewer to compensate for the lack of sound?

Graphic overlays are a great way to engage users before they have even begun watching the video. This is a common tactic by YouTube influencers, and a fast-growing trend on Twitter and Facebook as content creators (and advertisers) recognize that a growing percentage of their audience are watching video in autoplay-mode.

There you have it.  Five quick tips that you can put into practice to develop your social videos and improve the content you share with fans. Subscribe to our blog for future updates, hints and tips to enhance your social video publishing strategies and achieve better results.

It’s a scary thought, right? Putting yourself out there for the entire world to watch and judge can be downright frightening. In fact, fear is the number one reason people state for not doing YouTube videos.

Trust me, I can relate.

I was the shy kid in school that hated getting up in front of people. Even though I was pretty comfortable clowning around on camera with family and friends, I never thought I’d be putting myself on YouTube for a bunch of strangers to see.

Yikes!

It took me a year before I got up enough nerve to record my first video.  But I quickly learned that the more videos I created, the easier it became.

So here are some tips to ease your fear of making YouTube videos…

Avoid Using a Script

You might think placing a script in front of you is going to ease your fears, but here’s the deal…

If you read from a piece of paper word for word, it might come across very robotic and unnatural. If you need notes, just create an outline with the high-level points and place it right below or alongside the camera.

You can glance at the topics and use those as talking points throughout the video.

Trust yourself. If you know your material, you won’t have any problem expanding on your main points.

Your Editor is Your Best Friend

I remember when I first started doing videos, I didn’t know much about editing. So I would keep recording takes until the videos were almost perfect.

For some videos, that would mean starting over 7 or 8 times.  I was creating so much extra work for myself.

You don’t have to be perfect with your takes. Learn to use your editor so you can cut out the ummms, errrrs and awkward pauses.

No matter what software you use, there’s a YouTube tutorial out there with instructions for how to edit video.

Do a Test Run

Some people suggest rehearsing in the mirror. While that is certainly one way to practice, it’s better to rehearse in the actual setting you are going to use for your final take.

Record yourself a few times and watch it back. Jot down two or three things you want to improve upon and do another test run.

Keep doing them until you are more comfortable. I guarantee you’ll get better with every take.

You Don’t Have to Be Perfect

An editor is great for removing bigger mistakes that interrupt flow or reveal incorrect facts, but you don’t have to get rid of every flaw.

Small imperfections here and there make the video seem more natural. Remember, no one expects your video to be perfectly polished.

You can even have fun with your mistakes from time to time. Don’t take yourself too seriously. People will appreciate that, and it makes the presentation more enjoyable.

Be Conversational

People often say to me, “I feel like you are sitting in my living room talking to me.”

Not only does being conversational make your audience feel at ease, but it will also help you relax as the presenter. Just pretend you are talking to a friend or family member.

Trying to be extra polished can actually make you more nervous and seem uptight. Relax and remember tip #4. 

We Are Our Worst Critics

I remember helping a friend with her videos, and she pointed out all these things she hated about her presentation.

What’s funny is I didn’t notice a single one of them until she brought them to my attention. Then, of course, I couldn’t help but notice after that.

We all have things we’d like to change about ourselves, so the playing field is pretty even there. Also, most people won’t even notice or care about the things that bother you. At the end of the day, if you are giving them what they want, they’ll be happy.

Sure, you may encounter some nasty trolls who try to make your life miserable, but they have delete and block buttons for that.  Plus, the YouTube commenting system is very anti-troll friendly.

Just remember, once you conquer that fear, the benefits of creating video outweigh the negatives by far.  So go for it!

Social media marketing has become a pinnacle of all types of marketing campaigns. 

Many businesses, big or small, use social media to consistently boost their brand’s visibility and awareness, propelling customer engagements. 

It can be a powerful marketing tool for developing leads, a goldmine rather. However, the only problems, most businesses don’t leverage social media platforms optimally to generate new leads. 

If you’re among those businesses, read on to know what you can do differently to get the results you desire. 

5 foolproof strategies you can implement to generate more leads through social media 

Select the right platform 

Today, if your brand is not visible on your target audience’s timeline, you can be sure that your competitor is.

It is vital to have a powerful social media presence in today’s corporate stratosphere. However, it is also true that we see an increasing number of social media networks that people use. So, it is unwise to engage with your customers using multiple platforms. 

Apart from the fact that you are going to be wasting time, you won’t be getting the leads you hoped for. So, the best thing to do here is using a social media scheduler to make the most out of your marketing strategies on popular social networks such as Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram. 

You will need to narrow down all the viable options and focus on your efforts on social channels that can help get you the results you want. That also depends on the type of product or service you are offering. 

Content will always be king 

In the era of social media, there are plenty of people that think blogging has gone out of fashion – that it is no longer relevant. And because of the speed and simplicity of using social marketing tools, most have abandoned blogging and just focus on using social media ads to generate more leads. 

This is unwise!

As per studies, it was identified that businesses that invest in blog content are able to make 67% more leads than the companies that don’t. Despite the demand and popularity of social networking platforms, it is hard to deny the increasing demand for quality content. 

Diversity is what is going to help you generate leads. Sure, all the photos and videos that you post on your social media will help with social media engagement, but never stick to doing one thing. 

Mix things up, throw in quality, yet relevant blog or two to spice up your engagement. You can establish yourself as an authority on the type of service or brand you are marketing. And once your fans and followers see you as the industry expert in your niche, you can be sure more leads will flock to you!

Market gated content 

Gated content is an excellent way of gaining more leads. You can use gated content to request users to fill out short forms in return for content. 

You may have come across gated content on social media every now and then, where you have to like the page or fill out a form to access the content or to avail of an offer.  

According to research, it was discovered that 80% of business-to-business products are gated. However, this will only work if you are offering valuable content (such as webinars, case studies, or ebooks) in exchange. 

Users must trust the source of the content; it should be valuable enough that they give you their email. But if you are a startup, then you aren’t visible to your target audience yet. So gated content is not going to work for you here. You are going to have first to develop a relationship with your prospects and gain their trust. Think of a blog!

Word of mouth campaign

In the digital stratosphere, customer referrals or word of mouth marketing has become a critical source of generating new leads. As a matter of fact, many people actively seek consistent and sure-shot recommendations from their friends and family. 

They are of the view that if their friends recommend them a product or service they trust, it must be great. How often have your peers or friends recommended that you try a lunch menu from a restaurant you have not heard of?  

Similarly, you must have also purchased a product just because a social influencer or a family member recommended it. And chances are you may have also shared your experience forward. 

Consumers today are smart and savvy. They don’t easily get enticed by brand advertisements; what they look for are good and bad reviews or feedback left by other customers. That is what drives them to make their buying decision. 

That is also why, as a business, you should always ask your customers to leave you honest feedback or review. Many would be happy to recommend your product or service to their group of friends or family. These are the people who are going to help you expand, gain momentum and popularity in a competitive market. 

Invest in giveaways and contests

Another great way of developing leads is to post social media giveaways and contests frequently. Apart from helping you generate leads, this is also going to help increase your brand’s visibility, awareness, and overall engagement. 

However, if you want this to work out the way you hope, you have to give your users what they want, something that appeals to them. 

You may have come across multiple giveaways saying how you could win the new iPhone or iPad if you participate in a contest. This is an excellent idea, but remember, be sure to run a giveaway that is related to your business. The point is to attract new prospects, not new entrants.  

Your ultimate goal is to generate leads and boost sales. That means you must offer a contest that focuses on your ideal audience. 

Bottom line

Generating new leads is not rocket science; you need to know what works for you. These are amongst the top tips you can implement to expedite your sales and propel your company into the future. 

There are a few exciting and incredible Instagram statistics that you should know if you want to use this famous photo and video sharing platform to promote your fashion brand and product and drive more traffic to your site. 

The fact that people love photos makes them click at anything and everything they like, even before Instagram. They also shared these photos with their friends and relatives physically. However, with the advent of Instagram almost a decade back, the sharing of photos has become much easier. It is all due to the:

• Useful features
• Ostentatious filters and 
• Easy options for sharing photos.

It is for these reasons that the platform has more than a billion active users every month and millions of business accounts. Fashion businesses can make the most out of this platform because Instagram and fashion are both about creativity.

Starting with the Instagram history statistics:

• It was launched on October 6, 2010
• The first-ever photo posted on this platform was by Kevin Systrom
• Facebook bought it on 9 April 2012 for $1 billion and
• At that time, it has only 30 million active monthly users.

However, it was only after October 2013 that Instagram allowed advertising on this platform for only a few selected brands. It is only after September 2015 that Instagram opened up advertising for all types of businesses, fashion included.

Later in June 2016, it switched to non-chronological feed, and in August the same year, it released Instagram Stories on the platform. Lastly, in June 2018, it launched IGTV or Instagram TV that allows users to upload long videos that contained more in-depth content in it.

With all these developments and inclusions of features, there is no surprise that this standalone mobile app has more than two million monthly advertisers.

Instagram usage stats

If you are wondering about the reach of Instagram when you use it for your fashion marketing, then be informed that most SEO specialists and marketers like Gramista use and insist on using Instagram for business marketing purposes. The Instagram usage stats will reveal how effective a platform it is to increase traffic to your fashion site.

• More than 13. 63% of all users log in to their Instagram account to check the latest updates on their favorite brands at least once in a day
• More than 42% of them check their accounts several times in a day 
• On average, the Instagram users spend about 27 minutes every day on the platform in 2017 which will grow to 28 minutes or even more in 2020
• More than 200 million Instagram users visit at least one brand profile every day 
• More than 62% of people have purchased a product after seeing it in the Instagram Stories
• Nearly 11% of social media users in the US alone shop on Instagram
• More than 81% of consumers use Instagram to research the products and services they wish to purchase
• There are more than 130 million Instagram users view shopping posts on this platform every month
• More than 50% of all Instagram accounts every month use Explore tab and 
• Instagram users are highly engaged as compared to other social media platforms.

With these stats, you should not have any more doubt about the ability of this visual platform to raise traffic to your fashion site.

Instagram influencer marketing

You will get the most out of Instagram and its two million advertisers all over the world if you use influencer marketing. It will give your brand a massive scope to raise traffic to your fashion site. Looking at the upward trajectory of influencer marketing on Instagram, you should start a collaboration immediately.

In 2018, Instagram was used for more than 93% of all influencer marketing campaigns, according to a research report of Webfluential. This is, in fact, more than double of Facebook and YouTube.

According to the research of Mediakix, it is found that:

• Marketers spent more than $1.6 billion on Instagram influencer marketing in 2018
• This is expected to be $1.7 billion in 2019 and 
• Cross two billion dollars in 2020.

Instagram has, in fact, leveraged privacy transgressions, which has ideally plagued other social networks, including Facebook. It is, for this reason, it is expected that in 2020 the advertisers will spend more than $2.4 billion on Instagram influencer marketing. All these shows that influencer marketing spends on Instagram will continue to increase and will not stop anytime soon.

It is a natural showcase

Over time, Instagram has become the true showcase for the fashion industry, mainly for its features. These features allow the fashion brands to create much better marketing and brand promotion strategy.

Ideally, the success of a social network is not a matter of size. It is also not the prerogative of the major players. 

• It is all about how creative you are and how effective your strategy is. 
• Automation is another aspect that you should focus on.

Both these things will ensure that your marketing efforts gain more momentum and provide you with the desired results and traffic to your fashion site.

Reasons for fashion brands thriving

There are lots of reasons fashion brands use Instagram and thrive as a result. It is supposed to be a natural fit for the two. You will come across data that will help you to identify a few of the top-performing and engaging Instagram fashion accounts so that you can take a cue from these accounts to make your account perform well.

It is not only about posting your collection of selfies. It is all about choosing the right ones to tell the story of your brand in the best possible way. This will ensure that you get more followers and interactions. This is precisely what your profiles on Instagram will allow you to do.

You must give enough time to create your Instagram content so that it is exclusive, eye-catching, and tells a story. Remember, your content should be at the core of your Instagram marketing strategy to gain followers and generate traffic to your fashion site.

The best ways to create a buzz and more visibility in the social media is by making the best use of Instagram and the best way to make the most use of Instagram is by making the best use of hashtags.  Furthermore, you can also use a blog or a website as a tool to expand the visibility of your brand and at the same time establish your versatility. 

In addition to that and to make your impression further strong and effective you may also consider adding a Press Page to your website. This will help the other brands that you wish to tag along with you to see you more and take a look at your services.

Once you are able to sponsor brands it will be easier for you to add them to your page. This will in turn and eventually help the brands of your choice to understand that you have enough influencer experience.

Use hashtags on Instagram

However, first, you should consider using hashtags on Instagram. Over the years Instagram has taken over all other social media channels in popularity as well as ineffectiveness in using it for business promotion purpose. This has primarily been possible due to the use of hashtags. The use of hashtags has literally taken over the internet. Hashtags typically refer to keywords or keyword phrases. These are usually spelt without spaces and have a pound (#) sign as its preface. The use of hashtags is generally for several references such as:

• Any event
• Conferences
• Entertainment
• Pop culture and even 
• Reoccurring themes.

Proper use of hashtags will make your content more visible to the general public. Typically, the hashtags were originally popularized by Twitter and later on it spread its use on multiple social networks including Instagram.

In order to use hashtags in the best possible way just like Stormlikes you will first have to know a few important things. 

• First, the Instagram feeds are ever-changing
• Second, there are more than 80 million photos are shared on Instagram every day and 
• Third, a wide variety of users in a single feed can use hashtag aggregate posts but only public accounts will be shown when searched using hashtags.

This means with such a huge crowd of posts in the marketplace, it is very difficult for your content to get noticed. This is where proper use of hashtags will prove to be very handy. On Instagram, it is very easy and simple for users to find any content that is tagged. 

How to use hashtags

The search results page on Instagram is typically divided into three specific parts. These are:

• Top posts that are most popular and display nine tagged posts altogether that have very high engagement
• Most recent posts that display the tagged photos in chronological order and
• Related hashtags which refer to all those other hashtags that people often use to discuss any given topic.

For example, if you are into the food business and plan to tag#coffee in your posts, the most related tags to this will be #cappuccino, #icedcoffee, #latte, or #coffeebreak. These hashtags will surely broaden the search results as well as extend the reach of your post.

It is very easy to use hashtags. All you have to do is create one using numbers, characters, or emojis. You can add up to thirty hashtags to your caption but you must remember that your account must be public so that your posts to appear on the hashtag feeds.

Choosing a hashtag

It is very important to find out which hashtags are the best for each your post before you choose one to use. 

• The best way to do so is by brainstorming all available and related keywords and phrases. 
• You must also make it a pint to research on all relevant trends. 

This is not much of a task considering that Instagram will itself make it easier for you.

Start your research by tapping on to the Explore tab which looks like a magnifying glass on the bottom menu. In here you will find a lot of popular posts. Check them out to find the type of hashtags and take some cue from it. You must also use this page to find out the most popular hashtags related to your product even if you already have a particular hashtag in your mind. 

• Simply type the hashtag in the search bar
• Filter your results by Tags
• See how many posts have used that specific hashtag as well as all other related hashtags.
• Make sure that you blend general and trendy hashtags with specific hashtags and 
• Also, consider creating your own hashtags specific for your brand.

All these steps when followed will ensure the reach of your posts and at the same time the relevance of your content are both increased.

Ideally, it is better to create your own hashtags when you roll out a new product like most of the businesses do. In addition to that a relevant and self-created hashtag is also useful for:

• Managing any Instagram campaign
• Collecting any user generated content or 
• Promoting any special event.

However, you have to make sure that your hashtag is not being used for any other purpose if you create your own for your business. You will be better off when you ask your Instagram followers to use it.

Incorporating the hashtags

Lastly, you should focus on the best ways to format and incorporate Instagram hashtags in your content to get the best results, engagement and traffic. 

For this first and foremost make sure that your hashtag usage does not look like spam. Rather, it should look more natural in your caption. Ideally, you must use 2.5 hashtags per post like most businesses do and try to use one to four hashtags only. This will prevent overwhelming your audience and make it hard for them to read your captions.

Make sure it blends naturally into your caption. Tack the hashtags in the end or in the first comment. It will work the same way regardless of where it is placed. 

Can you imagine your life, utterly devoid of social media? 

If you are a millennial or Gen Z, the chances are that you can’t. After all, with the rise of platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook, the masses have found a new way to connect.

Social media isn’t just famous for personal use. Instead, owing to its broad reach, many businesses are creating strategies solely for their social media presence. After all, it is a great and cost-effective way to speak to your target audience.

What do the numbers say?

Let’s put it all to perspective using a few numbers. According to HootSuite, there are approximately 8 billion people in the world. And out of them, 4.5 billion people are online, while 3.7 billion are active on social media.

As per the Digital Information World, an average user spends 142 minutes daily on social media platforms! And every user has at least seven accounts. This proves one thing for sure- a significant chunk of consumers are online.

Regardless of which business you are in, you will find your target audience online. You can’t let go of the opportunity to speak to them via social media.

However, you must do so appropriately. It is essential to follow social media etiquettes when reaching consumers through the platform.

The Do’s of Social Media

Here are some things you must do on social media.

1. Be grammatically correct

Users might not run their statuses and posts past grammatical checks whenever they post online. However, this doesn’t mean that you can also be as care-free as them. Remember, you are a brand, and your social media account is just one of the many ways to get your brand message across.

Make sure you come off as sophisticated and authentic. The first step to ensuring this is using proper punctuation, spelling, and grammar. Even when you are replying to comments, don’t overuse caps lock or disregard the rules of grammar.

You need to look professional online. So, read every marketing communication you send across carefully. This includes both posts and comments.

2. Use the Story Feature

Now, a wide variety of social media platforms have the Story feature in them. This includes Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. 

Many brands tend to stay away from the function, dubbing it to be a tad too unprofessional.

This is a misconception. Stories tend to be highly engaging. There is much more chance of people viewing your five-second story than reading a post to the tee. So, make sure to use this feature to your advantage.

What can you post in your story? You can share news about discounts or recent collections. You can also use the feature creatively. For instance, a leather jacket online store can post stories about how the different jackets are made or how to carry the leather jackets stylishly.

Put your creative brain to work and come up with the perfect content to share via Stories.

3.  Be Consistent

One of the first things taught in brand management classes is the need to have a consistent brand image. Your communications are the stepping stone to creating this consistency.

Generally, people tend to think that consistency only comes through the tone of voice and the content. However, in the world of social media, it also comes in the form of the frequency of posting. 

The more inconsistent and infrequent you are with your social media posts, the more you will lose out on your target audience.

According to a study conducted by Facebook, brands tend to lose connection with their target audience if they post merely once a week or more than three times a day. Remember, you can’t spam your customers, nor can you let them forget you.

You need to find a balance between the two. Post original and witty content three days a week and at most twice a day.

The Don’ts of Social Media

Here are three things you must avoid doing on social media at all costs!

1. Be a spammer

There is nothing worse than annoying your target audience. And there is nothing easier to do than annoying them!

In an attempt to sound friendly, don’t spam your audience. It is never a good idea to continually post, retweet, comment, and like. If you do so, you will watch as your engagement rates drop significantly. People will start unfollowing you. After all, no one wants a brand to be the only thing they see on their social media accounts!

2. Complain about negative customer experiences

Just like there are bad brands that garner a lot of negative reviews online, there can also be bad customers. However, in this case, a brand cannot go online and share their negative experience with the said customer.

One of the essential social media etiquettes for business owners is the need to take the high road when things don’t go to plan. Whenever a customer interaction turns sour or a transaction does not follow through, never bad mouth your customers online.

Don’t even post sarcastic comments about them. This is because potential customers might look at your interactions with your audience and form a negative opinion about you.

You don’t want to sound like a bully or a whiner online!

3. Overdo hashtags

Hashtags are a great solution. They allow users to view content about a given topic all at once. As a business owner, it lets you categorize your content and link it to a more important topic.

But, there is a thing such as overdoing hashtags. Some brands are even guilty of it! Some people tend to convert every word of their post into a hashtag. Others make the entire sentence into one prominent, incoherent, hashtag!

Both of these approaches tend to look very unprofessional and highly annoying. It also means that the tags don’t perform a function, unlike the initial purpose of the concept!

Partying thoughts

Social media is a powerful tool if you use it the right way. Where can you address such a massive chunk of your target group, all at once? 

Be careful about social media etiquette and watch as your online presence, and hence your business revenue increases.