Here are a few tips and tricks to help you maximize your social presence on Instagram.

Set Up Your Account & Page Properly

Whether you’re setting up an Instagram account from scratch or you’re looking to update an existing account, it’s important to set it up properly. For starters, you should set it up as a business account. The benefits of using a business account include:

• Insights and metrics about how your followers interact with the content you share with them through posts and stories
• Added features such as a contact button, business hours, location and phone number.
• Ability to take advantage of sponsored content and Instagram ads
• Ability to add links to your Instagram stories

It’s also important to make sure that your account links back to your website, and that all other social channels have consistent and cohesive messaging.

Once your page is set up, deciding what to do next can be challenging. Do your research! Browse through pages of other businesses within your industry to see how they’re doing things, but keep in mind that some of these things may or may not be working for them – social media comes with some trial and error as its algorithms are always changing!

What Kind of Content Should You Be Posting

Knowing what kind of content your audience wants to see can be tricky. A good starting point would be to include a variety of posts but not overwhelm your audience. It’s important to remember that quality is more important than the consistency. You don’t need to be posting every single day just to be getting a post out. Make sure that your posts are meaningful and have a purpose. Some content ideas might include:

• Introducing yourself and outlining your services
• Showing your expertise
• Showing your services in actions
• Testimonials and success stories

Now that you’ve determined the kind of content that you’ll be posting, create a content calendar to give you a starting point as well as something to hold you accountable as you get started. Content calendars are a great way to map out when you’ll be posting what, and help to keep things organized. It’s especially helpful to remember important dates and deadlines!

There are plenty of templates available online to help you get started, or you could create your own! There are also resources such as Hootsuite, Later, and more that allow you to schedule posts in advance. This allows you to schedule the content so that you don’t have to worry about posting it on the right day and time.

You’ve Started Posting… Now What?

Now that you’ve created and scheduled your first few posts, it’s time to start engaging with your community! This includes liking and commenting on any engagement on your posts, as well as the posts of others in your industry, network or accounts that you’d like to build a relationship with. Expanding your engagement helps to increase your followers and create brand awareness.

Remember, good things take time. You aren’t going to end up with 10K followers and partnerships or giveaways overnight! You have to start slow, keep things manageable and not give up when you don’t see the results of your efforts right away.

The post Instagram Tips for Service-Based Businesses appeared first on WeBC.

Love them or hate them, when used properly hashtags can be a great tool to help your content be discovered by more people on Instagram.

As a social media coach, I often spend part of a session going over a hashtag strategy so that they can start to work effectively for that small businesses. Here are some of the common misconceptions around hashtags explained.

Using larger hashtags is better.

Using hashtags that have over a million uses, means that there is little to no chance that your content will be discovered in that stream. You want to pick smaller, more niche hashtags that are directly related to your content and your business so that your photos and videos will show up in one of the top squares and be discovered by more people who are following that hashtag. It’s good to have a variety of sizes, but overall, keep the huge hashtags off the list.

You should use the same 30 hashtags on each post.

Having more variety in your hashtags means that you have more ways to reach people. While some of the core hashtags in your posts might overlap, it’s better to treat each post as a fresh opportunity to reach new people.

Not using relevant hashtags to your post.

Just because something is trending or cool in the moment, doesn’t mean you should include that hashtag on your post. If you’re unsure of whether to use it or not, take a look at the top 9 posts for that hashtag and see if yours would fit in there. If the answer is no, then it’s better to skip it.

With all of these misconceptions and more around hashtags, it can be hard to know where to begin. This is why I created the hashtag workbook and webinar that launched in early November.

The 30-minute webinar covers all of these misconceptions and more including:

• Where to find hashtags for your business
• What the 5 hashtag buckets are that you need to include on each post
• What size of hashtag to use for your brand

The included workbook is an easy-to-use Google Sheet that will give you a system to keep your hashtags organized both by bucket, and by size. This will help to save you time when planning out your hashtags for each post.

If you’re tired of thinking up hashtags on the fly, this quick webinar and workbook is for you. I’ve extended my launch price of $9 CAD to Women Enterprise members. Feel free to share with a small business owner who wants to reach more people on Instagram!

The post Grow your Business on Instagram with Hashtags appeared first on WeBC.

If you run or manage a brand feed for any social media platform, it can be easy to get stuck in the same old habits. If you’re on the resolution bandwagon, then here are a few more ideas to kick around for your social feeds for 2020.

What changes are you hoping to make to your social media strategy for 2020? Let me know in the comments which ones you’ll commit to for the year!

#1 – Start showing your face

Let’s make 2020 the year of more of YOU in your social feeds for your business. Images with faces in them perform up to 40% better on Instagram.

If you’re a small business owner, think about connecting more directly with your audience by showing them who runs the shop. It can be scary at first if you’re not used to being in front of the camera, but with the right photographer and practice, everything gets easier.

#2 – Show up consistently

Once you’ve decided to get your face into your feed, it’s time to show up consistently for your friends. No one likes a friend who never shows up for their coffee date. And no one will be interested in a brand that only shows up occasionally on social media.

Pick a set number of days you can commit to (I recommend Monday through Friday) and start being there for your fans and followers.

#3 – Stop being spammy

Maybe you’re already showing up, a little too much. Don’t be that friend who is constantly trying to sell you her latest essential oil (or insert other MLM here).

You can use social media as a sales tool, just don’t promote yourself 100% of the time. Add value for your customers first and foremost.

#4 – Start being authentic

Do you actually drink coffee out of that fancy mug? Is your home always clean? Are your children perfectly poised? I didn’t think so.

Having some staged brand photos is definitely ok, but don’t be shy in letting your followers get to know the real you and your business. Instagram Stories are a great place to go behind the scenes and share your real everyday chaos.

#5 – Experiment with new types of content

Never gone live? Shared a video? Posted to TikTok? Make 2020 the year you try out a new type of content. You may find you love doing live video, or maybe it’s not for you. Either way, learning how to use a new tool gives you more options for sharing your content.

#6 – Stop ghosting

No one likes when a friend suddenly stops returning our text messages. Make 2020 the year you stop leaving your followers hanging. Answer those DM’s and comments that come in. Let them know you value their feedback. Too many to handle on your own? Consider hiring a VA to help!

#7 – Batch schedule your content

If you’re sitting down and posting live every day, today is the day to stop. Typing out posts one by one is a time suck and a great way to be pulled into other social media feeds.

Use a tool like Later or Buffer to plan out your content, ideally once a week or even every other week to get ahead of your feed.

#8 – Stop worrying about vanity metrics

We know that Instagram has removed likes already for many countries. Make 2020 the year you stop posting just for the likes as well. Post because you have something valuable to say. Post because you want to help others. Post because you want to make someone laugh. Make that your metric for 2020.

#9 – Find your niche

This can be a hard one. The more you start sharing your “Why” as in why you love to do what you do, the more you’ll find your niche.

Double down on how you show up differently, and why your unique background experiences are what makes your offer different than what is out there.

#10 – Start using hashtags – correctly

Hashtags are everywhere, but are you using them correctly? If you’re using them on Facebook – stop. If you’re using them on Instagram, don’t copy and paste the same 30 every time.

Do some research on what your audience is connecting with and posting and change yours up to reflect that.

#11 – Promote your social accounts

You’ve finally taken the steps to create a business Instagram account or Facebook page. Now you have to let people know where to follow you.

Spread the word every way you can – in person, on your website, on business cards, at trade shows and events, in your newsletter. Don’t be shy – people can’t engage with you if they can’t find your account!

#12 – Stop forcing the same content across all channels

Hashtags on Facebook? Incorrectly sized videos on Instagram? Let’s make 2020 the year we all take the time to share the correctly sized and correctly worded content on each channel.

While most content can (and should) be repurposed across channels, make sure that you’re following best practices for each channel before you post.

#13 – Start creating a community

How can your social channels bring people together online or in person? What cause or mission can you rally behind?

Social media is meant to be social. How can you use your channels to create rapport, support, or share the wisdom of others?

#14 – Stop over-editing

There’s nothing wrong with a little photo editing to fix the lighting or brighten up a dark background. With the removal of likes, Instagram is trying to get back to how it started – as a channel to share authentic, in-the-moment photos.

Branded photos still have their place, but ask your photographer to only do minimal edits to let the real you shine through.

#15 – Re-use your best content

Unless 2020 is year one for your business, you potentially have one, two, three or more years of social content that you’ve already shared.

Use the first part of the year to reflect on what content worked best and then re-share that with your audience again, making any tweaks necessary as per the above suggestions.

The memory span of your audience is shorter than you think, and people need to see content multiple times before it sticks in your mind.

Pick out your Top 10 pieces of content (at least) and start by sharing those again this year.

#16 – Repurpose your content

In addition to re-using your content, make 2020 the year you find ways to repurpose the content you already have.

Could you turn a written blog post into a short video explaining the tips and share that on social media? Could you take the same topic you’ve written and share it as a guest article on another site? Could you do an Instagram story of a longer video chopped up in shorter segments?

Don’t let your hard work go to waste, find more ways to reach more people with the same content.

#17 – Commit to building an email list

This probably seems like a weird suggestion for social media tips. Social media is a great place to find your tribe. But to keep that conversation going in a way that you can control, without ever-changing algorithms, you need to build your own network. This is the power of an email list.

#18 – Give back

If you’ve worked hard on developing a following, how could you give back to your community? How could you partner with another account, brand, or non-profit to make a bigger impact?

With so many opportunities to help in so many ways today, is there one cause you could pick to support at strategic times throughout the year?

#19 – Follow awesome content creators

Whatever channel you’re on, find the best of the best for what you do and follow them. Learn from them. Interact with them, and ask them questions.

The only way to keep getting better at social is to learn from those who are delivering the best content.

#20 – Have fun!

Let’s make social media fun again. If there are accounts you follow that make you feel terrible about yourself or the world, it’s time to unfollow them.

Find accounts that make you laugh. Post your outtakes. Post your behind-the-scenes. Have fun with your accounts – and maybe it will help you grow a more meaningful, engaged audience for 2020 and beyond.

The post 20 Things to Start & Stop Doing on Social Media in 2020 appeared first on WeBC.

I previously shared the Four C’s of Standing Out on Instagram.

Now, here are three reasons why Instagram Stories should be at the top of your list for your social media promotions in 2019.

#1 – Free Eyeballs on Your Content

Organic reach has been declining over the past several years across both Facebook and Instagram.

One place that hasn’t seen a decline in reach (yet) is Instagram Stories.

Brands report getting as much as 37% of their total Instagram impressions from Stories. Yet, only 50% of businesses are making one Story a month or more.

Don’t miss out on those free eyeballs looking for new content, make sure your company is on board before more businesses take advantage of these free impressions.

#2 – More Authenticity

Instagram feeds are typically full of picture-perfect moments that show photoshopped products, airbrushed models, and ideal lighting.

Since Instagram Stories expire after 24 hours, it’s a great opportunity to show off the more authentic side of your product or service.

Give people the behind-the-scenes walkthrough of an event, show them the making of your next product, or what a day is really like in your business, without all the photoshopping.

Develop a more genuine connection with your followers by giving them the real deal with your business.

#3 – Drive Link Clicks

Instagram Stories offers the feature we had all been waiting for since Instagram rolled out – the ability to drive traffic to your website with a simple swipe up.

While scrolling through the main feed is a more passive activity, brands can now actively engage their users in Stories by inviting them to learn more.

You do need to have 10,000 followers to enable the swipe-up feature. However, even if your brand isn’t quite there yet, you can still invite users to take action by clicking the link in your bio.

Use a service like LinkTree to offer multiple URL destinations from the link in your Instagram profile.

If you haven’t started creating Instagram Stories for your business, there’s no time like the present.

Even if you don’t quite get it right the first, second or third time, it’s only 24 hours until the slate is wiped clean and you can try again.

The post 3 Reasons You Need to Create Instagram Stories for Your Business appeared first on WeBC.