There’s no denying that social media can be a powerful tool for your brand.
Showing up consistently with helpful and unique content for social platforms helps you generate awareness for your brand. It also attracts leads and sales. But this can be tricky as you navigate social media algorithms to get your content noticed.
That’s where optimizing social media content comes into play. By being strategic with the kind of content you’re creating, you stand a better chance of boosting visibility and engagement.
If you’re concerned about catching up on social media optimization, have no fear. We’re covering all of the basics of optimizing content. You’ll learn what it means and how to optimize based on each separate platform. Let’s dive in!
Optimizing Social Media Content: What Does This Mean?
Since social media generates awareness for your brand through exposure to a wider audience, optimization lets you capitalize on that. You use various social platforms to spread your brand’s message and establish your online presence.
You spend time analyzing and auditing your strategy, factoring in social media best practices, and what’s performing well with your audience. Meaning you develop the most effective strategy possible.
But what does it mean when you’re optimizing social media content? It comes down to being strategic about the content you publish. When using social media as a brand, you don’t want to post just anything.
Your content should still center the interests of your target audience. In addition to considering what your audience is into, you will also want to align your content with what performs best for each separate platform to get better results.
Doing social media optimization properly can help you reap a ton of rewards. The benefits speak for themselves about the value of optimizing your content:
You’ll Develop an Effective Social Media Strategy: When you know how to create strong content for each social media platform, you can effortlessly craft a strategy that will help you be more consistent with posting. You’ll always know what kind of content to share, where to share, and when. It takes all the guesswork out of managing your social media presence.
Your Engagement Will Increase: When your content is optimized properly, there’s a good chance it’ll see a greater reach, therefore, increasing your visibility. This means your brand could get discovered by tons of new people. And you boost engagement (such as comments, shares, and website traffic) to attract new followers.
You’ll See a Greater ROI Across Platforms: Odds are, you use social media as a tool to help you achieve some of your larger business goals. Generating sales is a common one, for instance. Another is increasing brand visibility. With successfully optimized content, you increase your chances of reaching those goals and boost your ROI. Plus, seeing those analytics is a great way to see your hard work pay off.
At the end of the day, the social media accounts that end up being successful are those that understand trends, the types of people on the platform, and how to take advantage of their existing content library to optimize it across accounts. They become masters at their platforms and create content their audience can’t get enough of. As a result, they’ve built engaged, loyal followings.
Which Social Media Platforms Are Best to Optimize?
It’s easier than ever to find a social media platform that’s an ideal fit for your brand because there many are available. You want to ensure you invest time and energy into the platforms that showcase your strengths while putting you in front of your target audience. Otherwise, you risk your content going unnoticed or getting seen by the wrong people.
If you’re going to be creating content for several platforms, you want to make sure you enhance that content for the different goals of that platform so it stands a better chance of performing well. Once you become a master at social media best practices, this will become second nature to you.
To get started, you should make sure that you have defined your business goals for social media. This means choosing strategies that align with those goals. For example, if you want to improve SEO for a B2B business, you might choose LinkedIn because over 50% of companies in the B2B arena find clients on the platform.
Alternatively, if you want to increase visibility for your brand, you might go with Facebook. Their ad features make it easy to target the right segments while making sure people still see your content and posts.
What are the Best Tactics for Social Media Optimization?
Broadly, there are a ton of things you can do to optimize your social channels. By using some of these simple strategies, you can make a big dent in getting your business out there and noticed by the right people.
But what are the best ways to optimize your social media? We’ve chosen a few general fixes and high-level improvements you can make to help your business’s pages.
Never Stop Thinking About Your Audience
Your audience is the most important part of your social media presence. They drive your engagement. This means their interests and pain points should always be top of mind.
And the demographics for your audience could be different across your different social channels. That’s why you should regularly take the time to check out the types of followers you have in your analytics.
Write Snappy Bios
Your bio is one of the earliest things someone will see when they check out your profile. It sets the tone and establishes who you are. So, make sure your bio covers what you do, your industry, and nails your brand tone quickly.
Having a great bio can encourage a potential client to reach out to you, so you want to ensure you make a good impression while being aware of their attention span.
Consider the Time You Post
Tons of hours have gone into studying the best times to post on social media over the years. While it’s not an exact science, you can make educated guesses based on when most of your audience is online.
If you’re just starting, you might choose a time to post social media based on the research others have done. Or try out a few times and see which gets the most engagement over a couple of weeks. From there, you’d post at the time that received the most regular interaction.
Avoid Posting Too Much
There’s also not a magic number of times that you should post in a week, but you don’t want to under-post to the point where people don’t see anything you have to say. It’s also important not to overwhelm your audience because they could get annoyed with your content and unfollow you.
That’s why you should find a sweet spot and stick to that whenever you write and post content for social. For example, best practices note that you should post on Instagram between 3 and 7 times a week, but you’re encouraged to post more than once a day on Twitter. That’s due, in part, to the lifespan of posts on these different platforms. A tweet is only relevant for 18 minutes, but on Instagram, you can get a lifecycle of a couple of days.
Make Your Content Searchable
If no one can find your content, they can’t engage with it. They also won’t know that your brand is what they need to solve a problem they have. While you won’t need to use this tactic all the time (sometimes you might just be talking to your existing customers), it’s a good thing to keep in mind.
One way to do this is through hashtags so that searchers can find your posts based on a couple of relevant words that trend on a platform. If you have an SEO team, you can also get keyword research from them to help boost organic performance.
Create Engaging Visuals
You cannot ignore the importance of visuals in social media content. You’re more likely to attract an audience if your content is visually engaging. In fact, you’re 65% more likely to retain information if a visual is attached to it. If you’re trying to up your visual game, here are a few tips:
Avoid images that are too dark. More light usually means more likes and shares.
Multiple colors get more attention in posts than images with only one color.
Your header text should be larger than the body text on a graphic.
Be aware of the color wheel.
Add images to your quotes. This could be anything from inspirational quotes or memes.
When you put thought into your images, your audience will appreciate the hard work you’ve put in and be delighted by the images and graphics you create.
How to Optimize Your Social Media Posts
Knowing and understanding your audience is essential for all content. You don’t want to overlook it with social media posts. You should create content that interests your audience so your posts will resonate with them. Consider what they’re interested in seeing from you and how you can provide solutions to their biggest pain points.
From there, you can tweak your content according to what performs best on each platform. To help you get started, we’re breaking down what works best on four top social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn). Here’s what you need to know:
1. Optimizing Your Facebook Posts
Facebook can be a great place to build an audience, but many brands find the platform frustrating because of low impressions and engagement. And considering the organic reach of a Facebook Page post is only 5.2%, the frustration makes sense. But you can do a few things to improve your posts and boost engagement rates:
Copy: A regular Facebook post can be up to 63,206 characters in length, which means it’s a great platform for posting long-form content. But should you? According to BuzzSumo research, shorter Facebook posts perform better, specifically those under 50 characters. Additionally, longer posts get cut off by Facebook’s “see more” option, so it’s important to stay snappy and avoid that.
Hashtags: With the ability to write longer posts, it can be tempting to add tons of hashtags to generate more reach. However, it’s best to stick to just two or three relevant hashtags.
Visuals: Facebook recommends uploading images that are 1,200 x 630 pixels in size, so consider that when creating graphics. It doesn’t matter if you post in landscape, portrait, or square, Facebook will automatically resize it to 500 pixels wide. The height will be scaled accordingly for the best quality.
2. Optimizing Your Instagram Posts
When viewing the standard Instagram feed, a user sees posts from the accounts they engage with the most first. So, if you want your content to be at the top of someone’s feed, you’ll want to encourage them to engage with you as much as possible. You can also suggest they add your account as one of their favorites to secure you a top spot. Other than that, here are some more tips:
Copy: Your Instagram captions can be up to 2,200 characters in length, giving you plenty of room to write captivating content for your followers to consume. However, research that analyzed 5.9 million Instagram posts shows posts between 1-50 characters appear to drive more interactions. Short and sweet is the way to go on this platform.
Hashtags: When writing your Instagram caption, you can include up to 30 hashtags. If you try to add more than that, you can’t post the caption. But avoid cramming in as many as possible. Studies show that 11 is the magic number for Instagram hashtags. It also doesn’t matter if you place the hashtags in the caption or a separate comment.
Visuals: When posting to your Instagram feed, you have three options. You can share a square image (1,080 x 1,080 pixels), a horizontal image (1,080 x 566 pixels), or a vertical image (1,080 x 1,350 pixels). Sticking to these specifications will ensure your image doesn’t get pixelated.
3. Optimizing Your Twitter Posts
Twitter has become the go-to platform for those seeking real-time updates. You can always count on its users to be discussing breaking news stories or live tweeting events (such as conferences or TV shows). But Twitter is also a great place to share educational tips with your community. To ensure your tweets get plenty of engagement, keep these tips in mind:
Copy: There was a lot of excitement when Twitter increased its character limit from 140 to 280 characters in 2017. And it’s safe to say users appreciate having a little more room for sharing their thoughts. Now the ideal tweet length is between 240 and 259 characters.
Hashtags: Although you can use as many hashtags as you’d like on Twitter, the platform recommends using no more than two per tweet. In fact, tweets that have one or two hashtags reportedly see 21% higher engagement than those with three or more hashtags.
Visuals: Adding an image to your tweets is a fantastic way to stand out and grab attention in a busy feed. Just make sure you’re uploading horizontal images that are 1,200 x 675 pixels for best results.
4. Optimizing Your Pinterest Posts
There’s no denying that Pinterest is one powerful visual search engine. Users across the globe turn to Pinterest to look for recipes, DIYs, and fashion inspiration. It can also be a great place to search for business and marketing tips. Odds are, Pinterest has something to offer no matter what type of content you’re on the hunt for. And here’s how to ensure your content stands out:
Copy: Your pin description on Pinterest can be up to 500 characters in length. However, it’s worth noting that only the first 30-60 characters appear in the feed without clicking on the post. For that reason, you want to make sure that the first snippet is the most attention-grabbing.
Hashtags: You can include more than 20 hashtags per pin, although this can look spammy to users and be a turn-off. Instead, stick to between two to eight hashtags for the best results. Simply choose the most relevant, and you’re on your way to optimized content.
Visuals: Long, vertical images are what truly thrive on Pinterest. That’s why you want to stick with their ideal image size of 1,000 x 1,500 pixels with an aspect ratio of 2:3. Any other than that and Pinterest says your pin’s performance could be negatively impacted. If your brand creates infographics, you’ll want to make sure you post them to Pinterest!
5. Optimizing Your LinkedIn Posts
LinkedIn has become the preeminent platform for professionals. Companies looking to hire new employees can post job listings, while eager job hunters can apply for their dream positions. And brands can use this social platform to share their latest content, promote offerings, and generate new leads. You just need to know how to use it effectively. Here’s how you can start optimizing social media content on LinkedIn:
Copy: When crafting your LinkedIn post, you’ll have a maximum of 700 characters available to use. But it’s important to note that, at the 140-character mark, you’ll get a “see more” cut off. For that reason, research suggests keeping your posts on the shorter side. The recommendation is 25 words or less, so you’ll want to make your point quickly. Though it’s worth mentioning that some of the most viral posts are those that personalized stories.
Hashtags: Although there isn’t a limit to how many hashtags you can add to a LinkedIn post, the platform recommends using only three hashtags per post. This is preferable to avoid looking spammy or cluttered when your followers are reading them.
Visuals: When adding images to your LinkedIn posts, horizontal is best. Create images at 1,104 x 736 pixels to ensure everything you upload looks high-quality, never pixelated.
Optimize Your Social Media Platforms with Expert Help
The team of social media experts at Express Writers has years of experience crafting incredible social media content. These writers understand how to pull in SEO while optimizing for each platform. If you need social media posts, there’s no need to look at other content writing agencies. Our passionate social media writers are here to help.
Writing a social media post doesn’t seem overly complicated. Should be pretty straightforward and simple to do, right?
Actually, copywriting to attract the right audience from a business standpoint is a little more methodical than you might expect compared to writing social media posts as an individual.
There’s a lot more at stake for the business, including a meaningful impact on the brand’s perceived authority, its reach to potential new consumers, engagement rates, and more.
Globally, as of July 2021, there are an estimated 4.48 billion social media users (almost 57% of the world’s population). Facebook still reigns supreme with an estimated 2.853 million users, followed by YouTube in second place.
Here’s where it gets tricky – each social media platform has its own tips, tricks, algorithms, and best practices. Content that performs well on LinkedIn isn’t likely to see that same success on Twitter or Pinterest if posts are simply copied and pasted uniformly across every channel.
Not to worry… we’re here to share the best advice for each social outlet so your content performs no matter where it’s posted.
When done correctly, a marketing strategy on social media can reach a lot of people to bring in leads, raise brand awareness, and create conversion opportunities.
[bctt tweet=”Copywriting to attract the right audience from a business standpoint is a little more methodical than writing social media posts as an individual. (There’s a lot more at stake! ?) Learn how to write posts that won’t fail ?” username=”ExpWriters”]
The good news is, you don’t have to rely on too much trial and error to nail down the best methods for the various social media channels.
Why?
Because a lot of other people have already done it for you!
You can (and should) still monitor your social media analytics to see which posts engage with your unique audience the most, but as far as coming up with a tried-and-true formula, there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel.
Follow these tips to rule your social media campaigns.
1. How to Write Facebook Posts That Get Liked and Shared
The #1 social media platform isn’t exactly a one-and-done content formula because it handles multiple types of media, and different posting techniques can work well depending on the goal you’re hoping to accomplish.
To find success on Facebook, you need to “read the room” and respond to your audience. These guidelines with help you do just that:
Video is the best performing content. However, Facebook campaigns are most effective when you vary your types of posts, so mix it up with photos, infographics, text, gifs, memes, blog posts, press releases, links, et cetera.
The ideal length for a post is around 40-80 characters. As a general rule, short posts on social media perform better than long ones.
End with a question. People are more likely to engage when you reach out to them for their opinions or feedback.
Post interesting content, even if it doesn’t pertain directly to your brand. Facebook’s audience has a limited tolerance for self-promotion, which means if you want to keep your followers engaged, it doesn’t hurt to post about more than just your business. Be sure to keep your topics related to your niche, though.
Make it visual. Text is easy to scroll past, but graphics help to make people pause while they’re skimming through their newsfeed. Even if you’re publishing a post that’s strictly text, Facebook makes it easy to transform it into a visual graphic.
2. How to Write Effective Tweets on Twitter
Posting on Twitter requires smart, concise word choices to convey your message within a limited space. It can take a little extra practice, but once you get the hang of it, your tweets will take off.
When posting on Twitter, take this advice into account:
Front-load your tweet. Most people on Twitter are skimming through a massive amount of content. Put the most important information at the beginning of your tweet to catch their attention.
The ideal length for a tweet is 240+ characters. Twitter increased its character limit from 140 to 280 in 2017, and users seem to appreciate the extra room to express themselves. If you need more than 280 characters, create a thread or add a link to a blog post. Tip: Use a free tool like Bitly to shorten your url and maximize your space.
Don’t go overboard with hashtags. Real estate for your tweet is limited – you can’t afford to spend it all on hashtags rather than your actual message. Limit yourself to 1-3 relevant hashtags.
Tweet shareable content. Twitter’s audience loves to retweet breaking news, statistics, quotes, jokes, and gifs. Timing is important on Twitter – you don’t want to be the last one to share yesterday’s news.
3. How to Write Engaging Instagram Captions
Instagram is all about visual content, but that doesn’t mean you can skate by with insufficient captions. If you want your audience to interact with your content, your words do matter.
Start with a bang. Instagram allows up to 2,200 characters. However, it’s important to keep in mind that no more than 125 characters will show beneath your photo. If you want your audience to read your full post, you need to entice them to click “more.”
Use emojis. Instagram + emojis = ? For real, though, emojis have proven to be incredibly effective on Instagram.
Use relevant hashtags. You’re allowed up to 30 hashtags, but don’t just pick the ones that are currently trending (especially if they don’t really pertain to your media). Instead, try to vary your hashtag use. Select a few broad, popular ones but also mix in some niche-specific hashtags, plus one or two branded ones. For example, Coca-Cola created the branded hashtag #ShareACoke for an Instagram campaign.
Break up long text into paragraphs. Instagram is still a bit tricky about this. If you want to have paragraphs with white space in between them, you have to hit Enter, then add a space on the blank line before you tap Enter again. But the extra step is worth it, because big blocks of text are difficult to read.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is treating LinkedIn like a clone of Facebook.
While the two do share some similarities, even a blue logo, the type of content is very different.
LinkedIn is primarily a networking platform where business professionals and brands share industry insights, news, and updates. The latest “epic fail” video going viral on Facebook isn’t going to fit in with what LinkedIn’s audience expects.
When posting on LinkedIn, keep in mind that:
Long-form content works well. Don’t hesitate to share articles and blog posts on LinkedIn. This audience is more likely to take their time and read what you have to say, so you can also type longer posts than you normally would on other platforms that are meant to be skimmed. Just be sure to stay organized and professional.
Add a handful of hashtags. While hashtags dominate Instagram and Twitter, they fell flat when it came to Facebook. LinkedIn falls somewhere in between. Relevant hashtags are good to include, but in moderation and preferably tucked at the end of your post.
Brand your content and graphics. Professionals are likely to share studies, research, infographics, statistics, and industry updates. If you’re posting content, make sure it’s branded so you get the credit when it’s shared. For example, Gary Vaynerchuk always includes his signature and Instagram/Twitter handle on his content.
[bctt tweet=”Paragraph breaks in IG captions? Hashtags on Pinterest? Long-form LinkedIn posts? ? These are just some of the current ways to optimize your social media writing ? in the 2020s. More on the @ExpWriters Write Blog:” username=””]
5. How to Post Great Pins on Pinterest
Much like Instagram, the focus on Pinterest will be on the picture rather than the text.
That being said, the right description can give your post a major boost! Try these tips the next time you post a pin:
The ideal length for a post is around 150-300 characters. You’re allowed up to 500 characters, but try not to go overboard. It’s a good idea to be detailed and use relevant keywords in the description.
Have a professional tone. Slang and acronyms don’t give a great impression on Pinterest. Be mindful of your grammar and punctuation. Try to keep your tone informal but professional.
Hashtags are optional (but useful). A few years ago, hashtags were a big NO on Pinterest. But now, hashtags are searchable and will appear in chronological order. However, Pinterest is still primarily driven by keywords, not hashtags, which means the feed will display results that have the keyword even without the hashtag. Since a hashtag usually doubles as a keyword, it doesn’t hurt to use them on your pins.
Tackle Social Media with a Can-Do Attitude!
The most important piece of advice when it comes to social media is to BE AUTHETIC.
That, more than anything else, is what will help your content connect with your audience. When in doubt, remember that short and sweet tends to perform better than long-form content on most platforms.
Experiment with your posts to find what you audience responds to best. Try posting different lengths and forms of content at different times of the day.
Whatever you do, don’t give up! Social media can be difficult to navigate, but with persistence and a methodical approach, you’ll find what works.
Need some help? Our expert writers are here for any content-related project from social media and beyond. Visit our Content Shop to see what types of custom content we can create for you.
Are you using Instagram Stories for your brand? If not, you should be! And if you’re wondering how to get started, our latest #ContentWritingChat is perfect for you. If you missed out, dive into the recap below, which is filled with awesome tips brands can use to impress on Instagram Stories.
#ContentWritingChat Recap: Instagram Stories for Business with Sue B. Zimmerman
Our guest host this week was the Instagram Expert herself, Sue B. Zimmerman. Sue is no stranger to posting content on Instagram Stories, so she shared her tips on how we can all be using it to connect with our audience and grow our online presence.
Q1: Is it important for a brand to be present on Instagram Stories? How can it help your brand?
Is it really necessary for a brand to be using Instagram Stories? And how exactly can this Instagram feature help a brand’s online presence? Find out what our chat participants think about it below:
Sue feels Instagram Stories can be great for brands if they have a strategy their audience would be interested in watching. After all, it comes down to having interesting content that your target audience would want to tune into.
Varun knows that millennials and many others connect with real, human stories. Instagram Stories provides a great way for you to share that with your audience.
It’s a great way to personalize your brand and allow your followers to get to know you. When they get to see who you are and what you’re all about, they’ll form a stronger connection with your brand.
You can easily bring your audience up close and personal with your brand through your Stories content.
Q2: How do you know if Instagram Stories is right for your audience? Should you also be using Snapchat or stick to just one?
Before you begin using Instagram Stories, it’s important that you consider if it’s right for your brand and your audience. While it may work for someone else, it might not be the ideal move for you, so you have to think about it first. Check out this advice on how to know if it’s right for you and if you should also use Snapchat:
Sue said Instagram Stories can work for any business, as long as it aligns with your core business values.
A2: Go to where your audience is! If you’re followed on Snapchat, use that plaform, if it’s Instagram, go there! #contentwritingchat
— Digital Natives Cast (@DgtlNativesCast) April 11, 2017
When choosing between Instagram Stories and Snapchat, you want to consider where your audience is. Use the platform that they’re actively using so you stand a better chance at getting seen.
Take the time to do your research before investing the effort into another platform. Ask yourself if your customers are spending time on Instagram Stories. Are your competitors doing well there? These are important things to consider before diving in.
If your audience likes your content on Instagram Stories, Snapchat may work for you as well. If you want to find out, the best way is to just give it a go and see what happens.
Lucy also recommends testing to see which platform is ideal for your brand and audience. Try sharing content to each and see which one gets the most engagement.
As Mallie said, it’s important that you don’t share the same content on both channels. If you have people following you on Instagram Stories and Snapchat, it’ll be repetitive. Find ways to change it up so that it stays fresh and interesting.
Q3: What kind of content should you create and post to your Instagram Stories?
Once you’ve made the decision to commit to Instagram Stories, you need to decide what you’ll post there. After all, you can’t just post any old thing. It has to be relevant and appealing to your audience. Here’s some helpful advice so you can create amazing content for Stories:
A2 Make sure you are sharing EXCLUSIVE content in your IG Stories so people come back every time they see the rainbow #ContentWritingChat
Sue recommends sharing exclusive content to your Stories. This gives people a reason to come back and watch more every time they see you have new content. She said to share a glimpse into your business, which is an amazing way to give a behind-the-scenes look.
A3: Create valuable content your audience would enjoy. It all goes back to serving them and delivering what they need. #ContentWritingChat
Remember that when creating content for any social media platform, it all goes back to your audience. You should find a way to serve them and deliver the content they need.
Julia’s advice is to get creative with the content you share on your Instagram Stories. It’s the best way to captivate and engage your audience, so make sure it’s original and interesting.
— Digital Natives Cast (@DgtlNativesCast) April 11, 2017
You can easily give people an inside look into what your business does. Your audience will love the behind-the-scenes look into what you do and it’ll help form an even stronger connection with them.
A3: IG Stories is a great place to show “A Day in the Life” or behind the scenes content they won’t get anywhere else #contentwritingchat
No matter what, make it personal and valuable for those who will be watching it. You want to make sure you’re giving them something they’d be interested in watching.
Q4: What makes an incredible, captivating Instagram story that your audience will love?
What’s the secret to creating amazing Instagram Stories content? Check out these tips:
Julia mentioned that she loves the “truth bombs” and inspirational rants that Gary Vaynerchuk shares on Instagram Stories. He knows this is the type of content that will resonate with his audience, so he makes sure to share it often.
Q5: For those who are camera shy, discuss ways to help get more comfortable being on screen.
Many of us feel a little nervous appearing in front of the camera. It can be intimidating and we often worry about what others will think or say. To help you get over being camera shy, keep this advice in mind:
A5 Talk to the camera as if you are talking to ONE person #ContentWritingChat
People who are tuning into your Stories aren’t looking for perfection, so don’t obsess over making things perfect. Be authentic and people will resonate with that.
— Digital Natives Cast (@DgtlNativesCast) April 11, 2017
The best thing you can do? Just do it!
Q6: In what ways can you increase ROI by using Instagram Stories? How can you get a viewer to take the next step with your brand?
Because you want to make sure your viewers take action after viewing your Instagram Stories, you need to know how to actually make it happen. These tips will help you increase your ROI:
Sue knows including a call to action is essential to getting people to take that next step. She also said to provide clear, concise information so people will want to take action.
Jeremy also knows how important a call to action is, but he also said to to engage in conversations. It’s so important to begin making connections with your audience.
Tell people to click the link in your bio, give them sneak peeks on your blog posts so they’ll want to read it when it’s live, and tag people in your posts. If you have the ability to use the “Swipe Up” feature, then use it!
If you’re working on a new product, Emily suggests telling people when it’ll be available. You can also share sneak peeks to build hype.
Q7: How can you know if your Instagram Stories are a success? Are there key metrics to track?
Once you’re posting on Instagram Stories, it’s important to see if your content is actually a success. If it is, you know you’re on the right track. If not, you have to figure out where you can make changes. Take a look at the following advice so you can know if your stories are a hit and which metrics you should track:
A7 Look and see who is viewing your stories and who watches til the end #ContentWritingChat
Are people watching your Stories and actually watching them all the way through? Or are you seeing drop-offs in view count? You want to see that people are staying tuned in.
@ExpWriters A7 Checking on who’s viewed your story is great! Sometimes I’ll reach out and ask one of the viewers if it helped #ContentWritingChat
— Digital Natives Cast (@DgtlNativesCast) April 11, 2017
In the end, the success of your Stories goes back to your specific goals. Know what you’re trying to achieve with your posts and measure results accordingly.
Q8: Which brands are killing it at Instagram Stories these days? Tag them!
Which brands do an amazing job at their Stories content? Check out these awesome people and get some inspiration from them:
Did you miss #ContentWritingChat this week? We have good news for you! We have a recap of our latest Twitter chat, which was packed with amazing tips on effective Instagram strategies for your business. Are you ready to dive in? Just keep reading!
#ContentWritingChat Recap: Smart Instagram Strategies for Your Business with Sue B. Zimmerman
Our guest host this week was Sue B. Zimmerman. Sue is a speaker and a top Creative Live instructor. She’s also known as the “Instagram Expert,” which is why she joined our latest chat. She shared a ton of amazing tips for building a presence on Instagram that you’ll want to put to use today.
Q1: How can you determine if Instagram is the right platform for your business?
With so many social media platforms available today, it can be tricky to determine which ones are best for you to invest your time and energy into. So, how can you figure out if Instagram is right for you? Keep these things in mind:
Are your customers on Instagram? Are your competitors active there? Can you actually commit to building a presence there? Those are questions you need to answer when deciding whether Instagram is right for you.
.@writingchat A1: if your target audience hangs out on Instagram, then it’s where your business should be. #ContentWritingChat
Sue recommends having an “Instagram Mindset.” She said you need to make taking great photos a priority. After all, Instagram is a visual platform and your followers expect to see quality posts.
A2) As with any social channel: Consistency, quality content and commitment! #contentwritingchat
We all know hashtags are a must on Instagram. Pamela recommends choosing the right mix of hashtags. Pick those that are popular (but not so popular that your post will get buried in seconds) and align with your audience. Consistency is key, too!
A2: Want Instagram growth? Post great content and engage with your audience. You need to BE PRESENT! #ContentWritingChat
Optimize your Instagram strategy by posting when your audience is actively using Instagram. Don’t forget to add relevant hashtags and be social with others.
Pamela recommends seeing how your content sits together and determining the story it’s telling. Make sure the content you’re posting aligns with your brand.
A3. Ask yourself: Would I like this if someone else posted? Does it align with my brand? Does it provide value? #contentwritingchat
Brittany brings up some great questions you should ask yourself before you hit that “post” button. Would YOU like what you’re about to post? Does it align with your brand? Does it provide value? These are important things to consider.
A3: Take the TIME to take a great photo. Don’t rush just to be able to post one. Make it an extension of your brand. #ContentWritingChat
Make sure your’e also taking the time to take great photos for your Instagram profile. Don’t rush content creation just so you can get something posted. It’s more important to post something great.
A3 Engagement, activity, real conversation! And when people want to follow you for more, you’re doing it right. #ContentWritingChat
As Julia said, you’ll know you’re on the right track when you see those engagement rates start to rise. When people are engaging with your content and starting to follow you, that’s a great sign.
Q4: What are the qualities of a great Instagram caption?
When it comes to Instagram, not only do you need a great image, but you also need a great caption. Here’s how to write one that stands out:
Varun recommends finding a sweet spot with your captions when it comes to length. Don’t forget the important CTA to tell your audience what to do next.
You have to do a little research to find the right hashtags for your posts and your audience. Once you’ve chosen the right ones, don’t put them in your caption. Instead, post them in a comment.
It’s important to know the answers to the questions Sarah suggested. Which hashtags are your audience using and engaging with? Which ones fit your brand?
A5: it’s better to be at the top of a smaller hashtag than drown in the content of a big one! #contentwritingchat
Spot on! Using hashtags that are too popular will only result in your posts getting buried within seconds. Choose hashtags that are still popular, but have a smaller audience.
Sue knows that you need to provide a CTA if you want your audience to take that next step with you. Direct people to the link in your profile to get them to take action. It’s also so important to build a community first. They’ll be more likely to take action then.
A7. Make a compelling offer in your caption and direct your bio link to a landing page. Get them off Instagram. #contentwritingchat
Pamela recommends making a compelling offer in your caption, then directing people to click the link in your bio. You want to move people from Instagram to your website to make a sale or convert them into an email subscriber.
@ExpWriters A7 – We use a bit.ly link to track and update it with almost every post to help users through the funnel. #contentwritingchat
Lori is a big fan of our very own guest host, Sue!
We look forward to seeing you at the next #ContentWritingChat! Mark your calendars weekly for Tuesday at 10 AM CDT for great chats centered around content writing and marketing. Follow @ExpWriters to stay updated on our new topics and guests!
A photo posted by Ben & Jerry’s (@benandjerrys) on
(It’s fine – we understand. Go ahead, leave us and grab that tub, come back to snatch a spoon and carry on scrolling.)
More Instagram-ming. Hey, you didn’t realize Levis has a new design out. Wonder when the sales are on? And on you scroll.
See what Instagram does there? They pave the way for possibly the most non-intrusive ads we’ve ever come across.
There they sit, right in your feed, not flashing out at you from a sidebar.
You can click on the image and go straight to the brand’s profile, share the ad, like it… just the way you would for your friend’s photos. This has got to be the most open and engaging platform for advertising yet.
What Are Instagram Ads?
Instagram ads are your typical Instagram photos or videos. The company took the decision to keep the Home browsing experience completely undisturbed for users. What distinguishes the ads from other photos is the “sponsored” mark just above the top right corner of the image.
Why Would Anyone Want to Advertise on Instagram?
Check out this infographic with an analysis of Instagram users. The report shows that the platform is extremely attractive to advertisers. This is thanks to the platform’s young, relatively affluent user base. A user base that keeps on growing.
In fact, Instagram has revealed that their active user base has reached the 200 million mark, making it one of the fastest growing social sites on the planet. With numbers like this, it’s little wonder advertising on Instagram has snow balled.
Who Can Advertise on Instagram?
There was a time when now just any brand could appear in Home feeds, only those with an existing and successful following. There’s good news: Instagram ads are now open to all businesses, all around the world. No matter the size. It has been working to open up ads to more types of businesses on an easy self-serve basis. So now any size of business can run a campaign on Instagram. Best of all, ads have been opened up to over 30 new countries, including India, South Korea, Italy, Spain and Mexico.
By the end of this month, ads will launch in markets around the globe. Using technology that leverages the very best of Facebook’s ad infrastructure, advertisers can now effortlessly target their messages effectively, reaching people based on what they’re following and what they’re interested in, be it food, cars, fashion or sports.
Advertisers are also able to access new ad formats that will help with achieving various objectives and allowing people to learn more about something of interest or shop for something – right from the site. So now businesses of any shape and size can test their capabilities.
Tests that have already been conducted have yielded positive results with areas like travel, e-commerce, entertainment and retail seeing significant demand.
Using Ads to Drive Objectives
People browse Instagram for visual inspiration. Advertising in this incredibly impactful platform has the power to inspire and touch people. Just look at the figures: 97% of measured campaignson the platform have spawned weighty lifts in ad recall. By adding new formats, marketers have started achieving a variety of objectives, from mobile app installs to website clicks. For example, Gilt Groupe made use of the site to recruit customers. The company ran an ad campaign that saw an astounding 85% increase in app installations. Made.com, a designer furniture retailer, saw their ads yield a 10% order value increase.
4 Ways to Do More With Instagram
Thousands of businesses worldwide are using Instagram as their showcase. The platform is making it easier for them to do more, too. Here’s how you can boost your business with Instagram.
1. Add videos. Businesses can now add up to 30 seconds worth of video ads to engage in much richer storytelling.
2. Landscape videos and photos. These help unlock creative opportunities and gives followers a cinematic feel.
3. Delivery and optimization tools. These help to manage and drive the best performance of campaigns on the site.
4. A new product from Instagram, it helps drive mass awareness while expanding a brand’s reach in a very short time-frame. It’s perfect for product launches or movie premieres.
The Cost of Advertising on Instagram
One of the unique things Instagram offers is the ability to measure ad recall. Businesses can do this by leveraging Nielsen technology.
The goal here is to grab a user’s attention with concept-driven creatives that are tasteful and relevant. Initial beta testing partners have been buying on a CPM (cost per thousand) basis.
Larger scale budgets have been seeing a CPM of around $20. Smaller CPMs are coming in at $13. To date, CPCs have not yet been discussed but will be made available as more objective based campaigns start using Instagram.
The Top 4 Instagram Ads
It’s really tough to choose the best Instagram ads so our list is by no means exhaustive.
The affluent vehicle brand uses Twitter ads to highlight and showcase their existing campaigns. One campaign that stands out is the #LexusLens campaign where the brand took photos of various vehicle models on road trips across the nation. It set the benchmark for future brands to hashtag campaigns and grow their likes and followers. Lexus was actually the only brand of the first businesses to advertise that used location tagging.
The king of donuts has a much bigger following on Instagram than it does on YouTube or Vine.
One of their most popular ads is their recent Instavid of a trip around the world with the #TravelBuddy. The video had an estimated 15,000 likes and 46,000 views, making it clear that fans are loving creative video ads.
A photo posted by Jack in the Box (@jackinthebox) on
Regularly showing up on best Instagram lists, Jack-in-the-Box seems to have carved out a rather special niche in today’s fast-food world. Thanks to rather quirky marketing. In July the brand generated about 10,000 viewers for its various Instavids. It’s a slightly lower count that what they got on YouTube uploads and Facebook videos, but the brand keeps on taking risks with their micro-video content that seriously encourages engagement from Instagram fans.
GoPro in general is a genius initiative to use footage created by users of the products. The videos the brand uploads range from documenting some extreme sport action to capturing insane stunts and filming all that is weird and wacky in this world. The brand has an astonishing 6.3 million followers on Instagram, so it’s no surprise that any video content the company uploads generates views in the hundreds of thousands. In July 2015, the combined Instagram video uploads generates a staggering 200,000 views per video. The brand’s celebration of user-generated content makes for a diversity of uploads, such as the clip of Didga, the Australian cat that skateboards:
When Will Your Ad Show Up on Instagram?
Instagram has to be the most engaging and non-intrusive way to reach out to your target market. So get on there, have fun with it and start engaging with your followers. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to #follow us @expwriters, for fun stuff like this:
