Tag: Social Media Marketing

Market Research: How to Perform Better Research for Your Brand

 I’m going to make a pretty big claim right now and say that ideal customer work can make or break the success of your business. And there are a lot of different reasons for that. I’m going to cover those in today’s blog and I’m also going to share with you how to conduct better market research. 

We no longer needed to get on the phone with individual people every 90 days. We don’t always have the time and the capacity for that. Now I’m not saying that that’s not a good strategy, but there are other more effective ways to do ideal customer research that is actually going to help you in the long run with your marketing. 

There are two things that we need to do 

                                  Build a personal brand around you and your story 

                                  How to market very effectively, to have incoming leads for brand awareness 

and ultimately converting them to paying clients. More income, more impact. That is our goal. 

And both of those categories rely on ideal customer research. 

I know you’ve heard about the ideal customer avatar. You might even be at a place where you’re like I’m so sick of this work. I get it. And I hope that at the end of this blog, you’re feeling revamped, re-energized, and you have a new strategy to get the feedback and the information that you need to totally elevate your branding and your marketing. 

So why is ideal customer work so important?

Well, at the end of the day, you have a business. You’re selling to someone and you better know who the heck they are or they’re not going to buy from you. As I’ve mentioned, ideal customer work plays a role in both branding and marketing. 

So from a branding side, we want to focus on ideal customer work to really understand who your customer is at their core. Understanding what their big problems are, their struggles, their goals, their aspirations is incredible information.

You can even use ideal customer work to find out what social media platforms they’re hanging out on, where they get most of their information and other people that they look to for advice in your industry.

The branding work and ideal customer work can help you set a very strong foundation for your brand and your business moving forward.

Once you know who your ideal customer is, it’s much easier to craft your offer to serve them at the highest level.

You can craft better messaging, which has got to play a role in your website copy and your marketing. You’re also able to better understand emotional branding, which I talk about in this video right here, where I share a little bit more on how we make our audience feel and the connection that we create. 

In addition to that, one of the things that play a huge role in branding is the art of storytelling. And in order to tell great stories as a business owner, you’ve got to know who you’re telling those stories to. It’s not enough to just share stories to share stories. We want to share stories that are going to motivate our audience to take action, aka buy our product or our service.

So from a branding perspective, ideal customer research is so important because it’s going to set the foundation for everything that you’re going to create in your business. 

From a marketing perspective, it’s all about content. 

When you’re thinking of content, you want to make sure that you’re thinking of content that not only attracts new people to your community but also moves them through the client buying journey. 

I talk about that entire journey, that entire process in this video right here. 

It’s really important that you understand that your content is there to not only let people know who you are, build that brand awareness, pull them in and attract them, but ultimately connect with them, leading to the sale. 

It’s so important to understand who you’re talking to and ultimately who your business is for.

KEY ELEMENTS TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER

I want to share with you some updated strategies for doing your ideal customer work. But before I do that, let’s talk about some of the key elements that you need to understand about your ideal customer. 

TIP #1: IDENTIFY DEMOGRAPHICS

I recommend that you start broad and then narrow it down a bit as you go. 

So this stage is all about the demographic. These are the things that you know about the person that you ultimately want to work with or who your product and service are ultimately for. Depending on where you’re at in your business, you might have more information about this individual or you might have nothing. 

At this stage you want to think about the individual people who AREN’T the right fit for your brand, ultimately starting to narrow it down.

One of the ways to do this is to focus on things like demographics. 

What do we know about this person? 

Is this person just graduating from college? 

Is this person a working mother? 

Who is this person?

And I’m not recommending that you have to focus on men or women or mothers or not mothers, but those are some of the things to start considering.

What do you know about the individual that you want to work with? The offer that you’re ultimately creating, who is it really designed for? 

This information is going to help you narrow it down from everyone, which is not an ideal customer, to getting a little bit more specific. 

TIP #2: ANSWER THE TOP QUESTIONS

Then the next thing you want to do is answer a few top questions. 

What is the problem they are facing now?

Every single business has to solve a problem. This is actually part of the niching down process.

If you don’t solve a problem, you’re going to have a really hard time selling anything. And just so we’re clear every product, every service can solve a problem. It’s your job to figure out what that problem is and narrow it down really specific to your ideal customer.

So let’s say that my target market is new moms and I sell a program that teaches you how to tidy up your house. The problem is that new moms don’t have a lot of time in their schedules. They’re tired of a messy house. It’s overwhelming. It’s weighing on their shoulders, not speaking from experience at all. And they want to understand better strategies to keep it maintained if you will. Keep their sanity. 

So the problem is that they want to be able to tidy up their home in a limited amount of time. And they don’t understand exactly how to do that. 

Every single thing comes down to a problem. 

What is the problem that your ideal customer is facing?

What are their struggles with that problem?

How are they feeling about that problem? Where are they now? 

This is incredibly helpful with marketing because it allows you to connect with your ideal customer and allows them to feel seen, heard and understood. 

Where do they want to be?

So they’ve got these current struggles, they’ve got these pain points, they have this problem. What do they ultimately want? 

If they resolve this problem, what does life look like for them? Do they suddenly get to make their eggs in 10 seconds and stop cursing every morning at their pan that keeps sticking? 

You want to understand what the core problem is, where they are now, and what those pain points and struggles are. 

How would they describe that to you and where do they ultimately want to be?

What are the specific obstacles in their way?

Why haven’t they solved the problem yet? Why haven’t they done it on their own or with another product or service? What are some of the things that they’re specifically looking for that they haven’t found? 

Another thing that you can start to explore is the objections. 

I find that these are incredibly helpful for service-based entrepreneurs. If someone hasn’t solved their problem just yet, they probably have some obstacles standing in their way. 

What are some mindset pieces that they have? Maybe they think they don’t have enough time to do the work. Maybe they think that they don’t have the energy or the capacity to take on something else. 

What are those objections? These are incredibly helpful when it comes to selling your product or your service. If you can understand these obstacles and the objections your ideal customer is going through, then you can use that in your marketing.

So these are just some questions that you can start to organize the research that I’m about to give you my favorite tools for, into these little categories. 

This is going to help you with your branding and your marketing overall. 

MARKET RESEARCH STRATEGIES

So let’s now talk about some of my favorite ways to do market research. 

Number one is a free tool that not enough people know about that is incredibly powerful. When you think about your own life and your own customer journey with different products and services, where do you turn when you need something? Google. 

We all go to Google. It is a database of information.

And the free tool that we love to use is called Answer The Public. 

Answer the Public

What Answer The Public does is it takes the information from Google and it categorizes it into questions and into sub-categories. So you can go on to Answer The Public and type in an ideal customer that you know you want to work with. 

You can type in a core problem. 

You can type in your industry. 

So you can start as broad as you want. And then it will divide it up into a bunch of different webs. 

Let’s say I type in brand photography. I am a photographer and I want to sell brand photography and I want to better understand my ideal customer and what they’re looking for when it comes to brand photography. 

I can type in brand photography and then it’s going to show me all of the top questions and searches related to brand photography.

With each of those, you can actually click and it’ll open up another tab and show you the Google searches. It’ll show you the most popular blog posts, the most popular websites. And you can start to do a little bit of research. You can get as granular with it as you want, but what this is really offering you is information on what your audience is asking. 

This can go back to what they are struggling with? 

How are they phrasing their problem?

What outcomes do they ultimately want? 

Answer The Public is an incredible, helpful tool and it’s free with a few searches every single month. So you can definitely use it to your advantage.

YouTube

YouTube is a search engine platform meaning that people are turning to the platform to look for solutions to their problems. 

You can use YouTube’s basic function by typing in brand photography. We’ll just run with this topic, brand photography, and see what YouTube is suggesting auto-populates.

This can be incredibly helpful for finding some of the top searches within your industry. 

Further than that, you can start to explore some of the top videos and look at the comments section, see what people are asking and if it’s a really popular video and you’re seeing that it has tons and tons of views, that’s probably a top struggle that your ideal customer is dealing with. 

So not only looking at the topic for the video that has a bunch of views and saying, “Wow, okay, this must be something that my ideal customer is struggling with if everyone’s watching this,” but also exploring the comment section. 

This can be incredibly valuable for grabbing specific language that your audience is using.

Pinterest

To piggyback off of YouTube, another search engine platform that we like coming in at number three is Pinterest. 

Oh, I just love Pinterest so much. As a marketer, it’s a freaking goldmine. 

Pinterest uses a very, very similar feature because it’s a search engine where it will auto-populate with the most popular searches. 

So if you’re going in for brand photography, you type brand photography in the search bar, Pinterest will help you out and tell you the top searches for brand photography. 

It’ll just kind of fill in those keywords. Again, another incredibly helpful way for you to start to get content ideas and information from your audience.

Amazon

The next one uses another popular platform that we’re all familiar with and that is Amazon. 

Look, no matter how you feel about Amazon, it is where people are buying their books. So one of the things that I started doing really early on in my business was starting to explore book reviews. 

Finding books that were related to my industry. Now I totally understand this might not work for everyone. With all of these, take the ones that will best serve you and your industry and run with them. You don’t have to use all of them, but this is a really helpful one especially if your industry typically has very specific topics and books related to what you do. 

So let’s say I am focused on marketing. I can go to Amazon, type in marketing, and choose the book option from the dropdown.

This is going to show me all the top marketing books. I’m going to look for the ones that have the most reviews because that’s where the information lies. 

I can then go to that book, I can read a little bit about it. 

What was the general idea of the book, scroll down and start reading the reviews. Now the positive reviews are nice, but what you really want to focus on are the negative reviews. 

What did people say? 

Did they say it was too simple? 

Did they say that it didn’t answer this question? 

Did they not like it because of X, Y and Z? 

This is going to give you more information about what your audience is looking for and a possible gap that you can fill in your content creation.

Community Forums

The next one is all about community forums. Now I’ll be honest with you, I don’t use this one very often, but I’ve had a lot of clients who find success and use them for themselves. 

The community forums, Reddit is a great example of this, where you can go type in a specific topic, whether it’s a specific problem that you’ve identified for your ideal customer, your industry as a whole, or something that you specifically do. 

Personal branding would be a great example for my business. Type that in and see what people are talking about. See what types of questions individuals are asking. This is a really helpful tool for getting very specific language for your ideal customer. 

In addition to that, and one of the platforms that I’m a little bit more familiar with and comfortable with is Facebook groups. 

Now, I am not suggesting that you go into every Facebook group and you just start asking random questions. Exhausting, outdated. We don’t need to do that anymore.

Facebook has a search function, so you don’t have to do all of the outward postings and choosing a cute pic for attention. We just get to go into the Facebook group that we know is full of our ideal customers, go to the search bar, and start typing in very specific keywords related to the things that you offer, your industry, your problems and see what questions come up. 

Whether that’s a single post or actually in the comments. I have found gold mines in Facebook groups before.

In fact, and I’m going to be sharing with you, how I map out 90 days worth of content, that video is actually coming out next week. One of my favorite places to find content ideas are Facebook groups. 

Survey Your Audience

The last one I’m going to share with you is really helpful if you already have an audience. Now, you don’t have to have a huge audience. You don’t have to have thousands of email subscribers or fans on Instagram or whatever you use to classify an audience for your business. Although I recommend that that’s your email list. You can have 10, 15, 100 people. It doesn’t matter. 

This tool is really helpful for getting really specific information from people who’ve already said yes to your brand. And those are surveys.

Every 90 days-ish, I will put together a survey for my audience and ask very specific questions like:

What are you struggling with right now? 

What is the number one problem that you’re facing? 

What are you looking to do within the next 90 days? 

What would you love from me? 

If I could create one piece of content that would help you, what would that piece of content be? 

And that’s incredibly helpful for getting specific feedback from your audience, making open-ended questions so you can get very specific language and then using that to create your content moving forward. 

Conclusion

So no matter which one of these options you choose, I hope that you see that there is so much information waiting for you on the internet. 

The biggest thing I want you to remember is that we’re focused on getting specific language from our ideal customer. 

It’s not enough to assume what our audience is saying. We really want to use the words that they are using to describe their current struggles, to describe their problem, to describe where they ultimately want to be. 

That is going to help you with your marketing. 

It’s going to help you with your messaging. 

It’s going to help you with your consistent income as a business owner. 

HOW TO DO SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING: A DAILY CHECKLIST TO DOUBLE ENGAGEMENT

 When it comes to how to do social media marketing, success doesn’t happen by accident. It’s all planned.

But without some guidelines in place, it’s difficult to know what you’re working towards.

Which is where a social media checklist comes in.

Rather than throwing every strategy at the wall hoping one will stick, you act with intention.

This helps guide the direction of your online presence and everything you post.

If you’re ready to learn how to do social media marketing and better manage your daily social media to-do list, this checklist is what you need. 

HOW TO DO SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING: THE KIND OF CONTENT YOU NEED TO CREATE

Before we get to anything, we first need to think about our content.

It won’t come as news to you that creating valuable content is key to building trust with your audience.

Sharing the right kind of content helps you to:

Show potential readers that you are the “go-to” resource.

Build trust which translates into trust for your brand as a whole. If you sell products or services it also makes you a top choice when people decide to invest in you or your competition.

Attract visitors to your site and achieve more conversions. If new visitors like your content, they will subscribe and share it with others. Both are key to growing a loyal following and successful online presence.

But you can’t just share any old content. Any old content doesn’t get great results. You need to share the type of content that converts.

This could include:

Webinars

Video tutorials

eBooks

Case studies

Infographics

Reports

White papers

Blog content

Vlogs

What you want to do is brainstorm the kind of content you could create for each. You also want to consider:

The type of content you have already created that could be repurposed into new media.

The type of content your audience is already engaging with. Look at your most popular content in Google Analytics and determine how you can update those posts.

And the type of content that you want to be known for. Choose 2-3 topics that align with your brand and message.

Don’t make it difficult for your audience. You need to make your content easy to access.

This will not only help you build your brand, but it allows consumers to connect with you too.

Now let’s take a look at how you can start to put together a great social media marketing strategy.

HOW TO DO SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING: PUT YOUR STRATEGY IN PLACE

CURATE VALUABLE CONTENT

Go online and search for relevant keywords.

Do the same in Pinterest.

Look through your favorite blogger’s articles .

Follow your favorite bloggers on Twitter and curate their articles from there.

GET VISUAL

Your audience makes decisions in an instant. Will they stop and read or move on? Will they create conversation and engage with your brand or your competition?

The average lifespan of a tweet is less than 18 minutes so given that, grabbing attention fast is important.

Without attention, opportunities can be lost forever.

That’s where visual marketing comes in.

You don’t have to be an expert to know that visual marketing is highly effective. Visuals capture audience attention, increase engagement, and boost traffic. So how do you start?

 8 major forms of visual content that you can integrate into your social content:

Attention-grabbing, artistic photography – Think styled stock photos.

Screenshots – Useful if used right, e.g. taking shots of helpful images to go alongside your content.

Infographics – Come in handy when you want to convey a meaty or super long message in an easy, bite-sized and informative manner.

Comics – Make a long story short, captivating and humorous with relevant cartoons.

Data visualization – Present facts, figures and statistics in a simple and visually stimulating manner through standalone graphs and charts.

Memes – Use trendy memes tailored to fit the context of your updates or posts.

Miscellaneous graphics – Think of diverse images that complement your content.

Visual note taking – Think of casually designed layouts of ideas.

Try and incorporate each one across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more in unique and channel specific ways.

DON’T FORGET VIDEO

This is nothing new.

Video is on fire right now.

Creating several videos (produced and live) that support your social media strategy is a must.

Here are a few starting points:

Take key points from evergreen content and break them down into a simple bulleted list.

Show your audience how to do something or make something better – fix their problem.

Your video scripts don’t need to be long and complicated!

ADD PERSONALITY AND BRANDING

People read content they like and invest in products/services they like. But they also buy from the brands they love. That’s something you can’t ignore.

People invest in and buy from brands that represent their own values and beliefs.

Of course, what you’re creating is really important. But how you market your content and build a community is just as important.

HOW TO DO SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING: YOUR DAILY CHECKLIST

Now you’ve had a think about what you’re going to post, it’s time to figure out the steps you’ll take to increase engagement, traffic and sales.

This is your daily social media checklist. It’s an easy to follow list of steps to take each day.

Your daily social media tasks should take you no more than 30 minutes. I recommend you do them at the beginning and end of your day.

I get that you think you might not have that kind of time. If so, you need to check out time blocking.

These tasks are critical to help build your social media presence.

So now it’s your turn. Read through the version here and then download and save the complete checklist at the bottom of the post.

FACEBOOK

Reply to all comments (remember the three g’s: be grateful, generous and giving).

Thank anyone that’s shared your content (keep track of this).

Like and comment on 3-5 relevant Page updates (leave a thoughtful reply of five words or more).

Share relevant content to niche-specific groups (don’t be spammy or too self-promotional, instead be helpful and valuable).

TWITTER

Monitor mentions via keywords and respond to any questions, needs or concerns.

Choose 3-5 influencers to interact with. Be genuine with your replies and interactions – people will notice!

Make 10 new high value connections (use Twitter’s Advanced Search for this).

Schedule 3+ posts to share throughout the day.

Thank people for retweeting your content.

Thank 3-5 new followers.

LINKEDIN

Check incoming messages and respond to any necessary.

Approve all invitations to connect that are a benefit and make sense to you and your brand.

Share a relevant industry article or your latest blog post to your profile.

Interact within 2-3 groups and see if you can offer any answers.

INSTAGRAM

Post 1-2 times per day – a mix of blog posts, roundup tips, top tips, funny/inspirational and relatable posts.

Share an Instagram Story

Like one post from everyone that’s liked your content.

PINTEREST

Pin 20-30 images per day, a mix of your content and other people’s.

Like 5 posts per day.

Repin 5 images per day.

Choose evergreen posts to pin to specific brand blog board.

Update boards or titles that need to be optimized.

YOUTUBE

Create a new video from existing blog content.

Clean up your descriptions, add keywords, your URL, and tags to older videos.

FINAL THOUGHTS

A lot of people think social media can be time consuming, but it doesn’t have to be.

The best way to get started now is to find 2-3 of the to-do’s listed above that will have the biggest impact on your brand.

Put them on your calendar and commit to them daily.

Once you’ve got those tasks down, add to them. You’ll build momentum as you go.

Make it fun, pay attention to your data and watch your engagement increase on every platform.

TIPS FOR CREATING A COMMUNITY AROUND YOUR BUSINESS

 Small business marketing is a tricky business. On the one hand, you want to reach your target audience as widely as possible because you believe in your product and the benefits it can bring to people; on the other hand, you’re no big enterprise – you lack large advertising budgets, and feel as if the competition for the attention of your potential clients is becoming more expensive and more challenging to attain.

So how does one manage, after all, to accurately market a small business, without breaking the bank?

I spent a long period of time fostering a virtual community around my blog. My goal being to join together ambitious person from around the globe, who want to take their life into their own hands, and live it to the fullest.   

The community around my blog created the most amazing thing.

Although I recognized its power from the get-go, only, later on, did I realize how essential it is for my business.

Thanks to the community I lovingly nurtured around my brand over the years, I was able to create products that have real demand and reach my targeted audience in the most direct and authentic way possible.

Your business needs a community, too.

Often the idea of ​​building a community around the business is secondary to other aspects of the business – assuming it is in the mind at all. 

As a small business owner, you are most likely preoccupied with technical aspects like production, billing and shipping, sponsored advertisements on various media channels, and more. 

While all these aspects are important, your primary goal should be to build a quality and active community in the long term. The benefits of a community around the business are greater than increasing the traffic to a store or business site and are also beyond creating awareness for the business. Creating a community around the business creates a deeper and more meaningful relationship with the target audience, and in the long run is beneficial to both the business and its customers.

So why is a community an effective marketing tool for a business?

Generating a dedicated audience is often one of the biggest struggles small business owners face. It’s one thing to put a product on the market or offer a service, but it is quite another thing to get people to connect with your brand and buy the product specifically for your small business.

This is exactly where the community comes in.

We, as humans, love to unite. We seek a sense of belonging, to connect with people who share similar values to ours and enjoy the sense of security that the community creates around us. It is more likely that people who receive real value from you, with no exchange, and who share the same values as those of your brand, will prefer to buy a product or service from you rather than trust another business they are less familiar with.

Building relationships with my target audience is one of the things I love most about my business, but surely, to start a successful community you have to invest yourself and your time, and learn and understand some essential details about the topic. In this post, I will share my tips for building a community around your business.

Small Business Marketing Through Community #1 : Start a Blog for Your Business

Some business owners think of a blog as something only “bloggers” need. The fact that a blog can turn into a real business may not sound too far fetched to too many people, but if you ask small business owners to name three ways to promote their business, chances are the word “blog” will not come up in the conversation.

Why’s that? It may be because blogs are still perceived as relatively inferior, or something that is mostly done as a hobby, as opposed to an essential digital asset.

Although there are hardly any businesses that do not already have a website. But a website alone doesn’t always offer enough information, personality or authority to stand out from the competition.

This is exactly where the need for a blog comes up.

In fact, a blog is a powerful marketing tool, with which you can build an entire active community, composed of your target audience, and through which you can offer enjoyable and educational content to your ideal buyers about your products and services. Still wondering if starting a business blog is worth your while? Here are five reasons that’ll make you regret that you haven’t yet started your business blog.

Small Business Marketing Through Community #2 : Be Human, Accessible, and Beneficial

The message that should be relayed to your customers is that behind your business is a real, genuine person. Don’t fake it or try to sound like someone else who seems to be doing it better than you. Use your unique voice and just be yourself. People will connect with your voice and the things you share will resonate with your ideal target audience, which over time will become devoted supporters of your brand.

True, most of us have a hard time with exposure, but the truth is that people love and appreciate honesty and authenticity. When you write a blog post, or share a story on Instagram, don’t direct the attention only at your products and services, but also at the challenges, the values your business is based on, and silly things that go on behind the scenes. Readers will appreciate your honesty and the fact that you care to share things that aren’t usually brought up, which is exactly what will make your business more accessible. Authenticity, accessibility, and vulnerability are the building blocks of a true community.

Now, I totally get it, it could be difficult to introduce your true authentic character through your blog, newsletter, and social media. And that’s absolutely fine. It makes perfect sense that it’ll take you some time, but you should strive to get it done if you want to build an active community around your blog and business.

One more thing and no less important is to be helpful to the community you created. Although there are other ways to get people to return over and over again, from my experience, nothing gives a sense of community like giving providing value and mutual help – sharing personal knowledge, tips, and advice.

Small Business Marketing through Community #3 : Post Quality Content

It all starts with good content. The content you create for your blog and social media should speak to your target audience and provide real value.

If the content you post under your brand isn’t interesting, inspiring, entertaining, or of any educational value, people won’t give it more than 10 seconds, and will definitely not come back for more.

After all, we live in an age full of distractions on all sides, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, thousands of content websites sharing articles at a frantic pace, millions of TV channels and countless magazines, oh yeah, and then there’s real life too… So if you’re not creating content that is different or special in any way, the kind that is helpful to your audience, you’re just not giving them a reason to come back.

Your goal is to produce the best content you can possibly create. I know it takes time, and lots of work, but it is better to post less frequently, than to publish insignificant posts on a daily basis that’ll make your readers leave without turning back.

Small Business Marketing Through Community #4 : Use Branding as a Community Creation Tool

Consistent and proper branding leads to trust and solidarity, which forms the basis for the growth of an engaged and loyal community. The values behind your business should be consistently felt and expressed through the tone of voice that you use to communicate with your target audience in all platforms you have presence in {business website, blog, newsletter, and social media} and the visual features that characterize them {logo, color, photography style, graphics, etc.}.

The first thing you need to do is to make sure you really know your target audience. Who are they? What interests them? What areas do they find difficult? Once you’ve defined your target audience you will be able to understand exactly what it is you’re doing and how you can help.                 

A small but excellent exercise that can help you unravel your brand’s focus is to complete the following sentence: I, [profession/business niche], help [target audience] solve [problem] and achieve [benefit].

In my case, for example – I, blogger and entrepreneur, help aspiring people overcome the difficulties of setting up and running an independent business and achieve self-fulfillment, passion and a life full of joy.    

Once your business branding becomes holistic and clear, it becomes easier for you to connect with your target audience, create a loyal community that identifies with your brand’s values, build real relationships with other brands based on those values, and avoid things that don’t suit the spirit of your brand.

In the end, once your target audience is able to identify your unique branding,  even if it comes across it outside the boundaries of the business website or store, it means that you succeeded at leaving a real impression on your audience and that you have created an authentic bond.

Small Business Marketing Through Community #5 : Make Sure the Platforms on Which Your Business Operates Are Organized in a Community-friendly Manner

The two things that I find most crucial when creating a community are keeping an ongoing conversation and staying connected over time, so you need to make sure your target audience can easily make those connections with you. Be sure to consider the following :

1. Conversation – Is it easy to comment on the content that you post? Make sure the business blog is designed in a user-friendly way. Check out the blog from a critical point of view and try to leave a comment for one of the posts – Is the comment box easily found? Did you have a hard time leaving a comment {for example, did you have to create a username specific for the website}? Try to make it easy for your readers. If leaving a comment takes too much effort, they’ll most likely give it up.. 

Also, don’t forget to check your inbox and social media for any private messages – being responsive is key. A quick and attentive response directed at your community members will show them that you care and that you are not only interested in pushing your products. If you find it difficult to be available on all different platforms, use an automatic reply bot that sends all your messages to one place, to make sure you don’t miss any! 

2. Keeping in touch – A newsletter is one of the most important tools for building a strong community in the long term. That is why it’s important to make it easy for people to sign up for your newsletter no matter how they encounter your brand – whether it’s through your website, blog, or Instagram. Keep in mind that most people won’t just sign up for the simple sake of being updated, which is why you need to offer them something else of added value {like a free giveaway or a fun discount} to make sure they sign up. If you don’t have an active newsletter you should read this post.

Small Business Marketing Through Community #6 : Consistency is the Name of the Game

Another important tool in creating a community is maintaining consistency – in terms of frequency and content. Keeping your posts frequent, constant, and continuous will leave the community you created conscious of your brand, and they will expect and wait for new content from you. If you abruptly stop posting on a particular platform, regardless of whether it’s due to a lack of content or going on vacation, it will weaken your community’s trust. This is why it is important to create a bank of content or to announce a change in schedule ahead of time, before a holiday or expected vacation.

The same goes for the nature of the content you share… Don’t post content that doesn’t suit your brand because it will create confusion among the members of your community. If you decide to change the branding of your business, it is best to do so gradually or come out with a formal announcement about the changes the brand is undergoing.

Bottom line is, building a strong community around your business is more or less like building true friendship. Think about your best friend, after all you didn’t become besties right away. Your close relationship is a result of shared values and interests, mutual help and support, perseverance, and other small yet major things that are placed at the foundation of your friendship. The same can be said about a community. Though it takes time to create, just like a friendship – it is worth the time and effort you put into it!

5 METAPHORS TO HELP YOU VISUALISE YOUR BRAND

 If you’re in the process of DIY’ing your brand, or rebranding your existing business, chances are… you already have an idea of how you’d like your brand to look.

Often, people don’t have any idea of the visual direction for their brand. So in this post, I wanna share 5 favorite metaphors that I love to use to help my clients visualize their brand .

In fact, these 5 questions are incredibly helpful to me as well, because it helps me gain clarity to perceive brand. So this is to ensure that we’re on the same page before diving into the design process.

BEFORE THE VISUALISATION – YOU MUST KNOW YOUR PURPOSE

Before we jump into it, it’s important to note that I ask these questions at the very end of my 3-step Signature Brand Development Process. Before this visualization exercise, you need to be crystal clear on:

You Brand Purpose, Vision and Values

Your Ideal Client

Your Competition

Your Offering (and how it stands out from your competitors)

Your Brand Personality

Only then can you start thinking about the visual direction for your brand. Remember, that although visuals play a big role in your branding, they don’t benefit you if they disconnect with your brand purpose and who your ideal client is. So make sure to spend some time to really nail down these bullet points before answering the next questions. 

5 FUN METAPHORS TO BUILD DIRECTION FOR YOUR BRAND

Before you start answering these questions, remember that there is no right or wrong answer.

Most people know what they want their brand to look like, but they don’t know how to express it or visualize it in their heads. That’s why I challenge my clients to create these metaphors, so they can step outside of the design world with its color palettes, fonts and logos, and bring them back to what they feel most comfortable with: their everyday life. So, don’t overthink the answer to these. Try to listen to your gut and your heart because the answer lies within you.

1. IF YOUR BRAND WERE A MOOD, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Is your brand funky and happy? Does your brand make you feel like a kid’s laughter on a carousel? Or maybe you’re more sophisticated and discreet?

Here are some answers from my past clients (I looooooove the first answer. We got the mood right straight away!):

You know the movie Hitch? When Will Smith is teaching Albert how to dance and slaps him around a little? That’s the mood for our brand!

Freedom – when you sit on the beach, breathing in the ocean and really letting go for the first time in a while of all your worries. Really connecting with your inner self.

I don’t know how to describe the “mood” but it’s the kinda mood when Miranda Priestly walks into the office – admiration, sophistication with a touch of fear (in a good way though)

Write down what moods come to mind and try to make it come alive as much as possible!

2. IF YOUR BRAND WERE A COLOUR, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Let’s forget about color theory for a moment .

But here, I want you to let go of what you think your brand color should look like or what it should make you feel, and focus on the first color that comes to mind when you think about your brand.

Here’s what my clients have said in the past:

Earthy, warm tones (can’t come up with one single colour) – my brand feels like home, there’s a sense of belonging, of warmth when I think about it. I want our beauty products to make you feel the same way.

Gold. I think it’s the best color to portray our expertise and also the level of clients we work with.

Warm greys and pastels. But with a touch of black. As in… “calm and sophisticated, with a touch of boldness and strength”.

Once you think of the first color that comes to mind, also try to explain why you associate this color with your brand too.

3. IF YOUR BRAND WERE A SONG, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Oooh, this is my absolute favorite question! I believe the answer to this question gives the most powerful visualization of your brand. And I love reading the answer to this question from my clients because that’s the moment when I can clearly see what the final result for their brand will look like!

But I think it’s also one of the hardest questions, so take some time to think about it.

Here’s what my clients made me listen to:

“From Now On” – The Greatest Showman, or “Stronger” by Kelly Clarkson

“Hôtel Costes Best Of (Official Full Mix)” – eclectic mix of wonderful songs

“Girl on Fire” – Alicia Keys, but with the incredible emotion and power from Angelica Hale’s performance (AGT)

What jam would be playing when you were talking about your brand?

4. IF YOUR BRAND WERE AN ANIMAL, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

If I had to answer this question myself , I would’ve said a black panther. It’s powerful, strong, but most importantly they are natural protectors and leaders. And that’s what I want to stand for: we will always protect our clients and do our best to lead them to success.

Now, what did my past clients say?

A wolf pack leader, or even better… Mufasa.

A horse – the most graceful animal with lots of character

A Siamese cat – affectionate, friendly, loyal and bold. Also very exquisite in its appearance and movements. 

Which animal do you feel suits your brand the most and why?

And finally…

5. IF YOU COULD DRESS UP YOUR BRAND, IT WOULD WEAR…?

Let’s imagine now that your brand is a person and play dress up! What kind of clothes would it wear? What brands would these clothes be?

Here’s my clients’ fashion thoughts on this:

Beige, knee-length sophisticated dress, with a short blazer/jacket and black heels. 

I don’t have a particular item in mind, but I know it would be tailored clothes. Made specifically to fit THEM , not “off the rack”. 

Light fabrics, organic cotton or linen, beige, grey and white. Only shop at sustainable brand shops. My brand would probably have a small capsule wardrobe and only shop occasionally but for quality, sustainable items.

Once you have answered this, think about whether this style would appeal to your Ideal Client. If not, then how can you improve on this and make it more aligned with your ICA?

___

And there we have it, friend! 5 questions to ask yourself to help you visualize your brand and bring it to life!

If you’ve answered all of these, you should already have way more clarity for your visual brand direction than before. But if you need some extra help here, try to come up with more metaphors like these to help you out!

For example:

If your brand were a book, what would it be?

If your brand were a movie, what would it be?

If your brand were a dish, what would it be?

If your brand were a city, what would it be?

If your brand were a flower, what would it be?

Etc…

Which question helped you visualize your brand the most?

6 Small Tweaks To Your Social Platforms That Can Explode Business Growth

 There are a number of ways to improve your social media platforms.

But as a small business owner, you don’t have a ton of time to devote to growing your social platforms.

These easy-to-implement tweaks to your social platforms can explode business growth and get you more customers, with minimal effort on your part.

1 | Improve your Pinterest bio description

Your Pinterest bio description is the place to showcase what you do, who you work with, and a call-to-action to get people on your email list.

Think about the people who are new to your profile. How would you want them to be introduced to your brand? Your profile should briefly describe exactly the people you help and how you help them, so people will know ahead of time what type of content you will be pinning.

Keywords in their title (example: organize, simplify, solopreneurs, blogging) and in their description. When people look up those keywords, these profiles are more likely to show up at the top of the results.

Explanation of what they do and who they help. This helps your audience have a clear understanding of who you are and if they want to work with you now, or perhaps in the future.

A link to join their email list, with an incentive. You should give viewers an incentive to join your email list. Use a free email course, workbook, or resource library to influence people to sign up for your email list.

2 | Create detailed board descriptions using keywords on Pinterest

Editing your board descriptions on Pinterest will help people who are searching for particular keywords find you and your Pinterest boards.

Here is an example of a great Pinterest board description with keywords

tells you exactly what type of pins will be included on this board: social media tips and resources. She also uses other keywords such as “driving traffic,” “creating community,” and “online business.”

When people search for those particular keywords, Meighan’s profile will show up higher in the search results, gaining her more followers and ultimately more website traffic.

3 | Use highly relevant hashtags on Instagram

Using relevant hashtags on Instagram is a great way to gain more targeted followers who may eventually purchase your products or services.

Here is a quick way to find relevant hashtags: Take a look at what some of the leaders in your niche use as hashtags. Once you click on one of the hashtags, you will notice other related hashtags that people use.

This is what shows up searching the #savvybusinessowner hashtag. Once you click on the hashtag, you will see “related” hashtags. These are hashtags that other people use in conjunction with using #savvybusinessowner. If you swipe to the left where it says “related” you will see more related hashtags you should consider using.

Keep a list of these hashtags on your computer as well as on the notes app on your phone. That way you can easily copy and paste these hashtags whenever you upload a new Instagram photo.

Take your Instagram posts one step further, and have a call-to-action in your descriptions. Lead them to your latest product or service that you offer, ask them a question, or direct them to sign up for your email list.

Here is a quick way to find relevant hashtags on Instagram

It’s not recommended to throw a call-to-action in your picture description just to have one, so make sure your CTA pairs well with the image you are sharing.

4 | Ask questions of your audience

Have you ever heard of the saying, “you never know until you ask?” It’s true, even on social media. We often forget that the people we are communicating with on social media are real, live human beings.

While some people might be discouraged because they *only* have 100 followers, try to think of it from a different angle: Imagine 100 people in a room, listening to everything you say.

100 people is a lot of people! Treating your followers like actual people will help you build a deeper relationship with your followers. These people will turn into your biggest fans, always buying your products and services as well as sharing your brand with everyone they know.

Social media isn’t just a one-way straight, it has the word “social” in it for a reason. By developing a deeper relationship, you will begin to learn exactly the type of content, products, or services they want to purchase. Knowing exactly what your customer will buy puts you at a huge advantage for being the most helpful as possible.

5 | List your business in your Facebook profile

This is probably the easiest tweak of all, but it can have a major impact on your business. If you participate in Facebook groups (which you should be if you aren’t!), then this tweak is an absolute must-do.

When you ask questions or respond to questions in Facebook groups, people will tend to hover over your name to see what type of work you do. Many times, if you don’t have anything listed, people won’t take you as seriously as a small business owner.

6 | Respond back to every comment. Yes. Every comment.

Yep, we’re going to go there. As a small business owner, you’re going to need to take the time to respond to every comment.

Why?

Let’s think about the 100 people again. Imagine you were in this room, and 25 of these people gave you a compliment. Would you just ignore them? Walk past without speaking a word? Not even utter a thank you?

No, you wouldn’t. At least I hope you wouldn’t.

That’s how you need to treat every comment on social media. Each commenter could become a client or customer. Taking the time to respond back will make you stick out from other businesses that won’t take the time to respond back.

A rule of thumb is to match the length of your comment to the length of their comment. If someone leaves a comment that says “great post!” you don’t need to spend an entire paragraph thanking them profusely.

But if someone leaves a thoughtful comment, spend a little more time crafting a response. Write how you would say it out loud to the person. You will sound more authentic if you write like you’re speaking directly to that person.

Sponsored Display custom product image creative

Advertisers can choose between using an automated image or a custom image in their creative for Sponsored Display, our self-service display advertising solution.

What do I need to know about custom product images?

Customizable backgrounds: Sponsored Display’s default creative automatically uses product imagery from an advertised ASIN’s detail page and supports a white background. Custom product images allow you to upload your own graphics, including those with bespoke background colors and art direction, to help convey your brand and product story.

One image for all creative sizes: When using a custom image, your ad can still serve in up to 12,000 different size variations wherever they spend time. You only need to upload one rectangular image, which you can also crop into a second square image.

Reuse across sponsored ads: You may apply the custom image you used for other sponsored ads programs to the Sponsored Display custom image creatives and vice versa. Note that the image will still be reviewed against moderation policies for Sponsored Display.

Availability: This custom image creative feature is available in CA, DE, ES, FR, IT, IN, JP, UAE, UK, and US.

Why use custom product image creatives?

Tell your story while driving performance. Custom images can help tell your story while serving ads wherever they spend time in your own visual language. You still benefit from existing elements in the creative that help drive performance, such as star rating, product titles, pricing, and a “Shop now” call to action.

What do custom product images look like?

Example of custom product image
Example of custom product image
Example of custom product image

Examples of custom product images in size 415 x 125, 320 x 125, and 300 x 250 respectively

When should you use custom product images?

Create product awareness:

When advertising to audiences unfamiliar with your product, custom image creatives can help shoppers learn about your brand and product story.

Drive traffic:

Use custom image creatives to help shoppers get excited about your brand and product experience. If you have insights on creative that helps drive traffic or engagement outside on social, you can use that creative for your Amazon advertising efforts. Ads will still link directly to your product detail pages, so audiences can learn more about your product and even consider purchasing.

Instagram Shopping : A Step-by-Step Guide for Marketers

Forget the mall: these days, Instagram is the place to shop til you drop.

Sure, there’s no Orange Julius for a mid-spree snack sesh, but Instagram Shopping brings the retail experience to social media to reach an audience of more than 1 billion monthly users.

Rather than directing customers from your Instagram account to your website, Instagram Shopping allows them to select and purchase products easily from the app.

More than 130 million users tap on an Instagram Shopping post each month — foot traffic a brick-and-mortar shop owner could only dream of. So if you have products to sell, it’s time to set up your virtual storefront. Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

What is Instagram shopping?

How to get approved for Instagram shopping

How to set up Instagram shopping

How to create Instagram shopping posts

How to create Instagram Shopping Stories

How to create Instagram Shopping ads

How to create an Instagram live shopping stream

How to create Instagram Shopping Guides

12 tips for selling more products with Instagram shopping

What is Instagram shopping?

Instagram Shopping is a feature that allows eCommerce brands to create a digital, shareable catalog of their products right on Instagram.

Users can learn more about products right in the app, and either purchase directly on Instagram (with Checkout) or click through to finish the transaction on the brand’s eCommerce site.

Sharing products or promoting sales on Instagram is nothing new. According to Instagram, 87% of users say influencers have inspired them to make a purchase, and 70% of avid shoppers turn to the platform to discover new products.

In the past, the only option for e-tail brands to directly drive sales traffic from a ‘gram was either through their bio link, or via clickable Instagram Stories.

With these new Instagram Shopping features, the whole process is streamlined. 

Here are a few key details and terms that every Instagram retailer should know before they get started:

An Instagram Shop is a brand’s customizable digital storefront, which allows customers to shop right from your Instagram profile. Think of it as a landing page where users can discover or browse all your products.

Spearmint Baby Instagram shop

Product Detail Pages display all of the key product information, from the item description to the price to photography. The product detail page will also pull in any product-tagged images on Instagram.

Burberry product detail page

Collections are a way that Shops can present products in a curated group — basically, it’s like merchandising your digital front window. Think: “Cute Spring Outfits,” “Handmade Pottery,” or “Nike x Elmo Collab.”

Spearmint Baby curated collection

Use a Shopping Tag to tag products from your catalog in your Stories, Reels, or Instagram posts, so your audience can click through to learn more or buy. U.S. businesses who use Instagram’s limited Checkout feature can also tag products in post captions and bios. (You can also use Shopping Tags in ads! Yowza!)

With Checkout (currently only available in select regions), customers can purchase products directly in Instagram, without leaving the app. (For brands without Checkout functionality, customers will be directed to a checkout page on the brand’s own ecommerce site.)

Facebook Pay checkout option

The new Shop discovery tab on the Instagram app provides a discovery tool for non-followers, too. Scroll through goods from brands big and small, all around the world: it’s window-shopping 2.0.

Instagram Shop discovery tab

How to get approved for Instagram shopping

Before you can set up Instagram Shopping, you need to ensure your business checks a few boxes for eligibility.

Your business is located in a supported market where Instagram Shopping is available. Check the list to confirm.

You sell a physical, eligible product.

Your business complies with Instagram’s merchant agreement and commerce policies.

Your business owns your eCommerce website.

You have a business profile on Instagram. If your account is set up as a personal profile, don’t worry — it’s easy to change your settings to business.

How to set up Instagram shopping

Step 1: Convert to a Business or Creator Account

If you don’t already have a Business (or Creator) account on Instagram, it’s time to take the plunge.

Besides qualifying you for Instagram Shopping features, Business accounts also have access to all sorts of exciting analytics

Step 2: Use Commerce Manager to set up a shop

1. Use Commerce Manager or a supported platform to set up a shop.

2. To choose a checkout method, select where you want customers to complete their purchases.

3. To choose sales channels, select the Instagram business account you want to be associated with your shop.

4. If you have a Facebook Page, check the box next to your account to have a shop on both Facebook and Instagram.

Step 3: Connect To a Facebook Page

If you have a Facebook Page, you’ll want to connect it to your Instagram Shop to make things flow smoothly. You’re no longer required to have a Facebook Page to set up an Instagram Shop, but if you want to, here’s how to set one up in seven easy steps. I’ll wait.

Now, time to link the two!

1. On Instagram, go to Edit Profile.

2. Under Public Business Information, select Page.

3. Choose your Facebook Business Page to connect.

4. Ta-da!

Step 4: Upload your product catalog

Okay, this is the part where you actually upload all of your products. You’ve got a couple of different options here. You can either input every product manually into Commerce Manager, or integrate a pre-existing product database from a certified eCommerce platform

Option A: Commerce Manager

1. Log into Commerce Manager.

2. Click on Catalog.

3. Click on Add Products.

4. Select Add Manually.

5. Add a product image, name, and description.

6. If you have an SKU or unique identifier for your product, add it within the Content ID section.

7. Add a link to the website where people can buy your product.

8. Add the price of your product that is shown on your website.

9. Select the availability of your product.

10. Add categorization details about the product, like its condition, brand, and tax category.

11. Add shipping options and return policy information.

12. Add options for any variants, like colors or sizes.

13. Once you’re done, click Add Product.

Option B: Integrate an Ecommerce Database

1. Go to Commerce Manager.

2. Open the Catalog tab and go to Data Sources.

3. Select Add Items, then Use a Partner Platform, then hit next.

4. Select your platform of choice: Shopify, BigCommerce, ChannelAdvisor, CommerceHub, Feedonomics, CedCommerce, adMixt, DataCaciques, Quipt or Zentail.

configure settings to connect ecommerce platform

5. Follow the link to the partner platform website and follow the steps there to connect your account with Facebook.

Hot tip: Remember to keep catalog maintenance top of mind. Once your catalog is set up, it’s important to maintain it. Always keep product photos updated and hide unavailable items.

Step 5: Submit your account for review

At this point, you’ll need to submit your account for review. These reviews usually take a couple of days, but sometimes it might run longer.

set up Instagram shopping

1. Go to your Instagram profile settings.

2. Tap Sign Up for Instagram Shopping.

3. Follow the steps to submit your account for review.

4. Check the status of your application by visiting Shopping in your Settings.

Step 6: Turn on Instagram Shopping

Once you’ve passed the account review process, it’s time to connect your product catalog with your Instagram Shop.

1. Go to your Instagram profile settings.

2. Tap Business, then Shopping.

3. Select the product catalog you’d like to connect with.

4. Tap Done.

How to create Instagram shopping posts

Your digital shop is shined up and gleaming. Your product inventory is bursting at the seams. You’re ready to start making that money — all you need is a customer or two.

Shoppable Instagram posts will feature a shopping bag icon in the bottom left corner. All the products your account has tagged will appear on your profile under the Shopping tab.

How to create Instagram Shopping Stories

Use the Stickers function to tag a product in your Instagram Story.

Upload or create your content for your story as usual, then hit the sticker icon in the top-right corner. Find the Product sticker, and from there, choose the applicable product from your catalog.

(Hot tip: You can customize your product sticker to match the colors of your Story.)

How to create Instagram Shopping ads

Either boost a Shoppable post that you’ve already created, or build an ad from scratch in Ads Manager using the Instagram Product tags. Easy!

Ads with product tags can either drive to your eCommerce site or open up Instagram Checkout if you have that functionality.

How to create an Instagram live shopping stream

Note: In February 2023, Instagram announced that they would be shutting down Live Shopping. Instagram’s other shopping features are still available, including Shops, tags and collections.

In many parts of the world, live stream shopping is a regular part of eCommerce culture. With the introduction of Instagram Live Shopping, businesses in the US can now use Checkout on Instagram during Live broadcasts.

Basically, Instagram Live Shopping allows creators and brands to connect with shoppers live, host product demos and encourage purchases in real-time.

How to create Instagram Shopping Guides

One of the latest features on the app, Instagram Guides are like mini blogs that live right on the platform.

For users with an Instagram Shop, this can be a great way to promote products with a bit of an editorial angle: think gift guides or trend reports.

1. From your profile, click the plus symbol in the upper right corner.

2. Select Guide.

3. Tap Products.

4. Search by account for the product listing you’d like to include. If you’ve saved the product to your wishlist, you can find it there also.

5. Select the product you’d like to add and tap Next. You can choose to include multiple posts for a single entry if available. They will be displayed like a carousel.

6. Add your guide title and description. If you would like to use a different cover photo, tap Change Cover Photo.

7. Double check the pre-populated place name, and edit as needed. If you wish, add a description.

8. Tap Add Products and repeat steps 4–8 until your guide is complete.

9. Tap Next in the upper right corner.

10. Tap Share.

12 tips for selling more products with Instagram shopping

Now that your virtual shelves are stocked, it’s time to catch a potential buyer’s eye.

Here are some best practices for encouraging users to shop ‘til they drop. (Or should that be “‘Gram til they… blam?” Hmmm, still workshopping that one.)

1. Use striking visuals

Instagram is a visual medium, so your products better be looking good out there in the grid! Prioritize high-quality photos and videos to keep your wares looking professional and appealing.

Just take a look at the playful way fashion brand Lisa Says Gah displays its tote bags: dangling from an arm that’s holding a bottle of wine.

fashion brand Lisa Says Gah tote bags

Make sure you’re up-to-date with the most recent image and video specs (Instagram sometimes changes things up), and that photos and videos are high-resolution whenever possible.

If you can, give your product shots an exciting, editorial vibe, showcasing your goods in action or in a real-world setting. Sharing beautiful details shots can be an eye-catching option too. 

2. Add hashtags

Using relevant Instagram hashtags is a smart strategy for all posts, including shopping content.

They’ll increase the likelihood that you’ll be discovered by someone new, opening up a whole new opportunity for potential engagement.

Using the right hashtags can also help you land on the Explore page, which has a special “Shop” tab and is visited by more than 50% of Instagram users each month (that’s more than half a billion people).

3. Share a sale or promotional code

Everyone loves a good deal, and running a promotional campaign is a surefire way to drive sales.

When you promote the code directly in your shoppable Instagram posts, it’s even easier for customers to act.

4. Show your product in action

The most popular type of video content on Instagram is the tutorial or how-to video. And this format is ideal for shopping posts because it offers viewers product education and proof-of-concept.

When you promote the code directly in your shoppable Instagram posts, it’s even easier for customers to act.

5. Be authentic

The principles of social media engagement all apply to product posts, too… and that includes the golden rule of authenticity.

There’s no need to stick to product copy. Your personality and voice should shine through here! Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with your audience with a thoughtful caption that offers surprising insight or an emotional connection. What inspired the piece? How was it made? Storytelling is a sales tool as old as time.

6. Play with color

Color is always eye-catching, so don’t be afraid to embrace a vibrant hue as a background for your product shot.

7. Establish a signature style

Having a consistent aesthetic on Instagram will help you improve your brand recognition and establish your identity.

It also helps customers scrolling through their feed or browsing the Explore tab to recognize your posts at a glance.

Did you know? There are a striking 37% more sales on average made by businesses who tag products in their feed posts.

Your signature style on Instagram should be consistent with your brand visuals elsewhere. Your website, ads, and product packaging should all fit together, with complementary images.

8. Be inclusive

If you want your brand to reach a wide audience, you need to ensure your images are meaningfully representative.

With over a billion users, it’s safe to say that Instagram users are a diverse group.

But too often, the people in Instagram promotions and images look the same: white, able-bodied, slim. Embrace all your potential customers with models who showcase all the different body types that are out there.

Another inclusivity tip: Caption your images descriptively so that visually impaired users can still learn all about your amazing product.

9. Share user-generated content

User-generated content (UGM) refers to any posts or Stories from Instagram users that feature your products.

Not only do these posts provide new, real images of your photos in action, but they also boost your credibility. That’s because posts from real users are considered more authentic, and that authenticity translates to higher trust. They’re like visual testimonials.

10. Create a captivating carousel

Show off your range with a carousel that showcases a variety of products. It’s a quick way for users to get a broader look at your latest collection, without having to tap allll the wayyyy to your Instagram Shop.

11. Collaborate with tastemakers

Team up with a tastemaker to help spread your product posts further. Invite an influencer or person you admire to curate a special Collection of their favorite goods from your catalog.

You’ll tag them in all of your posts; they’ll share with their own audience (and get a warm fuzzy feeling that you admire their sense of style). Win-win!

12. Craft compelling CTAs

Nothing pairs better with a beautiful photo than a compelling call to action. A call to action is an instructive phrase that pushes the reader to take action — whether that’s “Buy now!” or “Share with a friend!” or “Get it before it’s gone!”

Shopping on Instagram is only going to grow in popularity, and it’s just a matter of time until features like Instagram Checkout is global. So there’s no time like the present to dive in and find out how much it can benefit your business, as part of your overall social media strategy. Let the digital shopping sprees begin!

The 5 Best FREE Social Media Marketing Courses

 It’s INSANE how much some people are charging to teach the absolute basics of social media marketing. There are ZERO reasons why you should pay a random internet marketer 3,871 anymore than a few hundred dollars for their intro-level social media marketing course. Seriously, there are so many resources out there that are FREE!

Here is a non-exhaustive list of courses to take to learn more about social media marketing. Too many options can be overwhelming, so just start with ONE! Choose whatever is important to you (time, knowledge level, credentials to throw up on your LinkedIn) and just pick one of these free courses to complete. You will be 100% better off than you were a week before, I promise! These resources are a great place to build your foundational understanding and practical skills in social media marketing.

Free Social Media Courses to Take Today

1. LinkedIn Learning Social Media Marketing Foundations

This course is a great starter spot to launch from, and it’s just under an hour long and led by Brian Honigman, Marketing Consultant, New York University, Adjunct Professor.

This course is a beginner-level course and covers the following topics:

Defining social media marketing

Social media strategy

Publishing on social media

Interacting with customers

Selling on social media

Measuring social media activities

Innovating with social media

The few downsides of this course are that there is no certification, its beginner-level status, and its generic social media strategy (Not very imaginative or creative!).

2. HubSpot’s Social Media Certification

HubSpot has become a powerhouse in content marketing, course 2 and 3 are delivered by HubSpot. Their courses are thorough, informative, and well done. This course is just over 4 hours long, offers 40 videos, and almost 30 quizzes, and gives a good overview of all the major platforms. It is designed to help you attract customers, and partners, and build brand loyalty. As a result, you’ll gain a good foundational level of social media marketing upon completion.

Again, this is a beginner-level course but also great as a refresher for more specialized marketers or even business owners.

It covers essential topics social media content creation, how to measure ROI, increasing reach, and social listening.

3. Google’s Fundamentals of Digital Marketing

This course is great for learning and understanding paid and organic search and how to optimize web pages. Again, this a great resource that will help you master the basics of digital marketing. With 26 units all created by Google trainers, it teaches you how to turn knowledge into action. Indeed Google is a superpower in the world of marketing and SEO and this should be at the top of your list to complete!

One of the main benefits of this course is that you receive a digital certification that looks great on your resume or LinkedIn profile.

4. Constant Contact’s Social Media Quickstarter

This is a beginner-level video-based training that offers clear step-by-step instructions that will guide you into building your social media presence across all of the major social media platforms.

At the end of each lesson, Constant Contact gives you 10 relevant blog posts to refer back to. This is AMAZING! This course focuses on connecting your email marketing with social media marketing. So it’s a good one for all the eCommerce peeps out there!

5. eMarketing Institute Social Media Marketing Course

Firstly, this beginner-level course offers a go-at-your-own-pace, elearning text-based experience based on a 165-page ebook. For one thing, it includes a final exam comprised of 50 questions, a certificate of completion, and quality information. Founded in Copenhagen in 2014, eMarketing Institute is on a mission to allow anyone to get their beginner’s certifications in the field of digital marketing, regardless of income level.

Additionally, it covers a wide array of content and lays a wonderful foundation to build upon.

If you have time to dedicate to learning and the motivation to follow through any one of these courses is worth completing. Your goals should lead you toward the most appropriate course. Or maybe start small with the shortest one! Just pick one, and go for it.