Dec 23, 2019
As a dedicated Instagram user, you must have noticed what a variety of new filters and effects for Story videos and photos are already available thanks to Instagram AR creators. But did you know that there are thousands of magnificent Instagram Stories filters hidden just inside Instagram? Once you learn how to find and use them, you will open a completely new world of color grades, tones and effects to select from for your on-brand Stories without even leaving the application. InstaBF, a known provider of Instagram and IGTV likes, comments, and followers, will explain how to find and use the best hidden filters and enhance your Stories starting from today!
2019 brought such a crucial and Instagram history-changing feature as AR filters. Its success shows that the feature is sure to go even stronger and more used in the upcoming year. Once Spark AR Studio became open for all users, a new strong wave was activated on the platform. Numerous companies created and published their brand AR filters and boosted awareness. And if you had to use third-party applications such as Lightroom or VSCO to add tones, color grading and effects to your images and videos before posting them as Stories, now you needn’t leave Instagram to use them. And if you don’t know which filter is most appropriate for your content, make use of the new Effects Gallery introduced by the creator community. Sadly, this feature is massively under-utilized, yet.
So, suppose you are in a search for a new Story effect. For this, follow these steps:
- Visit a creator’s Instagram profile;
- Get to the new effects tab just above their feed;
- Browse all the AR effects the creator has introduced;
- Tap on the effect you liked and click on “Try it”;
- Once the Stories camera opens and you like the new effect, tap the “save” icon (find it in the lower corner to the right of the effect);
- The effect will be saved and you can use it whenever you wish just by opening the Stories camera and tapping on it.
If you want to enrich your filter gallery, tap Browse More Effects” to open the Effects Gallery. Here you will be able to find a myriad of custom AR effects sorted by topic or category.
For instance, if you need filter-style effects, you can go straightly to the “Camera Styles” in Effects Gallery and then search for the “Colors and Light” channel. Here you will find various options including film filters, high-grain effects, retro-inspired color filters, etc. After saving whichever options you liked, they will be saved to your favorite filters and effects. Whenever you open your Stories camera, you will see them to the left of your capture button.
Be aware, that Instagram Stories filters are only for those images and videos that you take on the spot. They can’t be applied to the existing content that you upload from the camera roll. Use them while shooting new footage.
The next time you are to post an Instagram Story swipe to access them, choose a particular effect, start recording as you normally do, and post a new highly engaging Story!
Dec 22, 2019
Social media advertising is an integral part of a well-schemed strategy. And if you run it, good for you. And what about Instagram Story ads? With over 500 million people watching Stories daily, it definitely makes sense including this feature in your marketing campaign, doesn’t it?
Being integrated between ordinary Stories, Story ads look normal. However, people tend to swipe through them. Hence, if the Story ad you make doesn’t grab attention at first sight, it won’t convert. How to get someone interested in your ad in just a few seconds? This sounds challenging, doesn’t it? InstaBF, a leading Instagram and IGTV provider, is going to provide you with an ultimate guide right away.
How You Can Create Instagram Story Ads
If you have made up your mind to start a new campaign for a Story ad, great! Here is how you can do that:
- Instagram Story ads are created through Ads Manager similar to Facebook ads. Get there and tap Campaign. Then click Create.
- Now distinguish between several options depending on your objective: Brand Awareness, App Installs, Reach, Traffic, Conversions, Lead Generation. If you aren’t sure which is appropriate for your case, make use of the special link that serves as a guide in choosing the objective. Tapping on your objective, you will see another box appear. Name your campaign and switch on the Split test and Campaign Budget Optimization if you need it. Tap Continue.
- Now it’s turn to give a title to your ad set and select the audience. Here you can either use a saved audience or create a new one. To create the profile that best matches your ideal customer, set age, interests, locations, and gender.
- Once the audience is set, pass to selecting the placement. For this, go to the Placement section and choose either Automatic or Edit Placements. In the first case, the ads will run on all platforms and Stories, as well. However, if you want your ad to run only as a Story ad, choose Edit placement and give the necessary settings. Mark the boxes you would like your ad to appear in.
- The next section to check is the Budget & Schedule. Here you can set a cost control and set a precise budget on a per-click basis. If you plan to run your ads for a limited time (the ads are promotional, for instance), set the schedule.
- After all the points are completed, you can create the ad. Give it a name and choose both Facebook and Instagram accounts it should run on.
- Set the right format for your ads. Here you can choose a video format or a carousel post format. In the second case, mention whether you need a Native Stories Carousel that automatically displays three cards with full-screen creative (must be bought exceptionally as a standalone Gram Stories placement), or Expandable Stories Carousel displaying up to ten cards.
- To track the performance of the Story ads, switch on the Facebook pixel. To give it a start, press Confirm and your ads will get to work!
If you want your Instagram Story Ads to be effective, here are a few tips:
- Try the video format;
- Keep the ad simple and short;
- Make certain you have included the logo;
- Incorporate a meaningful CTA;
- Add sound and music;
- Draw eyes away from the word “Sponsored” on the top left corner.
Dec 21, 2019
In our pursuit of getting more leads on Instagram, we discussed four simple yet grandiose ways in our previous topic. Today, InstaBF would like to complete the list and bring your attention to several other tips. But before that, if you are interested in boosting acquiring Instagram and IGTV likes, comments, followers, or views at surprisingly affordable prices, you are welcome to InstaBF! Just go to the main page and get acquainted with our profitable offers.
So, let’s go one with the fifth tip:
Generating Leads with Instagram Stories “Swipe Up” Feature
This feature, which appears greatly beneficial for Business owners, can be used by those having more than 10k followers. In fact, one-third of the most-viewed Instagram Stories are particularly from brands. Besides this, such Stories have such a high completion rate as 85%.
Today Instagram Stories have huge power over users and can be more effective than a link in the bio since it takes only a swipe to pass to the brand’s website. And that swipe is always performed on an impulse. Here again, it’s worth reminding you to create a good landing page so that your viewers don’t regret swiping.
Tailoring Creative Based on Your Aim
Perhaps the best push for generating leads on Instagram is having a strong call-to-action. A simple CTA composed only of a couple of words (shop now, swipe up, click the link, etc.) in the pair with the right content can actually pack much punch. Remember that the visuals you post must always work together with the CTA or the latter won’t work. The same refers to the link and caption. You can as well use an appropriate emoji to draw attention to the CTA. Anyway, make certain your creative doesn’t overcrowd the “See More” icon.
Creating Shoppable Content
When you tag an item on Instagram, its primary purpose is to increase your sales. However, even if by tapping it a viewer doesn’t buy it, he automatically brings you a lead. See that over 130 million Instagram users tap tagged products every day. Creating shoppable content you can see particularly what type of products interest your target audience most of all. Additionally, shopping posts as ads are a wonderful means of collecting new leads from window-shopping consumers.
Partnering with Influencers
Another way of boosting Instagram lead generation is by collaborating with influencers. The perfect candidate for this can be the influencer who has a strong brand affinity yet a partial follower overlap. Only this way you can be sure the new cooperation will lead to new prospective followers and leads, respectively. Surely, the influencer should be credible, too.
Running a Contest
Using a promotion, sale or a contest, you can collect leads on Gram. Important components for winning a prize will be asking users to comment on a post or complete a survey, as well as tagging a friend. To generate even more leads, you can cooperate with an influencer around the same contest. Remember, that the more people you prompt, the more leads you will gather.
Featuring Trendy Products Frequently
And finally, our last tip for generating leads is featuring popular products. And this tip comes right from Instagram. As statistics show, people seldom buy a product right from the first time they see it on Instagram. Instead, they are more inclined to get it after meeting several times on the network. Therefore, check your insights to find out the posts of which products perform the best. And then post them regularly keeping your followers’ eyes on the items more often.
Dec 20, 2019
Many social media marketers don’t accept Instagram as a platform for generating leads, and in vain. Actually, if everything is done correctly, this network can appear highly effective. How to achieve that? InstaBF, a known Instagram and IGTV provider, will address the topic straight away.
What Are Instagram Leads?
Social media leads are all those potential customers that show interest in your brand and give information marketers can use to follow up. As researches show, more than 80% of Instagrammers follow brands on Gram and base on this platform when deciding whether to buy a product or not. So, if you are running a business on Instagram, not collecting leads would be a huge mistake. Therefore, here we shall share with you some really working organic tactics to collect more leads and explain how you can use them.
Using Instagram Lead Ads
Obviously, you should start with using lead ads. Due to Instagram lead ads, businesses can collect useful information about their customers including phone numbers, email addresses, job titles, birthdays, etc. Having such information at hand, marketers improve their marketing campaigns, bring forward those products which are more likely to be sold, set up Lookalike Audiences, improve their ad targeting strategy, etc.
By the way, in order to create Insta lead ads, you must switch to a business account, hence, you’ll also need a Facebook Page.
However, if you aim at website visits, app downloads, or sales, you’d better consider conversion ads.
Adding Action Button to the Instagram Profile
Business accounts on Instagram allow adding action buttons such as links to an email, business address, phone numbers so that to make getting in touch with the company easier for users. Moreover, having a business account, you get better options for lead generation involving Reserve, Book, and Get Tickets action buttons.
Optimizing a Link in the Bio
Instagram strictly limits opportunities to add active links. Hence, it’s simply crucial to use the one in your bio. Use to pinpoint the strongest objective you want to accomplish through your Instagram account. This may be product sales, magazine subscription, a survey, etc. And change the link once the goal changes. How to optimize the link in your bio to collect more leads? Here are a few tips:
- Keep the link short and include your brand name;
- Promote the link in your posts;
- Include a CTA above the link;
- To make the link trackable include UTM parameters in the URL.
Designing n Attractive Landing Page
Suppose a visitor has clicked on your link. Where should it lead him? The landing page it takes to should be of utmost attractiveness or they won’t ever go by your links in the future. The landing page must be scannable, create a seamless visual experience and contain the content people expect to see. So, it should deliver the exact promise stated in the CTA.
Depending on the current goal of the business, the landing page can direct to the company’s website, a certain product/service, a specific page (a gift guide, FAQ, current sales, etc.).
Dec 19, 2019
Would you like to increase your engagement on Instagram Stories? Why not make use of such an amazing feature as Story polls?! They are a fabulous way to move an Instagram marketing strategy forward while keeping your followers interested and amused. Story polls can provide you with a higher level of engagement than any ordinary Story no matter how unique that might be.
So, not neglecting the power of Instagram Story polls, InstaBF would like to address them in this blog post. But before that, you can pas to the main page of this website and learn how to order Instagram and IGTV likes, comments, followers and views on a profitable basis.
Playing a Quick Round of Trivia
The primary way you can use a Story poll is by asking engaging trivia questions. Trivia is simple yet quite engaging and flexible. You can ask questions about any current event, about your products, etc. It will be great to start with easy ones and then gradually increase their difficulty until you get the level that works the best for your audience.
Building Interest Around New Products
This idea is great especially for small businesses that can carry only a limited amount of products. Suppose, you own a small boutique and can only offer one of the two models. Which to choose? The one you liked the most? Won’t it be more sensible to be based on the opinions of your possible buyers – your followers? Just ask the people you targeted when setting the business. The same can be done by restaurants, cafes, etc. Ask them whether or not they would buy this or that product, choose this or that color, style, etc.
Curating Content
When you decide what content to post, it’s clear you should rely on your marketing strategy and your knowledge in your target audience. And the best way of learning whether your followers like what you post is asking them straight through Story polls. So, before you determine to post a new type of content you haven’t before, it will be sensible to throw a simple poll and ask your followers if they are interested in it. This way you won’t risk losing your followers because of unrelatable content.
Keeping Up with Trends
Perhaps the easiest way of using an Instagram poll and entertaining your followers is by putting a poll related to what’s currently trendy. This might be a major sports event, a new TV show, a meal you’re trying for the first time, etc. The best thing about this idea is that it has huge flexibility and availability for personalization. You can try around different options to find what’s best for your unique audience.
Building Suspense
Do you have a major upcoming announcement for your brand? A new product line or a new blog post? One of the easiest yet working ways of using Story polls is bringing attention to your new launches and hype the things up a bit. If you find you’re going to use this idea, consider to simply ask your followers if they are excited about the upcoming event, or even show how they can use a new product, etc. Use it in any way that aligns with your brand to create suspense around your brand and let your followers know something bit is coming!
Dec 18, 2019
Can you imagine your life without social media and the round-the-clock connection with your acquaintances? Without the speed at which your messages deliver to the recipients? Or without social media in general? Definitely no! Instagram is one of those unique platforms that allows you to connect with people and brands irrespective of their location. However, while Instagram makes people more connected than ever, its global adoption has brought forward big concerns about users’ mental well being. It’s not easy to navigate the world of Instagram addiction especially for a social media manager. Caring about its users, InstaBF, a popular Instagram and IGTV provider, has collected several survival tips for Instagram managers’ mental health.
Don’t Multitask
Multitasking seems a greatly beneficial thing. And even though editing images, analyzing your traffic on Google Analytics, answering DMs looks attractive, our brains can’t handle multiple tasks at once. Moreover, multitasking reduces one’s productivity up to 40%! A human brain is not able to deal with more than two tasks at the same time. Besides this, multitasking drains the whole energy of one’s brain tiring as much as nothing else. According to the researches, those who take breaks (at least ten-minute ones) every couple of hours show better results in anything they do including Instagram management. So, to keep your mental state normal while working on an Instagram account, stop multitasking!
Get Rid of the Feed Trash
If you are an active Instagrammer you must have been tempted to compare your “boring” life to those seemingly perfect ones of influencers. But remember, they are all about advertising and even if some of them really lead the life they showcase, it will neither serve nor feed you. Hence, not to fall in a pointless depression, just use the power of the “unfollow” button. Instead, intake the content that contributes your vision and mission and doesn’t clutter your brain with a bunch of unnecessary content.
Don’t Cling to Likes
The invention of the “like” button on Instagram (just as in any other social network) is perhaps the most ingenious way of satisfying one’s need for social validation. On the other hand, it keeps you hooked on the network, come back to count every like every post you make gets. Actually, Instagram has a lot in common with a slot machine – when you trigger the machine the expectation whether it will win or not feels the same as when you open your Insta full of anticipation if your new post has collected more likes and comments. In the core, it is the quality of your interactions on Instagram matters and not the number of likes you have. So, stop counting them to safeguard your mental state. Besides, with the new feature of removing public likes from feeds, chasing likes looks so backward!
Browse Mindfully with Purposefully
Whether Instagram has a potential adverse effect on your mental health or helps you relax during the day is determined by how you use it. Every time you feel the urge to check in your account stop and ask a question – what do you do that? If, for instance, you wonder whether a pretty girl you follow has posted a new picture from her “perfect” life or not, it will be a sheer waste of time. Instead, be sure you have a specific goal in mind every time you log into the platform. That may be interacting with your followers, exploring new brands you might get interested in the products of which, finding inspiration for an upcoming event, watching a tutorial for an evening makeup to apply tonight, etc. And remember, once you log into your account, scroll through the feed and see there’s nothing you would like to engage with, reread the Tip #2!
