Dec 11, 2019
Are you a beginner in the sphere of Instagram advertising and can’t make out how to start? We agree that Instagram advertising is an intimidating thing especially if your budget is limited and you have no experience. But, on the other hand, a well-schemed ad campaign can drive impressive results. So, you see that it’s important to learn how to draw an efficient ad strategy for an Instagram account. And InstaBF, a popular Instagram and IGTV provider will share with you three crucial takeaways that promise to be effective irrespective of your budget and business size.
Take Small Tests
Those who are going to run a social campaign for the first time are recommended to implement a small upfront test campaign. Working out around $500 on it you will get a ton of learning to use on bigger campaigns with larger budgets. Besides, you will see if your current assets work or you need to think of others. Let’s see what specialists imply by saying a small test.
- Determine the goals you pursue. Are they to drive purchases or to generate new leads? In the beginning, take up only one goal – the one that’s likely to have the biggest impact on your business.
- After this, pass on figuring out the necessary budget. The bigger your ambitions are, the more money you will to invest, remember this. For instance, such upper-to-mind objectives as video views, impressions, or link clicks, a minimal budget (around $100) and a couple of days will be totally enough. A purchase-focused campaign, meanwhile, will require at least 3x the cost of the product it’s designed for.
- Placements come next. Instagram should be your priority, yet other platforms can bring you the expected results, too. Feel free to test across all available platforms and see which works best for you around the current campaign.
- One of the most significant components of social advertisement campaigns is the audience. Actually, you can test only three types of audiences including custom audiences (site visitors, email list, your followers), lookalike audiences (those who look similar to your existing audience and are built automatically with the first-party data of your account), and interest-based audiences (created from your user data and activity on Instagram).
- And finally, there comes your creative. Specialists recommend testing at least two creative options (a carousel post against a video or image, etc.). You can always start with various copies of CTAs if you feel uncertain.
Simple but Profitable
As numerous tests show simple ad campaigns can be quite profitable if planned and implemented correctly. Surely, there are cases when a complicated media plan is required, but most of all, simple things can work well, too. Just focus on one most valuable goal at first.
If you own a small business or a startup and want to promote it through a social media ad campaign while your primary goal is the purchase, there is a bright example by the founder of social ad agency Good Help Jenny McCoy to follow. What does it include? We shall find out it in our next post. Just stay tuned to InstaBF, your true guide in the giant world called Instagram.
Nov 25, 2019
Going Live on Instagram for brands is not an easy thing to do, but once planned carefully and accurately implemented, super results are guaranteed! If you, under the pressure of real time, haven’t yet gone Live, it’s high time you do. Here, on InstaBF’s blog, we are going to share tips and ideas for carrying out amazing Live sessions and boosting your brand awareness immediately. But first of all, if you wonder why you should spend time on this Instagram feature, here are some from a plethora of benefits:
Increased engagement
The Instagram algorithm is always “alert” watching brands’ and their followers’ activities. And going Live you tell it you are present and working while getting views, likes and comments show people care about what you do and are eager to see more from your brand. Appearing near the top of your followers’ newsfeed and Stories (live videos boost that greatly) makes your brand more important in the eyes of the Instagram algorithm.
Story priority
You must have noticed that once you open Instagram those Stories that are lives come at the front. And that’s unchangeable. Another reason for going Live more frequently. After going Live, post the video as a Story and your followers will click on it the moment they open the application.
Answering questions in real time
Fans having questions about your brand will gladly join your Live to get answers to them in real time. Surely, this will demand a couple of extra steps for preparation (such as having to email or DM for answers), but the result is worth the effort. An open dialog with potential customers always enhances the possibility they will become repeat customers.
Now let’s get down to the useful tips you should use to have resultful Lives.
Scheme a plan and have a purpose
First of all, you should take time and plan out your Instagram Live. Detect at what time your target audience is most active. Surely, you can just pop on Live any moment you feel inspired, yet carefully planned Lives at peculiar hours will bring a better outcome. In all cases, your Live must have a distinct purpose, share interesting or useful information and inspire followers to take part.
Practice
If it’s the first time you are going Live or you feel nervous about the performance, you can practice beforehand. Record yourself to see what sounds good and what not. And remember that Instagram Live isn’t a speech. It’s rather a conversation. So making notes to hint what you should speak about will be OK.
Find a company
Having someone with you during your Live makes everything a lot easier. This way you actually have a conversation and it looks more natural – you can play off of each other and back each other when necessary. Having the option to add other users during a Live only facilitates everything.
Keep it personal
Instagram has never been about perfection. On the contrary, it’s all about authenticity. Hence, talk the way you would with your friends and about what interests you or what you are good at. And what’s more important – enjoy your Lives, have fun and your mood will pass to your viewers.
Nov 12, 2019
Have you noticed a decrease in Instagram Story views recently? Well, perhaps the vast majority of Instagrammers experience the same thing and it’s not for no reason. Actually, you may even benefit from that. How? Let’s find out this together here, on InstaBF’s blog. Besides finding out the reasons for such a “behavior” of Instagram, we shall also share with you several most working ways of increasing your Instagram Story views organically.
What’s Behind the Decrease in Instagram Story Views
The influx of fake views on Stories was detected earlier this year. People, eager to increase their exposure on the social network and the growth of following apply to bot services. In order to crack down on such bots, Instagram is careful about every story view. At first sight, you may think this ruins your plans for developing your Instagram account, yet, in fact, it helps you detect who your genuine story viewers are. Fake bot views do not contribute to an account’s value. Moreover, fake engagement affects negatively on Instagram algorithm ranking.
So, instead of using quick and easy means of boosting your Instagram stories, you’d better not get disheartened but tap into a genuine audience. Here are several useful tips to adhere to:
Adding Relevant Hashtags
One of the most working ways of increasing reach organically on Instagram is adding hashtags to stories. It’s possible to add up to ten hashtags on every Instagram Story one of which can be clickable. Just make certain they are relevant to your target audience. Before you add a hashtag to your Instagram story, think about the subject matter of the story, what your followers expect to see. It’s better not to use super-popular hashtags (those that have over 1million posts) as with so many posts under one hashtag, yours is likely to get buried. Accordingly, pay attention to those hashtags that get from 10k and 50k posts.
Not to spoil the aesthetics of your Stories, you can make the font of the tags smaller (not too much or it will become illegible) or hide under a sticker or a GIF.
Using Engagement-Driving Stickers
Most probably you know that the more engagement your post attracts – the sooner Instagram algorithm notices them. A working way of encouraging audience engagement is using Instagram Stories stickers with question stickers, emoji sliders and the poll in particular. The latter is very easy and fun to use while the feedback you get on your products or content through polls is genuine and reliable.
Running an Influencer Takeover
If you are ready to get a step higher, invite an influencer for a takeover on your Gram Stories. This will be an effective way of boosting story views. The whole trick here lies in asking a partner (influencer, in this case) to share your story thus driving a new audience to it. Besides, this way you can bring a reliable external voice to your Instagram brand channel. It will be especially effective if you post a how-to guide or a product review.
Nov 11, 2019
Instagram marketing can be fundamental in increasing brand awareness and reaching the target audience as for influencers, so for brands, creators, and small-business owners. One of the smartest and most working ways of boosting your marketing is building it around holidays. Making use of this technique you will reach to more people due to the trending holiday hashtags and create a hustle around your brand thanks to the actual contests you can organize on holidays. If you feel this will work for your brand, InstaBF, a popular provider of Instagram and IGTV likes, viewers, comments, and followers, will gladly introduce to your attention the most popular November holidays. So, see which holiday can be used as a theme for promoting your brand on Instagram.
National Nacho Day
The amazing snack originated from Mexico, nachos are widely enjoyed. In fact, they are popular all over the world and many food courts are known for offering delicious nachos. And if you own a cafe or restaurant where visitors can taste these awesome tortilla chips dressed in salsa, melted cheese, guacamole, jalapenos, sour cream and plenty of other topping options, don’t miss your chance to remind your Instagram followers about your menu on November the 6th. Share any content related to nachos let those be images or tested recipes. Think out of the box and you will get a fabulous opportunity to raise your brand awareness right on the National Nacho Day!
World Diabetes Day
Diabetes is a leading cause of many conditions decreasing the quality of life and eventually leading to an early death. These include heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, amputation. November 14th is dedicated to increasing the knowledge of diabetes among people. So that to prevent type 2 diabetes or get used to living with type 1 diabetes, plenty of seminars are annually organized on this day. Whether you are a brand offering goods proper for diabetic people or simply wish to say you are aware of this illness, do that on November 14th. If you have a big and engaged following, you can even encourage people for donations addressed to babies born with type 1 diabetes.
International Men’s Day
Every year on November the 19th, people all over the world celebrate International Men’s Day. This holiday aims to shed a light on those issues that men are concerned with (suicides spread among men under 50 much). Besides this, the holiday celebrates the roles that men play in society. It’s surprising to see that harmful toxic gender stereotypes are still so prevalent in the 21st century! Influencers, brands, and celebrities join discussions to spread positiveness on the matter on the social network. Join them to keep your brand’s name on the view.
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a family holiday devoted to celebrating the year’s harvest. US citizens gather over a traditional roast dinner to enjoy a roast turkey, corn pudding, cheese grits, and each other’s company.
Every year on this holiday, Instagram feeds are filled with roast dinner images with all the love, trimmings and gratitude. Whether you are a brand or not, make sure to spread Thanksgiving cheer on your Instagram account. Post respective images and quotes, organize contests… options seem to be endless. Just be part of every important celebration of November to increase your brand awareness.
Nov 10, 2019
Using Instagram to direct traffic straight to your website or shop is highly beneficial. And perhaps the most important point in an Instagram profile is the bio. The latter has a direct impact on how people perceive your account at first sight. A successfully composed bio can easily convince viewers to press the “follow” button and eventually redirect them to your platform where you can control their experiences far better than on Instagram.
Since Instagram allows using only one clickable link in a bio, picking it up should become an important part of your marketing strategy. And if you find you need help, InstaBF is going to introduce several most useful tools to start using right today. InstaBF is a remarkable IG and IGTV provider, but besides that, this service aims to make your experience on the Instagram social network more profitable and enjoyable with the help of useful blog posts. And today we are going to add another significant theme to our blog – the most useful link in bio tools to start using right off.
LINKIN.BIO
This tool is primarily used to create a clickable grid with only one link. The latter can lead to a blog post, product, website, or services page. In this, Linkin.bio is not the only option. Viewers of a personalized link created with this tool get the chance to shop the feed. However, it is the only one syncing with Later – another useful third-party tool (and an Instagram certified partner) used for scheduling content. Linkin.bio is an amazing option for brands with shoppable products; online publications, blogs and bloggers; as well as businesses that regularly share fresh content. With this tool, tracking advanced analytics, or what traffic posts you make generate on average becomes easy.
LINK.TREE
If you are searching a means to link to different links through only one generated link, you include in your Instagram bio, Linktree can be the ideal choice. It’s very easy to both register a Linktree account and to manage links. Particularly this feature makes it a good choice for service-based business owners who are not so tech-savvy.
This tool has both a primary version (free of charge) and a paid one. The latter offers better customization, advanced analytics, and an option of scheduling links. With comparable pricing and a free basic plan, this tool is a good alternative to the previously-described one.
MILKSHAKE
If you don’t have your website but want to redirect your Instagram visitors to a separate page to get to know you or your brand better, Milkshake can be a nice option. It is used to create landing pages and is widely used by bloggers and influencers. In fact, this third-party tool was set for creators who wish to link their Instagram viewers to their blog posts, YouTube channels, or affiliate pages start from their Instagram profiles. Perhaps the only downside of this tool is its compatibility with exceptionally iOS devices.
CAMPSITE
Introduced relatively recently, Campsite works similarly to Linktree. With only one link, it offers numerous URLs to select from in the bio. Besides this, the tool lets you alter your Instagram account with a mini-bio, a new photo, icons to your other sites. You can even add images with all the links mentioned. Just like Linktree, Campsite is a good option if you aim to add more than five links to your Instagram bio. Yet, the customization options in the free plan of Campsite make it a more beneficial choice.
Nov 9, 2019
The core of scheming a successful marketing tactic is understanding how you can drive traffic from Instagram. In fact, this social network is packed with so many interesting features and useful tools that getting more mobile clicks and conversions won’t be difficult. InstaBF, a leading Instagram and IGTV provider has introduced to you how you can use the platform for promoting your brand many times, yet with new features offered regularly, your strategy should constantly be developed.
So, here are several fresh strategic ways you can use to drive traffic to your brand from Instagram.
Adding Links to IGTV Video Descriptions
IGTV posts, unlike Instagram feed posts, can actually contain clickable links. It’s designed so that to make it possible for viewers to click through the links and obtain products.
According to experienced marketers, videos have a huge impact on consumers’ buying habits. So, if you implement the right video strategy, you can set a deep connection between your brand and your consumers. You don’t have to spend much on this, as simple direct-to-camera tutorials and videos are cheap to create yet feel genuine and authentic. Just remember to add a CTA to encourage your viewers to check the description to the video and click the link.
Posting Actionable and Insightful Instagram Stories
Whether you have a large following or not, Instagram Stories can help you drive a serious amount of traffic. Due to this wonderful feature, brands can connect with their followers on a personal level thus building trust, raising engagement, and consequently increasing brand awareness. For this, you can create Stories with details of your products/services, add CTAs to encourage traffic to your site.
As you know, only those Instagrammers which have more than 10k following can add a link in their Stories. If you don’t fall to this category, direct viewers to the link in your bio with an animated GIF.
Showcasing Top-Converting Stories in Highlights
The only way to expand the life of an Instagram story is by adding it to the Highlights. Accordingly, you should use Instagram Stories Highlights strategically. You’d better prioritize those Stories which are more centered on your products/services and which can drive more conversions than other Stories. So, right at the start of your Highlights, you can keep one devoted to shopping at your online store.
Investing in Instagram Advertisements
Perhaps the fastest way of driving more traffic from IG is by creating advertisements. Once you implement the right strategy, reaching more people through ads will be much easier. So that your Insta ads are maximally successful, choose one end goal and strive to get it since it will help you to define the budget, your target audience, creative requirements, etc. For instance, in case your goal is to drive more traffic to your site, a strong CTA encouraging clicks is what you need to create.
It’s also important to find out particularly what type of content better converts to sales. For this, always track the iterating and performance of every ad you create.
