Love it or hate it, social media has dramatically changed our lives and one platform that has completely transformed from what it once was is Instagram. With over 1 billion monthly active users, it has become the most influential app of this generation.
The platform is rolling out some major changes to improve the user experience and change the way in which businesses can use the app. With Instagram constantly making changes and updating the platform, it can be exhausting and difficult to keep up but that’s where we can help.
So, what changes will be most valuable to you and your business?
Instagram’s number one priority is for users to have an easy and enjoyable experience when using the app.
The CEO of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, revealed users will be able to switch between different views on their home screen, giving users the ability to tailor their Instagram experience in a way that works for them.
Here is a breakdown of the 3 different views:
Ultimately, this update will help you grow your business as users will be recommended to follow your business if they follow similar businesses or individuals but it also makes your content more visible.
But how can you use it to your advantage? For instance, the favourite view can be used as a means of inspiration for your business whereby you can clearly see competitors.
Instagram has said that it is moving away from the traditional view of the platform as a photo-sharing app to becoming a video-platform. Like most of us, you may be thinking why?
Well, Instagram is actively investing and prioritising Reels, promoting short, entertaining video content to mimic the formula that has contributed to the success of other video platforms like TikTok and Youtube. The platform is trying to make video content as simple as possible for us to discover and create because it is often seen as a complex and time consuming task.
How can your business benefit from this change? Video content is starting to dominate Instagram so it is important that you level up your content to reach and grow your audience. Perhaps you could get your staff involved with making some fun reels.
Instagram has already started rolling out changes to the layout of the home screen. The most obvious change is that posts will become larger, taking up most of the screen, with a 9:16 ratio.
This update is to ultimately encourage the promotion of Reels particularly, and to be more mobile friendly. With this update, it is crucial to make your caption gripping and engaging as captions are limited to 1 sentence before users are asked to click to view ‘more’.
Instagram is continually and rapidly evolving to improve its user experience and like the rest of us, you can often feel overwhelmed trying to keep up. That is to say, all these changes will ultimately benefit your business and it is obvious why staying up to date with the latest updates is crucial when it comes to nailing your marketing strategy.
For most of us today is just Wednesday, referred to by some as ‘humpday’ meaning we’re half way to the weekend. Not to mention, it’s May the 4th or National Star Wars Day if that’s your thing. But did you know today is also International Fire Fighters Day, Petite and Proud Day, and National Candied Orange Peel Day? Yes, these things really exist. There is a National Day for just about everything and believe it or not, you should be utilising them as part of your business’ social media strategy.
Creating posts tailored to National Days allows you to reach a brand new audience, make a more personal connection with your existing audience, and, most importantly, keep your brand relevant. So how do you choose which days to get involved in, and how do you go about it?
Plan Ahead
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail-bla bla bla. The truth is your business probably won’t fail if you don’t do a post about National Frozen Yoghurt Day (2nd Feb) but if you don’t plan ahead, you may miss out on a really great marketing opportunity. Sit down once every few months and see what fun dates are coming up that you could utilise. Write them down and think about how you can apply them to your business.
Think Outside the Box
We all know about Christmas, Halloween and April Fools. The key is to join in on more than just these generic holidays. Think about your target audience, create some unique content, and most of all just have some fun. For example, March the 15th is ‘National Everything you Think is Wrong Day’. You could use this day to debunk some myths surrounding your industry.
Keep it Relevant
As much as you want to think outside the box, try your best to choose days that you can relate to your brand, product and overall values. If you own a vegan restaurant then you may think it won’t make sense for your business to do a post about International Chicken Wing Day. However, you could use it to promote your vegan chicken wings. It’s important to engage with what’s appropriate and relevant to your brand, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be creative.
Encourage Customer Involvement
These days are a great way to get to know your audience, and a great way to get them involved with your brand. For example, if you own a pet shop then National Dress up your Pet Day might be a great way to increase your reach online. Build up some anticipation and awareness in the weeks leading up to the day and get people to send you their pictures to share. Also, use hashtags! More people care about this stuff than you think…
Here are a few key dates that you may be able to incorporate into your social media strategy:
As you can see, there’s no shortage of things to celebrate and after the last few years, I think we all need that. Social media doesn’t have to be boring, and let’s face it, even if you can’t find a way to relate National Days to your business, at least you can stick International Gin and Tonic Day in your diary(19th October- thank me later).
To see the full list of National Days just click here.
Social media can be a bit of a minefield if you don’t use it a lot, but what if you NEED to use it for your business? Fear not, we’ve broken each social media platform down and explained them as a friends character. It doesn’t get much more technical than this folks…
Much like Monica, Facebook is the mom of social media. Not only is it the oldest of the group, but it’s also the biggest. Used correctly, Facebook allows you to communicate directly with customers and provide quick and valuable customer support. Facebook also allows you to use targeted advertising. You can target your ads towards specific demographics. For example, females, aged 21-50 that live within 20km from Lisburn. Talk about organisation!
Things to try on Facebook:
Instagram is like the young, hip, trendier version of Facebook. A bit like Rachel from friends, it sets a lot of trends and it’s all about the content. Instagram is also a great way to have fun and engage with your followers through features such as stickers, instagram polls and question boxes. Reels and hashtags mean you can reach a wider audience and locations/geotags allow you to increase local discoverability.
Things to try on Instagram:
Twitter is one of the oldest social media platforms, and is less popular among businesses. However, with over 300 million users it still boasts many benefits to your business. Twitter allows you to post snappy, quick to the point content, which is why Chandler and his one liners would definitely be the Twitter of the friends group. Twitter allows you to keep yup with industry news and the latest trends, while using hashtags can help you to reach a wider audience. You can also get instant feedback regarding products or services.
Things to try on Twitter:
LinkedIn is the professional one of the group, and for that reason it has to be Dr Ross Geller. More than 30 million companies use LinkedIn for business and not just for recruiting or hiring. More and more brands are using LinkedIn to network, sell and showcase their company. It’s a bit like the palaeontology conference Ross went to in Barbados, except with less dinosaurs and boring speeches. On LinkedIn you can share changes you are making in your business, show newsworthy or work-related content and share case studies. You can also give an insight into company culture and provide unique industry insights.
Things to try on LinkedIn:
Tik-Tok
Joey may not be the youngest, but let’s face it he is the baby of the group. As is Tik Tok. Tik Tok was formed in 2016 so it’s still pretty new on the scene. It allows you to tell. your brand story in a fun, unique way. It shows you things that you will like based on hashtags, captions, trending songs and sounds, locations and audience activity patterns. The algorithm means that your content will always reach the correct audience. Have you seen the episode of friends where Joey tries to pass as a 19 year old? That’s pretty much how most of us might feel when we’re on Tik Tok, but this platform is the perfect opportunity to embrace your inner child and give your dancing skills the platform they’ve always deserved.
Things to try on Tik Tok:
Of course, we can’t leave out Phoebe, or as she’s better known, Princess Consuela Banana Hammock. With a hit like Smelly Cat, she would obviously be YouTube!
The 5th of August is a pretty monumental day in history. On this day in the year 1100, Henry 1 was crowned the King of England. In 1884, the foundations of the Statue of Liberty were laid, in 1912 the first taxi cabs started operating in Japan and in 1914 the first traffic lights were installed in Ohio. In 1973, the Soviet spacecraft Mars 6 was launched and in 2013 the first lan-grown burger was eaten in London. Not to mention, Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was born on the 5th August. As was I. You can decide for yourself which one of us is more iconic. However, the second most important thing to happen on the 5th August, after me being born of course, happened in 2020 when Instagram launched Instagram Reels.
Despite only being a mere 14 months old, Instagram Reels are already one of Instagram’s most important features. But why?
Video Content Gets Better Reach
Quite often when a platform introduces a new feature, they give priority to any content using it. This is the case for Instagram Reels. They are featured on the explore page which can help with your presence and visability, and ensures your content is seen by more than your followers.
Some of our most popular posts on Instagram are our ‘Day in the Life’ reels! This is your sign to go check them out.
If a picture says a thousand words, how many does a video say?
We all have that really annoying friend who insists on calling rather than texting. The truth is though, sometimes you can’t say what you want to say with a few lines of text. In the same way, video content allows you to communicate your message a lot more than a photo. Reels allow you to show off the parts of your business that you can’t otherwise, which leads me to my final point.
Reels Give your Brand a Face
Reels are an amazing way to humanise your brand. People love to support people and through reels you can show off your personality (if you have one) and give your followers a behind the scenes look at your business. Reels are a unique way to tell your brand story, and show all the important people and things that make your business tick.
Here are some ideas on how to get started using reels:
Ever stuck thinking to yourself - “how do I change the size of a video for instagram stories” or “how do I combine videos together” or even, “surely there are apps that make social media easier”… never fear, we have the answer for you!
The number of types of content, dimensions, placements and lengths or video never stops changing as each platform pivots to try and hold onto their audience.
Instagram have just announced that they are no longer a photo sharing platform, instead focussed on video and entertainment. They along offer posts, stories, IGTV and reels, each with a different set of requirements.
To try and make your life easier and save you time, we have compiled a list of 10 apps that we love and think you will too.
Most of these apps are free, although some offer subscriptions that allow you to unlock features and advanced functionality.
Download the FREE PDF and check out these apps that will save you time, help you upskill and enable you to produce even better content for your audience.
