Rebelling

There are 3.196 billion social media users worldwide as of 2018.

Whether to connect with people, share news, ideas, photos or videos, shop or sell online, review business or establish a relationship with customers – social media has varied uses for different people.

There’s a fact about social media – everybody is doing it, so you need to do it well to get noticed. There are different types of social media networks that can help to spread the word about your business. Each platform offers its own advantages and you have to choose one that best suits it –

Here are the perks of using different types of social media –

1. Social networks – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

Usage – To connect people and brands online

When Facebook and Twitter started out, they provided services as simple as letting people know what you were doing and what’s on your mind. Today, however they have become ‘relationship networks’ that help people and brands connect to share ideas and information.

Be it brand awareness, customer service, relationship building, market research or lead generation, these core networks offer a plethora of services that can benefit your business. Moreover, with the rise of mobile internet, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have seamlessly integrated into everyone’s life – be it reading news, sharing vacation photographs or finding a new job.

2. Media sharing networks – YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat

Usage – To find/share photos, videos, live videos as well as other media

Like social networks, media sharing networks are also important for engagement, brand awareness, lead generation and other goals of social media marketing. It provides a platform where people as well as brands can upload and share photos, videos and live videos.

“Visual posts produce 650% higher engagement than text-only posts.” This is what makes Instagram or Snapchat a great platform to connect with the audience and encourage them to always come back for more. Media sharing networks are actually where real engagement takes place, which is crucial for actual sales and loyal customers.

3. Discussion forums – Reddit, Quora

Usage – To discuss and share opinions and information

Discussion forums can be considered to be one of the oldest forms of communication on social media. It is also a great resource for doing market research. However, you need to be careful about separating your ads and posts as you wouldn’t want to come across as spam to the users.

Quora and Reddit are sites that people visit to know what everyone is talking about and to share their opinions without inhibition. So businesses can actually get brutally honest customer opinions here.

4. Content curation networks – Pinterest, Flipboard

Usage – Discover, discuss, save and share new and trending ideas

Content curation networks are like the powerhouse of inspiration and creativity where people look for new ideas and information. By including such channels in your social media plan, it can provide your brand windows of opportunities to build brand awareness and keep the audience engaged.

Ensure that the headlines and images on your website or blog are optimised so that these networks can access and share your content easily. Pay special attention to the featured images as they are the window display of the pins and need to be featured well.

5. Review networks -TripAdvisor, Zomato

Usage – Find, share and review information about products or services

Almost 90% customers read online reviews before making a purchase as it is an important deciding factor before taking the final call. Positive reviews are like social proofs of the claims brands make and negative issues, if handled well can make unhappy customers happy.

Your brand should be able to gather positive reviews and handle negative ones well. User reviews have gained a lot of importance and should not be taken lightly at all.

6. Blog publishing networks – Medium, WordPress, Tumblr

Usage – Publish, discover and comment on online content

According to Hubspot, 53% of marketers say blogging is their top content marketing priority.

Content marketing is indeed a great way to keep your audience engaged, build your business while generating leads and boosting sales. Be it traditional blogging platforms like Blogger and WordPress, microblogging sites like Tumblr or social publishing platforms like Medium, all these networks allow brands to upload content online that encourage reading, commenting and sharing.

There are numerous social media platforms that you can use, all for different purposes. Some can be very important for your business, while some should be avoided – it all depends on your brand. The ideal social media strategy will include a mix of all channels so that you cover your base with every type of audience demographic. To know more about the social media platforms that you should use, leave us a message and we’ll get back to you!

Instagram has over 800 million monthly active users, globally. 25 million brands have a profile on Instagram and over 200 million users visit one brand profile everyday. Looking at the statistics, it is clear that Instagram is undeniably one of the most important social media platforms for brands.

Due to algorithm changes, there is no assurance that a brand’s Instagram audience will be able to view all posts of the said brand. Hence it is necessary to change the approach of reaching out to audiences to stay at the top of their Instagram feed.

Following are 9 ways through which brands can drive engagement and increase their followers on Instagram:

1. Make use of Instagram Stories

This feature was launched in 2016 and allows brands and users to create and share content that disappears in 24 hours. Stories help brands drive engagement and are a good way to launch a campaign. By 2018, 68% of brands will create content for Instagram stories.

2. Hire a professional photographer

Instagram is a visual platform. Great images, therefore drive more engagement and even lead to higher website traffic. Whether you sell clothes, home products or even a service, good looking images are a prerequisite to performing well on Instagram. Thus, if you do not have someone in-house with great photography/ photoshop skills, invest in hiring a professional photographer each season.

3. Stream live videos

According to research, live videos drive around two-thirds of internet traffic which means that these videos are heavily viewed and consumed.

In 2016, Instagram permitted brands to launch live videos directly from the app. Live videos help gather larger audiences, increase interactions and help the brand appear on top of the news feed.

Source: Fashion United

4. Stay updated with current trends

Following current visual trends can make a brand stand out from others and drive more engagement. For this, creating a visual strategy is a must.

According to a study, 60% of top-notch brands create a separate strategy for photos on Instagram. Most top brands post images by maintaining a consistent filter, lighting and tagging locations.

5. Post on the correct day and time

According to research, the best time for posting images and videos for brands and businesses on Instagram is either during lunch i.e. 11am-1pm or in the evening, between 7pm-9pm. It is a good idea to share posts during off work hours instead of posting it at anytime of the day.

A recent study also revealed that weekday posts drive more traffic than weekend posts with Sunday posts driving the least amount of engagement for business and brands.

6. Use more hashtags

Instagram is the best place to make use of hashtags. When a user clicks on a hashtag from a post they are viewing, it leads to a page with similar hashtags. This allows people to scroll through related images and helps them engage with new profiles.Therefore using popular hashtags will drive more audience, increase number of followers and extend the reach of a brand. Using the right hashtag also helps a brand appear more often in the news feed with greater reach.

7. Promote user generated content

9 out of 10 people online trust user generated content more than traditional ad content. User generated content brings a certain authenticity to a brand. Users provide genuine information about a brand’s product or service, thereby boosting brand credibility with the audience and naturally attracting more followers.

8. Influencer marketing

Influencer marketing is hugely popular especially on Instagram. Brands may choose to approach an influencer with thousands of followers or may choose to tie up with an influencer with a more niche audience. This depends on the brand’s own targeted audience and product/ service.

Influencers have a certain credibility attached to themselves that they bring to the brand they endorse. Like users, they are considered to be a more credible source since the posts involve personal opinions. Influencer marketing when done right, helps to generate vast awareness and brings the brand closer to its target audience.

9. Host Contests

Running a contest on Instagram is a great way to increase page engagement and beat the Instagram algorithm. It is also a great way to increase the number of followers. Statistics say that 39% brands plan on hosting contests in the coming year. An off-beat and engaging contest with set rules drives maximum engagement.

Instagram is a highly versatile platform where brands engage with and sell their product to the online audience. Since audience engagement is the foremost concern for a brand on Instagram, finding innovative ways to do it is very important to improve overall engagement, increase interactions and promote the brand.

To know more about how you can use Instagram for your business, leave us a message below and we will get back to you.