6 Easy Ways to Increase Engagement On Instagram

Instagram is a great tool for schools, nonprofits, churches and civic groups to use. It's easy, and people love it because it's all about visuals. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Why should you be on Instagram?

Here are some statistics that should get you excited.

• Over 600 active monthly users.
• 40 billion pictures have been shared on the social site.
• Each day, 4.2 billion people like pictures and videos on Instagram.
• 28 percent of Internet users between the ages of 18 and 29 are on the platform.
• 8 percent of brands use Instagram, and it's expected to increase to over 70 percent by the end of this year.

Some reasons brands, including nonprofits, are migrating to Instagram:

• You can upload as many as 10 videos or pictures into a single post, which means if you grab someone's attention with your primary image, they'll take a few more moments to scroll through your other videos or pictures.
• You can sponsor your posts or create ads to a target audience, which helps you grow with the right people and encourages those in your target audience to get involved with you.

The reality is that Instagram is an excellent tool for nonprofits and others to grow their base. By telling visual stories, you can raise awareness for your brand and get people caring and involved in the work you do. And with the creative use of hashtags, you can grow your follower base every week.

If you're looking to grow your followers on Instagram, here are some helpful tips you should consider:

• The best times for engagement on Instagram are on Mondays and Thursdays.
• You can use up to 30 hashtags on Instagram. Use relevant hashtags. Some hashtags you can use include #philanthropy, #fundraising, #volunteer, #causes, #nonprofit, or
• Make sure your videos are fun. And, if you can't make them fun, then make sure they're high-quality and striking. Ask yourself when posting if the videos or images grab you. If they don't, they're not going to engage others either. Remember, you're trying to capture people's attention, and since a lot of young people are on the site, they're looking for things that catch their attention.
• Tag people in your posts. Use @mention (username) to tag your best supporters, champions, and others outside of your organization to help you raise awareness. When you tag others, it helps your post stay relevant longer.
• Social media is all about networking. People want to see YOU. Make it a point to let your followers get a "behind the scenes" look at the work you're doing.
• Millennials and Generation Z, many of those who are on Instagram use filters and emojis. Make it a point to use them on Instagram. Filter your images and add emojis to your posts and videos. As people are scrolling, this helps grab their attention.

Want to take a look at some great examples of nonprofits using Instagram effectively? Take a look at this Causevox article by clicking here.

Statistics provided by: https://www.omnicoreagency.com/Instagram-statistics/

Author of "Not Your Father's Charity: Be Bold, Dominate and Succeed in Marketing For Today's Digital World On A Limited Budget" - Free Digital Download at http://www.notyourfatherscharity.com

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Creating Effective Social Media - 5 Easy Steps to Creating Social Media That Reaches Your Target

Effectively creating a social media presence is not as hard as it seems. Use five easy steps to improve your online presence now.

1. Know your target audience: You know your customer (or you should) - that's your audience. All audiences have diversity: age, economic background, style, and interest areas. Now, when you create content, do it as if you are directly speaking to them. Start a conversation. Spark your target's imagination. Use humor and remember that being too formal can seem inauthentic. Don't forget to be online with your audience. Explore what they talk about, what they like, what they share, what they hashtag. Interact to get to know them. Tip: use hashtags to research the climate around a topic and see what's trending.

2. Intentionally set boundaries: After you have visualized your target audience you will need to set up "Go" and "No-Go" areas for your content. These parameters are simplistic yet, paramount. Setting social media boundaries will help you keep your target group happy. Your goal is to create content that is professional and pleasing to your audience. Remember, what is appropriate for one audience, may not be relevant for another. Areas to carefully consider: politics, profanity, slang verbiage, etc.

3. Find a graphics tools that work for you: Creating graphics will serve you well, as visuals are an integral part of all social media platforms. Even Twitter is now more visually based; they have made it easier than ever to share graphics and animated gifts, right at the point of creation. You can put your best visual foot forward by utilizing any purchased, or free, graphic software like Adobe Suite (purchased) or Pixler (free). You will want to research which programs work best with your skill level; there are many online to explore.

4. Consider your platform: Create visual content with limited text, to show/say something significant and inspirational. Know what rules apply to the platform you are using. For example, Twitter limits you to 140 characters or less. These rules will shape your content. Research platform parameters online to familiarize yourself with each structure.

5. Use color: Don't forget to utilize color; it draws the eye! You can also create a theme of colors that you will use to represent your brand. Using colors enhances what someone feels, for example, Greens and Blues are said to create trust and a fresh feeling, while yellows, reds, and oranges are said to excite, or even make the viewer hungry (think fast food chains). Create content that welcomes your audience to take a closer look. Tip: add your logo to most of the content you create.

By using the five steps above: knowing your audience, setting boundaries, optimizing graphics, mastering platforms, and through utilizing color, you are well on your way to creating social media that effectively reaches your target.

Stephanie Newby is the owner of Newgreenie, an Entrepreneur, Writer, Current Graduate Student and Social Media Enthusiast. Webmasters and other article publishers are hereby granted article reproduction permission if this article is shared in its entirety, author's information, and any links remain intact. Copyright 2017 by Stephanie Newby, Newgreenie. http://www.newgreenie.com

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Leveraging Google Traffic With the Hashtag

Valued Reader,

It is impossible to share all the traffic tactics I have discovered in a single post, for now we will take a look at leveraging Google Traffic with the Hashtag. What this ultimately result to when leveraged correctly is Google Page One Exposure. Not Page One Ranking, but Page One Exposure and there is a huge difference between the two.

There are several methods that will result in Google Page One exposure, which is also how you build High Authority Back Links to your site. This in turn boost the Google Ranking of your site, everything online has a purpose, but more importantly a sequence.

By using this same Hashtag tactic and literally pressing a "button", to see what happens. To my surprise I found my posts with Google+ on the first search result page. You are going to be using the keywords you wish to target as Hashtags, no more that 2 - 3 Hashtags per post. Remember that content is the only magic wand to conversion of any kind.

Targeting the Highest Converting Hashtags

If you would like to know which Hashtags are trending on Twitter, then you need Hashtags Dot Org. Simply log in with your Twitter Credentials, you may also want to Follow Hashtags Dot Org.

You will see the following options; Trending on Twitter, Twitter Terminology, Why Use Hashtags?, What's The Point?, What is a (#) Hashtag?, How To Start a Hashtag, History of Hashtags, Allowed Hashtag Letters, Hashtag Analytics, Twitter Etiquette 101.

For the purpose of this demonstration you want to click on "Trending on Twitter". You will the results to the Upward or Downward trending Hashtags, but more importantly the Most Popular Hashtags. Please base your selection of Hashtags not only on your profitable niche, but also the keywords you wish to rank for.

So now you know how to obtain the most popular Hashtags, great. Now what, where and how can you use them to focus on Google? All you will need is your free Google Account.

Once inside your Google+ Profile you will see two options which you want to focus on next. They are "Collections" and "Communities", which are pretty much like Facebook Pages and Groups. A collection is like having a Page, and the Community will mirror a Group. Just to give you a basic idea of the difference between the two.

Creating a Google Collection

This is done by simply clicking on "Collections", and then easily create a Collection. But similar to a blog or website, you want your title and content to target all 3 categories of Keywords you wish to target. Short Tail, Long Tail and Anchor Text.

Now your Graphic content is equally important, if not even more so because you wish to attract attention. Colour plays a very important role when it comes to conversion... just a thought. But also you want to share royalty free images, so you don't step on any toes.

There are several sites that will provide you with high-definition images within just about any niche you can think of. You simply enter "Royalty Free Images" into your web browser, and check out the sites on the search result page. Take your time and find which sites will provide you with exactly what you are looking for based on your profitable niche.

Now a great idea would be creating a collection focusing on something like your blog, so you share your blog content and expertise within the collection. Never share Any Affiliate Links Anywhere on the Internet, a professional post will always present a link to a dedicated domain like a blog or website. Your aim is to get those visitors to your own personal site, and get recognized as a Professional.

Once your collection is created, you are ready to create your first Community too. But don't post anything yet, we will get to that. For now you just want to create One Collection and One Community, so we can work from there.

Creating a Google Community

Pretty much exactly the same as creating a collection, but bear in mind the similarity to a Facebook Group. Again you must target your keywords in your Community Title.

Once you have successfully created both your sites, it's now time to add the "Secret Sauce" by adding your first posts. But don't just flood your profiles with random posts, be objective and target your audience.

While using the Hashtags you selected, you will now need interesting and useful content to populate your Collection and Community. You need to inspire an audience's curiosity to want to know more, once that happens you will gain followers automatically. And when targeting is done correctly you will gain followers who are actually interested in your content and solutions.

Once you have populated your Collection and Community with keyword rich content and the Hashtag, you also want to share your posts to all your social profiles. Google allows you to share your posts to your Google+ Profile, Facebook and Twitter or even copy the post link should you wish to present it elsewhere.

A Collection and Community is like a sub-domain within Google, so when your posts show up on the first search result to a certain keyword then those visitors are ultimately directed to your blog or website. Remember, always try to share posts with links to your personal domains like blogs and websites, your affiliate offers should be promoted only there.

There is only one other place you should promote cloaked affiliate links and that is to your own email list subscribers, but that is an entire eBook on its own.

Remember that this is a traffic tactic and not a magic button, you need to sacrifice the time to master the sequence. This includes establishing the best dates and times to post that will result in the best conversion. This article is like a structure for you to build from.

Wishing You Prosperity,

Successful People Are Only Dreamers Who Refused To Give Up -

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