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

SOURCE

Embrace Social Media Now

Business is an ever-changing innovation. The practice of Social media has been adopted as an indispensable element in the business world. Social Networks have been around for over a decade, with a stronger presence now than ever, we see an increase in usage and effectiveness. People are connected on a global scale and this is what the world has accepted as our modern means of communication.

Today, companies have the ability to increase brand awareness and interaction to build relationships, generate new opportunities, learn about the audience, or target consumer through the practice of social networking platforms. Here is a break-down of the key reasons every business has a need for this innovative marketing.

Build relationships

Influence: Reach a group of consumers that may not have previously been reached. The interaction between business and customers is something conventional advertising cannot achieve.

Communicate the brand: Through social media, you can essentially tell your audience what you value and what you focus on through implied images, outreach, and posts, without flat-out saying "We are Company A, and we do Z." Social platforms such as Instagram and Twitter are not meant for blasting your company's sales pitch to a large audience.

Thinking ahead

Generate leads: Fill your page with gated content. Make the consumer want to give up name and contact information in exchange for some incentive.

Innovation: The use of a social network to share and interact with others continually grows at an astounding rate, so it would be in a businesses best interest to create and implement a sustainable social media strategy in order to successfully take advantage of this expeditiously changing environment.

Expectation: It is 2017, it is expected of consumers for businesses to have a presence on social media.

Lasting impression: By using social media, a business can increase their website traffic. Not only does social media help to direct people to websites, but the more social media shares received, the greater the search ranking will be. Remember, what gets posted is on the web forever.

Gain insight

Learn: Learn about buyer behavior and popular trends. Do not think social media is limited to learning about the consumer, though... Social media is an amazing way to see what your competitors are doing.

Targeting: This is used to reach the right audience. For example, if you run a Facebook ad, you can target based on location, consumer demographics, interests, behaviors, etc. The most beneficial part of a Facebook ad is that it shows the number of people reached by the ad. On LinkedIn, you can segment by things like location, gender, job title, and company to make sure the post information is as effective to you as possible.

Advertising: Social ads are an inexpensive way to promote your business and distribute content. Social media advertising services expedite your results. You can reach people across the globe instantly.

Choice: The consumers are more likely to choose the company with a stronger presence on social media over one that does not have one. A consumer wants to see an active company and gain insight about them.

Change is constant, we continually seek innovation in our everyday lives. It is the nature of our behavior. We strive for a newer, better, more effective way to do something. Social networks are just that. It is an innovation that every business needs to get on board with. If businesses do not adapt to change, they will surely become a thing of the past. Companies have the ability to increase brand awareness and interaction to build relationships, generate new opportunities, learn about the audience, or target consumer through the practice of social media. What is there to possibly lose? Master this change and reap the rewards.

SOURCE

Key Marketing Strategies Proven To Work

Marketing has come a long way from ads in the newspaper. Now, it seems every company is competing on the web to get their products in front of the right audience.

There are several different ways to do this, and all these will help increase sales and raise brand awareness.

Pay per click management

Having a good relationship with the right pay per click management company will take a business to the next level. Pay per click management companies help to put an ad in front of the right audience. Blog writers and other companies will allow certain companies to post ads on their page. However, they also want for the ads to be relevant to the website.

This is where a good pay per click management company will come in. They can take the time to make sure that the ads get placed on relevant pages. A pay per click management company will use the best analysis tools to guarantee that their clients see the results that they want.

Hiring a pay per click management company can cost as little or as much as a business can afford. Most businesses have different packages that are available.

Utilizing social media

There are thousands of articles available about the best ways to engage customers on social media, and they work. In today's modern world, social media has taken the place of reading magazines and newspapers. While people sit at a red light, they are checking their notifications instead of noticing the billboard perched beside them.

When companies take the time to learn valuable social media strategies or hire a marketing company to take over their social media accounts, they will see their followers increase and their profit slowly rise.

Research

Marketing companies are known for conducting research. There are even websites that pay people to take surveys so that marketing companies can get a better idea of who their target audience is. This research is one of the most important aspects of marketing.

When companies take the time to do their own research or spend money on a company to do it for them, they will learn who their target audience is. This will be the basis for their social media posts, ad campaigns and more.

It is not possible to reach out to customers without knowing who the customer is. That is where research comes in.

Quality products

Marketing used to mean the same thing as advertising, but not anymore. Now, marketing means anything that brings in more clients, like quality products. When businesses make sure that they have a quality product, more people will want to buy something from them again.

For example, if a customer purchases a dresser from a company, but the dresser is cheaply made, does not come with a warranty, and falls apart, they will not want to purchase another dresser from the same company. Instead, they will take their business elsewhere.

Marketing is the key to the success of any business. Instead of marketing being the same thing as advertising, it is important for businesses to understand the difference. Marketing is anything that promotes a product, whether it is a social media account or a high-quality product.

To effectively market any business or product, companies need to take the time to learn who their target audience is and how to reach them. For example, millennial will respond better to ads on the internet and social media. After discovering who the target audience is, it is up to the company to hire the perfect marketing company and start to develop a strategy using proven marketing techniques that have worked in the past.

SOURCE