Facebook & Twitter Are Not Everything

When it comes to social media marketing for businesses, Instagram Stories is the way. A lot of companies and brands will tend to focus on Twitter and Facebook but it is easy to overlook Instagram. That’s because Facebook and Twitter are the ‘big two’ and it is easy to forget about the other social media platforms.

It is essential that you don’t forget the other social media platforms however as one of the central tenets of good social marketing is to ‘be everywhere’. And more to the point, you specifically need to make sure that you aren’t missing out on Instagram.

Why? It is simple. Because Instagram is actually the second biggest social media platform on the web and is bigger than Twitter! If you are ignoring Instagram, you are missing out on one of the largest audiences on the internet.

Another very important reason not to overlook Instagram is that it also happens to have some of the very best engagement on the net, as well as some of the very best ROI!

Why Instagram Stories Matter

Instagram Stories can essentially be summed up as Instagram’s attempt to jump on the Snapchat gravy train. These are photos that Instagram account holders can take and ware with their users but which will ‘self-destruct’ after one hour. An Instagram Stories will not be saved to the user’s grid.
This might seem like small or unexciting new features for the platform but actually, it represents a bold step into the future for Instagram and a massive opportunity for marketers.

Instagram Stories essentially give you a new way to communicate with your audience that is a lot more direct and immediate. This way it will right away help you to increase engagement with your audience.
This is because it makes your audience feel much more as though you are talking to them directly. By sharing a photo that they know you have only recently uploaded, they feel almost as though are being ‘brought along for the ride’ and almost as though they are there with you.

What’s more, is that the temporary nature of the content will make it immediately more exciting because it will be time-limited. That means that if your viewers don’t check it out quickly, then they will risk missing it entirely!
Another thing to consider about Instagram Stories is that they will appear right at the top of your viewer’s feed thereby ensuring that they will be much more likely to see it.

Make Your Stories Successful

So, the question is: how do you go about making your Instagram Stories successful? What is the secret to doing this well?

Perhaps the biggest challenge for many creators will be in knowing when to use Instagram Stories and when to upload photos as usual.

One way to think about this is to consider the difference between content that perfectly embodies your brand, versus content that you want to share with your current fans directly.
Because sometimes, you might want to share a joke or a photo of your day with your fans. Letting your followers feel as though they are getting to know you are a great way to increase trust and brand loyalty and especially if you have a ‘personal brand’.

But the problem with this is that it doesn’t really say much about who you are or what your business is all about. Thus, you might not really want it to appear as a permanent inclusion to your ‘grid’.

The question to ask yourself then is: would you be happy with this particular photo being the first impression that a visitor has of your brand? If the answer is no, then perhaps it is better suited for your Instagram Stories.

And then there are the other options that Instagram Stories give you: the option to create live videos for instance or to make ‘boomerangs’ which are essentially short repeating videos much like GIFs. All these provide you with new ways to directly and personally reach out to your followers.

Take Better Photos

Instagram is the second largest social media platform but it is also one of the very best in terms of engagement. Instagram has the ability to inspire like almost no other platform thanks to its highly visual nature and the ethos of aestheticism that it promotes. Using Instagram, and Instagram Stories, you can make your products and services look more glamorous and more exciting and sell a dream to your audience.

But in order to do all that, you’re going to need to learn how to take great photos and videos.

Take Time And Consider The Details

One important tip is that you always need to spend time constructing your shot and thinking about the details. In other words, it is not enough to simply point and shoot. You need to think about things like the angle of the lightning and the backdrop. All it takes is to notice the angle of the sun and to move around your subject to create a much more professional-looking shot that will be more visually interesting. As a general rule, it is usually advisable to try and create ‘Rembrandt lightning’. This means that the light will be shining on your subject from a right angle, thereby lighting one side and leaving the other side in relative shade. Use a window, or better yet, create lightning using a softbox or another accessory.

Likewise, you need to think about your backdrop. Make sure that the background is visually interesting without distracting from the subject.

Composition

When choosing an angle and setting up your shot, you should think about the foreground, middle ground, and background. This will great more depth and give your shots a feeling of being three-dimensional. Ideally, there should be something of interesting at every level, as well as elements that will lead the eye from the foreground and into the background (such as a path leading into the background or a river). You can also consider scale. Ask yourself how you can portray the relative size and speeds of different objects. If you want to show how big something is, make sure it is surrounded by smaller items for scale and it will have much more impact!

Drama And Telling A Story

Finally, try to avoid photos that simply show an object. Instead, think about the emotional impact of your images and how they can tell a story. For instance, you can tell a story by using ‘clues’ in your photos to suggest something that has previously happened or that is yet to happen. Footprints in the sand can show that you have been jogging and are a little more interesting than a simple photo of someone running!

Likewise, you can create more drama or interest by choosing interesting, contrasting items that wouldn’t normally be in photos together. Another tip is to change the angle of your photos, which can help you to present more dynamic and dramatic imagery. Having a photo taken from a lower angel for instance can make any subject appear larger and more imposing!

Instagram’s Live Video

Live is all the rage on social media right now. First, there was Periscope and Meercat, then came Facebook Live and now we are seeing live videos on Instagram too.

There’s a good reason for this. Live video is one of the biggest and most important innovations in social media so far and is one of the best tools that marketers have at their disposal for engaging with their audience.

Why Live Videos Matter

The first thing to recognize about live video is that it can effectively transport a viewer to another place, live. That means that you can invite your viewers along to join in your workouts and attend events with you. Or to join you over your morning cereal.

Whatever the case, you will this way be able to more directly engage with your audience while your audience will be able to share in a ton of different experiences.

While live video is only just catching on, there may well be a time when most of us are able to experience news live through the accounts of people we follow, or where we can get multiple different views of a concert or an event.

How To Harness Live Video

For now, though, marketers and creators have a very unique opportunity. There is an audience out there who is excited about live video and yet it’s something that a lot of creators are not yet capitalizing on. That means that if you post live video, you will stand out as one of the only creators doing so and that’s a great way to get more attention for your channel and to get more engagement.

And there are countless ways that you can use live video to promote a product or a service and to better engage with your audience.

One of the best things about Instagram Live Video, for instance, is that it will allow you to see comments posted live in your videos as you’re filming them. That means that you can then respond to those comments live and your audience can feel as though they are talking to you directly.

Imagine how much this can improve your engagement and trust with your viewers when they feel that you are a real person they can actually communicate with directly! Imagine if they can share their concerns about your products or services and you can directly put them to rest.

Imagine if your favorite content creator were to go live over a breakfast vlog and if you had the opportunity to ask them questions and to tell them how much you appreciate their content.

Imagine if you could look through their camera live and feel what it’s like to walk down a red carpet with them, or to stand at the top of a mountain on their holiday.

These are the possibilities that live video creates and this is why you should get involved in Instagram Live!

Build A Massive Brand

Do you sometimes look at the big brands on Instagram and Facebook and feel jealous?

Do you wish that you could earn a living doing the things you love and posting about it?

Would you love the fame that comes from having a personal brand?

Would you love to be able to earn money from a business that you created, instead of having to go to work every day?

What exactly does it take to get there? And can anyone do it?

The Set-Up

The answer is that anyone truly can build a massive online brand and gain hundreds of thousands of followers. But while this is true, it’s also true that it isn’t easy. It’s going to take work and determination and it’s going to take a good plan.

The first thing to recognize is that you need to choose the right niche. You need to choose an industry that you absolutely love and that you are happy to work with every single day. If you don’t truly love the niche you pick, then you will grow disinterested in no time and you’ll stop earning from it as a result.

And this is important because if you want to have a highly successful brand and make it your living, then you need to treat it as though it is already your living. In other words, you need to put in full-time work and you need to post consistently with high-quality content on all your channels.

The Program

Post at least one Instagram picture, ideally two or three. Keep a folder filled with lots of old photos, so that you have something published on days when you don’t do anything exciting.

• At least once every day add some form of direct communication – such as an image on Instagram Stories.
• Integrate your accounts so that these pictures also appear on your other social media networks.
• Post at least one comment to Twitter per day, ideally 2-3 times. Likewise, have a selection of comments you can share on days when inspiration does not strike.
• Every other day, write one blog post (minimum 500 works) and post it to your blog. Promote that through your own social media accounts.
• Post at least one video on YouTube per week. Promote this on your social media sites.
• Every other day, write one quest post and try to get it published on other big blogs.
• Spend at least 10 minutes each mourning liking other posts on Instagram, joining in in conversions on Reddit and elsewhere, and answering emails.
• Spend 10 minutes promoting old blog posts on forums, social sharing sites, etc.
• Send one email per week updating your audience as to your activities.

You can do all this spending about 1 ½ to 2 hours a day. If you can find this time, then you should find that you can very quickly grow a big audience. It really is that simple, it just takes commitment.

Wrapping Up

Instagram Stories is often overlooked, many businesses just focus on Facebook and Twitter.

Stories on Instagram have a high ROI and that is why you should use Stories. There are of course other benefits why you should use Stories. One is that a Story is only visible for 1 hour, after that your Stories is gone. Using Stories to draw your followers’ attention to a special deal is an exceptionally good way to take advantage of the high ROI.
It is also a great way to communicate with your audience, making it more personal.

One important thing you always should have in your mind if you want to succeed with your Stories is to make them good. Quality plays a big role here. Making high-quality photos and videos is not as difficult as you may though. Ok, you don’t have to make professional, high-quality photos and videos.

Another important factor for your success is the number of followers you have. If you build up your following through the recommended ways there are you will get more followers and you will succeed with your Instagram Stories.

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