by Francois Muscat | Dec 16, 2015 | Instagram, Social Media Marketing, Twitter
If you are looking at launching a social media marketing campaign for your brand, you are probably wondering which of the many social media channels is right for your goals. It’s a myth that a brand needs to be present on every social network, but it is true you need to be on every channel which fits your brand. Twitter and Instagram are two huge contenders. They are similar in that they offer bites of content which is viewed very quickly, but one is about text and the other is about images. So which is right for your brand? Let’s find out.
- Bigger numbers don’t really mean much here
Twitter has slightly less monthly users than Instagram (316 million vs 400 million, according to Sprout Social) but this means nothing if your audience isn’t really using the platform. You need to research your target audience and find out where they are spending their time online. If you are aiming at a younger audience, Instagram is your winner, with 53% of users in the 18-29 years old age group.
- Instagram is all about engagement
When people use Instagram, they are pretty much glued to it, with no clickable links in captions and a very simple user interface. Users aren’t distracted while using it. If you want to really engage your audience, Instagram is fantastic.
- Are you a visual company?
If you are a company that is all about visuals, such as a fashion brand or design company, you will thrive with Instragram, since it is all about images.
- Do you have a customer support team?
If so, you need to be on Twitter. Many people take to Twitter to voice their complaints, and even their compliments. It’s important that when people mention your brand on Twitter, you are there to step in and get in on the conversation, turning negative reviews into opportunities.
- Twitter is great for sharing content
If content forms part of your digital marketing strategy, then having a Twitter account is a no-brainer. Twitter has been called a “content distribution tool” because it is a great place to share your constant stream of content. Instagram on the other hand, keeps users within the app on purpose, so it doesn’t serve well for this.
If you need assistance with everything to do with social media marketing, WSI OMS is for you. With expertise in content creation, social media, online marketing and much more, we are here to guide you through the digital marketing landscape. Contact us today.
by Francois Muscat | Nov 11, 2015 | Digital Media Marketing, Instagram, Social Media Marketing
Using Instagram for social media marketing: Instagram is without a doubt; a great place to build your brand and get your products and services the attention they deserve. You might not be aware of it, but some companies make as many as 20 to 40 sales per day, through Instagram! Now that’s impressive! Many business owners find the Instagram concept confusing or difficult as there’s no opportunity to add a link or a “buy” button to your posts. And that’s really the point. While you can make sales through Instagram, the platform is more about branding and creating the type of brand image that your consumers are excited about and want to support. This can be done quite effectively through your user profile.
You might think that you’d need to spend an excessive amount of time in Instagram to get that right, but that’s not really the case. Below are a few tips on how to get better results from your Instagram online marketing campaign without having to dedicate too many hours to it:
- Be active on Instagram on a daily basis. Of course this doesn’t mean that you have to bombard other users with your posts. Simply spend a few minutes every day liking a few posts, following other users and commenting on other posts that grab your attention. Do this and watch your engagement opportunities increase and more people will notice your profile of course.
- Don’t be all about business. Yes, the objective is to use Instagram to post some product photos, but you need to keep your customers interested and entertained. If all they ever see from you is product related content, chances are that they will lose interest. Post fun images, interesting quotes and similar. Get creative – post the type of things that would interest you.
- Get personal with your brand and consumers. Consumers are known to respond more when they know there are people and a story behind the brand and what the company does on a daily basis. Share glimpses of your team and life and you will receive interest from a broader and more personalised audience.
- Pique interest with sneak peeks. If you are working on a customer’s project or a new product, post sneak peeks of the progress and intricacies involved. Your followers are bound to be interested and get excited about the progress you are making too.
- Post promotional coupons and encourage followers to make use of them. Instagram is all about images and graphics. Create an eye-catching graphic that offers a discount or special – watch how quickly your images get shared and liked and your social media marketing efforts boosted.
Get Your Social Media Marketing Campaign Working for You with WSI’s Assistance
At WSI we offer social media marketing tips and advice as well as professional online marketing strategies and services to help you grow your brand’s following. With the assistance of our experienced team you can watch your Instagram and other social media marketing campaigns grown from strength to strength. For more information and advice, contact us at WSI today.
by Francois Muscat | Aug 12, 2015 | Instagram, Social Media Marketing
Does your company make use of Instagram as part of its social media marketing campaign? If you want to drive more engagement via your Instagram account, there is quite a bit that you can do. Increasing your company’s visibility and earning more likes, comments and followers is not as hard as you think. Consider the following points:
- Make sure that you have a clear call to action in the caption or on the image.
- Use location for your calls to action. Do this by uploading an image and sharing the post. Select the “edit” feature on the photo. Now a keyboard with “add location” as an option.
- Ensure greater content discovery for your intended audience by making use of hashtags. Only use hashtags that are relevant to your specific intended audience.
- Promote someone else’s account via your own followers by participating in Shout-outs for Shout-outs. You might have already seen the “S4S” comments in some of your photos. For the most success, look for pages with a similar audience to your own. You can ask other users to do Shout-outs for Shout-outs by sending them a public message via commenting on their photos or by sending them a private message.
- Don’t be scared to add text. All images allow up to 2000 characters for text. While not all of your photos will have such long characters, try to include some more relevant details on some of your posts. A unique caption will grab more attention and will be the cherry on the top of a great eye catching image.
- Participate and interact with other Instagram users. Comment on photos, like photos, add hashtags to posts. Generally have a good and active presence on Instagram for the best results and to get your content and presence more noticed.
- Don’t be shy to promote your Instagram account on other social media platforms. That way you can recruit new followers and create more awareness of your account.
Social Media Marketing Services Offered by WSI
At WSI we offer professional social media marketing advice and services. With our assistance you can enjoy a greater online presence that is strategically planned and implemented. Our team of friendly and professional consultants will ensure that your company’s Instagram and other online marketing campaigns are correctly managed.
To learn more about our social media marketing services and how to understand the benefits of online and digital marketing, contact us at WSI today.
by Francois Muscat | Jun 8, 2015 | Instagram, Social Media Marketing
On average, 55 million pictures get uploaded to Instagram each day. A research firm called L2, released a report saying that the photo sharing website offers the highest conversion from browser to shopper.
While all the statistics show that Instagram is a lucrative social media network, many businesses aren’t capitalising on it. Here are a few types of businesses that should definitely consider including Instagram in their social media efforts:
Luxury products
Do you sell perfume, watches, jewellery or other types of luxury goods? Then Instagram is for you. According to the report by L2, luxury brands who posted on average of 5.5 times per week were able to increase their customer base.
Consumables that appeal to people’s vanity
Many social networks are capitalising on people’s vanity and Instagram is no different. If you sell cosmetics, DIY products or anything a customer would want to showcase through selfies or artwork, you will be able to reach the masses on Instagram.
Your target market is on Instagram
As with any social media strategy, you need to find out if your target audience is using the network. According to Instagram’s User Demographics of 2013, 43% of users were aged between 18 and 29 years and 23% attended a tertiary institution for education. Research your customer base to find out which social networks they are using so that you don’t waste your efforts on the wrong networks.
Need help with your social media marketing strategy? Contact WSI OMS to help you today.
by Francois Muscat | Nov 23, 2012 | Instagram, Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is constantly evolving as people adopt new social media and move away from others.
If social media were like high school, Instagram would be the arty kid. The concept is simple: snap, edit and share photos from wherever you are showing what you are doing right now. Create digital “polaroids” to upload and share with your followers.
Many brands have paid little attention to Instagram, but in September Instagram overtook Twitter in daily mobile traffic. Therefore it is no wonder that Facebook paid $1 billion for this two-year-old start-up.
Instagram Stats:
- 80 million+ Registered Users
- 4 billion+ Uploaded Photos
- 5 million+ Photo Uploads Per Day
- 575 Likes Per Second
- 81 Comments Per Second
Can you afford to not to be on Instagram?
Some brands are finding it hard to connect through photo sharing, but with Instagram’s new web profiles it is becoming increasingly important to join up. There are several brands that are using Instagram successfully on Twitter. Take a look at local companies such as online store Yuppiechef and Woolworths or international brands such as Nike and Audi.
Need help with your social media marketing? Contact WSI OMS today.
(Statistics via Search Engine Watch)
