Brian Meert's Blog, page 62

Facebook Is Banning Political Ads for Another Month

NOV. 12, 2020

Element5 Digital / Unsplash

Facebook announced that the ban on political and social issues ads will continue for another month. The social media company originally intended the ban to end on election day, November 4. 

Political and social issues ads have a “paid for by” label and fulfill the following criteria:

They’re made by, on behalf of, or about a candidate running for public office, such as a political figure, a political party, or advocates for the outcome of an election to public office.
They’re about any election, referendum, or ballot initiative, including “go out and vote” or election campaigns.
They’re about social issues in the location where the ad is placed.
They’re regulated as political advertising.

Since election results were in a delay due to COVID, more vote-in mail, and President Trump’s refusal to concede, Facebook is continuing the ban in an effort to protect the U.S. election. 

Still, Facebook did say that a lift on the ban may come sooner. Advertisers can visit this page to check on updates. 

In addition to putting a hold on political ads, Facebook will also continue to direct users to its Voting Information Center, found on both the Facebook and Instagram platforms. 

Since the 2016 election interference in which fake Russian ads disseminated false news and politically divisive content, Facebook has been taking bigger steps to protect elections around the globe. This ban is one of the many efforts the social media company has made, including helping users register to vote and preventing misinformation

By Anne Felicitas

How to Do Social Media Marketing on a Small Budget

NOV. 10, 2020

Chase Chappell / Unplash

The world of social media has opened up a range of marketing opportunities. With social media marketing, by focusing on the detail of your customer demographic, behaviors, and the social media platform itself, you can host a successful online marketing campaign with a minimal budget. 

Companies spend an average 12% of their marketing budget on social media, which, while not an eye-popping figure, is a substantial one. It depends how big a marketing budget a company has because 12% of half a million dollar is a fairly substantial figure.

For start-ups and small businesses, their marketing budget can be tight, and matching this spend is a lofty ambition. But spending on the right social media marketing campaigns can bring a return in investment that repays the investment several times.

With your tiny budget, you’ll want to see almost-guaranteed returns. Is this possible? It is, and here, you’ll find out how. 

Define and Refine Your Social Media Audience

Who you talk to on social media determines the response you get. All too often, the very open and diverse nature of social media means that some business owners associate marketing across this medium as a potential to make lots of money, and fast. If your video goes viral or your Tweet gets a million likes, it’s entirely possible, but like all marketing campaigns, activities shouldn’t be based on maybe going viral but on reaching the people you know buy your products or service. In other words, defining your target audience is vital before you spend a penny on any social media marketing campaign.

Guilherme Stecanella / Unsplash

For example, there are 1.82 billion daily active users on Facebook, but they are not all your customers. Taking a scattered approach to marketing on this channel, you will focus money and energy on people who will never convert to paying customers. By identifying who your customers are and which social media channels they use, a campaign will have more focus and will yield better results. 

Find Out the Platforms Your Customers Are Using

Marketing on social media is not just about sales, although it will be a big driver behind a campaign. The clue is in the name – social media. If you unleash a campaign that gets people talking about your brand, conversion rates will increase. Stepping away from sales, sales, sales is a great move.

Understanding your customers will mean you’ll understand which social media channels they’ll frequent. Every platform has its own culture, and that is what draws people to sign up and engage on the platform.

Instagram, for example, as a photo-rich platform presents a glossy front that many people find appealing. It allows people to peer into other people’s lives. Compared to other platforms, Instagram tends to be seen as a positive place, although there are always exceptions.

Charles Deluvio / Unsplash

Social media users can no longer be determined by age alone but by their behaviors and what they are looking for from a social media platform. For example, many Instagrammers have a high level of disposable income, which may fit with your customer demographic. 

It’s essential to check who uses the social media platform you are planning to market and advertise on. With a tiny budget, you want to get the best out of each post and caption.

Pick One Platform and Do It Well

There are several social media platforms, from Twitter to Facebook, Instagram to the latest popular platform, TikTok. The temptation is to have a brand presence on all of them,  but there are many reasons why this can work against you. In a nutshell, however, it’s about spreading your marketing efforts too thin.

Aaron Weiss / Unsplash

To be successful on social media, you  need to maintain a presence that followers enjoy engaging with. To make headway with Twitter, for example, you need to Tweet at least 15 times a day, along with paid-for ads. On Facebook, a daily post should suffice, and 11 Pins a day is the suggested norm for Pinterest…the list goes on.

Spreading your brand marketing efforts on social media compromises quality and consistency. A flurry of posts that lasts a few days won’t return the results you want. Rather than juggling all these platforms at once, choose one and post consistently and frequently. Again, this means understanding your customer demographic and the platform they are most likely to frequent.

Develop Content and Track Its Success

What works for some brands on some platforms will not deliver the same results for you. Users, followers, and customers have different expectations of brands 

Using the same format of content time and again can become a little stale, as too can posting at the same times. You need to know what works and why. 

Use a scheduling tool: There are various free and paid-for versions of scheduling tools that allow you to queue posts ready for publishing at days and times you decide. These tools will often have analytics attached to them, and so you can build a pattern of what type of posts work better when.
Mix up the content: From videos to captions, vary not just the format but content, too. Most social media experts agree that using subject matter that links with a brand makes more sense than throwing out seemingly random posts on an unrelated matter. Whether this includes politics or comments on social issues comes down to your brand and what it stands for. 

How Much Do You Need for an Effective Social Media Campaign?

Technically, you don’t need a budget if you create and post content to social media yourself. You could outsource this work to a skilled, experienced social media expert, however.

Alternatively, you could sink your marketing budget into social media ads, another great way of reaching new audiences. And again, for a small investment, you could enjoy a lucrative return.

By Joe Dawson

How to Become an Instagram Influencer

NOV. 6, 2020

There’s a lot of talk about influencers nowadays, and Instagram is perhaps the most popular social media platform for influencer marketing. If you’re good at social media, perhaps you’ve even considered becoming an Instagram influencer yourself, but you might be stuck as to how to get started. For that reason, here’s a guide to becoming an Instagram influencer. 

Why Become an Instagram Influencer?

The most obvious reason you might want to become an Instagram influencer is for the money. After all, who hasn’t seen an influencer showing off their flashy lifestyle on Instagram and thought “I want that!” at one time or another?

Although it’s possible to make money as an influencer, you need to be realistic. You probably won’t be able to quit your day job overnight or retire at 30. Still, there are reasons you might want to be an influencer:

To advertise something, whether it’s your blog, podcast, YouTube channel, services, or e-commerce store
To make a positive difference in the world and in the causes you care about
To enhance your reputation as an authority in your industry
To make social media your full-time job rather than just a hobby

Although there are no right or wrong answers to why you should be an influencer, it’s important to know what the answer is for you. There might be more than one motivating factor, of course, but you can only achieve your goals if you get really clear on what they are and why you have them. 

Macro vs. Micro vs. Nano Influencers

When people hear the word “influencer,” they tend to think of those with millions of followers and a seemingly endless flow of cash. Although this is one type of influencer, it’s far from the whole picture. Did you know that even those with a relatively smaller audience can be considered influencers? Let’s take a look at the four kinds of Instagram influencers: mega, macro, micro, and nano.

At its core, the difference between the three comes down to follower count. As a rule of thumb, a macro influencer has more than 100,000 followers. A micro influencer has 10,000 to 100,000 followers, and a nano influencer has 10,000 followers or fewer. There’s also a fourth kind: the mega influencer. A mega influencer has more than one million followers. However, since it’s rare for anyone but an already well-known celebrity to reach this level, we won’t focus on it today.

Source: eduardklein.com

 

Let’s look at some examples.

Photographer Jesse Driftwood would be defined as a macro influencer with his (at time of writing) 162,000 followers.

@jessedriftwood / Instagram

Driftwood shares behind-the-scenes photography from his family life, as well as travel snaps, fun selfies, and occasional insights into the photography process. His platform serves to advertise his YouTube channel, which boasts an even more impressive 190,000 followers. 

Jessica Pattison DeMelfi (@jessicademelfi) is a micro fashion influencer with around 11,400 followers. She receives hundreds of engagements on each post. DeMelfi is a blogger who uses her substantial platform not only to promote her blog and to advertise products for brands but also to stand up for causes she believes in, such as Black Lives Matter and the importance of voting.

@jessicademelfi / Instagram

Sibel Oxha (@sibelsbeautybar__) is a nano influencer in the beauty niche. Though she has a relatively small following of just more than 3,500 people at the time of writing, her followers are highly engaged and she receives hundreds of likes, views, and comments on most of her Instagram posts.

@sibelsbeautybar__ / Instagram

These are just a few of the many examples you can use to inspire you. Spend some time on Instagram seeing what people in your niche are doing. A great way to find them is through hashtags (e.g., #fashioninfluencer, #techinfluencer, and so on). 

The point is that you don’t need millions of followers to be an influencer. A few thousand is more than sufficient to having a real impact! 

What Brands Look For in an Instagram Influencer

Brands are picky about the influencers they work with. Therefore, if you want to work with brands as an influencer, you’ll need to keep that in mind as you build your channel and your platform. 

Naturally, a brand’s preferences and requirements will vary depending on industry. You should study what successful influencers in your niche are doing — not to imitate them but to take note of any patterns or common themes amongst those who do well. 

Speaking broadly, here are a few things brands might look for as they choose a social media  influencer to work with.

Post interactions

The number of followers alone isn’t all that important. Having 10,000 followers who mostly ignore your content is far less valuable than having 2,000 followers who hang on to your every word. Therefore, brands are likely to be looking at the average levels of engagement  — likes, comments, and views — that your Instagram posts receive. 

If you have a significant following but low engagement, chances are your content is the problem. You’ll need to cast a critical eye over what you’re posting and work out what you need to do differently if you want to boost your engagement and work with brands as an influencer. In other words, as you decide what to post on Instagram, let your audience be your guide. 

Audience demographics

It sounds obvious, but a brand will only want to work with an influencer if that person’s audience aligns with the brand’s goals. For example, a brand that wants to sell luxury fashion to young women is unlikely to work with an influencer whose audience is mostly men, no matter how good their content and metrics may be. Similarly, a local or regional business in Spain won’t glean much benefit from working with an influencer whose audience is mostly based in Canada. 

If you want to succeed as an influencer, you’ll need a strong understanding of your audience. Who are they? What is the gender, age, and geographical location breakdown of your followers? Then you can work with brands whose target audience aligns with yours. 

Influencer’s interests

You might be surprised how much this matters. A brand might want to work with you based on something you talk about regularly, even if it’s not your primary subject matter. 

Here’s an example: Micro influencer Kirsten (@brightyellowdoor) runs a lifestyle site, blogging about home improvements, motherhood, and food. Her Instagram focuses on her DIY and interior design projects. However, she frequently talks about how much the loves coffee, which led to her partnering with Bulletproof, a company that makes coffee for those on the ketogenic diet.

@brightyellowdoor / Instagram

So what do you love? Are you a proud parent, an animal lover, or someone with a unique and interesting hobby? Make sure that’s reflected in your Instagram content, because you never know the opportunities it might open up!

Creativity balanced with respect for brand

When it comes to social media influencing, it’s often highly creative people who do well. That’s because they can think of fun, memorable, and engaging ways to make their point. Therefore, brands often love partnering with creative influencers who can bring their own ideas to the table and create a truly unique partnership. 

However, influencers also need to be willing to defer to brand identity in some ways. Brands don’t want to work with someone whose attitude is “my way is the only way.” Therefore, remain adaptable and come to the table with a brand as a collaborator. Share your ideas and get creative, but take their needs into consideration, too. If you’re too difficult to work with, they won’t come back a second time. 

Here’s an example. Influencer Julia Zelg (@juliazelg) is known amongst fans for her eye-catching outfits and bright pink hair. In this partnership with fashion brand @aprilalexshop, she kept her unique sense of style while swapping out pink hair and makeup for bright blue to better complement the brand’s identity: 

@juliazelg / Instagram

It’s entirely possible to remain true to your followers and audience while still adapting to suit a brand’s needs. You just need to be creative. 

How to Build and Grow an Audience

Perhaps the most difficult aspect of becoming a successful Instagram influencer lies in building, growing, and retaining a loyal audience. You might have the most amazing pictures and the most creative and original content ideas, but if you don’t have people to share it with, you won’t be successful as an influencer. 

How many followers do I need?

You might be pleased to know that the answer to this is probably not as many as you think. As already discussed, influencers come in all sizes and more followers isn’t always better. It can be just as rewarding to be a micro or nano influencer with a highly engaged and loyal following.

While more followers might get you a foot in the door with brands, it’s your engagement rates and the quality of your content that will close the deal. So focus on growing your audience, but put at least as much attention into growing your engagement rates and improving the quality of your content. 

How do I increase Instagram followers?

There’s a short answer to this one: patience and consistency. You need to post high-quality content regularly if you want to build an audience, and it might take more time than you’d like to get there. There’s very rarely any such thing as overnight success in influencer marketing. 

Here are a few other tips you can follow to help you get more new followers on Instagram:

Use video content, Instagram Live, and Stories, as well as posting the traditional Instagram photos. 
Create an Instagram strategy and stick to a posting schedule. One per day at a minimum is ideal. Posting whenever you feel like it won’t cut it! Social media management tools help you post constantly at the right time
Undertake robust hashtag research and make full use of all the space for hashtags in every post. Effective use of hashtags will make sure that the right people see your content, even if they’re not following you yet. 
Collaborate with other Instagram personalities and influencers. You can run takeovers, share each other’s content on Stories, or do “Spotlight on…” features where you share each other’s channels with your audience. 
Keep an eye on your analytics. You’ll need an Instagram business account (which is free) for this. What type of content gets the most engagement? What times of day or days of the week yield the best response? Use that data to keep improving your Instagram content. 
Host a contest or giveaway. Make sure you require people to follow you to be eligible for entry! 

Whatever you do, don’t be tempted to buy followers. Your engagement rates will suffer and you won’t see the results you want if you have a lot of fake followers. It’s much better to take your time in building an audience of real people who genuinely love what you do and care what you have to say. 

How to Monetize Instagram

You’ve chosen your niche, you’re creating quality content, and your audience is growing. Congratulations! Now what? Now it’s time to start focusing more on monetizing your Instagram account. 

Source: Eduard Klein

Take a look at three great ways you can monetize your content as a social media influencer: 

Try influencer marketing platforms.

An influencer marketing platform is a solution that allows brands to connect with prospective influencers quickly and easily. Some of these platforms select eligible influencers according to an algorithm. Others, however, allow influencers to list themselves in the hope that brands will find them. 

Here are a few platforms you might want to check out to get started:

Afluencer: a one-stop shop for brands and influencers alike. You can get a free Afluencer account as an influencer and be the first to learn about great upcoming partnership opportunities. 

Shoutcart: a platform where brands and influencers can buy and sell social media shout outs. In practice, it’s mostly centered on Instagram. Shoutcart is free to register for and easy to use, meaning it can be a great way to get your first paid partnerships. 

Social Bond: an advanced influencer marketing platform. Influencers can join for free but can benefit from additional features such as access to more contacts, insight reports, and the ability to upload a media kit if they pay for the $9-per-month premium version. 

These are just a few of the influencer marketplace platforms you might like to check out. Try a few different ones to see what works for you. 

If you don’t have a huge following already, you can start with platforms like trend.io. They have a marketplace for brands that send you their products for review, and you get paid for the content you create.

Get direct connection with brands.

Another way to start monetizing your Instagram account is to connect with brands directly, rather than going through an influencer marketing platform. This can lead to opportunities for sponsored posts, which can be lucrative. 

The best way to connect with a brand is to make sure your content shows up regularly in their Instagram feed. That means providing a consistent, steady stream of great posts and making sure you’re using the right hashtags. You should also use geotags to add your location to your posts, as many local and regional brands prefer to work with influencers in their area. 

Another way to get the attention of brands you’d like to work with is to interact with their content. Comment on their posts regularly and reply to their Stories. 

Finally, you can tag them on your content when it’s relevant. For example, if you find a new line of cosmetics you love, you could post a picture of your latest makeover and tag the company whose products you used. If you go to an amazing coffee shop or restaurant, take a photograph of your order and tag the brand in the caption, complimenting them on the food or service. Brands love to work with influencers who genuinely love their products, so be authentic, and when you find something you like, don’t be afraid to post about it. 

Participate in affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing is another way many influencers make money on Instagram. Affiliate marketers work with brands under a revenue-sharing system. You share links to a company’s products and, when someone buys using your link, you make a commission. Some companies will also send you a free product, which you can use in your content, allowing you to give your readers a first-hand perspective. 

Affiliate programs exist in every niche you can think of, and all reputable programs are free to join. You can join as many as you like, but start with just one or two. 

Here are a few tips to help you get started with affiliate marketing on Instagram:

Choose products that are in line with what you want to be known for. If you’re a fashion and beauty influencer, choose a clothing or cosmetics affiliate program. If you’re a fitness influencer, choose home-gym equipment or fitness gear. And so on. 
Find a niche within a niche. If you can cater to a highly specialized audience and do it well, you’ll be the go-to person for relevant products. 

Wondering how you can promote affiliate products using Instagram, given the fact that you can’t add clickable links to your posts? Don’t stress — use the “link in bio” workaround and use an Instagram bio linking tool (like Linktree or lnk.bio) to collate all your links on one simple landing page that your fans can access from your Instagram profile. Once you have over 10,000 followers, you can also use the “swipe up” function to embed links directly into your Instagram Stories. 

Essential Influencer Help Tools and Resources 

If you’re keen to get started, you might be wondering what else you need to help you get started. While you can become an influencer with nothing but great content and hard work, it’s better to have a little help. 

To help you, here’s  a list of the best tools to grow your Instagram. It includes some of the best social media scheduling tools, Instagram analytics platforms, and content creation tools. 

Here are a few other tools, resources, and tutorials you might want to look at, too: 

A complete guide on how to become an Influencer.
Canva to edit your pictures and create beautiful, branded social media graphics. There are numerous other great graphic design software solutions you can try, too.
Socialrank to help you organize, analyze, and manage your audience on Instagram and Twitter.
Udemy for great and affordable courses on how to become an influencer. 
Another Udemy course that will help you learn to monetize your Instagram as an influencer.
Bannersnack to help you create great Instagram stories. It’s very affordable, and there’s a limited free plan you can use to try it out before you buy.
Bannerbear to auto-generate social media visuals on scale.
Hashtagify to find the best hashtags to use with your content. 

As you embark on your influencer career, you’ll undoubtedly find the tools that work best for you. The most important thing is to invest in the tools and resources you need and then use them properly.

Influencer FAQ
How much do influencers get paid?

It varies widely, so there’s no simple answer to this. However, please don’t be taken in by stories of instant wealth and lavish lifestyles just for posting on Instagram. It’s not quite that easy! Huffington Post interviewed various influencers about how much they make, and answers varied from $2,500 per year (influencer has 12,000 followers) to $150,000 to $200,000 per year (influencer has 134,000 followers). 

Is influencer marketing ethical? 

Yes.

At its best, influencer marketing is just getting paid to promote products you love and talk about things you’re passionate about. 

As with anything, there are unethical ways to do it. For example, lying to your audience to make a quick sale or partnering with a brand known to have unethical practices is unlikely to go well. This will lead people to unfollow you and your reputation to suffer, but as long as you’re authentic and remain true to your values, it’s fine. 

What kind of brands work with Instagram influencers?

All kinds!

While influencer marketing is particularly popular in industries such as cosmetics and fashion, brands across almost every niche you can think of work with influencers. This week alone there are influencers advertising products as varied as gym equipment, pet products, children’s toys, and software packages. 

What kinds of people can become influencers?

Again: all kinds!

There’s an unfortunately prevalent stereotype that leads people to think only those who look like models can become influencers. But that’s simply not true. A great influencer doesn’t need to look a certain way or be a particular age or gender. They just need to be knowledgeable and passionate about their niche and know how to offer fantastic content. 

Time to Get Started!

Hopefully this article has given you all the grounding you need to get started. Succeeding as an influencer takes time, patience, and effort. But if you invest all of those things and create great content on a consistent basis, your audience will grow more quickly than you think.

Here’s to your first brand collaborations!

By Eduard Klein 

Is TikTok Getting Banned? Here’s What We Know So Far

NOV. 4, 2020

Hello I’m Nik / Unsplash

Fans of TikTok, whether a creator or a silent viewer, scrolling endlessly as the night hours tick by, have most likely heard the rumors that TikTok is getting shut down. But since you can still open your app and bring up your favorite videos, how true is this hearsay? 

There was a bit of a hurry-up-and-wait situation with TikTok, with in-the-know fans expecting the entire app to essentially disappear in mid-September. That didn’t happen, but the outlook still isn’t positive for the app or its committed users. Here’s what’s going on.

How This All Started
President Trump considered banning TikTok.

In July of this year, President Trump considered banning TikTok. Some said this was to punish China for its relation to the COVID-19 pandemic while others (including the government) said that it was for the sake of protecting the privacy of U.S. citizens. (Note that a spokesperson for TikTok said that the service does not collect data from Americans.)

Donald Trump confirms the government is considering banning TikTok due to national security concerns:

“We’re looking at TikTok, we’re thinking about making a decision.”

pic.twitter.com/VB9WY6LZCD

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 29, 2020

 

What Happened Next? 
Trump suggested a purchase of TikTok.

Around the beginning of August, President Trump said that TikTok can’t be controlled security-wise by China because it’s too large and invasive. He wanted a large, secure, American company, like Microsoft, to buy it. He also suggested that a company like Microsoft purchase the entirety of TikTok instead of a percentage of it, stating that it would be too complicated to buy a percentage of the company, partly because of the issue over which owner would get the TikTok brand name. 

The goal was to have TikTok purchased by September 15 (though September 20 was also a date mentioned by some outlets); otherwise, its operations in the U.S. would be shut down. Furthermore, Trump wanted the U.S. Treasury to get a lot of money out of the purchase deal.

How Did TikTok Respond? 
Their federal court complaint (and more).

On their website, TikTok put up a blog post saying: 

“The Executive Order issued by the Administration on August 6, 2020 has the potential to strip the rights of that community without any evidence to justify such an extreme action, and without any due process.” 

The blog post also had excerpts from their official complaint filed with the federal court, including this one: 

“By banning TikTok with no notice or opportunity to be heard (whether before or after the fact), the executive order violates the due process protections of the Fifth Amendment.” 

Then, by the end of August, TikTok’s new CEO, Kevin Mayer, resigned.

And, as you’d expect, TikTok users started talking about the situation on their feeds as they prepared to leave the platform. They encouraged their fans and viewers to join them on other social sites, like Instagram, to continue watching their content. Overall, though, there was a shared feeling that TikTok is one-of-a-kind and difficult to replace.

Did Any Companies Consider Buying TikTok?
Big names competed for the purchase.

Major companies like Oracle, Walmart and — yes — Trump’s suggested Microsoft considered purchasing TikTok. Microsoft even posted to their blog on August 2 about the potential purchase, saying: 

“Microsoft will move quickly to pursue discussions with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, in a matter of weeks, and in any event completing these discussions no later than September 15, 2020. During this process, Microsoft looks forward to continuing dialogue with the United States Government, including with the President.” 

If you’re wondering, “Why Walmart?” since they’re not exactly known as a tech giant, the answer is simple: TikTok has the opportunity to sell products to consumers, making it attractive to a big retailer, especially one with budget-friendly prices that appeal to TikTok’s young user base. 

Ultimately, though, it seemed that Oracle had won the bid. While details of the plan weren’t totally clear, it seemed that the company would have a majority stake, but ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) would still have a pretty strong minority stake, and it wasn’t known whether or not that deal was supported by Trump.

Then What Happened?
TikTok was given a new end date.

Anyone who’s an avid TikTok watcher knows that they can still access the app, and it seems that creators are still making new content , so it hasn’t been effectively or fully shut down…yet. There still isn’t an official buyer (details about and support of the alleged Oracle purchase were fuzzy at best), and it seems that the purchasing deadline has been pushed to November 12, which is when a deal has to be finalized by. WeChat has also taken a hit due to similar security issues (or suspected security issues), with a federal action limiting how money can be transferred and how payments can be made in the United States. 

But even though you can technically still use the TikTok app, whether you’re a creator or a viewer, you can’t actually take advantage of app updates anymore, and if you don’t already have the app on your phone, you can’t download it, either. When an app can’t receive necessary updates, it can start performing poorly and even leave your phone open to safety and security issues. Updates often include must-have patches that keep the app, your phone, and you safe.

What happens mid-November? Once November 12 comes, the deal is the same as it was with the September 15 deadline: If there isn’t a buyer and a finalized purchase deal, the app will be shut down. In the meantime, there are debates about how safe TikTok actually is right now versus its proposed safety should it be purchased by an American company. There are also discussions about whether or not this control by the U.S. government is actually reminiscent of the authoritarian government in China instead of being democratic. And, since the original deadline passed, there’s also the question of if the ban will actually take place at all.

By Lindsay Pietroluongo

How to Boost Your Sales with the Right Product Video

NOV. 2, 2020

Sam McGhee / Unsplash

Yesterday, a clothing brand asked its followers in an  Instagram Story poll whether they prefer photos or videos of their products. Can you guess which option had the most votes? 

Videos.

It’s not hard to see why: They offer a more comprehensive view of an item or service than photos ever could. As a result, customers feel more confident about buying the item, especially when the whole transaction, from product discovery to purchase, takes place exclusively online.

Having said all that, not any video does the trick. If we’re talking e-commerce, the quality and meaningful design of your piece will determine if it helps your efforts or detracts from them.

So today, we’ll focus on how to create an awesome product video that can actually bring a positive impact to your bottom line, looking for that style that’ll fit best with your video marketing strategy. 

Don’t Just Display Your Product – Showcase Its Benefits

A great product video isn’t supposed to just show nice shots of your product or mention its coolest features in passing. You need to tell your audience why your item or service is what they’re looking for.

Consumers don’t purchase an item because of the product itself but because of what’s in it for them. Here lies the difference between telling your audience that your watch shows the time of day and expressing that it would prevent them from being late to important meetings. The item is the same in both cases, but its appeal changes greatly, don’t you think?

Here’s an example from Apple, which outlines all the benefits the watch offers to consumers. 



This is the first thing you need to define about your product or service before setting off to promote it: the benefits it can bring to people. 

Build Your Video Around Your Target Audience

Relatability is one of the most important, if not the most important, aspects of any story. Without relatability, your piece won’t impact your audience, and it will be quickly forgotten. Those words may sound ominous, but it’s no exaggeration. People only give their full attention to the stories they can identify with; otherwise, they just look the other way.

For this reason, it’s vital to write your video script with your target audience’s characteristics in mind. Think about their general interests, age group, economic and education level, everything that makes them your target audience. Set off to create a story that can resonate with them. That entails making every element of the script relatable to your specific audience. It may sound a bit overwhelming, especially for the inexperienced, so we’ll go through each element.

1. The characters

A relatable script has relatable characters, as simple as that. It stands to reason that your video’s protagonist has to embody your target audience to resonate with them.

It sounds like a no-brainer, and still, you won’t believe how many videos miss the point here, especially live-action ones. Examples abound: Just think about those commercials meant for working mothers that feature a twentyish model-looking actor. Not very on point, right?

To hit the nail in the head, try modeling your main character around your buyer persona – that is, the representation of your ideal client. Here’s an example:

 

2. The story

To really strike a chord with your target audience, you must show situations they may see themselves in. Even better if you tackle their pain points (a formula that’s often used in most effective explainer video scripts). The idea here is to hit them where it hurts, but with good intentions. To clarify: Your relatable character should endure a problem that’s common to your target audience. More precisely, the problem your product or service is meant to solve! 

All this is closely related to showcasing your product or service’s benefits. If you think once more about the watch example, you’ll see that the item is portrayed as a solution to arriving late to meetings. That’s what calls the viewers’ attention.

3. The context

Showing your characters in a relatable situation also means displaying them in a place and context that’s familiar to your target audience. Here comes into play all the information you’ve gathered about them and their lifestyles. Are they the type who go to work by bike? Are they likely to spend hours stuck in traffic? Would they rather hang with their friends, family, or significant other?

Of course, these questions are just mere examples of the many that you should ask yourself before deciding where and how to situate your character. Although there’s not an objectively right answer to these sorts of questions, it’s safe to say that the right option will always be whichever one matches your target audience the most.

Choose the Right Product Video Style 

Product videos are a world of their own. There are various types to choose from, and each has different pros and cons. So, how to know which one to pick? Once again, it depends on your target audience. After all, you should go with the style that can suit their informative needs best.

Your decision also depends significantly on your product. As you are about to learn, some styles work better for B2B or complex products, while others are popular in the IT industry, and so on. To simplify your decision-making process, here’s a list of the main product video styles. Have a look!

1. Explainer videos

Explainer videos are the go-to option for any company that needs to promote a complex product or service. 

Some products or services can’t be fully appreciated with a simple commercial, especially if their main features are related to technological or scientific advances. These kinds of products or services can particularly benefit from explainer videos, which are meant to boil down any topic, however complex, into a simple explanation of around 90 seconds. Here’s an example:



2. How-to videos

Also known as tutorials, how-to videos are educational pieces meant to teach your audience how to use your product or service. They are of great help to both potential and current customers alike. The former can benefit from knowing whether the product is user-friendly and the latter from learning how to handle it correctly.

Depending on your product, you may consider making a series of how-to videos featuring your item’s different possible uses. Imagine, for instance, you are selling a food processor. In that case, you could provide various tutorials on how to chop vegetables, blend ingredients, crush ice — you get the idea.

Here’s an example of a how-to video from Starbucks. 



3. Demo videos

Just like tutorials, demo videos show how to use a product. However, they have a very particular way of doing so – by demonstration (hence the name “demo” video).

These videos don’t give an explicit explanation of a process. Instead, they show somebody going through it. That said, it’s usual that the individual describes what they are doing (sometimes in great detail) and gives recommendations to viewers.

You have probably seen one of these types of videos before, most likely under the form of a screencast video. That is the most popular type of demo video, and they are particularly useful during the latter stages of the sales cycle.

Here’s an example of a demo video:



4. Review videos

These videos often consist of a content creator giving their opinion on a particular product and weighing its pros and cons. These videos are usually user-generated, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be sponsored. In fact, brands can highly benefit from sponsoring review videos.

First off, these are perceived as reliable. People tend to trust review videos, although mostly when they aren’t sponsored. They believe they are watching a (supposedly) unbiased opinion on a product, so they often watch these videos before making a big purchase.

Equally important, review videos are often produced by influential content creators who have an engaged community around their videos. So, if you associate with an influencer related to your field, you’d be addressing your target audience in a cost-efficient way.

Here’s an example of a review video:



5. Unboxing videos

Also user-generated and potentially sponsored, unboxing videos showcase a content creator taking a product out of its box for the first time. They are similar to review videos in the sense that the influencer often gives their opinion of the product, but they differ in many other aspects. 

To begin with, unboxing videos are way more centered on the looks of the product rather than on its performance. After all, the user has just received it, so they couldn’t use the product enough to do a thoughtful review about it.

Second, unboxing videos are all about the content creator’s reactions while seeing the product for the first time. That’s why these videos are, more often than not, more entertaining than useful. Still, many people watch unboxings to know what to expect from an item they wish to purchase. Here’s an example:



 

To Wrap Up

If this article was called “How to Boost Your Sales with any Product Video,” it may attract more readers. However, the truth is that not every product video can deliver excellent results. Only those that have a relatable script, written with your target audience in mind, can succeed at striking a chord with viewers. 

That said, your target audience not only comes into play when writing the script but also when you are deciding which type of product video to go with. Today you have seen there are many options out there, some more suitable to your audience and your product than others.

Now you have the recipe for creating the right product video that can boost your sales, all that’s left to do is produce it! Good luck! 

By Victor Blasco

How to Create an Amazon Post

http://www.advertisemint.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/posts_a20m_demo_update._CB425377566_.mp4

Source: Amazon

Amazon is currently beta testing a post feature for the mobile shopping app on iOS and Android. Appearing on a brand’s product listing, this new feature is just like any other social media post you see online, with a large image followed by a headline and CTA button underneath. When clicked, it redirects customers to an Amazon post, where the brand’s products are listed.

Sellers registered in the Amazon Brand Registry, vendors, and agencies representing vendors are eligible to use Amazon Post. Although you don’t have to advertise with Amazon to create posts, you must sell products on the platform to qualify.

Here’s how to create an Amazon post.

Step 1: Go to this page then click “Get Started.”

If you’re not already logged in to your Amazon account, you will be prompted to do so.

Step 2: From your Amazon account, click “Campaigns.”

Once logged in, go to your account console and click on the first option, “campaigns.”

Step 3: Select the brand that you want to create a post for. 

If you own multiple brands, click the one you want to create a post for.

Step 4: Click “Create post.”

You will be prompted to create a post. Click “Create post.”

 

Step 5: Skip through Amazon’s post recommendations. 

Here, Amazon will give you examples of best practices for creating posts. You can go ahead and skip these if you prefer. To do so, click the “close” button on the bottom-right corner. If you believe these recommendations will be helpful, go ahead and examine them by clicking the forward arrow button on the right side.

Step 6: Create your post.

To create your post, you need to provide the following:

An image in either the JPG or PNG format
An image that is 640 x 320 pixels or larger
A caption
The list of products you want to feature in the post

You can either save the post as a draft (if you want to revisit later) or submit to Amazon for review.

Step 7: Analyze post performance. 

You can track the performance of your post here. You will be able to view post impressions and engagement.

There you have it — the steps to creating an Amazon post. 

Amazon Post Recommendations

What makes an attention-grabbing, high-converting Amazon post? Great question. This is what Amazon recommends to keep in mind when creating your posts.

Tip 1: Feature product and value.

Rather than featuring a product with a lot of white space (left image), showcase the product in a lifestyle photo (right image). It’s also helpful to place your product in a realistic setting or in a situation that shows how it’s used.

Tip 2: Use simple images. 

Users scroll through feeds very quickly, so you want to make sure they can easily understand the message your image conveys at first glance. Feature simple images. Make it too complicated, and it might take potential customers too long to try to decipher, and at which time, they might already have lost interest and moved on.

Tip 3: Don’t feature too much text. 

You’ve heard this one before, especially if you’re a Facebook advertiser: Don’t include too much text. There’s a reason. Adding too much text on the image distracts from the product. It also takes too much time to read and may even be too small to decipher. You want to catch attention as quickly as you can. If your message takes too long to understand, your customers will move on. Instead, make sure to choose an image that speaks for itself. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Tip 4:  Upload high-quality images. 

What makes a high-quality image? For one, it’s not pixelated, stretched, or blurry. It’s also cropped correctly so it fits perfectly on the screen; meaning, no images with extra space (left image). Appearance matters because it’s a reflection of your brand credibility. It’s easy to conclude that if your brand is careless enough to publish posts with low-quality images, then that brand is also likely to be careless enough to produce low-quality products.

Tip 5: Tell a story.

Each post contains a caption, where you get the chance to talk about your brand or products. Use this space to tell a story. Talk about the aspects that makes your product unique. Talk about why customers should choose your brand. Tell them the benefits you can offer.

Amazon is testing a post feature that will bring brand and product awareness. Jump on this opportunity, and when you create your posts, make sure to keep Amazon’s recommendations in mind to get the best results.

By Anne Felicitas

10 Reasons Your Instagram Posts Fail and What to Do About It

OCT. 28, 2020

Christian Erfurt / Unsplash

Instagram is one of the social media platforms that has reached its zenith in its field. However, succeeding on Instagram isn’t always an easy task, whether you’re increasing your followers or growing the number of likes on your posts. 

To succeed on Instagram, you need to know the mistakes you make on the platform. When you’re not aware of these mistakes, the chances of your posts failing is high. Regardless of whether you’re attempting to be a social media influencer, entrepreneur, or someone who wishes to advance your business, this article is going to help you. 

1. You’re Not Picky About the Images You Upload

Posting dull, pixelated images from your window will not get the same sort of attention than clear, vibrant images taken on a beautiful seashore. The idea is to shoot wonderful pictures that catch people’s eye and attract them. 

To attract your target audience, avoid posting images that are irrelevant to your niche. The people checking your profile always wish to find something unique yet relevant to their tastes and interests. For example, if you run a fashion Instagram account, your followers will expect you to post fashion-related posts. Here’s an example of a fashion account by Who What Wear that focuses solely on fashion and beauty posts:

@whowhatwear / Instagram

Solution: You need to focus more on the quality of your photos and upload only appealing images to your Instagram. Also, don’t post irrelevant images. Posting images that are not from your niche can reduce the name and fame of your page. Of course, you can post images that aren’t on brand for you once in a while, but when you do, don’t overdo it. 

2. You Don’t Tag People on Your Photos

Continuously tag people and brands associated with the content in your post. If you’re lucky, you’ll get tagged back when you’re in their photos. Some may even repost you. It’s the ideal approach to developing your fan base. By doing this, you’re presented to a unique crowd and have the chance of getting new followers.

Here’s an example. Tyra Banks is known to repost people who tag her. Here, she reposts a fan whose handle she includes in the caption so her followers can check out her account and click that “follow” button. 

@tyrabanks / Instagram

Solution: You need to start tagging influencers or other individuals who belong to the same niche or who target the same audience. In doing so, you may get tagged back on their posts or your post may get reposted. This practice can gradually improve your reach and engagement.

3. You Don’t Include Your Link in Your Bio

Instagram doesn’t permit links in captions. It’s one reason individuals love it — there’s no spamming. However, there are times when you do need to include a link because it’s relevant to your post. BuzzFeed, for example, publishes posts about their latest articles. The post needs an accompanying link to the articles, which followers expect to have. 

Since you can’t add links in the caption, the main adequate spot to put the desired link is in your profile bio. Here’s an example from BuzzFeed:

@buzzfeed / Instagram

Solution: If you need to include a link, you can do it in the bio. Otherwise, you can tell followers to DM you for the link. (Chats allow you to share links.)

4. You Don’t Stick to a Schedule

Followers expect consistency from you. Ensure that you post regularly. If you post three times a week, do it consistently three times each week. If you only post once a week, maintain that cadence. Whatever your schedule, stick to it as much as you can. Creating a content calendar can help with this. 

Solution: Create a schedule for the week and see how it works out. You can either follow the same schedule in the upcoming days or change it according to how fast you can produce content. Always be consistent with your posting schedule and to do so you can also use various social media management tools to save time.

5. You Don’t Use Hashtags

Hashtags are incredible tools that expand your post’s reach and engagement. However, it’s important that you choose your hashtags wisely. Use hashtags that don’t already have thousands upon thousands of posts: It’ll make it harder for people to find yours. Also, use hashtags that are descriptive rather than general. For example, #socialmediamarketing is a better choice than #marketing.  

Don’t use too many or too few hashtags. Strike a balance in between. Research states that posts with hashtags of 5 to 10 get more reach and engagement than posts with 25 to 30. Focus on finding the right hashtags possible. Including such a large number of hashtags makes you look desperate to the people who see it.

@topliketags / Instagram

 

Solution: As mentioned earlier, the best approach is to use 5 to 10 hashtags. Make sure all the used hashtags are engaging and highly relevant. You can do basic hashtag research to find the appropriate ones.

6. You Don’t Interact with Your Audience

You need to stop seeing Instagram as a one-sided relationship. Tune in to your crowd and react. Of course, you can’t respond to all of the comments and messages you get, but responding to as many as you can shows your followers that you care about them. 

You can also better interact with your audience by looking at your top fans and liking their posts. 

You can also follow different influencers whom you respect and comment on their photos or message them. They’ll pay heed and may follow you back and possibly fire up a discussion with you.

Solution: You can start interacting with your audience by responding to their DMs, queries, Stories mentioning you, comments, and so forth. Though you cannot do it entirely, do as much as you can.

7. You Don’t Edit Your Photos

Instagram allows you to edit your photographs with tools that sharpen your photo, alter the contrast, and apply filters. Sometimes editing photos is necessary, especially if you need to fix the lighting or contrast, or you simply want to add a little flair to your photo. You can either use Instagram’s editing tools or use editing software such as Afterlight, Snapseed, and Canva.

Solution: You need to learn editing software or use applications like Canva for editing your photos. Before sharing, make sure it’s high quality.

8. Your Instagram Account Is Private

Making your Instagram account private is like hiding your talents behind the screen. Nobody will buy a collection from a craftsman they don’t know. Building trust is very important. Also, nobody will follow an Instagram account without looking at it first. Your artistic page must be public to get a better reach.

Solution: You need to make your Instagram account public for gaining better reach, followers, and brand awareness. 

9. You Purchase Followers

Nothing can demolish your Instagram game more than conflicting with the platform’s Terms of Service. Yes, boosting your numbers can expand your brand, but genuine engagement and followers don’t come from buying them. You may win in the moment but lose in the long run. 

Instagram has been taking action against bots, and when you violate the terms and gain fake paid followers, it will reduce your progress on Instagram. It may lead to a ban on your account.

Solution: Focus only on genuine followers. It’s the best approach to keeping your account authentic and staying within Instagram’s best graces. 

10. You Edit Posts After They’ve Been Distributed

Instagram tracks the likes and comments on your posts to calculate the quality of your content and account. The more likes and comments you get, the higher the chances of getting recognized.  

When you edit your post after it’s gone live, Instagram resets your ranking. Thus, all of the engagement up to that point will reset, and you could lose the desired position on people’s feeds. Your post may be removed from the top position when you edit it.

Solution: You need to avoid editing your content once shared. Check the post twice, proofread it, and then post.

Instagram is a good platform for your business, sales, and promotions. Through this platform, you can get in touch with a massive crowd. Consider these top 10 mistakes and  avoid them. 

How to Market Your School on Facebook

OCT. 26, 2020

Element5 Digital / Unsplash

With more than two billion active site users per month, Facebook continues to be one of the largest and most popular social media networks in the world. On Facebook you have the potential to reach parents, families, and a wider audience with instant updates. This means you need to be clever about how you market your school on Facebook — this is an important part of your marketing strategy.

To help you with this, here are five key points you should consider.

1. Maintain Brand Appearance 

Your Facebook page can serve many functions, whether it’s an alternative to your school website or a quick way to find contact details, such as phone number or email address. How your page looks is therefore important. Your profile photo should be a high quality version of your school logo. Your page header should ideally feature a visually appealing image of the school or pupils. Facebook allows you to upload a video as your header. If you have a suitable one perhaps a welcome video, use it.

Strathallan School / Facebook

Additionally be sure to include as much useful information as you can with relevant contact details, which are found in the About section of your Facebook page, where visitors are likely to look if they wish to find out more or get in touch. 

2. Organize and Plan Your Content

Planning and organizing your content is key. Mapping out what you’ll need to be posting on a weekly basis will make life much easier for you.

Set up a content calendar that you can refer to throughout the year. Inputting important milestone events, such as open days, trips, and sporting or musical functions will give you a framework to build upon. It means that you’ll be posting on a consistent basis, ensuring the page doesn’t sit dormant. 

Using a social media management system such as Hootsuite or Buffer is also a time-saver, as it will allow you to schedule posts for specific times and dates across multiple platforms. You’re then able to track and coordinate what you’re posting more efficiently. 

3. Post Content Consistently

Regularly sharing content on your page keeps the attention of your audience, whether its photos and videos of what’s going on at the school, examples of student work, or anything that shows how you’re fulfilling your vision as a school in your community. 

Strathallan School / Facebook

Have a dedicated space, such as a central school folder, Google Drive, or Dropbox account, to build a library of approved media assets. Organize them by date, year group, class, and event, so you spend less time worrying about what you have permission to post or where to find it. 

Also be aware of marketing trends and the kinds of content  other schools are utilizing as part of their marketing strategy.

4. Maintain Your Brand Voice

What makes your school different? What makes it unique? Has the school gone through any significant changes or challenges? What are your school’s future plans? 

Answers to these questions along with your values and ethos will help to form your social media voice and how you communicate your message effectively. It will also determine what makes your school marketable so you can plan your marketing strategy accordingly.

Managing your page will mean handling audience engagement, whether it’s comments on posts or direct messaging. Set up an FAQs document that you can refer to with pre-saved answers to questions you’re likely to get on a regular basis, saving time and keeping your social media voice consistent. For direct messages you may receive out of hours, Facebook also has the option for automated responses, which are easy to set up and can be found in your page’s inbox.

5. Promote Your Facebook Posts

Promoting your school on Facebook can be done in two ways: what you regularly post (called organic posting) or paid-for promotion. 

Organic posting will limit reach only to those who follow your page, with potential additional reach when someone engages with your page or shares your post. There is also an option to “boost” your organic posts, paying to show your content to a targeted audience. 

For daily posting the organic method is recommended, but when promoting important events such as open days then you need to consider the paid route.

Facebook paid-for promotion can be managed through Facebook Business Manager, which allows you to set up and manage advertising campaigns. Facebook advertising allows you to create campaigns that target a specific audience based on criteria including age, location, gender, job title or interests, ensuring that it’s only being shown to relevant people, and your ads will appear across mobile and tablet devices, plus Instagram if you wish. The set-up process can be detailed depending on the scope of your campaign and objectives, so it is recommended that you speak to an expert first.

Final Thoughts

Your Facebook page should be considered as one piece of your overall marketing strategy. Being organized in how you manage it and knowing your broader objectives will make all the difference in how your page can help you to meet them.

By Sally Alexander

How to Create an Instagram Pre-Launch Strategy for Ecommerce Brands

OCT. 23, 2020

Social Cut / Unsplash

Setting up a pre-launch for your business Instagram account can be intimidating. If your company is new to the platform or in social media, you may be confused as to where to begin, what assets are needed, and how to target an audience. The best way to take on this task is to set up a pre-launch strategy. This way, you will be prepared for any obstacles that come your way post-launch.

How Do You Pre-Launch?

First and foremost, you should have a good understanding of what a pre-launch on Instagram entails. You will need to think of your strategy as a crucial part of the overall campaign outcome. Through a pre-launch, your business has the capability to gain attention of a targeted audience that can be converted into sales.

Without taking the time to set up a strategy, you may be spurring on new content in somewhat of a sporadic manner, catching followers off guard, and making it hard for them to keep up with you. If you’re dropping a release of new products, going in without a strategy ultimately becomes a missed opportunity at gaining traffic and potential conversions.

Tips for Planning a Launch Strategy on Instagram

How do you pre-launch a product? When starting out, it’s important to follow a plan that’ll keep your company and Instagram account on track up until launch day. Following the list below, your company will be able to achieve a pre-launch build-up.

1. Define your goal.

Before launching on Instagram, you should define the overall goal of your brand and what you want to get out of a pre-launch. Do you want to bring awareness to a new product? Are you trying to create hype with your audience? Are you trying to attract more of a specific type of consumer? All of these examples are feasible goals your company can accomplish through a pre-launch on Instagram.

2. Create a timeline.

You should set a timeline as to when you wish to launch your products. Once you pick a date, you should work backward, starting with the launch date. From there you will be able to see how much effort is needed to put into the campaign prep. This approach will also help your launch stay on track without any risk of straying from the original plan.

3. Define your creative direction.

The next step to your pre-launch strategy should be defining your campaign’s creative direction. You should keep in mind that you have the ability to create beautiful and persuasive Instagram posts through imagery. This is a time when you should work on creating content that will attract your desired audience and get them excited for what’s to come.

4. Create assets.

Whether its images, videos, or graphics, you should be collecting and creating content to eventually post to your account. Keep in mind when creating these assets that your creative direction and aesthetic will be portrayed through each piece of content, requiring a cohesive feed that consumers will appreciate.

5. Utilize various features.

Instagram offers the opportunity to create great visuals such as Stories and other video content, which can be highly effective at persuading an audience. It would be smart for you to take advantage of all these features and incorporate them into your overall marketing strategy.

6. Collaborate with influencers.

Influencer collaborations are almost always necessary for a successful Instagram pre-launch. The use of influencers with a similar audience to whom your brand is trying to attract will help your campaign extend its reach. This approach could also be done physically by hosting an in-person event at a venue and inviting numerous influencers to help promote the launch.

7. Schedule your assets.

Before you even think about posting content, all assets should be scheduled and ready to go for the launch date. This will help your business focus on real-time marketing situations, such as responding to your followers or reposting their Stories to your own account to increase engagement. Having everything set up beforehand will help if any problems come up at the last minute that need your attention, giving you time and flexibility to fix them.

Tips for Pre- and Post-Launch

Before you work on any pre- or post-launch strategies, these tips need to be considered.

1. Maintain consistent branding.

When branding your business’s Instagram account, especially for a campaign, your company should have a distinctive look and aesthetic that’ll attract your target audience. A couple of ways to accomplish this could be through Adobe’s colour palette generator or Canva’s mood board creator.

Nyx Cosmetics does a great job of keeping their feed consistent, publishing makeup looks from their followers. This spooky season, the cosmetics brand is publishing user-generated Halloween posts.

@nyxcosmetics / Instagram

2. Create hype around your launch.

How do you generate hype on Instagram? Your company will need to create exciting and engaging content up until launch day. Be cautious as to how long you choose to hype your campaign, as consumers can lose enthusiasm with too long of a wait.

Here’s an example from Selena Gomez. In this post, she generates hype for her new line of foundation post launch, featuring women wearing her product:

3. Double all of your assets. 

Don’t forget the little things. You should not forget that you’ll need cover photos for Instagram grid videos, Story highlights, assets for after launch, etc.

4. Publish content consistently.

You should keep up with content well past launch day and keep scheduling posts on a regular basis to keep engagement high on your account. At all costs, your company should try to avoid reaching a plateau post-launch.

5. Use Instagram’s shopping feature.

Specifically for creating an Instagram strategy for fashion brands, your company should consider making its page shoppable to better cater to consumers needs and make conversions.

6. Include relevant hashtags.

Come up with a hashtag that followers will be able to use once your campaign has launched to add engagement to your account.

Examples of Brands That Have Pre-Launched

Now looking at brands that have used pre-launch strategies, below are companies in across different industries with successful results.

The Batman

@thebatman / Instagram

A movie soon to be released, The Batman is a savvy example because it uses the platform to promote itself before the premiere in 2021. The series already has a large fan base, so creating an account for fans to gather, interact, and catch previews of the movie will help the brand gain even more attention than it already has.

Jumelle

@jumelleswim / Instagram

Bathing-suit brand Jumelle has been using Instagram as a pre- and post-launch strategy for its new line. Not only was Jumelle able to build anticipation for its followers pre-launch, post-launch the brand chose to collaborate with influencers to extend its reach with similar audiences.

Conclusion

Following a strategy for an Instagram pre-launch will be the best chance at meeting goals whether it be increasing revenue and follower base, extending brand reach, or rebranding. Pre-launch strategies do not need to be thought of as an intimidating challenge but instead as a great opportunity to reach new goals.

By Hannah O’Brien

Due to iOS 14, Audience Network Will Become Bidding Only

OCT. 21, 2020

Greg Bulla / Unsplash

Audience Network will transition to bidding only, beginning March 31, 2020 due to the iOS 14 update that changes the way companies collect online data. 

Although Facebook has already planned to focus on bidding since its roll out back in 2017, the social media company decided to accelerate the update, anticipating the changes iOS 14 will bring to the Audience Network. 

To prepare for this change, Facebook recommends that advertisers contact their app ecosystem partners and Audience Network representatives to access Audience Network via bidding. 

Back in June, Apple announced an update to its latest software, which requires apps to ask permission before collecting data. This change affects accurate ad targeting and measurement on Audience Network, which runs a majority of ads on apps. Ultimately, the change will result in decreased monetization on the Audience Network, says Facebook. 

However, the social media company assures advertisers that limiting Audience Network to only bidding is the best way to move forward, iOS 14 update or not. Bidding helps advertisers maximize revenue and efficiency compared to waterfall, says Facebook. In fact, their 2020 report shows that businesses had a 27% increase in average revenue per daily active user and publishers had a 50% decrease in time spent on ad operations by switching from waterfall to bidding. 

Although Facebook will continue to support waterfall until March 31, 2020, the social media company advises advertisers to transition to bidding to improve their campaign performance. 

By Anne Felicitas