When Instagram first launched in 2010, it only allowed users to post photos from their mobile devices through the Instagram app. Since then, Instagram users and mainly brands have been searching for options to post on Instagram from PC.

If you’re wondering “How do you post on Instagram from a desktop?”, we’ll cover different options to post on Instagram from your computer in this article.

How to post on Instagram from PC

With Instagram’s latest update, everyone can post from PC whether with Mac or Windows; therefore, allowing to upload Instagram posts from the web version of Instagram (Not the mobile app).

If you’re looking for a centralized solution to posting on several social media channels from your PC, consider giving Hopper HQ a try for free!

1) Visit the Instagram website and log in

Head to www.instagram.com and login to your account. If you haven’t created one yet, follow the sign-up instructions instead.

2) Once inside, click the + icon in the upper-right corner

Here, you can edit the photos, and add your caption, for instance. In addition to changing location, Alt text, and advanced settings.

3) Select the content from your computer

You’ll have to select the content you wish to post from your computer. So, ensure that you’ve transferred any visuals if necessary or that they are reachable through the internet.

4) Edit the post and add any necessary details

You will first be asked if you’d like to crop the image or make the post a carousel. Then you can add filters or make adjustments to make your post extra appealing.

5) Add Captions and locations to your post

Lastly, make sure you added a captivating caption to engage your audience and if relevant, you can also tag the post geographically. You can use this Instagram caption generator to quickly create ideas for your posts.

6) Click Share and publish your post

Now, that everything is set, you can hit “share” which will make your post public to everyone! Make sure to check how your post looks on your grid.

How to share videos on Instagram from Your PC

To post a video on Instagram, you’ll follow a process similar to publishing a regular post. The main distinction is that you’ll be uploading a video, such as a Reel, instead of a static image.

1) Visit the Instagram Website and Log In

Start by going to www.instagram.com and logging in to your Instagram account. If you haven’t registered for an account yet, you can follow the sign-up instructions provided.

2) Access the Upload Feature

Once you’re logged in, locate and click the “+” icon situated in the upper-right corner of the page. This is where you can create and customize your post.

3) Choose Your Video Content

Select the video you wish to share from your computer. If you initially captured the video on your mobile device, ensure it’s accessible on your computer, either through transfer or cloud storage.

4) Optionally Crop the Video

You might be prompted to crop your video or decide whether you want to include additional videos to create a gallery of content.

5) Add a Cover Photo and Trim the Video

Before finalizing your post, consider adding an attention-grabbing cover photo to engage your audience. Additionally, if necessary, you can trim your video to enhance its appeal or make it more concise.

6) Share and Publish Your Post

Once you’ve completed all the necessary edits and customizations, click the “Share” button. This action will make your video post accessible to the public on your Instagram profile. Don’t forget to review how your video post appears on your profile to ensure it meets your expectations.

By following these steps, you can easily share videos on Instagram from your PC. Please bear in mind that Instagram’s features and user interface may evolve, so it’s always a good idea to refer to the official Instagram website or resources for any updates or changes to the posting process.

How to post reels on Instagram from PC

To post a Reel, you need to follow the same steps as publishing a normal post. The only difference is that you’re uploading a video rather than a visual. 

1) Visit the Instagram website and log in

Head to www.instagram.com and login to your account. If you haven’t created one yet, follow the sign-up instructions instead.

2) Once inside, click the + icon in the upper-right corner

Here, you can edit the photos, and add your caption, for instance. In addition to changing location, Alt text, and advanced settings.

3) Select the content from your computer

Select the video you wish to post from your computer. If you used your phone to capture the video, make sure you’ve transferred it to your computer or it’s easily accessible through the web. 

4) Crop the video if necessary

You will first be asked if you’d like to crop your video and if you’d like to add more videos to create a gallery. 

5) Add a cover photo and trim video

Lastly, make sure you add a captivating cover photo to engage your audience and if relevant, you can also trim your video to make it extra special. 

6) Click Share and publish your post

Now, that everything is set, you can hit “share” which will make your Reel public to everyone! Make sure to check what your Reel looks like on your profile. 

How to post stories on Instagram on PC

While you could view Stories on the web version, creating and posting Stories directly from Instagram’s web interface was not a built-in feature. To upload Instagram Stories from your computer is a bit more complicated.  You’ll need to use a Google Chrome web extension.

But for this guide, we recommend using the Hopper HQ app, where you can seamlessly, create, schedule, and track all Instagram content types. It also comes with a mobile app to help encourage this spontaneous capturing and sharing of moments that Instagram thrives for.

1. Create an account on Hopper Hq
2. Add your Instagram and Facebook account
3. Click on Create and upload your story
4. Add caption and hashtags
5. Post story or schedule for later

How to Post on Instagram from PC with Hopper HQ

Whether you’re on a Mac or Windows PC, you can schedule and post on Instagram with ease using the Hopper HQ desktop app.

Hopper HQ provides a seamless Instagram for Mac and Windows experience, allowing you to visually plan and schedule your social media campaigns automatically with tailored insights, all from your computer. Scheduling your posts saves you precious time that you can use to focus on other important aspects of your growth.

Using an Instagram scheduler lets you:

• Prepare content as a team
• Schedule and autopost from your desktop
• Improve content quality
• Plan your social media calendar
• Leverage an Instagram Grid Planner
• Bulk Upload Instagram posts
• Track and Analyse your analytics
• Use the mobile app on the go

What’s even more exciting about using Hopper HQ is that you can publish your Instagram content across all your channels in just a few clicks. Which makes keeping a presence on social media even easier!

In case you experience a moment worth capturing, you can use the Hopper HQ Mobile app to post on the go!

1) Create an account at HopperHQ.com

After logging in to your new account, you are greeted with a visual dashboard.

2) Upload your photos or videos

In the top-left corner, click “create” and you are taken to a window where you can upload 50 photos or video posts at once directly from your desktop browser in one swoop.

3) Edit your Images

Add frames, text, stickers, and more to get your images looking their best from your desktop with Hopper HQ.

If your images or videos are not in the correct Instagram size dimensions, you’ll get an alert letting you know. You may also want to use Hopper HQ’s AI dimensions adjuster.

4) Add Captions and other details

Once you’ve made your edits, you can write captions (including emojis) for all uploads, add hashtags using the hashtag explorer feature (where you can even create templates) and you also schedule the first comment.

5) Publish your post for whenever

With Hopper HQ you can schedule your post for whatever time and date you prefer. You can choose to post straight away or select a specific time for it to be automatically posted onto your grid without needing to move a finger.

If you decide you want to publish the same post to another social network then, you can choose to send it to multiple platforms at the same time. This includes Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and even TikTok.

Hopper HQ vs the Instagram Desktop App?

The answer the the question “Which one is better?”, totally depends on what you’re looking for and need. If you’re looking at how to post on Instagram from a PC as a one-time situation, using the Instagram Desktop app will be enough.

However, if you’d like to frequently post on Instagram and vary on the type of content (post story or reel), you may want to consider Hopper HQ.

• You can only post on Instagram using the Desktop App: With Hopper HQ you can post the same content onto your different channels. Saving you time to focus on analytics and content creation. 
  
• With Hopper HQ you can visually plan your post with a Grid Planner. Create a visually appealing Instagram grid by previewing how posts will look before publishing. 
  
• On the Instagram desktop app, you can only post one at a time. While, when using Hopper HQ you can bulk publish several posts onto one or various channels. 
  
• With  Hopper HQ you can work as a team. Create a team and work together throughout the whole publishing process.
  
• With Hopper HQ you can schedule ahead of time. Although on the Instagram desktop, you can as well, with Hopper HQ, you can use the calendar view to plan and schedule far into the future.

What’s the best option to use?

Whether you’re using Windows or Mac, you have plenty of options to post on Instagram from PC. Your method of choice will depend on what you’re looking to achieve; do you just want the ability to post on Instagram from your computer? Or are you looking for a tool that you can use to upload, edit, and schedule multiple posts from a PC? 

In conclusion, based on your goals and individual needs, you’ll be able to decide on the best option for you. 

Do you have a touchscreen Windows 10 computer? Find out how to post to Instagram directly from it!

The post How to Post on Instagram from PC (Windows and Mac) 2024 appeared first on Hopper HQ.

This article aims to guide users through this essential aspect. Perfect timing boosts post visibility, essential for businesses and individuals looking to grow their audience. It also enhances user engagement, fostering a stronger connection between the poster and their active followers. 

Additionally, these insights are invaluable for strategic digital marketing, enabling content creators to optimize their impact and engagement. Stay tuned as we uncover when to post on Instagram in 2024.

The Best time to post on Instagram 

The best time to post on Instagram is 9 to 10 am on Wednesdays.

• Monday: 12 pm to 2 pm

• Tuesday: 8 am to 10 am

• Wednesday: 11 am to 1 pm

• Thursday: 12 pm to 2 pm

• Friday: 4 pm to 6 pm

• Saturday: 10 am to 1 pm

• Sunday: 5 pm to 7 pm

Best times during the weekday :

• 7am – 9am (morning commute)
• 12 pm – 2 pm (lunch hours)
• 5 pm – 6 pm (end of workday)
• 9 pm – 11 pm (bedtime scrolling)

Best time on weekends:

• 9 am to 11 am
• 2 pm to 5 pm 

The Best day to post on Instagram: Wednesdays

The worst day to post on Instagram: Mondays

When is the best time to post on Instagram?

It is not easy to figure out when is the best time to post on Instagram for every day of the week. Many factors need to be taken into consideration, like your target audience, geography, cultural celebrations and more.

But we’ve curated a few data-based suggestions below:

Best time to post on Instagram on Monday:

The best time to post on Instagram on Monday is between 12 pm and 2 pm. It seems like most people on Mondays are motivated and focused on their work. Only being active on social media, which includes Instagram starting during their lunch break. 

Best time to post on Instagram on Tuesday:

On Tuesdays, the best time to post seems to be earlier in the morning when users are commuting to work. After getting over the Monday blues, from 8 am to 10 am individuals spend less time stressed out providing space for some more leisure time. 

Best time to post on Instagram on Wednesday:

Interestingly Wednesday seems to be the day when most users are active, especially later in the morning around 11 am. You may also notice more activity throughout working hours as people start getting tired of their week. 

Best time to post on Instagram on Thursday:

Similar to Mondays, during lunch breaks would be the best time to post on Thursday. Starting from 12pm until about 2pm would be when most of your target audience is active. However, you need to take into consideration industry and age. 

Best time to post on Instagram on Friday:

On Fridays compared to the other weekdays, it might make more sense to post closer to the end of the afternoon. Starting around 4pm until 7pm. Users are more likely to be online as their work week has ended and they cna start unwinding for their weekend. 

Best time to post on Instagram on Saturday:

On Saturdays, it might sound non-intuitive but posting earlier in the morning could be the way to go! Between the window of 10 am to about 1 pm lunchtime, your posts can get higher engagement. As people sleep in or have slower mornings, it is more likely that they’d be on the gram. 

Best time to post on Instagram on Sunday:

The best time to post on Instagram on Sunday would be closer to the evening starting at 5 pm to 7 pm. This is when users are prepping themselves for the coming week and would most likely spend their evenings at home or just relaxing. 

Best time to post Reels on Instagram

We all know that each type of Instagram content serves its purpose. So, we can’t assume that all of them would be successful at the same time. When speaking about Instagram Reels, timing your post can make a substantial difference in maximizing engagement. 

For this reason and backed with data, we believe that the best time to post Instagram Reels is during lunch hours 11 am to 2 pm, and evenings after 6 pm. However, remember that these times can vary depending on your target audience. This is why using an external tool like Hopper HQ can help. 

Analyzing your Instagram Insights can provide a more tailored understanding of when your followers are most engaged. Remember, consistency in posting and quality of content also play a crucial role in the success of your Reels.

Best time to post Stories on Instagram

Instagram Stories is one of the most popular types of content shared on the platform. It allows you to keep your current following up-to-date with what you’re doing or even use them as reminders for events or to promote newly published posts. 

Similar to Instagram Reels, the best time to post Stories is during lunch breaks, between 11 am and 2 pm.  Also, you may want to consider posting on weekends or Fridays as users tend to spend more time active on the app as well as gain a growing curiosity to see what their close network is up to. 

Keep in mind that the impact of Stories varies depending on if your profile is an individual or a brand. Individuals would have more success on weekends compared to a brand. 

How to find when to post on Instagram

There are two primary ways in which you can figure out the best time to point on Instagram. One way is by using the Instagram app and the other option is to use a social media management tool like Hopper HQ: 

1) Using the Instagram app:

Instagram provides you with basic data on the best time to post, however, you’d need to have a business or creator account to see this. 

1. Open the app and head to your Instagram profile
2. Click on the hamburger icon and select insights 
3. Select on the option “Total Followers” and scroll down 
4. On the bottom of the screen, you should see a graph similar to the one below. 

Unfortunately, even though Instagram has this graph available, it doesn’t provide any more details. Like for example, you won’t know how many users are active during each time frame. You’ll only be told that it’s the best time. 

2) Using Hopper HQ:

Hopper HQ works out the best time to post on Instagram for you and your audience based on follower activity and post engagement.

Once you connect your Business Instagram account to Hopper HQ, it analyzes your follower activity to tell you which followers are active at each hour of each day 

Here’s how it works:

1. Create a Hopper HQ account and connect your Instagram and Facebook profile 
2. When everything is set up, head to your Instagram analytics
3. Click on the “Best Time to Post” tab and you’ll be shown a similar table to the one below. 

In this table, you can easily see a customized schedule for when is the best time to post on your Instagram account. You can then play around with the toggle to see when your least or most amount of followers are online. 

Hopper HQ provides you with other detailed analytics that can also help you better understand what to post and when. The Hopper HQ analytics also looks at your post history; It notes what day of the week and hour each of your posts was published, It then looks at the engagement (total number of likes and comments) for each post in each hour of the day, and divides them by the total number of posts in that hour 

Hopper HQ is a visual planning and scheduling tool for Instagram, bringing the creativity back to social media management and freeing up time to focus on the areas of marketing you love most  Try it free today with our 14-day trial.

Other best times to posts you might want to check out:

• Best time to post on TikTok
• Best time to post on X
• Best time to post on YouTube Shorts
• Best time to post on Threads

The post Best Time To Post On Instagram In 2024 appeared first on Hopper HQ.

However, not everyone knows that AI in social media helps gain a competitive edge when creating marketing campaigns.

In a world where the popularity and power of AI are growing each day, it only makes sense to jump on the bandwagon and make it work to your advantage! Read on to explore how AI can be used to scale your marketing effort in social media and drive your business value with our insights.

What Is AI?

Before we dive in, let’s first answer the question of what AI is. While most of us have heard of it or even used it, not everyone completely understands it. Nonetheless, it’s much less fanciful than many people think. 

AI is the ability of a computer program or a machine to recreate human thought patterns to complete tasks and learn, thus reducing the effort on the human part. To accomplish those goals, researchers study how our brain thinks and, based on the outcomes of this study, develop intelligent system models. 

Machine learning (ML) is a sub-field of AI that is a way to create problem-solving systems. It’s a bit limited in capabilities, but when it comes to predicting outcomes, the accuracy of ML is hard to beat. 

So how do researchers study the brain? In case you ask, they don’t connect electrodes to neurons or anything like that. What they do is collect data. This explains why almost every organization is now so desperate to collect data on the activity of their users.  For example, they can order react native app development services, collect arrays of user data, and feed it to the machines for delivering even a higher level of user experience.   

AI in Social Media?

When it comes to social media, they owe their existence to AI technology. Take, for example, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or LinkedIn. These platforms constantly track the behavior patterns of users. Offering them profiles and ads they are most likely to engage with. 

Similarly, Amazon’s algorithms effectively increase engagement by using view history to find more content you might be interested in.

However, not only are platforms themselves using AI. AI offers lots of advantages to social media users, too, making it a hidden gem for influencers and marketing specialists.

One simple application of AI in social media is its ability to help you identify and track posts that include mentions. This not only keeps you informed about current trends, but also enables you to establish a strong and effective online presence. By closely monitoring these posts, you can gain valuable insights that will inform and enhance your overall social media marketing strategy

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How Can AI and ML Help You Supercharge Social Media?

Now that you know how big an impact AI has on pretty much any aspect of business and marketing. Let’s take a closer look at how you can leverage it for your social media marketing strategy.

Create and Manage Social Media Content

Content has never been in such demand as it is today. It’s at the base of everything: 

• Launching a new e-commerce website that needs product descriptions;
• Post a job offer;
• Writing an ad to sell your phone. 

By creating compelling content, you can differentiate yourself from your competitors and attract the target audience.

Marketers are constantly generating content to distribute across various channels. Not only that, but they are also responsible for managing it and tracking its performance. This can be a huge amount of work if you have to deal with multiple accounts. 

To make this job easier, companies use regular social management tools for the automatization of scheduling and monitoring processes. (Check out Hopper HQ the social media scheduling tool) However, with AI, you can up the ante and take your social media content to a whole new level. 

First off, many tools can be used to auto-generate posts. Some of them, like copyAI, can even include hashtags and shortened links so there’s no human effort. Besides, some tools can auto-schedule your posts, enabling you to create and share posts in bulk. This would normally take a big chunk of your work time. 

By and large, AI offers lots of advantages for content creation, making it a smart weapon in the arsenal of any marketing manager or business. AI can find employment not only in social networks but also in the creation of content for the website blog. For example, when digital transformation in the insurance industry, this is a frequently used tactic.

More Accurate Insights for Increased Revenue

Social media is a great tool to analyze customer behavior. The only catch is, it relies on such a big volume of data. No man on earth would be prepared to process that information manually. That’s where machine learning (ML) comes into play. 

With ML, you can accurately process all those thousands of random conversations that happen every day. As well as scaling your social media analysis to any amount of data you want. As a result, you’ll be far ahead of your competitors. And your marketing efforts will most likely pay off in increased revenue.

Let’s look at some examples of how you can harness the potential of ML for improved social media strategy. 

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Engaging Words, Headlines, Videos, and Images

The ability of ML to recognize language patterns, images, videos, and even metadata makes it a useful tool for categorizing posts. However, this isn’t the only strength of ML. Its biggest advantage is that it can detect new topics and trends that haven’t been covered yet, thus giving you a source of inspiration. 

On top of that, AI technology comes in handy when you need to create a catchy headline or find powerful words to appeal to your audience. Unlike humans, it can crawl through trillions of posts virtually in minutes to pick out the most effective parts that people are explicitly looking for. 

What about visual platforms like Snapchat, Pinterest, and similar that have only a little bit of text? That’s where ML shines again. Where most traditional tools are helpless, ML algorithms have no difficulty recognizing things like faces, logos, and objects, making it easy for you to track what people are sharing about your brand on social networks. 

Use AI-based Social Monitoring or Listening Tools

While almost every brand claims to listen to customers, only those who use AI-based social media listening tools do so. If you’re not using them yet, now is the time to start. 

There are many goals you can accomplish with social media listening tools, but the most important one is that you can hear what people think about your product and brand and translate this voice data into actionable insights. Sprinklr, Mention, and SentiOne are just a few of the tools you can try.

Find the Most Relevant Posts and Reduce Costs

Writing just for the sake of writing is rarely a good idea, especially given the cost and effort it involves. This is why every future-oriented business will benefit from AI implementation. AI algorithms can analyze how existing content aligns with current trends and customer interests, and give you ideas for the next most relevant posts. 

Plus, AI can do all the marketing work for you, determining the most effective content strategy, including:

• What keywords to use; 
• When to publish; 
• How often to publish; 
• Which channels to use for content distribution. 

So you can save time and further reduce costs.

Use Content Creation Software

Today there is such a choice of content creation tools that everyone, regardless of their marketing initiatives, will be able to find the most suitable one. So, whether you’re looking to create a quiz or infographics to post on your Facebook account, or you need a powerful social media ad for an upcoming product release, AI-based content creation software has you covered. 

Using content creation software also allows you to save money and time that you’d otherwise spend creating and resizing your creatives. It only takes one good ad, and AI will automatically tweak it so you can distribute it across different social media channels.

Finally, many AI-powered tools can write Instagram and Facebook social media ads for you, sparing you the need to hire professional copywriters.

Multilingual Analysis

From time to time, it’s important to perform a sentimental analysis. Sentimental analysis is a great tool to determine what people feel about your product or service and fine-tune the marketing strategy accordingly. For example, if the overall impression of your brand is low, you can take a step back to analyze the reason. If it’s high, you can consider going public.

But what do you do if you have an international user base? If you don’t have a multilingual team who can assess the emotion behind every social post correctly, you should resort to the use of ML. 

Luckily, there are tons of tools like: 

• MonkeyLearn, 
• Lexalytics, 
• Brandwatch, etc. 

These are designed to conduct multilingual analysis in more than one language.

Image and Video Recognition

The diversity of content on social media presents a challenge for traditional social media management tools, as they struggle to capture both text-based and multimedia content. However, AI overcomes this challenge, and is able to handle a wide range of content with ease.

How Can AI in Social Media Help You Identify Visuals?

Visual AI, or computer vision as it’s also known, can identify images and videos in more ways than one. What it does is it teaches machines to “see” images the same way people do so they can recognize an object and pinpoint its location and orientation in the image. 

Visual AI comes in especially helpful when it comes to categorizing objects. Not only will it provide you with information on how many objects there are in an image, but it will also label them all correctly, by making a quick comparison with the images it has in its library. 

It may sound a bit futuristic, but in fact, many of these tools are already widely used. Facial recognition function, QR code scanning, and visual search are just a few examples worth mentioning.

Understand What Your Audience Means

The purpose of a social post is to attract an audience. That said, you don’t want to attract just any audience if your marketing campaign is focused on conversion optimization. That’s where ML comes to your rescue. 

Unlike traditional tools that segment audiences according to static attributes, ML allows you to expand your reach by targeting people based on predictions of their future behavior. As a result, you can attract those users who are the most valuable to your business. 

One example widely used in digital marketing is programming advertising.

Utilize ML for Sentiment Analysis

As we’ve already mentioned, it’s important to measure the effectiveness of your marketing effort by conducting sentiment analysis. If the people you are targeting have a low opinion of your product or service or are not interested in it, your marketing campaign will fail. 

However, with the use of ML, you can monitor those trends and make timely adjustments.

Find New Audiences, Trends, and Topics

If you notice that people come to your brand but then leave without taking any action, chances are they haven’t found the answers they were looking for. To increase engagement and reach new audiences, you can use AI. It will come up with new topics for the content as well as add specific details to ensure that it keeps your audience highly engaged at all times.

Track Global Brand Mentions

While marketing encourages creativity, it often boils down to testing techniques that have already been proven to work. So why not take a peek at global brands? AI allows you to go the extra mile. Not only can you find all world-known brands by simply entering relevant hashtags but you can also highlight posts that offer the most value to you.

Identify Relevant Influencers and Engaging Accounts

Sometimes, all it takes to liven up your social media account is to find the right influencer. But where do you look for one? You can take advantage of AI-powered influencer research platforms. These platforms will guide you to the best one based on an analysis of their account activity and your marketing goals. 

You could go in the footsteps of McFedries. McFedries produced an artificial avatar Li Miquela and create your own AI influencer. With technology, the sky’s the limit!

Analyze in a Smart Way

If you are struggling with structuring your efforts on social media, AI can lend you a helping hand. Here are a few examples of how it can be used to leverage social media advertising and drive outcomes. 

Make Accurate Predictions

Marketing requires a deep understanding of customer behavior patterns. This is why marketers spend a lot of time analyzing data. However, they often don’t have access to the same level of tools as AI, which can generate more accurate predictions

AI nails this job. Whether it’s social media or any other channel you use to distribute the content. AI can help you predict LTV and extend it, by giving you insights into how the user experience can be improved.

Prioritize Content on Your Website

With all of the insights AI can give you, it should be easier for you to give users what they want by focusing on the topics they’re looking for. Likewise, you’ll never have difficulty understanding what posts don’t perform well. As AI will always provide you with up-to-date suggestions through the lens of business capabilities.

FAQ

What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

In layman’s terms, artificial intelligence is the ability of a computer to think like a human and learn. This is achieved through constant training based on the data collected from multiple sources. 

What are the benefits of AI in social media?

The benefits of AI are numerous. The most important one of them is it can help you save a lot of marketing costs while notably accelerating revenue. 

For example, rather than hiring a copywriter, you can use AI to generate posts at a frequency you want and optimize them for various social media platforms. 

If you want to improve your digital marketing strategy, you can take advantage of AI programming advertising. This will let you reach the audience most likely to be interested in your ad. 

How is social media using AI?

Social media is using AI extensively. From showing users an ad that will most likely grab their attention to listening to their conversations and processing visuals. There is tons of data that social media processing with AI every day. Even such services as Netflix use AI technology, which allows it to come up with visuals that are most likely to captivate the viewer.

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The post AI in Social Media: How to Use AI to Supercharge Your Social Media Marketing appeared first on Hopper HQ.

Metaverse is a virtual universe that tech experts believe to be the future of the Internet. It’s a conceptual virtual world that allows people to work, play, shop, and interact with others.

It’s growing in popularity, and people eagerly wait to experience it. 

Technology enthusiasts are working on making the metaverse’s imagination a reality as they introduce new ways to use this opportunity to promote their businesses.

What’s more, is that you too can capitalize on the popularity of metaverse marketing by using popular mediums like social media. 

Want to know how?

In this post, we will show you some great ways to do so.

What is Metaverse Marketing?

Metaverse marketing means promoting your company, products, or services through the metaverse.

Although it is a new digital marketing medium, it can help you promote your brand more effectively than other digital marketing channels.

Here, you can create virtual markets, stores, and products and provide your customers with a personalized virtual experience.

Furthermore, in the metaverse, people can directly buy your products through digital currencies such as cryptocurrency.

This allows them to get familiar with these products by using them themselves, which is the easiest way for marketers to explain the products and for buyers to learn about them.

In today’s digital age, platforms like metaverse can give customers a thorough understanding of what your brand stands for and what it has to offer.

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How does Metaverse Marketing Work?

The concept of the metaverse is to design a virtual world that is similar to physical reality. Metaverse is a virtual world that isn’t yet completed.

And even though it is still in development, metaverse has already piqued the interest of audiences worldwide.

By wearing virtual reality (VR) glasses, you can explore the virtual world, see and even feel as if you are physically present.

Being a part of the metaverse allows you to have a virtual experience of your daily routine life, allowing you to explore new things.

You can do the following in the metaverse:

• Interact on social media
• Purchase real estate
• Work your way around the world
• Play video games

And the fun part is it all takes place from the comfort of your couch! You don’t have to go anywhere.

Metaverse Marketing in Social media

Social media has connected people worldwide, allowing them to engage and connect regularly.

And metaverse is an extension of social media with all the elements of social networking. In fact, it’s not wrong to state that it can be the future of social media. 

Let’s take an example of the virtual platform Xone, where you can build your virtual world.

This platform lets you do all the activities just like on regular Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, or Instagram, such as:

• Viewing updates of your virtual connections in your newsfeed
• Liking posts
• Commenting and sharing

Additionally, the metaverse is a diverse social networking platform that lets you be a part of that virtual world through your avatar.

Creating avatars for your personality is a concept introduced previously in social networking. However, a virtual avatar that moves, talks, and does everything a real person does, is an idea social networks have yet to conceptualize.

But metaverse lets you do that.

Benefits of Metaverse Marketing in Social media

Metaverse is turning life-long dreams into realities. For example, in the metaverse, people can:

• Meet their favorite celebrities in the metaverse
• Attend their dream concerts and shows
• Tour worldwide with no restrictions

Moreover, social media marketers can benefit greatly from the metaverse in this era of digital evolution. They can virtually interact with their target audiences.

Unlike a comment or text message, real-time interactions allow companies to understand their buyers better.

Especially now that 70-80% of business buyers prefer to conduct business transactions through digital channels.

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5 Metaverse Marketing Strategies to Try in 2023

1. Create Virtual Brand Avatars

Virtual avatars are an essential part of representing the user in a metaverse. 

Customized avatars are in demand because users want to relate to these identities.

Famous brands have stepped into the metaverse and are selling virtual accessories. Users can buy these to develop their avatars.

For example, you can buy Nike’s branded sports apparel and footwear in Roblox and Adidas’ branded virtual gear in the Open Sea NFT marketplace.

2. Add Real-Life Experiences

The metaverse is a world inside the goggles you can enter by wearing.

People in this world of imagination live a virtual life and want to do everything they can or want to do in their daily routines.

Many businesses have established a presence in virtual worlds, allowing their customers to enjoy virtual experiences like they do in real life.

Domino’s Pizza established a virtual food counter in Decentraland, and J.P. Morgan & Chase established a virtual Onyx bank.

People in these virtual worlds buy pizzas, open virtual bank accounts, and do everything they can.

3. Host Virtual Events

Conduct virtual events such as expos, concerts, and other activities to allow Generation Zers to connect with your brand in the metaverse by creating an environment where they can entertain themselves.

Recently, the famous hamburger and fast food chain McDonald’s hosted two virtual events. 

First, they collaborated with fashion brand Humberto Leon to showcase their products by hosting the Hall of Zodiacs at the beginning of the 2022 lunar year. 

And then, they opened an entire McDonald’s restaurant modeled after their Chicago headquarters and held a ninety-minute awards ceremony on the Odyssey platform.

3. Leverage Video Gaming

Video gaming is a very favourite pastime of metaverse users. Gaming has become the biggest influence in the growing popularity of the metaverse revolution. 

You can play popular virtual games like Farmer’s World, Fortnite, and Chain of Alliance, where you buy NFT items with cryptocurrency and use them in your gaming experience.

4. Sell Digital Assets

Users expect a real-time purchasing experience in the metaverse, just as they do in real life. 

They intend to put these digital assets to use in the virtual world.

And now, brands are selling these non-fungible tokens to entertain loyal customers. 

Virtual NFT marketplaces such as Binance, Nifty Gateway, and Raribles are popular places to buy collectables, video games, and other digital assets.

In fact, famous video game retailer GameStop took advantage of the situation and launched its NFT marketplace. It has allowed avid gamers to purchase in-game assets from this marketplace using Ethereum currency.

Examples of a brand using metaverse marketing in social media

Major tech companies believe that the metaverse does not entirely exist now. We agree that it’s undergoing development, but it’s wrong to testify that it’s not here.

Leading brands are already establishing a presence in the metaverse by creating their virtual worlds or launching an existence of their own within established worlds.

Here are a few examples of how well-known brands are using the metaverse to invite their social media followers to join them in their virtuality.

Claire’s

Popular fashion retail brand Claire’s recently launched the virtual fashion show ShimmerVille on the Roblox platform. 

Claire’s has regularly promoted ShimmerVille on its official social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

@clairesstores you need to check out shimmerville! #claires #ShimmerVille #ShowYourShimmer #roblox ♬ SLAYYY –

Decentraland

Decentraland’s virtual platform is very active on social media. 

They use YouTube to provide tutorials to users on how to use the features of their virtual world.

During the Game Jam event, for example, it uploaded a complete video demonstrating how to build a multiplayer wall.

Decentraland’s team uses Facebook to promote virtual events like music festivals and fashion shows.

Gucci

The world-famous Italian leather and fashion brand Gucci entered the metaverse by launching the Gucci Vault Land on The Sandbox platform. 

Gucci gave us a sneak peek of this experimental world on its official Facebook page.

Meta

Mark Zuckerberg, the owner of Facebook, saw enormous potential in the metaverse and renamed Facebook, Inc. to Meta, Inc.

It was an indication that his company would be leading the way in the evolution of the metaverse.

This video is available on Zuckerberg’s official Instagram, where his virtual avatar converses with the avatar of famous astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Meta regularly posts videos about the metaverse and virtual reality on its official Facebook page. 

In this video, for example, Meta demonstrates the use of its Meta Quest VR headset by showing how students learn to use it in VR college classes.

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A post shared by Meta (@meta)

Nike

Nike announced its entry into Roblox by launching its virtual world, Nikeland, via an introductory video on its Instagram page.

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A post shared by Nike (@nike)

Wendy’s

Another example is the fast food chain Wendy’s. Wendy’s launched the Wendy Verse in Horizon Worlds, the online virtual game by Roblox.

It launched Buck Biscuit Dome, a virtual reality restaurant it is heavily promoting on its official Facebook and Instagram pages.

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A post shared by Wendy's (@wendys)

Are You Building Your Virtual World Soon?

Step up to the plate and carve out your own identity in a market that’s yet to be realized. 

Only a handful of businesses have ventured into the ever-changing metaverse world.

With only a few companies currently existing in the metaverse, you only have a little competition right now. 

Use this golden opportunity to establish your brand in the metaverse to attract the younger tech generation to your business.

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If you’re not thinking of your feed theme or an overall Instagram aesthetic in your social media marketing, then you’re missing out!

It’s not just about having a great-looking feed, but it also helps with your branding and may even help you come up with something awesome when you’re running low on what to post to Instagram.

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So, how do you pick or decide on an Instagram aesthetic?

Looking at other accounts for inspiration is research, but at the end of the day, your aesthetic should be about you and/or your brand.

You can ask yourself these questions when deciding on an aesthetic…

• What kinds of posts do I want to share?
• What colors or color palette do I like?
• When people look at my feed, how do I want them to feel?
• What do I enjoy photographing and posting?

Now that you have some idea of Instagram aesthetics, you can adapt and make your own! You’ll need to make sure your posts have a consistent look for that cohesive Instagram aesthetic you’re aiming for.

Here are some tips to keep up with your new Instagram aesthetic…

#1 Use Similar Filters

Editing tools like Instasize have a wide selection of filters that can help you achieve the Instagram aesthetic you’re looking for in a jiffy.

Want to go for something moody? How about bright and minimalist? Maybe something more vintage and rustic? There’s a filter for that!

The great thing about filters is that you can still customize them depending on intensity. You can even adjust photo settings like Brightness, Contrast, and Shadow to make a good photo great, and ready for your feed.

If you use the same filter on every post, it will give your content the consistency that creates a successful Instagram aesthetic.

 #2 Plan Ahead

It’s impossible to keep up an awesome and well-curated Instagram aesthetic when you’re posting on the fly.

You want to make sure every new post fits well with your current feed, and nothing clashes or look repetitive. On Instagram planners like Hopper HQ and Instasize, you can reorder your photos to see how they all fit together on your feed:

If you want to have consistent updates, you may also want to take multiple photos that are perfect for your aesthetic and bank them to keep up with your posting schedule.

 Read more about planning the perfect grid here

#3 Take Inspiration From Others

Finding your Instagram feed aesthetic doesn’t mean there’s nothing new to learn. Explore other accounts, always keep your eyes peeled for inspiration.

How do your favorite Instagram accounts execute their feed aesthetic? How do they frame or crop their shots? How much do they edit? How strong was the filter?

The only way to up your Instagram aesthetic is to constantly improve it. Instagram is always changing and new trends always arriving on the platform. You can always do better when it’s time for the next post!

#4 White Borders

Sometimes using white space between feed rows can make not only your feed pop, but also your individual images.

Consider resizing the aspect ratio of your photos to 4:3 or 2:3, and placing them on a white background, so that when they are posted, each row of your feed has a white (or any color of your choice) border of separation.

You can find out how to do this, and more, in the guide below:

 Find out the correct Instagram image dimensions here

About the author: 

 Natasha Ponomaroff is the Senior Marketing Director of Instasize, content creating tool kit for anyone editing photos and online content on mobile. A weekly contributor on the site’s blog, Natasha tracks social media trends and updates the millions of creatives who are currently using Instasize to curate awesome online content.

The post How To Improve Your Instagram Aesthetic For 2024 appeared first on Hopper HQ.

Now an almost $2 billion industry, Instagram influencer marketing has taken the social media world by storm. In recent years, Instagram users around the globe have begun making a living from paid posts and collaborative marketing campaigns.

The app offers the perfect space for brand ambassadorship, with influential users authentically recommending products and services to their loyal audience. With the influencer space estimated to grow to a $5-10 billion industry by 2021, it’s clearly a marketing force that isn’t going anywhere…

We’ve compiled all you need to know about Instagram influencer marketing and the way it works into this simple guide!

Contents:

1. Instagram Influencer Marketing: In A Nutshell
2. Why Instagram Influencer Marketing Works
3. How Much Do Instagram Influencers Cost?
4. What Makes An Instagram Influencer?
5. How To Work With Influencers On Instagram
6. The Future Of Instagram Influencer Marketing

1. Instagram Influencer Marketing: In A Nutshell

People who have built a large and engaged following on Instagram are known as ‘influencers’, due to the fact that their followers idolise them and respect their opinions. They may have acquired a loyal following due to their lifestyle, their job or hobby, the clothes they wear or the stories they tell.

The pool of influencers is vast and diverse, meaning almost any brand has the potential to utilise Instagram influencer marketing for their industry and target demographic. 

The emergence of Instagram influencers opened up huge opportunities for businesses looking to authentically market their products to their target audience, and thus the ‘paid post’ phenomenon was born.

In the early days, it might have been enough for a brand to send an influencer one of their products as a gift, in return for them posting about it on their profile. But this changed with the rapid growth of the space, as influencers realised they could not only gain free products, but actually charge brands for grid real estate on their profile.

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2. Why Instagram Influencer Marketing Works

Influencer marketing allows brands to reach their target audience in a way that feels far more genuine than traditional advertising.

Rather than businesses selling directly to consumers, they are building relationships with influencers who can sell for them. Instagram influencers have a strong and loyal relationship with their followers, as they share many aspects of their lives with them. This leads us to feel like we know them personally, so when an influencer we like recommends something, we listen as we would if it were a friend.

For example, if you follow a travel blogger for their beautiful photos or funny captions, and they post about an airplane pillow that gave them the best night’s sleep on a long haul flight, you’re more inclined to remember the brand and buy it for your next holiday because you like and trust them. Makes sense, right?

With 800 million active users, Instagram has become the platform of choice for influencer marketing. 72% of users said they have made fashion, beauty or style-related purchases after seeing something on the app, proving its power in the digital marketing landscape of 2020. 

72% of Instagram users said they have made fashion, beauty or style-related purchases after seeing something on the app, proving its power in the digital marketing landscape of 2020. By @Nicola_HHQ
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3. How Much Do Instagram Influencers Cost?

To give an idea of numbers in the Instagram influencer marketing world, Hopper HQ’s annual Instagram Rich List disclosed just how much money the top influencers and celebrities can earn from a single post.

Kylie Jenner bagged the top spot, charging over $1 million for a product-related post on her Instagram profile. Considering the 21 year old wiped out $1.3 billion of Snapchat’s market value with a single tweet earlier last year, her influence — and that of her whole family — is certainly not to be underestimated.

The amount an influencer can charge per post will vary depending on a number of factors, including follow number, engagement rate, and industry.

Elle Cuthbert-Edkins, our Customer Success Manager here at Hopper HQ, spoke on the BBC about the current state of Instagram influencer marketing. She emphasised the importance of engagement over follower number, explaining that “we’re typically seeing brands work exclusively with influencers who have a 10-20% engagement rate”, ensuring that the followers are truly interested in what the influencer is posting.

Engagement rate = no. of likes and comments ÷ no. of followers

'We’re typically seeing brands work exclusively with influencers who have a 10-20% engagement rate' @Elle_HopperHQ on influencer marketing
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From our Rich List methodology and data, we found that many collaboration deals are worked out by 100,000 followers. For example, the beauty industry charges on average £162 per 100,000 followers for a single post. For many influencers that have followers in the millions, this level of sponsorship enables them to make a living from Instagram.

Check out the Hopper HQ 2023 Instagram Rich List to see which celebrities and influencers topped the charts across all industries

4. What Makes An Instagram Influencer?

There’s no strict criteria for being classed as an Instagram influencer. Any user who has a fairly high, engaged following — of people who actually care about what they do — will have an influence over their audience and is a valuable marketing proposition for brands.

If you’re a social media manager looking to start Instagram influencer marketing, do your research to ensure:

1. Their follower demographic is well matched to your target audience
2. Their following and engagement is genuine

Due to the existence of bots giving out likes and comments on users’ behalves, as well as the ability to buy followers, some Instagram accounts may look like influencers, but actually don’t have a loyal following or any real influence at all — we call them ‘ghost followers’.

Generic comments such as ‘’ or ‘Awesome shot!’ are likely to be from accounts using an engagement bot, so if these are the only kinds of interactions on an influencer’s posts, it’s likely that they don’t actually have the influence they’re making out.

NOTE: these bots will comment on posts of users in a chosen target demographic or using certain hashtags in order to increase brand awareness and get more followers. It makes sense, however they have become very easy to spot and don’t actually start genuine conversations! 

Another important indicator of a good influencer is that they are responsible with their partnership choices, truly taking into consideration their followers’ interests and ensuring they only do sponsored posts with brands they believe their audience would be likely to engage with.

Going hand in hand with this is that the influencers make their own content for a brand, hence why it’s often referred to as a ‘partnership’ or a ‘collaboration’, rather than them simply posting a photo the brand sends them.

Building an engaged following is hard work, and a good influencer will not want to post anything that looks alien to their audience or their feed. When strategising an influencer marketing campaign, it’s therefore important to make sure your brand image complements the influencer you’re looking to reach out to!

5. How To Work With Influencers On Instagram

If you decide that Instagram influencer marketing is the right step for your business, the first thing to do is set your budget. It’s an expensive game, and with influencers charging per post and for Stories, a whole campaign can set you back a long way.

With a smaller budget, you will be looking for micro influencers to promote your brand. These are influencers with a relatively smaller following (1,000 – 10,000) but who have a high engagement rate on their posts.

It is a far more cost effective option for smaller businesses, and micro influencers can have a great deal of influence over a specific audience. On a larger budget, you can think about bigger influencers, but try not to be fooled by vanity metrics such as number of followers and focus predominantly on engagement rate.

Once you’ve found people you think could be perfect, do your research as we mentioned above. Ensure they have a genuine following and a trusted, loyal community. See if they’ve worked on influencer campaigns in the past and look at the kinds of products or brands they promote, this will help to inform if they would be a good fit for your company.

As well as this, take a read of their comments to see if your target demographic are engaging with their content. And finally, check out which type of posts they’re excelling at (i.e Stories, video, gallery posts) to help inform your campaign. 

Then reach out to them! Micro influencers are likely to manage themselves, so contact them through the email on their profile or send them a direct message within Instagram. If you’re looking at a larger influencer, they will probably have an agency who manage their campaign requests – this is typically listed in their bio.

When approaching agencies, ask for the influencer’s rate card and explain your brand and the campaign brief you have in mind. Go into as much detail as possible (i.e budget, how many posts, the type of content etc) in order to best manage expectations on both side of the collaboration.

If you’re looking for inspiration, check out this report of the best performing brands in influencer marketing last year!

 Importantly, treat your working relationships with Instagram influencers as partnerships. Remember that they know what their followers engage with best, and to trust them in the content creation process!

6. The Future Of Instagram Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing has had its fair share of criticism in recent years. Consumers have felt misled as a result of being unaware somebody they follow was getting paid to recommend certain products.

This has led to a huge push for transparency among influencers. Hashtags such as #ad and #spon have become standard in a paid post caption, in order to distinguish the sponsorship deals from ‘genuine’ recommendations. Instagram also created their official ‘Paid partnership’ tag, which sits above a post to inform users that a brand is collaborating with that influencer.

While on some levels this takes away from the authenticity that made Instagram influencer marketing so successful, influencers also feel a loyalty to let their followers know they’ve earned money from a post. 

At one of our events last year, ‘The Power Of Influencer Marketing in 2018’, our panelist Harry Hugo, Co-Founder of The Goat Agency commented on the problematic nature of these CMA regulations, due to the fact that it’s not universal across other advertising channels or promotional sponsorship deals.

He gave the example of Neymar walking on to the football pitch wearing Nike boots as a result of his multi-million dollar sponsorship deal. A notice does not appear on our television screens to tell us the boots are being marketed to us, and the suggestion of such would seem ludicrous.

Therefore it’s one rule for traditional methods of advertising, and another for Instagram influencer marketing, and it will be interesting to see how the regulations change as the space develops.

Read the other top takeaway from our influencer event here

At Hopper HQ we work with hundreds of influencers all over the world, and always encourage them to only accept partnerships with brands and products they truly like and would use themselves. False promotion eventually becomes obvious, meaning the influence the person actually has shrinks.

As a digital population we are developing ‘ad blindness’, meaning we’re essentially becoming immune to marketing. The fact that we click ‘Skip Ad’ on YouTube the second it becomes available, and even pay for the privilege of not being sold to with services like Spotify Premium highlights this.

Consumers are becoming more and more savvy when it comes to advertising, and it’s no different with Instagram influencer marketing. As the industry gets more and more concentrated, brands and influencers will need to think outside of the box to keep creating highly engaging marketing campaigns, and we can’t wait to see them!

Is there any other areas of influencer marketing you’d like to know more about? Let us know in the comments!

Hopper HQ is a social media scheduling and management platform that frees up time for the fun creative stuff! Named in the Top 5 Most Popular Social Media Marketing Software list 2018. Start your 14-day trial today.

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We have a new article about digital marketing trends for 2022, read it now!

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Looking to connect with Gen Z and turn them into raving fans? Check out these 11 tips for leveraging video content to market to Gen Z. From creating a community to celebrating individuality, you’ll reach Gen Z where they are and create content that resonates.

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As the first generation to come of age in the era of social media, Gen Z is a particularly tough group to market to. They’re savvy, skeptical, and more likely than any other generation to ignore traditional advertising.

But there’s one medium that still has their attention: video content.

Engaging and relatable video content on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and Youtube allows you to connect with Gen Zers on a personal level, build brand trust, and create a community of loyal fans.

In this blog post, we’ll discuss 11 ways you can use video content to turn Gen Z into your raving fans.

Why does marketing to Gen Z matter?

Generation Z is the new kid on the block—and they’re here to shake things up. Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z is the most diverse, connected, and entrepreneurial generation in history.

They’re also a major force to be reckoned with: In 2020, they made up 32% of the global population and accounted for $360 billion in spending power.

Marketing to Gen Z

As digital natives, Gen Z has always been comfortable with technology—and that’s reflected in their spending habits. They’re more likely than any other generation to research a product online before making a purchase, and they’re not afraid to shop around for the best deals.

But don’t mistake their frugality for a lack of spending power:

• 64% prefer to pay more for eco-friendly products.
• 73% only shop for products from the brands they believe in.
• 97% of Gen Zers use social media to research the things they want to buy.

Gen Z also values:

• Authentic and transparent brands
• Connection and community
• Experiences over things
• Making a difference
• Security

Why is video content important for Gen Z?

It’s no secret that Gen Z is a highly digitised generation. They are the first generation to grow up with smartphones and social media, and as a result, they have shorter attention spans and prefer bite-sized content that is easily digestible.

Enter videos

Video content is the perfect format for Gen Zers because:

• It is highly engaging and can be consumed quickly on the go.
• Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are extremely popular with this demographic, and video content suits these platforms well.
• Videos are also highly shareable, which is essential for reaching Gen Z.
• With their tech-savvy nature, Gen Z can easily create videos with built-in video editors on Instagram and TikTok or use video editing software to grab users’ attention and keep them hooked with their creative and entertaining videos.

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11 Marketing strategies to win Gen Z using videos

Now that we’ve seen why video content works best for Gen Z, let’s see how you can leverage it. We’ll also analyse plenty of examples along the way, so keep reading below:

1. Emphasise your brand’s mission

When marketing to Gen Z, it is important to emphasise your brand’s mission. This generation is highly idealistic and wants to know that the brands they support share their values.

Emphasising your brand’s mission will make Gen Zers feel like they’ve become part and parcel of that mission. That’s how you can create a loyal brand community around your mission and shared values.

And this community will purchase your products.

Levi’s Buy Better, Live Longer campaign proves this point. The company highlights its numerous sustainability practices, leveraging Gen Z’s intrinsic care for our planet’s faith.

The brand partnered with six activists to drive its point across. And they’re all archetypes of the Z generation:

• Xiye Bastida: Mexican-Chilean activist with indigenous origins, leader of the Re-Earth Initiative
• Marcus Rashford: Gen Z football player and advocator against child hunger and homelessness
• Melati Wijsen: Indonesian climate activist
• Jaden Smith: 501cTHREE founder and Just Water co-founder
• Xiuhtezcatl: Indigenous climate activist
• Emma Chamberlain: High-profile Gen Z influencer

2. Use interactive content

Interactive content is a good strategy because Gen Z love to be involved and interact with the world around them.

Tactics include:

• Interactive video content: You can create quizzes, polls, and other types of interactive elements that will encourage Gen Zers to participate.
• Allowing Gen Zers to contribute their ideas and creations. You can do this by hosting competitions or challenges that enable them to show off their creativity.
• Using Augmented Reality (AR): This is a great way to make your video content more interactive and engaging, and incorporating an AI Video generator can further enrich this experience. Gen Zers love AR experiences and are more likely to share them with their friends.

For example, JD, a sports retailer in the UK, partnered with Nike to create an AR-based campaign promoting the launch of Nike Air VaporMax.

@sriracha.el #ad Shuffling my way around Edinburgh @jdofficial #JDVaporMaxShuffle ♬ V Shuffle – Loud Parade ft. Morrisson and OXi

TikTokers can try their Nikes using augmented reality. They can also post their videos using the #JDVaporMaxShuffle branded hashtag, thus giving the campaign momentum with user-generated content. This #JDVaporMaxShuffle hashtag campaign got over 3.2 billion views on TikTok.

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3. Use a hook

Using a hook allows you to create relatable, shareable content that can go viral. To do this, leverage controversy, your audience’s values, and their interests.

You can also pack your message leveraging the current challenges and trends on TikTok.

Remember to:

• Not be too salesy
• Provide value
• Include a clear CTA
• Choose a good thumbnail to generate more clicks

Nike offers another good example with its “Ask Athletes” series. These TikToks:

• Feature explicit thumbnails with the “Ask Athletes” banner; that’s what motivates people to click on them
• Are catchy and fast-paced
• Provide value because they’re motivational and inspiring
• Do not have explicit written CTAs, but every athlete in these clips is wearing Nike clothing, thus offering an implicit CTA

@nike Reply to @jaden.the.runner You asked, here are the answers #askathletes ♬ Storytelling – Adriel

4. Use the right channels

Studies show that Gen Z uses these channels predominantly:

• TikTok
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Snapchat

Why?

Video content is highly versatile. You can listen to it without pictures while going on with your daily life, or you can watch it with no sound while watching a B-rated Netflix movie with your friends.

Mogo.ca offers a good example in this department, with Carter Sullivan as their spokesperson. Carter discusses the mobile app’s advantages on YouTube, detailing how the app helped her manage her finances.

This authentic, detailed video aims to convince more people in her generation to try Mogo. The strategy works because Gen Z is very interested in their finances.

5. Incorporate UGC

The point of incorporating user-generated content in your strategy is to turn Gen Z fans into your own brand’s creators. You can encourage UGC by:

• Working with influencers
• Creating a specific campaign with a clear hashtag that helps you track the user-generated content created
• Giving your followers clear guidelines regarding the content they have to create
• Using incentives that can range from discounts to the chance of winning a prize or even recognition

Laura Mercier’s #readySETgo challenge is a good example because:

• It gives TikTokers the chance to show their transformation using Laura Mercier products and creates more brand awareness.
• The campaign brings people together as they celebrate specific values like inner beauty.
• TikTokers get the chance to be creative and thus gain appreciation in their community.
• The campaign is scalable; One influencer encouraged TikTok users to recreate the #readySETgo tutorial for a chance to win $1000 worth of Laura Mercier products.

The campaign’s soundtrack went viral. In the example below, CharqueryGrills got over 15k likes using the #readySETgo audio as a basis for this recipe inspo:

6. Leverage influencer-created content

Influencer-created content is similar to UGC because the influencers:

• Have creative freedom
• Can give their honest opinion on your brand

The differences (read, advantages) are that:

• You may have an agreement outlining the number of posts, the type of content they are allowed to publish, and the frequency.
• Influencers know how to produce more professional-looking videos.
• You have access to a larger audience who trusts that influencer.

In exchange, you can either offer the influencers a free product (product seeding), pay them per post, or on the number of sales their posts generate.

Pro tip: To avoid legal issues or being duped by fake influencers, partner with a TikTok influencer agency. The best agencies give you access to a database of trustworthy, professional influencers and can assist you with your TikTok strategy.

One good example is Dr Wallace Nozile, MD, showcasing the iWALKFree Hands-Free Crutches.

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A post shared by Dr. Wallace R. Nozile, MD (@skindoctor_md)

The video shows him testing these crutches in his home, and you can notice the absence of special effects. That, along with the personal disclosures on the right-side text, generates increased authenticity.

That authenticity:

• Makes the video and product memorable.
• Fosters trust in the iWalkFree crutches.

And those are essential ingredients to boost awareness and increase sales.

7. Leverage the power of video in marketing e-mails

Using video in your email newsletters has several advantages:

• It can improve click-through rates by 65%.
• 64% of shoppers are more likely to purchase your products.
• The cost per lead drops by 19%.

One example is Spotify’s incorporating video in their marketing e-mail to explain how their Framer X works. This e-mail brings relevant help to Spotify users, responding to one of their poignant needs.

8. Tap into Gen Z FOMO with time-sensitive posts

You can use FOMO (fear of missing out) to your advantage by creating time-sensitive content.

This kind of content:

• Builds a sense of urgency
• Encourages social sharing
• Creates a “ripple effect” that gets more people interested in your brand

Guess’s #InMyDenim challenge offers a good example because the campaign lasted only six days. Therefore, TikTokers had a limited interval to show their beautiful transformations using Guess jeans.

The results are astounding:

• 5,500 UGC videos
• 10.5 million views
• 14.3% engagement rate
• 12,000 new TikTok followers

@ourfire Don’t you wish getting ready was this easy? #inmydenim #sponsored @guess ♬ #inmydenim I’m a Mess – Bebe Rexha

9. Leverage #hashtags

Leveraging hashtags helps you track your brand mentions and expose your content to new audiences.

Pro tip: Use relevant and popular hashtags, as well as branded hashtags unique to your business. These hashtags have to be short, memorable, and relevant.

For example, Laura Mercier’s #ReadySetGo hashtag Implies that people can get ready with these products immediately, and suggests the fast-paced video format.

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10. Don’t be afraid to show off that sense of humour

Why is it important to use humour when marketing to Gen Z? It’s easy: funny videos are more likely to go viral.

But that’s not the only reason:

• Humour can make your brand more relatable, which helps you connect with potential customers on a deeper level.
• It can help you stand out from the competition.
• People are more likely to remember your brand if you make them laugh.

Washington Post does a great job of using humour even if it’s a serious publication:

@washingtonpost In climate change news: this map shows where extreme heat records were broken across the United States during summer 2022. #climateanxiety #climatechange2022 #climatecrisis #newsreporterlady ♬ original sound – Mark Humphries

The TikTok video above tackles climate change, which is an essential issue for Gen Z. The humour stems from different aspects:

• The inherent human instinct to eventually see the amusing side of the things we cannot control
• The little dance associated with the presenter’s serious face
• The voice-over

And you can think of even more reasons why this video is funny.

But the real question is, why present an important issue for Gen Z in an amusing way?

How does this convince them to purchase a Washington Post subscription?

The clip humanises the publication, which helps create a connection with potential readers. It also shows that The Washington Post is not afraid to have a little fun, even if it means breaking the mould of traditional news media.

And Gen Z is all about challenging patterns.

Here’s another great example of the Washington Post using humor in covering the Brazilian presidential elections:

@washingtonpost Lula won on pledges to defend democracy, save the Amazon rainforest and bring social justice to Latin America’s largest nation. #brazil #sweetvictory #spongebob ♬ original sound – FanDuel

11. Highlight your brand’s beliefs and values

This strategy works because:

• It attracts like-minded people to your brand
• It helps you build a strong community around your products or services
• It sets you apart from the competition

A good example is WNRS (We’re Not Really Strangers), a card game that has been created to empower meaningful connections with others.

That’s what the brand sells: not a card game but the promise of finding that spark or connection with others.

Why does it work?

• Gen Z believes that people are interconnected. The generation craves hyperconnectivity and, as such, sees it everywhere in the Universe.
• The WNRS clips show universal truths that anyone can relate to.

As a result, people want to be part of this community that speaks the truths they feel.

Best Gen Z marketing campaigns

In addition to the examples above, let’s discuss five of the best Gen Z marketing campaigns:

1. #ChipotleLidFlip Challenge

The campaign went viral extremely fast because young people wanted to show off their skills. Gen Z-ers crave to be part of a community and appreciate laidback, fun challenges.

Pro tip: Notice the memorable branded hashtag which differentiates the campaign and offers clear instruction to the audience.

@daviddobrik #ChipotleLidFlip @chipotle #ad ♬ Flip – Future

2. Guess’s #InMyDenim

This campaign deserves a second mention because it was extremely well orchestrated. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have gotten so many views, new followers, and UGC posts in just six days.

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3. Netflix “Guess the Show” Series

The series encompasses all the features a campaign should have, especially one with a Gen Z audience that unfolds on TikTok.

Therefore, we’re looking at:

• A challenge to guess popular shows that Gen Z-ers watch
• The chance to connect with a community of fans
• The fun of “getting it” and being right
• A spot-on hashtag that catches people’s attention, telling them what they’re in for and what to do in just three simple words

Here’s an example promoting Netflix’s “Locke and Key” show:

@netflix no hints from me #guesstheshow #netflix ♬ original sound – Netflix

4. #ThousandDollarCrocs

This Crocs campaign offers another good example because:

• It unleashes people’s creativity as they customise their $1,000 Crocs.
• It connects with an intrinsic value: the need for authenticity. The campaign description specifically says it embodies the “Come As You Are mentality.”
• People participating in this campaign aim to show the world “IM GONNA BE whatever I want,” as per the original description. As such, the campaign:
  • Creates a community of people who appreciate connection and diversity.
  • Specifically targets Gen Zers who have adopted these two guiding values.

@rayann_prophet Ready for Christmas @crocs #ThousandDollarCrocs #christmas #crocs #foryou #famous ♬ Underneath the Tree – Kelly Clarkson

5. Instagram “We Make Today”

Instagram celebrates creativity, individuality, and self-expression; that’s this campaign’s message. The platform wants to let its users know they matter and are beautiful regardless of how they choose to present themselves to the world.

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A post shared by Benito Skinner (@bennydrama7)

Leveraging significant values like community, inclusion, individuality, and self-expression is a powerful nudge to Gen Z because they share the same principles.

Through this campaign, Instagram aims to become:

• Relatable
• Authentic
• Trustworthy

And considering Ogilvy orchestrated the whole thing, it’s no wonder it achieved its goals.

Are you marketing to Gen Z?

Video is one of the most powerful tools you have at your disposal when it comes to marketing to Gen Z. It allows you to connect with them on a personal level, show them who you are as a brand, and create a community of raving fans.

So, what are you waiting for? Start creating video content that will turn Gen Z into your biggest fans today!

Use platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels to reach Gen Zers on their turf. And don’t forget to employ hashtags, challenges, and influencers to amplify your reach even further.

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 Related content:

– The Best Time to Post on TikTok
– How to Link Instagram to TikTok
– How to Get More Views on TikTok
– How to Remove The TikTok Watermark in 7 Easy Ways

David Morneau

David Morneau is the co-founder and CEO of inBeat, a hybrid micro-influencer marketing SAAS/agency that helps brands scale their marketing efforts. He has helped over 200 DTC brands to date.

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The post Marketing to Gen Z: 11 Strategies to Win Over Gen Z with Video Content appeared first on Hopper HQ.

Enter Instagram Reels marketing

Instagram Reels are short videos on Instagram where you can express your creativity and bring your brand to the limelight. With an average of 500 million users spending hours on Instagram daily, Instagram Reels are the perfect way to go beyond the usual photo posting to share fascinating videos with your audience. 

In this article, we’ll look at creative Instagram reels ideas for you to explore and build your dream brand.

Let’s get into it!

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1. Create how-to videos

Creating tutorials and how-to videos is a fantastic way to use Instagram Reels marketing for your brand. After making detailed videos explaining your brand’s product, these relevant tutorials and guides can get your followers further interested in your brand with the possibility of bringing them to your checkout. How-to videos can help build your audience and drive engagement. Well-tailored content gives your brand an aspect of reliability and trust — values customers looking to connect with a brand want.

This strategy also works with influencer marketing. When you collaborate with influencers to educate your audience, you project honesty and also spread your brand’s information through influencers. 

For example, Athleta shows its potential customers how to style the Brooklyn Ankle Pants in different ways. 

They managed to do all of the above in about twelve seconds with quick camera cuts and nice edits to keep their viewers glued.

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A post shared by Athleta (@athleta)

2. Make creative behind-the-scene videos

To improve your Instagram Reels marketing strategy, you need something captivating to attract your potential customers. That’s where behind-the-scenes videos should come in. 

They give insights and humanise your brand. Your target audience can see the quirks and traits that make up your brand. 

The ideas are limitless. So use seamless transitions to show the processes your brand undergoes. Let’s look at how luxury purse brand Anima Iris uses behind-the-scenes videos for their Instagram Reels to give followers a peek at their product.

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A post shared by ANIMA IRIS (@anima.iris)

Think of Reel content that lets your audience feel connected with you. That could be how you create your content or package your products. 

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3. Leverage user-generated content

User-generated content (UGC) comes in different formats like short-form videos and pictures. It allows customers to generate new interests and discover your products through social proof. 

Some ways to collate UGC for Instagram Reels marketing are; 

• Creating brand hashtag contests
• Posting with a cause
• Following trend-worthy events
• Resharing customer reviews and testimonials or
• Collaborating with content creators

Leveraging UGC for Instagram Reels can help boost audience engagement and facilitate audience conversion. 

Thus, incorporating UGC in your marketing funnel makes your content relevant and social media strategy effective. 

Jot shares a customer review video via Instagram Reels to advertise its brand.

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A post shared by Jot (@jot)

You can run a successful UGC campaign via Reels by engaging with customers that leave a comment on your videos or reshares them on their stories. These engagements create genuine connections that increase loyalty. 

4. Repurpose your old content

Knowing how to alter your content is a game-changer in social media strategy — especially when you love to get creative with pictures and videos.

However, you must customise these previous clips to align with your Instagram audience and update the content before posting your content. 

Some things you can do are:

• Pull great lines from videos or interviews you’ve previously done. 
• Compile UGC you’ve previously shared on your feed and place it in a new format using creative video techniques. 
• Share existing Reels to Instagram Stories and use hashtags to get featured on Instagram Explore.

You can also repurpose a great piece of content on multiple platforms, whether a valuable blog post or video clip, into Instagram Reels.

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A post shared by SCOUT Aviation (@scoutaviation)

Check out this example from Scout Aviation, which repurposed its FAQ section into a Reel. This is a good way to capture the attention of people who are frequent Instagram users. Those who don’t love reading long posts can turn to your Instagram Reel instead. 

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5. Get inspired by trends

Using trending IG Reels puts your brand in the limelight. Here you have the opportunity to go viral, which can boost your audience dramatically. 

Trends can vary by songs, effects, or even filters. So you must pay attention to what is popular in your brand niche and create your content when it’s still in trend. 

You can search for trends with hashtags and audio clips or find them on your Instagram Explore pages. 

Another way to hop on trends is to create Instagram Reels that are aligned with the seasons or important events. Think of videos with the hashtags like #summer,  #mothersday or #halloween, which typically go viral.

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A post shared by Adobe (@adobe)

Check out the example above from Adobe, which posted this Instagram Reel on National Pizza Day. Just make sure you post your videos on the dates these special events actually happen. If you post them even just a day later, people might no longer be interested in your material since it may be deemed no longer relevant.

6. Create listicles

Like a bucket list, you can spice up your marketing campaigns with listicles.

Listicles have a tendency to go viral when you delight customers with fun, entertaining content or share easy-to-digest valuable content. 

You can create a listicle Reel by clipping together pictures or short-form content of your brand products and services. It keeps your audience interested in your next Reel post. 

See how travel blogger, Kirsten, uses listicles to inspire her followers below:

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A post shared by Kirsten // Canadian Travel (@kirstenwendlandt)

Once you have an exciting idea for your post, what’s the next step?

Begin with outlining your listicle points. After, note the relevant content based on your audience engagement and what’s ranking well on search engines. You can then create 15-second clips to demonstrate your list extensively. 

Get creative and send recurring emails for updates to your loyal customers. This way, you can inform them whenever you update your list or create content they may be interested in. 

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7. Tell your story

Aside from using user-generated content, sharing stories keeps your brand in the minds of your followers. To cut through mediocre content, you need good and consistent visual Instagram stories. 

Remember that you want to grab your audience’s attention. So get creative with how you share your ideas and tell your brand story. Try showcasing different products and compellingly telling a backstory or highlighting your customers saying how your brand solved their problems. 

Using Instagram Reels, visualise the importance of some of the previous things you’ve done or challenges you’ve faced. Then proceed to use these videos as regular feed posts for higher engagements.

For example, the influencer and brand owner, Negin Mirsalehi, displayed a Reel that details her brand and how she came about it. 

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A post shared by Negin Mirsalehi (@negin_mirsalehi)

Create your brand story Reels by experimenting with video editors that allow you to cut and join different clips for a seamless video. You can also overlay music and add link buttons for users who like your Instagram Reels to engage through likes, comments, and shares.

8. Look at your comments and DMs for ideas

When you make intriguing Instagram Reels, you’d expect your audience to leave likes and comments.

But the truth is, you must encourage your followers to get the engagement you want. Otherwise, you’d leave them to only liking your feed post and scrolling onto others. 

To get your followers to comment, be direct. Include call-to-actions in your IG Reels caption and encourage your followers to leave their reactions. Eventually, you can use these commentaries as a guide to creating your next Reel post to engage your audience continuously. 

Furthermore, ask your loyal customers for reviews regarding your brand. The feedback and opinions are a great way to guide your product development and where you need to improve. 

The odds of your target audience having objections are very high. Perhaps, they aren’t satisfied with the benefits or have pending questions. You may be clueless about this until you create engaging ways to make them react. That’s why you need to prompt your followers to talk about their objections or positive news about your brand that will guide you in finding solutions. 

9. Highlight your company or employees

You must go beyond posting similar-style content to spice up your brand’s social media posts. You can use Instagram Reels marketing to showcase your brand’s employees and their respective roles. That acknowledges their efforts and motivates them for better performance. 

Instagram Reels can build your brand’s affinity and show — not just tell — your audience what your brand is about. 

Instagram Reels provide a simple and effective way to humanize your brand and express your brand personality in a fun way. 

An excellent Reel content idea is using pictures of your employees from your company’s events like workshops and conferences. 

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A post shared by S A S S Y W O O F (@sassywoof)

The video above shows how Sassywoof introduced its staff with humourous content.

By making this Reel content, you can successfully craft an authentic tone of voice that resonates with your audience. Your audience begins to see that there are people they can rely on behind your brand, not just chatbots.

10. Showcase your products

There are many brands out there with similar products as yours. With Instagram Reels, you can promote your product videos, highlight services, special offers, and even your dishes, if you’re using Instagram for restaurant marketing. 

Instagram Reels are a fun way to show off what makes your product stand out and drive authentic engagement. 

See how Sephora shows off their new lip gloss products below:

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A post shared by Sephora (@sephora)

Showcasing your products increases audience engagement and allows them to be more inclined to purchase from you instead of your competitors. 

11. Create sneak peek videos

Showing sneak peek videos or teasers leave your audience curious and captivated. 

Do you have a new upcoming project? Give your followers sneak peek videos on Instagram Reels to get them excited about what’s coming. 

The sneak peek video can be of your product or service. For better results and engagements, make these Instagram Reels with influencers. With their huge following, you’re assured that they’d drive sales by sharing Instagram stories and Reels that highlight your product. 

Here’s another Reel example from Sephora. The brand uses Instagram Reels to introduce new products and give sneak peeks.

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A post shared by Sephora (@sephora)

Your brand can also create sneak-peek Instagram Reels for giveaways. This way, you’d get your target audience to interact with your brand in hopes of winning. 

That will help generate hype before your release and give your target audience a reason to follow you. 

12. Make “a day in the life” videos

Film snippets of your daily lifestyle when it comes to your brand. You can show your followers insights into what it looks like to run your brand daily. 

Even better, you can narrate your video clips with a voiceover feature on IG Reels and explain the different parts of the vlog. 

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A post shared by Negin Mirsalehi (@negin_mirsalehi)

This video shows how “world bee day” was celebrated by brand owner Negin Mirsalehi. It’s an appealing method to use for events your audience might not get to see or experience. 

Creating something new regularly keeps you on your creative toes. It allows you to introduce new concepts and challenges for yourself and also uniquely deliver your message to your audience. 

Takeaways

It’s up to you to choose the content you want to create. But eventually, how you leverage it matters. Instagram Reels marketing makes it easy to create content and saves you from strenuous activities — but you must post appropriate content to drive engagement. 

Begin by educating people about your brand. Answer questions your audience is likely to ask and provide the answers immediately. Create a bond by humanising your brand. It creates a sense of trust between you and your followers and makes room for engaging conversations.

Post your content regularly and hop on trends as much as you can. That allows you to become viral and promotes your brand on the Instagram explore pages. 

Give details of events and prompt your followers to engage you with calls to action. 

All of these might be time-consuming, but eventually, you get to pitch your brand to a broader audience and keep it in the loop. 

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David Campbell

David Campbell is a digital marketing specialist at Ramp Ventures. He helps manage the content marketing team at Right Inbox. When he’s not working, he enjoys travelling and trying to learn Spanish.

The post 12 Creative Instagram Reels Ideas to Grow Your Brand appeared first on Hopper HQ.

With over half the world on social media, it makes sense that your new SaaS startup should be on social media as well.

But where do you begin? Facebook can be crowded, Reddit can be downright confusing, and LinkedIn is usually best suited for B2B conversations. Finding a way to stand out from the crowd can be exhausting, assuming you have a strategy in place to begin with.

Social media is where the customers are in control, so to succeed in social media marketing for SaaS, you have to meet them where they are. ​​The tips below will help you do precisely that.

Learn the social media platforms

In the 20th century, the phrase “social networking” was a virtual unknown. Today, there are dozens of social media sites (if not hundreds) that crop up every single day, hoping to gain a share of the market and your attention.

Realistically though, anywhere from 10 to 15 social media sites are worth your time  — and even then, only if they suit your needs. Facebook is the resident juggernaut, followed by YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. WhatsApp is one of the main platforms in European and Asian markets.

Scale your efforts back even further, though. Instead of trying to learn all of the social media platforms, focus on one and learn everything about it. The obvious choice for this would be Facebook since it boasts nearly 3 billion active users, but if your brand requires video, think about using YouTube or Instagram.

Experience is the best teacher when it comes to learning a platform, but you should also look into taking free online courses that can help you understand each outlet’s capabilities. StuDocu, for instance, offers a number of online educational materials and learning resources that anyone can access to expand their knowledge about a specific platform or social media marketing for SaaS.

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Focus on social media awareness

Although social media can be utilised across all parts of the SaaS marketing funnel, it’s best used at the TOFU (Top of Funnel) stage. At this point, your only objective is to generate as much awareness as you possibly can. You should look to inform your audience about the various products and services you offer and the values that your brand strives to achieve.

How you do this is contingent on your capabilities and your resources. Status updates are given on sites like Facebook and Twitter, but you can also utilise long-form blog content to teach your customers how to use your software or educate them about the industry. Professional tips and tactics are also welcome.

Another effective content type is user testimonials. Even as a startup, you should have a few generous reviews from your current customers, so create some graphics that highlight the various strengths of your software and publish them to your channel. SaaS LMS systems offer scalable and flexible solutions for educational needs, making them a valuable asset for startups aiming to enhance their training and development programs.

This technically counts as user-generated content, which describes any piece of content that is not developed in-house. On occasion, your employees may assist with creating UGC, but it always works better when the potential customer hears or sees the product in action from other customers. Be sure to tag whoever created that content for you in the comments or in the caption to help expand your reach.

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Invest in high-quality visuals

when it comes to social media marketing for SaaS, It doesn’t really matter which platform you use; visuals are important.

They can also be the most challenging. Infographics need to be detailed, and the statistics need to be verified. Gifs need to be visible on the platform, not a link that takes you to a third-party website. Pictures should be high definition, not grainy photos that look like they were taken through a potato. 

All of this costs money, whether you’re paying for a graphic designer or spending staff resources to create these images. But, once you do, the ROI is there; social media posts that include high-quality images typically get 650% higher engagement than those that don’t. Plus, you can repurpose these across multiple platforms.

But creating images is the easy part. The real question is what the content of those images looks like.

Most businesses choose to focus on video rather than still images, which is perfect for your SaaS startup. Live video, in particular, works really well. You can have a live question and answer session, a behind-the-scenes tour of the product and its capabilities, and panel discussions from various industry experts. This type of video shows your brand’s vulnerability and authority.

SaaS explainer videos work really well, too. It doesn’t necessarily need to be professionally produced. Still, a well-done video that shows your product and services in action can help customers visualise it in their own lives, which can go a long way.

Content is king. Blog articles, newsletters, or even investing in a podcast platform to share interviews and expert advice — all of it can be enhanced with a few high-quality images or videos.

Create partnerships

The very nature of social media is that it is collaborative. Forming communities and participating actively in groups strengthens our sense of belonging, so it makes sense that creating partnerships with complementary businesses will only benefit your startup.

To get started, identify a few brands that complement your business. These may be in the same industry — or even a competitor — or they could be in a completely separate niche. A lawn care company, for instance, may partner with a home cleaning service to provide bundled services to both audiences. 

Alternatively, you can share your resources with other businesses to increase visibility. For example, you could hire a writer to create long-form content for your SaaS product, then give it to other companies (as long as you get the link in the credit) to give to their audiences. Just make sure that it benefits everyone, or else the reputation of everybody involved will suffer.

Sponsorship is also a great way to give your business a quick, initial boost. Reach out to a company whose audience is in your target market, and offer a free trial of your product. You may have to pay for the initial placement, but if done correctly, you can create a valuable partnership that benefits everyone.

It’s important to remember that business relationships should not consist of one-off benefits. Instead, look to form collaborative relationships that you can harvest for years to come.

Leverage social media industry influencers

In years past, marketers typically referred to influencers as endorsers, but the concept is the same. Your company is paying somebody else to share your product with their audience for a small fee. Obviously, the larger the audience, the more you’ll have to pay for their endorsement, so make sure you find the right influencer that will help you have the broadest reach.

Instead of automatically paying for top talent, consider looking for mid-level influencers with a wad of engagements with their current market. Often, these influencers are eager to have sponsorship deals because it gives them added credibility to their audience. Moreover, if these influencers reach more people in time, you’ll have a relationship with them already that you’ll be able to leverage down the road.

Influencers work well because of the so-called “halo effect.” This theory argues that if someone likes a certain aspect of something — their speaking style, fashion choices, or political beliefs — you subconsciously assume certain other things about their character. If they speak well, for instance, they must also be intelligent. If they are attractive, they’d have to also be funny.

By the same token, if people associate positive feelings toward an influencer, they’ll transfer those positive feelings to your brand. That’s just one of the reasons that influencer marketing is expected to multiply exponentially over the next several years, just as it has in the past. Utilise it correctly, and it can be one of the biggest boosts to your SaaS startup.

Utilise social media paid ads

If you really want to push the envelope with your early-stage social media SaaS marketing, paid ads are hard to beat. Facebook has made the bulk of its fortune by harvesting and sharing important demographic data with advertisers, and other platforms have followed suit. 

Since social media’s organic reach has dropped over the past couple of years, marketers have been forced to use paid advertisements to enter communities that they wouldn’t be able to reach otherwise. The key is developing an audience that you can communicate with consistently, then retarget them with offers for your products and services.

In the beginning, you may not have a budget for social media marketing for SaaS or even an audience to work with. Start with low-budget awareness ads that simply announce who you are, then use that data to create your custom audience. You’ll also develop crucial insights into what kind of messaging your audience does and doesn’t respond to, which will transfer to other platforms.

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Offer customer support

Social media is the perfect intersection between businesses and customers, so it makes sense that customer service could be one of the use cases for sites like Facebook and Reddit. After all, if people log on to social media to complain about a product or service, it’s in the business’s best interest to respond on that same platform.

The research backs this up. 54% of survey respondents said they had a more favourable view of a specific brand after seeing them respond to complaints on social media. Failure to respond to comments at all can lead to a 15% churn rate for your customers. Those are two numbers that any SaaS startup needs to pay attention to. 

Customer requests can also be a gold mine for market research, especially in the early days. When you’re just finding out which aspects of your product and messaging work and which don’t, getting near-instant feedback from your customers is invaluable. This shapes your brand to respond to what customers want, not what you think they want.

The reactive nature of social media has prompted many SaaS businesses to also use their platforms as a storefront. Businesses can build their profiles to include in-app checkout, tags for various product categories, and links back to their main page. Copy AI builds on this idea by creating Instagram posts that share tips and offers on their products, like a sentence rewriter.

“Done is better than perfect”

Two things matter the most when it comes to social media marketing for SaaS: consistency and intentionality. Every venture into a new platform needs to come with a strategy parallel to it – one that you plan on following through to the end.

For that reason, worry less about taking the “right” step and focus on taking a step in general. Get present, get active, and start trying to reach your audience where they are.

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Sarang Padhye

Sarang is a passionate content marketer and Account Manager at uSERP. He runs a successful blog on filmmaking and advertising and loves writing copy for video commercials in his spare time.

The post 8 Tips for Social Media Marketing for SaaS Startups in 2024 appeared first on Hopper HQ.

Is your business reaching that massive audience effectively?

Even if you don’t fancy yourself an “influencer,” Instagram growth for your small business can still be powerful. Everything from short-form videos to captioned images can be used and reused, engaging your audience with relevant content they can’t find in many other places.

Take Old Spice’s Dream Runner campaign from 2016 as an example. Instead of simply asking its audience to “like” and “comment” on the posts, they asked people to create a post of their own. More specifically, they asked people to run a route in the shape of one of Old Spice’s prizes and use a GPS to track it on a map. Once they uploaded their picture to Instagram, they then used the hashtag #runoldspice to enter the contest.

Working hand-in-hand with major influencers relevant to its niche, Old Spice was able to raise its brand awareness and promote a new product line. And the Old Spice marketing team did it all by tapping into the natural desire of humans to be part of a community.

That community is what social media is known for, and Instagram provides a creative outlet for your audience to take part. It doesn’t matter if you’re an insta-veteran or an insta-novice, you can leverage Instagram to engage your ideal customer base and grow your follower count quickly with the right approach.

Instagram growth tips for small business

1. Know your platform

You won’t be able to maximize Instagram’s capabilities unless you’re familiar with everything it can do.

Like every other social media platform, Instagram growth is all about content creation and distribution. Even though it’s hemmed in by image and video-based content, you can get extremely creative in how you utilise that media.

(Image Source)

Instagram Reels

Instagram Reels, for instance, are short videos that you can overlay with augmented reality, music, and captions. The typical length of a single reel can last anywhere from 15-60 seconds, and you can even create them ahead of time to upload later.

Instagram Stories

Instagram stories are another feature. Whereas you can only share video-based format with Reels, Instagram stories allow you to share text content such as written posts and links. Unfortunately, Stories have a time limit attached to them: After 24 hours, they disappear.

Hopper HQ allows you to schedule instagram stories and instagram reels right from your desktop. Click here to get started and take your Instagram to the next level!

2. Optimise and get verified

Both Reels and Stories allow you to place links inside your posts to generate external traffic to a website or e-commerce shop. But if you plan on growing your brand, you’ll need to create a fully-fleshed out account, complete with verification and an optimised profile.

With a legitimate online presence, getting verified is quick and easy. Just click on the settings button under your profile tab, and press “request verification” from the account menu. Getting verified ensures that your brand stays protected; anyone who follows you knows they’re not dealing with an imposter.

Optimising your profile is a little more nuanced:

• Remember that your username is different from your account name. Choose an SEO-rich term for your name field that will tell users what you really do
• Fill your bio (don’t stuff, though) with related hashtags and other accounts you’re partnering with. Not only is this a great way to make your account more visible, but you can also grow your audience by establishing partnerships.
• You only get one link in your bio, so make it count. While you may choose to direct your audience to your homepage, you can also use it for an event or promotions page, depending on current efforts on Instagram.
• Don’t forget about messaging! Sliding into someone’s DM’s isn’t just a great way to reach out to celebrities, it can also be perfect for answering customer questions and soliciting feedback.

3. Have a consistent aesthetic

Making sure your brand looks the same from platform to platform is a must. Not only will your brand establish trust with your audience, but it will also make it more memorable. And when a brand is memorable, that means more money added to your bottom line.

(Image Source)

So how do you keep your branding consistent across all your channels? It goes beyond simply having the right logo icon, colour palettes and font types. It needs to feel memorable at a glance in the same way that the Golden Arches from McDonald’s makes you instantly understand what you’re seeing (and how it can soothe your hunger).

Consider how your messaging appears on your emails, website, and social media platforms. If your style guide uses a certain type of filter, remember to use it when posting on other channels. Certain tools can help with this; Picsart, for instance, can add quality photo effects to your posts.

Hopper HQ Tip
Hopper HQ offers full image editing within the same tool. You can bulk edit posts to maintain brand consistency and create a beautiful Instagram feed aesthetic. 

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4. Post user-generated content or write user stories

Deciding how often to post on Instagram can change depending on how many followers your account has. Most experts argue that a business with 1,000–250,000 followers should shoot for somewhere between 2-3 times a day.

That can get tiring. To help build up a portfolio of content — and increase engagement — you should strongly consider posting and sharing content generated from your audience. This isn’t necessarily user-generated content (although that can be a goldmine as well), but stories that show your product in action from a consumer.

A shoe shop, for instance, can share a video of someone running the Boston Marathon in its shoes. An offroading retailer can share clips of its customers taking on Moab. And a software company may create a reel highlighting the efficiency benefits of its product from a real-life business.

5. Follow the social media rule of thirds

If you manage your own social media accounts and create your own content, remember to employ the “rule of thirds.” 

• One-third of your content should be promotional in nature, featuring your own content or products.
• Another third should be about curating other posts, like industry news, or featuring any user-generated content.
• The last aspect should be about conversation and interaction, asking and answering questions from your customers, etc.

It’s a simple rule that keeps your social media feed from becoming too promotional and sterile.

6. Utilise micro-influencers

Instagram has played a big role in creating a new type of celebrity called “influencers.” In the past, these people would have been referred to as “endorsers,” but the title influencer reflects their ability to “influence” an audience’s purchasing decisions.

Having a top influencer speak about your brand can be a huge boon for your shop. You’ll place your brand in front of potentially thousands of new users, recouping the influencer’s fees and then some.

But upper-echelon influencers can also cost a fortune. Instead, opt for “micro-influencers” that have substantially fewer followers. The upside is that you can find micro-influencers with a small audience, yes, but one that is laser-targeted on your niche. They’re a lot cheaper than other influencers and can attract just as many prospects when you add scale through multiple micro-influencers.

When looking for people to shout out your brand on Instagram, don’t just look at the follower count — check their engagement rates. Is anyone commenting on their posts? What types of content is their audience engaging with? Does the influencer respond to audience comments and questions?

Having one mega-influencer can work for some brands, but establishing relationships with lower-tier influencers is great for long-term growth. Stack enough of them, and they can become a major channel for your brand.

7. Pay attention to social media metrics

In digital marketing, metrics are invaluable. They not only give you benchmarks as to where your business currently is but also written-in-stone goals as to where your company should be. They are the measuring rod for the success of your company, and brands ignore them at their own peril. As Peter Drucker once said, “What gets measured gets managed.”

The “insights” tab on your Instagram account will give you a ton of numbers that you can track and improve. You could also use an Instagram follower counter tool like GetLikes to monitor your stats. Experiment with different posting times and content strategies to see what’s resonating with your audience, and adjust as necessary. 

Metrics to measure:

• Average engagement rate
• Follower growth
• Click-throughs
• Reach

Hopper HQ’s social analytics offer insightful data with detailed post metrics and audience insights that increase your engagement, drive traffic, and boost your social media marketing success.

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8. Run contests and giveaways

If you’re looking to increase your followers as quickly as possible, it’s hard to beat a contest. With a minimal investment, you can cause your reach and audience count to skyrocket in a matter of hours. If it’s done correctly, you should also see your engagement go up as well, which can cause a ripple effect for your other posts.

The goal isn’t simply to bloat your vanity metrics, but to find similar audience members that are currently outside your reach. Your current audience members will share it within their network, causing others to discover your brand.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Freepik (@freepik)

The image editing software Freepik ran a design contest with a top prize of $1,000. As an entry, participants had to follow Freepik’s Instagram account, create a design from the link in Freepik’s bio, and then post the image using the hashtag #WithFreepikCreate. 

The results? Over 100 pieces of user-generated content to go along with an increased following and engagement.

Running a contest is almost foolproof. On average, brands that use giveaways grow their accounts 70% faster than accounts that don’t. If you are absolutely against the idea of a contest, consider creating a post that offers a discount to get a short-term boost.

9. Use hashtags

For the uninitiated, hashtags are a way to categorise content on a social media network. Facebook and Twitter both use them to a certain extent, but they’re particularly effective on Instagram, where you can make your content “trend” just by using the right combination of hashtags. If your content starts trending, it’ll find its way into other people’s Instagram feed, broadening your reach without having to spend any money on advertising.

You can include up to 30 hashtags on a regular post, and up to 10 hashtags on a Story. If you google the ideal number of hashtags to use on your Instagram post, you’ll find a lot of conflicting data stating that the ideal hashtag number is somewhere from 8 to 14. According to case studies and research, however, 11 hashtags seem to be the magic number, increasing engagement with each hashtag as you go up to 11, but declining afterwards.

The key is to make it seem natural; the last thing you want to be accused of is hashtag stuffing just to gain views. 

There are five main types of hashtags:

• Location hashtags
• Branded hashtags
• Industry hashtags
• Community hashtags
• Descriptive hashtags

Each one of these categories has broad hashtags (such as #texas for geography), and more specific ones (like #easttexas). Ideally, you would use a mix of larger, more generic hashtags, along with more specific ones that are targeted to your niche. 

Industry-specific hashtags are always a good idea. For example, if you have an eCommerce store that sells video-based safety equipment such as dash cams or panic buttons, you can use hashtags like #dashcams and #drivesafe. You can also follow the hashtags for your industry to stay up to date with the trends. 

Although you will want to stick with the most popular hashtags — i.e., the ones other people are actively searching for — don’t be afraid to experiment with new hashtags. You might be able to catch one that is just starting to gain traction and ride that wave to a larger audience. Also, consider adding extra hashtags as the first comment on your story to gain a few extra slots.

Discover the best hashtags for Instagram & reach more people to grow your audience with our Hashtag tool. Get 1000s of relevant hashtag suggestions in seconds and save them into hashtag lists to easily and quickly get more post impressions.

10. Engage, engage, engage

Social media is all about relationship-building, and Instagram is no exception. If there is a “secret sauce” to catapulting your account to superstardom, regular and genuine engagement is it. Interacting with other people’s posts and comments shows that you’re interested in your community. Tagging popular users and giving shoutouts to dedicated fans will strengthen their loyalty.

NIke is a brand that absolutely nails Instagram (along with virtually every other form of marketing). Their posts combine inspirational stories with product demos and a healthy dose of behind the scenes images. People feel free to not only comment on the material, but share with a friend, which drives virality.

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A post shared by Nike (@nike)

But how are you supposed to engage with your audience while you’re trying to run a business? For starters, dedicate a few minutes at the same time every day to respond to comments and questions. Second, use genuine responses only; canned answers reek of disinterest and will only serve to drive your audience away. Use a social media scheduling tool like Hopper HQ to free up more time for engagement

Instagram growth is possible for your small business in 2022

Even if you’ve never used any kind of social media for your business, Instagram growth can be a great step towards bringing your brand the added awareness it needs to thrive. You can shape your identity and reach a wider audience than ever before while engaging with your community in real, meaningful dialogue. 

But to do that, you need to know the platform, focus on engagement, post user-generated content, leverage micro-influencers, and learn to use hashtags to engage your audience.

The real benefit to Instagram growth is the ability to showcase your products and services, especially by placing them in the hands of everyday users. Best of all, you don’t need to be a major brand to find success; small business owners dominate their markets simply by being authentic and relevant.

How will you engage with your community on Instagram? Share your ideas in the comments.

Enjoyed this post? You might also like:

• Your Ultimate Guide to Instagram Carousel Posts
• How to Create a Social Media Strategy for Your Small Business in 8 Steps
• How to Choose The Best Social Media Management Tool for Your Business

Andy Crestodina

Andy’s the co-founder of Orbit Media, an award-winning 40-person digital agency in Chicago.
Over the past 20 years, Andy has provided digital marketing advice to 1000+ businesses and written 500+ articles on content strategy, SEO, visitor psychology and Analytics. He’s also the author of Content Chemistry: The Illustrated Handbook for Content Marketing.

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