By now you should know that Instagram is one of the top social platforms your business should be on (the social network is projected to hit 1 billion users in 2018!). Not only should your business have an Instagram account, it should also be pushing out consistent content. This is where many become hung up, it seems like a lot of work to post on Instagram every day (because it is!). However, if you want to remain relevant in modern marketing and increase your reach and engagement, it’s important that you have an active account. Fear not, there are a few things you can implement into your Instagram strategy that will make the management process less daunting and save you a little time.
BASE HASHTAGS
If increasing your reach and visibility is one of your goals on Instagram, you should be using hashtags in every post. Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags in each post, you should be using all 30 of those opportunities to gain as much reach as possible. However, posting 30 hashtags each time you throw up an Instagram photo or video is time absorbing and tedious. Try brainstorming 20-25 ‘base’ hashtags. These base hashtags are keywords surrounding your business, product, industry and can be applicable to every Instagram post. Keep these 20-25 base hashtags saved in your notes (or another application on your mobile device), every time you post copy the base hashtags saved on your device and paste them into the comment of the hashtag. Use the 5-10 additional hashtag slots to identify with that particular post. For example, your business is an ice cream shop in Denver that posts a photo of a dog licking an ice cream cone on a hot summer day, use the 25 base hashtags (i.e.: #icecreamdenver #icecreamcolorado #denvericecream #coloradoicecream...etc.) and then use the additional 5 hashtag slots that are as relevant as possible with that particular post (i.e.: #denverdogs #denversummer #coloradosummer...etc.).
EDITING
I always recommend using VSCO if you like to edit your photos on your mobile device. If you’re working toward creating brand recognition, you should consider doing so by using a similar hue and/or filter in your posts. To save time editing every post to look similar, you can use the ‘Copy Edits’ function in VSCO and paste to your new photo. This saves so much time! Rather than going in to each photo and adjusting the filter and settings, you can simply copy the edits from a previous edit and paste to a new photo.
CONTENT CALENDAR
A large part of inconsistent posting is due to lack of planning. Plan out your posts a month in advance, use Google docs or just the note app in your phone with the copy and image including the date you want to post it. Possessing pre-planned content is such a time saver and guarantees that you will be giving content to your audience and potential consumers. It may take a few hours at the beginning of each month, but it's well worth it!
Reduce time spent thinking of hashtags for each post, save your base hashtags in your notes and copy and paste them straight to your posts!
Save time in the editing process by using VSCO’s ‘copy and paste edits’ functionality
Rather than wasting time by thinking of new posts every day, get in the routine of planning out your content calendar for ready-to-go material
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