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• Decide which social media platform you want to use and stick to it.  You don’t have to be on every single one. Besides knowing your place in virtual space, do you know what’s even more important? Knowing where your target audience is. Putting yourself everywhere can be tedious and time consuming—choose well by researching and experimenting to identify and locate where your business’s target market spends their time. The pay off when you do figure this out is worth it..

• Understanding your competition helps you see what others are doing in the industry and how you can improve your business. Some business owners may think this step is unnecessary, or even a little sneaky. It’s not. Conducting competitor analysis will show you their social media strengths and weaknesses that can give insights into what works, what failed, and how you can differentiate and be better.

• Always show up and be consistent. You’ve heard it before: consistency is key to a business’ social media success. This is easier said than done. What if you’re under a dry spell and don’t know what to post next? How do you get out of a content block? Plan content ahead of time. Curate a desirable theme of the month for your account and campaigns. Make it a point to make your content consistent and relatable so that your target audience actually engages.

Do you guys use a content calendar?  If you’re interested in the exact content calendar I give my workshop students, drop your email below or DM me at @SalmasPalette

The post Wondering why your business isn’t growing despite your social media efforts? appeared first on SalmasPalette.

Repost other accounts on your stories

Repost from someone similar to your niche on to your stories or mention them in your stories.  If you do not use @mention sticker, they will not be notified and they also won’t be able to reshare your story on their story (story inception 😄).  Usually when you repost content from another user they will reshare your story.  Your screen name will then be visible to a new community and hopefully some new members will join your Instagram space.

Join Instagram lives

Join Instagram lives from your current community and make sure you ask a really valuable question.  Your user name will stand out among all the live attendees.  Follow some of the people in the live after it is over and don’t forget to keep the conversation going in the DMs.

Attend free and paid online events in your industry

Attend events from your peers like co working hours.  You will make face to face connections that can lead to new opportunities and you will be welcoming new members to your Instagram community.  

I’m hosting my next co working power hour on Monday August 10th at 12 noon PST/3 pm ET. Want more deets?  DM me at @SalmasPalette with your e-mail address so I can send you the invite.

This free co working hour is for an entrepreneur or blogger that would like some online company while working on their project.  The last 3 sessions have been super successful and filled with inspiring and helpful women.

Let’s all share some juicy tips on how you are growing your Instagram page in the comments below. 

The post How to grow your Instagram community without posting everyday appeared first on SalmasPalette.

Here are 9 content ideas that will be easy to implement in your social media strategy.

1) Introduction post

Introduce yourself or your company. Share some fun details about yourself or why you even started your business or blog.

2) BTS (behind the scenes)

Do you sell wedding gowns? Show behind the scenes of a gown being handmade.

3) Ask your audience a question related to your niche

There is a holiday coming up and you want to know if your vegan bakery should sell vegan cupcakes or cookies. Ask your viewers to vote on their choice.

4) Showcase you product or service

If you are a bath bomb company, show a video of you throwing the bath bomb into the water. I binge watch these videos on Instagram ;-).

5) Throwback Thursday or Flashback Friday post

Share a picture or video of your first workshop, office, or where you started your business to the present day.

If you started your business on your kitchen counter, but now have your own office, warehouse and 10 employees, then share your inspiring past and present.

6) Share a clip of your YouTube video, podcast or blog post

Sharing clips of content you posted on another platform is a great way to cross promote your social media platforms.

7) Acknowledge your employees

Highlight an employee or intern that is making great contributions to your business.

8) Educational post/tips

Are you a language instructor, skincare company or a makeup artist? Share tips that your audience will benefit from.

9) Shareable quote related to your business

If you own a social media agency, posting quotes about cats won’t provide value to your clients, but quoting Seth Godin will.

Read how to build a community on Instagram with a small following here.

Need help creating an Instagram aesthetic? Read this quick read here.

The post 9 content ideas for high engagement appeared first on SalmasPalette.

Why are you making it so hard for your customers to check out via Instagram?!

Please include product tags into your Instagram feed.  Are you selling a beautiful dress right before Valentine’s day?  Instead of 30 women wondering how much it is or having them DM you and wait for your reply, please use the product tag features for your account.

Glossier makes it super easy to check out. Be like Glossier 🙂

This post shares how to set up Instagram shopping.

Not talking about your product/service or talking too much about it.

People don’t understand what the hell you sell.  Your page has all these beautiful aesthetically pleasing photos and quotes, but where is your offer? Are you selling photography services? Are you an interior designer? Make sure your caption makes it’s clear so you are generating leads/sales.

OR

Your newsfeed has the same product in every picture and your boring caption says “To buy, click link in bio” You have to learn the art of selling something without seeming spammy and sleazy.

Using the wrong hashtags

So many businesses are using generic hashtags that have nothing to do with their product, and they don’t have any hashtags based on their niche.

Your Instagram profile is not optimized

Visitors seeing your profile photo don’t understand what your company is about. No one knows where you are located. Your Instagram handle name has too many underscores or the name doesn’t align with the brand.

If you got this far and some of the above applies to you, I have great news! I’m teaching a free one hour workshop Saturday May 16th. If you are interested, please e-mail me at salmaspalette@gmail.com subject line: RSVP May 16th.

The post Top mistakes businesses are making on their Instagram account appeared first on SalmasPalette.

So we are on that New Year, New Me mood.

How about changing up your Instagram account as well?

Below are 3 tips that you can implement to make your Instagram account feel brand new and help bring in potential customers, leads and build a community.

Change account name

I know this might be such a tough one to change, but if your current screen name is Mami, too many underscores or looks like an AIM screen name, it’s time to change your screen name.

If you are a content creator or a business, really think about which screen name will instantly speak about your Instagram account.

If you are a content creator it’s okay to include your real name in your screen name. Many people think it’s “boring” to just have your name but think about all the top designers and influencers who have branded their name and created multimillionaire dollar companies out of it.

Unfollow

Instagram is a community and one that you must be social on. If you have accounts looking on your Instagram stories and never engaging with your stories or commenting/liking your newsfeed, please do yourself a favor and delete them. Your Instagram algorithm doesn’t need them in your life.

I would also unfollow accounts that you are always leaving comments and engaging with but they never return the favor.

The last category of accounts you should unfollow are ones that are not active. This is the account that hasn’t posted in over a year.

Instagram account highlights

If you have had the same highlight cover colors for more than a year, switch it up. Go on to canva.com and you can easily create highlight covers.

Update your highlight stories as well. Add latest stories in your highlights so if a potential follower is on your account, they know you are active. When someone sees your last highlight was from 86 weeks ago why would they follow you?

Accounts follow other accounts that are active and contributing to their engagement.

If you need help building a community with a small following read this quick post here.

Here is a list of content creation tools to help you create content quicker.

The post Changes you should make to your Instagram account for the new year. appeared first on SalmasPalette.

This process usually takes a few hours to do with my clients, but it helps make your profile stand out and attract new followers.

Once you have your theme or aesthetic figured out, check out some apps I recommend below.

Phonto

Dress up your images with different fonts, thought bubbles and badges. Try to always use the same 2-3 fonts so it is consistent on your feed.

Snapseed

Snapseed is so freaking awesome! You can edit photos and even remove people from your background. There is so much to do with this free app.

Retro VHS and VHS cam

Not only is the interface for this app retro, it creates vintage and retro vibes. Perfect for B-rolls or just if you like some VHS vibes. I prefer the VHS cam app over the Retro VHS because you can do more with the app. Also omg the selfie option for the Retro VHS app is so scary. It makes you look like a monster! LOL

The interface for both of these apps are super cute as you can see below.

UNUM, Planoly or Preview.

These preview apps are SO important because they will help you stay consistent with your aesthetic.

The way these apps work is by uploading a photo or a series of photos on your Instagram feed.

These photos DO NOT get published onto your feed. It is just so you can see how your photos will look in your overall Instagram squares. If you are happy how your image fits, then you can upload directly from the app.

I suggest uploading directly from Instagram because you get higher engagement when you’re not using 3rd party apps to upload on Instagram.

If you enjoyed reading this blog check out this post here where I talk about content creation tools.

If you want to increase your Instagram engagement during the holidays read this quick post.

The post Apps that help you create an Instagram aesthetic appeared first on SalmasPalette.

How the hell do you stay relevant and make sure your engagement is high during the holiday season?

Well homie, I did some research for you, and I’m sharing my tips with you below.

IG stories

Make your stories fun and show people what you’re up to. I know it’s hard to do 3-5 posts on your newsfeed a week, but stories are quick, fun and they expire after 24 hrs.

Are you going away for the Holidays? Show IG stories of yourself packing or at the airport.

People are nosy AF so what I love doing is just taking a picture inside of the plane or show a suitcase and ask your audience where they think you’re going.

When people engage with you, your profile is staying relevant and they remember your brand or business.

Make your stories fun and show stuff that is worth showing.

If you are a cosmetics company, show behind the scenes of a product you’re coming out with.

Public content schedule

Create a schedule of how many times a week you will be posting during the Holiday season.

Let your audience know how many times you’re posting, so they come back to your profile. Everyone knows I come out with a new blog post related to business and Instagram organic growth every Monday.

It also puts pressure on you to get your sh*t done.

Valuable content

Even if you post on Instagram once a week make sure it’s worth while. The most amount of engagement I get on my Instagram profile and blog is Mondays. My audience knows I drop a juicy blog post to help them level up on their brand and business.

How to find valuable content?

I ask my audience during the week which topic they would like to see, and I create it.

Your followers are following your brand or business page for a reason. Think about your brand and everything it entails. Give your audience content they can benefit from.

Do you need help finding content ideas? Read this quick blog post here.

The post How to increase your engagement during the Holidays appeared first on SalmasPalette.

You have to give back something to your your followers. For instance if you are a food blogger, you should be sharing much more than just pictures and videos on your page; include helpful information, like if the restaurant has vegan options, free parking or any happy hour specials. You want to be memorable and make your tribe happy, so always go the extra step in providing more information.

Nurture your current followers

Give attention to people that have already hit the follow button. Take 15 minutes of your day and comment and like their pictures. Pick 20 different people daily and reach out to them. Be genuine with your comments, and please don’t comment solely with emojis.

Follow and engage with Facebook groups in your niche

This step actually requires you to get out of Instagram and head over to Facebook. There are tons of Facebook groups ranging from mom groups, Yoga instructors, businesses, Foodie groups and etc. Join a group that is similar to your niche. Engage with posts and try to provide some value to the group.

If you are a startup soap company that specializes in eczema clearing products, do a giveaway in the Facebook group or just skim posts until you find one that you can reply to. You don’t want to be annoying and spam people. Many groups also have certain days of no self-promotions so please follow the rules.

Remember to vote on my IG stories on what topic you would like to see for next Monday’s blog post.

Read here for content ideas when you have nothing to post about.

The post How to build a community on Instagram with a small following appeared first on SalmasPalette.

If so, not for long! Instagram will completely get rid of this feature.

Canada and so many countries have rolled out with this feature already.  

Here are 3 tips on how to still get engagement on your Instagram account regardless of what changes Instagram rolls out

1. Post polls and ask questions on your stories

The more people that engage on your stories lets Instagram know that you are posting valuable content. When you are posting your morning cup of coffee or green tea, have your audience interact and have fun with the story: quiz them on what you’re drinking.

2. Post meaningful stories every 3-5 hours.

If you have a business, share products that your target market can benefit from.
For instance if you are a vegan bakery, you can share content from other businesses that sell vegan icing or vegan butter for baking.

3. Engage with your audiences’ stories

Take 20 minutes out of your day and engage with the stories that are about to expire.  Instead of engaging with the top 3 you see on your Instagram home screen, scroll all the way to the right until you reach the end.  Interact with these stories that are expiring soon because you could have missed a great opportunity to connect.

When you interact with people’s stories, you are more memorable and people will return the favor by coming onto your profile.

Why do you think Instagram got rid of the likes feature?  Let me know in the comments below.

Next week I will be sharing how to build a community on Instagram.

Until then read about how to get more profile visits on your Instagram account here.

Here are content creation creation tools to help you create engaging content.

The post How to increase your engagement with the removal of Instagram’s like button. appeared first on SalmasPalette.