With Instagram rolling out new story features constantly, now is the time to make stories a part of your video marketing strategy. Stories are effective as they create a sense of urgency among users with a lifespan of 24 hours before disappearing forever. Additionally, they are pretty short, about 15 seconds, making it easier for users to consume more. So if you’re missing out on stories, and don’t know where to start, we’re here to help.

Let’s dive into 7 Instagram hacks you can use to surprise your audience, and increase engagement with your personal brand. I have invited social media marketing and video marketing expert from Invideo, Adam, to reveal us his best-kept secrets about using Instagram Stories content in social media marketing. Here’s a summary of our chat for you! 

Poll Your Audience

Stories are all about creating engagement with your audience, and also help in collecting useful insight. Polls are one of the many ways you can directly ask users to vote for their favorite response. It’s very simple as users get to choose from the two-three options available, which can provide great insight or feedback to your brand.

If you’re about to launch a new product, and having trouble deciding which color you should keep, ask via poll. If you are a food brand, you can ask users which of the two dishes they like the most. There are endless ways to interact with your audience and get valuable information, which you can further use to improve your product or services. quality.

Your audience, in a way, feels connected to you when you ask for their opinions. It makes them feel like they are part of the group. This way, you can build a good relationship with your audience. To create a poll story:

1. Create your story by adding a photo or video, then go to the sticker section and choose a poll sticker.
2. Enter your questions and customize them a little bit to look good.
3. Post it to get the responses in the next 24 hours.

Behind The Scenes

Behind-the-scenes stories are a way for your audience to know you better, creating deeper connection and trust. So whether you’re working from home or have a great-built office, give them a tour of your daily routine and work life. Give your audience a feel of how you start your day, plan your holiday, or share a brief coffee moment before getting back to work.

Behind the scene shows your authenticity, personality, lifestyle, and hard work. Maybe this might inspire your audience to do more in life. So putting in a little effort in creating behind-the-scenes stories is worth it as it can give you a loyal fan base. To create a behind-the-scenes video, shoot from your camera and use the best and most intuitive Instagram video maker to create a fun short video.

Use All Instagram Features

You can use many features to craft fun and entertaining Instagram stories. Instagram keeps rolling out new features every so often for stories. You can add stickers, location, GIFs, countdown, timer, and hashtags as much as you like to keep your story buzzing.

There is also a way to write text in many different styles. To write text in style, open your camera and select the type button from the bottom of your screen. Then type your message and style it to look attractive. 

Many Instagram video creators create eraser stories by revealing a tiny section of their story to generate curiosity, making it more click-worthy. Put some time and effort into deciding which feature to use and how you can make it look more attractive.

Add Links to Your Stories

The link in the Instagram story is now for everyone. You can include links in your story no matter if you’ve 10K+ followers on your business profile. You don’t need to meet the criteria, don’t worry. 

Add a click-on button and add a link to your product page, website, or blog post. Links are a great way to drive traffic to your campaign and get a chance to convert them, and also help with your Instagram growth.

Add Brand Color to Stories

If your Instagram profile uses a theme to make your page appear attractive and different, you can also use your theme to showcase brand identity in your stories. Your audience will quickly recognize your brand without seeing your name on the screen.

It builds authority for your brand, and newer audiences get to understand your brand. This is a great way to create brand awareness.

Showcase what your brand does and how it does it in a short, crisp, and fun Insta story. There are many different features you can use to customize your story using color, font, stickers, and brush options. To create a story that resonates with your brand identity, which will more likely convert your audience in the long run. 

Q&A Instagram Stories

Instagram Q&A stories are a great way for people to ask relevant queries about your brand, which you can answer in another short Instagram story or by going live. You can also ask for their opinions, such as asking which movies they like, what’s their favorite holiday destination. 

This creates engagement which leads to Instagram showing your feed post to more users and driving more traffic. Most of the time, people have queries about your product and how your product can help them. You can collect all frequently asked questions and then answer them in the next upcoming post or by creating another short story.

To create Instagram Q&A stories, follow these steps: first, create your Instagram story by uploading videos or photos. Then, select the sticker icon on your screen as the photo or video is ready to go. Then, choose the Q&A sticker, click Customize the text window, and that’s it. You are good to go.

Host a Contest or Giveaway

This is a great way to generate followers and trust in your brand among the newer audience. Post a giveaway or contest by defining rules like following your account, sharing a picture with your brand, or their positive experience using your product. This way, newer audiences will trust your brand and are more likely to buy from you.

More participants are likely to participate and engage with your story seeing the urgency of stories. Make sure to keep a proper record of all the participants to decide a winner.

Wrapping Up!

Now it’s time to get creative with your stories. The above tips will help you get ideas to create stunning, eye-catching stories that reflect your brand’s image as more people are interested in the brand after seeing them in stories. Create a content calendar and plan stories for the entire week or better for a month in advance. 

Keep providing high-quality informative, creative, versatile content and optimize your strategy to form a deeper bond with your target audience. What are you waiting for? Don’t miss out on the opportunity to build your brand identity and grow your business. Get on board and use all the features Instagram offers to tell your story.

The post 7 Instagram Stories Hacks to Surprise Your Audience appeared first on Display Purposes Blog.

Let’s say it loud: your goal is not about closing sales on Instagram – it’s mostly about creating authentic connections and genuine trust. Trust and engagement – believe us when we say this is the currency of the future. It sounds cliché, although it’s more than true. Let check it out for yourself. 

Why does engagement matter so much?

When your followers don’t have any history of commenting or liking your content, the algorithm is most likely to consider them not interested in your posts. The result? They won’t see your new material high on their news feed. Moreover, it applies to instastories as well – our marketing research shows that oftentimes people only watch the first ten, up to fifteen stories. Long story short: people need to prioritize your account in order to watch your content. In other cases, they’ll just miss it. 

Our clients often complain: I have 2 000 followers, but only 50 people watch my stories! How is it even possible? What am I doing wrong? That’s actually not even a surprising case – that’s the average number of views for a profile that doesn’t focus on building an engaged tribe.

Today we’ll be discussing the practical engagement hacks you can implement right now. Functional and straightforward – and providing results, that’s what we like the most about them. Our goal is not only to boost the engagement of your posts but your instastories views as well – so let’s go!

Use instastories to promote your regular posts and the other way round 

Have you noticed that sometimes people liking your posts and people watching your instastories are two totally different groups of followers? Some users prefer scrolling through the instafeed, and there are ones who log into the app only to watch instastories – it’s just the format they like better because it’s more direct and frequently more spontaneous. Use each format to promote each other. In your regular post, mention something worth seeing on your instastories + the other way round, show your new regular post on your instastories (with some call to action, a question, a poll, or a different accurate comment you’ve just made up!)

It’s a working strategy: we’ve tried it for ourselves, and many of our clients have tried this method, and it boosts the views significantly. Of course, you don’t want to overdo it because sometimes it may end up being annoying or boring for some of your followers, so do it once in a while, not every day, and hard pass: not a few times a day! 

Use smaller hashtags – give yourself a chance to get discovered

Smaller hashtags can do wonders for your account. Give yourself an honest answer: would you prefer 1000 random additional views or 250 that are from people authentically interested in your niche and are most likely to follow you after seeing or reading your post?

You can’t use the most popular and huge ones – simply because “recent posts” category view for them gets flooded with too many posts (sometimes 1 000 / a second!). Yours will get lost in the ocean of other posts too quickly, making it impossible for people to notice it.

Hashtags play the most significant role in getting people who don’t follow you to see your content. You have to attract them – and use hashtags they’re most probably typing into the Instagram Search Engine when they look for inspiration or knowledge from a particular field (your field).

Sometimes – and yes, we’ve seen cases like that! – one single really well-targeted hashtag can give you extra 1 000 – 50 000 views from people who don’t follow you. Imagine what 30 consciously chosen hashtags can do. 

We’ll also mention that your hashtag research can be a lot more effective if you use some hashtag research tool – it will save your time + you’ll discover hashtags you’ll have no idea other ways. Can we recommend any particular ones, in good conscience? Absolutely. IQ Hashtags is the one we always share, whoever asks – not only because it absolutely does excellent researches and is the most extended and professional one out there, but also because it contains free plans, meaning you can test it out for yourself without paying a dime for it – that’s an excellent option for the beginning. You can upgrade it whenever you want.

+ Remember that you should always use only hashtags really matching the contents of your posts – so you can’t use hashtag #foodiesinportugal when you upload a photo of your Greek holidays. It will be considered as spam, and your reach may be much lower – so avoid random hashtags at all costs. 

Make people spend more time consuming your content 

What do we mean? The algorithm checks how much time each of your followers spends on your content. If they read your captions, leave a comment or come back to look at your photos again, the algorithm notices that your material must be engaging and exciting. That’s remarkably precious.

So how to achieve this result? Write more involving captions – ask questions, include CTAs (calls to action), try to evoke emotions. Create aesthetically pleasing carousels filled up with practical knowledge your audience may need. Give them the solutions to their problems, research what they want to read about.

When it comes to instastories: use the tools Instagram gives you! The quiz feature, poll feature, question feature. The quiz feature kills two birds with one stone: when reading four different options, people spend much more time than reading only two ones or dragging the sliders with emojis. A quiz is much more involving: they have to think about it to choose the answer consciously. 

Know that those pieces of advice can drastically increase your engagement – take the tips you learned here and use them to start building your Instagram presence. Your statistics will unquestionably thank you for what you did!

Psst, we’re posting new tips & tricks a few times a week, so stay tuned for lots of credible materials coming this way!

The post 3 Instagram engagement hacks working in 2023 appeared first on Display Purposes Blog.

The famous swipe-up link feature: the primary reason why so many Instagram users dream about reaching the magic number: 10k on their follower count! Once the number is over 10,000, they gain the possibility to add an active link to any Instagram stories slide so that everyone watching it can access external websites by swiping up. If you’re an established Instagram user, you probably know what a colossal game-changer it turned out to be! 

Rolled out to users worldwide in 2016, the swipe up feature has become a way to promote signup pages, official websites, landings, profiles on other platforms, personal shops, product pages, event pages, blog posts, podcast episodes, videos on Youtube, and actually – anything you want – right from Instagram stories. 

It was always one of the critical features for content creators and marketers to share their content outside the platform. With the right strategy, it’s a vital piece of the Instagram marketing puzzle to gain leads and increase conversions. Mainly when the accounts below 10k are officially limited to only ONE clickable link (in the bio), and it sucks at times when you want to show your community something outside the Gram. 

As the Instagram landscape continues to change, and it adapts with the times and the requests of users of the platform, here goes the wind of changes. After a few years since the swipe-up feature has been introduced to us, Instagram decided it’s time for a massive change.

Yes. There is a new feature on the horizon! The announcement means the company will shut down the swipe-up feature and introduce link stickers. It will be rolled out at the end of august, and you surely want to ask:

• Will it be available for everyone?!
• Will it completely replace swipe-up links?
• What can we expect from it?

We’re here to discuss these burning questions! Although we still don’t know many things about the upcoming sticker link feature (Instagram has not shared many in-depth details), it’s a strategic time to sum up, what we’ve already researched. The most important thing: the news is already confirmed by the platform. 

So let’s dive in and elaborate on everything you need to know about Instagram’s upcoming link stickers feature!

Swipe-up links will soon be… Stickers?

Will we say goodbye to swipe-up links? There is every indication that we will, as Instagram is going to retire this option.

The Verge wrote about it first, but we already have the official confirmation from Instagram’s team. Some users have also received an in-app notification about that change, with the announcement that the platform will start implementing the new feature from August 30. 

Instead of the swipe-up link, we’ll be armed with tappable link stickers, which will redirect viewers to external pages. Stickers will work almost the same way the swipe-up did, with one key difference: instead of swiping, we’ll be tapping. We’ll also be able to respond (and react) to stories that include link stickers – it’s worth mentioning that it’s impossible with stories including a swipe-up link.

What happened that the company decided to offer such a different solution?

They claim they wanted to implement more “creative control”, and the clickable stickers look like a more fun way to redirect users to external content. Plus, users will probably be able to change the look of those stickers and make them more custom-fit. Moreover, adding a swipe-up link was a simple process, but clickable link stickers are designed to be even more uncomplicated and intuitive to use. So yup, it has a couple of winning advantages over the old “swipe-up” link.

Sounds good to us! 

You don’t have to wait till 10k (on your follower count) anymore? Who will receive the new option?

With the swipe-up feature, the message was clear: Instagram wanted to keep this option exclusive. To access this solution, your profile had to be professional (switched to Creator or Business type), have at least 10, 000 followers, or be officially verified.

What about the new link stickers feature?

Opinions are divided, so we’re waiting for the official announcements. Good news: we’ve heard from TheSocialImpact.au that they have a few connections who already have an option to add these stickers, and what is even more promising: these people don’t have 10k followers! Time will tell, but it gives authentic hope that soon we’ll no longer have to worry about the limiting follower count.

The new feature has been already tested, but the test was small – as Vishal Shah, Instagram’s head of product says. Now it will be much broader, and officially, the wider tests (although, still with limited availability) start on August 30. Most probably, it will start mainly with the users who had the access to the swipe-up link, creators and businesses, to gather feedback and check out how they’re using the feature, but it seems like it’s not officially preordained yet.

There are also voices that the first tests started out in June. The platform has started testing linking stickers for profiles with different sizes of follower bases, not just users who already had 10k followers, and a swipe up privilege.

We’ve also found some unofficial statements that the link-stickers update doesn’t modify the criteria for who can use the feature, but the Gram’ will consider expanding access to this new solution to more profiles in the future. “This move requires extensive research because it opens up the door to misusing it to spread false information, and spam” – such was an explanation we found in the interview with Jane Manchun (app researcher). 

Time will tell, we suppose, so we’re waiting!

Is Instagram getting rid of the swipe up? To wrap-up!

It looks like we really can say goodbye to swipe-up links (*Time to say goodbye playing softly in the background*). The ephemeral feature is shutting down due to a new concept: link stickers! 

Starting on August 30, some of the Gram’s users will instead just see the active linking stickers option— at the top of their Instagram Stories features. 

Instagram’s decision to axe swipe-up links is not just an admission that the feature needed an update, but that the company still hasn’t figured out how to get people using stickers more often. That could be a working solution! 

While various changes and updates are constantly being made, this one has surprised us a bit – what about you? 

The post Is Instagram getting rid of swipe up links? Link stickers are the next big thing? appeared first on Display Purposes Blog.

With the addition of video content (reels, IGTV), instastories, lives, guides, you can create content in various visual formats to catch potential followers’ attention. In this blog post, we’ll share some of our top Instagram tips to help you succeed and find out: what does your target audience want?! What type of content resonates with your potential community members? How to improve your social media marketing skills to be less torqued off when your reach suddenly drops? 

Are you ready to dive in and discuss it in detail? 

How to make them (your target followers) stay with you?

In a nutshell, your followers want you to solve dilemmas and resolve doubts for them.

The funny part is: many times, it’s about the problems they might not even know they’re facing! That’s why they need your profile to be a trusted source of: inspiration, guidance, industry knowledge, behind the scenes of the niche they’re interested in, secret-sauce insights, entertainment, and authenticity. Pinpoint their doubts and tell them how you take THAT problem away. Always focus more on how you’re going to solve your audience’s issues. If you effectively solve their problems, then your content is highly helpful, which in turn will lead to MUCH more trust and loyalty. 

To illustrate it: let’s say you’re a branding expert & graphic designer. A potential client scans your profile and reaches out to you – what problems are you solving for them right away?

• They need a branding expert who is an excellent graphic designer as well.
• They need someone they can trust because they can see the real-life evidence that they’re pro at what they’re doing.
• They need to know what the process looks like and what the estimated cost is.
• They need to understand why your services are worth the price.
• They need to know how to book you and convey all the concepts and expectations they have.
• They need to know what it’s like to collaborate with a branding expert.

To stand out and catch somebody’s attention, yes, you need to have exceptional skills and a nice Instagram grid – but it’s much more than that! Believe us when we say your followers deeply care about how you will make their issues or doubts disappear. Of course, they care that your outstanding graphic design skills will result in a remarkable website or business card for them. But they can see it in your offer. What they truly need is to trust you. They need to feel like they’re entering into a relationship with an expert that has a friendly attitude, a beating heart and isn’t a robot focusing on mass production.

While this might sound like an arduous challenge, the truth is that it can be quickly learnt, and implemented. In fact, to beat your competitors, you’ll need a combination of a few practices flowing together towards one goal. Engagement!

Those practices include, for a start:

1 // Create visual content that “stops the scroll”

Instagram is still a highly visual platform, so it’s beneficial to make sure your graphics take center stage and everything you post is aesthetically pleasing. Here are some things to bear in mind when you plan and design new content:

• Take care of good cohesion. Perfection is boring, a sure thing, but visual chaos can be more than discouraging! Before posting, check if your content will work well together, as well as stand out in a grid. Your posts will show up in two different places: in your followers’ feeds and as a part of your grid on your Instagram profile. The top goal? All the posts should look harmonious enough to blend together on your profile’s grid.

• Create data-driven content. People love trustworthy data providers and eye-openers. Instagram carousels with charts and data comparisons are shareable and saveable, so basing on our and our clients’ experiences: this format can turn out to be a game-changer for your growth. Data and infographics are worthwhile pieces of content that users may find SO helpful they will save them for later. That automatically tells the algorithm that your content is valuable, useful, and relevant, which will instantly increase how many people organically see your content!

Our tip: Sometimes, people are so busy that they forget to save a post to come back and read it another day. Add a note (in your graphic or in your caption), to remind your community to do so!

How to start with creating carousels? Brainstorm specific topics that are relevant to your target audience. Create multi-pages content using Canva or Photoshop. And be surprised with the number of saves your posts get (to be honest, we always are!)

2 // Video content wins HANDS DOWN

The crowd you’re getting in front of through Instagram posts is generally going to be strangers to you first, which means it’s going to take a lot for them to trust you and become loyal members of your tribe!

On Instagram, polished, planned, and curated content is successful in the regular feed.

But that’s not enough for your potential followers to get to know you!

That’s why you should consider posting more spontaneous, raw content on your Instastories or reels. Leverage the behind-the-scenes appeal of stories to give your audience a sneak peek at your daily activities and the way you live and work. Your profile needs to be more personal. Allowing your followers to get a feeling that you’re just like their friend is a crucial component to intensively connecting with them and getting them through the door.

That’s how you create a loyal tribe.

@Frassyaudrey is the queen of posting intriguing video BHS from photoshoots for her business

3 // Make your content MORE USER FRIENDLY

Creating high-quality content is more than just what you’re saying to your audience. It’s also much about how you’re saying it! Imagine if we deleted all the formatting, all headers, and graphics in this blog article and turned it into one solid text block. Would you even finish consuming it? We’re afraid to admit it, but we know the truth: most likely NOT. 

People online are busier than you might think, and they don’t have time to read the content they don’t find encouraging. 

They scan EVERY text before reading it.

That’s why it’s HIGHLY beneficial to break up blocks of content into “chunks” that are separated by spaces or emojis. Not only does this help your reader, but it also makes your Instagram posts much more visually appealing. White space is really needed. White space gives your follower (or potential follower!) the impression of user friendly, stress-free content.

As you can see, there’s no ONE silver bullet-magic trick that will help you boost every post to thousands of new target followers. Still, by taking note of the insights that our Display Purposes marketing experts and the official Instagram team highlight and our specific explanations provided, you can get a better understanding of the critical elements required for an effective Instagram content marketing strategy! Most of all, give it time, and – that’s genuinely crucial – don’t forget to analyze what you are doing along the way!

The post 3 Instagram content creation practices for more explosive growth appeared first on Display Purposes Blog.

On the other hand, we know from our conversations with you that video marketing can be the source of stress, pressure, and consternation. And it seems that many aspiring influencers and business owners make some of the same common mistakes. So this blog post will hopefully clear up some confusion!

If we can teach you something today, it’s how to create videos that will intrigue your audience – so you don’t waste your time and energy. These are things that we wish somebody had told us in the past! 

Should you invest time in reels and Instagram stories?

One more insight, just to make sure you’re already convinced.

Let’s talk about psychology for a sec! As humans, we’re constantly seeking a feeling of belonging, which is the reason why Instagram tribes and engaged communities are growing. Videos give you an opportunity to introduce yourself and show your real face – so it’s the most strategic way to humanize your profile. 

Video isn’t necessarily EXTREMELY more important than other post formats, but it helps A LOT. Why? It has the power to catch people’s attention and make them stop scrolling if they see something moving and intriguing.

How to make video format work for you? Let’s go over 4 common Instagram video marketing mistakes that, while serious, can be easily fixed!

1 / Content overload

As this old saying goes: less is more. Sometimes, less content means more results.

While content production and the whole preparation process are crucial, you also need to think about how your video posts, reels, and instastories are going to be consumed!

Why? Simply put, Instagram users’ habits have changed. A lot. We have grown busier and less patient.

Instead of worrying about how many reels or Instagram stories you’re going to create, you can invite your followers to join the production process as well! Because the real key goal for you as a creator is to make sure your audience is engaged and not bored. 

That’s why it’s all about consistency, not frequency. 

If you follow many different creators, you can notice that so many of them aren’t that consistent with their Instagram profiles. Yeah, sure, it was easy, everyone would do it. But actually, we don’t mean just posting new content, new reels, and new instastories, but also being someone, your audience can count on. Do you publish valuable content when you say you will? The truth is, people are constantly looking for experts they can trust.

2 / You don’t feel confident and energized in front of the camera – and it shows!

Your confidence and energy are what allows your followers to connect with you.

Even if the content is really good, more than good enough, there’s a risk that your followers will feel like they can’t connect with what you’re saying – connect enough to be willing to follow through. Being confident about sharing your ideas, showing off your content, explaining your insights will be what really makes a difference: yes, especially for Instagram stories!

Most followers tend to be a bit passive. They need more energy, more nudges, and they need to be reminded to engage with what you’re saying, and see how that applies to them and check if they can relate. 

3 / Too generic ideas for content 

Creativity is the cornerstone of Instagram video marketing. 

Creating more engaging (= more inspiring) content can deliver so much to your followers that they will become the true advocates of your Instagram presence. 

What we encourage you to do is take some time to play to fully understand how different ideas could be working out for you. There is no way around it: social media takes time. There are no shortcuts. And there’s no room for copying other creators’ solutions: you just need to check out what’s best FOR YOU. 

Final thoughts!

The video format is here to stay. Well – let this information be your motivation to reinvent your Instagram video marketing for success! Always keep in mind that the goal is to be a reliable, inspiring, relatable profile that your target audience wants to follow, engage and keep up with, right?

Don’t be overwhelmed by this article! Sometimes it’s just really beneficial to double-check if you’ve perhaps fallen prey to any of these. If so, fix them and enjoy many rewards. That’s it. Over time and with the ever-changing tendencies, we have learned a lot, and we find great excitement in sharing it with you!

As usual, we would love to hear from you. What do you use short video forms for, and how do you feel about reels and Instagram stories? Are they working for you? 

The post 3 common (and fixable!) video-marketing mistakes that are hurting your instastories and reels  appeared first on Display Purposes Blog.

The thing is, when you’re trying to develop a thriving Instagram profile, it happens from time to time that you make a few mistakes. Which ones should you avoid at all costs? What beneficial methods to use instead?
Truth be told: on this particular platform, mistakes can be very tricky! Some of them prevent you from reaching your target audience, and others may result in losing your current followers, even the loyal ones. To avoid falling into these traps, let’s discuss 5 most common reasons why the growth of your account is delayed – and let’s discover the effective solutions!

1 / You’re not posting regularly

No matter what your niche and the type of content you create is, it is important to focus on maintaining consistency if you want to get gratifying results. You can’t post once or twice a week, then disappear for a quarter – and then resurface, out of the blue, without any word of explanation.

When you’re away, you no longer keep your audience informed about what’s going on, and most probably, after a while, they’ll forget why they chose to follow you in the first place.
Keep in mind that the less active you are, the less space you will occupy in the minds of your followers. And this is where your competition can gain advantage! If you’re not there for your target audience, the competition will do it for you.

Without regularity and creating a working publication schedule, your followers won’t stay engaged – because they’ll get bored waiting for the new content from you, and they will find new favorite creators. The ones that will entertain or educate them more often.

This is precisely why it is essential to create an editorial schedule (a detailed plan about when and what you’re going to post, prepared one week, or even one month in advance). While we know it’s not always easy to be consistent (we won’t pretend: it is time-consuming, even with well-crafted time management), it’s a key point.

To start, post 2 to 3 times a week to carve out good frequency. You will observe that over time you will develop a natural rhythm of posting.

Protip: even when you go on vacation, thanks to the different planning platforms, you’re able to schedule your publications in advance. This way, you can be active on Instagram while lying comfortably on your deckchair in the sun!

2 / You’re using the templates everyone else is using

Let’s be honest: there are too many accounts that are looking like twins!
We’re referring to the ready-to-use templates and schemes that we can find on Canva, for example. Thousands of creators use this platform to produce their visuals: stories, infographics, carousels. While the tool is extremely practical, pay attention to the templates you choose.

The best solution to avoid creating boring content that will get your followers thinking, “ew, I’ve already seen it somewhere”? You just have to use them as inspiration and customize them! Imagine if all Canva users had the same templates? Each Instagram account would be a poor copy of the others.

3 / You’re so determined to reach your 10k that you’ve decided to buy fake followers

This is where focusing on vanity metrics will lead you.
These purchased followers are definitely not a part of your target audience and are unlikely to be interested in your content. You won’t ever hear from them because, most probably, there are just a bunch of fake accounts or bots. Let us tell you: it’s a shortcut to nowhere.

While this totally goes against Instagram’s terms of use, you still can find plenty of “marketing” companies offering you 10 000 or even 20 000 followers for 10$.

Not only is it cheating, but you may also regret it bitterly. You can, at best, lose these fake accounts overnight if Instagram spots them and decides to delete them. At worst, Instagram can block your account because you violated the terms of service.

We’re 100% against buying followers. This is an entirely unnecessary practice that will only throw money out of your pocket (there are way better options to spend it!)

Focus on your target followers rather than on proving yourself that your account would look great with 10k at the top. It would and it will, but all in good time!

4 / You’re ignoring the stats

This is one of the mistakes creators commit overwhelmingly often – not looking at the statistics! Each month, analyze which posts have performed the best or the least, how your community is progressing, what types of interactions you’re getting. This – we can’t stress this enough – allows you to readjust your content marketing strategies and make improvements compared to the previous period.

In order to know your audience better and to understand what your community prefers, use all the data from your statistics. Look carefully at the demographics: this will allow you to know more about your current follower base: where they come from, by city and by country, their age groups, as well as their gender.

To access basic statistics, all you have to do is have (or switch to, if you haven’t already!) a professional (business’ or creator’) account. To find out more about your profile’s data, you can also use pro tools designed to help you grow quicker and more consciously: from our experience, the ones we recommend the most are: Social Auditor and IQ Hashtags. The first one will help you scan your account in terms of having mass followers who may harm your ER (engagement rate). It can definitely be a game-changer because the higher your ER is, the more Instagram’s algorithm likes your content and is more likely to show it to new audiences. A win-win solution, right?!

5 / You’re focusing on quantity rather than quality

Going back to what we’ve said above, posting too rarely makes your followers forget about you, but if you post a lot and produce generic content just for the sake of “posting something, no matter what” – it is not a beneficial practice either. Why? Because your audience will quickly find out that you’re posting random things, not providing any value. It’s better to publish 2 posts per week that will be relevant and helpful for your audience rather than 5 shoddy ones.

A little repetition, but let’s be honest: it’s worth saying over and over a thousand times: when we talk about quality on Instagram, we also mean your follower base, of course. There is no point in having a large number of followers if they are not interacting with you! Even though having a large community flatters the ego, you shouldn’t hesitate to sort it out every now and then. You will have fewer followers, but your audience will be authentic, loyal, and engaged.

Catch you later – stay with us; we’re going to share a vast portion of the content marketing experts’ secret sauce. We’re posting new tips & tricks a few times a week, so stay tuned for lots of credible materials coming this way!

If you have questions or doubts, you can always start a convo with us by commenting below or sending us a DM on Instagram! 

The post 5 reasons why your Instagram is growing so slow (and how to fix it) appeared first on Display Purposes Blog.

We’ve heard more times than not that it seems highly stressful and the thing stopping you from recording is the impression that it’s not going to be good enough. It resembles public speaking in some ways, so no wonder many of you feel shy or nervous. Good news: instastories anxiety doesn’t last forever! You’ll master it quicker than you think. Today we’ll discuss four proven ways to calm down the jitters and feel more powerful in front of the mobile camera – they will help you communicate with more clarity, as well as create a better connection with your audience. 

Some people joke around that the only way to be completely calm and relaxed while doing the talk on instastories is to drink liters of melissa (the herb that is known for its nerve-calming properties) or to take Xanax, but it’s not true: there are many working solutions to make you feel confident and more laid-back, so let’s begin! 

Make a plan

The first step towards being more carefree while recording is knowing what you’re going to say. We have to debunk a serious myth: don’t be deceived, your favorite creators seem to be talking so spontaneously and take great concepts out of nowhere in a second, but the truth is: very often, everything is scripted and learned by heart. Many times they also use prompters, you can’t see they’re reading (nowadays, prompters are extraordinarily smart from a technical perspective, and they can be pretty discreet), but they actually are.

Collect your ideas and thoughts. Make a list and decide in which order you’re going to cover particular subjects you’ve prepared. When you have everything noted down, you won’t get distracted easily and won’t lose the thread. Minimizing distractions is crucial because it will unconsciously calm down your mind as you’ll feel that you have everything figured out and under control.

Preparation is the key to conquering stress and camera anxiety (even if it’s only your mobile phone). We believe that preparation gives you the confidence – and that’s precisely what our friends-influencers have told us. When you know you have a crafted plan, and you’re good at the topic you’re going to speak about – what can go wrong? You’ll have a lot to say, even if your voice sounds a little bit unsteady – and what is more, most probably nobody will notice or hear that you aren’t as self-assured as you’d like to be.  

Remember about breathing and keep a glass with water next to you

It may sound obvious but believe us: it’s not. We’re not saying you may forget to breathe, so don’t start to laugh: the thing is, there are actually many specific breathing techniques that may make you feel at ease and make the pressure go away. There are also many meditation techniques composed for such moments. Deep breaths make a difference – some of you may smile with doubt, but even the most outgoing Hollywood actors practice it, so why not give it a try? 

When it comes to water – take small sips, and you’ll avoid the feeling of dry mouth, which can be really irritating and may keep you distracted. 

Slow down!

When we’re even a tiny bit nervous, we tend to talk much faster than usual. You may not even notice it, but your speaking tempo is speeding up, as you’d love to end the sentence quicker. Try to talk much slower: you’ll instantly appear more self-confident, calmer, and much more relaxed – even if those are only semblances, as they say: fake till you make it! When you look and sound more chilled, you’ll feel more chilled inside as well because you won’t recognize the jumpiness in your voice. 

Try till you’re happy with the results 

Most probably, the first time you record something, you won’t get the perfect result in the first 10 seconds. That’s okay. Actually, nobody does.

Give yourself time and empathy. It only takes a little practice to be much better at it – and feel much more comfortable while recording. It may feel challenging at first, but the more you record, the more natural it will be. Then, you’ll say, “I can’t imagine content creation without spoken instastories!”

Being able to conquer the stress of fear is a battle already won! Practice as much as you can because practicing and planning are the most practical stress management tools. And most of all: enjoy stepping out of your comfort zone because spoken instastories may bring you surprising results and a great connection with the audience: so it’s going to be entirely worth it. 

The post 4 practical tips on how to stress less when recording instastories appeared first on Display Purposes Blog.

Today we’re bringing back a commonly asked question – is it indispensable to show yourself up on your instastories? Can your Instagram be faceless? 

And if you appear on instastories – does it make a significant difference? Is it accelerating your account’s growth and attracting your target audience more effectively? Is there any research that proves it?

Before we dive deeper into the topic, you should realize that there aren’t any obligatory rules that you’re charged to live – or rather run your Instagram profile – by. We’ll present the psychological aspects of digital marketing along with some scientific research. Still, if you’ve decided you’re not going to show your face or you prefer staying completely anonymous – it’s also okay. You need to consider the advantages, because who knows: maybe you’ll change your mind? But if you’re entirely sure that it’s something you don’t want to do, or it would mean substantially stepping out of your comfort zone – please, don’t feel any pressure. It’s beneficial to do so, but if you’ve decided not to: you indeed have your reasons, we respect that and what is more: luckily there are also many ways to succeed on Instagram without showing up your face, so don’t be bothered.

There are many misconceptions about showing your face on Instagram – we’ve talked to a lot of our clients and friends about it and discussed it with them surely more than once. So, does it make a difference or not? We’ll share with you all our insights and all the things we’ve learned during the research, so let’s begin, shall we? 

Building a connection and captivating your audience

Seeing who is talking to you builds trust. Many people, especially those following a lot of influencers, will tell you that they feel like they have this, sometimes even hard to explain, sense of connection with creators that talk to them on instastories on a daily basis. They have this impression that they know them personally – because they know their voice, they know how they look like from different angles, they know how they behave when they’re in different moods. It builds authentic intimacy. Moreover, people often admit that they feel like they’re friends with their favorite creators – because sometimes they see and hear them even more often than their friends “from real life” (yeah, especially now, in the pandemic reality).

When you appear on your instastories, people see that you’re a real, natural person: their age or a little bit younger/older but in general: someone friendly, someone just like them. 

Audio + video is an excellent combo for our brains

Studies have proven that people are much better at remembering what they have seen rather than what they have heard (from audio-only forms) or read.

Nevertheless, as long as you’re providing value and your followers appreciate the forms you’re using – you don’t have to switch to audio-video forms only. Of course, you don’t have to transform your account completely. Indeed, it can be a terrible idea as your audience can be confused or even not able to recognize your content. Other formats are working and worth your time as well. There are many cases of successful accounts that don’t show the authors’ faces – solving people’s problems is the number one factor that helps gain the audience’s trust and make people believe in you. It’s the basis of building your Instagram tribe. 

Is it worth to try?

The verdict is: if you want to be remembered, you should evoke positive emotions in your followers — and showing your face, as well as honest speaking, can create a feeling of emotional connection.

+ it’s really beneficial for personal brands recognition

+ it makes your profile more friendly, and it humanizes your business

+ it plays a significant role in building trust

As you probably already know – people REALLY like watching other people (that’s the basis of the social media phenomenon, right?)

This kind of challenge can feel like coming out of your comfort zone, but most probably, you’ll thank yourself later on.

You should remember that it’s not a must – it’s still an option, but you can find out it’s surprisingly beneficial for you: not only in terms of growing your Instagram account but building your self-confidence and exercising your on-line branding and self-presentation skills as well. 

How to stress less when recording spoken instastories?

What we hear from our clients, our friends, and our co-workers really often?

“It seems stressful. I’d love to try, but you know, I’m kinda scared” – and we know that there are plenty of people out there, fighting the same thought! We’ll discuss our tips for avoiding stress when recording this kind of spoken instastories + the tricks we’ve heard from really experienced and successful influencers, but for now, we’ll leave you with one brainwave. What if you could be extraordinarily great at it, but the fear of showing up is stunting your growth, and you’re not using the full potential of your charisma? Nobody was born a master – practice makes perfect, and the quicker you try, the quicker you’ll know if it’s something you feel good with.

Even the most high-riding content creators were newbies once. 

If you have any Instagram questions, don’t hesitate to drop them in the comments down below – and we’re going to answer them in our upcoming posts, along with the marketing research and our insights!

The post Should you show your face on instastories?  appeared first on Display Purposes Blog.

When someone decides to hit the follow button it means, this person would like to see more content from you, stay updated with your news, and be connected with you. Instagram is full of diverse types of content – so what makes people choose you? What exactly makes them click this follow button? 

Sounds like an intriguing topic? We’re about to share everything we learned with you. Let’s start right from the beginning, shall we?

You’re an expert in a field that interests them

The human mind aims simulation. It needs motivation and new perspectives. That’s why we like the idea of consuming content that can teach us something new and train our skills – especially the ones giving us a chance for better job options or the ones connected to our spare time interests. 

You don’t have to have a master’s degree or have finished thousands of courses to be an authentic expert in a particular domain and share worthwhile insights. You can be a vegan with a deep love for nuts and share recipes based on them – other vegans will adore you for that. You can have been practicing singing since you were twelve and share meaningful voice and vocal cords exercises. You can run an Etsy shop as your side hustle and write guides on how to earn money besides a 9-5 job. 

The best idea to become a reliable expert, keep the knowledge updated and keep up with the news? Reading. When you want to share practical tips and tricks that will genuinely interest people, follow other creators and gurus from your niche. The more knowledge you possess, the more valuable insights you can provide. Self-development will have an immediate impact on your ability to create meaningful content for your target audience. 

Self-development should include professional and personal development as well – because, let’s face the truth: it’s not only about the expertise you’re sharing, it’s also about the way you present it and the way you can maintain communication with your followers. It doesn’t demand a huge effort to take your Instagram content marketing to the next level.

Educational content is positioning remarkably high in different rankings and charts – keep in mind that people are driven by self-centered needs – and they often seek content that can benefit them. 

They want to be into the latest discoveries or trends from a particular area, so they follow creators who belong to that niche. People aim to follow accounts that give them perspectives on life. We interviewed some of our friends, and they said: we want to learn new things! Instagram is full of ambitious people seeking new possibilities, growth, or considering changing the career path (so they need new qualifications).

They like you as a person because of your personal traits

Many people admit: I observe the creators’ personality and how they treat their audience. The reason is they’re looking for authentic connections – authors they can relate to, the ones with a similar sense of humor, similar interests, or resembling lifestyle. The same values, the same taste in clothes, similar traveling patterns or budget.

What also counts? Authenticity and vulnerability. They’re looking for real people with genuine emotions they’re not afraid to show on-line.

“I need to feel aligned with the message or life purpose creators are sharing” that’s the insight from one of our friends. 

What’s also more than crucial? Replying to comments or at least liking them. Your followers need to know you notice them, and you read what they’re trying to tell you. 

Your personality matters more than you think – so don’t be afraid to show more of it!

You’re living the life they dream of 

Commercials sell dreams – that’s the basis of marketing. But it doesn’t only apply to commercials – yes, it involves Instagram as well. A psychological point of view shows that we often decide to follow somebody’s activities because we want to observe and draw conclusions on how we can achieve similar success or start living a resembling lifestyle.

We tend to follow creators who give us hope that it’s also possible for us.

Living on an island with a good paid remote job? Moving to France and eating breakfast with an Eiffel Tour view on each weekend? Becoming a self-taught graphic designer? Raising your rates so you can live a better life and stop feeling underappreciated? People like to see real-life examples that their dreams are valid and there is someone out there making them come true: so it’s doable and real. 

You’re giving them aesthetical pleasure 

For some people who are aesthetes (and all of us are to some extent, don’t forget that!), visual attraction is more important than anything else. We’ve researched our friends, clients, and our community and asked several people why they follow their favorite creators. One answer was really interesting: “because they stick to the theme, so I always know what colors and what style of photos to expect.” It’s a clear sign that aesthetic consistency plays a significant role as well. 

Moreover, people don’t like photos that are too photoshopped – we’ll discuss Instagram photo editing trends in one of the upcoming posts. You need to realize that natural, light photos are still trending, and many audiences tend to enjoy them a lot.

Another answer that was really common during our research: high-quality photos. Not only photos. People also value minimalistic graphics or professional-looking carousels. What counts the most for aesthetes? That’s not really surprising – frequently, the first impression.

What about you – what makes you click that follow button when you’re seeing someone’s profile for the first time? And what type of content do you like to create the most: do you prefer focusing on the aesthetic side, the informational side when you’re sharing secret sauce secrets from your industry, or maybe you like sharing the funny side of your personality the most? Don’t forget reasons why people follow you should be the center of your Instagram content marketing strategy. 

PS: We’ll be diving much deeper into the topics about defining your target audience and niching down, so stay tuned for lots of credible materials coming this way!

The post 4 psychological reasons why people click the follow button appeared first on Display Purposes Blog.

Let’s start off from the beginning of basics: Yes, if you want to give yourself a head start on Instagram, you need to take the meaning of instastories seriously. Think about how you present yourself or your brand on-line: instastories give an excellent opportunity to introduce yourself in a friendly, personal, and eye-catching way or to show the behind-the-scenes of your business and the more “human” side to it. Also, keep in mind that many times, potential followers watching your instastories creations, make a snap decision: to stay with you longer or not? Click follow or definitely escape the profile and never return? Today we’ll focus on tricks that aren’t actually tricks: they’re just proven methods—psychologically substantiated.

Step up your storytelling skills 

Sometimes you feel like you’ve got nothing worth sharing. But the truth is: you can share anything and make it interesting and valuable, as long as you know the fundamental laws of storytelling. Good storytelling (and interlarding interesting details) will make your stories unique, especially if you’re creative and open with the topics you want to talk about. Maybe you’ve heard it before: visual storytelling is the confluence of art and science. How to learn it? By observing the best storytellers out there and by focusing on consciously narrating the story you want to tell the world. If you were somebody else, some follower of yours, would you listen to this story? It should be somehow surprising: you can achieve it whether by a little plot twist or by providing details nobody expected.

Remember that stories have the power to inspire and touch people in a way that cold, uncreative facts and harsh or extremely minimal sentences and facts just can’t.

Creative and dynamic visual side = more fun to watch

As they say: a picture or video is worth far more than a thousand words; it can tell your whole story. Have fun with forms: add GIFs and stickers to your stories, make them aesthetically-pleasing and eye-catching. But – at the same time – don’t let it be too chaotic – find your brand colors and stick to them. For example, our leading branding colors are purple, green, and pink, as you probably already know. You don’t have to stick to one or two colors: you can have chosen the whole palette, two, three, or even four. It’s up to you!

This colors-choice will also be super handy when it comes to the practical creation of your instastories: it will quicken the process. Furthermore, it will strengthen the connotation with your brand, so your followers will remember it better. It helps to hold people’s attention; you’ll definitely find this significantly increases views.

Show yourself 

Studies have proven that people are much better at remembering what they have seen rather than what they have heard. If you want to be remembered, you should evoke positive emotions in your followers, and showing your face and honest speaking can create a feeling of emotional connection.

As you probably already know – people really like watching other people (that’s the basis of the social media phenomenon). This kind of challenge can feel like coming out of your comfort zone, but most probably, you’ll thank yourself later on.

It’s not only about you – remember about engaging with your audience

Instastories are the chance to get in touch with your followers – don’t underestimate the power of it. People love to be noticed, heard, and taken care of – it’s in our nature, right? How can you diversify your stories to make them more engaging? Communicate with your audience, create polls, ask for their opinion, let them choose between two options (for example, ask them which color they prefer better). Ask them what topics interest them, what they would want to hear about more often. Communication is the key: ask questions, answer your followers’ questions and stay in touch. Like good friends – it will establish a more authentic relationship between you, and it will pay off.

If you want to show yourself via instastories, get serious and think of them as more than just “an easy and fast way to publish something impermanent.” Make it look funny, friendly, and encouraging to engage with you. It will help you, in turn, to expand your on-line presence and attract people interested in you and your personal brand. It’s more than worth it.

The post Instastories hacks: 4 tricks to stand out appeared first on Display Purposes Blog.