Great question that probably most business owners ask themself.

The answer is not all the followers will convert in customers, because each follower will follow you for different reasons. Some will follow you because they like the pictures you post others because you post interesting facts.

However, if you would like to increase the percentage of followers into customers in the near future here are some tips:

A) KNOW YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE – look at the insights and find out more about your followers demographics and habits.

B) EXPAND YOUR MARKETING CHANNELS – People use different social media platforms for a variety of reasons. Depending on your target audience, you may have more luck on one platform over another.

C) STAY ACTIVE – post relevant content that generate interest in people on a regular basis.

D) OFFER EXCLUSIVE PROMOTIONS – Initially people will follow you because they are interested in your brand, but eventually they will unfollow you if you don’t give them a reason to stay. Offering a promotion will give them that reason. Also, with the features that social media now offers, they can buy products or services directly from the social media platform which helps keep the follower on your profile.

E) SOCIAL INFLUENCERS – working with a social influencer is a great strategy because their engagement is high and people are more likely to follow recommendations made by influencers.

Last tip but probably the most important one…BE PATIENT & CREATIVE! It may take several months to start seeing real results. BE PERSISTENT, DON’T GIVE UP EASILY.

Game changer for businesses that sell products online. Instagram, finally, made available in Canada the shop online feature. Instagram users will be able to buy items straight from Instagram posts.

In November 2016, the feature was tested in 20 US-based retail large brands including Kate Spade, JackThreads and Warby Parker.

In March 2018, Instagram made this feature available in Canada and other countries like United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Brazil.

How does the feature works? Basically, the user chooses the photos they’d like to feature, tag up to five products per image or up to twenty products per carousel, add filters or captions and you’re done. The user can also save drafts or preview the posts.

Shopping posts are identified by the small shopping bag icon in the bottom-left corner of the post image and give people access to pricing and product details both within the Instagram feed and through the Shop button on your business profile. By tapping on a post, people can buy the product.

Contrary at the first test launch of the feature where it was available only for large brands, now any businesses can take advantage of it. To activate the shoppable post feature, you must connect your Instagram account either with your ecommerce website or the product catalog on your Facebook page.

For any questions or help to setup the shopping post, leave a comment below.

Instagram is constantly updating its app to provide the best user experience and to keep users on the platform as long as possible.

The first change is in the news feeds. Initially on Instagram you used to see at the top the most recent post. All posts were in chronological order. Then Instagram changed the algorithm and was showing the content that they thought users liked most. So, basically users could see, at the top, content that was 4 days old. Instagram users didn’t like that and Instagram decided to add a “New Posts” button that lets users manually refresh their feeds (rather than it happening automatically). That means that users will have the choice to view posts as most recent or recommended by instagram.
Lately, users were able to show only 10%-20% of their content to their followers. With this new feature the percentage of exposure is going to increase. This new feature is still being tested, which means only select Instagram users currently have it.

Another feature that Instagram introduced is the fact that now you can add Hashtags and @ on the profile biography. This means that Instagram is putting more emphasis on hashtags and it also allows to cross promote accounts. Businesses can benefit from this feature by adding hashtag location and hashtag type of business for example #toronto #restaurant and make it easier for people to find businesses.

There are also rumours that Instagram is going to introduce a Cinemagraphic feature which is a photo with a small portion of it in motion. If this feature is released it make take over boomerang. The purpose of the feature is to catch the attention of followers and to generate more engagement.
Another rumor is the Focus feature. Basically, it allows people to take stylized portraits, blur the background image and focus on the face or subject. As we speak this feature is under testing which means that it will probably be coming out very soon.

Changes and features are made to provide a better experience for users, but with a bit of creativity and strategy they can also help businesses get more exposure and engagement.

If you have any questions, leave a comment or email email@mrsmartweb.com

Instagram’s algorithm is like a complicated puzzle and when you think you are close to solving it, it changes again. Instagram doesn’t announce the changes on the blog, but you look for them somewhere into the Instagram Help Center.

So, what’s changed:

1. Big accounts doesn’t count anymore. Quality is rewarded over quantity. In Instagram doesn’t matter that you have a lot of followers,what matters is the engagement that the post generates.
2. When you post right now there is a chance that only 10% of the audience is going to see your post.
3. You have to respond to comments left on your posts within 60 minutes. Otherwise, your post’s visibility might gradually decrease.
4. Even though the number of hashtags is up to 30 per post, this can be picked up as a spam. Seems that the best way to go is 5 unique hashtags.
5. Do not edit caption after posting because it will lower your engagement rate.
6. Use popular hashtags but not too popular because your post will be buried in all the others.

A new feature that Instagram has introduced is the ability to “follow hashtags”. The benefit of the new feature is that if users are using a specific hashtag, your posting is likely to be shown on their explore page.

For any questions send an email to luigi@mrsmartweb.com

Engagement is one of the most important elements to any type content or marketing online strategy. Most people think that having a large number of followers means better engagement. It doesn’t work like that, especially if you paid to get those followers. Quality is more important than quantity. People will know if your followers are real based on the likes and the comments that you get on each post. Social media algorithm are based on engagement and not on number of followers.
Some tips to increase audience engagement:

• • Be consistent posting with valuable content that helps your followers;
  • Post during time/s that your followers are likely to see your posts;
  • Create call to action;
  • Ask questions;
  • Hold contests;
  • Cross promote;

Avoid the hard sell in social media, instead take a soft sell approach and focus on building long-term relationships, cultivating trust and nurturing the audience.

If you need help, leave a comment below or email at luigi@mrsmartweb.com