Nas WP WWW Cluster-120286 Kicksta Wp-Content Uploads 2020 01 Kicksta-Instagram-Marketing-Guide-2020

INSTAGRAM
MARKETING GUIDE 2020

Table of Contents
01 22
The Best Time to Post on Instagram
36 Hacks for Maximizing Your
For Your Industry in 2020
Instagram for Business in 2020
(A Complete Guide)
11 8 Easy Ways To Increase

Engagement On Instagram 30 The Ultimate Glossary
of Instagram Terms
14 How Working with Micro Influencers

Can Help Your Brand (& Your Budget)
18 Instagram For Business:

The Complete Guide
Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 i

36 Hacks for Maximizing Your
Instagram For Business in 2020
Are you struggling and trying to maximize your Instagram for business? We’ve got 36
hacks that can help you optimize your account from the ground up, from choosing a
profile picture all the way to promoting your account with paid ads. Here’s everything you
need to know to create your business account and get more Instagram followers and
more customers.
Instagram For Business - How to Optimize Your Account

There are several ways you can optimize your Instagram for business. Here’s where to start.
Profile Picture
01 As a business, your profile picture should be your logo; this is an easy way to increase brand awareness.
When people visit your Instagram profile, they’re instantly met with your logo — and when they see your
logo elsewhere (maybe on another social platform or a physical billboard), they’ll be more likely to
remember your business. Make sure the image of your logo you choose is 110 x 110 pixels before you
upload it to your business profile.
Business Name 02
Again, our goal here is to increase brand awareness, and one way you can do that is by setting your Instagram name as your
business name. On an Instagram profile, your name is the bold text that appears under your profile photo. Including a
keyword in your business name (example: “Cleo’s Cake Shop” instead of just “Cleo’s”) will help more people find your profile
through Google and other search engines.
“Create an engaging Instagram profile. When people discover your content in the
Instagram explore feeds, the first thing they do is tap on your account name, which
brings them to your profile. Polish up your Instagram profile so you can begin
converting viewers into followers right away.“
— Isabel Raymond, Social Media Manager at Sharelov
Switch to a Business Profile

03
If your account isn’t already a business account, it’s time to make the switch so you can take
advantage of many more features. Here’s how to create a business account: Go into settings
(from your profile), then tap into “account,” and you can switch to a business (instead of a
personal) account from there.
Once you have a business profile, Instagram will prompt you to choose a category. There are
hundreds of choices, so think carefully about what specific category best describes your
business.
With a business profile, you’ll be able to list an email, phone number, and address. Your email
and phone number link straight to your profile, where visitors can tap “Contact” and choose
from calling you or sending an email. You can also add your business address, helping even
more people find you; just make sure you have Facebook location services turned on.
Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 01

Bio 04
Optimize your Instagram bio — the brief lines of text under your profile picture, name, and
category — to quickly explain to visitors who you are and what you do. Take this opportunity
to show off your brand’s personality, and include some social proof, too; if you can do it
naturally, it’s also good to include keywords in your bio.
Consider linking your branded hashtag in your bio. A branded hashtag is unique to your
business, and by including this hashtag in your bio, people can view the posts in this hashtag.
Finally, your Instagram bio needs a call-to-action, asking visitors to do something/take action.
Here’s an example of what all this might look like put together:
We’re a Chicago pizza restaurant ready to serve you. Our customers give us five stars —
come in today and see why! #mypizzapie
URL
05 You only get one link in your Instagram profile — or do you? With Linktree, you can offer more options for
your visitors. Linktree will provide you with one link where you can add several other links, such as your
website, YouTube channel, landing page for a special promotion, or anything else you want to share.
“Linktree is the perfect way to share all of the content you care about in a single bio link. Use it
to share your other social platforms, your latest article, your playlist, your web store…anything!
Digital pros can use the Mailchimp integration – it means visitors to your Linktree can signup to
your newsletter in-page. As they don’t navigate away from your Linktree, once they’ve
subscribed they will still engage with more content. #conversions #CTR!“
— Katie Smith, Editor at Linktree
Instagram Stories Highlights 06

Take advantage of the section on your profile for Instagram stories highlights — visitors will be able to view your stories long after
the 24-hour life cycle each individual story gets. Which highlights should you include? Women’s clothing company Inherit Co. has
highlights for events, dresses, skirts, gifts, and more. Think about the types of posts you normally share on your story and how
they can be sorted into categories.
To create highlight covers, you can use free graphic design tools such as Design Wizard. Use their design templates and place
an on-brand graphic in the middle of the screen (or to make things easier, just use solid colors for your covers).

How to Manage Your Instagram For Business Account
Once your account is ready, it’s time to start posting. Here are some tips on creating quality content for your
business account that can help you get more Instagram followers.
07 Create a Cohesive Brand Image

A brand image can be defined as what your customers, both current and potential ones, think of you.
It’s important to have a cohesive brand image (one that’s consistent across all platforms) so you can
increase your brand awareness.
To achieve that goal, the first thing you’ll want to do is choose an Instagram theme and color scheme.
Think about any colors your business commonly uses in advertising — for instance, if your logo is red
and white, focus on those colors. Also consider how you want your account to feel (moody and dark?
Clean and white?). That will help drive your Instagram theme.
Use filters and editing to achieve the perfect balance on your photos. Presets are a good place to
start if you don’t have prior photo editing experience. You can also use Lightroom tools and teach
yourself about editing features such as the saturation slider.
Create A Variety of Content Types 08

There are three main types of product shots that can go on your Instagram business
profile: images that show off the details of a product; shots of a model holding, wearing, or
using the product; and flatlays (images of objects, including products, laid on a flat
background).
Second, you also should post non-product shots. If you don’t have a tangible product to
show off, non-product shots are all you can post; even if you do, these types of photos can
still help add some variety to your feed. Custom graphics with quotes or advice are a great
thing to post — Hubspot has some top-notch graphics they share.
“One cool feature that HubSpot Marketing has is our integration with
Shutterstock. That means marketers have over 60,000 free images they can
choose from, directly when they’re creating their posts. This feature makes it fast
and easy to start building an Instagram following.”
— Daria Marmer, Product Group Lead at HubSpot
09 Behind-the-scenes photos of your workspace and employees (including team shots and
office shots, like @ontraport shares) always perform well, too. And don’t forget to do some
customer shoutouts once in a while. These always perform well and could help you get
more Instagram followers.
Curate User-Generated Content

In addition to sharing original content, curate user-generated content when you’re using
Instagram for business. UGC is images taken by your customers that you can repost and
share. Have a branded hashtag and regularly promote it, like the popular #aeriereal;
customers can post images using that hashtag so you can see the photos. You can also
find user-generated content pieces from your tagged photos and @mentions in Instagram
stories. Make sure to ask permission before using a photo and then, if you get the green
light, tag the user in their photo and/or your caption. User-generated content can result in
more Instagram engagement.

Use An Automation Tool
To save yourself some time and effort, once you have content ready, use 10
Instagram automation tools.
Types of Automation Tools:

1) Schedulers:
- Use an IG scheduling tool to plan your feed in advance, auto-post, and keep
your content organized.
2) Growth Tools:
- Organically grow your ideal Instagram following on autopilot and increase
engagement
3) Analytics Tools:
- Track your analytics to improve ROI on Instagram campaigns
How to Craft Captions for Your Business Profile

A good caption can increase your Instagram engagement rate in big ways. A well-written caption will get users to spend more
time looking at your post, and it will also encourage them to interact with the post by liking, commenting, or sharing.
(If you’re not sure where exactly your engagement rate is now, find it by using this Instagram engagement rate calculator)
Here are 8 copywriting tips that can help you convert your good captions into great ones.
Show Your Brand’s Personality

11 No one likes a dry, boring caption. Instead, spice it up and add some humor; let your brand’s personality
shine through, because that’s what will get people to engage with your posts (resulting in more organic
Instagram followers).
Add Context 12
Your caption should be relevant to your photo, adding some context to help your followers
understand exactly what the picture is about and why they should care.
Tell Your Brand’s Backstory

13 How did your company first get started? What was the first product you made? What path did you follow
to get to where you are today? Sharing these things can help you forge a personal connection with your
followers and gain more Instagram engagement.
Share Inspiration
One of the biggest reasons people use social media is to find a little inspiration to get them through 14
their day — so give them that. If you’re a sports brand, you could share motivational quotes from
famous athletes. Maybe you’re a fashion brand and want to encourage women that all body types are
beautiful.

Be Relatable
15 Make a point to understand your target audience so you can relate to them. One way to do this while using
Instagram for business is by hiring employees who fall into your target demographic; a social media
manager who’s the same age and gender as your preferred customers will be able to relate to them and
write engaging captions.
Educate Your Followers 16

Help your Instagram followers learn something new about the world; share captions with interesting
information that’s relevant to your industry or your specific product (or simply whatever photo you posted).
17 Spotlight An Employee
Providing a look behind-the-scenes with a photo of a staff member is an excellent way to get more
engagement on your Instagram business profile. Photos of faces perform well, and you can add a cherry on
top with your caption: Explain how the employee started working with your company, what they do there,
and add a fun fact.
Quote An Expert
You can position yourself as someone who knows what they’re talking about by quoting an expert in your
18
Instagram caption, whether that expert is the president of your own company or the founder of another.
This is also a great way to cross-promote blog posts or case studies from your website, and also to get
more Instagram followers.
Ways to Further Optimize Your Instagram Captions

These aren’t the only ways you can write engaging Instagram captions — here are four other methods
to help your captions do more work.
Include A CTA 19
In your caption, ask your Instagram followers to do something — maybe ask them to click the product
tag in the photo, tag a friend in the comments, or go to the link in your bio. A call-to-action is an easy
way to get a little more mileage and engagement from your captions.
Use Emojis
20 Emojis are a fun way to up your captions and help more people stop and take notice. Don’t go
overboard, but a few well-placed emojis that are relevant to your photo and caption can help increase
your Instagram engagement rate.

Add Spacing 21
The shape of the text means a lot in determining how likely your followers are to read the entire
thing. A thick block of text is overwhelming; instead, include spacing throughout your caption,
separating thoughts into sentences on different lines. That will make your caption easily scannable,
and that will make followers more likely to read the whole thing — and when you’re using Instagram
for business, of course, that’s your goal.
Add Mentions
22 Mentioning other users in your caption can create a good user experience for readers, allowing them to
find other accounts relevant to their interests. For instance, if you’re writing a caption on the topic of how
businesses can grow through marketing, you might include a line that says: “Learn more about this by
visiting @hubspot.”
What to Post on Instagram Stories

Stories are an important aspect of Instagram to utilize.
23 Location Tags 24 Sharing Other Posts 25 Swipe-Up

When you’re using Instagram If you see a post in your feed The “swipe-up” feature on
for business, tagging your that you want to share, you can Instagram stories is a way to
location in a story can help local share it on an Instagram story immediately link your followers
people find out about your for all of your followers to see. to a product page or something
business. And there are fun This is a great way to share else on your website. It’s a
ways you can do this too, user-generated content or fantastic method of getting
creatively incorporating the tag share posts from sister or more web traffic and more
into a caption or placing it on a subsidiary companies. sales.
strategic spot on the image.

26 Instagram Live 27 Polls 28 Questions
Video content performs well on Polls are not only an excellent Asking your audience questions
Instagram, and live videos are way to get more engagement, is a great way to create more
especially popular — 80 percent but they can also help you get a engagement and interaction,
of users would rather watch live feel for what your audience helping your customers feel like
videos from a brand than read a wants, and even who your friends. And again, you can also
blog post, and 82 percent audience is. Answering utilize this feature to get a feel
preferred live videos to social questions like these can help for what they’re looking for in
media posts. Do a live video to you (or your Instagram growth your brand.
announce a new product or service) target the right
show the behind-the-scenes of demographic and get more
the office. You can save your live Instagram followers.
video after it’s aired.
29 Chat 30 Quiz 31 Stickers and GIFs

Instagram recently introduced a Stickers and GIFs are a fun way
chat sticker that lets you start to add a little pizazz to your
conversations straight from Instagram stories. People tend
stories. By using this sticker, you to swipe through their stories
can create a group DM chat — very quickly, so a dancing
an excellent way to get to know cupcake or colorful GIF can
your followers, especially for help grab their attention and
small local businesses. make them stop and look.

How to Grow Your Account When You’re
Using Instagram For Business
One of the best ways to grow your Instagram for business is by using hashtags. Hashtags on Instagram posts can
increase your reach. You can appear on the Explore page for a certain hashtag, and for people who follow hashtags,
you’ll pop up in their newsfeed. Plus, the algorithm favors relevancy — which means you can get your account in front of
even more people by selecting hashtags your target audience cares about. Here are more tips on using hashtags to grow
your account and get more Instagram followers:
How to Use Hashtags on Instagram Posts

The first step to choosing hashtags is doing a little brainstorming. Sit down
32
and think about:
-Your product or service

-Target Audience and their interests
-Your Location
Write down a long list of hashtags that might work. If you’re having trouble
thinking of hashtags, look at what your competitors are doing or use a free
hashtag generator.
Save the hashtags you choose and store them somewhere safe, such as in
the notes of your phone or in whatever social media scheduling tool you
use.
Place your hashtags in the first comment of your post and then test to see
how well they’re doing. Rinse and repeat this cycle, tweaking your hashtags
as needed. Don’t forget to use hashtags on Instagram stories, too — you
can place hashtags on your story using text or a sticker.
Location Tags
33
Another way to grow your account when using Instagram for business is by
selecting location tags so local customers can find you. First, come up with a
location strategy that’s specific to where you are; if you’re a business serving
only your local community, you’ll want to really hone in on your town. If you serve
customers in other locations too, it can be helpful for E-commerce to focus on
popular locations (maybe you’re an hour outside of NYC — tag your posts as
Manhattan). Or you might see best results if you craft your location strategy to
include a combination of both.
Carefully qualify your location tags; you’ll want the tags you choose to have
enough traffic that they’re worth your time, but they shouldn’t be too small so
that no one will search for them. Begin using the tags you decide on in posts and
stories, one tag at a time.
Get More Real Followers On Instagram Now!

Start My Organic Growth

Giveaways 34
Grow your Instagram business profile by running giveaways, and luckily, holding contests
are a whole lot of fun.
Choose a giveaway item (most likely a free product or service) and then choose how you
want your followers to enter — ask them to comment on your post, tag a friend (this can help
you get more Instagram followers), follow you, post on their own account, or do a
combination of the above. When the time allotted for the giveaway is up, put all the names
into a random name generator and announce the winner.
How to Make Sales on Instagram

For Business With Shoppable Posts
Your Instagram business profile is optimized and ready to go — now it’s time to begin making sales. Instagram is an excellent
35 platform for E-commerce thanks to its relatively new product tag feature. When you post a photo with a product tag, you can
let people shop your website with just a couple of taps. Product tags are convenient, and they’re also subtle, blending right in
with the aesthetic of the platform.
“Take advantage of the gallery

posts where you can add multiple
images or slides. Use those types
of posts to tell a story, explain a
concept, or just show off your
product across a few images. It
will almost instantly boost your
engagement without really
increasing your workload or
altering your posting schedule.”
— Ryan McCready, Social Media
Lead at Venngage
Before you start creating shoppable posts, link your Shopify to your Instagram (if you have a Shopify — this isn’t
necessary). Then you can tag a product by posting a photo and then choosing up to five products to tag, tagging them
just like you’d tag people. Once you post a photo with product tags, you’ll see a “Shop” button appear on your profile,
which will let people view all your shoppable posts at once. To make the most out of your shoppable posts, use
Instagram Insights to get information about how you can optimize your posts. Don’t forget to add product stickers to your
stories, too.

How to Promote Your Account
You can promote your Instagram account in three primary ways — through engagement marketing, via
influencers, and with Instagram ads. Let’s break each of these down a little further.
Engagement Marketing
36 Engagement marketing is simply a term for attracting more people to your business through genuine
connections — it’s a lot like networking. You can harness the power of engagement marketing by simply
spending time interacting with your ideal followers, the same way you’d interact with friends. Engagement
marketing is a cost-effective way to help your account see growth. It’s essentially the strategy that an
Instagram growth service would use.
“Instagram is unlike any other social network. From your static grid to the YouTube-like IGTV and realtime dynamic Stories,
Instagram is almost three different content mediums and social networks in one. Instead of taking content and best practices
from other networks and hoping they work on Instagram, become immersed in Instagram by following your ideal customers
and learn from them. The more unique your strategy and content are to Instagram, the more successful you will be.”
— Neal Schaffer, Social Media Speaker and Consultant
Influencers 37
You’re probably already familiar with the general principle of influencer marketing, a type
of marketing that relies on well-known industry experts promoting a product or service.
But have you ever considered working with micro influencers? Micro influencers are
simply digital thought leaders who have a smaller fan base, and they could be a good fit
for your business. Often, micro influencers have a higher engagement rate than more
popular celebrities — and always, they cost less, making them a budget-friendly option.
“Every customer is a potential influencer. Treat them accordingly. Always

reply to their story mentions and if possible, reshare them. Never ignore
their comments. Aim to delight and you would be surprised by the amount
of WOM (word of mouth) marketing you get.”
— Sneha Mehta, Fullstack Marketer at Crowdfire
You can reach out to influencers through cold emails. Find some influencers who seem
like a good fit and then send them an email, offering them something of value and
treating them as a colleague in your Instagram for business endeavors. Eventually, the
goal is to cultivate a long term relationship with this influencer and work with them
multiple times.
Instagram Ads
38 The final way you use when you’re promoting your Instagram for business is through Instagram
ads. Choose an ad format (such as Instagram stories, a video ad, a carousel ad, etc) and then use
consistent branding as you create your ads; always work to include a strong call-to-action that
drives people toward a specific goal, whether that’s visiting your website or tapping “Follow.”

8 Easy Ways To Increase
Engagement On Instagram
With the Instagram algorithm frequently changing the way we use
the app, it’s important to constantly try new strategies to increase
engagement on Instagram. In this article we’ll talk you through 8 easy
ways to do this, with real life examples that you can easily apply to
your own account...
Post At The Optimum Time 01

A really simple way to please the algorithm and increase engagement on Instagram, is to post at
the same time your target audience is online, and when your engagement rate is highest in the
day. This is because the algorithm tracks how quickly your posts receive likes and comments, so
you don’t want to post when everyone is asleep.
Unfortunately there’s no one-size-fits-all answer on the best time to post on Instagram, as it

completely varies depending on audience age and location, as well as industry.
02 Direct Messages
At the heart of Instagram is community, and a core part of that is conversation. There are a number
of ways to utilize direct messages to increase engagement on Instagram. All of them focus around
building community, and taking a genuine interest in people in your audience.
Instagram Story Stickers

The Instagram algorithm tracks all kinds of engagement, and while Story stickers don’t get you more likes and comments on your
posts, they increase the overall engagement rate of your account. This gives the nod to the algorithm that people like your
content and are interested in your account, meaning your posts will feature higher up in your followers’ feeds!
There are many ways to use the polls, quizzes, and question stickers, with brands coming up with increasingly creative Instagram
Stories as a result. Here are a few ways you can increase engagement on Instagram using them:

Poll Stickers 03
Who needs customer surveys? Poll stickers allow Instagram users to ask
their followers’ opinions on anything and everything. They are great for
market research, feedback, or just a bit of fun to get to know your audience.
Poll stickers increase engagement on Instagram because they only reveal
the results once a user has voted themselves. Human curiosity leads to the
majority of viewers voting on a poll, plus it’s only 1 tap of effort!
04 Question Stickers
The question sticker is a great way to give your followers the chance to learn
more about you or your brand. Many influencers and brands use this sticker to
encourage their audience to ‘Ask them anything!’ and share their answers on
their Stories. This can be done by typing or recording a video answering the
question personally!
Quiz Stickers 05
‘Quiz Stickers’, allows you to test your audience about your brand, a topic
important to you (i.e climate change), or generally gather an overall
consensus.
If your followers are at all curious or competitively inclined, you can
guarantee using a quiz sticker will increase engagement on Instagram
Stories.
Check out how @nikerunning used the Quiz Sticker to test and inform
their followers about their industry:
06 Run A Contest
Instagram contests are a definite way to increase engagement, as entry
typically requires liking and commenting on a post. This not only boosts the
post in the eyes of the algorithm, but also introduces new users to your profile
if you require entrees to ‘tag a friend’.
Giveaways are the most common form of Instagram contests, so if you have a
product or subscription to use as a prize it’s a no brainer! If your niche is more
creative, you can also run a photo contest, where entrants post a photo on
their own profile of something within a theme you’ve set. Remember to decide
on a unique hashtag to keep track of all entrees!

Ask Questions In Your Captions 05
If it’s comments you’re after, make it as easy as possible for your followers
to engage with your posts by asking questions in your caption. With attention
spans dwindling more rapidly than ever, a simple call to action goes a
long way.
Asking for opinions, ideas, or inspiration is a great place to start, as people

generally like sharing this kind of knowledge.
As with tip number #1, ensure you reply to all comments on your Instagram
posts! Keep the conversations alive, and show that you appreciate your
followers by taking the time to put their opinion across on your post. Fostering
and nurturing this community will only help you increase engagement on
Instagram.
04 Post On Social Media Holidays

Utilize the rise in hashtag traffic on social media holidays to increase
engagement on Instagram! Trends such as #EarthDay and #WorldGinDay
take social media by storm, and many brands and influencers plan content to
join in on the celebrations.
There’s a social media holiday for every industry or occasion, and it’s highly
likely people in your audience will engage with the trends and topics that
resonate with them.
It’s also a good idea to post a Story with the social media holiday hashtag so
you’ll feature on the Hashtag Story and increase your reach! More reach =
higher chance of engagement.
Collaborate With Other Accounts To 07

Increase Engagement On Instagram
Another great method to increase engagement on Instagram is through
collaborations! By working with brands and influencers who have the same
audience as you, you’re introducing yourself to a whole new group of people
that your content is tailored towards.
Instagram collaborations or partnerships can take many different forms, such
as takeovers, contests, influencer campaigns, and brand partnerships.
Contests are particularly good to partner on, as you double your reach and
therefore increase engagement on the contest post.
See how Soap and Glory collaborated with Hotel Chocolat on a contest.
08 Animal Content
Did you know that Instagram posts with animals in them receive higher
engagement? And it’s not a small difference: brands can see up to a
295% increase in comments on posts featuring pets.
It’s a no brainer: humans love animals. Brands on Instagram have

successfully utilized this weakness, with trendy (dog friendly) co-working
space WeWork even establishing their own hashtag #DogsOfWeWork.
This is a simple but highly effective strategy to increase engagement

on Instagram, so find a photogenic pet and get shooting some
awesome content!

How Working with Micro Influencers
Can Help Your Brand (& Your Budget)
Social influencers are flooding the digital universe – and for good reason. Influencers
are one of the most powerful social media trends, especially on Instagram, because
they are able to grab the audience’s attention and add that much-needed dose of
authenticity to the branded content.
The idea behind this marketing tactic is simple: influencers build a base of loyal followers who trust them much more than
businesses, brands, and companies. This is exactly what makes influencer marketing so productive and able to return as much as
$6.50 for every $1 spent.
However, there are some substantial differences among digital opinion leaders that force us to divide them into different
categories: micro- and macro- influencers. In this post, we want to concentrate on working with micro-influencers and explain
how they can help your brand on a shoestring budget.
Micro-Influencers: Definition and Statistics

Who are micro-influencers? They are digital thought leaders who build an audience ranging from 1,000 to 50 thousand followers.
The numbers are not set in stone because some marketers believe that micro-influencers can go all the way to 100 thousand fans,
while others believe that 30 thousand is the limit.
But the point is that micro-influencers are experts on a specific topic whose audience is loyal and engaged. Unlike their macro
counterparts, who can reach hundreds of thousands, micro-influencers address fewer people but generate better results.
Plus, micro-influencers with fewer than 100k followers are responsible for the majority of posts on the platform meaning there is
definitely a mirco-influencer in your niche to collaborate with.
According to one study, micro-influencers deliver seven

times more engagement on Instagram than their more
popular colleagues. Many other reports confirm the power
of this marketing tactic:
• 70% of teens trust social influencers more than

traditional celebrities.
• 40% of consumers have bought products based

on recommendations coming from social influencers.
• Micro-influencers are able to generate 60%

greater engagement than other marketing
campaigns because they create a stronger bond
with their followers.
How can it be? What makes micro-influencers so efficient?
Well, the secret lies in the fact that they are dedicated
professionals who create authentic and trustworthy
content.

Benefits of Micro-Influencer Marketing
As we already mentioned, micro-influencer campaigns can almost guarantee amazing results. You can expect a lot of good things
to happen during your cooperation with micro-influencers, including the following benefits:
Affordability
First of all, micro-influencers represent an affordable marketing solution. A report reveals that 97% of influencers don’t
charge more than $500 per post, while the vast majority requires no more than $250.
Awareness raising
This is one area in which celebrity endorsers perform better than micro-influencers, but the fact remains that the latter
grants you exposure to the right audience. Micro-influencers can help you get in touch with verified leads instead of
irrelevant audiences.
Authenticity
Greg Monroe, a CMO at Australianwritings, says that people trust non-celebrity influencers because they sound
authentic and create content that looks real and credible.
Accessibility
It’s often difficult to reach celebrities, but this problem does not exist with micro-influencers. They communicate clearly
and openly and you can reach out to most of them 24/7.
Engagement
You’ve probably figured out by now that engagement is the biggest benefit of micro-influencers marketing. Their fans
are very loyal and willing to test new products or services based on well-crafted recommendations.
7 Tips to Help You Launch a Better Micro-Influencer Campaign

Create campaign-specific hashtags
01
Social media users publish tons of content on a daily basis, so you need a tool that helps your posts stand out from others. This
tool comes in the form of hashtags, an element that influencers have to utilize when promoting your brand. Each micro-influencer
campaign deserves its own hashtag strategy.

02 Publish product reviews
Some marketers claim that the concept of product reviews is old and obsolete, but we
strongly believe that micro-influencers are able to craft content that promotes products
without looking too pushy or salesy. After all, they are professionals who know how to
create authentic social media posts.
As we already mentioned, the key feature must be honesty. A chosen influencer must be
able to create content that is direct, straightforward, and trustworthy. It means they should
never manipulate followers because it would jeopardize both sides: your company will lose
credibility, while influencers would jeopardize their own reputation.
Use the power of storytelling 03

Storytelling should be a major part of your micro-influencer plan because it evokes emotions and helps people to familiarize
with your brand. Product reviews are okay, but sometimes you also need to focus on other aspects of the business and hire
influencers who can explain what makes your business different than other companies in the same niche. Let influencers
create a story of corporate values and beliefs – it’s a great way to approach the target audience and win over their trust.
04 Build a network of micro-influencers

Cost-efficiency is one of the biggest benefits of micro-influencer
marketing, which gives you the opportunity to build a network of
endorsers who can promote your products simultaneously.
The vast majority of micro-influencers don’t charge more than $250

per post, so you can hire several at the same time. It’s not a big
investment, but it can do miracles for your business.
Let them publish content on multiple platforms 05

When you work with celebrity endorsers, you need to pay a lot for a single post
that goes live on one network only. For instance, they will promote the brand on
Instagram or Facebook exclusively. According to marketing analysts,
micro-influencers function differently: “They usually combine all platforms and
mention a brand using multiple channels: Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, blog,
etc. This sort of functioning means you don’t have to spend more money, while the
numbers keep growing nevertheless.”

06 Encourage UGC
Sometimes you don’t even have to hire professional influencers to market your
brand. Instead, you can encourage user-generated content (UGC) and let your
true fans do all the work. That way, you give followers the power to express their
inspiration and creativity, while they also get the notion of fulfillment and
acknowledgment.
Loeffler Randall does a great job turning regular customers into micro-influencers.
The brand builds a wide base of UGC creators by inviting ladies with “standout
personal style and a keen eye for design and originality” to join their team of
endorsers. It’s a win-win solution because Loeffler Randall expands the business
through micro-influencer marketing, while their endorsers experience a huge
popularity boost.
Don’t run away from sponsored posts 07

The point of micro-influencer marketing is to reach a highly
specific audience that has the largest conversion potential.
However, it shouldn’t stop you from asking influencers to
publish sponsored content when you notice the
opportunity to make a bigger breakthrough. Doing so, they
can reach even more fans without jeopardizing
professional authority, especially because it’s easy to
target the lookalike audience on social media.
Try The Most Powerful Organic Growth Tool
Get Kicksta Now

Instagram For Business:
The Complete Guide
Instagram for business is a powerful tool that can help your company’s
visibility and sales to skyrocket. Over the years, Instagram has evolved into
a platform that’s almost tailor-made for brands to showcase their products
and services. Consumers (one billion of them) are already on Instagram;
many of them have a large disposable income, while a majority of them use
the platform to find new brands, with 70 percent of users regularly using
Instagram to search for a brand.
Are you marketing your business on Instagram? If not, you should be —

because other brands are winning big on this social media platform. It’s
time to jump in and get a piece of the action. Here are a few more reasons
why you should use Instagram for business.
Why Use Instagram For Business?

You might be wondering whether Instagram is really that helpful for business. Is learning how to use this
platform even worth your time? The answer is yes, but you don’t have to take our word for it. Let’s look at
some statistics that prove why you should be using Instagram for business.
Drive Sales
One of the biggest reasons businesses use Instagram is because it helps them drive more sales and
increase their overall revenue. 83 percent of people use Instagram to discover new products or
services, and 81 percent of people also do their research on those products using Instagram. And 30
percent of users have bought a product they discovered on Instagram.
Instagram is a good place to get your products out there. And lately, the platform has been making it
even easier for brands to make sales on Instagram by adding features such as product tags.
Businesses and individuals are making money on Instagram every day. You too should start
using Instagram. If you use it the right way, you’ll start seeing more sales too.
Increase Visibility
By using Instagram as a marketing platform, you can increase your brand’s visibility, helping more
people become familiar with who you are and what you do. Teens, millennials, and adults are all on
Instagram, so no matter who you’re trying to reach, you can do it with this social platform.
Instagram is a powerful marketing platform thanks to its sheer size; since Instagram has one billion
monthly users, it’s a pretty safe bet that a big chunk of your customers have an account. You can get
your brand and your message in front of a diverse group of people by using Instagram. And once
more people become familiar with your brand, you can use marketing tactics to convince them to hit
follow and join the fun.

Connect With Your Customers
Prior to social media, brands didn’t have as many opportunities to connect with their
customers. But now, you can have in-depth conversations with customers around the
world. What does this look like on Instagram? Conversations via DM’s, comments on a
post, and interactions through polls or quizzes on your Instagram Stories can help you
get to know your customers a little more and help them get to know you.
Connecting with customers like this is important: You need to listen to what your
customers are saying so you can tweak your products and business according to their
wants and needs, making your target audience more likely to buy in. And for your
customers, communicating with a brand on Instagram can help them feel valued and
heard by that brand.
Engaging with users can help you get more organic Instagram followers who will
hopefully convert into customers.
In short, customer-company interaction is a win-win for everybody, and Instagram is a

great platform to facilitate those interactions.
Instagram for Business: Best Practices
Utilize Hashtags
Hashtags are a great way to help more people find
your account. They’re a powerful tool, but only if
used correctly; select relevant hashtags with a
purpose behind each one instead of simply filling in
anything you can think of. Relevant hashtags will
help categorize your posts and get them in the
hands of your target audience.
If you aren’t sure where to start, use a hashtag

generator to get a list of potential tags. Then narrow
it down to a smaller number — the right number of
hashtags to use per post varies from brand to brand,
but could range from seven to 30 — and do some
testing to see which hashtags perform best (tap
“view insights” on a certain post to see how many
people found that post via hashtags).

Choose A Theme
Every business needs an on-brand Instagram theme that includes a defined brand voice,
color scheme, type of content, and more. A consistent theme will make your brand easily
recognizable to your followers and will give your feed a cohesive look, inviting users to
follow along.
Choose a certain tone of voice to use in your captions — playful and sassy if that works
for your brand, or maybe laid-back and mellow. Then pick what type of content you’re
going to post. Videos? Photos? Graphics? A mixture of the above? If you choose graphics,
be consistent with the colors and fonts you use; and if you choose photos, use Instagram
tools for photo editing such as VSCO or Lightroom to edit each photo the same way.
Product Tags
Instagram’s product tags feature offers a great way to showcase your products on
Instagram. When you tag a product, people looking at your post can tap the photo
and see a tag with the name and price of each product. They can tap a specific tag
to see a full description of the product, and from there, choose to view the product
on the website.
Instagram Ads
In addition to posting on your Instagram profile, you can also use Instagram ads to
get your name in front of more people. Instagram ads have several benefits: They
have a high conversion rate, helping you gain more customers. It’s easy to target
your ideal audience. And creating ads on Instagram is not expensive.
You can create Instagram ads from your Facebook Ad Manager. As you design
the ads, don’t make them look like ads; make them look like normal posts so
people won’t be tempted to scroll by. Include a CTA (such as xfinity’s “Shop Now”
button) that asks people to do whatever it is you want them to do.

Partner With Influencers
Influencer marketing is a field that’s quickly growing; currently a $5-$10 billion industry, it’s not
going away anytime soon. Identify some influencers or micro influencers in your industry that
look like a good fit and reach out to them, offering free products in exchange for promotion on
their Instagram accounts. This is an excellent way to reach all of the people who follow and
trust this influencer.
Besides influencer marketing, try partnering with other brands to do some unique
collaborations. For instance, mattress company Casper partnered with non-competing
furniture company West Elm to show off its mattresses and furniture together, equaling more
visibility for both companies.
The bottom line is to find creative ways to promote yourself and your brand; don’t overwhelm
people by sounding too salesy. Partnerships with influencers and other brands are a great way
to market your business, but to do it more under the radar.
Use Stories
Engage with your audience by using Instagram Stories, utilizing features such as polls,
quizzes, and questions to interact with your followers. This is also a great way to go
behind-the-scenes and humanize your brand. Content such as videos of your employees
goofing off in the office or photos that show how your brand is expanding can go a long way
toward helping you connect with your followers. And since so many people view Instagram
Stories (500 million users every day), Stories are a great place to share this kind of content.
Here, women’s clothing company Inherit Clothing Co. shared some snaps of its employees
wrapping products to ship out.
How to Gain More Followers

You can get organic Instagram followers by using hashtags, establishing a brand voice,
partnering with influencers, and following the other best practices mentioned above. But one
more great (and often-overlooked) way to get more organic followers is by using an Instagram
growth service such as Kicksta.
Kicksta is a tool that works to attract users in your target audience, “liking” posts from those
users so they’ll come check out your account. On average, Kicksta can save you
two-and-a-half hours each day, growing your account while you spend your time doing other
important things. Kicksta increases your brand awareness, provides you with insights on how
things are going, and keeps all of your information safe. Quality growth services like Kicksta
are an excellent way to get more followers on Instagram.
Instagram for business might seem like a mystery, but once you
Get More know what you need to do, it’s not that hard. Optimize your
Instagram Followers Instagram business account, start posting high-quality content, and
then enjoy using Instagram as a way to help your business grow

The Best Time to Post on Instagram For
Your Industry in 2020 (A Complete Guide)
Back in the days of a chronological feed, users guessed and played around with finding the best time to post on
Instagram. Many attributed increased Instagram engagement to their carefully planned Instagram posting times.
These were the good ole days before everyone’s goal became finding ways to “outsmart” the algorithm.
Today, to gain more Instagram followers you must create and post compelling content that other users will crave.
With Instagram’s ever-changing algorithm, if you don’t post at the right time your followers may never see your
posts. So how do you figure out the best time to post on Instagram?
If you’re unsure of where to start in terms of posting on Instagram, don’t fret. We’re giving you the complete guide
to Instagram posting times, including the best time to post by day of the week and industry. With our tips to
maximizing the use of Instagram tools, you’ll be posting on Instagram like a pro in no time.
Best Time to Post on Instagram by Day of the Week

All Instagram accounts have unique audiences from different cities and in various time zones, so breaking down the best Instagram
posting times is essential to every account.
While finding the best time to post on Instagram is unique to every account, certain times generally correlate with increased Instagram
engagement. Later, an Instagram scheduler and social media platform, analyzed 12 million posts in different time zones around the
world from accounts with varying Instagram followers to see if they could find the secret to posting on Instagram.
Later conducted the ultimate Instagram engagement test and concluded the following best Instagram posting times:

• Monday: 6 am, 10 am, and 10 pm EST
• Tuesday: 2 am, 4 am, and 9 am EST
• Wednesday: 7 am, 8 am and 11 pm EST
• Thursday: 9 am, 12 pm, and 7 pm EST
• Friday: 5 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm EST
• Saturday: 11 am, 7 pm, and 8 pm EST
• Sunday: 7am, 8am, and 4pm EST
While this information showcases a general “best time to post

on Instagram”, the truth is the best Instagram posting times will
be unique to your account and audience.
Best Time to Post on Instagram by Industry

As mentioned above, the best time to post on Instagram varies by account, however there
are more ideal times for posting on Instagram based on specific industries. It’s crucial to alter
your Instagram posting times based on industry to optimize engagement.
These Instagram posting times are a great start, but Sprout Social, a social media
management and optimization platform, conducted the research below to find the best time
to post on Instagram based on the following industries: retail, media, tech, non-profit,
education, healthcare, professional services, food & beverage, and travel & tourism.
Retail
Posting on Instagram is incredibly crucial for those in the retail industry. People use
Instagram as a shopping outlet now more than ever. If you’re looking to reach an
audience interested in retail you’ll want to pay attention to the following best and
worst Instagram posting times.
• Best Time: Wednesday midday (roughly 11am) & Friday morning (10-11 am)
• Ultimate Best Day: Wednesday
• Worst Day: Sunday-Makes sense as most people are being present in real life
on the weekends.
• Lowest Engagement: Late night & Early Mornings- Most people sleep during
these hours and are not active on social media
Below are posting strategies for the retail industry from Elise Armitage from What The Fab:
1. What is the best time to post for your industry? – For me, the best times to post are in the morning or
evening, and the best days of the week are Sunday through Thursday. Which makes sense—people are
scrolling their Instagram feeds in the morning in bed, and during their commutes, and then again once
they’re relaxing at home after work. And on Fridays and Saturdays people are pretty checked out,
doing their own thing and enjoying themselves.

2. How did you figure that out? – I figured this out through a combination of trial and error, as well as using analytics through
my Instagram business account and third-party apps.
3. Do you use any third-party analytics tools or just Instagram analytics? – I use Tailwind’s Instagram scheduling feature,
which also shows you the best times for posting.
4. Do you have any tips for the readers for posting on Instagram for the retail industry? – Think about your target
demographic—based on their behavior, what would be the best way and the most ideal time to engage with them?
Media & Entertainment

Social media has turned into such a prominent outlet for the media and
entertainment industry, that it’s now more vital than ever to find the best time to
post on Instagram to stand out and appear on user’s feeds.
• Best Time: Friday morning (9-10 am)

• Best Engagement: Wednesday, Thursday and Friday during work hours (8-5 pm)
• Lowest Engagement: Saturday and Sunday- Most people have these days off
from work, are more present in real life activities and therefore not as active on
social media
Crystal Lee, (www.crystalalee.com), Host and Producer for This is Series TV, gave tips on posting on
Instagram for the media industry:
1. What is the best time to post for your industry? – Mornings (specifically weekends) and mid to late
evenings on weeknights.
2. How did you figure that out? – A/B testing similar content at different times.
3. Do you use any third-party analytics tools or just Instagram analytics? – Instagram analytics
and Hootsuite.
4. Do you have any tips for the readers for posting on Instagram for the media industry? – Know your
audience and serve up content that they’ve followed you for. But don’t get too stale. Try out different
types of content to learn which ones drive up engagement. Don’t be afraid to take risks, you can always
archive or delete a post if you regret it, but you never know – something you didn’t think would work
might end up performing beyond your expectations!
Tech
Posting on Instagram for Tech can be difficult to gauge as global peak times on
Instagram for this industry vary. To ensure Instagram engagement on tech posts
make sure to focus on the below time frames.
• Best Time: Wednesday morning at 6 am or 9 am

• Best Day: Wednesday mid-morning from 10-11 am, Friday morning from 7-10
am and Saturday morning from 7-11 am.
• Worst Day: Sunday-Most people do not check social as often on the
weekends in this industry.

Non-profit
Instagram is a wonderful addition to your overall social media strategy for
nonprofits. Facebook is a great outlet to promote events while posting on
Instagram is the best platform to complement your strategy. Keep reading to find
the best time to post on Instagram for nonprofits.
• Best Time/Day: Wednesday mornings at 7 am

• Highest Engagement: All day Wednesday (6 am- 4pm)
• Worst Days for Engagement: Saturday & Sundays
Education
Students and faculty are more active later in the day, so the best time to post on
Instagram for education is as follows:
• Best Time/Day to Post: Friday mornings at 10 am
• Most Consistent Engagement: Wednesday through Saturday (10 am- 8pm)
• Highest Engagement: Wednesday & Friday mid morning and Saturday nights
(6 pm- 8 pm)
• Worst Days for Engagement: Sunday due to the lack of inactivity on
Instagram on this day.
*Interview from social media manager from Education
Healthcare
Social Media isn’t a high priority for many healthcare practices. Although this is the
case, due to a large number of users on the platform in general, posting on
Instagram is still important and worth improving on for those in the healthcare
space. Sprout Social’s research concluded the following for the best time to post
on Instagram for healthcare.
• Best Time/Day: Wednesday mornings between 9 am and 10 am

• Most Consistent Engagement: Weekdays from 9 am to 3 pm
• Worst Days for Engagement: Saturday & Sundays have minimal engagement in
most industries
Julia from The Nurse Link provided tips on posting on Instagram for the health care industry:
The Nurse Link connects current, future and aspiring nurses for mentorship, networking and
empowerment. @thenurselink
1. What is the best time to post for your industry? – We’ve found that the best time to post for the
nursing industry is in the morning between 7-9 am.
2. How did you figure that out? – We discovered the best post times through trial and error as well as
employing commonly known industry knowledge about nurses and student’s behavior and schedules.
Nurses and healthcare professionals generally work long shifts that begin fairly early. In addition,
nursing students have long days that begin as early as 5am in preparation for clinical and class.

3. Do you use any third-party analytics tools or just Instagram analytics? – At this time we only use IG analytics as we’ve
found them to be fairly comprehensive and insightful.
4. Do you have any tips for the readers for posting on Instagram for the healthcare industry? – The more content the
better, so posting multiple times a day can be extremely helpful for inciting growth and helps engage your audience no
matter the time zone. When possible avoid stringent medical jargon as it can be a social media buzz kill. Medical
professional like to laugh and socialize too!
Professional Services
Professional social media services generally post educational content with links to videos, blogs and
other platforms. The initial post spikes Instagram followers’ interest then leads them to other forms of
content. According to howsociable.com the best time to post on Instagram for professional services
is in the early morning because statistics show people prefer consuming this content first thing in the
morning.
• Best Time: Anyday between 9 am and 10 pm

• Best Days: Weekdays specifically Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday
• Worst Days for Engagement: Saturday & Sundays- Most people do not want to
be educated on the weekends.
Spencer X Smith, Founder of AmpliPhi Social Media Strategies provided us with some great insight on
posting on Instagram for the Professional Service industry:
1. What is the best time to post for your industry? – The industries we serve (banking, legal, financial
services) find much, much more engagement on Instagram during the Monday – Friday work week than
outside of it. It appears people in those industries pay the most attention to work-related posts then, and
aren’t as interested during the weekend.
2. How did you figure that out? – We figured this out by testing our hypothesis and validating the data
based on Instagram business accounts we are running or analyzing for clients.
3. Do you use any third-party analytics tools or just Instagram analytics? – We like Instagram analytics
themselves, and also use SocialInsider to benchmark our clients vs. competitors.
4. Do you have any tips for the readers for posting on Instagram for Professional Service industry? –
Focus on highlighting the people at your organization on Instagram. A great photo (headshot, person
working in their office environment, etc.) along with a brief story about her/him and what she/he does
adds a human-interest element to Instagram posts that your followers will really enjoy. We see much
higher engagement on posts highlighting people that those that don’t.
Ready to get more organic followers on Instagram?
Try Kicksta Now

Food & Beverage
Instagram followers obviously love seeing pictures of a delicious meal. It doesn’t take fancy
Instagram tools to determine people are likely to engage with food pictures during lunchtime.
Most professionals take a break during the middle of the day, so it’s likely engagement will
spike during this period of the day. If you’re in the food and beverage space keep scrolling to
find the best time to post on Instagram.
• Best Days: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

• Best Hours: Noon- Most people check their phones around lunch time
• Most Engaging Day: Friday kicks off the weekend and plans for reservations spike
• Worst Days for Engagement: Saturday & Sundays
Here’s what Natalie Migilarini from Beautiful Booze Cocktails had to say about posting times for the Food &
Beverage Industry:
1. What is the best time to post for your industry? – Following analytics and copious amounts of research, our team
has found that posting around 12 pm in whatever city we are targeting has been ideal. If your target audience is
New York City then we have found that 12 pm EST is the best, though if you’re targeting Los Angeles, 12 pm PST is
the best time. As a global company we still primarily target New York as our primary audience no matter where we
are, so while currently in Portugal, we are posting at 5 pm here.
2. How did you figure that out? – Oops, I think I answered this in the previous question, however, I started by using
the analytics on the Instagram platform. Once I had an idea of what time my audience was mostly online I did some
more research to see the best times for different cities and noticed it was different. In the beginning, my audience
was primarily in Seattle, though as I wanted to grow I saw that I needed to target the New York audience, which
meant altering my posting time accordingly.
3. Do you use any third-party analytics tools or just Instagram analytics? – We only use Instagram Analytics to
measure response and check on alterations in our audience at the moment, however we are always looking for
new tools to work with and see if there are additional advantages they may offer.
4. Do you have any tips for the readers for posting on Instagram for the food & beverage industry?
– We have built our business on a method of quality over quantity. Sometimes we will be creating content for days
at a time, and in the end usually use around 75% of the content we actually created, as the other 25% isn’t up the
standard we have set for ourselves. If you don’t have something great to share, it’s better for your brand image to
not post that day. If you are a business we believe in the 80-20 method; this follows an old marketing technique,
whereas 20% of the content you share can be pushy ad placement and business forward, and the other 80% of the
time your content should be more engaging and fun. This keeps your clientele involved, makes them want to keep
following you and putting up with the ads, in order to see the fun stuff.
Travel & Tourism
Not everyone has the means or desire to travel, but that doesn’t mean they won’t
interact with the content you’re posting on Instagram about the subject. According
to studies, the most engagement with this niche occurs between 11am and 1pm
closer to the weekend. Travel & Tourism agencies found the following for the best
time to post on Instagram:
• Best Days: Fridays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays
• Most Engaging: Between 11am & 1pm, and between 9am and 10am.

Here’s what Natalia Kalinowski, model and luxury traveler, had to say about Instagram posting times
for Travel:
1. What is the best time to post for your industry? – There are no golden rules, with all the changes with
Instagram it’s hard to say when it’s the best time to post. It all depends on your Instagram audience,
which countries your followers are from and working out the time difference. You don’t want to be
posting content if the majority of your followers are sleeping.
However, I believe evenings work always best as everyone finishes work and sits on Instagram and the
European markets are waking up to go to work or getting their coffee breaks for a quick Insta stroll.
2. How did you figure that out? – Trial and error. Posting at different times of the day and looking at the stats.
3. Do you use any third-party analytics tools or just Instagram analytics? – No. Ive only relied on my
own personal Instagram analytics, as I said before there’s no actual rule and it’s all dependent on your
followers and working out what they interact best with.
4. Do you have any tips for the readers for posting on Instagram for the travel industry? – Tips I
believe help out with Instagram for any post and especially travel industry posts, would be hashtags.
Hashtags relating to the image or place you are staying at, so other followers can view your posts
according to the hashtags.
How to Find the Best Time to Post on

Instagram Through Personal Experimentation
One of the many benefits of having an

Instagram business account is the ability to
use Instagram Insights to see when your
audience is most active. This Instagram
tool will showcase when your Instagram
followers are most active so you can tailor
posting times accordingly. Posting at
these times will maximize reach and
engagement thus helping you gain more
Instagram followers.
As mentioned before to access Insights you will

need an Instagram business profile or Instagram
creator profile. The major benefit of switching to a
creator profile is gaining access to the Instagram
Creator Studio dashboard. The Instagram tools on
this dashboard include additional audience
insights, like advanced data for when your
followers are online.

How to Schedule Instagram posts Using the
Most Popular Scheduling Tools
Not down to experiment with Instagram posting times for yourself? Don’t have the time to carefully monitor
your Instagram engagement, check insights and figure out the best time to post on Instagram? We get it. That’s
why popular scheduling tools like Later and Sprout take the guesswork out of it and show you the best time to
post on Instagram specific to your account.
Later Finding the best time to post on Instagram can be a chore.

Engagement and reach seem to be declining daily, so the pressure of
finding the best Instagram posting times and optimizing your content is
more important than ever. Like we’ve mentioned above, every account
has a unique audience, so finding the best time to post to engage with
your Instagram followers was a huge challenge…until now.
Later offers a feature called “Best Time to Post” which, as the name
alludes, highlights the best time to post on Instagram for your account
specifically. Later automatically calculates the top times that your
Instagram followers are active, and when you should schedule for
maximum engagement. To use Later to find the best time to post on
Instagram, you’ll have to upgrade to one of Later’s business plans
which also includes unlimited posts and more starting at $16/month.
Sprout Sprout has their own data science team that constantly gathers
information from customers. They collected the information above
about the best time to post on Instagram and like Later, Sprout Social,
shows you the optimal time for your posts.
Sprout Social is unique in its ability to not only show you the best times
for posting on Instagram for your account but also can schedule and
auto-post your content too. Joel Booth, a Senior Data Scientist at
Sprout explained, “The algorithm can look at more messages, more
engagements and more factors over a far wider range of time than a
person to pinpoint those ideal times to send a message and how
those times change week to week.”
Sprout’s offerings give your account the best opportunity to shine and
engage with your Instagram followers.

The Ultimate Glossary
of Instagram Terms
If you work with social media in a professional capacity, you have to know
what you’re talking about, placing a priority on continual education and
learning the best way to use Instagram. One good way to do this is by
making sure you can define both common and not-so-common Instagram
terms, familiarizing yourself with the lingo so you can put it into practice.
Whether you’re an Instagram newbie trying to figure out the mysterious

language of social media (which is totally okay!) or an old pro ready to learn
something new, this glossary of Instagram terms is for you.
Your Account and Profile
Algorithm
01 The Instagram algorithm dictates the order in which users see posts on their feed.
Algorithms are common in computer science — essentially, an algorithm is a procedure that

helps make calculations. In regards to social media, algorithms control a lot: They’re in charge of
trending hashtags, what content certain users do or don’t see, and more. Each social media
platform has an algorithm. On Instagram, brand engagement can sometimes help shift the
algorithm and help a post be seen more often.
Bio 02
An Instagram bio is the section of text under a username where you can list
information about your brand.
Your Instagram bio is a great place to explain a little bit about your company
and what it does. Often, this little blurb is the first thing people see when
they come to your profile, so it’s important.
03 Handle
An Instagram handle or IG handle is another term for username — the name
used on Instagram to define a specific profile.
On your profile, your Instagram handle can be found at the very top in black
lettering. When you sign up for Instagram, choosing a username is one of the
very first things you’ll do. Sometimes Instagram usernames are an actual name
or business, such as @shawnmendes, while other times a username does not
relate to someone’s actual name.

What to Post on Instagram Stories
Caption
04 A brief description that appears underneath a photo.
Instagram captions might include a call to action, a funny quote, or explain the
story behind the picture. Captions are the place for hashtags, too; they’re almost
2,000 characters long, so you can fit a lot in there if you choose.
User-Generated Content 05
Content (photos or videos) created by fans of a certain brand or celebrity.
As a brand, you either make products or provide a service. When your

customers post pictures of themselves using that product or service,
that’s defined as user-generated content, or UGC. Often, brands will look
for user-generated content and ask permission to repost it, like Aerie did
here with this photo from a follower.
Gallery
06 A method of sharing up to 10 photos in a post.
When you post an Instagram “gallery,” you create a post with multiple photos
and/or videos. Your followers will be able to swipe through the images.

Archive
07 Hiding old posts without deleting them.
By “archiving” a post, you can take an old post of yours off of your profile without
deleting it. You’ll be able to see the archived post by tapping “Archive” (found
under the three horizontal lines at the top right-hand corner of your profile), but
no one else will be able to see it.
Saved Posts 08
A way of keeping posts you want to look at again.
You can save a post by tapping the banner icon at the bottom right, just above
the caption. This will save the post to your library, accessible on your profile. As
you scroll through your Instagram feed, you may want to save posts that you can
draw inspiration from later.
Engagement
Engagement
09 Interacting with users on social networks.
This one is pretty simple — engagement simply refers to people

interacting with each other on social media. These interactions are
what make social media social. Replying to comments and doing an
Instagram live Q&A, for example, are methods of engaging with
your audience.

Engagement Rate
10 The number of likes and comments received on a post divided by the number
of followers.
Finding your Instagram engagement rate takes a little math, but it’s really not that
hard. Let’s take this recent post from Hot Pockets as an example. The post
received 3,693 likes and 203 comments; adding those together equals 3,896. To
get the final engagement rate, you would divide 3,896 by 30,000. On average,
this account has a very high engagement rate of about 6.07 percent.
Organic Reach 11
The number of unique users who find and view your content without following a
paid promotion.
Your organic reach consists of people who find your page by themselves, from a
webpage, or through friends. For small businesses who don’t have the budget to
create a promotion, focusing on organic reach can be a great strategy.
Double Tap
12 Liking a post.
The term double tap or double tapping is simply another way to refer to “liking” a
post, since double tapping an image on Instagram is a method of liking it. Inviting
people to double tap a photo you posted is a method of increasing engagement.

Direct Message
13 A private message between two people, or a group of people, that cannot be
seen except by invitation.
Instagram DM’s are private messages between invited users. DM’s don’t apply to
your engagement rate, but they are a great method of building engagement and
trust with your followers; conversations over DM can make users more likely to
come see your other posts. Responses to your Instagram stories also come to
you via direct messaging.
Insights 14
A section of statistics that helps you learn about your audience, your content,
and how it’s performing..
Instagram Insights help you see where your posts are going, how people are
discovering them, and even little details such as the time of the day when the
most people interact with your content. These insights can help your content
strategy become more focused.
Tag
15 To attach someone’s username to a post.
The term “tagging” generally refers to tagging someone directly in an Instagram

post — i.e. their username shows up on the photo — instead of simply mentioning
them in the comment section. When you tag someone in a post, the picture will
show up in a designated section on their profile. Here, Saucy Lips Food tagged
Food For Life Baking.

Follower Growth
Followers
16 The Instagram users who follow your account.
When you create an Instagram profile, people can follow you; you can see your
number of followers at the top of your Instagram profile. Your followers will see
your posts in their newsfeed.
Follower Growth Rate

The percentage of new followers an account gains.
17
Your follower growth rate is simply a way to track how many new followers you
receive over a certain time period. You can find this growth rate by comparing the
number of new followers (i.e. 200 in the last week) to the number of existing
followers. This statistic can help you figure out whether you’re doing a good job
of attracting new users (which is something you should actively be working on).
Notifications
18 Alerts that announce new social media activity.
Notifications keep you updated on how many likes and comments your posts
have received, plus anywhere someone has mentioned your handle. It’s
important to respond to messages and comments quickly when you get a
notification — that increases engagement.
If you go to your settings and click ‘notifications’, you can turn notifications on and
off for your profile.
Impressions 19
The total number of times your post has been viewed.
Impressions are a little trickier, because they can occur multiple

times per user. Reach measures how many unique users have seen
your post; impressions count the total number of times the post has
been seen. That means one person could look at your post three
times, resulting in one number added to your total reach and three
added to your impressions.

Hashtags
Hashtags
20 A word or phrase with the # symbol placed in front, making it
searchable.
When you type the pound symbol (#) and then add a word or
phrase immediately after, that’s a hashtag. Hashtags are searchable
tags and a way to categorize posts, so it’s important to use relevant
keywords that will help more people find you.
Branded hashtags 21
Hashtags that are unique to a brand, often using the company name.
Belk uses the hashtag #BelkStyle so customers can post photos of

Belk products all in one place. Another popular hashtag is by Aerie:
#aeriereal. Branded hashtags are a good way to source
user-generated content.
Popular hashtags
22 Commonly used hashtags that may reach a wider audience.
Popular hashtags (such as #love, the most commonly used hashtag

on Instagram) might be helpful, but be careful, because your post
could easily get lost in the shuffle. If you use popular hashtags,
make sure they’re relevant instead of just including them for the
heck of it.

Geotags
The tagged location of the post.
23
When you geotag your post, you select a location, and that location shows up
just under your account name. Geotagging posts is a good way to help more
people find them.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer
24 Someone who produces content for a large audience, often in a
specific niche.
An influencer creates engaging content for their follower base;

most influencers are focused in one specific domain, such as
fitness or beauty. Generally, influencers have over 10k followers.
Influencer Marketing
A form of social media marketing where influencers promote
25
products or services.
Companies will often partner with influencers and have influencers

promote a product or service on Instagram so that person’s
followers will learn about the company.
Influencer CPM
26 The cost and value of an influencer.
CPM stands for cost per mille, or cost per thousand. So influencer
CPM is a way to measure the cost of an influencer plus how much
value they bring. If someone has 200,000 followers and a CPM of
$20, it would cost $4,000 to create a sponsored post.

Instagram Ads
Sponsored Ads
27 A paid promotion that shows up in users’ newsfeeds.
Instagram ads might look like a typical post at first glance, but if you
look more closely, you’ll see the “Sponsored” mark. Sponsored ads
show up in users’ news feeds just like any other post, except these
types of posts are actually a paid promotion instead of being an
organic post.
Paid Reach 28
The size of the audience reached by a sponsored post on Instagram.
Paid reach is the opposite of organic reach; your paid reach is made
up of the user views you received through a sponsored or paid post.
With paid reach, you can target a certain demographic.
Brand Representatives
29 People who represent a brand on social media.
Small companies often put out a call for brand reps — regular people
(not big influencers) who get a discount or free merch in exchange
for posting about the brand. This can help expand a company’s
reach and is also a good source of user-generated content.
| Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 36

Instagram Stories
Stories
30 Twenty-four-hour posts found at the top of the Instagram
news feed.
Stories can be pictures or videos; they appear at the top of

the Instagram newsfeed and, unless you save your Stories as
highlights, they’ll disappear after 24 hours. Instagram Stories
have several interactive features such as polls and reactions.
Highlights
Instagram Stories saved to your profile.
31
On your Instagram profile, there’s a section for highlights in between
your feed and the “Follow” button. You can save photos and videos
that you’ve posted to your Stories to these highlights.
Boomerang
32 A short video that loops back and forth.
Often used in Instagram stories, boomerangs are short videos that

play continually (similar to a gif). In this boomerang, the water appears
to be falling down and then being pulled back up.
Instagram Live
A live video for your followers to watch.
33
With Instagram Live, you can livestream a video and then download it
and save for later. Live videos are a good way to further connect with
your followers and keep them updated.

Polls
34 A multiple-choice question in your Instagram story.
You can create polls on your Instagram story to engage with

viewers. They’re fun and effective because not all interaction
on Stories is visible to viewers, but the results of a poll are.
Exits 35
The number of people who left your Story.
Exits refers to the number of people who left your Instagram Story
without watching it to the end, either by skipping to the next person’s
story, going back to their main feed, or closing Instagram altogether.
Superzoom
36 An Instagram Stories feature that zooms in and creates
sound effects.
Superzoom is a fun way to make a dramatic, silly video on

Instagram stories.

IGTV
37 A video service where users can upload videos up to an hour long.
IGTV, often called Instagram’s answer to YouTube, is a video service

that allows videos up to 15 minutes (or up to an hour for accounts with
more followers). You can access IGTV by tapping on the small TV on
the top right-hand corner of your Instagram feed.
Shoppable Posts
Product Tags
An image tag that lets users view a product.
38
You can create a shoppable posts on Instagram by selecting a
product tag when you upload the photo — the process works just like
tagging a person. Then post viewers can tap the product tags to see
more details about the product and purchase it from your online store.
(Note that, in many cases, products need to be available in your
Shopify store and your Facebook catalogue.)
General Strategy
Scheduling
39 Planning your Instagram content in advance so it will automatically
publish at a set time.
Instagram doesn’t have an in-app method of scheduling, but you

can use third-party tools such as Hootsuite or Later to schedule
your posts. This can save you time and effort and help you build
more followers through consistency.

Memes
40 A humorous image or video that spreads quickly across the Internet.
You probably already know what a meme is, but did you know memes can be
hugely helpful for engagement on Instagram? Meme Monday posts (or memes
any day of the week) can add some flavor and personality to your feed and often
get more engagement than typical posts.
Explore Page
A section of Instagram that recommends posts for you.
41
The Explore page can be found under the search tab and offers up a curated
collection of fresh posts for each user based on the type of posts you
typically interact with. From a business standpoint, the Explore page can be
very helpful — if your posts have geotags and get a lot of engagement, they
might appear on that page for some users, giving you more exposure.
Filter
42 An editing feature that enhances the colors of an image.
Filters are used to add a certain “vibe” to an image, and Instagram has several
built-in filters that you can choose from when you go to post a photo on the app.
Example filters include Clarendon, Gingham, X-Pro II, and others.

Latergram
43 A post that doesn’t make it to Instagram until days after the event happened.
A latergram occurs when you post a photo of something at a later time than
when it actually happened; these posts are commonly hashtagged #latergram.
Like
Tapping the heart button to acknowledge a post.
44
Liking a post is the same thing as double-tapping it. You acknowledge that you
see and appreciate the post, and whoever posted it gets a notification that you
liked it.
IG
45 An abbreviation for Instagram.
IG is simply an abbreviation for Instagram, and Instagram users are sometimes

called IGers.
Regram 46
Reposting someone else’s post.
When you regram somebody’s post, you can either screenshot it and post it
again, or use an app to repost it. Don’t forget to ask permission, and then include
the hashtag #regram and give the original user credit.

Theme
Visual consistency on your Instagram feed.
47
Many Instagram accounts choose a certain theme to follow as they post images
and graphics — that might be pastel colors and lots of flowers for one brand, or a
darker theme with lots of black and grey for another. Staying consistent with a
theme can help your feed look more appealing to potential followers.
Website Traffic
48 A metric that tracks website visitors who come from your Instagram.
One of your big goals with Instagram should actually be to get

people off Instagram and onto your website, where the sales
happen. By using Google Analytics to track the number of website
visitors you’re getting from Instagram, you can see whether or not
you’re doing a good job of this. Get web traffic through either
pointing people to the link in your bio or adding a swipe-up link to
your Stories like Starbucks did here.
Nametag
A way for people to immediately follow your account.
49
You can find your Instagram nametag by tapping the three horizontal lines in the
upper right-hand corner of your profile and then clicking “Nametag.” This
nametag is scannable, so people can find your profile by simply scanning the tag
instead of typing in your username and searching.

Newsfeed
50 Your home screen, where you can view posts from people you follow.
By tapping on the house icon on the bottom left corner of the app, you’ll reach
your newsfeed, where new posts from the people you’re following will collect.
This is the page that automatically opens each time you open the app.
Learn the Instagram Lingo
Make it a priority to continually educate yourself about Instagram and its features.
Learning how to speak the lingo and understand Instagram best practices can set you up
for success as you work toward your social media marketing goals.

Get real Instagram followers
Using the most powerful organic growth tool
No spam, no fake followers, no bots
Powerful targeting and filtering options
Trusted by 10,200+ agencies and influencers
Yes, I want more real followers!

Nas WP WWW Cluster-120286 Kicksta Wp-Content Uploads 2020 01 Kicksta-Instagram-Marketing-Guide-2020

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Nas WP WWW Cluster-120286 Kicksta Wp-Content Uploads 2020 01 Kicksta-Instagram-Marketing-Guide-2020

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

INSTAGRAM

MARKETING GUIDE 2020

11 8 Easy Ways To Increase

14 How Working with Micro Influencers

18 Instagram For Business:

Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 i

Instagram For Business - How to Optimize Your Account

Switch to a Business Profile

Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 01

Instagram Stories Highlights 06

Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 02

07 Create a Cohesive Brand Image

Create A Variety of Content Types 08

Curate User-Generated Content

Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 03

Types of Automation Tools:

How to Craft Captions for Your Business Profile

Show Your Brand’s Personality

Tell Your Brand’s Backstory

Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 04

Educate Your Followers 16

Ways to Further Optimize Your Instagram Captions

Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 05

What to Post on Instagram Stories

23 Location Tags 24 Sharing Other Posts 25 Swipe-Up

Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 06

29 Chat 30 Quiz 31 Stickers and GIFs

Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 07

How to Use Hashtags on Instagram Posts

-Your product or service

Get More Real Followers On Instagram Now!

Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 08

How to Make Sales on Instagram

“Take advantage of the gallery

Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 09

“Every customer is a potential influencer. Treat them accordingly. Always

Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 10

Post At The Optimum Time 01

Unfortunately there’s no one-size-fits-all answer on the best time to post on Instagram, as it

Instagram Story Stickers

Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 11

Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 12

Asking for opinions, ideas, or inspiration is a great place to start, as people

04 Post On Social Media Holidays

Collaborate With Other Accounts To 07

It’s a no brainer: humans love animals. Brands on Instagram have

This is a simple but highly effective strategy to increase engagement

Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 13

Micro-Influencers: Definition and Statistics

According to one study, micro-influencers deliver seven

• 70% of teens trust social influencers more than

• 40% of consumers have bought products based

• Micro-influencers are able to generate 60%

How can it be? What makes micro-influencers so efficient?

Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 14

7 Tips to Help You Launch a Better Micro-Influencer Campaign

Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 15

Use the power of storytelling 03

04 Build a network of micro-influencers

The vast majority of micro-influencers don’t charge more than $250

Let them publish content on multiple platforms 05

Instagram Marketing Guide 2020 16