Mackayla Paul

Instagram Story Highlights is a new feature that allows users to share their best Instagram Stories for much longer (indefinitely) than the usual 24-hour cycle. You have many ways to use Instagram stories highlights.

However, an interesting thing to arise in the business community since the launch of this feature is the way that people are using it as an additional way to promote their product and service offerings despite the lack of multiple clickable links in their Instagram bio description.

Read on to learn three creative ways you can use Instagram Stories Highlights for your business.

[Read more…] about 3 Creative Ways to Use Instagram Stories Highlights

In January 2016, I launched my first ever business ‘ Social Stylings’.

A few months of Instagram bliss later, they announced that they were going to introduce an algorithmic feed instead of the traditional chronological feed.

That is when everything started to change.

With that first Instagram account for my first business, I experimented over months to discover what worked, what didn’t, and how to best promote my Social Media business on Instagram.

Now with Social Stylings sitting at just over 7,500 followers, with a consistent stream of clients and e-book sales, I decided that it was time for me to launch my second business.

What I didn’t really prepare myself for was how much quicker and easier it would be to grow my second business’ Instagram account.

Currently, Marketer Mansion is sitting at 800 followers, and the account launched on 24th January. Talk about fast growth!

In this article, I want to share with you the things I did differently the second time around that I can attribute to this fast Instagram follower growth.

Because despite this ‘evil algorithm’ that everyone complains about, it actually was relatively easy to grow this Instagram account.

You just have to follow a few simple steps.

Almost like an ‘Instagram Follow Growth Recipe’.

 

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Instagram Follower Growth Recipe (For New Accounts)

 30 minutes of Instagram Engagement Strategies per day. For example: liking and commenting on other people’s content in the Hashtags my ideal customers use. Responding to people’s stories.

 Posting more than usual – 2x a day on most days, and sticking with a clear image theme so that my feed is visually attractive.

 Updating my Hashtags for a few posts with Hashtags from my Instagram Hashtag (Fashion) Cheat Sheet

 Making sure to keep my Following ratio underneath my total follower amount, so not following everyone I see.

Things that Made it Easier for Me to Grow My Account:

 I haven’t changed to a business profile yet.

 I have @social.stylings, so I do have a few people trickling over from there. Sometimes I will mention Marketer Mansion in a caption or Instagram Story.

 I have an email list I can promote my new account to.

 I put up follow threads in my free Facebook group Instagram Unfiltered.

 

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Think about how you can incorporate these strategies into your own Instagram Marketing to boost your results.

 

We need to stop using this excuse.

Seriously.

As an Instagram Marketing Specialist working with clients 1:1, hosting corporate workshops and public workshops as well as a free Facebook group dedicated to Instagram, the most common excuse I hear is…

“Ugh. The Instagram algorithm changed and XYZ on my account isn’t working. Grr”

The truth is, we all need to stop blaming airy fairy rumours backed with 0 evidence.

Because of most of the time? It’s our own fault that our Instagram results have dropped.

 

Yes, I just wrote that.

 

There’s something about human nature – we tend to overlook our shortcomings when we get busy and when we are relaxed, we start dropping the balls we are juggling in the air. That is when things start to change.

When it comes to Instagram, one thing I wish for in 2018 is for us all to stop blaming the algorithm for everything.

Instagram doesn’t hate you.

Instagram doesn’t want your business to fail.

Also, Instagram wants you to succeed, but you need to get to know the platform better.

You need to work on your relationship – get to know it, respect it, and work on your relationship with Instagram frequently to keep things fresh and fun.

According to Buffer, there are seven key factors that will affect your account and content within the algorithm.

 

1. Engagement: How popular the post is
2. Relevancy: The genres of content you are interested in and have interacted with
3. Relationships: The accounts you regularly interact with
4. Timeliness: How recent the posts are
5. Profile Searches: The accounts you check out often
6. Direct Shares: Whose posts you are sharing
7. Time Spent: The duration spent viewing a post

 

There are also certain behaviours that will cause Instagram to throw a little toddler tantrum with you – it’ll be mad at you, but it won’t tell you why.

Those behaviours are usually the reasons why people start struggling with Instagram, particularly in 2018.

At the moment I am working on formulating a complete checklist for business owners to go through when they are struggling on Instagram, but here are a few things to keep in mind.

These suggestions are based on my own findings from managing accounts, various research, working with clients, and group findings in my free Facebook group on what works and what doesn’t.

Tips

1. Change your Hashtags regularly – if it has been over three weeks, change them!
2. Be careful not to like, comment, or follow/unfollow too quickly. IG will think you’re a robot.
3. Don’t join comment pods or ‘engagement groups’ hosted within Instagram DM’s.
4. Don’t over-post (3+ daily) or under-post (less than 2 posts a week).

If you want the cheat sheet when it becomes available, make sure to be a part of my Facebook group to be notified.

I hope you found this article helpful, and the next time you think to blame the algorithm, I hope that you will check your behaviours first.

One complaint that I often hear from members of my free Facebook group, Instagram Unfiltered, is how confused they feel about the contradictory Instagram Marketing advice freely available online.

At every twist and turn, there will be another marketing guru telling you that the advice of the other marketing guru is wrong.

And in between? There are business owners that *think* they know why X is happening on Instagram, and they are more than happy to share their predictions in all the Facebook groups.

It is no surprise that many small business owners find Instagram confusing.

And difficult, and annoying.

So, what can you do about it?

[Read more…] about Why There is SO Much Contradictory Instagram Advice

Do you feel like you are time-poor when it comes to managing your Instagram Content?

 

Are you guilty of sitting there on the couch after a long day of work and hubby or wifey wants to watch a movie with you, but you whisper…

 

“Just five minutes babe, I need to post on Instagram”.

 

As I write this I swear I can hear groans from millions of husbands and wives around the world who hear this sentence almost daily.

 

[Read more…] about Why I Bulk-Schedule My Instagram Content

It’s no secret that if you’re using Instagram, you may be getting frustrated with the relentless updates and algorithm changes.

Just like many others, you have most likely witnessed a massive drop in your engagement and marketing results over the past year, and at this stage, it seems that Instagram is only continuing to become a more difficult platform to achieve true organic reach.

The pain of Instagram is that as soon as you start paying to play – or using Instagram Advertising – you will start to see a decline in your organic reach also.

The platform wants you to advertise.

However, if you are not ready for that financial commitment in your business, you may want to keep reading to find out a few ways you can ensure that your account will survive and thrive on Instagram in 2018 and beyond.

[Read more…] about 4 Ways to Survive Instagram in 2018 and Beyond