Category Archives: Instagram

Executive Briefing Course: Facebook & Instagram

This video-based course is intended to provide a high-level overview of social media (and of Facebook and Instagram in particular), for time-poor executives who need to understand the possibilities (and the pitfalls) of the medium, without getting lost in the detail.

Social media has become more and more important for New Zealand businesses, for a number of reasons:

  • Social Media is the place where most Kiwis spend a large amount of time online, more than an hour and a half a day
  • Two out of three Kiwi Internet users visit social network sites every day
  • Kiwis use Social Media for purchase recommendations. 85% of buying decisions are made by researching the web for recommendations and information. 92% of Kiwis trust recommendations from their peers. (Localist)
  • They’re very frequent visitors. 24% of Kiwis use their 4G smartphone or tablet to check social media apps at least 20 times a day (Vodafone 4G Network Report)
  • Mastering social media can lead to more effective business development too. 92% of business people say that networking is a key part of professional development and business success, but only 8% of respondents chose social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as their preferred method of networking. (The Icehouse survey)
  • If you’re not active in their favourite forum, will prospects think of you when they consider making a purchase in your category?
  • Through social sites, Kiwis talk about what they want to buy and they often ask their friends for recommendations. Are you listening? Are you contributing?

People share stuff on social media with their friends — the good, the bad and the ugly. If you’re being talked about and you don’t know what is being said about you and your products & services (and customer service successes and failures) in social media, you won’t have a chance to respond and fix any problems before they go toxic.

In other words, social media is now an essential business tool. Are you represented effectively there?

Executive Briefing Course: Facebook & Instagram

The course, provided online over five weeks, looks specifically at the two social networks of most importance to New Zealand marketers: Facebook and Instagram.

Here is what the course covers:

Lesson One: Introduction

In the first lesson, we explore the basics of social media, including:

  • Why Social Media matters in today’s commercial environment
  • The Social Media networks of most importance in New Zealand (notably, as we’ve already mentioned, Facebook and Instagram)
  • The five most common Social Media Objectives
  • A detailed look at who uses Facebook in NZ
  • Features & Benefits of Facebook
  • A detailed look at who uses Instagram in NZ
  • Features & Benefits of Instagram

Lesson Two: How to use Facebook and Instagram Effectively

In the second lesson, we examine specific usage opportunities with both Facebook and Instagram, including:

  • Do’s and don’ts for each channel.
  • Understanding your target customers
  • Defining your brand voice
  • Creative Options
  • Common mistakes
  • Best practice examples
  • How often you should post to each medium

Lesson Three: Advertising on Facebook and Instagram

In the third lesson, we discuss paid advertising on the two social networks, covering:

  • What sorts of posts should you promote?
  • How much should you spend?
  • The secrets of effective ad campaign objectives
  • The key differences between Google Adwords and Facebook & Instagram Ads and why they matter to you
  • The limitations faced by New Zealand advertisers compared with our foreign counterparts
  • How you can reach out to your own customers and prospects through Custom Audiences
  • The 10 most important factors that consumers look for when deciding whether or not to buy from you
  • How to use remarketing to truly customise your Ads
  • How to promote posts (and some of the pitfalls to avoid)

Lesson Four: Analytics and Measurement

Time to turn to the numbers. No, we won’t confuse you with too much detail, but effective promotion on Facebook and Instagram requires at least a broad understanding of the numbers behind the scenes. In the process we will look at:

  • Geo-targeting and audience building
  • Learning from competitors
  • How to measure and interpret results

Recommended tracking, including:

  • who saw your Facebook & Instagram Ads
  • who clicked on those ads
  • the percentage who then took the desired action
  • the comparative Costs Per Click and Costs Per Conversion (and how to evaluate the effectiveness of your ads as a result)
  • the Lifetime Value of your Facebook-generated customers

Lesson Five: Tips, Techniques and Tools

Finally, we cover some of the key tips and techniques that you need to know about to make the most effective use of Facebook and Instagram. Topics that we review include:

  • Developing a content calendar
  • Planning your social media program and allocating responsibilities
  • Social media management tools you should consider
  • What you need to know about relevant NZ Privacy & Regulation legislation
  • The surprising implications for NZ businesses of Europe’s new General Data Protection Regulation

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WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS COURSE?
Any business executive who is considering using Instagram or Facebook (or probably both) to promote their products/services.

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ABOUT NETMARKETING COURSES
This course is one of many courses offered by NZ online training provider Netmarketing Courses. The organisation’s principal, Michael Carney, is a long-time marketer who has been passionate about digital marketing for more than thirty years. Netmarketing Courses was set up in 2010 to offer online marketing courses to businesses across New Zealand. Across the years we’ve partnered with a number of organisations, including the NZ Marketing Association, the Tourism Industry Association, the NZ Retailers’ Association and Hospitality New Zealand, to offer our courses to their members.

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FAQ

Q. How long are the courses?
A. We typically recommend that you allow an average of an hour or two per lesson — less in the earlier stages of a course, more in the latter stages.

Q. How much time do I have to complete the courses?
A. This course is officially a five-week course. That doesn’t mean that you have only that period of time to complete your course, however — you complete the course at your own pace, and many of our students opt for a more leisurely completion time.

Q. Do I have to take the course at a particular time?
A. No, our courses are not live – they’re designed for you to take at your own pace, anytime 24/7 – so when you actually take the course is entirely up to you.

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TIMING

The next course begins on Monday 30 December, 2019.

INVESTMENT

This five-part online training course is available for $597+GST. However we offer an Introductory Discount of $200 — pay just $397+GST for bookings received by Monday 23 December, 2019.

Bookings are confirmed on receipt of payment, which can be by bank deposit or credit card. We can raise an invoice in advance if you need it.

To reserve your place in this Executive Briefing: Facebook and Instagram course and SAVE $200, please pay by credit card through PayPal by clicking here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=K3KXLN3MEE5TS

If you would prefer to pay by bank deposit, or require an invoice, please send an email to [email protected] with your requirements.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
You’ll receive our emailed confirmation of your booking. Then on the first day of the course we’ll follow up with details of your Login and Password, along with an Enrolment Key for the Executive Briefing: Facebook and Instagram online training course.

If you have any questions, or would like more information, please email us at [email protected]

NZ Instagram Statistics 2019

Are you marketing to New Zealand audiences through Instagram?

According to Instagram, as at June 2019 Instagram had 1,570,000 New Zealand users, 57% of them female.

And 69% are aged under 35.

Instagram is now a major marketing channel for NZ businesses. Here are five reasons why you need to master this powerful social medium.

1. Instagram is where you’ll find younger NZ customers and prospects.

Instagram isn’t for everyone. Younger audiences remain the dominant players in the channel (although older audiences are definitely growing).

If your core target audience is Under 35, you need to get active on Instagram.

2. Instagram generates more engagement

According to Forrester Research, brands on Instagram have a 4.21% engagement rate, far higher than Facebook or Twitter.

Since Engagement is what social media marketing is all about, Instagram demands your attention!

3. Instagram is Visual

Okay, that’s obvious. But because we live in an always-on world where we have lower attention spans than a goldfish, you need all the help you can get to catch the eye of your prospects. And, as the TNW graphic below illustrates, visual content is far more powerful.

4. You can use up to 2200 characters to improve your algorithmic placement

Pictures may tell a thousand words but sometimes you need words as well. As the Later.com blog points out, one of the factors that affects how your Instagram post performs in the algorithm is “time spent on post.”

So what’s an easy way to increase the time people spend looking at your post? By writing an engaging (and long) caption.

Now, we’re not saying that every caption has to be hundreds of words long, but even writing a full sentence instead of just a few emojis could help you increase Instagram engagement.

5. Instagram users are happy to support brands

According to this infographic from PR Daily, Instagram users are supportive of brands and businesses on the network.

 

Put all that together and you’ll see that Instagram is a good place to actively promote your business and your brand.

A word of warning, though: Instagram is getting a bit crowded, with more than a billion users worldwide. Oh, and a torrent of content.

Over 95 million photos are shared on Instagram daily and (regrettably) 70% of Instagram posts are never seen.

So how can you beat those odds? How can you ensure that YOUR posts are seen, liked and shared?

That’s where we can help.

We offer a seven-part course covering Instagram for New Zealand Marketers:

instagram-for-nz-marketers

If your target audience is Under 35, Instagram absolutely must be one of your marketing options. This course will give you a solid introduction to this fast-growing social medium.

You’ll find out the details of this Instagram Marketing seven-part online training course by clicking here.

On the other hand, if you’d prefer to learn more about both Instagram and Facebook, we have a combined course that will help you master both of New Zealand’s most powerful social media:

In 2019, by far the most powerful social media channels for NZ marketers are Facebook and Instagram.

That’s where the audiences are, and that’s where YOU need to be.

  • Through Facebook you can reach an estimated 3.3 million Kiwis 13+
  • Through Instagram you can reach an estimated 1.57 million Kiwis 13+

Of course, there’s rather more to Facebook and Instagram marketing than making a few posts or taking a few pretty pictures and hoping to reach large numbers of your target audience.

Effective social media marketing requires the right knowledge, tools, tips and techniques to help you get noticed and to encourage your audience to engage with you and your brand.

Iin recognition of the combined strengths of Facebook and Instagram, we’ve taken the best of our popular Facebook and Instagram courses, and blended them together into a powerful thirteen-part Mastering Facebook and Instagram Marketing online training course.

This combined will bring you up to speed with what’s required to make your social media marketing on Facebook and Instagram really work for you in 2019.

Check out the details of our Mastering Facebook and Instagram Marketing online training course by clicking here.

 

 

 

7 Effective Influencer Marketing Strategies on Instagram

78% of social influencers prefer to partner with brands through Instagram, according to recent research.

That’s definitely evident on Instagram when you examine data collected by InfluencerDB, which reports that 39% of all Instagrammers with more than 15,000 followers are active influencers.

 

So why would you use Instagram for Influencer Marketing?

Hopper suggests these reasons:

Influencer marketing allows brands to reach their target audience in a way that feels far more genuine than traditional advertising. Rather than businesses selling directly to consumers, they are building relationships with influencers who can sell for them. Instagram influencers have a strong and loyal relationship with their followers, as they share many aspects of their life with them. This leads us to feel like we know them personally, so when an influencer we like recommends something, we listen as we would if it were a friend.

For example, if you follow a travel blogger for their beautiful photos or funny captions, and they post about an airplane pillow that gave them the best night’s sleep on a long haul flight, you’re more inclined to remember the brand and buy it for your next holiday because you like and trust them. Makes sense, right?

With 800 million active users, Instagram has become the platform of choice for influencer marketing. 72% of users said they have made fashion, beauty or style-related purchases after seeing something on the app, proving its power in today’s digital marketing landscape!

We can conclude then that, as long as your product or service is in harmony with the interests and values of your chosen influencers and their followers, you should certainly consider Influencer Marketing via Instagram.

One caveat, though — you have to do it right. You can’t just ask an influencer to mention your product to their audience to be successful — you need to put in the work.

  • Pick Influencers that are in harmony with your products/services
  • Provide them with meaningful reasons to promote your product to their followers
  • Provide them with the creative tools to create a visually-appealing message
  • Insist that they put your pitch in their own voice

Let’s review a number of Influencer Marketing strategies that have been proven to work. Grin takes us through 7 influencer marketing strategies you should follow to achieve solid results:

1 Discount Codes

Discounts compel a customer to make a purchase by giving them an incentive. Combining an influencer’s post with a unique code gives the audience an additional nudge towards a purchase.

2 Brand Mentions

One of the most effective marketing strategies, a brand mention on social media has a much wider reach. Brand mentions lead to more digital conversations and a wider social engagement. Mentions of a brand on social media can boost brand awareness immensely.

3 Giveaways

Competitions and giveaways create a sense of excitement in a consumer. They offer the chance of the thrill of winning something. They also encourage your audience to engage more with your content.

4 Long-Term Partnerships/Ambassador Programs

When an influencer becomes the face of a brand, it is similar to a brand endorsement. The ambassador uses his social media accounts to spread the word about the brand. It also has a long-term value since it has the potential to attract loyal customers.

5 Events

This is a great way to have a personal interaction with the influencer, and also to network with influential people. Media coverage and influencer posts on social media platforms about the event leads to more brand awareness. (Just don’t make the same mistakes as the Fyre Festival, okay?)

6 Takeovers

Here an influencer takes over a brand’s social media account for a pre-decided period of time, and posts on its behalf. This way, a brand gets new content and get more followers.

7 Challenge Your Influencers

Competitions are fun, and when it’s among influencers, it can boost a brand’s visibility and engagement. Winning criteria for influencers is based on social shares or traffic generated for the brand’s website.

PS This image needs a little more explanation: Clothing brand prAna started a #7DayStretch challenge on Instagram and Twitter. They challenged bloggers to wear the same pants for 7 days in a row, and to talk about the experience using #7DayStretch hashtag.

Each influencer picked out the pants that suited their style best, and wore them for seven days. All they had to do was take pictures of what they did wearing the pants and talk about it.

This is a creative strategy of incorporating the brand’s products into people’s lives. prAna became an integral part of the influencers’ daily lives for seven days.

The campaign saw some cool posts from influencers. They got to create their own stories without taking away from the brand.

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If you’d like to know more about (a) Instagram and/or (b) Influencer Marketing, check out these two courses:

Instagram Marketing course

instagram-for-nz-marketers

If your target audience is Under 35, Instagram absolutely must be one of your marketing options. This course will give you a solid introduction to this fast-growing social medium.

You’ll find out the details of this Instagram Marketing seven-part online training course by clicking here.

Influencer Marketing course

influencer-marketing

Our Influencer Marketing online training course is a nine-part course which covers the importance of Influencer Marketing, helps you to determine the smartest and most effective strategies — and to explore how to identify effective Kiwi micro-influencers who will be good ambassadors for your brand.

For more information about our Influencer Marketing course, please click here.

7 Key Facts You Should Know Before You Start Marketing on Instagram

Thinking about marketing on Instagram? New to the social media platform?

Before you get started, here are some key facts that you should know. Some will be self-evident, others may not be, so bear with us if you’re already a veteran Instagram user, okay?

1. Instagram is a mobile app

Yeah, well good on you if you already knew that Instagram is a mobile app. Not everyone does. Yes, it is possible for users to access Instagram via the web. But, really, you wouldn’t.

Instead, most people visit Instagram via mobile.

What a typical user sees when using the Instagram app.

But wait, we hear some ask, doesn’t mobile usage limit the popularity of the app?

Not really — in New Zealand, smartphone usage is virtually universal for anyone Under 55:

2. Instagram is visual

Yeah, again, doh! Instagram is all about pictures (both still images and videos). You can and do add captions and hashtags and other words, but it’s pictures that do the heavy lifting, whether it’s food porn …

… or animals …

… or landscapes …

… or art …

… or any of a wide, wide range of pictorial possibilities.

Incidentally, we do recommend that you focus your attention (at least in the early stages of your Instagram Marketing endeavours) on pictures rather than videos. Sprout Social tells us:

What’s interesting about Instagram Video is that while video consumption has increased 40%, photos generate 36% more likes than videos. This could be due to any number of reasons. For instance, users could just watch your video then keep scrolling. Or in some cases, your videos might not drive people to take action.

3. Instagram’s user base is (currently) dominated by the Under 35s

Instagram has always tended to be more popular amongst younger audiences, at least once their elders found and started using Facebook. As the graph below (from March 2018) shows, if a significant proportion of your target market is Under 35, you should definitely use Instagram to reach them.

4. The primary currency for getting noticed on Instagram: Hashtags

Over 95 million photos are shared on Instagram daily, which means it can be hard for current and potential customers to find your posts. To make matters worse, 70% of Instagram posts simply aren’t seen by anybody but their maker.

We talk about how to build a following on Instagram in our Instagram Marketing course, but for now, take note: one of the secrets of getting found on Instagram is using the right hashtags.

FYI, the most popular hashtags in general are:

#love #instagood #photooftheday #tbt #beautiful #cute #me #selfie #tagforlikes #happy #followme #fashion #summer #picoftheday #like4likes #fun #art #friends #instadaily #girl #smile #repost

The most popular hashtags for marketing are:

#social #branding #socialmedia #success #sales #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #marketing #branding #tech #business #contestalert #sweepstakes #giveaway #discount #travel #deal #smallbiz

 

5. You need an Instagram Business Account

If you wish to market on Instagram, you will find that you need to pay to support strategic posts. And for that, you’ll need a Business Account.

6. Top Brands post regularly

In 2017, top brands posted 4.9 times per week on Instagram. If your maths is dodgy, just think about it as once every weekday.

Sprout Social data concluded that Tuesday through Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. were by far the safest days to post to maximize engagement. Here are some of their other findings:

  • Thursday has the highest amount of engagement in the week
  • Sunday has the weakest engagement of the week

7. Best times to post (your mileage may vary)

The best times to post, as a general rule, are when your followers are active and able to interact. That said, if you’re just starting out or have no idea when your followers are available, here are some overall averages (as reported by Inc).

Sunday: 5pm
Monday: 7pm and 10pm
Tuesday: 3am and 10pm
Wednesday: 5pm
Thursday: 7am and 11pm
Friday: 1am and 8pm
Saturday: 12am and 2am

Here’s a (slightly-confusing) graphic that tracks the best days and times:

8. Instagram is owned by Facebook

Yeah, we tossed in a bonus fact. The app is owned by Facebook (for better or for worse).

If you’re serious about promoting on Instagram, we recommend that you check out our Instagram for New Zealand Marketers online training course:

instagram-for-nz-marketers

You’ll find out the details of this Instagram Marketing seven-part online training course by clicking here.

 

 

New Course: Instagram for New Zealand Marketers

instagram-for-nz-marketers

Instagram is now a major marketing channel for NZ businesses. It’s time to master this social medium.

1.1 million Kiwis are reached by Instagram in a typical month, according to Instagram data (March 2018). That’s a whole lot of pictures and videos being consumed — and a lot of attention grabbed that just isn’t available anywhere else.

But Instagram isn’t for everyone. Younger audiences remain the dominant players in the channel (although older audiences are definitely growing).

instagram-nz-monthly-reach-mar2018Source: Instagram March 2018

If your core target audience is Under 35, you need to get active on Instagram.

A word of warning, though: Instagram is getting a bit crowded, with more than 800 million users worldwide. Oh, and a torrent of content.

Over 95 million photos are shared on Instagram daily and (regrettably) 70% of Instagram posts are never seen.

So how can you beat those odds? How can you ensure that YOUR posts are seen, liked and shared?

That’s where we can help, with this (new for 2018) seven-part course covering Instagram for New Zealand Marketers.

Here’s what you can expect to learn from the course:

Lesson One: Getting Established on Instagram

In this first lesson, we discuss the ever-changing nature of social media and how important both pictures and video have become when it comes to getting noticed. We then explore the specifics of Instagram, including its background, the demographic profile of those most likely to use the social medium and how Kiwis are using  Instagram.

We also look at some of the leading Kiwi Instagram practitioners (a topic which we will return to in more detail later in the course) and how they are using Instagram effectively.

Lesson One includes:

  • The Power of Pictures
  • Instagram: a History
  • Who Uses Instagram
  • Instagram in NZ
  • Your Ideal Instagram User Name
  • Your Optimised Profile Picture
  • What You Should Feature in Your Instagram Bio

Lesson Two: Instagram for Business

Do consumers actually connect to businesses on Instagram? Yes, according to at least one study, 80% of users follow brands on the Instagram platform.

Why? The usual reasons that consumers give:

  • they like the brand and want to show their support
  • they want deals and discounts
  • they like to receive insider knowledge about the brand
  • FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)

In Lesson Two we discuss how to set yourself up with a Business Account on Instagram, we show you the stats on the percentage of businesses currently using Instagram, and we reveal some of New Zealand’s most popular brands on the platform.

Lesson Two covers:

  • Setting Up a Business Account on Instagram
  • Why (and how) you should sign up to be an Alpha tester
  • Scheduling posts
  • Instagram Insights
  • Tracking Clicks
  • What you need to know about Instagram Shopping
  • Instagram Brand Marketing: Case Studies

Lesson Three: Posting to Instagram

Why do some Instagram posts go massively viral (effortlessly, it seems) whilst others are just meh? We’ve done the homework so you don’t have to, identifying more than a dozen secrets of powerful Instagram photos and videos.

We also discuss the best ways to attract followers, and how to really engage with them.

Lesson Three features:

  • The Most Effective Instagram Creative Approaches
  • The comparative effectiveness of photos vs. videos
  • The photo content types that attract 38% more likes
  • Posting Mistakes to Avoid
  • How often you should post
  • The strategic importance of Location Tagging
  • The power of emojis
  • How to Set Up and Use Instagram Live
  • What You Need to Know about Instagram Stories

Lesson Four: Hashtags

Hashtags are the lifeblood of Instagram. They’re the equivalent of keywords on Instagram, except even more so: they’re a way of getting found, a rallying point for people, brands and causes and a way to reach out to your constituency in a highly-targeted and shareable manner.

In this lesson, we examine the hashtag phenomenon, show you how brands and leading Instagrammers are using them effectively and help you to identify the best hashtags for your products and services.

Lesson Four includes:

  • Optimising Hashtag Usage
  • Choosing Hashtags
  • Hiding Hashtags
  • The ideal number of Hashtags on each post
  • How to Follow Hashtags (and encourage others to do so)

Lesson Five: Instagram Advertising

If you want to take full advantage of Instagram, then at some point you will find yourself buying advertising on the platform.

Lesson Five to the rescue, with the key facts you need to know about advertising on Instagram, to ensure that you achieve maximum effectiveness.

Lesson Five outlines:

  • The Mechanics of Instagram Advertising
  • Instagram Advertising Options
  • Best practices for using video in Instagram ads
  • Boosting Instagram posts
  • Effective Targeting
  • Using Facebook Ads Manager

Lesson Six: Instagram Influencers

Did you know that 78% of social influencers prefer to partner with brands through Instagram, according to recent research?

That statistic makes it more important than ever to learn how to use Instagram effectively.

In this lesson, we talk about how to use Influencer Marketing effectively (and monitor results) and also sound some alarms to ensure that your influencers comply with their legal obligations.

In Lesson Six, you’ll also learn:

  • Why Use Influencer Marketing
  • Most Effective Influencer Marketing Strategies
  • Finding Kiwi Influencers
  • Notifications and Disclaimers you MUST use
  • Influencer Marketing Measurement & ROI

Lesson Seven: Instagram Tips, Trends, Tools

Finally, we cover some of the key tips and techniques that you need to know about to make the most effective use of Instagram, along with some of the recent Instagram developments and new feature testing.

In Lesson Seven, we cover:

  • Identifying the best times to upload to Instagram
  • How to Remove Inappropriate Instagram Comments
  • What you need to know about Instagram Rights Manager
  • The Best Instagram Tools
  • Instagram Trends to Note

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WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS COURSE?
Any Kiwi marketer, or anyone who is responsible for marketing for their organisation, who is considering using Instagram to promote their products/services.

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WHAT CUSTOMERS ARE SAYING ABOUT OUR COURSES

Here’s a sampling of the feedback we’ve received from those who’ve taken our courses:

  • Thanks for an informative and interesting [Facebook Accelerator] course. Your presentation held a good balance of theoretical and practical information and was clear and simple enough for a non IT Facebook novice like me to follow. There are many ideas that I have gained that I will attempt to incorporate in the overall marketing plan my team is currently developing for our brand. Facebook can offer so much more than I thought as a medium for communicating with our current and prospective customers. Julie D
  • I found this course fantastic, i started off knowing very little about facebook (just how to run my own personal page) to now having a thorough understanding of ALL the things you can (and there is a lot). The course format was great and allowed knowledge to be built up over time. Course length was great and this will definetly be something i come back to constantly as we develop our facebook pages more within my company. Aleisha H
  • I have really enjoyed the course and the way it was structured. It was informative and interesting – liked the way you incorporated slide-shows, video, statistics and different forms of media to provide information. Lisa C

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TIMING

This course begins on Monday 30 December, 2019.

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INVESTMENT

This seven-part online training course is available for $597. However we offer an EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT of $100 — pay just $497 for bookings received by the end of  Monday 23 December, 2019.

Bookings are confirmed on receipt of payment, which can be by bank deposit or credit card. We can raise an invoice in advance if you need it.

To reserve your place in this course, please pay by credit card through PayPal by clicking here:

Register Now for the next course

If you would prefer to pay by bank deposit, or require an invoice, please send an email to [email protected] with your requirements.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

You’ll receive our emailed confirmation of your booking. Then on the first day of the course we’ll follow up with details of your Login and Password, along with an Enrolment Key for the Instagram for New Zealand Marketers online training course.

If you have any questions, or would like more information, please email us at [email protected]

Stop Using Giveaways to Attract Instagram Followers

We used to see it all the time on Facebook. Now the pernicious practice of using giveaways to attract followers has spread to Instagram as well.

Here’s an example, from a major New Zealand brand, posted just last month:

instagram-contest

We’ve blurred out the brand details because we’re feeling kind and generous today. Just so you know, though, the prize was a grocery voucher — a category totally unrelated to the brand.

So why are we so against running this type of promotion?

Because — as this brand has — you end up attracting new followers who like to WIN stuff (and not even stuff related to your product category).

If that’s your core constituency (for example, if you’re a sampling company), great. Otherwise, you know nothing about these new followers except that they like to win stuff. That’s not what we call effective targeting.

In this case, the brand just handed over a $500 grocery voucher to attract a few hundred freeloaders — most of whom, presumably, will quickly unfollow the brand if it starts posting information related to its actual product category. You know, like posts that try to sell products.

So please, please, don’t try to inflate your follower numbers by giving away stuff (especially unrelated products). You’re not just wasting your time and money, you’re also diluting your fanbase.

If you want to know how you really should promote yourself on Instagram, check out our Social Media Marketing course.

Lesson Four tells you what you need to know about Instagram, including:

  • What we know about Kiwi Instagram users
  • How leading brands are winning with this image-based network
  • How to use Instagram to its full potential
  • Smart visual content strategies
  • What you should include in your Instagram profile
  • Creative ideas for using Instagram for marketing
  • The importance of hashtags (but how NOT to overuse them)
  • Using Instagram for instant feedback (for better or for worse)
  • How often you should post to Instagram (and what NOT to post)
  • The vital intelligence you can gain, just by tracking Instagram usage
  • Five tips for amazing visual content

A word to the wise …

The Power and Influence of Instagram

We’ve been spending a lot of time lately analysing Instagram — we have assembled a database of some 61,000 New Zealand Instagram users as we develop Instagram monitoring software (about which, more in due course) — and we just came across a stunning example of the power of the medium.

This post — shared by Instagram itself to its 226 million followers — has racked up 209,412 likes in less than an hour.

the-power-of-instagram

The photographer, New Zealand’s sophiejanephoto, must be thrilled with the exposure.

That sort of serendipity — being featured by the medium’s biggest influencer — is not something that you can plan for, of course. But, like every success on Instagram, you can prepare for unexpected discovery by doing a number of things right.

Exactly what sorts of things? To answer that question properly, may we direct you to our two newest Social Media Marketing courses:

Lesson Four of each course tells you what you need to know to succeed on Instagram.

BTW, we mentioned that Instagram monitoring software that we are developing. If your organisation monitors Social Media, we would love to ask you a couple of questions about what you currently monitor — and what you wish you could monitor. Please just drop us an e-mail and we will email you back with those questions.