HOW TO USE INSTAGRAM - Institute of Excellence · Posts Every Instagram Marketer Should Try How to...

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HOW TO USE INSTAGRAM FOR BUSINESS: A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR TOURISM MARKETERS www.instituteofexcellence.com

Transcript of HOW TO USE INSTAGRAM - Institute of Excellence · Posts Every Instagram Marketer Should Try How to...

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HOW TO USE INSTAGRAM FOR BUSINESS:

A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR TOURISM MARKETERS

www.instituteofexcellence.com

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Introducing Instagram

Your Instagram Intention

Your Metrics

Your Branding

Your Posting Schedule

Creating a Winning Profile and Post

Posts Every Instagram Marketer Should Try

How to Use Stories on Instagram

How to Use Hashtags on Instagram

How To Use Instagram Live

How to Promote Your Posts

Grow Your Followers with Competitions

Instagram Etiquette

Creating Smart Collaborations

IGTV – What it is and how to use it

Summary

Bonus Checklist and Glossary

How to Use Instagram for Business: A Complete Guide for Tourism Marketers

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INTRODUCING INSTAGRAM

As a passionate tourism business growing your business and your brand in the online world, you’ve already established an

online social presence to attract visitors, promote your experience, and delight your customers across platforms like Facebook.

With now over one billion users, Instagram has become an essential element of social media marketing for any tourism business. Additionally, there are many benefits for you to navigate growing Instagram for your business the right way, which is why we put together this training on how to set up, grow, and optimise your Instagram strategy to increase your audience, followers, leads, customers, networks and continue down the path of becoming an (even more) lovable brand.

Then, we’ll take a deep dive into Instagram’s newly released app, IGTV and talk about what it is, how to use it and what this new change means for tourism marketers today.

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“Marketing is a contest for people’s attention”

Seth Godin

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YOUR INSTAGRAM INTENTION

The first step with any social media channel is to set your intentions and determine your goals. Here are a few examples of goals you may want to consider accomplish with an Instagram for a Business account:

1. Will it be a place to share your story, or will it be a place to share destination inspired user-generated content similar to how Tourism Australia share content on their consumer account @australia? Sometimes, companies will use Instagram as part of a “brand awareness” strategy, as it’s an ideal place to share what your company is all about.

2. Do you want to showcase your experiences? Perhaps you’ll be using Instagram as a place to showcase your tours and customer success stories or showcase your products.

3. Will your Instagram be a part of your strategy to acquire new leads and customers to your business? If so you’ll need to consider that users typically interact with Instagram on a mobile phone. Ifyou have an unusually long booking and enquiry forms; you may want to consider keeping things simple without being too onerous and labour intensive for your Instagram follower.

4. Do you want to start your journey by gaining more followers and then decide what strategy you will implement?

It is a good idea also to be specific with goals, too. For example:

1. Gain “X” # of followers per day, week, month, quarter

2. Get “X” # of likes on each post

3. Post “X” # of video posts

Hashtags, are a significant part of any Instagram for Business strategy for growing your Instagram community which we go through in detail later in this eBook.

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“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” Grace Hopper

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YOUR METRICS

Instagram had limited native analytics until they introduced their Instagram for Business platform with a built-in Insights tool similar to Facebook Insights. Within insights, as a business account owner, you can see who your followers are and which posts resonate best with your audience. To receive more data on your Instagram account, you can also use third-party applications like Iconosquare or other Instagram scheduling platforms like Social Sprout. Note most third-party platforms offer analytics on a paid subscription basis. Thankfully many of these platforms also offer free trials so that you can have an opportunity to try before you buy.

Creating an effective Instagram strategy is easy when you have data to back up your decisions. With the help of Instagram Insights, you can stick to a plan for the best posting times of day, days of the week, etc.

Data helps you understand your audience. It tells you how they do things, what they prefer, and who they are. By Keeping a running tally of followers gained per day/week and more; determining these metrics before you get started and as you focus your strategy will help identify both your success and ability to repeat what’s working and cut what is not.

Often with social networks, it can be hard to define value from a platform that is somewhat “intangible.” Unlike other digital organic and paid marketing initiatives, i.e. Cost Per Click, Instagram is beneficial to the heart of any company as it humanises and gives life to your brand.

Where Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are for networking and sharing and promoting content, Instagram is the platform where a company can show its human side.

That’s why analytics and insights are so valuable. They help you measure the impact of your marketing efforts across different channels to see if there’s something you need to do differently -- like target a diverse audience, post at a particular time of day, or experiment with a new content format.

By showing off your beautiful experience and the place where you all come together and work, you’re offered an invaluable window to your brand’s culture that is warm, inviting, friendly, and most of all: human.

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YOUR BRANDING

If your company utilizes a visual style guide (colors, fonts, etc.), make sure that your Instagram posts are “on brand” and follow the prescribed guidelines. For example, does your company only post social images in your brand’s specific color scheme on Twitter and Facebook? Should your pictures all include your company’s logo? If necessary, ask your PR or branding team before posting to agree upon visual guidelines before you get up and running.

Here are a few resources/tips when it comes to branding, somefree stock photo sites for you to use (royalty-free) and a little bit of information on composition:

Use High Quality Original Stock Photos Thankfully as tourism businesses and destination marketers there is never too much shortage of beautiful images to share. In the case that you may need high quality stock photos, or looking for that perfect backdrop for text and graphics, there are a fantastic free stock image resources you can access to showcase your brand’s look and feel. Some of these include:

Freestockphotos.org, unsplash.com, deathtothestockphoto.com, pixabay.com

Follow the Rule of ThirdsThe rule of thirds states than an image is most pleasing when its subjects or regions are composed along imaginary lines which divide the image into thirds — both vertically and horizontally. The rule of thirds is all about creating the right aesthetic trade-offs. It often creates a sense of balance without making the image appear too static, and a sense of complexity without making the image look too busy.

Using the rule of thirds means that the subject isn’t cantered in the image, which is how many new photographers frame their shots. Instead, the main focal point is a bit off to one side. ... Using the rule of thirds draws the viewer’s eye into the composition, instead of just glancing at the centre.

Take Great PicturesNot all of us out there have a professional photographer to encapsulate a story in one image and make it look great! For the iPhone user, here are some tips for taking great pictures with your phone. Here are some great tips on How to Shoot on Your iPhone or How to Take Better Photos with Your Android Phone

Follow Typography RulesWhen adding text to images, whether it is to re-purpose a review from Trip Advisor, Facebook or Google, or to promote an upcoming experience to captivate your audiences and create beautiful designs remember the graphic design rules for typography and how to use different fonts. Canva has a great post, why every design needs three levels of typographic hierarchy.

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“Plans are nothing. Planning is everything.” Dwight Eisnhower

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YOUR POSTING SCHEDULEYou’ve heard the saying, if it isn’t scheduled it won’t get done. Being consistent with your Instagram content is key and having a planned approach to your social media content will significantly increase your chances of winning. A planned approach means determining frequency and times-of the-day you’ll be posting in your schedule. To help you along with scheduling your social media content plan here is a social media posting template or your tourism business. Download my Social Media Template for Tourism.

Regarding the time of day, start by experimenting posting at different times to see when you get the most engagement. Consider your target audienceand persona, this is your ideal visitor. Ideal visitor to your website and your business. Don’t know your ideal visitor? Check out this template). Another great tool that can help you build out your buyer persona is Make My Persona by Hubspot.

Targeting your ideal visitor can drastically change your Instagram schedule, especially if you’re targeting an audience in a different time zone.Once you’ve done initial testing with a few posts and have collected data on engagement, optimise your post schedule depending on the test results. Trial and experiment, then test, measure your results and keep doing what works and replace what doesn’t.

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CREATING A WINNING PROFILE AND POST

4 Ways to Optimize Your Instagram Profile

Your Business Username

Not only is your username/handle a prominent piece of your business profile, it’s also what your users will use to find you and tag you. Make sure to use a recognisable username

Make Your Profile Public

Since your goal is to build an Instagram following, make it as easy as possible for people to follow you. Ensure your account is public and you have switched over to a Business account through the setting are of your account.

Your Business Name

Make sure to add your full Business name, and where possible your region to the “name” section in settings. This will appear under your profile picture and under your handle in search.

Add Links tand #hastags to Your Bio

You only have one opportunity to add a link that will drive your audience back to your website. Adding a link to your description section in your bio will make it a very smooth transition for followers to go straight to your website. Any #hashtag or other account you add in the bio of your profile is also activated as a clickable link.

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5 Ways to Optimize Your Instagram Posts

Location

People are naturally curious and looking for inspiration on Instagram. Don’t leave users curious and hunting for your location and always optimise your posts by tagging where it is taken from and specifying location.

Post Relatable, Inclusive Content

The more your users relate to the content you’re posting to relatable, timely and relevant content that is valuable and will benefit them, the more likely you are to get more followers and keep your current ones.

Customize Your Posts

Don’t forget to use filters, tags, links, and hashtags to customise and optimise your photos and videos.

Use High Quality Photos

No one wants to look (or like!) pixelated, blurry images. Use your best stuff especially in the main feed and grid of your posts.

Calls-to-Action Links

If you want your followers to take action (like enter a contest, go to your blog posts or book now button), you have to call them to do it! Don’t forget to use links in your captions for your Call-To-Actions. Remember, in the main body of your posts only an account or hashtags mention can be activated as links. To send audiences to your website it will have to be via the link in your bio. As you only get one chance to link a URL in Instagram a great free resource to add your main links and make it do more can be found here on linktree.

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9 POSTS EVERY INSTAGRAM MARKETER SHOULD TRY

HOW TO USE STORIES ON INSTAGRAM

1. Food

2. Product-Centric

3. Customer-Centric / User Generated Content

4. Employee-Centric

5. Working Photos/In the Field Events

6. Motivational Posts

7. Videos/Boomerangs (Boomerang is an app by Instagram for creating short, gif-like videos.)

8. Giveaways/Contests

9. Guest Takeovers

10. Testimonials

In August 2016, Instagram introduced a new feature that looks remarkably similar to Snapchat: Instagram stories. While traditional Instagram posting is reserved for creating picture-perfect content for users to engage with, stories is all about posting quick, transient moments without worrying about over-posting.

Stories are hosted in a different part of the Instagram platform. While your feed will continue to show your traditional and best quality content, Stories live at the top of the feed. Your traditional content can be liked and commented on, but your Stories can only be viewed or commented on via a private message; there is no real public feedback loop on how much your audience likes your story.

Stories are meant to be quick, unfettered bits of content to showcase snapshots of your business. Traditional Instagram content is more refined. As a Marketer, you should use Stories to showcase ephemeral content. Focus more on creating quality posts for traditional Instagram content, and use Stories for quick, behind the scene, fun and raw, authentic content. For an in-depth technical guide on how to use Instagram Stories, check out more info on Instagram Stories.

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HOW TO USE HASHTAGS ON INSTAGRAMHashtags are a proven way to grow your Instagram following.

Appropriate hashtagging that’s relevant to your goals, content, and brand will help aggregate your images and will also associate them with trending topics.

The importance of a “brand identity” goes along with a specific hashtag you create for your business. A lot of brands will use their own brand name as a hashtag, so your brand name can be your handle (username) and also used as a “brand hashtag”.

When coming up with a hashtag for your brand you should make sure it’s something unique enough that it will be relevant to your company and not overlap too much with other brand’s posts (ie, if you are a Nike, rather than using #sneaker you will want to use something like #nike).

The most important thing to note is that you are across the official hashtag used by your official destination marketing organisation so that your Instagram content is not only found under your specific hashtag, it is also found when users are searching for destination specific experiences and inspiration. For example Tourism Australia official hashtag is #SeeAustralia and #SeeAustralia or a region like Yarra Valley in Victoria likes to use the hashtag #FindYourself or Visit Capricorn Region use #VisitCapricorn or #SouthernBarrierReef

When you use a hashtag that you’ve created for your brand you can follow its evolution and start answering important questions such as:

• Is the hashtag gaining popularity? • Do your followers use the hashtag?• Is that hashtag gaining you followers?

Iconosquare’s search engine allows you to see the number of times your hashtag has been used, which gives you an idea of how popular your hashtag is. You can even compare your own hashtags to top trending hashtags by perusing Iconosquare”s “Top Tags on Instagram” section, as well as export data about any hashtag (posts per day, likes, comments, advocates, geo-location, etc.) to dig even deeper into the analytics of hashtagging and optimising for your audience.

Other great (and free) popular hashtag tools include:

- Organically through the search function of Instagram- Keyhole- Hashtagify

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INCREASING YOUR ENGAGEMENT USING HASHTAGSEach post can be optimised with up to 30 hashtags. Before you get hashtag happy this does NOT mean loading your status update with random, unresearched hashtags into your feed.

Having a mix of followers and engagement is integral to your success on Instagram, but engagement makes a much larger impact when it comes to attracting new followers, potential customers to your business and even brands that you could potentially partner and collaborate with.

Increasing your engagement using hashtags can make all the difference in your Instagram results. The most important thing to note however is that you are using the right hashtags. If not, you can actually cause your engagement to decline.

Using Instagram’s built in features combined with tools mentioned earlier to conduct high quality hashtag search is a great start. Once you have researched your hashtags I highly recommend your store them in the notes of your phone or on a third party project planning app like Trello or Evernote. Storing these hashtags on a device or third party app is a greta way for you to always have you app at the ready to be able to copy and paste into your post.

The most important thing to note is Instagram gives you an opportunity to optimise each post with 30 hashtags. To avoid looking spammy you can break up your hashtags by using a handful of hashtags (2-5) into the body of your post and the remainder in your post.

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HASHTAG FORMULAA useful formula to follow is to use four key hashtags in the status of your content that includes your key content hashtag, country hashtag, state hashtag and regional hashtag. Then in the first comment you can apply and further optimise your post with the remainder 26 hashtags you have researched and are relevant to that post.

The formula will look like this:

4 in post = #YourHashtag, #SeeAustralia, #VisitVictoria, #YourRegion26 in first comment = Post specific

Here is an example of a hashtag strategy being put into place with a pre set of researched hashtags available on a Trello board:

This is an example of creating a card within the Trello app for your researched hashtags and copying your hashtags ready to paste into the first comment of your Instagram post.

Your pasted hashtags in the first comment, remain hidden as a comment.

Once you have copied your hashtags from Trello or your notes you can seamlessly paste into the first comment of your status update to optimise the post.

The hashtags are only exposed once the comment is open.

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HOW TO USE INSTAGRAM LIVEHave you been seeing notifications pop up while you’re on Instagram of people “Going Live,” yet you haven’t got the foggiest idea how to use Instagram live?

You’ve dropped in to see what’s happening and seen a huge party going on. It’s only natural that you’ve started to wonder if you’re missing out by not using it.

Instagram Live is the ultimate tool you can use to engage with your audience in real time using live videos. It’s perfect for sharing personal experiences and creating “exclusivity” with your followers.Benefits of going live on Instagram

1. First, it makes your account stand out. Every time you go on Live, there’s a notifications that’s sent to your followers that you’re broadcasting live, right this very second! Of course they want to come check you out!

2. Second, Instagram Live gives your audience a little bit of ‘FOMO’, (the fear of missing out) feeling and want to know what’s going on! What are you doing that they need to know about right now?

3. At the end of your Instagram live, you can save it to your story and by adding hashtags, and location stickers, you’ll make the post discoverable to new people who don’t follow you!

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“You can’t sell anything if you can’t tell anything.” Beth Comstock

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5 IDEAS TO GET YOU STARTED ON HOW TO USE INSTAGRAM LIVE

Newsflash! Got some huge announcements to do or some new products to launch? Instagram Live it.

Celebrations: From employees’ birthdays to brand anniversaries or to newly closed deals and partnerships, share the biggest news with your audience. Make them feel like they‘re part of your milestones because . . . well, they are!

For an in-depth technical guide on how to use Instagram Stories, check out more info on Instagram Live.

All of these ideas are easy and actionable. . . so now it’s time to turn them into reality and GO LIVE!

Invite guests: Having influencers take over your Instagram Live or inviting them to do a dual live broadcast with a partner or a live audience member is a great marketing strategy, especially if you get them to direct traffic to your feed too.

Go BTS! There is no greater way to showcase your destination, venue, attraction or experience than taking them on a live experience. Showing the raw creative process and the ins and outs of your brand is showing its “human” side. Human emotional connection counts and this makes your brand more relatable, a key aspect in today’s digital marketing world.

FAQs and Q&As: Instead of a lengthy caption on a regular post, provide answers on the frequently asked questions about your brand in a Live video. This also encourages the ‘Live’ audiences to ask questions in real time.

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HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR POSTSYour primary focus on Instagram should be creating organic Instagram content that performs well with you audience, but what about expanding your audience past your current reach?

Previously, you could only advertise on Instagram through the Facebook Ads platform. But with the Instagram for Business tools, you can now promote posts right within the app.

Getting started is quick and easy.

Instagram uses the same powerful advertising tools as Facebook. This way, you can set up, run and track campaigns in the same way as for Facebook Ads. If you’re new to advertising on Instagram or even Facebook, Here are some tips to get started:

1Create a business Page and profileYou must have a Facebook Page to run ads and create a free business profileon Instagram. If

you don’t have one yet, create a Page.2Set up your Ad

Select your ad objective, target audience and ad format within Ads Manager.

3Determine your budgetDecide how long your ads will run for and what budget you’re comfortable with spending.

4PublishNow that your ads are ready to go, click Publish. You’ll receive a notification when your

ads have been approved and are ready to run.

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PROMOTING POSTS WITHIN ADS MANAGER

PROMOTING POSTS WITHIN INSTAGRAM

Ads Manager uses the same powerful advertising tools as Facebook. You can set up, make changes and see results for all your Instagram campaigns, ad sets and ads in one place. Ads Manager is available on desktop and mobile.

The easiest way to run ads is by promoting posts that you’ve shared on Instagram. Simply select the post that you want to promote, then track how many people see and interact with your promoted post in the app.Make your ads reach the exact audience that you want using our precise targeting options.

LOCATIONTarget people based in specific locations such as counties, regions, cities or countries.

DEMOGRAPHICSNarrow your audience based on information such as age, gender and languages.

INTERESTSReach people based on interests such as the apps they use, ads they click on and accounts they follow.

BEHAVIOURSDefine your audience by activities they do on and off Instagram and Facebook.

CUSTOM AUDIENCESRun ads to customers you already know based on their email addresses or phone numbers.

LOOKALIKE AUDIENCESFind new people who are similar to your existing customers.

AUTOMATED TARGETINGWe help you quickly create an audience who might be interested in your business using a variety of signals, including location, demographics and interests.

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“It is the contest that delights us, and not the victory.” Blaise Pascal

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GROW YOUR FOLLOWERS WITH COMPETITIONSUse Competitions to Expand Your Reach

Whether you’re looking to support the launch of a new experience or destination campaign, generate loads of attention or build momentum with consumers quickly, competitions are by far the best way to expand your reach, engage your community and boost virality.

Among all the different types of competitions you could be running on Instagram, nothing encourages people to engage with your brand and connect with your products more than UGC (User Generated Content) contests.

Asking for content expands the emotional connection between the consumers and you as the brand. Moreover, by running a photo or video competition youalso effectively generate real and authentic marketing content that is created by and for the very consumers you want to attract. This helps to spread the campaign reach beyond your audience because when Instagram users post their entries, their followers see it too. It is a win- win all around.

Below are the 11 elements of setting up an Instagram competition for fast follower growth:

1. Plan objectives: timeframe, budget, targets, and benchmarks 2. Create an entry method for the competition 3. Find the perfect hashtag 4. Define a theme for your competition 5. Outline how winners will be chosen 6. Devise a method on how the prize will be distributed (it is advisable to seek legal advise to ensure your competition is compliant with your country and state laws as these can vary depending on where you live). 7. Create rules for the completion ie must be 18 years and over to enter 8. Set up a landing page 9. Promote, promote, promote! 10. Monitor, monitor, monitor 11. Follow-up with entries and ask for permission to stay on your email database or give option to opt out.

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INSTAGRAM ETIQUETTE

No matter what the social network, there will always be people out there posting negative or inappropriate comments. Respond to positive comments on your Instagram content if a user takes the time to ask a question and participate in any conversation you’ve started.

As a best practice, check comments at least once a week thoroughly, especially if you are running competitions and to pick up timely and relevant posts. If you use a third party tools like Iconosquare or Sprout Social to manage your Instagram for Business account, check out the comments tool to mark things as read/unread, moderate inappropriate comments and reply to the positive comments and questions on your desktop without having to manage these from your phone every time. Otherwise, managing from your phone is the best way as long as you are staying consistent.

Engage with people who follow you, or other people in your category that you follow, ie. you Give love to get love and this is a platform where giver gain.

Spend time daily or at least weekly “liking” and commenting on other posts besides your own. Not sure how to respond when different types of comments start rolling in on one of your posts? When it comes to a set of guidelines to help you know how to respond to comments on Instagram, this guide created by HubSpot’s social media and content strategist, Brittany Leaning is a great benchmark.

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CREATING SMART COLLABORATIONSInstagram is a great network to collaborate with other like-minded tourism operators to showcase other experiences in your region that complement what you do. Further to this creating collaborative joint venture partnesrhips by way of packaging, shout outs, share for share or general love giving to your destination and other businesses in your community is a fantastic way to demonstrate leadership and influence.

Below is a great example of Tourism Geelong and the Bellarine businesses The Q Train (@theqtrainbellarine) and Queenscliff Brewhouse (@queenscliffbrewhouse). These two businesses collaborated to create a new product and creatively use a platform like Instagram to share their new innovation.

Another example to share below is Mustang and Co (@mustangandco). In this post Mustang and Co took the liberty to share an event from one of the partnering attractions Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie (@greatoceanroadchocolaterie). This is a great display of sharing sharing partner and destination love, making this post not just about me, but about ‘we’ as a collective.

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IGTV – WHAT IT IS AND HOW TO USE ITWHAT IS IGTV?

Instagram launched a feature most users never thought they needed. That is until IGTV came on the scene.

Essentially IGTV is like Instagram’s version of YouTube, only it’s built for vertical video, only on mobile and truth be told, seriously addictive. They have taken a big leap to launch a product that disrupts the traditional TV experience and updating it for the modern mobile experience.

In recent years, YouTube has exploded in popularity, and because of mobile video the amount of time teens are spending watching TV has decreased by 40%. It is said that by 2021, mobile video will account for 78% of total mobile data traffic, and Instagram is going all in with the launch of IGTV.

Anyone on Instagram can create their own channel, where it is possible to share long-form videos with their followers.

At the time of producing this eBook, videos can be 10 minutes for most accounts, and up to one hour for larger accounts, but Instagram has said that eventually there will be no time limit.

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With the launch of IGTV there is one distinct difference to YouTube as the new app and feature is made up of all vertical videos which it says is “built for how you actually use your phone”. In short you wont have to turn it around to watch posts.

It is organised in “channels”, rather than profiles. But the two are basically the same: when you or anyone you follow signs up to the service, it will ask you to create a channel, and that channel will be matched with the profile you usually use on Instagram.You can then watch IGTV videos in the Instagram app, in the standalone IGTV app, or by clicking the IGTV button on someone’s Instagram profile. When someone you follow posts a new video to IGTV, you’ll get a notification in the native Instagram app.

WHY DOES IGTV EXIST?

Instagram users genuinely enjoy videos on Instagram – despite having begun as a photo app, moving images have taken over the platform. With that said, Instagram has launched a better and longer way to watch them, putting them in a devoted app so that people can do so more easily.

HOW TO GET IGTV?

There’s two ways to use IGTV. The first is by downloading the new IGTV app and second from Instagram, where a little button will pop up if people on your feed have posted something new.

Download the App:

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CREATE YOUR CHANNEL IN THREE EASY STEPS:

To get started, open up the IGTV app and click on your profile picture, which should show on the right side next to a cog. It will prompt you to create a channel, and then take you through a number of steps and give you some advice.

Once that’s done, you’ll head back to your home feed. Now whenever you want to share some video, you can click your profile picture again and be taken onto your own channel – press the little plus button and you’ll be able to upload some video.

It’s important to note that – unlike Instagram – IGTV does not include any features for actually making the video you want to upload. Instead, you’ll have to record it somewhere else, such as the built-in camera app, and then share it from your camera roll.

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3 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT IGTV, INSTAGRAM’S NEW VIDEO PLATFORM + APP

1. IGTV IS VERTICAL VIDEOS ONLY

As we’ve mentioned, IGTV is all about the vertical videos. Sure, you can technically upload a horizontal video to IGTV, but that’s not the best experience for the user.Here are two options of what horizontal video looks like on IGTV, @madonna uploading edited to include a blurred background, and @jewelszee is the full horizontal video that you would rotate your phone to watch.

Vertical video makes it easy for anyone to feel like they can start creating, and instead of the pressure to create professional videos on a camera, vertical video naturally encourages you to record on your phone instead.

Vertical video also makes for a better mobile experience, because you don’t have to rotate your phone or just watch a smaller version.

Forcing you to create vertical videos is an innovative move from Instagram, but social media managers may not love it. Now, when you’re shooting video content, you will have to either shoot for two ratios, or make sure that you’re able to vertically crop the video. It means more editing, and you won’t be able to share the same video to all your social platforms.

A cool free App to edit in horizontal videos into portrait is Splice or Viva Video to have the same effect with the blurred background as Madonna did.

2. IGTV IS LIKE YOUTUBE, NOT NETFLIX

Even though you can upload videos up to 1 hour long on IGTV, don’t expect to be watching your favourite TV shows on it anytime soon.

The goal of IGTV is to be more like YouTube, and less like Netflix (after all, that’s what Facebook Watch is for). IGTV is meant more for following your favourite influencers or vloggers, instead of the Hollywood elite.

Instagram is trying to take a piece of YouTube and Snapchat’s pie by luring teen influencers over to IGTV, and many prominent social media + Youtube influencers were part of the IGTV launch.

“Instagram is focusing its efforts around web celebrities that made their name on mobile rather than more traditional, old-school publishers and TV studios that might come off too polished and processed,” notes TechCrunch.

This is good news for your business, because you don’t have to create a super polished video in order to upload it to IGTV! As far as production quality goes, think of it like a step up from your Instagram Stories, but it doesn’t have to be as perfect or curated like an Instagram post or a video would be.

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3. IGTV IS AN ADDICTING MOBILE EXPERIENCE

Even though you won’t be seeing your favorite TV shows on IGTV, Instagram is trying to make the overall experience a lot like traditional TV.

Just like when you turn the TV on and a show starts playing right away, when you open the IGTV app, a video will automatically start playing

Viewers can like or comment on IGTV videos while they’re watching them, similar to how you can interact with Facebook videos.

Bored of watching the video? Just swipe to the side to move on to the next video.

Want more? Swipe up to search videos and view them by category, and it’s super easy to just scroll through videos from influencers and friends on Instagram.

Right now, there’s 3 IGTV categories: For You, Following, and Popular.

• “For You” is a collection of videos that Instagram thinks you will like, made up from people you follow and Instagram’s own machine learning.• “Following” is a collection of videos from all the people on Instagram that you’re already following. Which is a good time to mention that if someone follows you on IGTV, they’ll be following your regular Instagram account too!• “Popular” features all of the trending videos on IGTV, most likely ranked by popularity

There’s also a small hidden search bar that lets you search for videos, but Instagram is trying to curate the best videos for you within your social network and without you having to constantly search for the next video to watch.

Now that you understand more about how IGTV works, you’re ready to make your own channel and upload your first IGTV video!

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Instagram is a growing channel that allows you to grow and humanize your brand, recruit future employees, showcase your product, company culture, delight customers, and generate new content and business. All with images you can create and share!

Give it a shot: make a profile, start testing and learn from what works and what doesn’t. Have fun and for more resources, check out Institute Of Excellence blog for information and examples on growing your Instagram for Business account and tweet to @BeExcellentHQ or email us at [email protected] with any questions about growing your social media following!

SUMMARY

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Reserve a username that is as close to your company’s name as possible.

Set your account to “Business Profile” in settings to start using the in-app Insights and Promote tools.

Choose a profile picture that is on-brand with your other social networks (e.g. company logo.

Fill in your bio with delightful, actionable and informative information about your brand. Always include:- who you are - what you do - a hint of personality- why your audience should follow you

Use the space allotted for URLs strategically; it’s precious real estate and the only place within Instagram to have an interactive, trackable link. Utilise and change it when needed.

Create a backlog of photos to use and include key stakeholders in aggregating different types of posts (e.h. CMO, CEO, your direct manager, Community Managers, HR, etc.).

Use relevant hashtags to build your following (we suggest 5-30).

Create a hashtag for your brand a monitor on a regular basis (#yourbrand).

Post based on optimised tests you’ve run that prove peak engagement for your target audience.

Keep an eye on what your competitors are doing.

Engage with your audience and reply to comments.

Don’t be spammy (ie. don’t use hashtags that don’t make sense or are not helpful to your followers).

Run a contest for fast follower growth.

Promote your Instagram account across your other social channels (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest) and include icons in your customer and promotional newsletters and emails.

Measure your performance using Instagram Insights and Iconosquare; you can’t manage what you don’t measure!

Have fun growing a community and increasing your brand’s audience!

BONUS: CHECKLIST FOR GETTING STARTED WITH INSTAGRAM

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Tourism AustraliaIG Account: @australiaIG Preferred Hashtags: #SeeAustralia #RestaurantAustralia

Visit CanberraIG Account: @visitcanberraIG Preferred Hashtags: #VisitCanberra

Tourism TasmaniaIG Account: @tasmania IG Preferred Hashtags: #DiscoverTasmania #TassieStyle

Visit MelbourneIG Account: @visitmelbourne IG Preferred Hashtags: #VisitMelbourne #VisitVictoria

Tourism Western AustraliaIG Account: @westernaustralia IG Preferred Hashtags: #JustAnotherDayInWA

GLOSSARY OF AUSTRALIA’S OFFICIAL STATE TOURISM ORGANISATIONS CONSUMER INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS AND HASHTAGS

Tourism NTIG Account: @AusOutbackNT IG Preferred Hashtags: #NTaustralia

Visit NSWIG Account: @VisitNSWIG Preferred Hashtags: #NewSouthWales

IG Account: @SydneyIG Preferred Hashtags: #ILoveSydney

Tourism and Events QueenslandIG Account: @Queensland IG Preferred Hashtags: #ThisIsQueensland

South Australian Tourism CommissionIG Account: @SouthAustralia IG Preferred Hashtags: #SeeSouthAustralia #SouthAustralia

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#MCM = Man Crush Monday

#MotivationMonday = a positive and motivational message, often written with an image that reflects the message

#TransformationTuesday = transformational photos along with the hashtag in the description of what the transformation was in people or business. Many people will make a diptic showcasing a “before and after” photo

#WCW = Woman Crush Wednesday

#WellnessWednesday = showcase healthy living and lifestyle suggestions

#WorkoutWednesday = share tips, encouragement on active living

#TBT or #ThrowbackThursday = post or repost older photos

#FlashBackFriday = Another activity of postic nostalgic content from the past on social media.

#SaturdayShenannigans or #SaturdaySwag

#SundayFunday

#Bae = before anything else, usually used to signify a strong love or connection to someone or something

#Selfie = a picture of yourself, taken by you #Igers = means Instagrammers and is a powerful hashtag in Twitter.

#Latergram = Something you post on Instagram at a “later” time.

#Repost = posting a picture that someone else posted, making sure to credit them (often using an app like this https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/repost-for-instagram/id570315854?mt=8)

GLOSSARY OF GENERAL POPULAR INSTAGRAM HASHTAGS AND THEME DAYS:

#BeExcellent

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