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How to Easily Save Hashtags to Save Time Posting IG Captions (and What the Heck a Hashtag Is)

If you’re looking to save time while marketing your store on Instagram, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, I’ll share a time hack to speed up posting on IG for your business.

But before I dive into the tip, we need to get our feet wet by talking hashtags. I get SO many questions about hashtags. What the heck is a hashtag? When should I use them? Can anything be used as a hashtag? How many should I use? Where can I use them?

Have you had any of these questions? I bet you have. I created a quick, helpful video for you titled, “What the heck’s a hashtag?”. It’s a retailer’s version to better understand what a hashtag is and what kinds of hashtags you should be using. BUT BEFORE YOU WATCH…please note: I filmed this in 2013…yes, 2013!!! It all still applies and is filled with lots of hashtag tips and examples. Since recording this video, I recommend not using many hashtags on Facebook, but definitely use them on Instagram! Here’s the video:

Ok, now that you’ve watched the video and fully understand hashtags, let’s jump into the time-saving Instagram tip. 😊

As you learned, including hashtags on your posts are a must to drive users to your profile and ensure your content gets found. But creating impactful hashtags or typing in up to 30 hashtags per post for every single post can be time-consuming and daunting.

Here are two time hacks to help:

  1. Create 3-5 groups (or more if you’re really active on IG) of hashtags that you find yourself consistently using. Open up Notes on your phone, enter each of the groupings of hashtags, and the next time you’re posting to IG just open up that hashtag Note, copy the group of hashtags you want to use, and paste them into the IG caption.

  2. Another option (my preferred way) is to create a keyboard shortcut on your phone. Trust me, this is so simple to set up. Below are written instructions as well as a step-by-step video on how to easily set this up:

For iPhone:

  • Tap Settings icon, then tap General, then tap Keyboard.
  • Tap on Text Replacement, then tap the + symbol in the top right corner.
  • In the Phrase field, type in the entire phrase or groupings of hashtags you’d like to create a shortcut for.
  • In the Shortcut field, type the name of the groupings or phrase. For example “Group1” or just “1” or categorize it such as “NewProduct” or “Events”.
  • Now, let’s test. Compose a new Instagram post and type the shortcode you created in the caption. When you do, you should see your shortcut appear as a text-substitution button just above the keypad.

For Android:

  • Tap Settings, Language & input, then Personal dictionary. Tap the language option of your choice.
  • Tap the + button in the top-right corner of the screen, then type the word or text string that’ll trigger the shortcut.
  • In the next line, type in the actual phrase/groupings of hashtags you want to appear when you type the shortcut, such as “#yourlocation #typeofproduct #categoryofpost”. Unfortunately, the phrase is limited to about 50 characters.
  • Tap the Back button and you should see your shortcut appear as an entry on the Personal dictionary screen. Tap + to add another shortcut.
  • Now, let’s test. Compose a new Instagram post and type the shortcode you created in the caption. When you do, you should see your shortcut appear as a text-substitution button just above the keypad.

Don’t put this off! Spend 5-10 minutes to get your hashtag groupings stored either in Notes or as keyboard shortcuts and utilize these moving forward every time you post to your IG feed.

NOTE: You can modify the hashtags anytime if you don’t always want to use the exact same ones in your groupings, or if you want to mix up the order, and I recommend you do this. Sometimes, the groupings are a good baseline as is and other times useful to build from. Make sense?

With Instagram being one of the best retailer apps to sell products and build raving fans, it’s imperative to learn how to successfully market your store using it. And great news! My brand-new Instagram for Retailers Training Course is now available! 🎉 Click here to get it today for only $197! (Price goes up to $397 on April 18th).

If you have any questions about Instagram or the new training course, click here to shoot my team an email. We’re happy to help.

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Get More Instagram Followers for Free with Two Proven Strategies

Want to know how to get more Instagram Followers without paying a dime?

Whether you’ve plunged into Instagram (IG) marketing years ago or you’re just about to dip your toe in the IG pool, I’ve got to share with you two proven strategies to grow your IG followers today. Let’s dive in!

  1. Follow People. Does that sound too simple? 😊 It sort of is. You don’t need to overcomplicate this. Here’s the deal. If someone starts following you, you get a notification of the new follower. Often, people click over to the new follower and check out their profile. If they like what they see, they follow back. It’s simple.

But don’t think I want you to follow EVERYONE. You just need to follow customers and potential customers. Easily find them by going to your competitors on Instagram and follow their followers.

Also, look up other local businesses (if you’re a brick-and-mortar store) or big boxes that would have the same types of customers as you and follow them. Finally, you can search for local hashtags (for ex: #Denver or #DenverCO, if your business is in Denver), click on users’ profiles that are using those hashtags and, if you think they might be someone who’d shop from you, follow them!

Does this take time? Yes. But you can make it manageable by creating a time block of 15-30 minutes a week and just get it done. In my opinion, it’s one of the best ways to build quality followers.

Not sure how to search hashtags on IG? No worries! I got you covered. Watch the short how-to video, below in this post. 

  1. Get Current Followers to Tag Their Friends. What’s the best form of marketing? Word of mouth marketing. If someone has an awesome experience with a business, they tell everyone and, in return, those people are more likely to shop from that business too.

When people tag their friends on Instagram in a comment of a business’s post, it’s similar to word of mouth marketing. Users see great content they think their friends would love, so they tag them. The friends trust their friends so they click over and engage with the post– often following the business’s profile. This is a great way to build quality likes.

Outside of posting great, share-worthy content, you can also suggest that people tag their friends on your posts when you’re announcing new products, an event or a sale. For example, “Tag your friends who you’d love to come with you to our weekend sidewalk sale!” or “Tag your friends who would LOVE these new items”.

Finally, you can run a contest asking people to follow you to enter to win. Simply suggest they tag their friends in a comment of the contest post. But note: you can’t require they tag friends to enter to win because this is against Instagram Contest Terms. See below to learn more about IG Contest Terms.

Promotion Guidelines

  1. If you use Instagram to communicate or administer a promotion (for example: a contest or sweepstakes), you are responsible for the lawful operation of that promotion, including:
    • The official rules;
    • Offer terms and eligibility requirements (example: age and residency restrictions); and
    • Compliance with applicable rules and regulations governing the promotion and all prizes offered (example: registration and obtaining necessary regulatory approvals)
  2. You must not inaccurately tag content or encourage users to inaccurately tag content (example: don’t encourage people to tag themselves in photos if they aren’t in the photo).
  3. Promotions on Instagram must include the following:
    • A complete release of Instagram by each entrant or participant.
    • Acknowledgment that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Instagram.
  4. We will not assist you in the administration of your promotion and cannot advise you on whether consent is required for use of user content or on how to obtain any necessary consent.
  5. You agree that if you use our service to administer your promotion, you do so at your own risk. Read more about Instagram Guidelines here.

Look for several strategies to build your Instagram following, covered in the Instagram for Retailers Training Course which is available now! 🎉Click here to get it today for only $197! (Price goes up to $397 on April 18th).

While you’re following potential customers, don’t forget to follow me and my team! We’re @crystalmediaco. Looking forward to “seeing” you on IG.

Never miss a tip!  Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter in which we send a social media tip every Monday.

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3 Instagram Stories Every Retailer Should Post

One of the most popular social media platforms in the world is Instagram(IG). And thankfully for you, retailers are seeing LOTS of sales from their posts and Stories. With over 1 Billion IG accounts active every month, there’s a good chance your customers are on IG. Translation: you should be too.

How often should you post? Daily. Yep, I said it. I recommend posting every…single…day on IG but not on your Feed, in Stories.

Because IG Stories disappear after 24 hours, ensure you’re showing up there with everyday posts.

The good news?

IG Stories don’t need to be super polished, professionally-designed, lifestyle-feeling posts; those which typically perform best in the IG feed.

Your Stories can (and should!) be more organic, behind the scenes and authentic to you.

Below I share 3 tips of what a retailer should post in their Stories. But first, are you using IG for your business? Are you posting to Stories – and doing so daily? I was SO surprised during my in-person social media boot camps that the attendees were NOT using Stories. In fact, out of 32 attendees, only 5 were using Stories. Insert gasp!

If you’re not using IG for your business and are not posting to Stories (daily!), you are completely missing out on using this app to drive customers into your store. Don’t wait another day to leverage IG. Start today and post to your Stories using one of the below ideas.

(Not sure how to post to IG Stories? No worries, I got you! I created a quick how-to video located at the bottom of this blog post for your convenience.)  

Three IG Stories Every Retailer Should Post:

  1. Limited Quantity Items. It’s all about F.O.M.O. – the Fear of Missing Out. If you only have one or two items left of something, create a Story to highlight the item. Share urgency that it’s the only one left, how much it costs, and tag your store location on the post. (This can be a video or photo.)
  2. Event or Sale Info. Timely stuff works well in Stories and, with events and sales, they’re timely! So invite people in the day before and the day of an event or sale using your Stories. You could create a Story-a-day for 5 days leading up to the event or sale, especially if it’s a big one (open house/annual sale/anniversary sale, for example) and share something different about the event in each Story like items that will be discounted (and the benefits of the items), guests at the events, giveaways, event tips (parking, when to arrive, what to bring), etc. If you’re posting the day of, and tomorrow the event or sale is over, make sure you list the date and time when it ends in case someone is watching the Story a few hours after the event ended.
  3. Behind the Scenes. Stories should include….stories! Share a day-in-the-life snippet of the store owner. Unbox new merchandise. Share something funny that just happened at the store. Talk about what’s going on with the owner personally in the coming days. Show pictures from your most recent vacay. Take people on a buying trip to market. The options are endless! The goal of these is to be human, be you, and show the behind-the-scenes of running your biz and, if you feel comfortable, behind the scenes of YOU. Remember, people buy from people. You can use Stories to share more about you to build stronger relationships with your IG followers.

Ok, over to you! Get out your phone (or you might be on it reading this :)), go to Instagram and post a Story. If it’s your first one, let me know in a Direct Message (DM) on IG! We’re @CrystalMediaCo or simply leave a comment on this blog post.

Never miss a tip!  Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter in which we send a social media tip every Monday.

Happy IGing!

Crystal

Oh wait! One more thing…my brand-new Instagram for Retailers Training Course is now available! 🎉Click here to get it today for only $197! (Price goes up to $397 on April 18th). 

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Get More Likes, Comments and Action from Instagram Followers: The Modern Marketing Show, Episode 83

Businesses are finding that Instagram is a great place to connect with your customers online as it continues to become more popular. Many retailers are noticing their engagement has been dropping. Many accounts have even started sharing a viral post asking their followers to like or comment on it to ensure their posts are being seen because Instagram is limiting to the number of followers who see them. Well, this isn’t anything new. The Instagram algorithm shows posts based on who the follower interacts with most.

Watch the full episode here:

Here are two tips on how to get more engagement from your followers:

  1. Have a call to action on a majority of your posts. When you tell your followers what to do (like, comment, or shop now) you have a better chance at them actually doing it. Your event posts, promotional posts, and new product arrival posts should also include a call to action.
  2. Take a look at your messaging. If you’re using language that revolves around community, support, urgency or fear tactics then it has a better chance at getting more engagement. You’re rallying your followers to get behind you.

Remember, people interact on social media differently today than they did 5 years ago. Just because you’re not getting tons of likes or comments doesn’t mean people aren’t interested in seeing your content. The algorithm is able to track how long people stay on your content which is why always looking at your insights can be helpful. And if you’re still unable to build engagement with these tips, it might be time to consider a new content strategy.

Do you need more help figuring out Instagram? We got you covered! In the coming weeks, we’ll be releasing a new Instagram for Retailers training course. Join our email list below to get notified when it’s available!

You can catch new episodes of The Modern Marketing Show every Monday at 10 a.m PST on our Facebook Page. Replays will be available on the blog each week.

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How Three Retailers are Driving Traffic and Sales with Facebook Ads: The Modern Marketing Show, Episode 82

Are you using any kind of social advertising? If not, then you should be! Running Facebook ads is one of the most cost-effective ways to drive traffic directly to your store. We manage ads for a handful of retailers and the results they are seeing are amazing. They’re selling more product and spending less money by utilizing this tool.

Watch the full episode:

Retailer #1: ZaZu (Reach Ads)

We started running reach ads in November for ZaZu Gifts that targeted audiences interested in jewelry and the specific brands she wanted to promote. We shifted to audiences interested in Christmas gifts as well as continuing the jewelry push for December.

  • Average people reached weekly grew 260% during November, the first month we ran ads. That number continues to grow by 12% during December.
  • Sales for the two product lines targeted increased by 13% and 14% from the previous year’s November and December

The client told us: “My sales were up 23% for the month of December! I do feel a big part of it is because of the social media presence.”

Retailer #2: Mary Todd’s Hallmarks (Video View Ads)

We coached client Mary Todd’s Hallmark in a 12 Days of Christmas campaign using video to promote the daily specials and sales.

In November, they saw in total 2,603 video views, received 7,777 post engagements, and the cost per video view was $0.04. Then in December (when they started using video view ads) they saw a total of 7,184 video views, 13,728 post engagements, and the cost per video view dropped to $0.01. That means…

  • Video views increased by 175.9%
  • Engagement increased by 75.6%
  • Cost per Video View decreased by 75%

Retailer #3: Revolutionary Concord 

The client told us: “Someone came in and said they saw our Facebook Ad. They live 5 towns away but clicked on the ad, went to the website and Facebook page and said, ‘that’s a place I want to go.’ They came into the store, bought $200 worth of merchandise and signed up to become a frequent shopper.”

This is a great example of the ripple effect ads can have on your business. By driving in new customers, you’re able to grow other parts of your business at the same time.

If you’re overwhelmed by ads or simply feel like you don’t have the time to learn, we can help. We offer Facebook and Instagram Ads Management, click here to learn more.

You can catch new episodes of The Modern Marketing Show every Monday at 10 a.m PST on our Facebook Page. Replays will be available on the blog each week.