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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 $397! 

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 $397!

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 $397!

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The Modern Marketing Show, Episode 8: Do it for the ‘Gram: 1 Major Way to Get More Engagement on Instagram!

Instagram’s popularity is on the rise – more and more businesses are joining the platform to connect with their audiences online, especially if they’re wanting to reach a younger demographic. The biggest concern I hear from businesses is that their engagement has significantly dropped on the platform in recent months, and that’s due to changes Instagram has made to their algorithm.

Watch the full episode:

One major way you can increase your engagement on the platform is to make sure you’re utilizing all of Instagram’s features. Sounds almost too easy, right?

Well, Instagram actually wants to reward users for using all of the platform’s features, so it pays off to experiment with new features that get added. By testing out these new features, you can grow your reach and help make sure your post is seen which in the long run helps with your overall engagement.

Instagram does a great job of letting you know when something news been added – they’ll share it with you using a Story! The rainbow circle will pop up at the beginning of all your follower’s stories with the word “new” in the middle – this makes it easy to stay on top of the latest trends.

There have been a ton of new features added to Instagram Stories since its launch, such as polls, gifs, swipe-up features and “type” mode.

But you’re not just limited to using stories…

Launching a new product line? Hop on Instagram Live to give a quick unboxing and share your favorite pieces.

Looking to add more movement to your feed? Do a Boomerang to catch your follower’s attention.

Have you hosted an in-store event recently? Create a Carousel Post to show off highlights from start to finish.

Whatever way you choose to add in these new features, just make sure they are still providing value to your audience. It’s all about creating high-quality content that connects with your audience. 

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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The Modern Marketing Show, Episode 6: Why Facebook Ads are a MUST, Not a Maybe

Have you ever felt discouraged after posting on Facebook or Instagram because of lack of engagement your post received? Do you ever feel like you’re constantly talking to yourself because nobody ever likes, comments, or shares your posts? Are you often wondering why you can’t get more people to your business both on and offline? Well, here’s some good news! The answer to all of these question can be solved by implementing Facebook and Instagram ads into your marketing strategy.

Watch the full episode:

If you follow us, you know we talk about Facebook and Instagram ads A LOT. We strongly believe they’re one of the best tools small businesses should be using to market and grow your business both on and offline – especially coming on the heels of Facebook’s recent announcement and changes. Let’s face it, they’re not going anywhere, anytime soon.

Need more reason to start using ads? Here are a few things to consider:

  1. Not everything to post online is being seen, only about 0-6% of your audience is actually seeing what you share on social media. By advertising to your followers you’re targeting people who want to see your content you can increase engagement.
  2. Ads help grow your overall exposure, help build your email list, and increase online web and offline foot traffic. You’ll start to build dependable audience groups, groups that you own and can market to in order to increase sales.
  3. Ads are more cost-effective and have a higher ROI than most traditional forms of advertising like radio, tv, and print. We’ve seen small businesses spend less to get much better results.

Once you implement ads into your overall social media marketing strategy you’re not going to know what you ever did without them.

Registration for our Facebook and Instagram Ads Masterclass is open until February 19th. Join us for this two-session workshop covering everything you need to know about running Facebook and Instagram ads, click here to save your spot!

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.