Since their inception, a story step has always been limited to 15 seconds. What that has meant for video is that you’re either panicked into trying to post something meaningful that is less than 15 seconds… or you upload your video to find that it is then chopped into several 15 second segments

To make things worse, when uploading, you can often find that the last bit of your video uploads before the first bit, which can be more than a little frustrating!

However, that frustration is coming to an end! Last week a large notification started to pop up on smart phones across the land, and it said this….

That’s right! An Instagram story video can now be up to 1 minute in length! No more upload issues with the end appearing before the start! No more annoying situations when your 17 second video is chopped into one 15 second one and a paltry 2 second sequel!

But what does that mean for you and your followers?

There’re always ups and downs to big updates like this, as with anything, you just need to understand the new features and how you can make them work for your account. Overall, we think this is a pretty positive change to Instagram.

After retiring IGTV last year, 60 second stories are a welcome option for sharing longer videos for your followers. It gives you the opportunity to share more (while not having to repeatedly align and re-add your stickers and music onto every. single. clip. – anyone else triggered?) It also means that users can skip through one video with one tap. Rather than getting annoyed with 5,6 or 7 short clips to tap through a video they aren’t particularly interested in. Another small win for the change is you can save the whole story if you wanted to keep it for further content or if you just really like your work. You won’t have to download separate 15 second clips and edit them back together. 

Of course, you’re not strictly held to 60 second clips, if you wanted to do a few 20 or 30 second stories with bitesize information you still can, lots of users still prefer the quick snippets that stories provide. Just remember that lots of accounts will be taking full advantage of the longer segments, so don’t be the account with 10 bite sized stories that could be one 60 second Instagram stories. 

Stories vs Reels… 

With this new update, we see the two features slowly blending together. Reels took a bump up in length recently too, from 60 to 90 seconds. but the biggest difference between the two is the 24 hour limit on short form Stories. Meaning you can try new things, see what works and what doesn’t without it being a permanent mark on your account.

Reels are a great way to share your account to users that don’t follow you, so you’re likely to see larger reach. But your Stories keep you connected with the followers you already have. So, there’s still plenty of reasons to keep using both when building your account, experiment and learn how the new feature can help boost your following.

How long should videos be on Social Media?

This totally depends where you’re posting…

Facebook… 

15 seconds long = watch to the end.

2 – 5 minutes long = higher engagement.

Instagram…

You have the first 3 seconds to capture a user’s interest on your story or reel so make them count.

Twitter…

You should take up 44 seconds of the 140 seconds available. Just enough time to intrigue your viewer without over doing it. Think trailers for longer videos for example.

LinkedIn…

LinkedIn gives you a full 10 minutes of time, but let’s not go crazy. It’s shown that 30 seconds or under sees a 200% uplift in completion rates.

And if you were wondering what the second thing that bugs us about Instagram is…. that move a few years ago from displaying posts in a chronological feed! 

We’re here to help, if you need support with your social media make sure you get in touch! 

The post Why you no longer have to see your videos on Instagram chopped into 15 second segments… appeared first on MiHiDigital.

Instagram have a reputation for quietly releasing new tools and features that can easily go unnoticed and can often appear daunting at first site. However, these tools have proven essential in maximising your post performance, reaching new audiences, and celebrating your online community. So we’ve gathered the five essential features that we think you should be using to increase your success on Instagram.

Promotions: Boost your posts and build target demographics

Increasing website traffic and growing your following are made so much easier by Instagram’s option to convert Instagram posts into paid ads. With the tools to narrow down your target demographic, you can take control of the new audiences discovering your content. 

Start by thinking about why you’re promoting your posts, whether it be increasing profile visits and website traffic, or starting more conversations in your inbox, make sure to define your goal. The next step allows you to create a personalised audience by filtering users by location, age, interests and lifestyles, growing the potential reach of your ad. Finally, establish the duration and total spend of your boosted post. Doing this allows Instagram to estimate the total reach of your promotion, giving you a good idea as to how many eyes your content will reach.

Instagram Insights: The importance of regular analysis

Understanding the performance of your content and audience growth is important to any business with the goal of expanding on social media. Instagram Insights offer you clear and in-depth reporting on how your posts are performing, how many accounts you’re reaching, breaks down your audience and tracks their journeys. Checking in here every week to monitor performance can inform your marketing strategy, discover new audiences, and give you a good idea as to whether or not your content is WORKING.

User Generated Content: Celebrate your community with real stories

UGC has become so important to digital marketing. Audiences find organic content from real customers more trustworthy than branded posts, more appealing than product images, and are more likely to follow your brand. So stop air brushing your images and start celebrating your customers with real, transparent stories and reviews.

If you’re struggling to increase the flow of images and videos you’re tagged in, then think about starting a branded hashtag for customers to use when they’re talking about your business. Encourage them to celebrate their experience with you, make them feel welcome, make them WANT to be featured on your feed.

Instagram Bio: Make a good first impression

Social media is the face of your business for so many new users landing on your profile. So it’s important that your bio is as clear and helpful as possible, and with a 150 word limit, there are plenty of ways to quickly engage your visitors.

Start by writing what your business offers, and why people should follow you, if you have any ongoing campaigns or upcoming events, make sure to shout about them! You can also engage and mobilise users by including calls to action such as directing them to your stories, sharing brand hashtags, or promoting your Instagram shop. If you can’t decide on which website link to share, then we’d recommend using Linktree, a free tool that allows you to share multiple links via a customised landing page.

Instagram Highlights: Keep it tidy and prolong performance

Instagram Highlights are a brilliant tool to promote your brand, they are the front and centre of your profile, and a great way to direct new visitors to your most interesting content. 

Unlike regular Instagram Stories with a lifetime of 24 hours, Highlights sit permanently on your page. So, use Insights to identify your most engaging Stories, before curating and featuring them on your profile as Highlights. 

So to recap:

1. Use Boosting to promote your content and build new target audiences
2. Understand the importance of performance analysis using Insights
3. Nail your Bio to make a good and lasting first impression
4. Use Highlights to direct visitors to your most engaging content
5. Celebrate the customer and tell real stories with UGC

Keeping on top of these five features is guaranteed to start expanding your brand on Instagram, so make sure to follow us at @mihidigital to stay tuned for more social media training and tips.

To make an enquiry or learn more about the social media training courses we provide at MiHi, just hit the link below.

Instagram Training Cornwall, Devon (mihidigital.co.uk)

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The social media platform has decided to give users choice over whether they want to see posts from their favourite accounts or from all accounts that they follow. However, each one will operate in a slightly different way…

If you select the ‘Following’ option, you will see posts from all the accounts that you follow in chronological order. Simple enough right?

However if you select the ‘Favourites’ option, you will be able to highlight certain accounts as a favourite and then they will appear higher up your feed. So the posts you see will still order themselves chronologically, but any favourited accounts will be pushed nearer the top. If you don’t select any accounts as favourites but want this version of your feed, Instagram will suggest some for you depending on which accounts you interact with most.

So what does that mean for your business?

From a business perspective, it may mean you need to alter how you engage with your customers on Instagram. You may need to do more than just post on stories and on your main feed; you’ll need to start engaging with other accounts, making sure you reply to comments on your posts and stories. By doing so Instagram’s algorithm will prioritise your business account to your customers, and potentially class you as a ‘favourite’.

It may be worth thinking about how your business can utilise the new update to hone in on certain audiences. For example, if you run a micro brewery and you want to engage with local pubs in your area so they may stock your beer, you could set those local pubs as your ‘favourites’, meaning that they appear higher up in that feed. That way, you can cut through the noise of other accounts that you follow and focus more on those specific ones you want to engage with!

Will there be more changes?

Only time will tell! We think it’s likely that there will be more changes, but until they are announced we’ll just have to wait and see.

If you’re unsure about Instagram or need some training on how you can utilise it for your business, click here to take a look at our Instagram training, or drop us an email at hello@mihidigital.co.uk.

The post Instagram is bringing back its chronological feed! But what does that mean for you? appeared first on MiHiDigital.

Set up ways for people to order from you online

If people can’t come to your shop, bring the shop to them. Make it easy for them to order from you online! If you have a website use plugins such as WooCommerce and Shopify so people can order products directly from your website. They also allow you to take payments through things like Paypal, so it really couldn’t be any easier. You can also use Instagram Shopping to sell products online. This is especially useful if you’re really active on Instagram, as you can tag in products on your feed which can link to your website. If you don’t have a website, don’t worry. Instagram Shopping can be set up without a website, so you can sell your products directly through Instagram without the need of a website.

Name images on your website

When it’s busy it’s easy to upload images and forget to name them properly. But those images can help your Google ranking if you give them titles and descriptions. If you find that you have a bit more time, go through your website’s media library and give each image a title and a description that include keywords you want to rank for.

So for example, if I owned a shoe shop in Plymouth and I wanted customers to find me when they search ‘Plymouth Shoe Shop’, I would use key phrases such as ‘Plymouth Shoe Shop’ ‘Shoe shops in Plymouth’ ‘Mens shoes Plymouth’ and so on. This will help your Google ranking and make it easier for people to find you online.

Re-engage with people online

When your business is in full flow during normal working hours, it’s really easy to neglect your social media platforms, in particular engaging with other people. But engaging with your customers and other businesses can increase your sales, engagement and reach. This is particularly important for platforms that focus on conversations and encourage interaction between accounts like Twitter and Instagram, because both of those platforms like to connect you with people that you know or interact with a lot.

So if John in Exeter comments and likes a lot of photos on Tesco’s Instagram, Instagram will think that John likes Tesco and will show John more of Tesco’s content. So use Twitter lists to engage with the people you want quickly and easily, and remember to comment and like on other people’s photos on Instagram too.

Keep posting on social media

Because the majority of people will be at home or working from home at the moment, you can get high levels of interaction now throughout the day. Before lockdown it was advisable to post early morning or evening as people get home, but with more home workers you can more flexible with your timings, posting earlier or even as late as 9pm. However, its important to note that although you want to promote your business, don’t come across too salesy. Post behind the scenes photos, what you’re doing to keep yourself positive and other things so that you can connect as a person as well as a business.

Stay positive and look out for one another

It’s a strange time for everyone, and everyone’s business will be in the same boat more or less. So as we’re all in this together, make sure you share and retweet other local businesses’ news and content. They’ll appreciate it and more often than not they’ll share your content too. Remember to keep your feed positive; it’ll keep your engagement high and you never know which of your customers will appreciate the positivity.

And that’s our list. If you have any questions about anything we’ve spoken about let us know in the comments. Stay safe and stay positive everyone.

The post 5 things you can do during Lockdown that can help your business online appeared first on MiHiDigital.

Let us know how you get on and give our account a like!

Thanks

Mark

The post How we doubled and then trebled the reach of an Instagram account – three minute video appeared first on MiHiDigital.

Here’s what we did in a week…

1. Increased average likes per post from 20 up to 38
2. Increased reach from 400 up to 1,191
3. Increased impressions by 873 – up to 3,568
4. Doubled profile visits to 60 in the week.

A little background

We’ve used our own Instagram account for this, primarily because it may well be similar to your social media activity in some specific ways.  We spend a lot of time managing client’s social media – ensuring they’re getting new bookings, enquiries and business.  That means that our own can become slightly neglected or just kept ticking over.  Whilst you won’t be managing other people’s, you may find that the day job pulls you away from your social media activity.

How much time did we spend?

The following has been achieved on approximately 30 minutes each day – that might sound like a lot, but in reality, it quickly becomes part of the daily routine. Whilst it might seem like a drag at first, as soon as you’re getting results, we’re sure you won’t begrudge the time quite as much.

Step 1 – you do need good content

This isn’t going to surprise you, but the quality of your photos does ultimately affect the performance of your posts. There are millions of photos posted onto Instagram every second – yours needs to stand out from the crowd so take some time to capture some really awesome photos. The good news is there’s no better time than now – everything is green, it’s blooming, and it generally looks at its best! You’re also at home to take them!

So action 1 – go out there in the next week and try to take five top notch photos each day – or get them all at the weekend (which is what we did over the past two weekends).  We have 35 drafts ready to go for the next month already.

Step 2 – have a theme for your images

If those already following your account engage with a certain type of image, they’re most likely to do so in the future.  The more they engage, the better your reach – it really is as simple as that! Quite often when we scroll through accounts, we notice that there is a definite scattergun approach to their content. A picture of the kids, one of some horses, then a fitness post.  It’s mixed messaging, so go back to what it is that you are about and what people want to see.

We’ve only shared images of the local area – we happen to love where we live and work – so do the businesses we work with, so they continue to like those posts.  We’ve ditched other content and only have a single content theme to get traction.

We know what people like and we’re giving them more of it on a constant basis.

Step 3 – timing is important

Despite the chronological ordering of posts no longer being present in the Instagram algorithm, it does put your posts in front of people that have previously engaged with your account first.

This means that you still want and need to be posting when they’re online in order to get in front of them as quickly as possible.  For the past seven days we’ve stuck to posting between 7:30am and 8:30am in the morning.  Whilst there is no steadfast rule here as every account is different, the early morning post is more often than not the most effective.

Step 4 – getting hashtags right

Two things I see a lot of – posts with very few hashtags and accounts that use the same ones for every post.  Hashtags are the easiest way to quickly increase your reach and you will see an immediate impact if you start using upwards of 20 each post. That sounds like a lot doesn’t it – so here’s a tool to help:

https://ingramer.com/tools/instagram-hashtag-generator/

As they mention on their website, it’s best to use a balance of hashtags that are most commonly used and those that are more specific and niche.

Step 5 – share your posts to your story

Not sure how to do this? If you go to your post, you’ll see a little aeroplane – click on that and select ADD POST TO YOUR STORY. Do this with every post you publish as it’s another opportunity for followers to see it through your story…. Which leads us to the next point…

Step 6 – spread your stories

I’m afraid that you do need to be regularly posting to your Instagram story as it gets more eyeballs on your account.  The reason for this is that each time your story is updated, your logo appears at the top of the screen for anyone that likes your account.  People are only human – so they do click on it and watch!

The key with stories is to ensure you space them throughout the day.  We’ve been adding around four or five stories each day, which only takes a matter of minutes. When you space them out in time, it ensures that you’re bumped back to the first in line again, which statistically increases profile reach. That’s a scientific fact!

Step 7 – be social

Sorry, it’s not all about me or you, so you’re going to have to be social! Like and comment on othear people’s posts, engage and they’ll engage with you.  Instgram is known to penalise accounts that only post and don’t engage. Nobody likes that person at the dinner party that only talks about themselves!

So a quick recap….

1. Take nice photos – when the sun shines get out there for an hour or two and take loads that you can share over time.
2. Only add photos of a few key themes that represent your business and that your followers have previously engaged with.
3. We find first thing in the morning is the best time to post – you might find differently with your account but definitely test it!
4. Use the tool we’ve included a link to and generate plenty of hashtags for each of your posts!
5. Share your posts to your stories and also ensure that you post to your story at regular intervals during the day.
6. Be social with other accounts – they’ll like it and Instagram will too!

So there you have it – nothing that you can’t easily do yourselves in the next week! If you’re stuck on any of that then take a look at our own activity on Instagram – what we’re doing has a very quick impact.

Good luck, stay healthy and positive – we’ll hopefully see you soon!

Need Instagram training? We can help you by Zoom!

Mark

The post How we doubled the reach of an Instagram account in seven days appeared first on MiHiDigital.