Small Business Plus Instagram Marketing

Small Business Plus Instagram Marketing

Instagram marketing for business. Is it worth it?

Is Instagram working for your small business?

As small business owners we know we need to be on social media Why? Because our customers hang out there!

So is Instagram a good fit for your small business?

Absolutely!

Instagram generates 15% more website traffic than Facebook! 

Instagram generates 10 leads per month for us!

How do we do it? 

1. Focus on engagement not “likes” – that’s why we created #LikesDontEqualSales hashtag back in June 2015! 

2. Create content that adds value. This does not mean you spend all your time posting images of your products just because you sell a product!  

3. Post each and every day! As a minimum!  

4. Engage others. If you want people to like, follow or comment on your account, guess what? You’ll have to do the same thing. Remember our other hashtag: #SocialIsHuman – here’s that article.

5. Do check your DM’s [Direct Messages] We manage many Instagram accounts for businesses and you wont believe how many businesses never, ever check their DM’s. When we take over, we find loads of DM’s from prospective customers asking all sorts of questions about a businesses products, services, business hours, etc.

Check them NOW!

6. Check your Insights. That’s where you find important information about your content, follows, website clicks and when the best time to post is! 

7. Have fun with it. Don’t be too serious. After all it’s a social platform first, a business tool second.

If you want to Grow your business or need help with digital and social media marketing, we’d be more than happy to work with you.

You can contact us here

View our full range of marketing services that are tailored specifically for your business.

Website Design

Search Engine Optimisation

Social Media Marketing 

To see samples of our work visit our Projects page here.

2 Sons Marketing

Phone: +61 2 9822 9554

Mobile: +61 414 997 205

Email: info@2sonsmarketing.com

Sydney, NSW, Australia

 

Website Design and Social Media Marketing Bossley Park, Wetherill Park, Liverpool, Parramatta, Western Sydney, Mascot, NSW

Grow your Instagram in 7 easy ways

Grow your Instagram in 7 easy ways

Here are our top 7 hacks for growing your instagram following

Instagram is the social platform of the moment, with more and more brands now looking to get in on the Insta trend, and boost their digital presence.

If you’re looking for ways to build your Instagram following, these tips are for you! Our seven ways you can attract more attention on the Instagram.
Some of them are a little easier said than done (“Become verified” you say? I’ll just go do that), they are worth considering in your process, and working towards to further your efforts.

 

Check out these tips.

 

– Post user generated content – UGC can generate 7X the engagement 😄

 

– Use a content calendar – get your content planned and schedule your post for peak times 📆

 

– Research and use relevant hashtags – avoid hashtags like #love #like4like #️⃣

 

– Write compelling and relevant captions – Ask questions, use emojis and add a CTA (Call to Action) 📩

 

– Create InstaStories – They’re fun and the content ideas are #limitless 📹

 

 – Get Blue Ticked – Verified… If you can! It will definitely help your “authority” status #InstaFamous ✔️

 

If you want to Grow your business with digital and social media marketing, we’d be more than happy to work with you.

You can contact us here

View our full range of marketing services that are tailored specifically for your business.

Website Design

Search Engine Optimisation

Social Media Marketing 

To see samples of our work visit our Projects page here.

2 Sons Marketing

Phone: +61 2 9822 9554

Mobile: +61 414 997 205

Email: info@2sonsmarketing.com

Sydney, NSW, Australia

 

Website Design and Social Media Marketing Bossley Park, Wetherill Park, Liverpool, Parramatta, Western Sydney, Mascot, NSW

How Instagram drives business growth

How Instagram drives business growth

Driving Business using Instagram

Let’s look at Instagram as an option for your business to reach and engage with a targeted audience. Below is some really interesting facts about Instagram use in Australia from our friends at Facebook.

From Australia to Japan, Instagram offers a place where people of many ages express how they see the world around them. As of June 2018, the global Instagram community has more than one billion active monthly accounts.1 We set out to understand more about the people behind these accounts, namely why they choose to use Instagram and what types of content they like to see from brands. To do this, Facebook IQ commissioned two studies with people who turn to Instagram regularly. We learned that Instagrammers’ relationship with the platform is growing stronger, and that brands play a big role in that community. With nearly three in four people surveyed in Australia (70%) saying that Instagram is a place that enables interaction with brands, marketers have the opportunity to reach valuable customer segments across many generations, as well as people who don’t watch TV on a weekly basis. What’s more, the people in our surveys indicate that they’re eager to hear from brands on Instagram.

A note on Instagram methodology

The research and findings in this article are based on two extensive research studies. First, Facebook commissioned LRWTonic to conduct a qualitative study consisting of in-depth, hour-long interviews with 70 people aged 18 and older who used Instagram multiple times a day across nine countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, France, Japan, Korea, United Kingdom, United States). That qualitative data helped inform a quantitative study commissioned by Facebook from Ipsos, administered as a survey of 21,000 people aged 13-64 who used Instagram at least once a week across 13 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, France, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States). Survey response styles might vary across countries due to cultural differences, but scale anchors remained fixed within each country. For example, Japan respondents may tend to answer questions more conservatively than respondents in Brazil.

People choose Instagram for many reasons

According to our research, Instagrammers’ affinity for the platform is on the rise, with little sign of slowing down. Of people surveyed in Australia, 53% say they use Instagram more than they did a year ago, and 39% say they will use it even more in the coming year. This growth can be attributed to the success of Instagram Stories, an increase in direct messaging and the launch of new products such as IGTV. Those numbers are particularly strong in mobile-first regions such as India, Brazil and Turkey where many people primarily rely on their smartphones to access the Internet. In fact, in one study on emerging markets, more than two in three people said they access the Internet solely through mobile.

Instagram is a diverse ecosystem made up of people, non-profits, influencers and brands. When we asked people in Australia what they associated with Instagram, some of the top responses were that the platform allows interaction with influencers and friends and family. And those top associations vary from country to country. For example, in Japan, the top response people gave was that Instagram allows them to keep up to date on trends. Additionally, nearly three in four respondents in Australia (70%) told us that Instagram is a platform that allows interaction with brands. These interactions might take the form of a snack company using polls in Instagram Stories to let fans vote on a new flavour of crisp, or a fashion brand reposting photos of chic #OOTD posts.2 It’s also worth noting that 41% of people surveyed in Australia say the platform has ads relevant to them. #LikesDontEqualSales Join us on Instagram.com/2SonsMarketing

 

If you want to Grow your business with digital and social media marketing, we’d be more than happy to work with you.

You can contact us here

View our full range of marketing services that are tailored specifically for your business.

Website Design

Search Engine Optimisation

Social Media Marketing 

To see samples of our work visit our Projects page here.

2 Sons Marketing

Phone: +61 2 9822 9554

Mobile: +61 414 997 205

Email: info@2sonsmarketing.com

Sydney, NSW, Australia

 

Website Design and Social Media Marketing Bossley Park, Wetherill Park, Liverpool, Parramatta, Western Sydney, Mascot, NSW

Instagram Business Boost Discovery with Map Search Tool

Instagram Business Boost Discovery with Map Search Tool

Instagram has launched a live test of a new feature called ‘Map Search’ in Australia and New Zealand, which enables users to discover businesses and locations of interest on the in-app map, and find info on each listed business, as well as post public posts tagged with that location..

By tapping on the map icon at the top right of the Discover tab. That then connects through to the new Map Search experience, which highlights cafes and restaurants primarily, but also shops, entertainment venues and more.

You can see in the last frame above that when you tap on one of the new location markers, it then expands and displays more information about that place. For businesses, that includes hours of operation, address and price info, as well as connection through to their IG profile, and a grid display of public posts tagged at that location.

Though none of the businesses I looked through actually had pricing info displayed as yet. I assume that this will be built into Instagram business profiles, providing an option for brands to choose their price listing in the display, which, for restaurants, could be an average estimate per meal, and for entertainment venues, a ticket price.

It’s an interesting addition, providing more direct connection between Instagram and businesses, which is an element that Instagram’s increasingly seeking to emphasize, via tools like in-stream shops and new promotion options. Instagram says that more than 200 million businesses use Instagram each month, while 90% of its users follow at least one business, and as such, streamlining that connection works in alignment with both usage habits and increased business demand.

It’s also similar to Snapchat’s advancing map tool, which also now displays business info in the same way.

Snap added ‘My Places’ to its Map back in July, which highlights popular businesses, as well as places that you’ve previously visited, on the map display. That increasing utility may have pushed Instagram to update its own listings, with the new Map Search offering similar functionality in terms of business discovery and detail.  

Also, another helpful addition – the return of Location Stories.

As you can see here, where public Stories have been shared using a location tag, they’ll now also show up on the map display, with a rounded image (instead of a square) and the colored Stories ring. Tap on that and you’ll be able to search through public Stories from specific locations, and you can drag the map around to check out Location Stories from across the globe.

Instagram removed Location Stories in October last year, seemingly as part of the platform’s temporary pre-election changes in the US, which were designed to limit the spread of misinformation. After 10 months absence, it seemed that they were likely gone for good, but now, in this new iteration of the Instagram Map, you can view Stories by location once again, which has been a much-requested reinstatement among users.

That’ll no doubt pique more interest in the new update. There’s no word on a planned full roll-out as yet, but the option will reportedly be tested in more regions over time.  

If you need some help with your Instagram or want to discuss how we can help with your Instagram strategy, you can contact us here.

It’s up to us to stay on top of the rapidly changing trends, and remember that ultimately, the goal of social media marketing is to deliver the best metrics, engagement and reach. If you keep that goal in mind with your social media strategy, you’ll see great results.

*The above original article can be found on SocialMediaToday

View our full range or services that are tailored specifically for your business.

Website Design

Search Engine Optimisation

Social Media Marketing 

To see samples of our work visit our Projects page here.

2 Sons Marketing

Phone: +61 2 9822 9554

Mobile: +61 414 997 205

Email: info@2sonsmarketing.com

Sydney, NSW, Australia

 

Website Design and Social Media Marketing Bossley Park, Wetherill Park, Liverpool, Parramatta, Western Sydney, Mascot, NSW

Martial arts and gym digital and social media marketing for growth

Martial arts and gym digital and social media marketing for growth

We’ve helped gyms and martial arts schools get more members by using our digital and social media marketing strategies.

We were approach by a new local Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gym owner seeking to get new members to register their interest to the gym before it opened. The time frame we were given was 3 months. After speaking at length and learning all we could about their business model and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, we presented our digital and social media marketing strategy.

Below are the areas we focused on.

Instagram Marketing

We created their Instagram business account making sure all relevant information was included. We followed all local Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gyms that are part of this global franchise both locally and internationally.

Note: The goal was not to gain “likes” the goal is to gain local interest from a targeted audience and convert them to new enquiries that then turned into new members. Our client understood that #LikesDontEqualSales 

You may be interested in our Instagram Post Checklist

Facebook Marketing

Similar to Instagram, we set up their Facebook Business Page and linked both Facebook and Instagram accounts. With their Facebook account we went one step further and created a Private Facebook Group for future students.

Gym-Martial-Arts-Social-Media-Marketing-Sydney

Google Marketing

A digital marketing strategy is incomplete without adding a Google My Business Page to the plan. We set up their My Business page which is Free and a great way to get reviews and testimonials. Part of the setting up a Google My Business Account is requesting verification. This is done by requesting a verification code which is sent out via the post in the form of a postcard. Once the account was verified, we were able to make edits such as opening hours, add logos and images.

Social Media Marketing Content

Because this gym was a franchise the content we could create and share on social media had to be curated in a certain way and certain images could not be used. So we set out with the brief in mind and began the process of creating 30 days worth of content in preparation to begin sharing it on all social media platforms.

Digital Marketing and Customer Service

The content posting schedule we outlined in our marketing strategy included posting 5 times per week. Monday to Friday. We responded and replied to all comments on all platforms and also posted on Google My Business Page. Additionally, we also included our Customer Service. This meant,  that all DM (Direct Messages) or online enquiries were attended to 7 days per week. This allowed the gym owner to continue to focus on completing the gym refurbishment, all admin and setting up of the gym.

New gyms enquiries and students memberships

Within the first 30 days we received over 50 DM’s on Instagram and 15 Facebook enquiries. This lead to 10 Free Trials being taken up.

In the second month both Facebook and Instagram accounts had grown well over 500 followers and the enquiries and DM’s continued. People were interested about the Free Trials, time tables and Membership costs.

By the third month and two weeks before opening, the gym had secured 50 new paid members, and 20 Free Trials were booked in.

GRACIE-BARRA-Social-Media-Marketing-2-Sons-Marketing

UGC – User Generated Content & Check Ins

Another important part of our digital and social media marketing strategy was asking members for two things. Their content and their participation in “Ckecking In” to the gym.

Both these allowed the gym to gain more reach, engagement and ultimately more members.

Note: we have worked with Jeremy, who owns and operated Gracie Barra Wetherill Park & Gracie Barra Castle Hill for well over 3 years. We’ve helped his first gym, Wetherill Park succeed to a level that he then opened his Castle Hill gym in the midst of Covid-19.

If you want to Grow your gym or martial arts school with digital and social media marketing, we’d be more than happy to work with you.

You can contact us here

View our full range of marketing services that are tailored specifically for your business.

Website Design

Search Engine Optimisation

Social Media Marketing 

To see samples of our work visit our Projects page here.

Instagram Post Checklist

Instagram Post Checklist

Use our checklist before you post to Instagram.

There are a few things to keep in mind before you rush to post on Instagram.

Yes, it does require a little planning, but if you use our Instagram Post Checklist each of your new Instagram post will not be wasted.

1. Make sure you use a great quality image, we prefer to use high definition images. No one likes an image that appears blurry or out of focus, unless that’s what you were going for.

2. Always Tag your location. This is especially important if your business is a bricks and mortar business. Tag your “actual business” location, and it doesn’t hurt to occassionaly Tag your city or suburb.

3. Captions. You can read how to write an awesome, converting caption on the internet. But what we’ve found is that captions that include emojis do better than those without. 😀

4. Instagram allows us to use up to 30 hashtags per post. We recommend adding your specific hashtags (i.e 6 hashtags –  include them in your caption)  then add the remaining hashtags in the first comment. (you can do this straight after you post)

5. If you’re a business you need a Call To Action – CTA. A CTA is a prompt to get your Instagram community to do something after seeing your post. For example if you sell a product, you’re CTA could be, “Visit our website for our full range of xyz…” “Link in our Bio”.

Note: Add the CTA at the bottom of your caption. It should be the last thing the user reads.

6. Adding ALT Text to your post. This is something many Instagram business accounts either forget or neglect. The Instagram ALT text is an opportunity for you describe your post. This helps Instagram’s algorithm and will help your post reach a larger audience.

Increase your online visibility, reach and engagement with2 Sons Marketing.
Want to get more reviews for your business online, while also getting found by more customers? It’s time speak with about your website, search engine optimisation or social media marketing. You can contact us here

View our full range or services that are tailored specifically for your business.

Website Design

Search Engine Optimisation

Social Media Marketing 

To see samples of our work visit our Projects page here.

12 reasons why small business fail at social media

12 reasons why small business fail at social media

12 reasons why small business fail at social media. Yes, you can manage your own business social media accounts… if you have time!

But you don’t! here’s why.

Most, if not all business owners work extremely long hours. They wear many hats during their work day; owner, employer, cleaner, customer service manager, booking agent, accountant, banker, and that’s just during business hours.

After hours may look like this; parent, partner, friend, chef, teacher and maid.

So although you could, if you wanted to, manage your own social media instead of outsourcing it – you don’t because you don’t have the time to do these 12 things!

1. Curating

depending on the type of content you share on social media, curating can take up a lot of your time. discovering and new content from others takes time to source, read and understand.

2. Crafting

now that you have found new content to share, you need to work out how to share it. how to reword or recreate the content for your audience can be tricky, but does get easier the more you practice it.

3. Posting

this part can get tedious quite quickly. logging on to each social media network and posting on a regular basis sounds easy, but if you are posting three times per day on two or more networks you could lose quality time on your business.

4. Scheduling

the next step from posting is scheduling. this means writing your updates ahead of time and having the content ready to share on your social media networks. depending how far ahead you like to plan will determine how much of the your day you spend scheduling.

5. Measuring

Once all your updates or posts go live you can look at the metrics for each post. How many clicks, how many likes, or how many shares? you will need to know what metrics are important to you before you begin.

6. Analysing

From your metrics you can now look even closer and make decisions or change your strategy for the future. simple changes to consider, is the time of the post or update. by measuring and analysing frequently you can see what and why certain things are working.

7. Responding

People like to deal with people and as we have said in the past, Social is Human. you must dedicate at least some part of your day to respond to your audience.

8. Listening

You will also need to time to listen to the conversations on social media about your business/brand. If you use Twitter you can use the “mentions” tool and gauge how many times you get mentioned.

9. Engaging

This is the part you get to engage your community and other accounts. use chats or comments, like, follow or retweet content from others.

10. Helping

From time to time others will come to you with problems or questions. if you are the customer service guru, you will have to respond. it’s best to respond in real time, as it happens.

11. Planning

You will need a social media plan. Without it you could be wasting your time. look at short, mid and long term objectives.

12. Testing

Testing times, content, networks. we have read many articles and listened to many “social media gurus” and at the end of the day, no one has the magic bullet! you need to test all your ideas and see how they work for your business. testing involves the other 11 tasks on this list and it is as important as the rest.

Related article: 7 ways to grow your Instagram following

 

Increase your online visibility, reach and engagement with2 Sons Marketing.
Want to get more reviews for your business online, while also getting found by more customers? It’s time speak with about your website, search engine optimisation or social media marketing. You can contact us here

View our full range or services that are tailored specifically for your business.

Website Design

Search Engine Optimisation

Social Media Marketing 

To see samples of our work visit our Projects page here.

7 ways to grow your Instagram following

7 ways to grow your Instagram following

7 ways to grow your Instagram following. If you’re looking for ways to build your Instagram following, these 7 tips are for you!

Instagram is the social platform of the moment, with more and more brands now looking to get in on the Insta trend, and boost their digital presence.

Some of them are a little easier said than done (“become verified” you say? I’ll just go do that), they are worth considering in your process, and working towards to further your efforts.

Check out these 7 Instagram tips.

1. Post User Generated Ccontent – UGC can generate 7x the engagement

 

2. Use a content calendar – get your content planned and schedule your post for peak times

 

3. Research and use relevant hashtags – avoid hashtags like #love #like4like                Note:  #LikesDontEqualSales

 

4. Write compelling and relevant captions – ask questions, use emojis and add a CTA (call to action)

 

5. Create Instam Stories – they’re fun and the content ideas are #InstaStories

 

6. Get blue ticked – verified… if you can! it will definitely help your “authority” status #instafamous

 

7. Use Instagram insights – the numbers don’t lie and it’s good to know what is working and what is not! reach, clicks, followers and likes. . . it’s all there.

Join 2 Sons Marketing on Instagram Instagram.com/2sonsmarketing

 

Increase your online visibility, reach and engagement with2 Sons Marketing.
Want to get more reviews for your business online, while also getting found by more customers? It’s time speak with about your website, search engine optimisation or social media marketing. You can contact us here

View our full range or services that are tailored specifically for your business.

Website Design

Search Engine Optimisation

Social Media Marketing 

To see samples of our work visit our Projects page here.