The Instagram Tool You NEED to Start Using Today

Instagram has been one of the hardest tools to offer as a marketing service, due to the difficulty in both managing and posting. Even though there are third party apps that let you comment, search, and interact from your Instagram account via a computer, posting the actual photo has always had to be done from a phone.

For business owners, that's not horrible because chances are you'll always have your phone logged in as your business. However for a service provider, it means lots of logging in and out, emailing photos to your phone, and missing out on opportunities because it's hard to monitor closely.

UNTIL NOW! I finally found a program that works to post photos from the computer. This means so many things, but here are my top four reasons I am in pure JOY over this discovery:

• Upload high quality images from your camera in less steps (no need to send to your phone)

• Easier typing of photo caption (again from a regular keyboard vs the phone typing)

• Scheduling in advance so you can relax and know your IG content is taken care of

• Easier teamwork, meaning I can share the upcoming posts with clients for approval or so they know when to expect posts and don't post at the same time

The developer of this program is awesome. He's responsive, proactive, and has really impressed me. I used it in a trial form for a while first to make sure it worked well, and I definitely approve it and hope everyone gives it a try if Instagram is something you are planning as part of your marketing strategy.  
You can sign up for a free trial here and  please let me know how it goes for you! The service does have a cost, but it's nothing compared to the value of the freedom and ease it will give you to manage your account.

I have also found a new tool that helps you track hashtags, topics, leads, and geo target on Instagram (and other social sites), again NOT something easy to do until now. I will write more about it soon so stay tuned. If you're antsy to dive into that program though, click here to try it out. I am still getting used to it, but I think it has more potential than any of the other scheduling and tracking tools out there right now.

How to find your business' photos

Lastly I will leave you with a tip if you are not sure if Instagram is for you. This tip is inspired by a conversation I had with a business owner once whose teen daughter told her Instagram is old news and her pizza shop did not belong on there. I looked on my own and saw TONS of people on there taking photos, sharing, commenting, and checking in at her restaurant. In my humble opinion as a marketing professional, I had to step over the teenager's opinion and claim that anywhere your customers are dwelling and talking about your business is a place you ABSOLUTELY need to be!

In fact, it's one of the best places to get user-generated content. Don't have time to take photos or don't know what to post? Users posting beautiful photos of your food is the perfect thing to re-gram and it practically does all the work for you. If you are trying to find all the photos of your business, try first looking up the hashtag of your business name, and from there, search until you find a person who also "checked in" at your location. You can then click on the hotlink location and see all photos that are associated with your business via the check in feature.

Catchy Headlines and What They REALLY Mean

Catchy subject lines have always been important. They need to convey something of importance or great interest, in a short sentence, AND with urgency. However the rash of trending HEADLINES right now across social media is driving me nuts.

Has anyone else noticed the trend I'm talking about? Today I saw this one pictured below, and even though I've been thinking about this topic for months, it finally prompted me to write this blog post.
With each article varying slightly of course, the formula goes something like this:

Something will shock you

They specify a number (like, you have to believe me, I said especially #14!)

It's unbelieveable

It's a total secret

What happens next will AMAZE you

I could go ON and ON. But here are some examples I just googled on the internet:

A Man Played Music Next For Elephants – What They Did Next Will AMAZE You! 

A Skydiver Is Knocked Unconscious in Mid-Air. What Happens Next Will Blow Your Mind.

Warning: Once You See These 21 Pictures, You Can Never, Ever Un-See Them. OMG.

These 29 People Learned About Gravity The Hard Way. How’s The Kid In #2 Even Alive?!

What I can tell you, is the articles are usually completely ridiculous, the number they point out is the same as all the other ones in terms of lack of importance, and it is a complete waste of time to even read them. Maybe some of the articles could be interesting. But they never EVER stack up to the hype of the headline.

I will say, at least the one photographed above is not as shallow as most of the articles with these misleading headlines, but the photos are random and I can not say I have any confidence in the captions or where they were sourced from. And I'm sorry, once I see these photos I'll NEVER forget them? I could have done without the one of Arnold Schwarzenegger all decked out in the US flag thank you very much.

Do these insanely desperate article headlines bother anyone else?