[Webinar] Using Instagram to Promote Design
On Thursday, March 21, Dering Hall was joined by Lizzie MacNeill, Partnerships and PR Lead at Later (an Instagram marketing platform that visually plans and schedules Instagram posts), and Skylar Frederick, Social Media Manager at Chairish, to discuss the important aspects of Instagram that every brand, designer, architect, and design enthusiast should know. In this webinar, Lizzie shared Later’s top 10 tips for using Instagram to promote design in 2019.
The video, which can be viewed here, focused on these 10 helpful tips:
1. Use ALL of Instagram’s New Features
The Instagram algorithm favors accounts that use all of Instagram’s features
Switch to an Instagram business profile to get access to more features like adding links to stories, scheduling, boosting posts, + analytics
Try out new features like carousel posts, stories polls, IGTV, highlights, ads, etc
This will boost your overall engagement!
2. Post to Instagram Stories Every Single Day
This is the best way to build an engaged following
People are creatures of habit and want to watch the same accounts every day
Instagram Stories are a free way to stay engaged with your audience, even if they’re not seeing or liking your regular posts
Be consistent! Use photos and “tap” text if you don’t feel like being on camera
If you schedule stories with a tool, you can have a segment live every 24 hours
3. Refresh your aesthetic for 2019 using tools and apps
Use a visual planner to preview your feed in advance when you schedule content
Use or customize branded presets on Lightroom or apps like Over, A Color Story, Unfold and VSCO
The “no edit-edit” is popular this year for influencers especially
Artistic filters with paint strokes, sparkles and collages are having a moment, mono tone feeds on the way out
4. Schedule Instagram Posts for Your Best Time to Post
Scheduling Instagram posts saves time posting so you can spend more time engaging
Now you can schedule posts that automatically publish to Instagram!
The algorithm cares about how much engagement you get, but also how quickly you get it
Later’s Best Time to Post feature calculates your top 7 posting times
5. Find Your Optimal Posting Frequency
How often should you post to Instagram?
Some accounts post 5x a day and get great engagement
Some post every other day and get great engagement
Test to find out what works for you!
6. Collaborate with your existing network in different ways
You can grow your followers quickly by collaborating people who are already in your network
Here are 4 different types of content you can create together:
Behind the scenes
Takeovers
Contests
Tutorials
Try creating different types of content with your followers, fans, product users, customers, employees and finally influencers! Step out of your Instagram comfort zone and try them!
7. Discover Influencers to Engage With
Influencer marketing has been extremely successful on Instagram, but why?
Identify and keep tabs on which influencers your competitors and partners are working with
Find the right influencers for your business or niche
Create highly engaging content
Consider micro-influencers
Influencers have targeted and loyal communities who can amplify your brand to the right audience,
so track them down and start working with them!
8. Use Instagram Stories Highlights to Create Super Fans
Turn your regular followers into superfans by getting them to engage with your highlights
Think of your highlights like content buckets
Drive views from regular posts to highlights, and your followers will then see all of your highlights and keep watching
Think of your Instagram profile like your homepage of your website
9. Get ahead of the curve with IGTV
Despite its initial lackluster stats, some brands have excelled and invested heavily in IGTV production
Two weeks ago Instagram announced that IGTV previews would now appear in the regular Instagram feed. Since that change, views on IGTV videos have skyrocketed across the board, increasing by ~300-1000%, providing a strong indicator that IGTV isn’t dead yet.
Brands like USA Today, The Fader, HighSnobiety etc having huge success on the platform, and it’s a natural fit for the design community
10. Create Polls in Instagram Stories
This is probably the easiest way to increase engagement!
Start using polls - even if you don’t help deciding something
Polls make your followers more invested in your account, and they care about the result
Polls can also give you valuable information about what your followers want to see more of!
Dering Hall would like to extend a huge thank you to Lizzie MacNeill from Later for sharing these wonderful tips and to Skylar Frederick for sharing her expert advice. If you would like to keep up with the latest Instagram tips, we encourage you to sign up for Later’s Instagram Marketing Newsletter.