“The scheduling and publishing of Instagram content has been the number one request of our 16 million customers,” said HootSuite CEO Ryan Holmes

Prior to this, the digital marketers had to contend with the hassle of keeping abreast of the best time to post on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. However, the cat is out of the bag now. Digital marketers and business owners can now schedule their posts officially right from the Instagram API.

The much-belated overhaul has been anticipated by social media managers for quite some time now. The update will allow brands to schedule their posts right from Instagram. Prior, many third-party apps tried to achieve the same thing. But there, they only got so far as to push out a notification to remind the brand when to publish the post. The closest social media managers ever got was to draft the post for later publication.

Sadly, the official support does not extend its barriers for ads, nor does it allow individual users to schedule posts. It is expected that Instagram will allow individuals to avail this feature by the end of the year 2019.

“Now, they can manage large volumes of content, multiple team members and multiple Instagram accounts with ease and security. HootSuite is excited to partner with Instagram to make this happen.” Ryan Holmes, CEO Instagram

For now, only big brands would glean the privilege of availing this feature. Instagram API is now supporting social media applications, such as HootSuite, Later, and IFTTT to fully access the functionality from within the Instagram API. Instagram Automatic Post Scheduling is also available to all marketing partners of Facebook and Instagram.

“It’s always been very time-consuming to create Instagram posts,” SocialFlow CEO Jim Anderson told TechCrunch. “That’s not necessarily a problem for individual consumers, but when you’re a media company that creates more than 100,000 posts a month, it’s simply impossible to do everything manually.”

This change was introduced as part of the revamp undertake by Instagram’s API. The old Instagram’s API will be deprecated, beginning from July 31^st, 2018. Instagram API of yore is poised to be replaced by the new Instagram Graph API, which will allow users to analyze the Instagram metrics and insights in the form of graphs.

Another interesting feature which came to forth is business discovery, which allows users to view the profile info of other businesses and mentions, which allows business profiles to view posts they’ve been tagged in. It’s only natural that it has taken this long for Instagram to allow scheduled posts, given that the platform has always encouraged sharing photos and videos, keeping in the moment. But now, it was high time for brands to make the best use of this feature.

With the phenomenal use of Instagram that has led brands to excel in enormously different ways, it is time for startups and well-established businesses to embrace this wonderful and most awaited change. If you’re starting out, feel free to contact us and we will aid you in website design and development, or even establishing a brand identity for your brand.

The post Instagram Continues Assaulting Snapchat: Now Allowing Brands to Schedule their Posts in Advance appeared first on Branex Official Blog.

You can improve your Instagram marketing strategy by getting useful insights from Instagram analytics. Additionally, you can easily know more about your audience, which will help you target them more effectively in the future. You can use free Instagram Analytics tools or upgrade to more premium ones for this purpose. To help businesses select the right Instagram analytics tools for their business, here are seven Instagram analytics tools that every business must use.

1. Union Metrics

If you are looking for an easy to use Instagram analytics tool,which is aesthetically pleasing as well, then Union Metrics fits the bill perfectly. It is available in both free and paid versions, so you can easily choose one according to your needs. The advantage with union metrics is that it shows you everything from followers to following, to number of posts, hashtags, interactions, top posts and followers at a glance. This will save a lot of time otherwise spent on tracking Instagram.

2. Instagram Insights

Did you know that Instagram also has a native analytics tool known as Instagram Insight? Its major drawback is that you will have to turn your Facebook profile into a Business profile to use this tool. Thankfully, the process is quite simple and comprises of four simple steps. With Instagram Insights, you can get access to data, such as engagements, impressions, and reach, and easily track Instagram viewers,number of posts and Instagram stories that they have shared with others. If you have invested in Instagram paid ads, you can easily track how your ads are performing with the help of this tool as well.

3. Social Bakers

Social media managers and SEO experts who want a customizable dashboard will surely love social bakers, as it provides them with all the control they need over their analytics. You can easily monitor your content performance, keep an eye on competitors and their strategies, and analyze your Instagram ad performance right from the dashboard.

What makes this tool stand out are its predictive intelligence features,which can help social media marketers share the right content at the right time with the right target audience. It even tells you when you should share your post on Instagram to get the maximum engagement from your Instagram followers. In short, it optimizes your Instagram posts for higher engagement, and the results speak volumes about the effectiveness of this tool.

4. Owlmetrics

For those who want a radical analytics solution for Instagram that provides them with the ability to dig deeper into the data and find actionable insights, Owlmetric is an ideal choice. Whether you want to track follower engagement, follower growth or hashtag activity, Owlmetrics has you covered. Do you want to see what your competitors are doing? You can even do that with this tool and easily select the best time to post on Instagram. Increasing engagement and growing your followers will not be a difficult task with Owlmetrics at your disposal.

5. CrowdFire

Calling itself, “Your marketing sidekick”, Crowdfire is an app that promises to make social media marketing and management a breeze by cutting down the time you spend on social media. It conducts an in-depth analysis of your social media accounts and tells you what kind of content you need to share to get the best results. Although the focus of this tool is not on analytics, it packs a simple and easy to use interface combined with useful features for social media managers. Take the hassle out of social media marketing and analytics with Crowdfire.

6. Iconsquare

Spying on your competitors is the key to staying one-step ahead of the race. Gone are the days when it was considered unethical. Today, every business is redressing the moral high ground. Iconsquare helps you keep a close eye on your competitor’s activities on Instagram. Apart from that, Iconsquare has some very useful features up its sleeve. Users can easily see Instagram engagement and community statistics. Moreover, it makes it easy for businesses to find the right influencers in thier niche. Iconsquare can also come in handy when analyzing hashtag data and gives you useful insights, which can be leveraged to make your content go viral on Instagram.

7. Keyhole

Do you want to grow your Instagram followers fast? Do you prefer a data driven approach and strategy to achieve this goal? If the answer to both these questions is yes, then Keyhole should be on top of your Instagram analytics tools list. Confused about which type of content will resonate with your Instagram audience? Do not worry, because this tool will provide you with insights and also determine the best times to post on Instagram. Comparing competitor’s performance is a breeze as well, thanks to its visualization, which makes it easy for you to interpret the data.

Conclusion

Selecting the right tools for analyzing Instagram data can unearth some hidden insights that can help you improve and optimize your Instagram marketing efforts. Choose any one or use a combination of the aforementioned tools to keep an eye on every minute detail on Instagram.

Which Instagram analytics tools do you use to track your progress? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post 7 Handy Instagram Analytics Tools for Digital Marketers to Keep an Eye on Results appeared first on Branex Official Blog.

The first method is the authentic one, the one that is given by the officials.

You can check how to get your page verified on Facebook? Or How to get yourself verified on Instagram?

The above methods are the ones suggested by the social media platforms themselves. But then there are those people who can take you to the easy route and get your account verified. The only condition is that you need to pay a little to get yourself verified.

Isn’t that illegal you may ask?

Well to answer that let us look at one of the tweets from Twitter:

“I mean if Mashable wants to pay for it, I can get you a blue check over night,”

How does the verification work?

There is a guy who knows some guy (the middle man of Instagram verification). Now with this method, there is no restriction of age or popularity. Whether you are a fresh drop out from college or you’re a marketer that is willing to leave an impression on their clients, you can get your account verified just with a price tag.

What is the price tag? The fee to verify your account varies from a branded energy drink to around $10,000, which depends upon a number of sources that are in the process or the direct purchase from the middleman.

For the Facebook price tag, a bit low. Maximum value to verify a page is around $2,000.

This benefit both the middleman and the user. To a middleman. Selling one to two verified accounts a month is sufficient for their whole month.

The sold service is not a good or a service that is sold separately on the internet. It can only be purchased via links and middleman.

Oh and yes Instagram is aware of this. As mentioned in their terms:

“You are responsible for any activity that occurs through your account and you agree you will not sell, transfer, license or assign your account, followers, username, or any account rights,”

What are the benefits of verified account on Facebook/Instagram?

The blue tick account is mainly a status symbol. It gives credibility to your account. Gives prime spot on search results pages and your influence reaches up to 700 million monthly active users.

On the grand scale, Instagram knows and supports this black market well. While anyone can apply for the account via the links mentioned above. The only problem is that the normal process takes so much time, so people go for this underground black-market tactic to get themselves verified.

Related Read: How to Write Instagram Captions That Drive Sales?

Who buys the verified accounts?

Even though some of the professional digital design agency owners don’t prefer this type of verification, there are some who goes the extra mile and take this approach.

For example, John (pseudo name of my friend) shared with me that he got the verified account from some reference guy, now after three years, he is fully immersed in this business.

He sells accounts to everyone. From individuals to corporations with some price tag.

Here is how the verification usually takes place in the black market:

Step1: There is usually an employee from Instagram/Facebook who is willing to take a bribe or he is just a friend. He is first contacted.

Step2: The middleman receives cash from the person who wants to get their account verified. The split is done among the employee and the middleman.

Step3: The employee at Facebook/Instagram submits a verification request which is obviously treated as high priority.

Step4: Verification gets done and the user can avail all the features of a premium verified account.

For a celebrity, they can easily get the verified account just by applying via the forms mentioned above.

But for every other user, you need to have a lot of patience to get your account verified. One friend of mine, who owns a digital design agency purchased and dumped his verified account just because he thought it was all illegal to get the account and use in this manner.

After that, he applied for the verification of another account in the normal way and got verified within twenty days.

Related Read: Humanizing Your Brand Will Engage and Retain More Customers

To conclude it all

Getting verified is surely important when it comes to the Facebook page or Instagram account. Whether you do it legally or illegally, in both cases you get to use the features of a premium verified account.

But as a marketer and a digital media strategist, I would never suggest going for the paid verification. Although you might get it all right. But there will always be that guilt in you. The bribe you paid to accelerate the process.

The post How ‘insiders’ at Facebook & Instagram make $$$ via illegal Account Verification appeared first on Branex Official Blog.

If you are already baffled by the idea of filters, hashtags, captions and followers or simply looking for some amazing ways to improve your online brand existence. Here is a list of some common Instagram marketing mistakes that your social media marketing team should avoid in order to strengthen your marketing efforts.

Let’s dive in.

• Don’t Purchase Followers

There are many brands who are constantly looking for ways to build a strong Instagram presence, and purchasing followers in order to stay on top won’t do you any favors in the end.

Creating a fake account or buying Instagram followers give you following results:

• Less or No Engagement

Though your account gained thousands of followers instantly, but chances are, the posted content won’t get any likes or comments.

• A Shaky Audience

The followers you buy are mostly teenagers who don’t have any interest in your brand or bots that share totally irrelevant content. And these are not exactly the type of people you want your brand associated with.

Instead of buying Instagram followers, businesses need to create a strategic approach, create an effective Instagram marketing campaign, share engaging, valuable content and interact with audience.

Overlooking the Statistics

Okay, you have created an account, gained sufficient followers and regularly posting informative, interesting content. To get the most out of Instagram, you need to pay careful attention to the numbers, which most social media managers usually ignore.

With trial and error, you will be able to determine the posting schedule, types of content, hashtags, post captions to get the best responses and more engagement.

Here is a list of some essentials that you should measure on a daily basis:

•         Number of followers, follower growth and loss
•         Use of hashtags
•         Engagement rate in the form of likes and comments
•         Frequency of your posts
•         Brand mentions
•         Click-through rates for the URL present in your bio description
•         Demographics of your audience
•         Sales generated through Instagram
•         Best time to post, i.e. when your posts get more likes

The best way to measure these insights is to use the Instagram’s feature of “Instagram Insights” that helps you know who your followers are, when they actively present online. You can also see insights for a particular post and story you have shared to check the performance of your content and how people are responding to your posts and Instagram stories.

Though numbers and statistics are not the only means to measure your Instagram success, they can surely help you provide with a clear sign of progress and what strategies work best.

Promote Branded Stuff

Constantly promoting your brand in your every single post on Instagram is a definite way to alienate your followers. If every time you post on Instagram are images of your own product, your band logo everywhere, or information about your brand, your followers are going to lose interest in your brand.

Think differently, come up with a strategic approach. Try to convey the values of your brand and products with the help of engaging content.

For example, Toms Shoes, has curated an Instagram account that features the images of their products, lifestyle content and their communities. This builds a clear visual representation of their brand and convey their One for One brand message in the real world.

Not Improving Their Captions

If your brand really wants to drive more engagement and increase conversions, you simply can’t afford to create senseless Instagram captions. Interesting Instagram captions not only give a clear context to your posts, but can generate emotional responses from your followers.

A study suggests that stimulating certain emotions can help increase the chances of messages being shared. Here are some easy steps to write the perfect Instagram captions:

•         Use the most important words in the beginning of the caption.
•         Use emojis and add a fun element to your caption.
•         Ask thoughtful questions to encourage audience to participate.

Not Using Hashtags Appropriately

A study suggests that almost 91% of Instagram posts contains between one and seven hashtags. It clearly suggests that hashtags have more value and a convincing tool. But there are some digital marketers who are misusing this powerful tool.

Brands misuse hashtags in different forms, such as overuse hashtags, underuse hashtags or use irrelevant hashtags. Basically, the purpose of using hashtags is to allow audience to discover other topics – if you are spamming your posts with irrelevant or too many hashtags, you are actually devaluing your brand credibility.

And if you have quality, engaging content but not using any hashtag at all, then you are simply missing out on a huge opportunity of being discoverable and getting more engagement. Read this simple guide on how to use hashtags.

Posting Raw Content

Editing your Instagram content can increase your chances of getting more engagement by 45%. If you are overlooking this important Instagram marketing strategy, you are missing out on an opportunity to drive interactions.

There are countless editing apps available that can help you avoid posting lackluster images on your Instagram account. You can improve the quality of your photos and videos by using some effective Instagram Apps and take your marketing to a whole new level.

Ignoring the Target Audience

“Set it and forget it” approach doesn’t fit for Instagram at all. It is important to create relationships and build meaningful connections.

To make the most of your Instagram community you need to keep these points in mind:

• See who your followers are and then follow relevant users
• Build relationships, take part in conversations and respond to your community comments and questions.
• Share your audience content (UGC) regularly
• If possible, host some events
• Ask your followers questions and have them respond on Instagram

Not Using the Power of Instagram Ads

It is estimated that nearly 120 million Instagram users visit a website, email or send a direct message every month. This shows that how keen the audience is to see content from top brands. Instagram ads can lift your brand up and help you get significant conversions. So, use

Instagram ad feature to connect with your target customers who are willing to hear what you have to convey.

There are four types of Instagram ads that you can use to give your content a significant boost.

•         Photo ads
•         Video ads
•         Carousel ads
•         Stories ads

Not Using Instagram Stories

Instagram stories allows users to share different videos and images in a slideshow arrangement

that disappear after 24 hours. It is estimated that more than 200 million users share Instagram Stories daily and one in five Stories get a direct response from a user.

If your brand also wants this instant and direct interaction with your audience, use this feature smartly. Keep these points in mind while creating Instagram Stories.

• Tell an interesting story, a step-by-step guide, a tour to your office, or anything interesting.
• Show the true personality and values of your brand. Keep your stories real.
• Offer immense value, keep your content authentic.
• Make your stories more interesting by using Instagram Stories features such as stickers, filters, tags and more.

If done right, Instagram serves as a remarkable tool to convey your brand’s value to the whole world. By avoiding these Instagram mistakes, you can simply pave your way to success.

The post Calling All Social Media Managers! Avoid These Instagram Marketing Mistakes appeared first on Branex Official Blog.

Source:

http://neilpatel.com/blog/8-ways-create-instagram-campaign-will-blow-brand/

Here are five small things you can do to leverage your brand with Big Data:

1) Explore Trends on Google

No doubt Google is one huge Gorilla when it comes to Big Data. In their mission to organize world’s information in one place, it is now easy for everyone to access and use that information.

We all know Google search, but if you have started a business and willing to work for long term, you need to use Google Trends to search for latest trends and happenings in your field.

Let’s say I sell bananas. I can log into Google Trends and explore related terms by searching on a keyword (in this case “bananas”). Google will instantly scour its data banks and serve up results of the top related search terms. I discover that “bananas in pajamas” is being searched on a lot.

2) Monitor Social Media

You need to keep track of your brand on social media. What your competitors are offering and how can you offer a better version of it? Everyone has this opportunity to engage and make a difference. How we respond to that opportunity makes all the difference in the world.

Engage, respond, and solve a problem with Big Data. There are so many tools that you can use to get control of Big Data on social media. Tools like Adobe Marketing Cloud or Radian6. If not, a free tool like SocialMention.com is less comprehensive in terms of the results.

Related: How to Grow Your Online Business?

3) Measure your performance with a graph

Your personal social graph – the people you are connected to on social networks – is a powerful asset. If you’re smart about social, you probably have connections on LinkedIn and maybe, Facebook, who you want to build relationships with. Perhaps they are potential clients, press contacts, bloggers or other influential people who could be a benefit to your business.

Dig deep into Google Analytics and study the graphs. Look what people are liking, and what they are looking for.

4) Don’t Just Target. Retarget

Cookies are everywhere. Their ubiquity has led to a complete overhaul of how most online advertising is purchased. We used to buy sites, or groups of sites that we anticipated our target were likely to be hanging out on based on their demographic or psychographic profile. Today, more and more, we buy groups of individuals based on cookie data on a broad range of sites across the internet. There are dozens of companies that collect data on hundreds of millions of people and then sell it so you can enhance the targeting of your display advertising.

We live in a world increasingly driven by data. How your organization defines its data strategy and approach will decide how successful you will be as a business. Use these 4 ways to grow your startup business.

Now the choice is yours. You can either sit here or blame others for your failures or you can take that step forward. You can digitize your idea by starting with a website. Contact us and we will help you get that website ready for you.

The post How Big Data Helped Branex UAE To Get featured On Neil Patel Blog appeared first on Branex Official Blog.

With a customer database of more than 300 million monthly users, many brands are finding ways to interact, sell and connect with people on Instagram. Starting from their homes, people are earning just by posting pictures on Instagram. But what makes them special? You too are posting pictures right?

Well, the difference is they are using the right captions for their pictures and you’re not. If you are willing to sell products with Instagram, you need to read this blog till the end. Because in this blog we will explore different ways on how to write Instagram captions that drive sales?

So folks, go grab a Coffee so we can get started.

Before you even start…..

No matter you have a business website or not (although I suggest you make a business website) first you need to setup an optimized business account for Instagram.

Keep in mind that marketing is all about your audience, not you. So avoid using selfies in your business account. Keep it strictly business.

Check out the profile of Starbucks:

Isn’t this simple short and professional?

Secondly, you need to put your website right in the profile. Just like Starbucks did. This is pure organic traffic on your website. Your profile is one place where you can use a clickable link. Use it well.

Now let us look some strategies to devise captions that will drive sales for you.

1. Design Captivating Images

1. Part of writing an appealing caption is going with a strong image. Here is how tacobell did it the right way:

The image is appealing plus the caption is short and sweet.

Think. Is it necessary to show the whole stock or you can live with some of the products? Which will look more captivating? Think this through before you post any more pictures to your business account.

The best part of Instagram our filters. Even if you don’t have a really good camera, you can use filters to uplift your pallid photos. Test different filters on your photo and post the one that looks good to your eyes.

2. Every Caption should define a story

On Instagram, there are few accounts whom I look up to when I need inspiration. And Nike is one of them. Their every picture defines a story. A story you can relate to, a story with which you can feel inspired and excited. Here is one particular photo which I love to share:

Plus the caption tells a story. You can either quit or you can quit complaining and start working.

3. Use relevant hashtags

No matter what people say, hashtags are one thing that can drive an immense amount of traffic on your post and on your website. You can use http://hashtagify.me/ to search for hashtags that are relevant to your industry.

Remember that engagement is a two-way street. Follow and pay attention to your followers, and like the posts that are strategically and aesthetically aligned with your brand.

4. Use Captivating Call-to-action button

Consider adding Call-to-action button on your posts. This is a great way to gain new followers, but make sure the action is relevant to your post. It could be as simple as “Shop Now!” or “Download our app.”

5. Partner with Influencers

The great thing with influencers is that they already have a built-in line list and a large fan following who trusts & respect their opinions. By working with influencers, you harness their digital popularity to expand your follower count and boost direct sales.

Final remarks

In addition to creating a post that generates leads, you need to devise a content strategy in order to gain a maximum following for your Instagram account and attract customers to generate sales. You need to test and see how many posts you will be using & set performance indicators for every week.

Pay attention the following you get and respond to them in a friendly manner. Track which of your photos get most of the views and why? Resonate that content with others photos and repeat the process.

As Instagram shifts from a visual platform to a visual marketplace, it can be a powerful sales driver for your business. Thinking strategically about your brand and how it’s portrayed on Instagram has the potential to generate leads and sales better than any other social network.

Are you fed-up with the conventional website development model? You have a vision. We can get you there. Start your digital revolution now

The post How to Write Instagram Captions That Drive Sales? appeared first on Branex Official Blog.