Thursday, September 14, 2017

How You (and the network) Did Last Week - 9/6/2017

Winners of the Week:
Metros Killing It On Instagram


We added Instagram likes and comments to the KPI Report last week, which has helped us all get a much better sense for comparative Instagram performance across the network. With that in mind, we'd like to congratulate Do210, DoTheBay, DoLA, Do512 -- who all posted more than 5 times last week AND averaged over 100 likes per post...

... and also share 10 tips for making the most out of your Instagram.

1. If you're not generating at least 5 posts per week, you're not posting enough.
  • We recommend 5-6 posts per week at the minimum and 25 at the maximum (so you're not overloading your users).
  • If your metro made less than 4 posts last week (we know who you are!), we challenge you to step up the posting frequency and make at least 5 stellar posts this week.
2. Engage with Hashtags
  • Last year, we posted this growth recommendation about winning your city's hashtag. This strategy is more relevant now than ever, since Instagram's feed has become increasingly based on an algorithm that rewards users for engaging with others' posts.
3. Be strategic with your captions.
  • Place important words at the beginning to make sure they don't get truncated.
4. Save frequently-used hashtags in your Notes app.
  • To copy them quickly on the go.
5. Hide your hashtags by including them in the comments of your post (example).
  • Or use dots and line breaks (example and excellent explanation in this article).
6Consider posting whenever you're out at a bar, restaurant or patio.
  • These posts tend to perform extremely well (example), which makes sense because they appeal to a wide audience. They also help add personality to your brand and sell the fact that you are real people, out in your cities doing awesome stuff.
7. Post from parks, exhibitions and other notable landmarks in your city.

We recommend avoiding overused landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty unless you can put your own unique spin on the picture; everything else should be fair game. Examples of highly successful landmark posts from the past 10 days include:
These posts also help balance out the concert photography by making it clear to viewers that your site is about more than just music.

8. Leverage Instagram Stories
  • Stories appear at the top of your followers' feeds.
  • Stories are ideal for in-the-moment posts at events and other moments when you may not be able to get the perfect static shot.
  • Need some pro tips? This article has a bunch.
9. Mix it up with Boomerang posts.
10. Up your engagement rates by posting slideshows.
  • If you're unfamiliar with the process, this article is a very helpful how-to.
There is so much more to say about Instagram, and many excellent resources online to help youstay ahead of the curve. We like a lot of HootSuite's articles, especially those covering:
What questions do you have about Instagram best practices? Ask us!

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Post a Comment

Thoughts to share? DO!

Thursday, September 14, 2017

How You (and the network) Did Last Week - 9/6/2017

Winners of the Week:
Metros Killing It On Instagram


We added Instagram likes and comments to the KPI Report last week, which has helped us all get a much better sense for comparative Instagram performance across the network. With that in mind, we'd like to congratulate Do210, DoTheBay, DoLA, Do512 -- who all posted more than 5 times last week AND averaged over 100 likes per post...

... and also share 10 tips for making the most out of your Instagram.

1. If you're not generating at least 5 posts per week, you're not posting enough.
  • We recommend 5-6 posts per week at the minimum and 25 at the maximum (so you're not overloading your users).
  • If your metro made less than 4 posts last week (we know who you are!), we challenge you to step up the posting frequency and make at least 5 stellar posts this week.
2. Engage with Hashtags
  • Last year, we posted this growth recommendation about winning your city's hashtag. This strategy is more relevant now than ever, since Instagram's feed has become increasingly based on an algorithm that rewards users for engaging with others' posts.
3. Be strategic with your captions.
  • Place important words at the beginning to make sure they don't get truncated.
4. Save frequently-used hashtags in your Notes app.
  • To copy them quickly on the go.
5. Hide your hashtags by including them in the comments of your post (example).
  • Or use dots and line breaks (example and excellent explanation in this article).
6Consider posting whenever you're out at a bar, restaurant or patio.
  • These posts tend to perform extremely well (example), which makes sense because they appeal to a wide audience. They also help add personality to your brand and sell the fact that you are real people, out in your cities doing awesome stuff.
7. Post from parks, exhibitions and other notable landmarks in your city.

We recommend avoiding overused landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty unless you can put your own unique spin on the picture; everything else should be fair game. Examples of highly successful landmark posts from the past 10 days include:
These posts also help balance out the concert photography by making it clear to viewers that your site is about more than just music.

8. Leverage Instagram Stories
  • Stories appear at the top of your followers' feeds.
  • Stories are ideal for in-the-moment posts at events and other moments when you may not be able to get the perfect static shot.
  • Need some pro tips? This article has a bunch.
9. Mix it up with Boomerang posts.
10. Up your engagement rates by posting slideshows.
  • If you're unfamiliar with the process, this article is a very helpful how-to.
There is so much more to say about Instagram, and many excellent resources online to help youstay ahead of the curve. We like a lot of HootSuite's articles, especially those covering:
What questions do you have about Instagram best practices? Ask us!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thoughts to share? DO!