Tips & Guides

The Role Of An Instagram Profile In E-Commerce

November 10, 2019 By Kyle Francisco

Today, we’re going to be talking about how important it is for your business to have an Instagram profile, among other social media platforms. But first, let’s talk about digital marketing.

Digital marketing–a blessing and a challenge to us companies looking to expand our sales, reach, and overall presence. You see, the world is now shifting to e-commerce as the next big thing for businesses. It’s an emerging marketplace of potentials. It has grown as an ecology of sorts, bridging consumer insights, experience, and business opportunities in one arena.

If I were to describe digital marketing further, it would be something like this: It’s an online community that’s almost a carbon copy of our offline world.

Shops are now in digital websites or local sales aggregates that are hosted (either by the company itself or third-party providers like Amazon.com and Alibaba.com) so they can set-up shop online.

With just a few clicks (and of course, after reviewing products from other user insights), they just input their credit card details and have the item delivered to their doorstep in a week or less.

Can Your Business Make It Through This New E-commerce Thing?

The short answer is yes. (Well, the long answer says that too.)

You have your offline customers, which is good. These are your local, loyal customers that steadily bring profits to your brand.

However, you are expecting your business to live a long time, yes? If that’s the case, you should invest in where your future market is already at. The digital population is growing, and you might even get new business there.

Plus, it’s not that difficult! It’s just like migrating your services or products to the cloud. You just copy and paste what you have, with some sprinkles of online marketing strategies in-between.

The Challenges You Should Expect

Challenges are always part of any marketing plan. Even some of the horror stories over in www.failory.com started from a small mishap in digital marketing. Some products and brands barely even took off because they invested in the wrong strategy too much and noticing it a little too late in the campaign. Some of these challenges are expected when your business establishes itself online.

1. Making the wrong conversation.

This marketplace digitizing is something that’s welcome to the younger generation. Known as the Digital Natives, these customers migrating to the online crowd are one of the main driving forces in the growth of e-commerce. These are the people you talk to. (This is also why having an Instagram profile is a good idea – but we’ll get into that later.)

Mobile commerce is one of e-commerce’s sub-branches. It’s basically the desktop version of the online ecology mentioned before, but specialized through mobile phone applications. These websites that end up on a customer’s mobile phone are sacrosanct, to say the least. Once there, your app can send out push notifications (kind of like small reminders) for your promos, sales, or new products with great effect. Did you know that customers that receive push notifications are 48% more likely to make in-store purchases? This is just one example of how you can monetize your brand through e-commerce. If your push notifications are too irritating or irrelevant to the customer though, your app might have its push notification disabled, or worse, your app uninstalled.

How do you make the right conversation? Well, the first thing to study is the art of empathy. According to Matt Gentile of Century 21 (an American real estate company), “Just have a human interaction with that person, even if it is online.”

“Do it in such a way that you are listening,” he continued. Whenever you make a spiel, whether it’s customer service-related or through push notifications, make sure to craft it in the shoes of the customer. What are the customer’s goals? What are their dreams, their habits? Use these as cues.

Push notifications are subtle reminders your company app can use as a marketing tool. The biggest mistake they commit? They treat users as robots. Take the time to use conversational language through push notifs so they can feel inclined to reply or open your app to check the update.

2. Brand saturation

Let’s be honest: We hate commercials.

When watching sports on television, we change channels during halftime. We merely glance at the ads in newspapers and billboards. In the digital arena, this is also a phenomenon. We skip ads on YouTube with our hands automatically hovering in the “Skip Ad in…” button or press that X button when being hit by subscription invites when reading articles.

This “in your face” strategy that everyone seems to employ contributes to what we call Brand Saturation. I personally experienced this. I made it my personal mission to avoid apps or products that have boring, irrelevant content. According to Kantar Media, as cited by marketingweek.com, “54% of UK consumers object to being targeted based on their past online activity and 55% are completely apathetic towards advertising content”. Yikes.

3. Tough competition

When you put your name out there online, that’s good! You’re already ahead of the competition. That’s… the good news. The bad news? Everybody else is already here or are on their way. However, more competition doesn’t necessarily mean you’re fighting a losing battle. This just means that you need to have an edge for your brand presence. Even small brands are killing it online with little-to-no risk in their marketing.

Take for example 3P Creative Group, a New Jersey Marketing Agency. They are a small fish in the creative services pond. A very small fish. According to Brian Regienczuk, CEO at Agency Spotter, there are over half a million Creative agency-related services worldwide.

Surprisingly, after taking to heart the strategies and guiding principles of Inbound Marketing from Hubspot and its tools, it received 20 times more leads!

The technique to breaking the mold in the competitive online marketplace is to optimize your platforms. You already have the goods, the brand, and the motivation. What’s next?

Recommendations: Where You Should Begin

There are a lot of online marketing “bibles” out there that try to sell you the secrets to marketing success.

Although I do agree that there are specific things you can employ to maximize your online presence, some of the basics are more than enough to keep your business thriving.

Below are some of the recommendations you can quickly implement to make your brand stand out:

1. Seeking the right niche

Your first stop would be finding out where your market is. Learning where your market stays in the digital word is the first step to making sure your online initiatives will be received well (or even noticed in the first place!). Different demographics and psychographics stay in different niches in the internet. If you know their background, you know how they walk, talk, and what tickles their fancy when viewing online content.

Here are some more strategies as shared by Anchovy PLC, an international marketing group.

2a. Identifying your customer: B2B or B2C?

B2B means business-to-business. If your main products are services, that means you are most likely looking for B2B outlets, like professional correspondences or social media like LinkedIn. If your clientele is B2C (meaning business-to-consumer), step right in to the next step.

2b. Creating Your Ideal Customer / Reader Profile

If you could sell your services or products to one person only for the rest of your company’s life, who would be that person? This person might be someone who’s a no-nonsense type like Paul–perfect for your hardware retail. Or perhaps you’re looking for the chatty, charismatic yuppie like Emily who can refer your coffee biz to the rest of his Instagram friends? Think of your preferred client because you’ll be using your messaging and content to attract more like them. Some other questions you might want to ask:

What’s their age range?
Where do they stay, work, or hang out?
What’s their gender?
What values do they espouse and look for?

2c. Looking at your competitors

Who’s your nearest competitor active online? No, you’re not going to copy what they post; just observe and check how they interact with their market. What are some things they do well that you can also invest in your workflows? What are the gaps your communication and content can fill better? Use them as a benchmark and a springboard to get better results.

3. Starting with the right online platform

Whatever your business is, one of the best emerging platforms to start your e-commerce and digital marketing initiatives is through social media. It’s fast, it’s free, and most importantly, your market is there! Did you know that over 54% of social browsers use social media to research products before they buy?

Now you have the option to make a Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram profile. The question is: Where should you really focus your efforts on?

Of course, each platform has its own advantages and disadvantages. Your results may also vary depending on who your audience is. For example, if your customers are mostly in the professional sector, then you would of course benefit from being active on LinkedIn.

Regardless, we highly recommend establishing yourself on Instagram. If you’re looking for data to support this, well, how about this: 72% of Instagram users have reported that they actually bought something through the app. In addition, Instagram also requires the least effort, in theory, among the social media platforms available to you. Why? Because most of your capital comes from your own creativity!

What’s Next For Your Instagram Profile?

All right, so now you’re probably thinking: “Instagram seems safe to start in my e-commerce migration! What are some baby steps I can take to finally see some of that e-commerce success I’ve been reading about?”

The first step is creating your Instagram account. Next comes the slightly more complicated part of optimizing it.

Actually, managing your Instagram account is relatively easy. One step that you absolutely cannot skip, though, is the step in which you optimize and manage your Instagram profile.

To get started on that, it’s important to understand the anatomy of a memorable Instagram profile. These tips below are some highlights you can use on the fly.

Optimizing Your Instagram Profile

1. Create an engaging bio.

When optimizing your Instagram profile, you should start with you bio.

Your bio is basically a TL;DR (“too long, didn’t read” – in other words, a condensed description) that introduces yourself and your brand identity. Tell them what services or products you offer! Give them a clue that you’re not just a robot behind the computer. Use colorful language or even emojis (especially since you only have a 150 character limit). Take note that you can change your Bio from time to time too, so you can highlight deals, special offers, or even sale dates. You can also use hashtags that best exemplify your main selling points so your page can trigger users looking for that hashtag. Last but not the least, you can add shortened links (through bit.ly or tinyURL, for example) where you can lead them to your offers or website.

2. Engage your customers.

When posting your content, a cardinal sin for Instagram marketers is ignoring comments or not mentioning them at all. According to data, mentioning a client online strengthens rapport and keeps them on your pages longer.

3. Create an optimized Instagram profile picture.

Your Instagram profile picture is one of the first things your clients will see when they check out your page. Make sure that your Instagram profile picture is your brand logo (if you plan to mix it up a bit by adding a different perspective or a different design, it’s okay). Your brand logo is one of the things that will be remembered the most. By the way, your profile picture should be a perfect square at 320 x 320 pixels so it’s dead set in the middle. Instagram downsizes it a bit, but your pixel buffer should still make your picture HD.

And that’s it! If you’re thinking of going digital, make sure to follow these steps and take it one step at a time. Your business is heading the right way. Good luck!

How Does Instagram Work? A Basic Guide

November 8, 2019 By Kyle Francisco

You’re probably here because of one simple question: “How does Instagram work?” The answer, however, is a bit more complicated.

The Fast-Growing Instagram

Hosting over 1 billion active users online, Instagram has become the fastest-growing social media platform by far. It is home to different kinds of people from all walks of life – royalty, celebrities, politicians, game changers, activists, advocates, business owners, influencers, and regular people who simply seek fun and entertainment.

However, even with more and more people joining the app, many still find themselves lost in the process. It is undeniable that a majority of the population owns a mobile device, which enables them to have access to Instagram, but there are some who would rather not be a part of this social movement.

Surprisingly, there’s a lot the average user doesn’t know about Instagram and how it works. Still, this mobile app has become a household name and will probably continue to do so as long as it keeps reinventing itself.

Before jumping on the bandwagon, perhaps it won’t hurt to know at least a thing or two about the history of Instagram and how it exactly works.

how does instagram work — This is an example of a typical search on the Instagram platform. Here, we searched for the hashtag #rockmusic. Instagram is full of discoverable content across a wide variety of topics and interests. No matter what you’re into, you’re bound to find it on Instagram.

Getting Started: What Is Instagram?

Instagram is a social networking app developed by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. Systrom created a prototype app called Burbn, which allowed people to register their location using their mobile phones. After agreeing to work together, Kevin and Mike realized that Burbn was somewhat similar to other already established mobile apps, so they decided to focus on images alone. They got rid of all preexisting features except uploading photos, commenting, and liking. It was then renamed to Instagram.

The app was first launched on October 6, 2010. Many considered it a hit right from the beginning with over a million users only 2 months after it was launched. It was made available on iOS first and later on Android. Due to its massive success, it went on to be bought by social media network giant Facebook for $1 billion in 2012.

How Does Instagram Work?

Like most social media apps that have come before it, an Instagram account basically has a profile and news feed. You can follow other users that you know or share the same interests as yours, and they can follow you back too. You can post photos and videos on your timeline and even add filters to them. The app allows you to “Like” and “Comment” on posts from the people you follow and vice versa.

Instagram also has a direct messaging feature, aptly called Direct Message or DM, which allows you to connect with your friends on a more personal level by sending short, sweet messages or simply sharing private photos and videos as well.

Recently, Instagram added the Stories and Live video features to its already compact interface. Although relatively new, these two have become an increasingly popular choice among users because these features let them share more organic, less filtered posts and allow them to genuinely connect with their users by interacting with them in real time.

How Does Signing Up For Instagram Work?

Instagram is available for both iOS and Android. Users may also access it from a computer. However, that option is fairly limited. After all, Instagram is first and foremost a smartphone app.

To begin your journey, you will need to sign up for an Instagram account. Don’t worry, this one is totally free of charge. You can use your existing Facebook account or email address. You just need to provide your chosen username and password.

What’s In An Instagram Name?

Remember, coming up with a username can be quite overwhelming but always keep in mind that whatever you decide on will form part of your online identity and should speak about who you are and what you do.

Once you’re in, you will be asked to follow some of your friends who are already on Instagram. If you’re excited to connect with your friends in an instant and let them know that you’re officially an Instagrammer, you may do so. Otherwise, you can skip this process and come back to it later.

Since you’re new on the app, you might want to share some important information that should be readily available on your profile. This means adding your name, preferably your full name to avoid confusion and to let your friends and other people easily search for you.

You should also include your most recent photo or any decent portrait shot of yourself to let people see the face behind your name. You also have to option to write a short bio on your profile, which could be a brief description of yourself, your hobbies, and interests.

Instagram accounts are public by default, which means anyone can view your profile together with all of the photos and videos you posted on your feed. If this makes you a little uncomfortable, you have the option to make your account private. This setting will require other users to send you a follow request. Only those you approve will be able to follow you and see your posts.

How Does Posting On Instagram Work?

Instagram is a highly visual app. The concept behind it revolves around coming up with refreshing, relatable, and relevant content through photos and videos. The idea of sharing what food we eat, what clothes we wear, and what places we go to has become a social norm.

Posting on Instagram is a pretty straightforward process. On the app, tap the Plus icon at the bottom toolbar. You can either take a new photo or video, or choose a previously saved one from your Library. Keep in mind that Instagram photos can be uploaded in two sizes: they are either automatically cropped into squares or you may resize the photo based on the guideline set by the app.

Once you’ve chosen your photo with the corresponding size, you can now edit it on the app itself and add filters if you please. Instagram currently has 23 filters available for you to choose from. If you want to veer away from presets, you can also manually edit your photos by adjusting a few things including, but not limited to, the brightness, contrast, structure, warmth, saturation, and color of the photo.

If you wish to upload a video, Instagram only allows one full minute in length per post. Similar to photos, you can also edit your videos on the app itself. You can trim them and select a thumbnail or cover frame.

Instagram Stories and Live Video

Perhaps, one of the hottest trends on social media nowadays is the newest addition to the Instagram world: Stories. Everyday, millions of active users post snippets of their lives on a daily basis – from brunch photos to short clips of their day’s activities – no one misses out!

Unlike actual posts, Instagram Stories only last for 24 hours. Some opt to still curate their stories to make them more presentable and consistent with their feed and personal branding. Others, of course, are more chill and unfiltered.

Instagram Stories is a secondary feed that appears at the top of your main feed. You can see it marked by little photo bubbles of the Instagram users you follow. If you press the bubble long enough, a few options will pop up. You can either Mute the story or view the user’s profile.

By simply tapping on a bubble, you will be able to see that user’s story or stories published within the last 24 hours. If you’re familiar with Snapchat, Instagram Stories’ features are quite similar.

If you wish to publish your own story, swipe right from your main feed or tap on your own bubble. This will open a new panel that features a variety of options. These include Create (text-based entry), Boomerang (a short video that loops), Superzoom (instantly zooms in on a subject), and the basic ones such as Normal and Hands-Free. You will also find the Live option, which lets you broadcast from your phone in real-time.

Is Instagram Still Relevant Nowadays?

Now that we’ve answered the question “How does Instagram work?”, the next thing to ponder is this: “Does Instagram still matter?”

With so many existing social media platforms, many may wonder what Instagram really brings to the table. Some might even question its purpose and relevance in today’s tech-savvy world. The reason behind Instagram’s success is plain and simple. It’s a convenient tool to help us keep up with the times.

Instagram mainly deals with photos and was created specifically with smartphones in mind. Thus, pretty much anyone can upload their content, regardless if they’re an amateur or a professional. Instagram doesn’t really require users to be particularly good when it comes to photography.

All you need is a pair of good eyes that appreciate beauty even in the simplest of things, some pretty basic editing skills, a little hint of creativity, and you’re a champ! Perhaps one of Instagram’s purposes is to encourage you to share a bit of yourself with the people around you. Or simply to help you appreciate the good things in life.

Perhaps you’re not into photography, or you’re not one to post so much on social media. If that’s the case, then maybe Instagram is a way for you to stay in touch with your friends. You can also use the platform to make connections with new people. The Internet has created a global village. In doing so, it made it possible for us to reach out to other people even from across the world. Instagram even allows us to check on our favorite celebrities or the people we look up to and inspire us the most.

How Does Instagram Work… For Marketing?

Lastly, Instagram has become one of the most effective marketing strategies used by people and businesses alike. It’s a wonderful opportunity to make yourself known, share great content, and speak about important causes that you believe in.

Businesses, on the other hand, utilize this app to promote brand awareness, foster customer loyalty, and increase follower engagement with the hopes of translating these to sales and revenues.

You are, of course, free to use Instagram however you want to. Just remember that being on Instagram or any social media network involves a certain level of maturity and responsibility. It is also important to note that your online identity is as important as your real identity. After all, what people see online directly reflects their perception of you. If you’re ready, join Instagram and make some noise!

Download Instagram: Get The Best Out Of Today’s Technology

November 7, 2019 By Kyle Francisco

I know you’re expecting a guide on how to download Instagram, but indulge me for a bit. I just want to talk about one of my favorite topics first: space science.

When we think of powerful computers, we think of NASA. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration currently has over 69 active missions in different spaces, planets, and moons carrying millions of dollars’ worth of tech. One miscalculation could cost people’s lives and precious taxpayer money. NASA’s supercomputers handle both manned and unmanned missions in the blink of an eye. But do you know just how powerful the computers used in the first lunar mission were?

Over The Moon With Technology

I stumbled upon this article explaining how powerful our modern computing devices have been. According to the article, the first-ever moon mission which checks on our astronaut’s health and guidance systems across 356,000 km of space. These long-ranged computing devices cost over “$3.5 million a piece and were the size of a car”!

Surely these computers are still in use, right? These sound like un-obsoletable pieces of tech!

Wrong! Did you know that today’s modern calculators and toasters are more advanced that the Apollo mission computers? In a span of 40 years, our flash drives outpaced the computers that helped make man’s take their first step on the moon!

Before the advent of smartphones, the gadgets we have now were basically just that–phones. We started with calls and simple Short Message Services (160-character texts). Sure, the games eventually became really cool (like Snake), but who would’ve imagined that phones would eventually overpower the specs in actual desktop computers?

The Smartphone Boom

Smartphones are the backbone of most technological breakthroughs today. The handheld craze started in January 2007 when Steve Jobs first revealed the iPhone. In his own words, he described it as “a revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone.”

Albeit many doubtful critics (Steve Ballmer himself dubbed it as the most expensive phone in the world), the iPhone continued to take over the mobile market by storm. Eventually, Google released Android, Samsung threw its hat in the ring through Tablet technology, and the battle of Silicon Valley rages on until now. Samsung and Apple became close rivals in branding and products year after year. Google and iOS were setting up new software updates to keep up with the ever-demanding audience looking for something new to try.

Today, everybody has phones. Regardless of your age, we’re sure that you have at least used one for business, school, or work. It offers to make a lot of things easier when you’re using it. From navigation and GPS (does anybody still use hard copies of maps?), to highly sensitive banking transactions, and security encryptions, smartphones became the crutch we never knew we needed. If you’ve watched the movie Wall-E, maybe you’re starting to relate to the humans of the future–never standing up, always lying down and getting all their wants and needs at a press of a button.

The “Swiss Knife” Of Technology

Your smartphone is the swiss knife of technology. Need to do some quick math? You can easily download a calculator app (Oh, and my smartphone’s built-in calculator app is a scientific one. Cool, isn’t it?) What if you’re looking to lose weight? Don’t worry; there’s a calorie counter app or two that you probably never even thought you needed. It’s like the “Is there an app for that” meme of 2010 has now come full circle.

Even in the field of mobile programming, software development jobs are expected to rise by 17% until 2024, and are considered to be one of the fastest-growing careers in the world. It made things so easy and accessible to all walks of life. Basically, it introduced the internet on a massive scale.

One of the effects of syncing the net with smartphone technology is enhancing the communication experience. Ever heard of long-distance calling? Well, our younger audiences might not. Before the internet and FaceTime was a thing, you can’t call your relatives if they’re away from the big city. Oh no, you had to cough up the extra cash on top of your phone bill, or you had to buy these preloaded NDD (National Direct Dial) Cards. If you directly called someone internationally… Let’s just say you wouldn’t hear the end of it from your mother.

Today, we have text messaging, online chats, voice calls, and even video calls. No matter how far your friend is, as long as there’s an internet connection, there’s a way. Making and maintaining connections are also easier these days with the advent of social media websites (such as Instagram) and applications.

What Is Social Media, Anyway?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines social media as: “websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.” The short version? This is an app that connects you with friends. You can share your life with them and theirs, to you. That’s it. One of the earliest ones I encountered in the country was Friendster where you can write testimonials about your friends, encouraging others to add them as friends. It thrived on connecting to people and writing how they’re excellent friends, and it was normal to ask for a testimonial after giving one. It’s goal was to connect people by reviewing them. Okay, it sounds like you’re reviewing your friend in Yelp…

But the social media of today are not like Friendster. When Facebook entered the arena last 2012, Friendster didn’t have a chance. According to Mike Fisher, former PayPal VP of Engineering and Architecture, one small crack that led to Friendster’s demise was its inability to embrace customer misuse and consequently, its product flexibility. Facebook was much more lenient when it came to users, and kept on adjusting its software on how people wanted to use the platform. Eventually, dedicated pages for pets were added. Next came the groups feature. Hell, there were even browser games embedded in the website that pitted you against your friends. One by one, it embraced customer eccentricity until it became the force of nature that it is now.

Is Facebook Truly The Ringleader, Or Are There Other Social Media Sites You Should Care About?

I’m sure you already know the answer, but it’s still important to put things into perspective.

Believe me when I say that in recent times, Facebook has been dominating left and right. Some of its most famous acquisitions were WhatsApp, a messaging app like Viber, and Instagram (which was purchased for one billion dollars, by the way). But its domination hasn’t overwhelmed the entire interwebs just yet.

Here are some of the social media websites you might have missed, and what their specializations are:

Let’s get down to business by starting off with the “business” platform. LinkedIn is like Facebook’s professional older brother. LinkedIn is a corporate networking tool. You still create your profile and add other people, but the unique component of LinkedIn is in its dedicated feature where users can apply for jobs. You update your profile with your professional work and achievements. Don’t worry, you won’t look like a braggart because everyone does it. Users can also recommend some of the connections they’ve worked with. It’s one big professional social media app.

Twitter

If LinkedIn is the professional sibling, Twitter’s the skittish, younger sister. It’s a media-sharing platform that celebrates conciseness and brevity so much it would make my Grade 5 teacher proud. Users can follow other users and even share memes, but they can only use a limited 160-character pool for their posts. If they want more space, they can continue making more posts and connecting them together through threads. It’s usually used as quick update place for thoughts, feelings, rants, and even news. They also offer a lot of excellent memes!

Tumblr

Tumblr is the family’s weird emo cousin, and I mean this in a good way. The platform is still pretty cool, but its brand of content is mostly for teenagers. This microblogging site is very personalized that encourages original content through text, pictures, videos, and audio. Many artists use Tumblr as their own creative online canvas where other like-minded artists can share, collaborate, and critique their work.

Reddit is a second personal favorite. It’s like the well-loved middle child and one of the more successful ones in the bunch. It’s built from multiple communities from powerwashers to gamers and even… people who want to Photoshop arms on birds (if you’re curious, it’s r/bridswitharms). Each community is different, and posts are regulated by mods to curb spam and maintain high-quality content. Subreddits are the subforums and can range from random funny content to actual threads asking relationship advice. Reddit is called the “front page of the internet” because if a story reaches its front page (called r/all) through many upvotes or shares, everyone on the site can most likely see it.

Instagram

Instagram is another personal favorite of mine (and it’s definitely a crowd favorite, too). It’s primarily a photo and video sharing social media site where celebrities and other beautiful people (seriously) go to thrive. Aesthetics are a must on this platform, or at least your audience should like the visual content you post. Just like all of the social media sites mentioned above, you follow the people you want to see in your news feed and give them two taps (a heart) to like their photos. If you’re into art, you should download Instagram, because it’s the easiest to use, the least toxic (for me at least), and it offers great inspiration for artists and wanna-be artists.

So, Where Should I Start If I Want To Dive Into Social Media?

At the risk of sounding biased — no question, it would have to be Instagram. I would actually rank Instagram as the most neutral platform among all of the famous social media websites mentioned above. Not only that, it’s a great balance of all the basic features you need, and it’s a straightforward app, too. Here are some benefits of using and downloading Instagram:

Visual artistry and inspiration is everywhere. If you’re a person that generally likes pretty things, Instagram is for you. The range of aesthetics can keep everyone occupied for hours. From simple artsy quotes finished in watercolor to hardcore digital painting art, Instagram is the leader. Oh and don’t get me started on the food blogs you’ll find on the platform! The best part? You can customize your feed and inspire your day, every day!
Instagram is newbie friendly. If you feel your photos are not up to spec, you can spice up your posts with filters and other effects to make your own specific post brand work. It also integrates with your camera for quick sharing with your audience.
Consumers and businesses collide on Instagram. Instagram is excellent for businesses trying to cut their way into the market with no charge at all! Did you know that 81% of Instagram users use the app to check out new products and services? If you’re a shopper, Instragam’s algorithm is also one of the best. It makes sure to connect and show products that are most useful for you.

download instagram, instagram download, instagram downloader — In other words, yes, you’re going to want to download Instagram.

I Want To Download Instagram! But How?

That’s great! The process is actually faster and easier than it looks, too.

If you’re using Android, follow these steps to download Instagram:

Tap on Google Play Store.
Type in Instagram on the search box.
When prompted, click Install.
Wait for the installation, and click on the app from your phone’s App Drawer!

If you’re on iOS, the instructions are pretty much the same:

Tap on your App Store.
Search for Instagram in the search box.
Click Instagram.
Tap Get, then Install to finally download Instagram. Voila!

If you’ve already downloaded Instagram at this point, congratulations! We hope this article has acquainted you with the new cool stuff to look forward to using social media.

Three Tips To Get More Instagram Followers and Sales!

November 4, 2019 By Kyle Francisco

We’ll talk about how to grow your Instagram followers in this blog, yes. But before we do that, let’s talk a bit about business first.

They say that the best way to be rich is to build a business. You’ve probably heard it all before you started: you can be your own boss, returns are exponentially bigger, and you have more leisure time for you and your family. This is all true, but new businesses have it rough in today’s market.

Startups often find themselves dumbfounded after the first year or so. One example of this is Nox, a nightlife booking app turned liquor e-commerce platform. Jeremiah Lam, founder of Nox, shared one of his biggest lessons in this failure.

“For me, the speed of growth and scale of operation that I felt inspired by had started feeling out of reach. New competitors were popping up and it was getting harder to maintain our competitive advantage,” he wrote in an article on failory.com. Hundreds of failed business stories litter the purple website of failory.com, but most of it can be attributed to one thing: failure to pivot.

The Elephant In The (Conference) Room

An interesting book I’ve been reading is Hug Your Haters by Jay Baer. A lesson I want to share today is one of the fastest ways your business can get ahead of the competition. It’s not exactly a secret, but not many businesses take it into consideration.

It’s something that you may not even think is a problem worth discussing: customer service.

Did you know that over 80% of businesses believe that they deliver astounding customer service? Well isn’t that fine and dandy? Surely this confidence from companies are established through actual data… Or is it?

The same study has shown that only 8% of customers think companies mentioned above deliver great customer service. Yikes. In the same book, Jay Baer shared that the technique he uses right now is “hugging your haters”. He claims that the real battle is no longer about the low prices because clients are willing to pay for stellar service. This service deluxe starts from somewhere, and one of the cheapest ways you can fulfill excellent customer service is through Instagram.

Want To Grow Instagram Followers? Let’s Discuss Shopping First

Instagram is one of the top platforms for brands and customers to interact in. I know what you’re thinking: “I’m selling my products like hotcakes already! My shelves get empty faster than I can fill them. Why do I need this social media thing anyway?” That’s a valid question. Traditional business models and local marketing is efficient, and it gets the job done. However, if you plan to go global and go out of your comfort zone as a business, you might want to consider Instagram, or social media in general, to map out your future successes.

Did you know that according to NASDAQ, 95% of purchases are projected to be online by 2040?

Slowly, the market force is changing directions. Malls and stalls were once the totems of purchases, towering above shoppers with promos and racks and salespersons. Now, the “in” thing is online shopping.

With a few clicks, browsing, and checking of reviews, the public can now purchase in the comfort of their home. This e-commerce sweep is most likely to happen through mobile. According to Statista, 72% of e-commerce will be smartphone-based.

What The E-Commerce Boom Spells For Businesses

There are different angles we can assume when interpreting this shift. Let’s start with the good news first: if the market is moving online, that means we are also shifting gears–no more overhead expenses, our manpower will most likely be reduced, and space rentals will be limited to warehouses, at best. Your main communication tool will be your online channels (emails, social media accounts, etc) so that means customer engagement literally takes seconds to cultivate. You can have branching reach and brand presence while barely spending a dime. Your products suddenly unlock the power of scaling where growth only stops when you do. This is a huge boon, especially for struggling start-ups.

But then again, when we think about what we gain, we also have a responsibility. Failing to ride the challenges in the online shift can threaten the benefits we reap, and even introduce new ones. For starters, the logistical nightmare of order processing, payment validation, product shipping, and solicitation of reviews can set you back depending on how big the process hiccup was. Most of all, the more businesses migrating to e-commerce, the more they take up more space and grab your customers. Think big fish in a small pond. Or moons orbiting a giant planet.

Your best friend is in the power of exponential scaling in e-commerce. I think this more than outweighs the short-term difficulties. If you’re late to the digital party, your business will stagger until it’s too late. That’s why we have to start small, and flip the right buttons.

Grow Your Instagram Followers: Start Small, But Make Waves

You can make customers on social media with what you currently have: your products, your happy customers, and your local presence. Even if you’re just a start-up, it’s totally fine. The asset in winning in social media marketing is not just the campaigns, but the time you invest to build your empire.

instagram followers, instagram remove followers, how to get more instagram followers, grow instagram followers — As per HubSpot’s State of Inbound Marketing study: “[participants] reported that they have acquired a customer through their company blog, 62% through LinkedIn, 53% through Facebook, and 44% through Twitter.” These numbers get bigger day by day!

Social media’s role in getting you sales through e-commerce can be summarized in three categories:
1) User Interconnectedness and Fear of Missing Out (FOMO);
2) Feedback response and customer advocacy; and
3) Brand discovery.

Let’s discuss these advantages below.

User Interconnectedness And FOMO

Social media operates like a specialized net. The more people share their views, like other pages, and manifest interactions, the more social media algorithms home in on them. This interconnectedness starts ripples to their own networks. Others can eventually learn about you, and in turn, they also get caught in the net (no pun intended). This interconnectedness could get you more followers, and your brand’s presence magnifies.

Now, let’s talk about FOMO. This phenomenon is why we have thousands of “influencers” online. When people post about a product or when they share reviews about stellar service, their friends feel inclined to try you out. Every niche has a popular member, and once you get to tap into their networks and delight them as customers, you become a beacon of impressiveness. People will naturally want in. They want to watch that movie, too. Or dine in that restaurant where all their other friends already dined in. This fear of missing out is, in a different perspective, merely the satisfaction we feel in experiencing recommendations. This is amplified in social media, especially in picture-based ones like Twitter and Instagram.

Feedback Response And Customer Advocacy

In traditional businesses, feedback response was barely existent outside of store complaining. This is because there was no other stage where they can air out their complaint through a conversation. With the advent of social media, now they have a stage… and the whole world’s watching. According to Jay Baer, customer service is a spectator sport. When one complaint makes it out of the email and into the (comment) fray, the world bates its breath, passing popcorn around until the disgruntled customer offers a ceasefire.

There is a chance that these customers who are already one foot out the door will come back and even rally support for you, and this is through quality customer service. In Instagram for example, if you receive a complaint from a customer through a comment and was able to solve it for them on the spot, odds are that they will thank you and praise you then and there… all while the whole world’s watching. This raises customer trust and advocacy to your brand.

While this is happening, you also get to wear the shoes of your clients that are genuinely disappointed at your brand. When someone doesn’t like your service, the less stressful response is to just stop using your brand. The complaints you receive in your new online stage are investments. You can use these to improve your services and set yourself apart from competitors.

According to Dan Gingiss, customer service expert: “We firmly believe that customer service is the new marketing… If someone is having an issue with their product or their card that I know can be fixed, to me, it’s an opportunity.”

Brand Discovery

Social media has been the springboard for many start-ups and small businesses. According to Social Media Today, 95% of adults aged 18-34 are likely to follow a brand through social media. Brand discovery is the first step. Once you have gathered enough of a following results follow. Content like product shots, client testimonials, and memorable trivia eventually translate to sales, especially since 75% of customers say they use social media to purchase things.

Where are my Instagram followers? How do I get them to notice me?

Your page is your garden, and your followers are your pretty flowers. Like any good gardener, you’ll need to make sure you choose the right followers that impact your business the most. Sure, you can get as many as you want, but they might not be too concerned about your services. For this part, we’re going to focus on Instagram since this is one of the most-used and most cost-effective ways to grow your market influence.

Did you know that on Instagram, 72% of users report purchasing decisions? If you can make a solid following, you can ensure that those followers are driven to sales. Here are some of the most common strategies you can employ.

How To Get More Instagram Followers

Tip #1: Use the right hashtags

Hashtags are the #WordsSpelledLikeThis that makes it easier to track your posts, follower comments, and the like. So when you make a viral post and you use hashtags, you can blend your brand with the topic, attracting more Instagram followers. Here are some #hashtags you can use based on Instagram use popularity:

Pro tip: You can seamlessly #sync them in between your sentences, like so! If you have more than four hashtags, you can put the remaining ones after the text so it doesn’t look too messy. Also, get noticed more by using up to 11 hashtags. Research shows that brands that use 11 hashtags get as much as 79% user interaction!

Tip #2: Follow profiles that share your brand’s service or product

This one is a bit technical and you might need specialized tools for this. One strategy is to follow your Instagram followers as well; basically, follow those who follow your brand. Note: It’s better if you follow actual user profiles vs. spam accounts because spam accounts just share, well, spam. You don’t want to be associated with all of that, do you?

Another strategy is to check the #hashtags of your competitors or market. Check out the users that are active, then add them. Say you sell shoes; look at users that post regularly with the #shoe or #shopping hashtag and follow them. Chances are, they will follow you back since you are relevant to them.

Tip #3: Engage with customers

If someone comments on your post, engage them in conversation. And if they share your content, thank them!

Meanwhile, if you get complaints, go ahead and acknowledge these and resolve it via DM, if necessary. Many brands nowadays lack that human connection, and showing that you’re not just a hulking machine of a corporation can add bonus points to your Instagram rep.

And those are some quick and easy tips to get more followers on Instagram! Make sure that your brand always makes itself heard, and always reaches out when it matters. Here’s to you getting more sales starting today!

Delete Your Instagram Account: Understanding How and Why

November 2, 2019 By Kyle Francisco

Social media is the pinnacle of human connectedness and communication. However, I’ve been off social media for over five months now. I’m no longer updated with news about wedding schedules, break-ups, and other life updates that connected me with my closest friends. Oftentimes, my coworkers would tease me about being the “old man in the department” because I was the last person to know about juicy rumors. It’s like a big chunk of the world was lost when I quit–I felt physically and metaphorically disconnected from Earth. And the teasing continued even after I deleted my Instagram account and other profiles.

And yet, I don’t miss it. Not one bit. In fact, I found myself freer than ever, especially after using social media for more than 10 years. I reflected that my disconnection is a connection in itself; it’s a newfound connection to people after giving them actual compliments in the park, versus the digital comments I gave praising celebrities. It’s a connection to conversations that last for hours, over ones that end in emojis. In my daily commute, I’ve found myself more interested in the sights, the sounds, and people I meet.

This blog might sound like one of those “zen” articles that brag about how being on the other side of fads is better. Maybe it is a bit, but it’s more of an explanation, too; an explanation on how checking out of social media affects us. After all, social media is an invention, not a necessity. And by the end of this article, you may even want to delete your Instagram account.

Why delete your Instagram account (and other social media profiles)?

There are three categorical effects the literature shares about how social media affects us humans: you have the Physical (your body’s reaction to it), Psychological (social media is basically a drug at this point), and Psychosocial (how it affects the social aspect of humanity).

Physical Effects of Social Media

Generation Z kids are the most likely victims of physical effects because these guys essentially grew up with technology at their heel. Them scrolling endlessly in Instagram is kinda like us changing channels on cable TV. These physical effects are pervasive, and is probably the easiest to check. Let’s highlight how we look like when using social media.

Exhibit A: Homo Socialus Medius. When you browse your social media online, are you aware of just how much time you spend idly scrolling through your feed? Do you ever wonder how much you could accomplish if you were doing something else, instead?

Don’t scoff at the image. If we were to hazard a guess, we’re guessing that’s how you look like when using social media. Ever found yourself slumping more when standing up? This is called the “Text Neck” syndrome, and orthopedic doctors are alarmed at the future repercussions of this to posture and body forms. With at least two hours of smartphone use a day, the daily weight we place on our spine has most likely already dealt permanent damage to our back. The average 45 degree tilt basically gives around 22 kilos of weight to your spine, curvature, and other muscles–over five times the regular load.

Not only that; it causes a slew of secondhand effects like weaker muscles, loss of lung capacity, and general weakening of muscles. One of the secondhand effects is more life-threatening: there was a study in the United States of America that found that there was a 50% increase in phone-related motor vehicle accidents since 2010. The numbers get higher every year. If a herniated disk and permanent nerve damage won’t kill you, your daily commute will.

But what about desktop Instagram?

You might be thinking: “Ha! I only use Instagram via a desktop! How’s that, you fearmonger?” That’s cool and all, assuming you don’t use your eyes when scrolling mindlessly on Instagram or Facebook. Blue light from the devices you use wrecks your circadian rhythm. If you use your phone to scroll yourself to sleep, you’re in for bad time; blue light gives signals suggesting that it’s day time to your brain, and keeps you up for longer. Even if you do sleep early, your quality of sleep is still affected. According to research, Americans generally get an as little as an average of 6.8 hours of sleep daily and adults should be getting 7-9 hours.

We know that the harms are prevalent because over 2.4 billion people around the world use social media via phones. It’s not the phone’s fault per se. The problem, though, is how different applications push you to use your phones at a prolonged period of time. You see, when you check your phone, you are overwhelmed by a lot of notifications. Check your phone right now; is there a new message? Perhaps someone liked your photo?

On Instagram, even if you don’t use or post much, it still draws you in through push notifications of your connections’ actions. If someone hasn’t posted a story for a while, your app lets you know and keeps you curious. It even incentivizes people to keep posting. For example, users that film live videos set off a push notification invite to watch now.

This sets off a conscious effect of excitement to your brain. The (1) notification icons in phones keep you checking in anticipation. Once you check the content, your brain gets a fix of dopamine and endorphins. “Aww, what a cute cat!” you say, after checking Reddit. Then, your brain relaxes. Your phone vibrates 10 minutes later. It displays an abruptly cut notification: “Ronnie commented on your post: This is cute, but…” So then you check out the comment hurriedly using the app. The cycle continues ad infinitum.

All of a sudden, it seems to make sense to delete your Instagram account, doesn’t it?

Everything that creates an emotional response in our brain triggers us to do something about it, and developers know where to hit us best.

According to research, a single, weekly push notification increases user retention to that app doubles it in iOS, and sextuples that in Android. Yikes. How many apps do you have again?

How to stop push notifications in Instagram:

Luckily, stopping push notifications is easy and only takes three steps via mobile:

Go to your profile and tap the
Tap the settings icon.
Tap Notification settings and set your preferred notification set-up. You can even choose to filter which notifications you want to be alerted to to at least lessen the sheer amount of notifications you get.

Psychological Effects of Social Media:

Since we opened earlier the effects of prolonged social media use to the brain, let’s check out how it affects our minds. Particularly, let’s discuss mental health. Your mental health is a precious capital so you can function effectively and be in your best shape daily. These elements are at risk when you heavily use social media:

Lower self-esteem: Your self-esteem is your own confidence in your current state. The higher it goes, the better and more confident you are in making decisions and being “in control” of your life. Studies have shown that the “sharing” component of social media isn’t as positive as it sounds. Ever felt the sense that your life is boring whenever you scroll down your social media pages? That’s called “Facebook Envy”, but the formula applies to almost every social media platform .

According to the University of Copenhagen, people that were asked to abstain or downright stop using Facebook for a week reported much higher life satisfaction scores than those who used it normally. People who see others having the time of their lives while they themselves experience problems tend to compare themselves negatively. However, most of these posts are just highlights of their lives because honestly, who would regularly post private problems publicly?

Increased risk of depression: Social media use can also increase depressive risks and episodes. Social comparison is the main driver of this. One of the explanations from a study by the University of Pennsylvania found is simple; the more people used social media less, the more likely they are to pursue the things that made them happy. The addictiveness of social media makes you crave for more updates. More updates means more screen time. More screen time, more social comparisons and more frustrating thoughts. Again, the cycle continues ad Infinitum.

Higher chances for social media addiction: When your brain gets hard-wired to actively receive dopamine and endorphin shots every 10-15 minutes, it affects actions and has real-life repercussions. Furthermore, this exhibits a spiral of helplessness, similar to actual drug addictions. According to Assistant Professor Christian Maier from the University of Bamberg:

“…When users are stressed from SNS use, they are using the same platforms to cope with that stress, diverting themselves through other activities on the SNS, and ultimately building compulsive and excessive behaviour. As a result, they embed themselves in the social network environment rather than getting away from it, and an addiction is formed.”

A social media addict’s brain increases chances of distraction, school and work performance, and even relationships as discussed in the next.

Psychosocial Effects of Social Media

The way we interact with people has definitely shifted. Looking at a more traditional example, if you wanted to romance a friend, you establish yourself, connect with the family, and put your best foot forward when you meet the person. Now, it’s just a matter of how well you “slide into her DM” in social media. Even making friends is now at the convenience of a search bar and a few clicks.

Studies have shown that couples who are active in social media increase feelings of jealousy and evolve to more actual fights. Sharing too many selfies with your partner has also shown a correlation with the decrease of the intimacy they experienced in relationships.

Gaps in social media activity has also highlighted various insecurities. Social media, after all, is a public portal. For example, if one partner is more active in sharing their activities together and the other one is more passive, it could cause strain in the relationship. Founder of women empowerment group Sis Stay Ready Nicole Howard put it best: “If he didn’t share anything [about me], did I exist in his world?” Luckily, she grew out of this mindset because her boyfriend gave her all the love she needed offline. Different strokes for different folks.

What can I do? This seriously sounds like an epidemic.

The thing about epidemics is that they can be managed with careful planning and quick action. One thing experts agree on: lessening time on the platforms are the first steps. Here are some suggestions on how to manage your social media use:

Download social wellbeing apps – Ironic as it may sound, Apple and Google have tools that allow users to manage time online, find out which ones they use the most, and limit application use. For Android users, simply update your devices to Android 8.0 (Oreo). For iOS users, update your firmware to iOS 12. The Digital Wellbeing set-up can be found under your settings. If you have older devices, there are some third-party alternatives in your respective application stores. Do it one day at a time.
Delete Instagram account – A simple deactivation will suffice for some, but for those who want to quit cold turkey, this is a valid step. I recommend starting one app at a time, and you can start with Instagram as it’s one of the top five most-used social media apps in the world. Here’s how to do it:

The permanent “delete Instagram account” procedure

Go to the “Delete Your Account” page here in this link.
Log-in and choose the reason why you’re deleting your account.
Tap “Permanently delete my account”.

Note: Once you do this, all pictures, comments, likes, and followers, will also be permanently removed–the price we pay for freedom.

Check in with yourself: Go back to your life before social media. Repurpose old passions and physically catch up with the friends you miss the most.

Now that you’re more aware of the risks and the steps to have a healthier mind and body, I hope you’ll consider disconnecting (or even delete your Instagram account) to reconnect with your life. Be in control, and keep your health in check. Good luck!