The Instagram Poll sticker on Stories is one of our absolute favorite tools for Instagram marketing. This handy little feature takes just a few seconds to add to your Story and even less time for your followers to answer.
But, that quick interaction can give you tons of valuable insight about your audience, help you conduct market research, or just drive up your engagement in Stories!
In this bite-sized post, we’re going over the essentials you need to know in order to make Instagram Polls. From step-by-step instructions to tons of question ideas, here’s what you’ll find below:
How to Make a Poll on Instagram Stories
Have a burning question for your Instagram followers, or want to use polls to learn about your target market? Instagram Poll questions are the perfect way to do it.
An Instagram poll is a Story sticker that allows your followers to select one of two answers to a question of your choosing.
The poll question and the answers are customizable, so you can really use story polls for anything you can think of!
Change the answers to yes or no, this or that or custom options as long as they’re under 22 characters. You can even use emojis!
Here are the exact steps to add a poll on Instagram Stories:
Open Instagram Stories
Tap the Plus icon to create a Story
Upload the photo or video for your background (tap the square in the bottom left corner of your screen)
Tap on the Sticker Icon (smiley face) to open the sticker tray
Select Poll
Type your question or prompt
Tap the blue “Yes” and customize your answer
Tap the blue “No” and customize your answer
Tap and hold the Poll sticker to position it on your Story
Share your Instagram Stories post
You can also create a poll on Instagram without a background image in Instagram Create Mode!
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How to View Responses to Your Instagram Story Polls
Instagram users have 24 hours to respond to your poll (the length of time an Instagram Story is live.) Once the 24 hours is up, you’ll receive a notification with the final results of your poll. The poll will disappear from your Stories, but you’ll be able to find it in your archive or your Instagram Story Highlights (if you’ve saved it!)
You can also periodically check insights on your poll to see how results are shaping up! Here’s how to check poll responses:
Go to your Instagram Homepage
Tap the “Your Story” icon at the top left of your screen
Find the Instagram Story with the Poll Sticker on it
Tap the “Seen By” icon in the bottom left corner
On this screen, you’ll see the current tally of votes for both options at the top, and a blue “Share Results” button.
Underneath this button, you’ll see a broken-out list of Voters, and which option they chose. Then under the Voter section, you’ll see Viewers, where every person who has seen your Instagram Story so far is listed.
Are Instagram Polls anonymous?
Instagram poll answers are not anonymous – the creator of the Poll will see your username and the option you voted for. Regular Instagram users and poll-takers won’t be able to see which option you voted for, though!
Although individual votes are hidden, your followers and others will see poll results after they take the poll in the form of percentages for each answer.
Share Poll Results to Your Stories
Want to update your followers on the winning answer? It’s super easy – just click the “Share Results” button we mentioned above!
This will create a replica of your Story, but instead of the poll sticker, it will show the percentage results for each option.
You can add text, GIFS, or doodles to this Story before sharing it with your followers.
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3 Instagram Poll Ideas You’ll Want to Use
Social media isn’t just for engagement – it’s a powerful way to get feedback from your audience! Here are three ways to get more engagement, reach and meet marketing goals.
1. Polls Featuring This or That? Questions
Some of the best Instagram polls questions for marketing research are disguised as fun this or that questions.
You can post Instagram polls questions related to your niche or audience to find out what they’re most interested in reading, buying, and seeing in their lives!
For example, a travel blogger could ask “which would you rather?” and have options like:
If you’re torn on which product or service to launch next, or want to know more about your audience pain points, pose the question in an Instagram poll!
If you don’t have enough space to explain your service ideas in the 22 characters, here’s an easy fix.
Change your poll answers to A and B, and use the Instagram Story text tool to explain each of the options. You can even create multiple Story frames before posting your poll, to offer product mockup images, or a video of you explaining each!
3. Use Instagram Polls to Tease Your Website
Poll questions for Instagram don’t always have to be just about answering a question – they can also be a handy tool to get more eyes on a web link!
When you create your poll, ask a question that can only be answered after visiting a link. To generate enough interest to visit that link, you’ll want your poll question to be a bit mysterious and teasing!
Looking for ways to boost engagement without taking another perfect picture? Create Mode on Instagram might be the answer. In this post, we’re covering the basics of Instagram Create Mode, and the 10 features available in it that will kick your Instagram Stories up a notch!
Did you know that you can schedule Stories to your Instagram at the best times to maximize engagement? We’ll send a push notification with your Story to your phone when it’s time to post! Try it out with a [sc name=’free-trial-of-tailwind-for-instagram’] now!
What is Create Mode on Instagram?
Instagram Create Mode helps you combine interactive stickers, drawings, and effects without needing a photo or video to share!
This 2019 Instagram product rocked social media with 10 different styles and templates that allow you to use stickers, drawings, and texts without uploading a background image first.
How to Use Create Mode on Instagram Stories
Instagram’s Create Mode opens up possibilities for creators to boost engagement and create new content!
To access Create Mode, open Instagram Stories, and swipe right from Normal Camera to Create.
Create Mode automatically opens on Text mode, but you can swipe left at the bottom of the screen to scroll through the 10 Story options. Find out more about each below!
1.Instagram Create Mode: Text
Whether you want to tell a story or showcase a quote, you can do it with the text tool, the first option in Create Mode in Instagram Stories. Use it to customize text without needing a photo background!
2. Instagram Create Mode: Shoutouts
Use a shoutout to wish a friend a happy birthday or celebrate your anniversary of working with a brand!
Open a Create Mode Instagram story, swipe once to access Shoutouts, then tap the dice button to view options!
In the search bar, enter the username of the person you want to give a shoutout to.
All the stories you’ve tagged this account in will populate for you to choose from to commemorate your friend.
3. Instagram Create Mode: GIFs
Another swipe in Create Mode brings you to a GIPHY search. Type in a keyword or phrase, and scroll through the Instagram GIF options! This GIF format fills the entire screen in three tiles.
4. Instagram Create Mode: Templates
Instagram Story Create Mode templates offer pre-made posts designed to help boost engagement on Stories.
After swiping to the template option, click the dice to choose from the templates, including things like a quick draw challenge or a list of the songs you’re listening to.
Each template is designed to let your followers learn about you, and encourage responses!
5. Instagram Create Mode: On This Day
Similar to Facebook Memories, the On This Day option lets you view posts you shared years past and reshare them!
Tap “See All” at the top of the screen to select your memory.
It will then appear on your Stories as an embedded post!
You can use your On this Day post to highlight important moments in your brand or business’ past to show them just how far you’ve come, or just share feed posts that received tons of engagement.
6. Instagram Create Mode: Polls
One great idea for how to use Instagram Create Mode to boost engagement is by asking your followers’ opinions. Use poll stickers to post your own inquiry, or use a pre-set template.
You can ask This or That Questions, or use one of the templates to engage with your followers in a fun way!
7. Instagram Create Mode: Questions
With the Instagram Questions sticker mode, ask followers a question of your choosing or one from the pre-set templates.
Use this tool to spark a conversation and show your followers you care about what matters to them.
How to Share Your Question Responses
If you share a question on Instagram Story Create Mode or Sticker Mode, you can also share followers’ responses on your story.
Simply post your Question and wait for the responses to come in! When your first response appears, a new Create Mode option will appear called responses. Here, you can view your responses and share them without a background image!
8. Instagram Create Mode: Donations
Use the donation feature to post a fundraiser for a nonprofit of your choosing or pick from popular suggestions. Your followers will be able to donate to a nonprofit that you promote, spreading the good deeds around!
9. Instagram Create Mode: Countdown
Use this feature to post a countdown sticker to the start of the weekend, end of the workday, and more.
Customize the countdown header or tap the dice to generate a random option.
Users who tap the sticker can set a reminder for when the timer goes off!
10. Instagram Create Mode: Quizzes
Choose a random prompt or create your own light-hearted quiz sticker! Just change the heading of your Quiz to reflect the question, and add options for your followers to guess from!
Instagram comments are a great way to talk with your audience, and even a way to get them to promote your content! Plus, they’re really the only chance for a two-way interaction you can have on a post.
Plus, high Instagram engagement and visible comment counts are now the chief metric for social proof behind your number of Instagram followers!
That’s why today we’re taking you into eight tactics that can help you get more comments on your Instagram posts!
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How to Get People to Comment on Instagram: Our 8 Pro Tips!
Getting comments on your latest post on Instagram doesn’t have to be difficult, we promise!
There are a few habits you can establish when posting on your Instagram feed right this minute that will start getting you more comments on Instagram than ever before.
Below, we’re going over 8 must-know tips and practices for your Instagram strategy to get you more Instagram comments.
Stick with us as we take an in-depth look at each of these, why they work, and some tips to get you started!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CByzdauHSQa/
1. Respond to Your Comments
Not only is responding to comments as they come in the polite thing to do, it also opens up opportunities for more comments!
First, when people scroll past your post in their Instagram feed, they’ll see a higher number of comments on the post – including your responses!
The higher the number, the higher the chance that casual Instagram users will stop and take a look, and potentially leave a comment themselves.
Second, you can create a conversation between you and people commenting on your post.
This is as easy as responding to the original comment and asking another question. When they respond, you can continue the conversation and drive engagement higher by just being personable!
2. Reciprocate Engagement
This ones a little more time-consuming, but it’s a powerful tactic when approaching how to get comments in Instagram.
When you have some spare time to set aside, get into your Instagram account and check out the list of users who have interacted with your latest post with a like.
Tap through to their Instagram profile and leave a few likes and at least one comment on their latest post!
This is a great way to thank them for leaving a like in the first place, and it encourages them to reciprocate the engagement by visiting your profile again and interacting with you.
This is also true for accounts that are already following you – it’s a great way to build a relationship.
Plus, you train your followers to comment on your Instagram posts and engage with you, because you’re doing the same for them!
3. Creatively Ask People to Comment
Don’t be afraid to get creative about how you ask people to leave comments on your Instagram posts. You could stick with the classic “leave a comment!” prompt, but why not make it easy and fun?
For example, you can include a fill in the blank prompt in your post, like: “The summer must-haves in your purse are ______, ______ and _______!”
Or, you could post a funny photo with a simple, “Caption This!” and tell your followers that the best captions will get a shoutout on the post.
It’s like a mini- Instagram contest, and you don’t even have to arrange a prize!
4. Do an Instagram Giveaway
Speaking of contests, we did our own research study that shows Instagram giveaways knock it out of the park when it comes to engagement.
This is for a few reasons: 1) People love winning free stuff and 2) many Instagram contests have rules that include liking the giveaway post, following the account, and tagging their friends in the comments section.
If you’re looking to raise the number of your comments quickly, consider working in a contest on your feed. You can find out everything you need to know about How to Run an Instagram Giveaway on our blog!
5. Host an Instagram Takeover
Instagram takeovers are also an amazing way to get more engagement on your posts – especially if you have a guest with a passionate, engaged following already!
A takeover has mutual benefits. It exposes content to new audiences for both collaborators.
So, you have plenty of opportunities to grow your following and get more reach!
6. Invite People to Tag Friends
A lot of people love to tag their friends in funny or ultra-relatable content.
It’s a way for them to build a connection with friends and family!
It’s also a way for you to get in front of new audiences that might really enjoy your content. So, everyone is a winner here.
Next time you post a meme or a totally relatable post, include a call to action for people to tag their friends in the comments.
It can be as simple as, “tag a friend who does this.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CB3wWnChFa5/
7. Add In Some Cute Photos
Your followers love to see photos of you, but you know what else Instagrammers love? Animals and cute Instagram photos that make them go “awww!”
Take Marawa for example – this stunning roller-skating beauty gets lots of engagement on regular photos on her feed.
But when she posts videos and photos of Darryl the squirrel – including this table set she bought for him – the comments go wild.
If you have a cute pet, some adorable baby photos or feel-good content in your camera roll, don’t be afraid to post it up!
We bet it’ll get tons of engagement.
You can further your reach on cute photos by adding in relevant Instagram hashtags so more animal lovers will see your pics!
Grab a [sc name=’free-trial-of-Tailwind-for-Instagram’] here to get access to our ultra-smart Hashtag Finder tool.
You can even save your mix of relevant hashtags into lists to use later!
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_S9_kMgyTe/
8. Ask Thoughtful Questions
Our final pro tip is to ask thought-provoking questions that resonate with your following.
Sure, you can get some engagement from questions like “which one do you like better?” but if you want conversations and connection in your comments section, use a poll on Instagram Stories for this-or-that instead!
Think about asking questions that your audience will consider and answer with a lot of feeling – like this example from @hellosunshine!
If you scroll the comments section, you’ll notice that people are answering themselves, and also jumping into the conversation in threads on other answers.
That’s the best-case scenario for how to get more comments on your Instagram photos!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBYaZGonKHh/
Conclusion: How to Get More Comments on Your Instagram Photos!
The biggest impact you can make to your comment count on Instagram is to adjust a few habits to think engagement first. This is true for all social media platforms, not just Instagram – so social media marketers, take note!
Make sure you’re collecting the most comments by scheduling your posts during prime-time- when the majority of your followers are online!
With [sc name=’free-trial-of-tailwind-for-instagram’] you can upload your content, plan your captions, find the perfect hashtags AND schedule your post for the times when your followers are most active thanks to our handy Smart Schedule tool!
Fun fact: An instagram contest or giveaway can help you grow your followers 70% faster in three months than if you didn’t host a contest at all.
We know this, because we did the research!
In our major original study, we analyzed over 60,000 Instagram posts to find out how effective Instagram raffles, contests and giveaways are for your Instagram marketing. Fair warning, the results may shock you!
So grab your favorite notebook and cozy up to learn how to do a giveaway on Instagram that will grow your followers and increase engagement!
We’re also covering how to create Instagram content rules, data to help you fine-tune your contest structure, and some Instagram content ideas you won’t want to miss.
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Why Should You Host an Instagram Contest?
If you want to grow your followers and get in front of new audiences on Instagram, an Instagram giveaway in your marketing strategy is the way to go. Why?
Well-run Instagram contests can attract hundreds or thousands of entries!
One of the major reasons for this is how most Instagram contests are structured.
They’re primed for attracting new followers and comments! Our research study shows that Instagram contests get 3.5 times as many likes and 64 times more comments on average than regular posts.
Instagram Giveaway Rules and Structures Lead to Followers and Engagement!
Take a spin through your Instagram for recent contests and giveaways. You’ll notice a lot have contest rules like, following the Instagram accounts participating in the giveaway, liking the giveaway post and to tag a friend in the comments to enter.
In fact, the vast majority of Instagram contests in our study used variations on these common Instagram contest rules. However there’s nothing stopping you from changing things up, as long as you abide by Instagram’s Promotion Guidelines.
These official rules also require you to acknowledge that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Instagram.
Other types of Instagram contests include:
Like to enter (double-tap to win)
Photo contests (Submit photos to enter entry photo with a branded hashtag)
In-store contests (post a picture taken inside a store and post it with a branded campaign hashtag)
Successive contests (12 days of giveaways, with a new prize each day and a grand prize on the last day)
So to recap: Your followers see your post > They like, comment and tag friends > more people see it, engage, and tag > the algorithm reveals the post to more people > those people see it, engage, and tag.
Rinse and repeat!
Need some proof? 91% of all of the posts in our study that received 1,000 or more comments were Instagram contests!
Instagram contests get crazy-high engagement. Which leads to better performance in the Instagram algorithm (and therefore even more engagement!)
As your engagement on the initial post grows, the Instagram algorithm shows it to more of your followers and potentially as a top post in the hashtags you used!
(Psst… Need to brush up on choosing relevant hashtags? Here’s how to find great hashtags with quickInstagram hashtag research!)
How to Run a Giveaway in 10 Steps
Running a giveaway on Instagram is easier than it sounds! Check out these ten thorough steps for planning your Instagram competition or contest from start to finish!
Step One: Define the Goal of Your Instagram Giveaway
The key to a successful Instagram giveaway almost always lies in the planning. You’ll want to figure out what you want the purpose and result of your contest to be before you dive in!
Depending on your audience, brand and business objectives, the most meaningful results for you may be different than others! Decide whether you want to:
Grow your following on Instagram
Raise your engagement rate
Increase brand awareness
Bring people into your marketing funnel
Once you have clarity on your ultimate goal, you can strategize how to best accomplish it with your contest theme, rules and structure.
For example, if you want to grow your following, this will inform things like the type of prize you pick, the rules for entry and your long-term plan for keeping new followers engaged with your content.
If you want to bring people into your marketing funnel on the other hand, you’ll probably arrange your contest a little differently!
Ways to do this might be counting an entry as signing up for your newsletter or taking an action on your website that allows you to capture their contact information.
Step Two: Get Clear on the Theme of Your Instagram Contest
If you plan to have contestants enter by posting photos or videos and tagging you in them, then you’ll definitely want to establish a theme!
Some things to think about that might inform the theme of your contest are holidays, celebrations or special occasions happening around the time of your contest.
Alternately, you can make up your own contest prompt around a word or phrase that ties in closely with your products or services!
If user-generated content is useful for your brand for promotional purposes, consider making your theme something fun but general enough that you can use the photos and videos on your feed and ads after the contest is complete.
With Tailwind’s browser extension, you can easily save user-generated content to your Instagram drafts to post at any time.
Haven’t signed up yet? Grab a [sc name=’free-trial-of-tailwind-for-instagram’] here to easily save the best contest entries to your drafts!
Step Three: Decide How People Will Enter the Contest
As we mentioned above, posting themed photos or videos with a branded hashtag to enter your contest is a great way to source material for your Instagram Feed and Stories.
Depending on the goal you decided on in step one, this may not be the best entry method to get you to that outcome!
You can create any number of actions that followers need to take to enter, but try not to make it too complicated.
One of the most common ways of entering an Instagram giveaway when looking for better engagement or more followers is to create contest rules like:
To enter to win:
Follow our account
Like this post
Tag a friend in the comment section! Each tag counts as an additional entry to win!
As we mentioned before, you can also use Instagram contests to get people into your sales funnel. Simply have them sign up for your email newsletter or enter with their email address!
Step Four: Figure Out How You’ll Pick a Winner
The structure and style of your contest will impact how you organize entries and pick the winner!
For example, if you’re encouraging photo or video submissions, you may select a panel of judges to decide on the winner. Or, you may use a survey system for voting on entries!
Traditional giveaways that involve liking, commenting, tagging friends or using a branded hashtag are a little easier to track!
Our favorite way to organize contests and giveaways is to track every Instagram handle that completes the steps to enter the contest in a Google spreadsheet. We add the handle again for every additional entry (user tag), and then export the list to a randomizer to select a winner!
Step Five: Choose An Award Participants Will Love
Let’s talk about the part everyone loves: contest prizes! The most important thing to consider when choosing your giveaway prize is relevance to your audience.
Choose a prize that fits into your target audience’s lifestyle, is something they want and need, and matches their values and purchasing preferences for the most impact.
And the best part is, your prize doesn’t have to break the bank either!
While our study does suggest that the more valuable your prize, the more engagement you will get on your contest, that’s not the entire story. For instance, lots of contests with prizes that cost less than $99 achieved engagement rates over 5.8.
Trust us, that’s a great score!
So don’t let having a lower value prize stop you from holding an Instagram contest. In our Instagram contest research study, the highest engagement rate for contests with prizes valued less than $99 was just $25 store credit!
Another key takeaway? Whileengagement rate tends to go up with the value of the prize, it doesn’t continue going up proportionally to cost. Basically, our study found that it would have more impact on your engagement and following to have 10 $100 contests than just one $1,000 contest.
(Of course it ultimately depends on your brand, the size of your business and following, and the average cost of your products.)
Crank Up Total Prize Value By Partnering With Other Brands!
Want to make a splash with your Instagram giveaway prize?
Work with another complementary brand or brands to pool prizes that match your contest theme.
Not only does this positively impact engagement, it also increases your reach!
Your contest post will appear on two or more accounts at the same time, which means exposure to each other’s audiences.
Step Six: Establish Your Instagram Giveaway Rules, Terms and Conditions
While Instagram contests are easy to participate in, that doesn’t mean there aren’t guidelines for participants (and you!) to follow! Establishing clear terms and conditions makes sure that your contest is legal, and protects both you and your followers!
If you have access to a lawyer in your company, they can help you figure out which laws apply to you based on your location and how to execute Instagram giveaway wording.
If you don’t have access to a lawyer, there are plenty of Instagram giveaway templates for terms and conditions.
Just make sure you brush up on your local, state and federal guidelines for sweepstakes and contests. And ask clarifying questions on anything you’re unsure about before publishing the rules!
Here are some common terms and conditions to get you started:
Name and contact details of your brand (or the brand promoting the contest)
Contest dates
Rules about who can participate (age, employees can’t enter, etc.)
Clear instructions and guidelines for entry
Transparent guidelines for how the winner is chosen and announced
Information about how the winner will proceed (days to claim, how the prize will be delivered, etc.)
Information and guidelines about the prize (descriptions, number of prizes, any exceptions or restrictions for the prize)
Most importantly, you want to follow Instagram’s rules and add in the clear acknowledgement that the promotion isn’t sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Instagram in any way! You also should add similar protections and warnings around any other platform or tool you use to run the contest.
Step Seven: Make a Promotion Plan For Your Instagram Contest
Next, you want to get the word out about your Instagram contest to drum up interest in participating! Outline a promotion plan for the contest, including the social media sites you’ll be posting on, any partners, influencers and affiliates who might be able to help you by sharing a post, and a timeline for when your promotional materials will go live.
One way to increase the reach of Instagram contests and all of your other Instagram posts, is to post them at the best time for engagement. The more people who like and comment on your posts in the first few minutes after they’re published, the better your reach will be.
That’s why we built Tailwind for Instagram to automatically generate a calendar for you with optimal posting times.
Just schedule your posts to Tailwind (an official Instagram partner), and we’ll make sure you post them at the best times and reach more people.
Step Eight: Announce The Winner and Follow Up
Once it’s time to choose the winner, you’ll also need to plan out how you’ll announce it! You could make another feed post or video announcing the winner and congratulating them, or share it to your Instagram Stories!
Latecomers to the contest can sometimes miss the terms and conditions and explanation of when and how the winner is announced, so it helps to have a permanent post or a Story saved to your highlights that they can easily find and refer to.
Otherwise, you might be getting DMs and questions for months afterwards!
In your announcement post, make sure you reiterate the terms and conditions of how the winner will take next steps with a time period to claim the prize and any contact instructions they need to make for you.
Finally, when you send the prize, ask for a photo or video from the winner! This could be handy UGC to help you promote future contests – or your product!
Step Nine: Review Insights and Lessons Learned
Once everything is said and done, it’s important to review the process to see what went well and what could be adjusted in later contests. Take a few minutes to review the following:
Process for entry
Participation rates
Process for choosing the winner
How the prize was sent
Any reviews from participants or collaborators
Instagram Insights about participants
Which promotional platforms were the most effective
Reviewing all of these details will help you fine-tune your process and improve your contests in the future!
Instagram Contest Ideas to Inspire You
You get the idea – Instagram contests are great for follower growth.
For further inspiration and ideas, check out the following Instagram giveaway examples that were a smash hit!
Instagram Contest Idea 1: Get Leads From Your Audience’s Network
@southbyseacollege is an online store that sells customized clothes to sororities.
They are incredibly successful on Instagram, and their contests kill it. Sometimes they get as many comments as 4x the number of their following!
How do they do it? They know their audience, post seasonally-appropriate contests, and use the established ties of sororities to tap into incredible virality by offering prizes to “an entire chapter.”
“We gave away about 120 of those pullovers to one sorority chapter.
Sororities had to enter by tagging their sorority sisters in the comments for entries. It’s a very exclusive product and is seasonal so it was a huge hit.
Probably got us about 1000 new followers. The challenge is retention once the contest ends.”
Lindsey Clawson, Marketing Manager at South by Sea College
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9h7YeLpuBS/
Instagram Contest Idea 2: Celebrate Instagram Growth Milestones
@biossance is a clean beauty company most known for their partnership with Sephora!
To celebrate reaching 300,000 followers on Instagram, they opted to give away $300 worth of product to three winners.
In this caption, notice that they clearly spell out the rules of entry, when the winners will be announced, and how they will be selected!
To save space on their feed, they went back and updated the caption to note the giveaway is closed and to announce the winners.
Now that’s smart!
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_vY52JHOMi/
Instagram Contest Idea 3: Grab User-Generated Content With a Unique Photo Challenge
Beauty brand @summerfridays tapped into their brand mission and values to host a longer-running photo challenge with their followers.
In this unique challenge, participants answer a prompt throughout the week to enter to win products.
Although they don’t have to take a photo with a product, this challenge taps into the community lifestyle that Summer Fridays cultivates with de-stressing.
Besides word-of-mouth, tons of engagement for the week and new followers, Summer Fridays is also accessing tons of user photos to potentially add to their Stories and feed.
Our Facebook Live on this topic (see below) received 128 comments. A lot of them were great tips from Tailwind members and social media influencers. Here are some of the best ideas they suggested.
Hold an Instagram giveaway where someone has to tag a friend and then that friend has to enter for the duo to be in with a chance of winning the prize. (Michelle Grey)
The cheapest tool to use is a spreadsheet or a random number generator to pick your winner. (Kim Vij)
Use Instagram Stories for giveaways. The more people who message you from your story, the more likely it is that your story will appear as the first story on your followers feed. (Samantha Josephine Lee)
Adding the word “giveaway” or “contest” into your image may help aid recognition that it is a contest. (Michelle Grey) Although our data has examples of successful contests that do, and do not, do this with their images.
Shortstack, Rafflecopter, and Gleam.io are some of the contest apps I’ve used in the past. (Jeff Sieh)
Conclusion: How to Host a Giveaway on Instagram
It seems like everybody on Instagram would jump on the Instagram competition trend, yet our study found that only 2% of Instagram marketers actually run regular contests on Instagram!
Most accounts that do run contests only do it occasionally. Our research found that just 0.56% of all Instagram posts are contests.
This spells a unique opportunity to make a splash and attract a lot of attention – and followers – with an Instagram contest!
So what are you waiting for? Start planning your own contest today. And if you need more insight, watch our Facebook Live dedicated to all things Instagram contests below!
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Watch Us Discuss These Instagram Stats on Facebook Live
If you’ve been on Instagram since 2016, you probably know that Instagram’s algorithm update really turned things upside down. Without a chronological feed, you’re now clamoring for attention in a world where the Instagram posts with the most engagement win.
That’s why Instagram pods, which claim to easily boost engagement and follower growth can be extremely tempting!
Could they be the secret to gaming the system- and are they worth the risk?
We wanted to know the answers to these questions with hands-on research- so we enlisted the help of our marketing intern!
Calla went undercover into several Instagram pods to get the lowdown on how they work, what engagement pods accomplish, and if the engagement was really all that great.
Curious to see what our investigation uncovered? Take a look for yourself!
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What is a pod on Instagram?
Instagram engagement pods are groups that trade likes and comments on Instagram posts.
Members have to engage with other posts in return for engagement on theirs.
Pods range from a handful to thousands of members, depending on the host platform.
What do engagement pods for Instagram do?
Instagram pods began to appear among influencers as early as 2016, as a result of the algorithm change.
The idea is to trade follows likes and comments on Instagram content in order to send a signal to Instagram that the post has high engagement.
The algorithm will then show the post to more followers, and potentially place it on an Explore page. This skyrockets reach for posts and helps the post perform better and better!
In theory, anyway.
How to Find Instagram Pods
There’s a ton of different Instagram pod styles across many different platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook groups and more! Usually, a search for “Instagram engagement”, “Engagement Group” or similar terms will reveal groups on each of these platforms.
Some smaller niche pods are more well-hidden, and you may have to know someone involved in one or discreetly ask around to join an Instagram engagement group.
Types of Instagram Engagement Pods
Some common types of engagement pods we saw in the course of our research are:
Niche pods, where all members are part of a distinct industry or niche
Like pods, where all members interact by liking posts (the popularity of like pods has fallen off ever since Instagram removed likes!)
Comment Pods – Where all members interact by leaving comments rather than liking posts.
Each Instagram pod may work a little differently, depending on the platform, size and purpose of the engagement group.
For example, many smaller engagement pods are managed in Instagram group DMs!
10-15 users will comment when they’ve put up a new post, and each group chat member will go interact with the post.
Large groups with members running into the thousands exist on other platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram. These groups work with different rules. And, they’re often bot- moderated
You’ll usually find:
5X Groups, you must interact with the last five posts before tossing out your link into the chat.
10X Groups, you must interact with the last ten posts before posting your content.
24H Groups, you must interact with every post that has been linked in the last 24 hours before linking your own.
If you miss engagement once, you’ll receive a warning. If you get warned multiple times, you’ll be booted from the group!
Speaking of getting booted – did you know Instagram could ban your account for violating the Terms of Service if they catch you using pods?
The Risks of Using Instagram Engagement Pods
In 2018, Instagram announced its commitment to reducing inauthentic activity on Instagram by cracking down on spam, bots, fake accounts, and artificial engagement.
Here are some of our other top risks and inconveniences that make Instagram pods kind of a hard sell for us:
You have to like and comment on posts in the group to post your link, regardless of whether the content is in line with your brand or views.
Pods are challenging to find and can be filled with spammy material and unsafe content. You run the risk of being hacked.
In most groups, you’re not allowed to chat or network meaningfully in the chat.
Using Instagram Pods to collect inauthentic likes and comments also negatively impacts your long term Instagram marketing strategy.
For one, fake likes and comments skew your organic engagement, which makes it hard to figure out what content is really resonating with your target audience.
For another, fake engagement does nothing to help you sell your products or services. This is, of course, bad for your bottom line, but can be catastrophic for collaborations, takeovers or branded deals!
Your ability to deliver on your promises will be measured. And that includes building engagement, boosting traffic, or increasing sales
And it may also determine whether you continue to receive those opportunities! The last thing you want is a hit to your hard-earned, valuable reputation.
And believe us if every comment on your posts is filled with typos and repetitive, “Nice feed!” comments, people WILL notice.
But still, thousands of Instagram users swear by them! So is there a chance could they be worth the risk?
That’s what we tested some out for ourselves below!
Instagram Pod Experiment #1
Our intern Calla bravely went undercover in the name of Instagram science to investigate engagement groups and find out:
If they’re easy enough for the average Instagram user to utilize
If they actually work!
First, Calla found a 10x engagement group on Telegram. This is a popular messaging app for managing engagement groups, but there’s some pretty sketchy stuff on there.
She followed the Instagram pod rules, engaging with the last ten posts before posting her own link. Here were her results:
Likes: Same range of likes as normal
Comments: 10 comments, significantly more than normal!
Before you get too excited, you should know that the quality of the comments was pretty terrible.
A lot of the pod members and copy and paste the same comment regardless of the content subject.
And yes, that includes typos!
Calla’s grand total of likes and comments for her first Instagram pod experiment? 37 likes and 10 comments.
Instagram Pod Experiment #2
We were pretty underwhelmed with the results of our first experiment. So we tackled a 24-hour pod group Instagram channel next. (Remember, this is where you must interact with every post before yours for the previous 24 hours). ⏱
Calla liked and commented on all 51 Instagram links before posting her own link. It took nearly an hour of work to tackle all of them!
And what kind of return did she get on her time investment? 17 likes and 5 comments from the pod.
The good news is her regular followers gave 44 likes – over double the number she got from the engagement pod!
We took the risk to join Instagram pods and engagement groups and were truthfully underwhelmed.
All signs point to this being a cheap workaround to the algorithm, but it’s not even easy!
It seems like you would be better off investing that time and effort into growing your reach and following with the algorithm, not against it.
Safe Ways to Boost Your Engagement on Instagram
Wnt to boost your engagement without risking your account for a handful of likes and some pretty annoying comments? Here are our recommendations!
1. Perfect Your Hashtag Strategy
Relevant hashtags are still one of the most powerful ways to get your content seen by new audiences.
Carefully choosing your hashtags based on what’s in your image or video and captions is a surefire way to get attention from the Explore page. Research and create a hashtag strategy full of niche, good, and competitive hashtags for your best bet.
Want to make researching the most effective hashtags for your content and style easy? Use Tailwind’s Hashtag Finder! This handy tool populates a mix of relevant hashtags for you in real-time as you type your caption.
When you’ve found your perfect mix, you can even save all your new hashtags into a handy list to add to your content in the future. Talk about a major time-saver!
Go ahead, take it for a test spin! Grab a [sc name=’free-trial-of-tailwind-for-instagram’] today – no credit card required.
[sc name=”CTA – Text – Instagram Hashtag Strategy Guide”]
2. Get Your Followers Talking
If you want to boost engagement with your followers and snap up likes and comments like they’re going out of style…give your followers something to interact with! Here are our favorite examples!
Instagram Contests
Everybody loves to win free stuff, and a lot of people also like to talk about winning free stuff!
Calls to Action (CTAs) don’t always have to be super sales-y. Calls to Action can also ask a question or contain a prompt for your followers to answer in the comments.
If you make time to engage with your commenters and reply, it’ll encourage more people to comment and interact with you.
Plus, it’s fun! Just look at Helene Sula’s post below. She starts off with a question, and tells a story that her followers can relate to!
3. Schedule Your Instagram Posts for Peak Times
If you want to increase your engagement, you need to put your fresh content out when most of your followers are online and scrolling through their feeds!
Anticipate times that your followers will be scrolling Instagram (lunch break, just before bed) and post during those times! Your followers are more likely to see your post and engage.
Or, we can do it for you with Tailwind’s SmartSchedule!
When you draft your post and load it into Tailwind, we’ll automatically populate the best times during the day for you to post based on your following.
You can even adjust these windows depending on how many times a day you’d like to post! Super easy, and it takes the guesswork out of scheduling your posts, which gives you more time to engage with your followers.
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Can Instagram Pods Help You Beat the Algorithm? – Our Conclusion
Any way you look at it, Instagram Pods aren’t worth the time and effort required to manufacture engagement on Instagram.
Instead of spending heaps of time liking and commenting on random posts in the hope of capturing some engagement that ultimately won’t offer meaningful return, why not try a different method?
Dreaming of creating in-depth video content for your Instagram followers, but hampered by the short time limits of Instagram Stories and posts? You’re not alone. It’s hard to showcase all your dazzling knowledge in a 15-second clip.
Thankfully, IGTV is the answer for creating long-form content, and thanks to several key updates in 2019 and 2020, it’s easier than ever to use!
What is IGTV?
IGTV, or Instagram TV, is an extended video platform for Instagram content creators. It’s is built for long-form content, with a minimum requirement of 15 seconds of video and a maximum length of 10 minutes for regular users.
Where is the IGTV Channel?
When an Instagram user has created a Channel and posted at least one video, you’ll see a new tab on their Instagram profile with a TV icon. Clicking on this tab will show you all the videos they’ve added to their IGTV channel!
Everyone else is limited to up to 10 minute-long videos.
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So, why should you be seriously considering creating Instagram TV content?
Video is a marketing powerhouse that serves a ton of purposes for content strategy. In fact, in 2019, 87% of businesses are using video as a marketing tool, and 83% of marketers said that video gives them a good return on investment (ROI).
How Do You Use IGTV?
Hmm… there might be something to this video thing after all – especially when it comes to your Instagram marketing strategy! You can use Instagram TV to:
Showcase knowledge
Feature products
Offer a behind-the-scenes look, and
Offer a sneak peek of something new and exciting!
Now that you know the vital role it can play in your social media marketing strategy, let’s take a look at how to set your very own channel up, and how to post IGTV videos!
How to Post to IGTV In 7 Steps
Setting up and using Instagram TV is a breeze, and the platform is accessible from mobile and desktop. There are seven steps total to upload your IGTV video to your channel, although some of them you may skip!
We’ll cover how to do video uploads from start to finish with the following steps:
Choose a video from your camera roll
Select a cover image
Create a title and description
Add your video to a Series (optional)
Post a preview of your IGTV video to your feed
Tag Business Partners in your video (optional)
Post your video and monitor IGTV Insights
Let’s dive in to each of these steps with an explanation below!
Step One: Select a Video From Your Camera Roll
Back in the day, the only way you could add a video to your Instagram TV channel was through the standalone IGTV app on mobile or through your desktop.
However, Instagram updated the workflow. So if you’re wondering how to upload to IGTV, you can add a video to IGTV right from the Instagram app! Here’s how:
Open the Instagram app on your phone and tap Add Post
Select the video from your camera roll
Tap Next
On the pop-up menu, tap Long Video
Tap Continue
Step Two: Select a Cover Image for Your IGTV Video
An eye-catching, attractive IGTV video cover can make all the difference in views. With this in mind, you’ll want to select a clear, engaging image that invites viewers to watch!
Instagram allows you to select the cover image for your video in one of two ways: you can select a still image from anywhere in your video, or upload a cover image from your camera roll.
If you opt to upload an image for your IGTV cover, make sure the file is a 1:1.55 ratio (420px by 654 px).
Step Three: Add a Title and Description to Your IGTV Video
You have the option to add a title and a description to your IGTV video. Your title should clearly tell browsers what your video is about in 75 characters or less.
Make sure your title is clear, to-the-point, and lets your audience know what they’re in for! You can shed more light on the video contents in your description.
You have a lot more wiggle room here to describe your video, tag collaborator,s and include hashtags. Just make sure your IGTV description doesn’t exceed the 2200 character-limit!
When viewers click on your IGTV channel, they’ll see video titles on your cover image. Clicking through to the video and on the down arrow next to the title will reveal your video description.
Step Four: Add Your Video to an IGTV Series
IGTV Series is a new feature that allows you to create multiple series on your IGTV channel.
This is a useful way to organize your videos around a central topic or theme!
To create an IGTV series, here’s what to do:
From the Publishing Screen, tap Add to Series
Tap Create Your First Series
Add a Series Name
Add a Series Description (optional)
Tap Create
Now on the Publishing Screen, you’ll see “[Series Name] Episode 1” under the Add to Series heading!
You can use this same step to create a new series on your IGTV channel whenever you want.
Step Five: Add an IGTV Preview to Your Instagram Feed
You can now post a preview to your profile to get more eyes on your content!
Before you tap Post, make sure you double-check your Profile Cover and Preview!
This is an important step, as the 1:1.55 ratio of the IGTV video will be cut down to 1:1 squares to fit in your feed.
If you don’t check the preview, you could risk some awkward framing that cuts off details or doesn’t clearly show the central point of the video. Here’s how to edit both:
How to Edit the Cover of Your IGTV Feed Preview
On the Publishing Screen, select Edit Profile Cover
Tap and hold the profile image
Move your finger in any direction to adjust what is shown in the cropped preview
Use two fingers to zoom in or out
Click Save
How to Edit the IGTV Feed Preview
Editing your IGTV Feed Preview is essentially the same as editing the preview cover!
On the Publishing Screen, select Edit Preview
Tap and hold your video to adjust the framing in the cropped preview
Watch the 15-second video all the way through to make sure framing is correct
Click Save
You can turn off and on the Preview setting by toggling the switch on the Publishing screen. You can also share your IGTV video with your attached Facebook profile from this screen!
Step Six: Tag Business Partners in Branded Content
In a push to make enable Creators to monetize their content with Instagram sponsorships from business partners, you can now tag business partners in your IGTV videos!
To tag a business partner in your branded content, go to Advanced Settings on the Publishing screen.
You’ll see the option to Tag Business Partner. Here, you can search or tap the Instagram username of your business partner, and your video will include a label that says “Paid partnership with [Business Partner].”
This also allows businesses to view the metrics of your post!
Step Seven: Post Your IGTV Video and Monitor Your Insights
Now that you’ve completed all the steps, it’s time to post your video!
IGTV Insights will help you gauge your videos performance and your approach to marketing on the platform. To get to Insights, select your video and hit the “…” button at the bottom left part of the screen.
From the pop-up menu, select IGTV Insights. Here’s what to look for:
Engagement: In this section, you’ll see total views, likes, and comments on your video.
Audience Retention: In this section, you’ll find the Average Percentage Watched. This an average number of the percentage of your video watched during all plays.
On the line chart in this section, you can see when exactly your audience began to drop off, from the start of the video, the middle of the video and the end.
IGTV Video Size and Requirements to Know
When IGTV first launched, creators could only film vertically, which frustrated a lot of users on the platform.
Thankfully, Instagram listened to feedback and ultimately opted to let users upload landscape-oriented videos. Viewers simply have to turn their phones in order to see a full-screen version!
The video should have a minimum frame rate of 30 Frames per second
The minimum resolution required for IGTV upload is 720 pixels.
Maximum file size for videos up to 10 minutes long is 650MB
Maximum file size for videos up to 60 minutes long is 3.6GB
Your IGTV video should be at least 15 seconds long, but under 10 minutes (unless you’re verified!)
IGTV Video Aspect Ratios and Dimensions
Vertical Video Aspect Ratio: 9:16 (the same as Stories!)
Landscape Video Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Marketing Tips for Engagement + Reach on IGTV
Creating a channel and uploading your IGTV videos is super easy, but the real trick to making this tool work for your marketing strategy is in the finer details.
Keep our handy Instagram TV tips in mind when planning your video to reach a wider audience and drive traffic!
Add Hashtags to Your IGTV Description
Did you know that the hashtags you use in your description help your IGTV videos appear front and center on Explore Pages?
Not only that, Instagram has introduced an IGTV section to the Explore page!
This dedicated tab allows users to find popular IGTV videos that match their interests, and increases your chances of reaching new audiences when you land on it!
Hashtags can help you do that. Using hashtags is easy. Simply add them to your video description the same way you do for Instagram captions!
You’ll want to carefully plan relevant hashtags that you use for your video to make sure it appears in the right search streams.
If you have Tailwind for Instagram, you can use our handy Hashtag Finder tool to search and save lists of the best hashtags for your Instagram content.
You can copy this list to your IGTV video description for the best chances of landing on the Explore page, or reaching the top of the IGTV page!
Don’t have Tailwind yet? No worries – click here for a [sc name=’free-trial-of-tailwind-for-instagram’]. No credit card required!
Create a Clickable Call to Action in IGTV Videos
One of our favorite marketing tricks for IGTV is including a hyperlink to a URL in the video description. Any link you put in your IGTV description becomes a hyperlink, which means viewers can click through to a product page, blog post, or another resource right from your video!
Keep in mind that if you put a URL in your video description, you should mention it at least once, if not a few times, in your video and encourage viewers to click the link.
This is because the description is hidden from view while users are watching your IGTV video.
If you don’t direct viewers’ attention to the existence of your handy link, they may never notice it’s there! ️♀️
Find the Sweet Spot in IGTV Video Length
Ten minutes is a considerable time commitment for your viewers, especially if they’re just scrolling through their Instagram feed when they happen upon your video. Make sure that the length of your content is appropriate for the purpose.
If you’re unsure whether your content is too lengthy, check out IGTV Insights to see how your audience is responding to your content.
If your audience is only watching 25% of your ten-minute-long masterpiece before clicking on to something else, this might be an indicator that you should shorten your videos in the future.
Of course, there may be some instances where you need all ten minutes to deliver your content in the best way possible.
Try supporting your long video with graphics, fascinating talking points, and constant action to keep your viewers engaged!
Add Subtitles to Your IGTV Video
Adding subtitles is a surprisingly effective touch for improving audience retention. After all, most Instagram users are browsing while their volume is low or muted.
If you include captions to your video, they’ll be able to figure out what the topic is and get hooked on your content without having to turn up their volume.
Share Your IGTV Video Everywhere
You have several tools available to you when publishing IGTV content, including sharing a preview to your Instagram feed, sharing to connected platforms, and adding a link to Instagram Stories!
Instagram preview videos appear just like a post in your feed. After the preview is done, the video pauses, and the viewer can tap Keep Watching to continue watching the full video.
You can also share your IGTV video to your connected Facebook page.
Finally, you can create a link to your IGTV video in your stories! To do this:
Open Instagram Stories
Add your photo, video or text
Tap the Link icon at the top of the screen
Tap + IGTV Video
Select the IGTV video you want to share
Tap Done
Conclusion: How to Post on IGTV
By now you’re so well versed in IGTV tips and tricks, you could probably direct a feature film!
To recap, we covered how to upload videos using the following steps:
Select a video from your camera roll
Select a cover image
Create a title and description
Add your video to an IGTV Series (optional)
Post a preview to your Instagram feed
Tag Business Partners in your IGTV video (optional)
Post your video and monitor IGTV Insights
Then we covered important aspect ratios to consider for IGTV uploads: 9:16 aspect ratio for vertical videos, and 16:9 aspect ratio for horizontal videos!
Finally, we talked about how to make an IGTV video work for you with good marketing practices!
Tell us about your favorite IGTV content and how using this platform has boosted your engagement in the comments below!
With the world in quarantine right now, what better way to entertain your friends and followers than with Instagram challenges?
The brand-new Instagram challenges sticker -available in the latest version of Instagram – is a fun way to engage with your followers! It allows you to express your humor, lifestyle, and creativity while you’re stuck indoors.
In this post, we’re breaking down how to use the new Instagram sticker, and how to find Instagram challenges to participate in with your followers! Plus, we’ve rounded up 11 of the most popular challenges on Instagram right now to get you started.
Are you ready to take the challenge?
How to Use the Instagram Challenges for Story Stickers
Using the new Instagram challenges sticker is super simple. All you need is a challenge to join, your entry, and Instagram users to tag to keep the fun rolling!
Here’s what to do:
Open Instagram Stories
Tap the Sticker Button
Tap the “ Challenge” Sticker
Choose a #InstagramChallenge
Tag your friends!
When you’re tagged in Instagram challenges for Story stickers, you’ll get a notification that you were mentioned in someone’s Story.
Tapping the Story in your DM will bring up a pop up menu with two options:
Try This Challenge
Add to Your Story
Tapping “Try This Challenge” will create a new challenge sticker with the handle of the person who nominated you and the challenge name!
How to Find Instagram Challenges to Join
The number of Instagram Challenges loaded into the sticker are currently limited and being updated by Instagram regularly based on trends. So, a little searching is required to see what’s available!
Here are the best steps to take when searching out new challenges related to your niche or follower interests:
Open Instagram Stories
Tap the Sticker Button
Tap the “ Challenge” Sticker
Start searching keywords related to the challenge you’d like to do, such as “dance” or “stay at home”
Select the hashtag sticker for the challenge you’d like to use
Nominate a friend
11 Instagram Story Challenges to Join Today
Don’t have time to search for Instagram Story challenges to join? No problem – we did the searching for you!
Here are 11 of Tailwind’s picks for trending Instagram Challenges to join today!
IG Challenge 1: #StayAtHomeChallenge
This popular Instagram challenge is all about entertaining yourself at home.
Whether you’re cooking, hanging with pets or dreaming of your next vacation (hello, location sticker!), this challenge showcases what your life looks like during quarantine!
IG Challenge 2: #BabyfaceChallenge
This Instagram Challenge feed is rife with pictures of baby pets, and we’re living for it!
To brighten up your Stories with some seriously. cute pics, post pictures of young pets and children. We can hear the chorus of awwwwwws from here!
Pro tip: If you want to boost engagement your Instagram Story, consider adding more stickers to your challenge entry!
You can use poll stickers, the emoji slider, gif stickers or more to engage with your followers.
IG Challenge 3: #SmileChallenge
The Instagram Smile Challenge emerged in early March 2020 as a cheerful way to combat all the negative news on social media.
Challenge participants post photos or videos of themselves (or their furry friends smiling) and tag friends to do the same.
The result? Instagram Stories filled with beaming smiles, even in stressful times.
IG Challenge 4: #PhotoChallenge
There are a ton of photo challenges and themes circulating on Instagram right now.
From challenges to post the first photo in your camera roll, unedited images or pictures that make you smile, this is a fun customizable challenge to engage with your followers.
If you want to get on board, establish your favorite photo challenge theme and tag some followers!
IG Challenge 5: #BabyPictureChallenge
Calling all Instaparents! The baby picture challenge originally started as a then versus now look at what you looked like as a baby versus present day.
However, lots of people are hopping on the challenge to post irresistible photos of babies doing baby things, and we’re here for it.
IG Challenge 6: #MakeUpChallenge
A spin-off from popular Youtube videos and TikTok viral challenges, the makeup challenge has a lot of different sub-themes.
To participate in a makeup challenge, decide what you want the challenge to be.
Some popular topics are, having your significant other or children do your makeup, recreating a popular makeup look, or even 30 days of different looks.
IG Challenge 7: #30DayChallenge
The 30 day challenge on Instagram is exploding with users taking various 30 day challenges. From organizing their spaces, practicing mindfulness, fitness challenges or even Instagram makeover challenges, the options are endless.
Speaking of Instagram makeovers, this hashtag challenge is the perfect one to pair with Tailwind’s Instagram Jumpstart course!
In this free email course, you get five days of Instagram bootcamp training with one important task per day. Then you get 30 daily prompts for Instagram posts!
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IG Challenge 8: #DontRushChallenge
The Don’t Rush challenge on Instagram is named after the song by Young T and Bugsy.
This challenge is a little more complex, but a lot of fun to participate in with a group! Basically, you get a group of friends together and edit a montage of video stories. The subject? Transformation looks from home attire to going out!
Each participant “passes” an item to the next person (most commonly a makeup brush) for their getting ready part, and someone edits it all together in the end. More details about the challenge can be found here!
IG Challenge 9: #MetGalaChallenge
Perhaps our favorite Instagram trend to come out of quarantine is the official Met Gala Challenge, put out by Vogue Magazine and actor Billy Porter.
Because the star-studded event has been postponed this year, Vogue is challenging social media users to recreate some of the most iconic looks from the Gala in years past.
The best user generated content from the challenge will be featured on Vogue, Met Museum and Met Costume Institute Instagram pages.
IG Challenge 10: #SongChallenge
If you’ve ever thought about curating a playlist for your followers, now’s your chance!
The 30-day song challenges for Instagram story are pretty simple.
Each day, post a song that matches the prompt and means something to you personally to share with your followers!
Instagram is full of strong personal brands and identities that people love to follow. Those successful thought leaders, top influencers and personal brands on Instagram invest tons of time and energy in developing a personal brand.
You might feel like you’ll never build your brand this strongly- or feel that because other people are already doing it well, there’s no room for you!
Well, stop that self-doubt right this minute! ♀️
Instagram is a place to get inspiration and connect – and there’s no limit on who you choose to get that from. After all, this isn’t Myspace’s Top 8! #SorryTom
To get in front of new followers with your Instagram account and build a target audience of people who love your brand, you need to stand out from the start.
You can do that with our handy-dandy personal branding formula.
Below,we’re walking you how to define a personal brand on Instagram with actionable tips and processes that real branding experts and agencies use every day!
Plus, we’ve included additional reading resources from around the web to check out if you want to dive more into the specifics.
Ready to start branding yourself on Instagram? Let’s get to it.
What is personal branding?
Your personal brand is the purpose behind your outward-facing communications with the world. It’s how your skills, experience, and personality – basically, who you are as a person – are presented to the world both online and offline.
A personal brand is not just three major bullet points that you check off a list and always say or do. Nearly everything that the world can see about you contributes to your personal brand–building strategy!
That’s why it’s so personal. It’s your story and identity!
Coding that into an easily recognizable, understandable and likable online presence takes a lot of thought and intention on the back end, but it pays off when you attract the people who genuinely like, trust and support you!
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The 6 Personal Branding Techniques that Will Set You Apart on Instagram
These six personal branding strategy pieces will help you figure out how to build a personal brand online.
1. Begin With Research In Your Niche
Starting with a basic idea of what you want to offer or achieve on Instagram, it’s time to take a careful look at who and what already exists in your space.
Do your research into the market first to observe three things: existing competitors and personalities, hashtag trends, and content themes.
We’ll break it down below!
Identify a few key terms around your personal and professional brand related to your personal brand statement, location, and style. You can start typing this into Instagram search, and relevant profiles, locations, and hashtags will begin to pop up!
This is an easy way to see top players and trends in the market. First, take a look at relevant influencers, personalities, and brands!
Research Competing Brands
What’s working? What’s not? Are there any takeaways you can use to differentiate your personal branding on Instagram?
Note that just because someone is doing well in the space you’ve chosen, doesn’t mean they’re a competitor or an enemy! As you’re browsing, make note of other personal brands you’d like to collaborate with or network with.
As you peruse, note the hashtags these personal brands frequently use to explore opportunities to attract similar audiences.
Hashtag research will help you uncover trending hashtags in your industry, as well as reveal additional hashtags you can use to gain more exposure.
Plus, you can find more top influencers in your industry by investigating the top of the hashtag explore page and making note of who appears on it frequently.
Tailwind’s Hashtag Finder will help you complete your hashtag research in minutes and find the best hashtags to use for Instagram. Simply begin typing a caption or enter a few hashtags to get started!
You’ll see suggested hashtags populate in real-time as you type, color-coded by level of competitiveness. Hovering over a suggested hashtag will show you how many posts are attached to that hashtag!
No one wants to do hashtag research over and over again. So, start building a list of up to 30 hashtags (aim for a mix of Niche, Good, Best and Competitive for best results). Then save them into your Hashtag Lists with one click!
Try it out for yourself by grabbing a [sc name=’free-trial-of-tailwind-for-instagram’].
While you’re poking around Instagram explore pages, it helps to note what kind of content is consistently landing in top posts.
Look for insights like photo subjects, photo styles, caption styles and aesthetics to give you important clues about what resonates to people with this interest.
2. Understand the Core of Your Brand Personality
One of our favorite resources to really get down to your personal brand archetype is the tried-and-true Brand Dimensions created by Jennifer Aaker.
These are taught in university classes and often used by designers and agencies to understand brand personality!
Brand Dimensions by Jennifer Aaker
The five core dimensions of brand personality are Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Sophistication, and Ruggedness.
Let’s take a look at the traits associated with each!
Each of the five core dimensions comes along with traits. You can use these traits as inspirational words, or as a jumping-off point to search for similar words and phrases that evoke your specific traits!
As we mentioned before, don’t feel constrained by these traits! You can mix, match and blend traits – or invent new ones – to create a personal branding that’s uniquely you.
4.Create a Brand Mood Board
Now that you’re identifying the traits that create your brand personality, it’s time to add visual themes to those words.
Creating a mood board will help! A mood board is the visual manifestation of your brand.
It helps guide you to express the mood and feeling you want your followers to experience when they visit your page or interact with you.
Using visual elements opens your eyes to colors, typefaces, motifs, images, and icons that communicate your branding to your followers’ senses.
This exercise will help you narrow down the type of content you want to focus on, how you present it, and what themes emerge!
How to Create a Mood Board:
Identify the mood or feeling you would like your followers to feel when they interact with your brand – ex: rejuvenated and calm
Search Google to find related words, phrases, and quotes that dive a little bit deeper into that mood or feeling.
Check out Pinterest, stock photo sites and the internet for images that express the feelings you’re capturing
Start dropping in images, quotes into a collage. You can use Photoshop, Canva or a handy design tool like Easil!
At this point in your personal branding process, it would be a great time to bring in a graphic designer to help you create visual assets that clearly convey your brand purpose and aesthetic!
However, that’ not always in the cards for new brands and solopreneurs who are just establishing their business. We get it!
You can always bring in a graphic design resource when you’re better positioned to handle the expense.
This intro to visual branding elements and how to use them will help guide you as you’re first getting started.
Typeface
Important note: a typeface is an overall style of characters within typography, while a font is a complete set within a typeface. Think of Typeface as a parent category.
Check out the additional reading section for an in-depth guide to how all that works – plus a primer on the many sub-categories of each typeface!
In the meantime, let’s talk about some overall traits of each typeface and how they help you communicate your brand well.
If your brand personality is sophisticated or competent, a Serif font would communicate aspects of your brand well. These are seen often in high-end luxury brands and communicate stability, timelessness, and respectability.
Sans Serif
Sans Serif Traits:Simplicity, modern, minimalist, informal Sans Serif Brand Dimension Matches:Sincerity, Excitement
If your brand personality is sincerity or excitement, a Sans Serif font would translate well, depending on the particular font style you choose.
Sans serif typeface is one of the most versatile around.
It has clean, minimal lines that can either convey down-to-earth, honest vibes or trendy, modern and youthful feelings.
If your brand personality is competence or ruggedness, Slab Serif font is the perfect blend of the security of a Serif, with the modern versatility of a Sans Serif.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8hytkypmk7/
Slab serif typeface presents masculine because of solid, stable strength in the blocky feet, yet a little less serious and austere than Serifs with smooth lines and rounding.
This makes it a fit for Ruggedness and Competence styled brands, depending on the colors and motif stylings it’s paired with!
If your brand personality is sincerity or sophistication, a script font would speak to the desires of your followers and clients.
The psychology behind Script typeface will change with individual font presentation. However, all provide a feeling of warmth and welcoming, as well as a sense of creativity.
This is a great jumping-off point for identifying the typefaces and font styles that pair best with your brand personality but don’t be afraid to do some digging.
Individual fonts are hand-created with emotion and style in mind – so a competent brand may find a perfect Script font, and an exciting brand may find a Serif font that perfectly conveys its meaning!
Choosing an Instagram color palette is a highly personal choice, that depends a lot on the type of brand you are and what you want to convey.
Don’t just choose a color palette at random, or one that’s trendy right now. If it’s not a solid match with your personal brand, you may have to change it in a few years. Nobody wants that!
Instead, take stock of what you collected in your early research. What content, colors, and styles really speak to followers of that niche? What colors convey your brand personality (check out our additional reading section for a color psychology primer!)?
What colors are going to be easiest to capture in your everyday content (ie, don’t pick neon colors if you always take photos outside in a forest).
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-k5qFCl6Qc/
Weighing trends, content preferences, and your brand story will help you arrive at a solid color theme that will help you connect with your followers more than ever!
6. Update Your Instagram Profile to Reflect Your Personal Brand
Once you’ve laid the foundation of a strong personal brand, you want to make sure that your profile clearly conveys it.
Rebrand with details that will create the best Instagram profile you can imagine for your personal brand!
Make a plan to update the following assets on your profile:
Your profile photo
Your profile name and your @userhandle (if applicable)
Your Instagram Story Highlight Covers
Your Instagram bio – this should clearly spell out your brand purpose and identity
Your Instagram bio link– snag a free branded version like Tailwind’s Smart.bio
Make sure you have all these assets in order before updating! A staggered update of all the major details on your profile may quickly confuse and alienate your followers.
Need inspo? Chloe Bubert talks about the way she planned a brand refresh (for months!) in our article about self-branding!
Besides using our Smart Schedule tool to schedule your posts for the times when your followers are most active, you can also research tons of hashtags in minutes and even save your favorites.
That means your linked posts will update on your Smart.bio landing page as soon as your posts go live, helping you drive traffic from Instagram to your personal websites or blog posts with ease.
Want to check it out for yourself? Snag a free trial of Tailwind for Instagram today!
We analyzed 1.8 million posts over a period of 3 months to determine what the best (and worst!) times to post on Instagram are. Then, we took it one step further by segmenting all those accounts into 17 industries!
Why? To uncover the key differences in when – and why – posts in various niches take off.
Below, we’re sharing the insights you NEED in your Instagram life – from the best days to post for your industry to the precise hour of the day (or night!) that works best for your specific niche.
From travel to children’s topics and everywhere in between, we’re breaking down exactly when to post on Instagram for maximum engagement by niche.
PSST… open a handy time converter to find your best time to posts in your time zone!
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The Best Time to Post on Instagram
As we crafted our study, an overall trend emerged across all 17 industries in consistently high likes and comments during certain times on Instagram.
If you’re hoping to boost your exposure by raking in engagement, here are time slots you should strongly consider testing in your posting schedule!
We evaluated the performance of 1.8 million posts based on the time they were posted and gained some interesting insights!
According to the data, the best time to post on Instagram for engagement globally is 6 AM UTC. This is a peak time to for both likes and comments!
UTC
PST
CST
EST
6:00 AM
10:00 PM
12:00 AM
1:00 AM
The best times to post on Instagram for likes are 5:00 AM, 6:00 AM, and 8:00 AM UTC, while the best times to post on Instagram for comments are 12:00 AM, 1:00 AM, and 6:00 AM UTC.
The Best Day to Post on Instagram For Likes
Take note, weekend warriors.
Posts on Saturday rake in the most likes, with Friday as a close second.
So when’s the best time to post on Instagram for likes?
According to our research, the best time of day to post on Instagram for likes is also on Saturday at 5:00 p.m (UTC) Here are the next best average slots:
Tuesday at 8:00 p.m UTC
Friday at 3:00 p.m UTC ☀️
Friday at 8:00 p.m UTC
The Best Day to Post on Instagram For Comments
Maybe comments are more your speed.
We don’t blame you – with Instagram hiding likes, other metrics of engagement are taking a front-row focus.
If you want more comments on your Instagram posts, try posting on Wednesday.
This day doesn’t lead by much, so you should also target Sunday in your posting schedule!
The Best Day of the Week to Upload Your Posts to Instagram
Now for the fun stuff! Let’s dive into each day of the week to examine the best time to upload on Instagram on average per day.
For a more in-depth look into your specific industry for a complete breakdown of best days and times to post, as well as helpful industry benchmarks to help you determine what success looks like in each one, download our FREE research report!
To recap the date from above, the best day to post to Instagram for likes globally is Saturday. Wednesday and Sunday are the best days of the week to upload your posts to Instagram for comments!
The Best Time to Post on Instagram on Monday
The best time to post on Instagram on Monday is 3 p.m (UTC). ☀️ The next best times are:
10:00 p.m UTC
6:00 a.m UTC
Shocked by the best times to post on Insta? Experimenting with different times to post in the evening and even early in the morning exposes your content to users active in different time zones.
Helpful Tip: Check out the demographics of your current followers and where they’re located with Instagram Analytics. Then tailor your posting schedule to put fresh content in front of them in their time zones!
The Best Time to Post on Instagram on Tuesday
The best time to post on Instagram on Tuesday for engagement is 8:00 pm (UTC). The next best times are:
4:00 p.m (UTC) ☀️
6:00 p.m (UTC)
7:00 p.m (UTC)
The Best Time to Post on Instagram on Wednesday
The best time to post on Instagram on Wednesday for engagement is 9:00 pm (UTC). The next best times are:
1:00 a.m (UTC)
11:00 a.m (UTC) ☀️
4:00 a.m (UTC)
The Best Time to Post on Instagram on Thursday
The best time to post on Instagram on Thursday for engagement is 8:00 pm (UTC). The next best times are:
7:00 p.m (UTC)
3:00 p.m (UTC) ☀️
2:00 p.m (UTC) ☀️
Tailwind Tip: You don’t have to devote your entire Instagram posting schedule to catching engagement from your current followers if you aim to grow.
Use some of the best day and time to post on Instagram recommendations to send out posts (with relevant hashtags!) in regions you’d like to attract more followers from!
The Best Time to Post on Instagram on Friday
The best time to post on Instagram on Friday for engagement is 3:00 pm (UTC). ☀️ The next best times are:
8:00 p.m (UTC)
4:00 p.m (UTC) ☀️
2:00 p.m (UTC) ☀️
The Best Time to Post on Instagram on Saturday
The best time to post on Instagram on Saturday for engagement is 5:00 pm (UTC). The next best times are:
3:00 p.m (UTC) ☀️
7:00 p.m (UTC)
8:00 p.m (UTC)
10:00 p.m (UTC)
The Best Time to Post on Instagram on Sunday
The best time to post on Instagram on Sunday for engagement is 7:00 pm (UTC). The next best times are:
4:00 p.m (UTC) ☀️
3:00 p.m (UTC) ☀️
2:00 p.m (UTC) ☀️
8:00 p.m (UTC)
12:00 p.m (UTC) ☀️
The Best Days and Times to Post on Instagram For Your Niche
Ready to get specific insights for your industry? We analyzed 18 different niches in our research report to uncover your sweet spot for posting. Scroll to find your niche, or use the handy menu to skip to your relevant section!
And hey, don’t forget to download our FREE study to find even more helpful insights for your industry, including:
-Handy comparison charts to the top 25% of your industry for likes, followers and comments to check your progress
-Easy-to-skim goals for reaching the top 50% of your category
–Worksheets and planning tools
–Tips and recommendations to help you optimize your posting game
Travel
If you’re in the travel space, your best days to post are over the weekend!
7 a.m EST on Saturday is best for comments, while 6 a.m EST on Sunday is best for likes!
Brick and Mortar
Brick and Mortar locations should plan to post on Instagram on Friday at 4 p.m EST to scoop up comments from local traffic planning their weekends.
Sunday at 1 a.m. EST is the best time for Instagram likes!
Childrens
Children’s resources have three best times to post on Instagram for engagement: 9 p.m EST on Monday and Wednesday for comments, and the same time on Tuesday for likes!
Education
Education resources have a prime-time opportunity to catch parents and teachers prepping over the weekend.
7 p.m EST on Saturday AND Sunday are the best times for both types of engagement.
Entertainment
If entertainment is your niche, shift your Instagram posting schedule to the end of the week for best results.
Thursday at 4 p.m EST is the best time for comments, and you’ll see an uptick of likes at 11 p.m EST on Saturday and Sunday.
Food and Beverage
Food and beverage, Wednesday is a delicious day for comments ( at 8 a.m and 8 p.m EST).
Post again on Sunday at 8 a.m EST for more likes!
Health and Beauty
Health and beauty, you tend to catch Instagram users at 1 a.m EST on Monday who want to chat.
4 p.m EST on Wednesday and Sunday is when to post on Instagram for likes!
Marketing
Marketers, Wednesday is your lucky day! 4 p.m EST is a great time to post on Instagram for comments, while posts at 3 & 6 p.m EST on Wednesday and Saturday rake in likes.
Technology
Those in the technology niche should post at 8 a.m EST on Monday and Friday for comments.
Try 12 a.m EST on Sunday to catch those Instagram likes!
Recreation
If recreation is your niche, you have two balanced opportunities to get the most Instagram engagement possible.
Post on Sunday at 11 p.m EST for comments, and 12 a.m EST Tuesday for likes!
Professional Services
Uploading your post to Instagram on Monday at 3 a.m EST is the best time to grab comments if you’re in professional services.
Saturday and Sunday at 3 and 4 a.m EST is the prime time for likes!
Photographers
Photographers can raise their engagement rates by posting high-quality Instagram photos at 5 a.m EST Monday and Sunday.
Personal Brand
If you’re a personal brand looking for more engagement on Instagram, wire these three posting times into your Instagram scheduler.
Monday at 11 p.m EST, and Thursday + Sunday at 5 a.m!
Non-Profits
Non-profits can always benefit from higher engagement, right?
Focus your attention on Sunday. 12 a.m EST is your magic hour for comment and likes, while Sunday at 3 a.mEST can also give you a boost!
Media
Media creators and outlets can increase their reach with three key times to post on Instagram!
Tuesday at 8 p.m EST is best for comments. Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m EST will increase your Instagram likes!
Clothing and Apparel
Is your Instagram business focused on clothing and apparel?
Then target 3 p.m EST for the most engagement on Tuesday and Sunday!
Creative Services
If you’ve devoted your Instagram account to creative services, you have three posting schedule hotspots to choose from.
Tuesday at 12 a.m EST gets the most comments, while 11 a.m and 12 p.m EST on Saturday and Sunday get lots of likes!
Bloggers
Bloggers, you can optimize your Instagram content for engagement by adjusting your posting schedule on three days.
Post on Thursday and Friday at 12 a.m EST for more comments, and 8 p.m EST on Sunday for likes!
Schedule Posts at the Best Times with Tailwind!
Now that you know some of the best times and days to post on Instagram for your industry, why not take it one step further and schedule your content in advance with Tailwind’s Instagram Planner app?
With our mobile app, you can:
Plan, preview, and rearrange your scheduled posts to your heart’s content. Hello, pretty feed!
Use our built-in Hashtag Finder for fast hashtag research in just seconds!
Auto Post to your Instagram feed at the best times for your audience.
Looking for ways to boost your Instagram video engagement and get more from your Instagram?
Whether you’re after higher engagement on your account, more followers or even more traffic to your site, don’t count Instagram video out as a major driver for #AllOfTheAbove.
Why? A recent study from Mention found that Instagram video posts get more engagement than photo AND carousel posts.
On top of that, as Instagram hides likes on your posts, users will naturally shift towards other metrics to judge your account. This experiment doesn’t look to be going away anytime soon, so now is the time to evaluate other avenues of more visible engagement metrics on Instagram.
One of those ways is by publishing good video content! Need some help getting started? Here’s a list of 5 Instagram video ideas for engagement (with examples!)
1. Create How-To Instagram Videos:
People are always on the lookout for helpful tips and hacks to make their lives easier. Sharing Instagram videos that offer solutions to your follower’s most pressing problems will get you more engagement!
Stumped on good topics? Put yourself in your follower’s shoes for a minute.
Think about what they come to Instagram for and what daily obstacles they might be tackling. Then brainstorm some tips that might make those obstacles easier.
Boom! There’s your video. Depending on the topic, you can create long-form IGTV videos for more deep dives.
Or you can create short-and-sweet tidbits to post directly on your Instagram feed (the ideal video length is 26 seconds.)
An example of a quality how-to video is this one from Califia Farms.
They’re best known for their range of non-dairy products.
Califia Farms knows their audience will be interested in dairy-free and health-conscious recipes.
In this video, they create a quick recipe for Overnight Pumpkin Oats.
They also offer the full recipe through their Instagram link in bio, lifting traffic to their website!
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4N1jdhnUO5/
You can easily create similar videos with tools like InVideo. This app has templates for both feed posts and Stories. Just upload your video and modify the text overlay included in the template.
Don’t have enough video footage? Use their library of video clips!
Long videos can either be published as an IGTV post or as a Carousel Story post.
Also, you can add more than 10 slides (which is something you can’t do with regular Instagram carousel/slideshow posts).
An example of a lengthy video that was divided up and posted as several slides in a story is this one from Bon Appetit.
They added the Story to their Instagram Highlights. This ensures that it will continually get more views since it won’t disappear after 24 hours!
Plus, they included a swipe up link to their website in one of the frames. Smart!
2. Create Entertaining Instagram Videos
Another category of videos that generate a lot of engagement are entertaining videos.
People love watching funny content! You should jump at the chance to make content for entertainment purposes whether you’re a small business or an influencer.
For example, you can take a look at this IGTV video from Wistia, a video hosting company.
They went around counting how many chairs are in the office and they made it really fun!
This is also a great way to show some behind the scene footage at your office. It can help your followers form a stronger connection with your employees and your company as a whole.
Grab a good camera to record your how-to and entertaining videos. You can always record with your smartphone, but using a proper camera and recording a top-quality video will give you an edge.
Running out of Instagram video ideas? Try publishing user-generated content!
Examples of this are:
Videos of customers using your products
User reviews and testimonials
Top member or customer features
Instagram videos like this help drive up social proof and entice more customers to buy your products and services, too!
A company that does this on a regular basis is Wacom. Here’s one of their videos showing some of the wonderful things you can do with a Wacom tablet.
When people watch videos like these, they will be interested in purchasing a Wacom tablet too.
How to Find User-Generated Content for Instagram Video
To find user-generated content you can use a tool like Awario.
All you need to do is type in your brand or product name into their search field and it will find all captions with those keywords.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0fpO-cIQro/
You can then DM the creator for a publishing request. If they are fine with it, you can publish the video!
You can alternatively ask all customers who want their videos to be featured on your site to add a branded hashtag to the video caption.
This will make it easy to find and add user-generated Instagram videos!
5. Make Product Videos For Instagram
Another high-engagement Instagram video idea?
Create videos that are direct advertisements of your product in action. Like this video from Argos!
As you can see the video focuses on informing you about the product.
There’s also a call to action at the end.
When you view it on a mobile device you will notice that they tagged a product in the video (as you can tag products in videos too)!
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5CuLxqgOsc/
And when you click on it you are taken right to the product page. This can increase both sales and traffic.
And you don’t have to always try to sell your products directly.
You can also create informative videos that indirectly promote products like in the first example (from Califia Farms).
In that video, Califia Farms shared a recipe, but their products are an integral part of making it!
Schedule And Post Your Videos to Instagram
These five Instagram video ideas are a great jumping-off point to help you generate more engagement, followers and traffic!
Experiment with one (or all of them) depending on your experience, budget and what you think your target audience will react to most.
Once you’ve created a few videos to experiment with on Instagram, upload them to Tailwind’s Instagram video publisher and schedule them at the best times.
With our tool, you can also easily find the best and most relevant hashtags, format your Instagram captions and see how your video thumbnail looks in your feed before you post!
The best part? Our 30-post trial is absolutely free – no credit card required. Grab yours today!
