Continuing education is a must when working in an industry that is constantly changing. From the technology, to the platforms, to algorithms Instagram is one of the top most used social media platforms with nearly a billion users. With 71% of businesses using Instagram, Aroluxe participated in the 2018 Instagram Marketing Conference to learn the latest updates on the social media platform. Here are a couple of highlights:
Quality Over Quantity
Instagram recently released a feature allowing influencers (10K+ followers) to add links into their stories, revealing a swipe up link for viewers. This has created a sense of urgency for businesses to reach that 10K followers as fast as possible through whatever means it takes. However, results have proven that higher ROI and conversion rates is not necessarily a direct result of a larger follower base. The idea is similar to that of when people say they would rather have 4 good quarters than 100 pennies in relation to friendships. Yes, as your follower base grows it will help increase sales, but starting out, focus on gaining those true followers.
The 80-20 Rule
When running an online business or e-commerce brand, it’s important to create value for your followers and not just try to sell you product or service all the time. You may have heard of the 80-20 rule outside of social media, but it most certainly is important when creating a content plan for your business. The idea is to have 80% of your post be value adding content and only 20% directly pushing sales for your product or service.
You Can’t Cheat The Algorithm
If anyone has told you there is a way to cheat the algorithm, they are lying to you. The key is to play the game and strategize. The Instagram algorithm takes into consideration many factors when placing your content in your followers’ feeds, the top factor being engagement (likes, comments, shares). In order to optimize engagements organically, it takes a lot of trial and error until you can identify the characteristics of your targeted audience. From there, you will find the algorithm actually plays in you favor. But don’t get discouraged if you don’t see immediate effects, it takes time.