The Loooptopia experience allows users to create and recycle custom digital garments and unlock special rewards.
Originally posted on January 5, 2023 @ 10:41 am
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The Loooptopia experience allows users to create and recycle custom digital garments and unlock special rewards.
Originally posted on January 5, 2023 @ 10:41 am
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Looking to span digital and physical channels, the timepiece brand has teamed with a leading NFT community, despite waning interest in the technology.
Originally posted on January 5, 2023 @ 10:40 am
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The vitamin brand opts for positive messaging following research that indicates “scare-based” wellness advertising doesn’t connect with consumers.
Originally posted on January 4, 2023 @ 11:40 am
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Gone are the days of calling a customer service hotline or writing emails to inquire about a new product. The modern method of communication between a customer and a brand? Through Instagram DM.
Nearly 50% of people say that digital channels will be their primary way of contacting brands in the future. And considering 90% of people follow at least one business on Instagram, it’s safe to say that even more people will rely on Instagram DM for customer support in the years to come.
Direct messaging on Instagram is a personal way to interact with customers, influencers, brand partners, and everyone in between. When it’s used well, Instagram’s messaging feature can help your brand build a strong relationship with your audience by making sure people feel heard and supported.
Here are some tips on sending and responding to messages to help you get the most out of your Instagram DMs.
Instagram DMs are direct messages between one Instagram user and another user or a group of users. Users can share all types of content through DMs, including:
Photos
Video
Audio
Stickers
GIFs
These messages are private and don’t show up in your brand’s feed, profile, or in search. And they won’t for your followers, either. Only you and those you are communicating with can see the direct messages.
For brands and creators, sending direct messages can be a good way to build personal relationships with followers, reach out to potential partners, or provide support to customers with questions or feedback.
Sending and receiving DMs from the Instagram mobile app is easy. Follow these steps to start engaging with followers and customers alike:
1. First, open the Instagram app on your phone.
2. Click on the paper airplane or messenger icon in the top right corner of your feed. The messages icon that appears here depends on whether or not you’ve updated your Instagram account to connect with Facebook’s Messenger.
If you haven’t connected your Instagram account with Facebook messenger, you’ll see the paper airplane…
…but if you have connected your accounts, you’ll see the messenger icon.
3. In your Direct Messages tab, you’ll find all of your conversations. Unread direct messages will show up first in the list.
4. Tap on an unread message and write a response in the Message bar.
If you want to send content through a DM, you can also do this directly in the app.
5. Any time you see the paper airplane icon, click on it to send that content to another user in a private message. You can use direct messages to send posts, Reels, or Stories to another user or brand. The content that you forward to another account will appear in their Direct Messages tab.
Anyone with an Instagram profile can create or reply to Instagram DMs from the browser version of the app using a desktop or laptop computer. This method makes it easier for your brand to respond to an influx or high volume of DMs.
Whether you’re replying to an Instagram message on a PC or creating a DM to send on a Mac, the process is the same. Here’s how to open a DM on Instagram (web version):
1. Head to instagram.com using whichever web browser you prefer, and log into your brand’s Instagram account. Note: You don’t need to use a specific browser to access Instagram DMs.
2. Once you’re logged into your account, click on Messages in the panel on the left. Just like in the app, the icon you see here — either a paper plane or the Messenger symbol — will depend on whether you’ve updated your account with Facebook Messenger.
If your Instagram account is connected to Facebook Messenger, you’ll see the familiar messenger icon…
…and if you haven’t connected your accounts, you’ll see the paper airplane.
3. In the Direct Messages tab, you’ll see your brand’s messages and interactions here. Unread DMs will appear first in the list.
4. You’ll also see the option to create a new DM. Click on the blue Send Message button to begin a new interaction.
But that’s just one way to message on Instagram on desktop. You can also use a social media management platform like Hootsuite to streamline your social customer care.
If you manage more than one Instagram account or your brand receives DMs on several social media platforms, a social media management tool like Hootsuite can save you a lot of time and hassle.
With Hootsuite, you can answer messages and comments from all of your Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts in one social inbox. No more clicking through countless browser tabs to check for new DMs or accidentally forgetting to respond to eager customers.
If you want to know how to check messages on Instagram (and reply faster) using Hootsuite, follow these simple steps:
1. In your Hootsuite dashboard, navigate to the Inbox. Here, you can see interactions from your connected Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts. Hootsuite Inbox is compatible with Instagram Business accounts.
The Inbox collects 4 types of Instagram messages:
Direct messages
Replies to your Instagram Stories
Quick reactions to your Stories
Mentions of your account in other users’ Stories
2. If you’re part of a team managing social media DMs, you can easily assign messages to other team members (who will be notified by email) and sort your inbox by assignment, social network, message type, and date.
Engaging with your customers and responding to DMs is just one way to use Instagram for business.
Before you start interacting over Insta DMs, here are some essential tips to keep in mind.
Being responsive is key to engaging and maintaining strong relationships with your followers.
But you can’t be responsive if you’re not aware of the messages coming your way in the first place.
Checking your DMs regularly is a good place to start, but make sure you see all the new, incoming Instagram DMs that your brand receives by setting up notifications.
On both desktop and mobile, navigate to Settings. Choose Notifications (or Push Notifications if you’re on desktop).
Then under Messages (if you’re working on desktop) or Messages and Calls (if you’re working on mobile), ensure the From Primary and General option is selected.
This will ensure your brand is notified of all its new incoming DMs.
If your brand typically receives a lot of messages, we recommend using a tool (like Hootsuite) that helps streamline and manage your DMs.
To ensure there aren’t any customer messages that slip through the cracks, you’ll also want to check your message requests, too.
Requests are direct messages from accounts you don’t follow. As a brand, this means most of the customer messages you receive will land in the Requests tab if you haven’t interacted with them before.
Under Messages and Calls, make sure Message Requests is turned on to start receiving all DM requests.
Chances are, your brand will get many similar questions and comments over DM. Instead of typing out the same reply to each follower every time, save time and ensure consistency by making the most of the Instagram Saved Replies feature.
To use this feature, you’ll need to set up an Instagram Business Profile or Creator Account.
These professional accounts will also provide more options for organizing and managing your Instagram DMs, like the three-tab inbox, which organizes your inbox into three tabs: All, Primary, and General.
Find Saved Replies as an option under Settings.
From there, go to Business and you’ll see the option for Saved Reply.
Under Saved replies, you can see all of the responses you’ve created shortcuts for.
To create a Saved Reply:
Click on the + button in the top right-hand corner.
Type out a reply to a commonly asked question.
Choose a one-word keyboard shortcut for that message.
When replying to an Instagram DM, type the keyword shortcut into your message and the full response you’ve saved for that shortcut will autofill.
Psst: If you use Hootsuite, you can create and save message replies using Inbox.
Bonus: Save time and download 20 free, customizable Instagram DM templates for your brand, including greetings, partnership requests, FAQ responses, replies to complaints, and more.
If your brand receives a high volume of direct messages, it isn’t always realistic to send a carefully thought-out response the moment you receive it.
But at the very least, it’s a good idea to let the customer know you got their message. That way, even if your team isn’t able to respond immediately, your customer isn’t met with silence.
Here are a few responses you can use to acknowledge a new message:
Thank the customer for getting in touch
Let them know their message has been received
Set an expectation for how long it will take the team to get back to them
Share your appreciation for their support
This helps foster a relationship between the user and your brand. It also improves customer service, setting expectations for when that customer can expect a conversation with your brand.
Don’t leave your customers waiting! If you’ve already let them know you’ve read their message, follow through with a prompt response (even better if it’s sooner than the expected timeframe you initially shared).
The faster your brand can reply, the better — especially if the message is negative. In fact, 42% of customers who complain to a company over social media expect a response within 60 minutes.
Waiting too long to reply to a customer can result in them losing interest — or, worst, trust — in your brand. Always follow up with questions or inquiries in a timely manner to ensure customers feel supported and heard.
Whatever your brand’s voice is, use that tone in your Instagram DMs.
Your followers associate your brand’s voice with everything you do and post on the platform, including your messages and replies. If your tone is usually upbeat and friendly in your captions or comments, then an abrupt or unhelpful direct message would be jarring and likely deter a customer from continuing the conversation.
When crafting your message replies, remember to:
Be authentic and personable. Show your customer they’re interacting with a real person who cares about their experience with your brand.
Don’t use jargon. Avoid using these words and phrases.
Make sure communication is easy to understand. Irony, sarcasm, and jokes might be misinterpreted by the reader or cause offense, especially if that tone isn’t the norm for your brand. Leave no room for misinterpretation.
If someone is reaching out to your brand directly, they want an answer quickly. So avoid the chit-chat. Get right to it.
Address your customers’ DM right away, whether through a quick reply or an acknowledgment. Write in a way that is easy to read. Use short sentences.
And don’t fear short paragraphs.
Doing all this makes it easier for customers to find the answer to their queries.
If you need more guidance on how to respond to DMs in a prompt yet helpful way, use one of our Instagram DM templates to get started.
With every DM, make sure your message reflects your brand in a professional way before you tap Send.
Check for typos, spelling mistakes, and grammar errors. Read over your DM for flow — even better if you can read it out loud to make sure it sounds natural.
And if your company manages multiple brands and has multiple Instagram accounts, make sure you’re working with the right account.
There’s nothing more anxiety-inducing than sending a response on behalf of the wrong brand — worse if you accidentally reply from your personal Instagram account. Not only will it leave your customer feeling confused, but you’ll have to quickly toggle to the right account to rectify the situation.
Save yourself unnecessary stress by always double (or triple!) checking that you’re replying from the right account.
Finally, bring closure to the conversation by tying up any loose ends or sending a thoughtful note.
A few ways to sign off your Instagram DM conversation include:
Asking the customer if there’s anything else they need help with.
Thanking them for their business or loyalty to your company.
Wishing them a great day.
Sharing your appreciation for their feedback.
Closing off is not only a personable way to communicate but also ensures your customer doesn’t feel snubbed before the conversation is over and has clear next steps to follow (if any).
Yes, Instagram direct messages are private and don’t show up in your brand’s feed, profile, or in search. They won’t show up publicly for your followers, either. Only you and those you are communicating with directly can see the DMs.
Yes, you can screenshot Instagram DMs. Neither party will know if a DM has been screenshot unless the message was sent using vanish mode.
No, people can’t see if you screenshot their DM on Instagram in most cases. The exception is if a message is sent using vanish mode. Vanish mode allows people to send messages that disappear once someone leaves the chat. If you screenshot a message, photo, or video that was sent in vanish mode, the sender will be notified.
Yes, you can delete Instagram DMs using both the desktop and mobile versions of the app. If you delete a DM, this will only delete the conversation for you. The direct message thread will still be visible for the others included in the conversation unless they also delete it.
An Instagram DM group is a group chat. Instagram allows up to 250 people to be part of a group chat.
Yes, you can make video calls with up to 8 people at a time using Instagram DMs. Click into an existing conversation or start a new one, then click video chat in the top right. According to the platform, “anyone you’ve accepted a message from, except for verified accounts, can video chat with you.” If you want to prevent someone from video calling you on Instagram, you can always block them.
Start building your Instagram presence using Hootsuite. Schedule and publish posts directly to Instagram, engage your audience, measure performance, and run all your other social media profiles — all from one simple dashboard. Try it free today.
Improve your response times by managing Instagram direct messages with Hootsuite Inbox.
The post How To Get More Out of Instagram DMs: The Ultimate Guide appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.
Originally posted on January 4, 2023 @ 4:41 pm
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So you’re planning an Instagram giveaway—how generous!
Here’s a step-by-step guide to throwing a successful Instagram giveaway, complete with tips for laying down the rules, promoting your giveaway and picking a winner — plus 11 examples from brands that are doing it right.
Let’s get started, you selfless, noble giver, you.
Bonus: Download 4 free, customizable social media contest templates to help you get started promoting your contests on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
An Instagram giveaway (or an Instagram contest) is a type of promotion involving a brand or creator gifting a product or service to an Instagram user. Users can enter the contest based on criteria defined by the giveaway organizer.
Here are some common reasons why brands throw giveaways on Instagram:
To get new followers. Contests tend to bring in new viewers to your page.
To engage their audience. Giveaways give your audience a chance to interact with your brand and your content—they bring in algorithm-friendly engagement in the form of likes and comments.
To collect user-generated content. Contests can be a great opportunity to allow your audience to generate (free and creative) content for your page.
To give back to their audience. Who would we be without our followers? Hosting an Instagram giveaway helps build your relationship with your audience and give them something in return for their support.
Start by deciding what the goal of your contest is. More followers? Increased sales numbers for a specific product or service?
Whatever it may be, figure out early on what you want to gain. That will make tracking the success of the contest far easier.
Clear rules are essential. When posting about the giveaway on Instagram, it may be best to include the deadlines and promotion guidelines in the caption. This will make them easy to find for your followers.
When sharing the contest on your website, a dedicated landing page, or other social media platforms, include any important rules upfront. If this isn’t possible, direct users to the giveaway post’s caption or wherever else the rules may be outlined.
If your contest is only open to certain geographic areas, be sure to include that information clearly.
This part should be fun! Decide what it is your followers will be competing for. It could be a product or assortment of products, a gift card, a service, or something else.
It’s wise to make sure the prize is related to your brand. General prizes like cash or Amazon gift cards will lure in random followers looking for a chance to win a quick buck. Offering products and prizes related to what your page revolves around is more effective—it ensures that anyone who enters and follows you for the contest is engaged with what it is you do.
And we’re live! Publish your contest using Hootsuite’s Best Time to Publish feature to ensure that your giveaway is being seen by the maximum number of followers.
You can also use Hootsuite to see how well the giveaway is performing in analytics, and respond to questions in your DMs or comments using Hootsuite’s inbox
Promote your Instagram giveaway as widely as possible. You’ll want to share it on your Instagram Stories as well as any other social media platform your brand uses. Post about the giveaway multiple times (“One week left to enter,” “Last chance to enter,” etc.) to make sure that no one misses it.
If you’re running a contest, you’ll probably want to see some concrete numbers proving how it helps your page’s traffic.
Hootsuite is the perfect resource to help run and track contests. Contest posts can be scheduled with the Planner. Comments can be tracked and answered in the Inbox, and mentions/hashtag usage can be tracked via Streams.
Learn more about how Hootsuite can help you with Instagram contests (and, well, all of your other social media efforts):
We’ve put together a free social media contest template that covers entry methods, terms of the giveaway, prize rules and disclosures about how winners will be selected. If you’re stuck on how to properly word your giveaway rules, start here.
Bonus: Download 4 free, customizable social media contest templates to help you get started promoting your contests on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Need a random comment picker to decide your Instagram contest winner? Try these.
Saverfront’s picker tool is specifically for Instagram comments. It’s free, and you don’t have to log in or give any personal information to use it. You can choose how many winners you want and adjust criteria like mentions and hashtags.
Wask’s tool is also for IG comments. It’s free to use once, and after that asks for a login (but offers a free plan).
If you have less than 150 comments to choose from, this is a good tool to use (it’s free for 150 comments). You also don’t have to log in or sign up to use it.
If you’re searching for inspiration for your next Instagram giveaway, hashtags are your best friend: try searching #contest, #giveaway, #instagramcontest, #iggiveaway, #contestalert, and other similar variations to find millions of examples of contests — or scroll down the list of inspiring examples below.
The following 11 giveaways demonstrate different contest strategies, entry methods, prize ideas and creative ways to promote your giveaway.
This is the simplest form of IG giveaway. Your audience enters by interacting with the post (through liking, commenting or sharing—and post importantly, following). This makes entering super easy; it’s low-effort, high-reward.
This Instagram contest includes sharing to a story as a form of entry…
… and this one involves saving the post…
…while this one asks users to comment (and tag friends in the comments section, more on that later) to enter.
Keep your marketing goals in mind when deciding your entry methods. Do you want to gain followers, get likes or comments, up your “share” stats, etc.?
Try to keep entering as simple as possible—confusing entry methods are a recipe for low engagement. Make entering your contest a lazy person’s dream.
Think about long-term growth when choosing entry methods. For example, “like to enter” only gets you likes on a single post, but “follow to enter” has the potential to earn you permanent supporters.
Asking users to tag their friends in the comments—and counting each of those comments as an entry—is basically an evil genius move. It means that the entrant’s friends will get notified when they’re tagged, encouraging them to also enter the contest.
If one user tags three friends, those three friends tag three more friends, and so on, pretty soon you’ll have taken over the world. Of course, not everyone will do this… we’re pretty certain that friendships have ended over serial tagging. Even so, it’s a very effective strategy for growth.
Tagging a friend is less of an evil genius move when it actually has something to do with your brand, or the giveaway itself. For example, if you’re giving away a spa package for two, you might ask folks to tag the person they’d bring with them if they won.
This contest for shirts that are dyed with blueberries (cool) asks users to “tag someone who is berry special” in the comments. They’re giving away two shirts, likely one to the contest winner and one to the tagged friend.
Make tagging a friend in the comments a method of entry to increase your giveaway’s reach.
Think about how tagging a friend can provide value to the user, as well—for example, you can give away two prizes (so the tagged friend also gets a prize). Otherwise, you risk your contest simply annoying all the tagged friends.
A new product launch is a great reason to host a contest—it helps create hype around the product and share news of the launch with your audience.
Plus, a fresh product automatically has more perceived value, even if the actual monetary value of the prize isn’t super high (for example, this giveaway of ready-to-eat boxed waffles).
Consider incorporating contests into your marketing strategy when launching new products.
Emphasize the “newness” of the product when promoting this contest—if possible, consider timing the contest so the winner is the first person to experience the product.
Collaborating with another brand or influencer automatically expands the reach of your giveaway because the contest has the potential to reach both your followers and your collaborator’s followers.
You can partner with a brand on both the contest promotion and the prize—for example, in the contest below, a reusable takeout container brand collaborated with a vegan food producer, and the prize includes products or services from both brands.
Or, a contest collaboration can just include a prize from one of the brands, while the other collaborator simply promotes the contest—as is the case with this wedding registry company x KitchenAid collab.
Either way, the most important factor in any collaboration is that your collaborator’s brand values align with your own. Reusable containers and vegan food producers both have the goal of sustainability, while the wedding registry company and KitchenAid have crossovers in their industries.
Partner with another brand to tap into a new audience for your giveaway.
Make sure that the brand’s values align with your own (in addition to this being a good practice in general, it also makes their followers more likely to love your content).
If it makes sense, make the prize include something from both brands.
You don’t really need an excuse to have a contest—people love free stuff at any time of year—but if you can celebrate a holiday or occasion with a contest, do it.
This can be a personal occasion (for example, your brand’s anniversary or reaching 2000 followers) or a publicly-recognized one (Valentine’s Day, Christmas, Mother’s Day).
This contest hosted by a grocer celebrates International Women’s Day by giving away a product from a female-owned company.
Centre your giveaway around an upcoming holiday or special date to give your contest a sense of timeliness and occasion.
If you can, make the contest prize something that relates to the occasion (for example, give away a zero-waste product for Earth Day or a candy cane-scented candle for Christmas).
When planning your contest, think about how you’re going to market it (after all, people can’t enter if they don’t know it exists). Create attention-grabbing—and informative—visual content to help spread the word about your giveaway.
For example, the Instagram contest below uses one long graphic posted as three separate carousel images. It creates a cool effect when scrolling, and also shares a lot of information about the contest and the prize without being too visually overwhelming.
Incorporate a marketing plan into your Instagram contest strategy.
Create visuals that communicate everything that users need to know about the contest, without bogging them down with information.
Consider using carousel posts with one super-sharable cover image, then details about the prize in later images.
When it comes to social media marketing, videos are the name of the game in 2023. Try making a Reel to draw viewers in and advertise your contest.
For the giveaway below, the creator made a Reel that first engages users with strong visuals and sounds (an ASMR-ish cooking video) and includes a contest in the description. He keeps the format simple, just like his non-contest Reels. It’s not simply a Reel that markets the contest; it provides value to his audience as well.
Use Instagram reels to market your contests and giveaways.
Make your giveaway reels match the rest of your content, so it doesn’t feel out of place.
Incorporate value beyond the contest announcement in the reel to make the video more engaging.
As a creator, paid partnerships are one of the best ways to make money on Instagram—and as a business, paid partnerships are a great method for expanding your target audience and getting some major street cred.
Do your research into creators or influencers that can help market your contest (and naturally, your business’s product) to find the perfect fit.
Partner with a trusted creator who has an impressive portfolio for the best results—for example, the adorable visuals in the paid partnership contest below.
If you’re a business running an Instagram contest, do your research into creators that may be able to help you promote it.
Once you’ve found the perfect creator, work with them to develop the contest content (and pay them for their work).
Make sure to mark all posts as a paid partnership, or risk Instagram removing the posts or flagging your account.
Photo contest have been around since the dawn of—well—cameras, and they’re a helpful strategy for connecting with artists and getting some awesome user-generated content.
If your page advertises products you can ask entrants to post a photo with your wares. You can also encourage your audience to post a photo that simply follows a theme.
Contests like these are also a great way to collect testimonials. You can ask users to share their favorite personal stories surrounding the brand, product, or ones that relate to your page’s ethos. The choice is yours, just make sure it’s made clear in the rules that you have the right to repost any of the entries.
When hosting a photo contest, make sure you have the resources and time to judge it.
Consider using the photo entries as user-generated content (with the photographer’s permission, of course).
Include in the rules that you have the right to repost any entries.
Hashtags make for a great way to host giveaways. Like a user-generated content contest, hashtag giveaways require entrants to post to their page or stories under a specific hashtag (you determine what that is yourself).
Ideally, what you’ll end up with is a hashtag with sizeable traffic. This format does not just allow you to easily keep track of entries. It also drives engagement with a specific hashtag, which the algorithm tends to take note of. A well-performing hashtag will drive traffic back to your Instagram post and your page.
Make sure to pick a hashtag that is unique enough that no one else is using it… for example, #goatsarefamily.
Choose a hashtag that your audience can use to enter your contest.
Make sure the hashtag is creative and that you’re the only one using it.
Track how popular the hashtag is, and how many entries you’re getting, to determine the success of the contest.
How many brands’ Instagram contests have you entered only to never hear from them again? Most of us totally forget about the contest post-entry. One way to keep the contest fresh in your audience’s minds (even if they don’t win) is to share the name of the winner.
Of course, ask the winner’s permission before you do this, and don’t give out any of their personal information. But sharing the winner helps prove your authenticity to users (and might inspire them to enter your next contest).
Once you’ve picked a winner of your giveaway, ask the person if their first name or Instagram handle can be shared online.
Share the winner’s name to confirm to your audience that you’re legit, and to encourage them to enter again.
Use Hootsuite to run your Instagram giveaway. From a single dashboard, you can schedule your posts, answer comments and DMs, and monitor engagement in real-time. Try it free today.
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The post 11 Instagram Giveaway Ideas That Will Get You New Followers appeared first on Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard.
Originally posted on January 5, 2023 @ 9:41 am