Social Media

Explore expert insights into social media trends with Croydon’s leading web design and digital marketing company. Tailored for SME business owners in South London and Surrey, our category page is the go-to resource for enhancing your digital presence and engagement

Instagram Influencers, what’s it about?

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With a recent BBC article indicating a backlash by brands on using Instagram stars and influencers, we take a closer look at the cause in such a booming digital age. We also delve deeper into how this can affect brands, whilst giving our own thoughts on the true integrity of Instagram and how it supports small business growth.

The article is founded upon consumer goods giant Unilever threatening to take a stand against fake Instagram influencers – those who buy followers with very little interaction in order to become attractive to firms looking to build a customer base. The article offers a range of examples of fraudulent behaviour from Instagram stars, with one Instagrammer using stock photos on his profile rather than his own in order to gain followers, and another using a ‘bot’ to show fake engagement – a key form of measurement for company’s looking to hire an influencer. It also highlights how unfair this is becoming on hardworking social media stars who spend a lot of time and effort developing unique content to attract a quality audience being out done by these fake influencers.

Is it all about follower numbers?

However, the piece also shows how small businesses can be productive in the way they avoid fake Instagram stars. With brands opting for influencers with less followers but good quality clout and engagement with these smaller numbers. As the saying goes – it’s quality not quantity that counts!

While you may not be looking to use influencers for your business, you can certainly take heed of the actions of large brands to help make your own Instagram feed stand out from the crowd. Small details such as imagery and relevant hashtags allow followers to track your brand, making it easier to grow engagement. Both relevant hashtags and insightful words can attract many new followers and help kickstart your account. This Smart Cow blog gives a more in-depth analysis of how exactly to grow a strong brand Instagram account from its setup too.

Social media agency Croydon

If you’re looking to create a digital marketing campaign using social media and want a little help, then get in touch with Smart Cow today.

Taking an Instagram story for a business

Instagram Stories for Businesses

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On average 300 million people use Instagram Stories around the globe, the photo and video sequences lasting 24 hours have gone viral, becoming an obvious step for new businesses aiming to enhance their social media reach. With this new age of digital marketing coming quickly upon us, it makes sense to become part of the conversation!

Instagram is a social media platform allowing people of all ages, whether using android or smartphone, to share pictures of their hobbies, lifestyle, family or even their favourite dog with friends and followers. This new platform has become incredibly popular, allowing you to tag other followers in pictures, with many brands growing untold amounts due to one tag from a celebrity as follower’s rush to buy what they’re promoting.

Instagram Stories have grown to become an integral part of a business’s social media presence, as well as helping increase awareness and ultimately the growth of your customer base. On average one in five Instagram Stories gets a direct message, that’s a lead, according to the Hootsuite article! The Stories have become an ideal way to keep your followers up to date with any news about your brand, allowing them to feel an increased interaction with you.

The diversity of Instagram Stories helps businesses create new ways of appealing to their customer bases, take the example of The New York Times showing followers behind the scenes pictures of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show giving fans a richer experience of its events. Ben & Jerry’s have used the Stories to break the news of fresh products to their range, giving followers a first glimpse at their ‘Non-dairy crew’. Whilst Maybelline New York had Instagram Influencer, Jordyn Jones, take over their feed for an inside look at New York Fashion Week, both her and the brand were able to harness relevant attention from the others audience, increasing their followers and therefore brand awareness.

Review the full article on Hootsuite’s blog which offers loads of tips on how to implement posting your story on Instagram. If you’re looking to create a digital marketing campaign and want a little help, then give Smart Cow a call on 020 3137 1826 or email today. A digital marketing agency in Croydon, we’re happy to help with any additional enquiries. 

Social channels and marketplaces

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Today, social media channels rule the business world, with 55% of consumers having made a purchase via a social media channel*. With this information to hand, it would seem erroneous to miss out on the world of social media and the amazing opportunities it can give your business.

Make use of what social channels offer you

Explore the options a social media platform can give you, to help boost your business. Facebook accounts for 19% of purchasing through social media channels**, but with channels such as Instagram recently having introduced a shopping function which allows you to create easy to use links on posts for potential customers to use there is clearly a demand for purchasing and selling via social media. Instagram’s shop. You also have access to important algorithms for analysis on how your posts are doing. Read our blog for more information.

Social networks, the new marketplace?

Nearly a 1/3 of shoppers say they use social channels to shop**. This is a huge chunk of consumers that you could be missing out on by not using all social media’s facilities. So, all you new and small businesses out there should be focusing on social media presentations. It is becoming more and more popular for social media platforms to offer buttons or links such as ‘install’, ‘buy now’ or ‘learn more’. A lot of brands have yet to use these shopping functions, so introducing this into your feed is a great way of separating you from the crowd and making a firm mark on the marketplace.

Social media Croydon

It makes sense to join the social media conversation. If you would like help to kick start your digital marketing strategy get in contact with us.

Sources: *Econsultancy ; **Marketing Week 

Create valuable social media content

Create valuable social media content

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People spend up to 0.7 seconds longer on tweets if they contain an image*, with this in mind it’s time to shake things up and really think about how you present social media content through images or videos.

In today’s modern age, visual aids are more important than ever. Having images or videos on your website or social media page could make the difference between gaining a customer or losing one.

Something as simple as taking an extra few minutes thinking or planning images to use, or how to best present your message visually, will make people stay on your page for longer and can help give your business a boost.

In 2015, an article in The Guardian asked, ‘would you be reading this article or would you be watching it in the future?’**. It’s an interesting concept and we are watching more and more. With the ability to film and take pictures on smart phones and share quickly via social media the costs for creating videos are non-existent, but what you do need is good and relevant content.

Use everything a social media platform offers you to your advantage. If the platform offers a live stream application then use it. If you can use hashtags, incorporate images and videos, add easy to use links to your website, then do it! Anything that is visual or interactive will be more attractive to potential customers.

Social Media marketing agency

Here at Smart Cow Marketing we will help your business’ social media take off. We can take control of your account and teach you how best to use social media channels like Facebook and Instagram.

Sources: *MarketingWeek **Theguardian.com

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