Here at 24 fingers HQ, we are always ones to jump on a bandwagon. Well, we kind of have to be, in order to be ahead of the latest social media trends, so that we can give you the lowdown on them. Which is why, when Instagram launched Threads this week, we were on that bandwagon faster than you can say Adam Mosseri.

So with that in mind, here’s Instagram Threads, all sewn up for you:

What is Threads?

Threads is Instagram’s answer to Twitter. Adam Mosseri, CEO of Instagram, has said that they wanted to “create a space where [people] could engage in public conversations that is friendly and that is open.”

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Adam Mosseri (@mosseri)

The idea behind Treads is to take the engaged community that’s already on Instagram and translate it into a space that emulates Twitter. Meta are prayin’ wishin’ and hopin’ that the community that create such great images, videos, Reels and Stories on Instagram will create the exact same thing on Instagram, only using text.

How do I get started on Threads?

One of the interesting and most excellent things about Threads is that it uses your Instagram profile. If you already have an Instagram account, setting up your Threads account should be seamless; just log in using your Instagram handle, and you’ll be given the options to not only import your bio and profile picture from Instagram, but you’ll also be able to follow everyone that you already follow on Insta.

From here, if you’re an existing user of Twitter, or simply vaguely tech savvy, you’ll find the Threads interface very simple to use. You’ll have a 500 character count to play with, and you can add up to 10 photos or videos.

You’ll also need to be aware that Threads doesn’t currently support hashtags; you can certainly use them in posts but they’re not clickable and do not affect your post’s reach. It also has an algorithm which will show you posts that it thinks you’ll like; it’s not clear yet how accurate this will be in terms of whether they actually are posts that will interest you or not, but time will tell 😬.

How can businesses benefit from it?

As with anything new, at the moment it will all be about experimenting with Threads to see how it could work for your brand and company’s social media presence. At the moment we can see that it’s great if you have more text-based messages to put out, without the need to think of a visual to go with it. However, we can see that as with most social media platforms, an image will always be more eye catching than simply text alone. Plus with all things social media, make sure you’ve got the time to devote to building up your presence on (yet another) social media platform.

If nothing else, it’s worth taking a look and seeing if you can get your brand in front of different people; we’re noticing quite a few followers on Threads who are not following us on Instagram, so there’s definitely fresh blood threads there.

Our initial thoughts on Threads? It’s got the best of Instagram all stitched up

So we’ve been playing around with Threads for the last two days, and it’s certainly got our 24 fingers tapping. It feels like the best of Instagram, if Instagram were text heavy; we love that the feed is chronological (whether this will remain as the app gets bigger remains to be seen) and doesn’t have a scroll limit, although beware that the lack of scroll limit can have your (24) fingers falling down a rabbit hole of ever-intwining threads.

You also have the same sort of controls as you do on Insta, such as limiting who can reply to you and hiding like counts. It has a clean look and feel, too, which makes it very easy on the eye.

So far, the verdict is in, and we’re giving Threads a very high thread count: it’s certainly the most excited we’ve been about a new social media platform for a while. And with Threads hitting 15 million users in the first 12 hours after its launch, it seems that other people are in stitches about Threads, too.

Want help with Threads? We’ll get you all sewn up: get in contact today.

Most of us have, from time to time, or even hours on end, dabbled in a little bit of Pinterest. Redecorating your child’s bedroom? There’s a board for that. Want somewhere to collect all of those craft patterns you’re going to try at some point? There’s a board for that. Planning a wedding? There’s a board for that, too. But Pinterest as a platform is more than just a rabbit hole of pretty things; it’s also a great tool for brands to use, particularly in relation to the Pinterest Predicts report.

Predicting the future: what is Pinterest Predicts?

Pinterest Predicts really is ahead of its time. The report is Pinterest’s annual trend forecast report, which looks ahead to discover some of the biggest trends for the year ahead. By it’s own admission, it’s a ‘not-yet-trending’ report, and its tagline of ‘Before you see it everywhere, see it here’ is scarily accurate, having maintained a 80% success rate for three year’s running.

Whilst many of us see Pinterest as beautiful indulgence, or a way to organise our lives and the things we love, it’s actually a powerful search engine in its own right. And the reason that Pinterest Predicts is so important when planning your social media campaigns is that each year Pinterest let you into their search data. You can even filter by audience (for example, Boomers, Gen X, Gen Z, Millennials), demographic and gender to really drill the data down to complement your own target audience.

Yes, a lot of the trends featured are pretty niche, but many of us can use the trends to a greater or lesser degree to both plan campaigns and inspire content.

How can Pinterest Predicts help with social media campaigns?

First things first, take a look through the Pinterest Predicts report. If there’s something in there that relates to your industry, get ahead of the trend and start thinking about and shouting about that trend on your socials right now.

For example, if you’re a fabulous hairdresser, why not think about how you can promote the Gemini Hair trend to your clients? Or if you’re a doula, or a self-care specialist, could you tap into the Fourth Trimester trend? Think ahead and see how you can make these trends, which will only be on the rise throughout this year, work for your brand.

Of course, you could use these trends to make Pinterest itself work in your favour, and create thumb-stopping pins which will drive traffic towards your business, but you can also use it to create content for other channels too: the visual nature of Instagram, for instance, is ideal to translate some of the trends into posts for this platform, and this could work well for your brand if, for example, you’re trying to attract local custom.

What inspiration can I take from the report?

If nothing else, and no niche fits, then at least have a little flick through Pinterest Predicts: you may be surprised by the inspiration you can take from it. Use the trends to inspire your campaign aesthetics; style your social media photography in this year’s Airy Styles trend, for example, or use All The Raves for the colours for your social media templates. Just remember that with every trend, it is only a trend that works for you if it suits your brand and your target audience.

Pinterest Predicts: we’re predicting successful social media for you and your brand in 2023

That’s right, you heard it here first: our not-yet-trending prediction for 2023 is that you and your brand can create successful social media campaigns for the year ahead. Not sure where to start? Get in contact. We can help you with your social media, whether you’re looking to get on board with the next big thing or just use hints of what Pinterest Predicts to create stand-out, thumb-stopping content. 

“How often should I post on social media in 2023?” That is the billion-dollar question.

If we had a pound for every time we’d been asked that question we’d be…well, we’d probably still be looking after people’s social media. Because that’s what we love doing.

But anyway, we digress: if we had a pound for every time we were asked, “How often should I post on social media in 2023?”, we’d probably have the billion dollars required to know the answer.

However, knowing the answer isn’t as simple as us telling you to post three times a week, on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Nor is it as simple as us advising that our clients post every day. It’s much more nuanced than that. Here’s why:

Social media isn’t one size fits all 

If you’ve come here looking for a magic figure for how often you should be posting on social media, we’re sorry, because you’re likely to be disappointed. Yes, we could tell you to post once a day on Instagram, and three times a day on Twitter, but we’d be doing you a disservice.

Firstly, as a small business, would you even have enough content to post that regularly? If the answer to that question is no, then the answer to how often to post is less frequently than this. The frequency that you post needs to be able to match your content creation capacity, and when you run a small business and are CEO, head of marketing, the accounts department, HR, and the chief cook and bottle washer to boot, we appreciate that you may not have the time to create content 24/7.

Quality over Quantity

Going hand in hand with posting frequency, there’s a reason that content is always king: it’s much better to put out good quality content twice or three times a week than putting out post after post which doesn’t hit the spot because it’s of inferior quality. If you’re posting just for the sake of it, then you’re actually likely to lose followers through the use of poor quality content.

Remember to keep your target audience in mind at all times when creating content, and follow your brand’s guidelines: keep your tone of voice consistent, use your brand’s colours throughout, choose high quality images and perhaps an infographic or two.

Consider the type of content you’re posting

Key for 2023 is choosing the right type of content in order to reach your goals. Different types of content will give different end results.

• Want to build your engagement and your community? Use Instagram Stories.
• Looking to connect with other B2B brands? Choose LinkedIn.
• Ready to see your followers grow? Instagram Reels, carousel posts and TikTok are great for reaching new audiences.
• Want to drive conversions? Make use of User Generated Content.

Knowing what your social media goals are will help you determine what type of content to use*, and this will then lead you to how often you post.

For example, Stories can be used every day, and more than once a day, as they’re great for behind-the-scenes and getting to know your audience. But Instagram Reels take time and a lot of effort (and sometimes, a swear word or two) and so you may wish to use these more sparingly, maybe once a week. Getting to know what works for you and what works towards your goals will help you to decide when to post, and what.

*And then the social media experts like us creep in and whisper “and actually, you should really be posting a mixture of all of the above, at regular intervals, to really make the most of your platforms.” It’s a juggling act. It really is. But that’s where your friendly social media agency steps in. Get in contact with us if you’d like to hear more about that.

Keep it consistent

Above all else, keeping it consistent on your social media is the best thing you can do. If you only have enough content to post twice a week? Then make sure you do post twice a week, every week. This way, you won’t upset the algorithms too much, and your followers will get to know when to expect content from you.

Need more help with how often to post on social media in 2023? Get in touch with 24 fingers

We get it. We really do. It’s difficult to know how often to post to keep your brand in your followers’ minds, and how not to be the brand equivalent of that annoying person that you can track their every move via their Facebook posts because they share EVERYTHING.

And this is where 24 fingers steps in: we can help you to create good quality, consistent content. We will know which types of content will help you to reach your social media goals. And we can even help you to manage your feeds and post consistently.

Get in contact today and we’ll help you with how often to post on social media in 2023.

For Instagram OGs, the recent announcement of a return to a chronological feed if we so choose it sounded like music to their reels. However, if you’ve not been around on everyone’s favourite photo and video sharing app since the beginning, you may well be wondering what all the fuss is about. Furthermore, following the announcement at the start of the year of the option to switch to a chronological feed if users wanted to view posts in that way, there was a lot of talk about what this would mean in practical terms, particularly for brands.

If you’re wondering just how the option to switch between feeds will work for you, here’s what brands need to know about the chronological Instagram feed:

How does the chronological Instagram feed work?

Before you get too excited about Instagram going back to its roots, you need to know that the default setting for everyone’s home feeds will still be the algorithm based feed. This means that for the most part,nothing much will change in the first instance. At the very least, until people get the feel for switching between feeds regularly. Your followers will still see you in their feeds if the algorithm deems your content relevant to them.

As an addition to this, you will also have the option to switch to either a chronological feed or a ‘favourite’ feed. This can be done by tapping on the Instagram logo in the top left hand corner.

And what does every change to the social media platform represent? Different options and different opportunities for brands.

Will the new Instagram feed options benefit my brand?

Many brands have welcomed the return of the chronological Instagram feed. And although we’ve said above that on first glance, it’ll look like not a lot has changed, there are definitely some opportunities to be had.

For starters, if people are switching to their chronological feeds regularly, then it’s likely that they’ll be seeing accounts in this feed that they haven’t seen for a long time; feeds which had previously been buried by the algorithm. This may mean that you’re suddenly re-exposed to followers who haven’t seen your content for a while: the perfect opportunity, therefore, to re-engage with these accounts.

Furthermore, if you’re chosen to feature in someone’s favourite feed, you’ll be reaching your absolute target audience: these people have chosen to have you in their feed, and so they’ll regularly be updated with your news, products and services.

Anything else that brands should know about the new Instagram feeds?

If you’re worried about yet another change to Instagram, just when you’d got your head around the thought of potentially having to dance around for Reels and baring your soul on Stories, fear not: yes it’s true that you may lose the odd follower – if you haven’t shown up in people’s feeds for a while thus far, it may be that you’re no longer relevant to them – but don’t stress yourself out over this too much; unengaged followers are not your target market.

If you embrace it – as you have every other Instagram change to date – then you may just find that the app works even more in your favour than it did previously. Content has always been king, and never more so than in this time of personalised feeds. Accounts that add value will find themselves in their followers’ favourites in no time.

Not quite ready to step back in time? Let 24 fingers help you with everything chronological Instagram feed

If you’re not quite ready to embrace the future of Instagram, which is, erm, based on the past, then get in contact with 24 fingers. We have all the fingers you need to help manage those feeds. From the algorithm through to the chronological Instagram feed, we can help your brand to make the most of the platform.

LinkedIn has long been the business social media platform of choice. And with business networking and growth at the forefront of the platform’s mind, they’ve got something a little exciting up their shirt sleeve: The business platform has launched their very own digital magazine to give you their LinkedIn best tips. As many businesses begin the process of opening up again post-lockdown, these new insights from LinkedIn will be welcome reading as we all start to move our brands forward again.

What can you expect from the new LinkedIn magazine?

If you want some hints and tips for how to use LinkedIn to your brand’s advantage, the new Ready for Business 2021 magazine is where it’s at. In LinkedIn’s own words:

“Ready for Business 2021 explores everything that’s involved in using digital marketing to drive growth and get your strategy moving. There’s detailed insight on identifying your highest-value audiences and engaging them when they’re at their most receptive. We dig deep into the growing importance of trust and thought leadership content in a post-pandemic world, highlight the changing nature of B2B buyer journeys, and share stories and strategies for how your marketing can inspire, entertain – and engage the ready for business mindset at scale.”

The magazine can either be downloaded or read online, and with an initial flick through of our 24 fingers, it’s packed full of hints and tips for how to do business on LinkedIn. With everything from how we should change our marketing strategies for a post-pandemic world, through to how to create great video ads, there’s something for everyone, and each and every brand can adopt some of the tips from the magazine. The tips include, but are certainly not limited to:

• How to gain your follower’s trust by building your brand’s character. This could include being willing to take a stand on things that are important to them and enlisting employees as advocates.
• How to develop B2B content that hits the mark, i.e. through carving your niche and becoming a go-to source.
• Weighing up the risks and opportunities in rebranding.

Plus much more besides, and plenty of different topics covered so that everyone from newbies to social media through to those brands who are slightly more experienced LinkedIn marketeers can learn something new.

Why your business needs a presence on LinkedIn now more than ever

With much of the world going digital during this past year, your business needs a presence online. And even if you hate social media, or if Instagram and TikTok aren’t for you, LinkedIn could be the place where you find your tribe.

And the new business growth magazine that the platform is putting out there is proof of this: LinkedIn is very much a business-first platform. It’s where you can network online with peers, colleagues and clients effortlessly, so long as you’re putting the right content out there. The platform’s commitment to putting out a business growth magazine is further proof that it’s serious about helping to move business forward and help them to gain traction on their platform, and you can use the tips in the magazine to do exactly that.

Still not sure how to gain a presence on LinkedIn? We’ve got you

If you’ve read LinkedIn’s Ready for Business 2021 magazine and you’re still all fingers and thumbs about what you should and shouldn’t be doing on the platform, do you want to know the other place where your business should be? That’s right, here at 24 fingers HQ. We can turn our hands to giving you a presence on LinkedIn – or on any of the other social media platforms, for that matter – so that you can enjoy some of that business growth we’ve been talking about. Get in contact if you’d like to know how our hands can help to grow your business in the world of social media.

 

Many of us have a love-hate relationship with social media. Many more of us have a favourite platform, and one which we really don’t get on with. But for many businesses, social media is a great way of getting your brand out there. So what do you do if you’re a business owner who really, really, absolutely, categorically hates social media?

Haters gonna hate, but in this day and age of social media being one of the most effective ways to get your business in front of the right audience, there are some things that you can do – indeed, need to do – to get your business out onto social media. Even if you personally couldn’t give two Hootsuites whether your latest post gets 459 or 4 likes.

Here’s a handy hater’s guide to marketing on social media when you hate social media:

1. Play to your strengths

We all know that this is key in anything that we do, and social media is no exception this. Do what you do well within your business, but just do it on social media. So if networking if your thing, go about networking on social media (FYI, LinkedIn is great for this).

If your business thrives on the personal relationships you build with your clients, write your copy and your captions in such a way that that personal touch comes across. And, while you’re at it, make sure you reply to those comments you’re bound to receive from all of the engagement you’ll be creating, too. You’ll soon be building up a rapport with potential future clients on your social media channels.

As with anything, do what you’re good at, and the results will often follow.

2. Concentrate on one thing and do it well

Again, just like other business strategies, social media is often about finding your niche. This could be finding the channel that works for you; Instagram, for example, works really well for brands that are very visual, but may not be the right platform for very dry, technical industries, who may prefer to hang out on LinkedIn.

Similarly, you don’t have to adopt all of the features on all of the platforms. You may find that one grid post a week on Instagram and daily stories is enough; you don’t have to be all singing, all dancing with reels and IGTV if it’s not your thing.

If you spread yourself too thinly, you’ll find that everything is a bit half hearted, and if you’re already erring on the side of hating social media, not getting the results because you’re not doing any one thing well will not be the basis of a long lasting love affair with the socials.

3. You may be pleasantly surprised

Yes we know, it can be super annoying when your mate’s sister’s cousin constantly posts pictures of what she ate for her dinner, and yes we know not everyone is interested in their annoying work colleague’s hundreds of blurry photos from their latest night out, but social media is so much more than that nowadays.

For starters, many people don’t want to be that cliché, and therefore actively work to avoid sharing these sorts of posts. Secondly, if you do really hate social media as much as you say you do, then just use it purely for business purposes. View it as another marketing tool. And do you know what? You may find that talking to your target audience via carefully thought-out posts is actually quite enjoyable. You’ll soon find your (business) tribe. And that can make social media a really rather pleasant place for brands to be.

 4. Still hate social media? Get a team of social media lovers (ahem, 24 fingers) to do the dirty work for you

What can we say? Haters really are going to hate. But that’s what we’re here for. There’s nothing we love more than taking a brand and bringing it to life via the medium of social media. As much as you hate social media, we love it, and it really is worth getting in contact and getting us on board to do the dirty beautiful, fun, results-bringing work for you.

After all, when it comes to social media: what’s not to love?

Instagram has always had a mobile-first approach. Which is great, if you’re out and about and using the app as it was originally intended, to post insta(nt) photos of what you’re up to. But let’s face it, it’s no longer 2010, and in the last ten years or more, many of us are now seeing the benefits of using Instagram for our businesses. As such, wouldn’t it be really, really handy to occasionally be able to post to your Instagram feed from your desktop? Well, we’re here to tell you that with a click of one of our 24 fingers, it’s no longer a pipe dream.

Instagram plans to allow for desktop posting

Although there are lots of features that can be used on Instagram from your desktop, annoyingly, the most important aspect of the platform – posting photos to your Instagram grid – isn’t one of them. Rumour has it though, that Instagram is currently planning to allow users to create posts from their desktop. There are reports that Instagram is working on including a button to post photos directly from your desktop to your Instagram feed.

Initial ideas and images suggest that users will then have the opportunity to edit the image, as you do on the mobile app. This includes choosing the aspect ratio of your image and picking filters, as well as the expected options to add a caption, tag people and add your location information.

Our 24 fingers will be poised to give Instagram a massive high five if this functionality is rolled out to desktop users: it’s been sorely missed by many a business owner who prefers creating social media content from the desktop, for example if your images are stored on an online server or if you’re simply more efficient on desktop than mobile. So let’s keep our collective fingers crossed that Instagram give it the green light.

 

And until then, how can you post to Instagram from your desktop?

Although it will be fab if Instagram roll out the ability to post from your desktop, this all very much appears to be in the initial stages at the moment – if it happens at all. So until then, what can the desktop lover do to make Instagram work for them?

Well, there are ways and means around it. And our 24 fingers are tapping away at the computer keyboard constantly, making them work for our clients, and regularly posting from the desktop. We may even have our ways and means of posting to your stories from the desktop, too.

Want to know more about how you can post to Instagram from your desktop? Get in touch and you’ll be just a few short clicks away from posting to Instagram directly from your desktop.

Let’s face it, we’ve all had times when we’ve popped a post up on Instagram, and…well…nothing. Or at least, not a lot. Sometimes, posting on social media feels a bit like shouting into the abyss. And almost without fail, it’s the post that you really worked hard on, and really want to do well, that is the one that bombs. But what if there was a failsafe way that you could guarantee engagement on your posts? Wouldn’t you snap our 24 fingers off? For many Instagramers, this is why they enter into the world of engagement pods.

But, before you nestle yourself in amongst your fellow peas in one of those aforementioned engagement pods, let us have a little word in your shell-like: do your research, and know what you’re getting into. Because we’re here to tell you that Instagram engagement pods, unfortunately, don’t always work.

What is an engagement pod?

Of course, you may be wondering what on earth an Instagram engagement pod even is. Well, the long and the short of it is several Instagrammers who form a group (or ‘pod’) in order to increase the engagement on each other’s posts.

The usual set up is that once a day, you all share the link to what you’d like boosted. This is either in a private message on Instagram itself or on another platform entirely, such as WhatsApp. Everyone in the pod then goes and leaves a bit of love on the post. This is done through adding comments, likes or shares to each other’s posts, usually within a short space of time in order to trick the algorithm into thinking your post is the most popular thing since sliced bread.

A great way of boosting engagement, yes? Well, yes and no. Yes, you can get lots of likes and comments very quickly, which is always an ego boost if nothing more.

But unfortunately the algorithm is cleverer than we think, and becoming cleverer by the day.

Don’t lower yourself to the level of the bots

So, as we were saying, the algorithm is cleverer than we think: in 2018, Instagram announced that it was committed to reducing inauthentic activity. This included cracking down on bots, fake accounts, spam and, yep, you’ve guessed it, artificial engagement.

And you may wonder how it can tell that you’re using an engagement pod. A like’s a like, right? Like, it is, but like, when it comes from the same set of users on every post, and the same sort of comments are applied to your posts time and time again, the algorithm can certainly don its super sleuth outfit and keep an eye on inauthentic activity. And if Instagram does suspect your account of using an engagement pod to boost your likes and comments, it could suppress the reach of your post. Or worse: you run the risk of being banned from the platform altogether *gulps*.

There’s a lot to be said for authenticity

Aside from the risk of being given the boot from Insta, there’s much to be said for being authentically you. We’re not about to get all motivational quote on you, but think about it: if you’re an influencer and it transpires you’re using an engagement pod to boost your likes and comments, you won’t appear to have that engaged following you sold your services on originally.

And for brands who are part of a pod, unless it’s very much in line with your niche, do you want to be commenting on other people’s posts as your brand? Besides, the usual ‘nice photo’ comment won’t cut the mustard; you need to make sure it’s meaningful if you want to trick the algorithm, which can be time consuming. Furthermore, likes very much do not equal sales when they come from engagement pods; these people are your peers, sometimes your competition, so they are less likely to buy from you than organic followers.

And on top of all of this, if you’re skewing your analytics with fake engagement, how are you going to work out how your posts are really doing, going forward?

Be less engagement pod, and more your own little pea

If you do decide not to go down the route of using an engagement pod, what can you do to boost your engagement naturally? Well, if you’ve been listening to anything that your Aunty 24 fingers has been telling you for the past however long, there are lots and lots of things you can do:

• Put good quality content out there.
• Build your network and find your own little tribe.
• Engage naturally with other accounts as they are likely to take note and engage back.
• Post consistently to both your feed and your stories.
• Be yourself: no one else does *that* thing that you do so well, so sell that.

And if you need more ideas for increasing your Instagram engagement, we’ve got a course for that. If you want to know more, get in touch and let our very own 24 fingers drop some love on your posts in the form of good quality, engaging social media planning, training and management.

If you’re on any of the social media platforms, you’ve probably asked yourself countless times, how do you go about growing your followers? And when it comes to Instagram, a platform which is really working wonders for many brands’ sales, it really pays to grow your Instagram followers.

If you’re looking to grow your Instagram followers, there are definitely tips and tricks that you can use to build your follower numbers. Tips and tricks which don’t involve badgering your mum, your mate’s cousin’s sister and your dog into following you under duress. So before you go about asking Rover for a follow back, here are our top 24 tips for growing your Instagram:

1. Choose your Instagram content wisely

First things first, you are never going to grow your following if what you post isn’t relevant to your audience and your brand. This means producing images that work well and are optimised for Instagram, as well as those which are consistent with your brand. A good way to consider it is: if someone searches a hashtag and sees your image on the explore page, are they going to be intrigued enough to click on it? If the answer’s no, then they’re not likely to land on your page and add to your follower numbers. Booo.

2. Develop a theme

Curating your content is one of the best ways to gain new followers. The aim of developing a theme is to instantly make new people who land on your Instagram grid want to follow you, simply because your grid looks so beautiful / interesting / colourful*, *delete as applicable*.

It’s really simple to curate your feed and develop a theme, too, although it does take a bit of work and getting used to. However, simple ways of developing a theme include using the same colours and tones in all of your posts, using the same filters or presets on all of your images, or having a common element throughout to create cohesion. By doing this, your followers will instantly recognise your posts when they appear in their feeds, and it will also reiterate and endorse your brand and the consistency it offers.

3. Use your Instagram bio

Your Instagram bio is prime real estate, but you’ve only got 150 characters, so it’s important to use it wisely. It’s often the first impression of your Instagram feed, so you need to make sure it’s snappy and compelling, so that people decide to follow you. Remember to include a CTA and a link to your website, too, as this is the only place that you can include a link on Instagram (although if you want the secrets of how to get around that, get in touch and let us give you the tips of the trade for getting more out of your Instagram link – just saying).

4. Develop a good relationship with your audience

By developing a good relationship with your audience, you’ll be able to work out what they like and dislike about your posts and those of your competitors. Look at what your competitors are posting; what’s working well for them, and is this type of post something that you can incorporate into your social media schedule to increase your relevance and therefore your followers?

5. But don’t overshare

We all know people who overshare on social media (you know the types – at any given time you know where they are, what they’re doing and what they’re having for dinner, too). And for personal accounts, this is absolutely fine.

However, for professional accounts, you need to make sure that whatever you’re posting is in keeping with your brand. Posting a photo of you as Director of your company in the thick of some of the behind-the-scenes action is absolutely fine; posting your holiday snaps to your company page, unless they’re somehow relevant to your brand, is maybe going a bit far. Whenever you’re worried about oversharing, ask yourself whether it’s something that your followers would like to see in relation to your brand; these last five words are crucial as it needs to move your brand forward, always.

6. Don’t see your followers as numbers

Yes, of course, this article is all about growth, and growth on Instagram in the most literal sense is follower numbers. But just as a watched pot never boils, watching your followers constantly won’t help you in the long run. This is the reason for getting to know your followers and your audience; it’s always better to have a small but engaged audience than a large, indifferent one. So spend some time interacting with your followers: reply to their comments and messages, set polls and questions in your Stories and generally treat them like the human beings that they are.

7. Build your network

When it comes to Instagram, there is definitely an element of ‘if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’. By this we mean, grow your network through the actual ‘networking’ bit. Go and seek out your target audience to follow, as well as others in your industry or local brands, and they might just give you a cheeky follow back as a show of support.

8. Set up an account swap

If you do build your network effectively, you will likely get to a point where you can set up an account swap with some of your followers. This could be in the form of an account or Stories takeover for a day, which is a great way to show off what you do to their audience, and vice versa.

9. Show your face

People buy from people. So where relevant, include photos of you or your team. Images with faces will naturally increase engagement on Instagram, as people want to feel like they’re interacting with another person. If you can’t include an image with faces in, using an image which is a point-of-view can help to increase engagement as it makes your followers feel like they’re part of what you’re showing them. In your face…

10. Add value

Remember that when you post, you should be telling a story which shows your audience what value you can add to their lives. Don’t go generic; get your audience invested in what you’re talking about and how you can help them. If you can, try to elicit some emotion with your posts: this could be making them laugh or inspiring them, or making them feel part of your team or in da club, for example.

11. Use a call to action

When it comes to engagement, there is no harm in using a call to action to specifically ask people to interact with your posts, as long as it’s subtle. This could be asking your followers to tag their friends who could benefit from what you’re offering, or asking a question and asking them to comment with their answers. The former will certainly help to grow your Instagram, as when your followers tag their friends, it will bring new people over to your feed, all of whom are potential new followers.

12. Give shoutouts

Collaborating with someone? Had some great service from someone? Don’t forget to give them a shoutout on your Instagram. This can help to build your following, if they or their followers come and give you a follow. It’s also good karma: you’re telling your audience how great they are, and in return they are likely to give you shoutouts in future, which will introduce their followers to you.

13. Work with influencers

Similar to shoutouts, but on a much more formal basis, working with influencers is a great way of getting your content and products in front of a different audience. It can be a great ROI, as they sing your praises to their followers for you, which should bring their followers flocking to your feed, too.

Whether you decide to simply engage with influencers in the hope of it helping to grow your following, as they might naturally fall in love with your page and your products and share what you offer with their own followers, or pay some influencers (whilst following all of the relevant ASA guidance, of course) is up to you and how much return you would like to see from working with influencers.

14. Use User Generated Content (UGC)

User Generated Content (UGC) is a simple way of getting your followers – and potential new followers – involved. UGC is taking photos that your followers have posted and have tagged you in, and using them to your best advantage. They might be good enough (and consistent with your theme enough) that you can use them on your grid, but if you don’t feel that they fit your theme, adding them to your Stories is a great option. Once your followers and potential followers know that their images might get shared in your feed, they are more likely to tag you so that you can repurpose their images.

As a side note: it’s always polite to ask if you can share someone else’s image (unless it’s really obvious that they’re happy for you to do so). Why not ask your audience to tag you in their posts? This is a really easy way of generating more content for your feed and keeping your followers engaged. Win, win.

15. Post consistently

Posting regularly will really help to build your followers. You’ll have more posts for people to find via hashtags or on the explore page, and your followers will know when to expect posts from you, meaning that they will know when to check in and see what’s new with you. This consistency will help people to rely on your feed and follow you.

16. Post to stories

Yes, we know, Stories is just another aspect of social media that you’ve got to keep up with, but it’s really worthwhile posting to Stories regularly. It’s a much more informal way of keeping your followers up to date with what you’ve got going on, and the fleeting nature of them means that people often engage with them really quickly, but they make a huge impression.

They’re great for sharing behind-the-scenes content, for example, which will help to build the authenticity of your brand. Use polls and questions for engagement, and you’ll often find that people start talking about how great your stories are, which will bring more followers to your page. 

17. Use Reels

Now we really are getting into the realms of having to teach slightly more mature dogs new tricks, but Reels have taken off with a huge amount of popularity. Once you get the hang of them, you’ll see that there’s loads you can do with them, and they can often be really fun and engaging. For example, if you’re a clothing brand, why not use Reels to create a fashion show of several different looks? You can use the same model throughout, just stopping the video for outfit changes, and content such as this has potential to not only appear on the explore page, but also go viral.

18. Use hashtags

This is a no brainer on Instagram, as hashtags help to get your content in front of different people. In fact, by tagging away, your content will be found more easily by those that don’t already follow you…and then, of course, they might just follow you, and your Instagram numbers will grow. #hashtagwinningallovertheshop.

19. Use the right hashtags

Of course, your hashtags need to be relevant in order to attract the right audience. It’s no good if your Instagram followers are growing but they aren’t people that would buy from you or invest in your brand. Therefore, research the most popular hashtags for your industry and use the tags that are relevant to you.

Remember that if you’re a small brand who wants a local following, many locals often follow localised hashtags, such as #BrentwoodBusiness, so it’s worth researching which of these to use, too. If you’re not sure what would work well for your industry or business, get in touch and let us do the heavy lifting for you.

20. Create a branded hashtag

Of course, hashtags don’t always need to be those used by others. In fact, sometimes, you might want a hashtag which is unique to your brand or your marketing campaign. By creating a custom hashtag for your marketing campaigns, such as #50SquidforSFH for our recent charity campaign, your followers, or even those just interested in the campaign, can easily find your posts. And if your followers start tagging their posts with your campaign hashtag? Well, that’s another route to finding that aforementioned User Generated Content.

21. Host a giveaway

Holding a giveaway can really build your following very quickly. Everyone loves to try their luck at winning something, and if you ask your followers to tag a friend and follow your page as a condition of entry, you may find that other likeminded users arrive for the giveaway but stick around for the long term.

22. Pay for an ad

Sponsored posts are a really good way of gaining followers. If you target the ad audience, you’ll find that your grid posts or stories are put in front of relevant people, who are the likely to come and follow your page if they like what they see. Not sure who or how to target the ad? We’ve got a course for that.

23. Geolocation tagging

A really simple trick: remember to tag your posts with your business location if you can, or if you’re out and about – for example at meetings or on a photoshoot – use that location. People who are searching for that location in the explore page may well find your content this way. And if they happen to be looking for a local photographer who happened to tag their location at their recent photoshoot, for example, they may well come and follow your page.

24. Marketing outside of Instagram

Of course, you can also market your Instagram account outside of the app itself: on your website, on email newsletters, on your business cards and printed material…you name it, you can put your Instagram handle on it. This is a really simple but effective way of driving people to your account who may not have come across it otherwise, growing your Instagram from outside of the app.

24 tips to grow your Instagram not enough? Let our 24 fingers get to work

And if this little lot isn’t enough for you, book in for your free Instagram consultation. Our 24 fingers can get to work with even more tips and tricks to grow your Instagram followers. We’ll soon have you at that hallowed 10k.

Let’s face it: over the past year, we’ve all had a lot more time on our hands to be scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. And while social media has been fantastic at keeping us all connected during these times when we can’t physically be together, if you’re a brand looking to make a connection with your followers, how often you post on social media in 2021 is key.

The thing is, you need to keep your brand visible on social media. That’s a given. But equally, you don’t want to be the brand equivalent of that annoying person that posts 5,897 photos of their adorable child in 4,783 different poses / outfits / locations* (*delete as applicable…and, erm, author of this post, take note for your own personal social media, please).

So exactly how often should you post on social media in 2021? Here’s how to tread that fine line of both quantity and quality in your social media posting this year:

Consistency is key

Ok, we bang on about this a lot here at 24 fingers. But as with everything that keeps your brand out there, consistency really is key. With this in mind, there is no definite right or wrong answer as to how often you should post on social media in 2021. We’d love to give you a magic formula – that you should be posting X amount of times per day – but the long and the short of it is, posting consistently and at a frequency realistic for you and your business, is what you should be aiming for.

What do we mean by this? Well, you need high-quality content, and you need to be posting as regularly as you can keep up with creating that high-quality content. It’s no good posting every day for a week, and then not posting for three weeks; the algorithm will simply not be your friend if you do that, particularly on Instagram and Facebook. Therefore, if you know that you can keep up with creating and posting three good quality posts a week, stick with that, and post them consistently, every week. Be like water, not fire…

Quality over quantity

Quality really does trump quantity when it comes to how often to post. You could post consistently, every day, for years, but if your posts are poor quality or not relevant to your audience, then you simply won’t build your follower base or engagement. This is especially true during a global pandemic when the world and her husband are shouting for your attention on the digital platforms.

When creating your content therefore, keep your audience in mind. This could be through the use of infographics, your social media tone of voice, and, of course, by using high-quality, relevant images. Perhaps help that engagement along a little bit with the use of polls and by asking questions, or by encouraging your followers to share your content. Even if you only post a few times a week, these actions will help to increase your followers and will keep your followers engaged with what you are posting.

And just to do a u-turn on what we’ve said: hello Stories

Just when we’ve told you that you’re better off posting consistently and well rather than frequently and poorly, we’re about to introduce you to Stories. Particularly popular on Instagram, but increasingly important on LinkedIn and Twitter too, Stories (or Fleets if we’re talking Twitter) really do break the rule book when it comes to how often to post.

The great thing about Stories is that because they only remain visible for 24 hours (unless you add them to your highlights) you can afford to be a little more free and easy with them. They’re perfect for those times when you want to share something in real-time; you could share what goes on behind the scenes in a typical day, for example, or, in the days when we could go to events, share updates from the happenings at said event.

Alternatively, you could use your Stories to share your best tips for your something within your industry, for example. And don’t forget that if your followers tag you, you may be allowed to reshare their posts, too, which is a great way of building engagement.

And when it comes to Stories, more really is more: the more frequently you post to your stories, the more likely you will be to appear at the top of your followers’ feeds, as new content is ‘pushed’ towards the front of feeds, thus increasing your chances that your followers will click on your story to see what you’re up to. So with this in mind, save your wow content for your main posts, but to a certain extent, feel free to share the lesser quality content on your stories. 

Don’t have enough hours in the day or fingers in the team to post consistently? Get in touch

Of course, it’s all very well us saying that you need to post consistently, but we appreciate that this is easier said than done. If you could do with an extra hour (or a hundred) in the day get in touch: our 24 fingers will happily go to work making sure your social media channels are posted to consistently to keep your brand at the forefront of your followers’ feeds. Boom.

We’re 24 fingers, a digital marketing agency and a proud member of the 42 Club, Brentwood Chamber of Commerce, Excel Business Networking Group, the Trusted Business Community, the Organisation for Responsible Businesses and the Rotary Club of Brentwood à Becket. We help companies who are all fingers and thumbs with their social media grow their business and brand. Book your free strategy call here