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Making The Most Of Your Instagram Account by Leslie Krukowski

June 18, 2018 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

It’s time to get noticed and gain followers on one of the fastest growing social media platforms!

If you have a highly visual communication style, Instagram is the social media platform for you.  Anyone with an affinity for their camera can gain a great following –travel, style, and food bloggers, as well as artists, have really taken advantage of the amazing visual capabilities of this platform. Plus, it has seen exponential growth over the last few years. If you are ready to start utilizing Instagram for yourself, here are some important tips!

Take a good photo.

Make sure you photograph has good composition and good lighting.  If the photo isn’t good enough, keep taking pictures until you get one that is. I cannot stress that enough.

Once you have your picture, what filter are you going to use (if any)?

Instagram allows you to choose between several filters within the app itself. The filter that has garnered the most Instagram “likes” is Clarendon, second is Gingham, and third is tied between Juno and Lark. Take your time and choose the filter that honestly makes your photo look better (or more dramatic or softer or whatever feeling you’re going for!)

Proper Use of Hashtags

Using hashtags in your Instagram posts is extremely important to gain attention! It’s a little different than using hashtags on Twitter, which describe the topic of conversation. On Instagram, hashtags should describe your content or your photo.

Hashtags, when used properly, will help gain followers because people on Instagram are looking for photos and videos based on hashtags. For example, #glutenfree, #puremichigan, #beach, #cat, and #dog are some very popular!  If you are unsure of what hashtag to use, do a little research and find similar photos to see what other people are using.

Getting the Right People to Follow You

After you have your page started and you’ve posted your first pictures with the right hashtags, it’s time to find followers. The first thing you want to do is follow all the people that you feel are relevant to you or your brand/business. Once you follow some of those businesses, then you can go into those business pages and can see who follows them. Take initiative and follow all those people too. It will seem like you are following a lot of people with very few following back at first, but that won’t last long.

Now, the hard work begins. You need to engage with the people you are following.  Like their photos and comment when appropriate. When other people see that you are engaging, then you will become more attractive for them to “like” as well. You will attract friends of the people you are engaging with, which should be people you want to attract towards your business as well!

As a social media manager, I love Instagram. I feel that it’s a great way to reach out for very little cost (Facebook has become difficult to navigate for businesses, not to mention expensive!). Instagram is a great alternative for many businesses or professional individuals. Don’t be afraid to explore the options out there. Facebook isn’t the only game in town!


Leslie Krukowski is the principal, CEO, and main consultant of Black Dog Business Group. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in English and sub-concentrations in both marketing and business management. After spending several years in management, marketing, and social media marketing positions, she received a Master’s Degree in Administration. She has proven success in managing large groups of people and loves leadership development. Leslie has two black dogs at home, Bertuzzi and Scout. Feel free to reach out to her at leslie@blackdogbusinessgroup.com for a free initial consultation.

Filed Under: best practices, guest blogger, social media Tagged With: Black Dog Business Group, hashtags, Instagram, Leslie Krukowski, social media, social media marketing

Facebook Tips for Small Businesses by Leslie Krukowski

March 19, 2018 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

So, you created a Facebook page for your business, and you shared it with all of your friends. Now what?

Posting what your business is doing once in awhile may not be sufficient. Stating the obvious—”I’m a great person to buy insurance from,” or “Visit my store”—creates no excitement or interest in your audience. They’re scrolling through thousands of items in their Facebook feed, so you need to stand out!

You need to:

  1. Make your post visually appealing.
  2. Make them want to DO SOMETHING.

Make Your Post Visually Appealing
As a business owner, you want to create a post or ad that’s visually appealing and that makes a potential customer want to either click on your link or visit your location. That mean’s there MUST be a graphic. It could be a photo, a short video, or a meme, as long as it looks good.

Make Them Want to Do Something
To urge your audience to do something, include a Call To Action (or CTA, as most social media managers say). For example, if you’re hosting a flash sale, you can make it visually appealing by including a graphic like the following:

Then your description could be a CTA explaining that the sale is for a limited time, and asking the viewer to visit your store or click on a link. I recently ran this ad for a customer, and it generated almost $500 in sales within two days!

Those two things will help your posts stand out, but here are a couple of more tricks to help you navigate Facebook.

Increase Exposure
When you are first starting on Facebook, a great way to increase exposure it to boost posts or pay for ads. When you do that, Facebook lets you set your audience to a specific demographic.

For example, you can make sure that your ad is only seen by women, aged 25-55, with a median income of $45-$75,000 that live in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. You can broaden or narrow your demographic as much as you would like. If you have an e-commerce site, you can even embed a Facebook Pixel code into your site, so you can target your ads to people who have visited your site before. That will let products that they have viewed on your website show up on their Facebook feed! Pretty slick, huh?

Another way to increase exposure is to start a private Facebook group. Groups work great for artists, writers, or businesses that have a following, and for retailers, like sports outfitters, mountain bike shops, and ski shops, who already have a specific audience. Any business with a following or fan base can benefit from creating a private group.

Facebook groups allow your fans to form a community where they can gather and communicate with each other as well as with your business. It provides a streamlined form a communication between everyone without having to worry about paying for ads. The downside to a private group is that it’s, well — private, so not everyone will see what’s going one (but that’s more incentive to join your group!).

Social media is ever-changing, and Facebook seems to be in the midst of many changes as we this post is being written. Regardless of what’s happening with algorithms and news feeds, just remember:

Keep it visual, include a call to action, and keep posting!

Good luck!

—

Leslie Krukowski is the principal, CEO, and main consultant of Black Dog Business Group. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in English and sub-concentrations in both marketing and business management. After spending several years in management, marketing, and social media marketing positions, she received a Master’s Degree in Administration. She has proven success in managing large groups of people and loves leadership development. Leslie has two black dogs at home, Bertuzzi and Scout. Feel free to reach out to her at leslie@blackdogbusinessgroup.com for a free initial consultation.

Filed Under: best practices, social media Tagged With: Black Dog Business Group, Leslie Krukowski

Three Ways to Improve Your Online Presence, One Blog

January 22, 2018 by Karin Beery Leave a Comment

  

Running a business requires more than one skill set. It’s not enough to create the products your selling or provide a certain service – you also need to have a good understanding of finances, accounting, marketing, customer service, etc.

Or you need to know someone else who understands those things.

As a copywriter, I love to share tips about how businesses and organizations can improve their online presence, but there’s more to it than just writing. That’s why I’m partnering with two other professionals who have the knowledge and experience it takes to strengthen a brand. I’m excited to announce my partnership with graphic designer Sierra Kellermeyer of S. Kellermeyer Designs and social media strategist Leslie Krukowski of Black Dog Business Group.

Sierra Kellermeyer who helps business owners who are tired of their marketing efforts pulling “okay” results. She helps them stand out online by designing a noteworthy visual brand that attracts their ideal clients effortlessly. She says, “My favorite part of brand design is the marriage of creativity and strategy. I’m not simply creating something beautiful, I’m creating something beautiful that works and has a purpose.”

There’s a lot of misconception about visual branding, with people thinking it’s just about looking good, but it’s more than that. “Your visual brand is a communication tool, and if you’re only trying to make something that looks nice, rather than telling your audience about your business, you’re missing out.”

Sierra will be sharing her visual branding tips in February, May, August, and November. In the meantime, you can find her online at:

https://www.skellermeyerdesigns.com/
https://www.facebook.com/skellermeyerdesigns2014/

Leslie Krukowski is the principal, CEO, and main consultant of Black Dog Business Group. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in English and sub-concentrations in both marketing and business management. After spending several years in management, marketing, and social media marketing positions, she received a Master’s Degree in Administration.

Leslie understands the power of social media (having attracted out-of-state clients through her effective use of posts and hashtags), and she wants to help other business owners learn how to harness it too. By staying up-to-date with algorithms, trends, and social media best practices, she has helped businesses grow their audiences and improve sales.

Leslie will be sharing her social media tips in March, June, September, and December. You can find her online at:

https://www.blackdogbusinessgroup.com/
https://www.facebook.com/blackdogbusinessgroup/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/25019406/
https://www.instagram.com/blackdogbusinessgroup/

I’ll still be sharing my content tips as well, but I’m thrilled to be able to offer so much more on this blog, and I hope you’ll join us to learn more about how you can strengthen your online presence!

Do you have any questions for the experts? If so, please leave a comment below!

Did you find this information helpful? Sign up now to receive more business writing and entrepreneurial tips right in your inbox! And don’t forget to connect with me on Facebook!

Filed Under: best practices, graphic design, social media Tagged With: Leslie Krukowski, Sierra Kellermeyer

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ABOUT ME

Editor. Teacher. Novelist.
A passionate lover of fiction, Karin doesn't just write novels, she helps others write their best stories! A certified substantive editor with the Christian Editor Connection, her goal is to help authors to put her out of business by equipping them with the tools they need to become better writers.

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Karin understood my advertising and marketing writing needs and accomplished the project in record time. She asked all the right questions up front to equip herself with enough … [more]

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