​Instagram has over one billion monthly users and they spend an average of 53 minutes on the site. That is making it one of the best sites to use for business marketing. I am sharing tips to help you grow your personal or business Instagram.

1. Engage with your followers. Reply and like their comments and respond quickly to messages.
2. Host giveaways or contests. Make a rule of your contest that people must follow you, share it on their story or tag multiple friends. You will gain new followers just because they want to enter your giveaway or contest.
3. Use your analytics. Pay attention to what day and time you get the most engagement and use that to your advantage!
4. Post on your stories! People are always watching stories and when they watch yours frequently you will move to the front of their list and they will always see that you have a story.
5. Post consistently. People do not continue to follow a page that posts once a month unless they are family or a close friend. You want to make sure that you are posting multiple times a week.

Instagram is such a fun app that people use all the time and can be such a big help to gain customers for your business. As easy as it seems, it can take up a lot of your time, so if you are wanting to do this for your business, think of hiring someone specifically for this position or a marketing company. 

​For marketing, we use a lot of apps and websites to create all the designs, logos, and proposals that I send to businesses. I always enjoy watching or reading “My Monthly Favorites” videos and blogs, so I thought I would share mine with you!
Canva was my absolute favorite this month! I created several fun proposals and infographics to share with businesses and explain what we can do to help them and why social media is so important. Canva is free and allows you to create business cards, posters, book covers, newsletters, and even t-shirt designs! 

     ​When posting on a social media business page, you want to share the real you. People do not want to see just photos of your desk or an article related to your business. You should be sharing photos of you, projects your passionate about, and even an article that really inspired you explaining why. When I am looking at businesses to buy from, I look for ones that share genuine information and make me feel like I know who I am buying from.

• Instagram & Facebook Stories – Popping on Instagram stories everyday shows people who you are. You can use this time to show your face and talk about stuff that you are passionate about. You can talk about new products coming out or something that you are excited about with your business. When people watch your videos consistently, you move to the front of the stories bar.
• IGTV – Using IGTV to show you working on a product or project. If you make handwritten signs or calligraphy, you can use IGTV to teach people how to do it or show a time-lapse of a sign your making.
• Instagram Feed – You want to post stuff that is related to you and your business. If you sell dog clothing, share photos of you & your dog wearing some of the matching gear that you sell.
• Tik Tok – Depending on what your business is, you can post a clothing try on with one of the many clothing songs/trends on there, a how to video of one of your wood signs, or a make up challenge. Get your face out there and show off your passion! You will gain a following of people who would not normally find you.

One of the hardest things about being personal is figuring out what to post. Here are some ideas:

• Throwback photo of when you started your business or childhood
• Fun facts about you
• Introduce yourself! (If you have not already)
• Outfit of the Day
• Happy Birthday post to yourself
• Instagram vs. Reality
• You Goals
• Two Truths & a Lie

     Posting regularly on social media can be so stressful and if you do not have someone dedicated to it, growth will be a struggle. Just remember to post frequently, respond to comments within 15 minutes, and be personal!