9 Ways to Make Money On Instagram

Instagram started out as an image-sharing app with only a tiny workforce.

It found a sweet spot in modern society that combined vanity, social networks and a shift toward visual media.

And then one day Mr. Zuckerberg decided to pay a billion dollars to acquire it.

Soon it was a tool for many; famous celebrities, politicians, marketers, and even some top-notch businesses.

Today, Instagram ranks 7^th on the list of the Top 15 Most Popular Social Networking Sites with over 100 million unique monthly users and over 300 million active users posting photos and videos every day.

Apart from the 15-second video sharing option, we’re all excited about the new feature Instagram plans on releasing by the end of this year: targeted advertisements that show up on user’s photo feeds.

Paid ads, means more chance to make money.

If you’re interested in making money with your Instagram account, here are 9 ways to turn those pictures into profits.

TIP: Want to automate the organic growth of your followers and skyrocket your engagement on Instagram? Check out Instagram Growth Service Kicksta.  If you want to get the most reach out of your hashtags in Instagram, use hashtagsforlikes.

1. Start building a solid followership

Successful marketing on social media is almost directly proportional to having a long list of followers.

Whether the followership was obtained before your marketing efforts or after is beside the point – you just need a significant amount of Instagram followers! The more you have, the more you are “seen” and the greater your chances are of turning leads to sales.

There are several ways you can grow your followers on Instagram. Some of the most effective ways have been highlighted by Melyssa Griffin, tactics such as; liking photos in your niche, socializing, asking people to follow you, running contests, and more.

Also, don’t forget to follow and post on several hashtags in your niche.

The best way we’ve identified for growing an organic and highly engaged Instagram following is to use growth service Kicksta. Kicksta is a marketing software designed specifically for Instagram to automate the organic growth of your followers and skyrocket your engagement. (And no I don’t mean buying fake likes to create an overnight 20K audience with no engagement… I mean REAL, organic engagement and consistent growth that you can convert into new business). Check out Kicksta here.

2. Always provide a link to your blog

Product links and links to your blog are crucial when it comes to making money on Instagram!

Every single image, video, or whatever else you share must include CTA’s (in this case links to your blog or wherever they could purchase the item).

Also make sure you place an item number or tag that could make their purchase easier.

Instagram currently doesn’t allow clickable site links, so for now the users will just have to do with re-writing the link in their browser window.

3. Share quality images

Despite the new features, Instagram is, and always has been about sharing beautiful images.

Nothing will entice your prospects or monetize your account more than high quality, beautiful images.

Show your followers what your brand is about with images that appeal to their visual senses. Show off your products, tell them your brand story, create graphically altered images and get creative.

If you’re a gym service for example, you could show off pictures of hot hunks doing their work-outs. If you’re a yoghurt selling service, share images of your product and perhaps other ways you could use that yoghurt in recipes.

Check out how Starbucks does this with amazing graphics, artistic pictures of Starbuck cups, and their latest coffee creations.

Always be sure to share photos of your latest products. For example, you could be writing a new book. Take a cool snap of the cover and share it with a release date.

4. Use the video function

If a picture is worth a thousand words – then what is a video (which is comprised of practically thousands of pictures) worth? You do the maths!

Thanks to Instagram’s latest feature (and competition with lead rival, Vine) there is a 15-second video sharing option that you get creative with.

Come up with a personal message for your fans and tell them why you think they should try out your new product. Or perhaps, you could share a 15-second fast-paced process of how you build your creations.

There’s no limit to how creative you can get with video building!

Check out top brands on Instagram and Vine for some video sharing inspiration.

5. Get your fans involved

Many fans and followers are willing to endorse your brand only for a little recognition – and of course a post about them on your profile. This is a great way to engage your followers as well as outsource original, quality content.

Give your followers a chance to submit their photos with your product, share their “experience” in a video, or anything they like. The best submissions could get discounts on your products, a small reward, or perhaps just a little recognition through your brand name.

Here’s a great example of Starbucks latest “Hello Fall” video contributed by an artistic fan after they introduced the Fall cup.

6. Organize contests or events

Get people to like your images and follow you because you’re running a cool campaign or an event.

Offer exclusive deals for a short period of time and keep updating your users on how time is running out (urgency works!).

Sharing special promotions or coupons is another way to get your followers involved in a contest and turn those leads into sales. Ask them to double-tap or tag a friend to get their name in the draw box.

One of the best advantages of running contests and campaigns on Instagram is that you can create separate hashtags and keep all contributions in one place.

Buffalo Wings and Rings Jordan contest

7. Get testimonials from clients

Get happy clients to upload pictures or videos of themselves using your product.

There’s nothing more convincing than a handful of images, videos, or testimonials that provide social proof.

8. Get an influencer on the job for you

If you know a celebrity like Kim Kardashian, you’re one lucky duck!

But, of course not everyone has direct access to the Kardashians, much less their Instagram profile.

However, there are other people who have big followings on Instagram that are much more accessible. For example, if you’re selling women apparel look for popular online influencers such as fashion bloggers, entrepreneurs, or social media gurus that have a large fan following.

Plenty of blogger models are willing to share what brands they wear and why purchasing from a specific brand would be a good idea. This is a great way to generate referral traffic through links to your blog as well as your branded Instagram hashtags.

9. There’s an app for everything

Use an app to do a bulk of the work for you!

The number of tools out there for boosting your Instagram marketing is overwhelming.

But here are some of the best:

• Kicksta: Engage with real, relevant Instagram users and get followed by your ideal audience.
• Hashtagsforlikes: This tool helps influencers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses reach their target audience organically with smart hashtag identification and analytics.
• Iconosquare: This is a tool that provides Instagram users with advanced statistics about their profile such as total number of likes received, average number of likes and comments per photo, most liked photos, follower growth charts, and more.
• Repost: Allows you to re-post an amazing retina-ready image from another Instagram user’s profile while still giving them the credit.
• Instaquote: Share inspiring “quotes of the day” and keep your followers engaged.
• Postso: This is a post scheduling app that makes a busy marketer’s life easy. Schedule your posts, specify a location, sit back and relax.
• Piquora: This is a visual marketing app that will curate and suggest the best photos for your posts that can pull content based on geography, language, and specific locations.

Guest Author: Alison Stone works at Dissertation cube where she provides dissertation writing help to students. In her spare time she writes blogs for students starting their career and for those who are still in jobs. Find her on Google+.

The post 9 Ways to Make Money On Instagram appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

source https://www.jeffbullas.com/9-ways-make-money-instagram/

How to Use the Art of Storytelling in Your Blogging Strategy

We live in a world where over 4 million blog posts are published every day.

How do you stand out in a sea of bloggers who have probably covered all the key topics from a thousand different angles? Do you follow the trend or create a technique of your own?

Everyone loves a good story. It’s the part of your copy even skimmers take time to read. I try to start every article on my blog with a story attacking the reader’s pain point. I want them to know this is not just another article from a blogger trying to make a quick buck but someone who genuinely understands their problems.

The power of a good story

Remember when you were a kid and your parents always said: “You can’t leave the table until you eat all your vegetables.” When it was pizza and ice cream night, no one had to convince you to eat your meal and clean off your plate. Broccoli and green beans are good for your body. It’s what you need to build antibodies that make you strong and healthy. Pizza and ice cream is what you want.

To entice you, your parents promised you an extra slice of pizza or an extra scoop of ice-cream if you ate all your veggies during the week. You get both without fretting.

Think of your blog post in the same way. Your readers need practical tips and tricks to make their lives easier and solve a problem. Advice is what they need. Include a story to your blog and you’re giving your audience what they want and what they need at the same time.

I made this post on LinkedIn after I set up Zenith Copy. I told a story about leaving my former agency to start my own business. At the time, I only had 700 followers on LinkedIn but the post has over 37k views. It also generated 10 leads for my business.

A memorable blog post must be fun to read. Storytelling helps you hit the mark.

Tips to use storytelling in your blog post

The opening story

GrooveHQ ran a test. The goal was to determine if blog posts with stories were more successful than those without. They found that blog posts with a story intro had almost 300% more people read the entire article. Average time on the page also increased five times the usual number.

A good opening story carries your reader through the entire blog post. They are eager to read your piece when they realize the hero in your story is just like them. Begin with a gripping but short first line to set the scene. In the second line, describe the solution the reader wants and the disillusionment when they don’t get answers. End with a question directed at the reader and transition to the main body to discuss the solution.

Be the main character

No actor can tell your story as you would. Exploit your personal experience to make an instant connection with your reader. I wrote a blog post titled How to Write an Engaging Copy That Sells Like Ice Cream. I began with my experience at my first copywriting job. How we were thrown into the deep end and asked to write copy that encouraged the audience to buy sex toys. I detailed my process of writing copy for a niche I was unfamiliar with as a way to connect with my readers.

Draw from your wealth of experiences and shake people out of their fatigue. The mention of “sex toys” in that article was enough to get people to listen to me. Transfer your emotions onto your blog post and your readers are more likely to love it.

Write from the reader’s view

Human experience first, topic second. You want to hook your reader and get them to read your entire blog post? Don’t focus your story on the topic or it turns out boring and too descriptive. Use anecdotes to make the human the centerpiece of your story.

Focus on the motivations that led them to take the action. Describe feelings and emotions along the way. You want your readers to live through your story and wear the hero’s shoes. This enables you to connect with them on a cognitive and emotional level.

Ensure the story aligns with the message

There must be an intersecting point between your story and your blog post. The aha! Moment when the reader realizes the link between the story and your message. Stories are only powerful when they mean something.

This is a screenshot from a piece I wrote about grammar errors.

The goal was to explain how people confuse slang as good grammar. Your reader is more invested in the content when they realize mistakes they’re probably making in their writing.

Use Google to find stories

Google is an inexhaustible source of stories. Use the right keywords to target precise stories and you’ll generate a ton of results. For instance, if I was writing on “Failed Blogs”, I would Google “Stories about failed blogs.”

The first one looks like an interesting read. No.4 looks honest and really inspiring. Which of the headlines tugs at your heartstrings? You can reference a story from these links and tie it into your overarching blog theme or topic.

Explanatory story

How do you help a reader who doesn’t understand the problem? You know there’s a problem but your reader doesn’t have the faintest idea what’s wrong. An explanatory story makes the problem real.

Remember when your iPhone was acting up? You took it to the repair shop and asked the tech guy to take a look. After 20 minutes, he goes on a rant about the glitches and tech stuff that’s wrong with your phone. You’re standing there staring at him like he’s speaking a foreign language because you don’t understand a word he said.

Is there a simple way to explain the faults to the customer? Can you make the phone work again? How much will it cost?

A tech guide on “Common iPhone 10 glitches and how to fix them” could begin with this story. You’ll capture the reader’s attention because it’s a problem they’ve faced. Transition to the tips where you answer these questions in detail.

Incorporate the elements of a good story

A good story is

• Entertaining, fun and interesting
• Educational
• Easily relatable
• Organized
• Memorable

Your story must feature at least one character, introduce conflict and close with a resolution of conflict.

Conclusion

Humans are wired to satisfy the urge for a good story. Our ancestors used this technique to pass down life lessons, educate young people and entertain each other.

Stories are deeply rooted in our brain. It’s why we watch TV shows like Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad. We want to know what happens next.

Use stories to make your blog interesting and engage your audience. It’s the best way to stand out in a sea of competing blogs.

Guest author: Hello, my name is Chima Mmeje. I have a weak spot for small companies because they remind me of the underdog. I want to help your business grow at an exponential rate. I’ll create high-quality content that increases your SERP rankings and achieves your content marketing goals.

The post How to Use the Art of Storytelling in Your Blogging Strategy appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

source https://www.jeffbullas.com/blog-storytelling/

Should You Build a Mobile App or Mobile Website? Your Questions Answered

Today, we can safely say that mobile devices rule the world since, according to research, more than 5 billion people have a mobile phone at their disposal.

Such a huge audience needs high-quality mobile applications for everyday tasks, work, and just for fun.

Nevertheless, a mobile app is a rather expensive thing, and many companies, due to lack of resources, choose a cheaper option, namely the creation of a mobile website.

If you are reading this article, then you are looking to pick the right solution for your business: a mobile app or a mobile website? Today, I will talk about the strengths and weaknesses of these two technologies. Let’s get started.

What is the difference between a mobile app and mobile website?

Before we start delving into the nuances, it is worth discussing the main differences between these two technologies.

Mobile websites are a fairly cheap way to provide users with content. However, the first major difference you’ll notice is your internet connection. Connectivity is essential for interacting with a website, and without it, it becomes useless. In addition, another difference lies in the financial plane. Creating a separate app is an expensive process, and if you have limited resources, a website can save you as it is cheaper to develop.

Mobile apps are fully-fledged and multifunctional software made for mobile platforms. All apps are distributed in the official platform stores, and users can install them on their mobile devices. Apps outperform websites with their broader functionality, which provides users with content and allows them to perform certain operations. However, you pay a higher creation price tag for functionality.

Strengths of mobile websites

Nowadays, having a website optimized for mobile devices is already a must if you want to expand your audience and grow. And this is not surprising, because according to analysts, the share of mobile traffic is 52%, and every year there is a trend of stable growth. So let’s take a look at the main benefits of such websites.

Great Compatibility

Take a look at this benefit from the user’s perspective. Mobile websites are extremely convenient because they can be launched regardless of the type of mobile device, operating system, etc. This makes websites an extremely convenient tool for capturing a wide audience. All users need is a stable internet connection and a favorite browser, and they are ready to use your website. In addition, users don’t need to install anything, and your site is available with a couple of clicks in the browser.

Ease of Updating

Updating is another perk of websites since you decide when the website needs an update, and as soon as it is ready, you can immediately roll it out live. Users will see the updated items as soon as they reload the page. This distinguishes websites from applications, where each update must be verified by the platform (which, by the way, can take from a couple of days to a week).

SEO

If you want to attract more customers and visitors, you simply have to take advantage of search engine traffic. SEO helps your website rank higher in search results for a variety of keywords. You directly affect how often your website is visible in search, while mobile applications are deprived of such an opportunity for convenient promotion.

Сheap Solution

When creating an app for a particular platform, you must hire separate specialists for each platform. In addition, the development of two mobile applications for iOS and Android is extremely costly. On the other hand, while creating a website, you have one code part that will work in all browsers, bringing significant cost savings.

Weaknesses of mobile websites

Now it’s time to talk about the disadvantages of mobile websites that you should know about.

Internet Access is Obligatory

A stable connection is crucial since the website becomes completely useless without it. You can only view the previously cached pages, but further interaction with the website is impossible.

Limited Functionality

Mobile websites are extremely limited in their capabilities to interact with the mobile devices on which they open. For example, mobile websites on iOS cannot use notifications and can’t interact with Siri, while on Android, they do not have integration with the built-in calendar and telephony.

Poor User Experience

The cheapness of mobile websites and the technical limitations of browsers lead to a rather weak user experience that you can provide to your customers with a mobile website. Meanwhile, mobile applications are polished mobile products that use all the device’s technical capabilities and are sharpened for flawless operation on one platform, which makes the user experience much more pleasant.

Strengths of mobile apps

Mobile apps are a very useful business tool. Research shows that users spend almost 3 hours using mobile apps daily. So now it’s time to delve deeper into the topic.

Unlimited Capabilities

The possibilities of mobile devices give developers an endless field for imagination and implementation of all kinds of features. You can use mobile device cameras, gyroscopes, accelerometers, and other hardware capabilities of devices to implement your ideas. This greatly expands the overall range of features and capabilities of mobile applications compared with mobile websites.

Rich User Experience

Mobile applications are initially developed taking into account the peculiarities of mobile platforms, which allows for a pleasant UI/UX, which provides simple navigation and planned animations. Together, this creates an enjoyable user experience.

Offline Access

Independence from an Internet connection also plays into the hands of mobile applications because your users are not tied to an Internet connection and can use the application anytime, anywhere.

Easier Brand Promotion

Mobile apps are a great brand promotion tool as you have various ways to interact with the user. For example, you can use push notifications to inform the user about special offers or discounts. Or connect the app’s capabilities to the real world, like scanning QR codes to download help or FAQ about services. All this has a positive effect on brand advertising.

Weaknesses of mobile apps

Nothing is perfect in this world and mobile apps also have drawbacks worth talking about.

High Cost

Mobile app development is not cheap, especially if you want to reach the maximum audience. To do this, you need to develop two separate applications for iOS and Android, which doubles both creation time and the final paycheck.

Сomplicated Maintenance

In order for your applications to remain relevant, you must support them with timely updates that will add new features, improve old ones and fix various bugs. However, you will need to hire app developers who will do this on an ongoing basis, which is also not cheap. In addition, creating an update for an app is much more costly in terms of time and money.

Long Approval Process

Any mobile application undergoes a rigorous verification process for compliance with the platform’s rules. On iOS, for example, the application is checked for compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines. If your application doesn’t coincide with the guidelines, it is rejected without explaining a specific reason. On Android, everything is a little simpler since the verification itself can take about seven days. However, if the guidelines are violated, you will be shown what specifically doesn’t comply with the rules and what should be corrected.

Wrapping up

As you can see, mobile apps and mobile websites have their pros and cons and are suitable for different situations. Mobile websites are great if you are on a budget and want to start promoting your services faster. A mobile application will suit you if you have sufficient resources to develop and maintain them.

Guest author: Vitaly Kuprenko is a technical writer at Cleveroad, a web and mobile app development company in Ukraine. He enjoys writing about tech innovations and digital ways to boost businesses.

The post Should You Build a Mobile App or Mobile Website? Your Questions Answered appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

source https://www.jeffbullas.com/mobile-app-or-mobile-website/

The 15 Best Hashtag Generator Tools For Smart Social Media Marketers

Hashtags are the universal language for post discoverability on social media. First used on Twitter in 2007, they’ve been going strong ever since in helping users to find content that they are interested in and want to see.

In fact, did you know that using hashtags correctly can help your content get more natural reach and engagement?

It’s been seen that using at least one hashtag in your social media posts can get you almost 13% more engagement on Instagram.

Do you use hashtags in your posts? Do you feel like you’re getting optimal results with your current hashtag strategy? There’s always more you can do to ensure that you’re boosting your hashtag performance and getting your content seen by more people.

It can be tricky to stay up to date with hashtags and to know which ones are doing well. It can also be a challenge to understand how many to use, what topics are trending, as well as which hashtags your target audience is likely to follow.

For this reason, we’ve created our go-to hashtag guide to help you not only take a look at the top hashtag generator tools but also answer some top FAQs about hashtag use and how to get the most of the little pound sign that we all know and love.

We’ll start with hashtag generator tools and round up with an FAQ guide. Let’s go!

Top 15 Hashtag Generator Tools

Here we’ll dive into the different hashtag tools available for Instagram and what they can offer users. This isn’t a comprehensive list, but we’ve provided the top options that are the cream of the crop in terms of accuracy, functionality, as well as ease of use.

1. Task Ant

A popular option that can bring you some of the best hashtags around, Task Ant is our top pick for an Instagram hashtag generator tool.

They use the official Instagram API data to analyze hashtags and all of the related performance stats. This means that they know exactly what’s going on and can get you the best recommendations for driving results on your Instagram profile.

Task Ant’s goal is to help you generate Instagram hashtags that will both boost your Instagram reach, getting you more views and followers, as well as increase engagement through more likes, comments, and shares.

When you include the right hashtags, users are more likely to engage with your content and follow you because the content that you post is relevant to their interests, needs, or desires.

Using Task Ant will get you a variety of features:

• Hashtag analytics
• Over 100 suggestions on every query
• Ability to save hashtags into sets for better organization
• Quick-copy to Instagram for easy posting
• Calendar content planner
• Analytics analyzer
• Post scheduler

Task Ant also offers a 14-day guarantee so if you aren’t happy with their hashtag generator tool for whatever reason, they’ll take care of you. They care about their clients’ success and it shows in their guarantee as well as their excellent customer reviews.

If you are looking for ways to find the most relevant hashtags for your profile that will take your Instagram content to the next level, Task Ant is the best option out there.

2. Ingramer 

Another popular option for hashtag generation and searching is Ingramer. Their tool is easy to use and relatively effective as well.

It doesn’t use as specific information as Task Ant, but it uses advanced AI technology to suggest hashtags for you. You can search for hashtags using a keyword, photo, or URL. Ingramer aims to help you gain more followers and boost traffic to your profile.

You can quickly search for hashtags and get relevant results, and you can add up to five keywords at a time. When you use this multi-keyword option, you’ll be able to get a lot of results, helping to boost your efficiency and save time.

Ingramer doesn’t offer the same options for saving and organizing your hashtags, so that’s a downside if you’re looking for a way to do so. The good news is that you can still track analytics and performance of hashtags, which is a plus.

If you’re looking for a solid hashtag tool that’s been around for a bit, Ingramer has proven to be a popular option.

3. Display Purposes

Display Purposes is a very simple tool; so simple, in fact, that it’s more like a supplemental tool that you can use alongside your primary hashtag generator. It’s great to cross-check your hashtags sometimes, and Display Purposes can help you do that.

You’ll be able to look for relevant hashtags for your IG content with their search box. You won’t have to worry about any spammy hashtags being included because Display Purposes filters those out. You can use their suggestions on any social media platform.

It’s a good idea, according to Display Purposes, to use hashtags that are popular but also include a healthy mix of hashtags that are more specific to your content and niche. Users have been known to get a place in the “top posts” for a hashtag that is more specific and not as widely used.

Display Purposes also offers a pretty interesting blog that gives you some IG tips and tricks.

4. Tailwind

Tailwind will help you to find intelligent and accurate hashtag suggestions that will be relevant to each individual post that you want to create. You shouldn’t necessarily use the same hashtags for each post; tailoring them based on different elements of your posts can help your hashtags perform better.

Tailwind offers a variety of features:

• Unique and customized hashtag recommendations
• Hashtag suggestions appear in categories to help you understand what impact they’ll have on your content
• Auto-posting with hashtag in first comment
• Save hashtags to lists
• Built-in analytics
• Free trial

You can try out Tailwind and see if it’s a good option for you. They don’t use official Instagram data for their analytics, but their user interface is enjoyable and it can be a great option to help get your profile better results.

5. Flick

Flick will help you make finding and managing your hashtags easier and more effective. You can also see which hashtags are getting you the most reach.

Flick’s hashtag generator tool will suggest hashtags that may work on your specific Instagram account as opposed to just generic, general suggestions.

Here are some things you can expect when you use Flick:

• Relevant hashtag suggestions
• Performance tracking
• Filter out irrelevant hashtags
• Support in different languages
• Check for banned hashtags

You will need to link your account to Flick in order for its platform to work correctly, which may be a downside for those who don’t want to deal with any platform integrations. 

6. SISTRIX

If you need to generate hashtags that are relevant to your target audience and posts, SISTRIX will be able to help you do that.

They’ll suggest up to 30 hashtags that are related to your search, giving you quite a few options in one fell swoop. It’s not the most that you’ll find, but it’s a good starting point. SISTRIX allows you to do 25 searches per day.

SISTRIX also bases its results on billions of different hashtag combinations and its system has data on over 7 million different hashtags. You won’t be able to view analytics or create any lists, but you can check for some relevant hashtags to get your profile moving.

7. Later 

Later is known for its Instagram visual scheduling tool, but they also offer hashtag tools that are pretty cool. Its hashtag generator tool is actually a combination of a few different tools that can help you save time and get more reach and engagement.

You can:

• Track hashtag performance
• Organize hashtags
• Search hashtags
• Schedule posts
• Search for user-generated content by hashtag
• Save captions for later use

All in all Later is a very visual platform and its content planner and scheduler is among the best. While its service isn’t a dedicated hashtag tool, they’ve got some valuable contributions to your hashtag strategy.

8. Ritetag

You’ll be able to check out all of the most popular and trending hashtags in your niche when you use Ritetag. Ritetag has been one of the most popular hashtag generators for years now.

You’ll be able to get more relevant followers when you use Ritetag, connecting with more people in your niche and keeping things targeted. You can use the service for any social media platform but they are most accurate for Instagram and Twitter.

You can view a variety of different hashtag categories and can track your results, save hashtag sets, and even create test groups.

Ritetag is a great option if you really want to see results and get your hashtag strategy laser-focused.

9. Keyhole

Keyhole is one of the most comprehensive hashtag tools on the internet, but it does come at a price. This hashtag generator tool costs $149/month, but if you have a large operation and a hefty budget, it might just be worth it.

When you use Keyhole, you’ll get:

• Performance tracking
• Hashtag analytics and tracking
• Hashtag searches
• Hashtag generation
• Related topics and hashtags
• Dashboard
• Hashtag campaign management

Keyhole may not be the right option for everyone, but for serious marketers looking to run campaigns on Instagram, Keyhole is a well-rounded option that can give you some serious hashtag power.

10. Tagboard

Tagboard is a unique hashtag tool that works a bit differently. You’ll be able to have an at-a-glance view of every single post that has been posted using a hashtag. This can help not only to get an idea of what type of content goes with a hashtag but it can also help you get some inspiration for your content strategy.

You can also save these boards for reference later. You can then compile hashtags into a list and use them on your post.

Tagboard is another hefty option with a beginning price point of $500 per month. It is one of the most unique ways to develop your hashtag strategy and monitor your performance, so its price tag may be justified depending on your goals.

11. BigBangram

BigBangram has a couple of different tools available depending on what you’re looking for. If you just need a simple hashtag search tool to provide a few suggestions, BigBangram can do that.

They also have options that cost more and give you the option to find more relevant hashtags based on your profile. This is what BigBangram allows you to do:

• Get hashtag suggestions
• Analyze and view hashtag insights
• Filter and sort hashtags as you please

Its services work in any niche. You won’t be able to save any hashtag sets but you can get some quick, go-to suggestions.

12. Instavast

Instavast is similar to Ingramer in the sense that you’ll be able to search for hashtags based on photos, posts, or keywords. It can also generate hashtags based on your specific posts. Instavast in general, though, is one of the most basic hashtag generator tools.

You’ll get a variety of suggestions from Instavast, but you can’t save any of them, which may be a downside for some. It’s a very basic tool but can give you some new ideas based on your search query.

Instavast’s main service is an IG bot focused on growing your Instagram followers, so their hashtag generation tool is just a supplement.

13. Kicksta

Like Instavast, Kicksta is a tool that aims to grow your Instagram followers through their paid plans but also offers a hashtag generator.

You’ll be able to use its search box to enter a topic or keyword that you want your hashtag to relate to. You’ll then be provided with a list of hashtags that are connected to your original search.

Kicksta provides accurate hashtag suggestions that are valuable for your Instagram content. You can also filter by the following categories:

• Top
• Random
• Best match

It’s an easy tool to use but is ultimately very basic and doesn’t offer any way to organize your hashtags nor view performance analytics.

14. TagsFinder

A quick and easy way to find a couple of hashtags, TagsFinder provides you the opportunity to enter up to ten hashtags in your original search query and then see a list of relevant hashtags to those that you’d entered.

You can also filter your hashtag searches by country or set exclusions that won’t include hashtags that you already know you don’t want to use. This is a useful way to get only the most relevant hashtag results.

15. MetaHashtags

Last but not least, MetaHashtags is a relatively new hashtag tool that was released in 2020. You’ll get a lot of detailed analytics info about hashtags that you are using, including:

• How many posts have been created with the hashtag
• Amount of posts per hour
• Average likes of top posts
• Average comments
• Lowest number of likes

You can also use the tool to generate hashtags based on searches; you can even take a look at competing accounts to see which hashtags they use the most.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to save the hashtags directly on the site; you’ll have to download your chosen tags to a CSV file, which may be a downside for some.

Frequently Asked Questions

Alright, now you know about the top hashtag generator tools to up your hashtag game and get things moving. Using one of these hashtag generator tools for Instagram or other social media networks will definitely help you put your best foot forward and get your content seen by more people.

Not only that, you’ll be able to stay organized and make your life a lot easier when it comes to posting and using hashtags.

Let’s take a look at a 10 of the top FAQs about hashtags so that you can make the most of your hashtag strategy.

1. What is a hashtag generator?

As you can see from most of the descriptions above, a hashtag generator is a tool that can help you find targeted hashtags that are likely to help your content perform better. There are lots of hashtag generator tools out there, so it comes down to preference and budget.

Hashtag generator tools typically work based on a search engine; they track the performance of different hashtags on Instagram (and even other social media networks) so that you can get the best possible results.

They will allow you to search using filters, see performance metrics of different hashtags, as well as keep your hashtags organized through different sets. You can then easily copy and paste them right into your caption.

Hashtag generators make things so much easier when it comes to hashtags for social media – no more tracking things by hand, no more spending hours on social media trying to figure out which hashtags are doing well, and no more guessing games.

You can easily and quickly find hashtags for your content; these hashtags will be connected to your niche, helping to ensure that you get more relevant eyes viewing your content and profile. Hashtag generators are an invaluable tool for your Instagram success.

2. What are the best Instagram hashtag generator tools? 

This article is geared mostly towards Instagram, but that doesn’t mean the hashtag generator tools on this list can’t help you with other platforms as well. In fact, it’s likely that hashtags on Instagram are similar to the performance on other platforms as well.

In any case, these are the best Instagram hashtag generator tools:

• Task Ant
• Ingramer
• Display Purposes
• Tailwind
• Flick
• SISTRIX
• Later
• HashtagsForLikes
• Keyhole
• Tagboard
• BigBangram
• Instavast
• Kicksta
• TagsFinder
• MetaHashtags

Using one of these hashtag tools will significantly increase your hashtag strategy and save you loads of time on the platform. All of these tools are their own distinct platform and user interface; even still they are some of the most popular and well-developed hashtag generator tools that you can find.

Task Ant is definitely the best in terms of budget vs. capabilities; they have some of the best metrics to gauge whether or not a hashtag is successful and their hashtag sets make it easy to organize all your hashtags and use them as soon as you need them.

With so many options and functionalities, choosing a hashtag generator tool that works for you will probably come down to budget and personal preference. 

3. Can I create my own hashtags?

You can absolutely create your own hashtags. In fact, this is an excellent way to get people talking about your brand and create a unique feed on Instagram that allows users to check out your brand, business, creative endeavor, or whatever else you use Instagram for.

You can create your own hashtags for specific campaigns or product launches, or you can just create a general hashtag that is related to your brand or business. If you are an influencer, it’s also a way to create a type of portfolio as well as get user-generated content by encouraging your followers to use it too.

One classic example of this is the #shareacoke campaign. This is the perfect example because it allows users to interact with the brand and it also allows Coca Cola to get a lot of user-generated content and share it on their own account.

User-generated content gets more engagement on Instagram and it also encourages other users to interact with your profile and join in on the fun.

If you have a physical store, business, or restaurant, it can also be a great idea to create a hashtag because you can have clients or customers use the tag on their Instagram posts, helping to generate interest around your profile.

You can also use geotags to create a reputation for your business so that when people search the location they will see content pop up, helping you look credible with an air of authority.

4. How many hashtags can I use on Instagram? 

You are able to use up to 30 hashtags per Instagram post. This means that you can use anywhere from 0 to 30, and if you try to surpass 30, your Instagram post won’t be uploaded and you’ll have to make adjustments.

Most people wonder if you should use 30 hashtags and this has been heavily debated amongst experts in the IG community. There has been research on this and there are some general takeaways that can help you decide on the best strategy.

Studies show that after 5-6 hashtags, your engagement will start to decrease. This is perhaps because of a spammy look; users don’t like to see too many hashtags on a post. For this reason, some would agree that you should use under 6 hashtags and target them as best you can to your audience (enter: hashtag generator tool).

Interestingly, though, the average number of hashtags used on Instagram is 10.7, which means that most people are using about 10-11 hashtags per post. Some experts have speculated that 11 hashtags is the magic number for Instagram.

So, while there is no set conclusion on the issue, these are some things that you can consider when deciding how many hashtags to use.

5. How do I know if a hashtag is working? 

This is one of the trickiest things about using hashtags, and you’ll have to continuously monitor and track your progres to make sure that your posts are performing well. There are a couple different ways that you can do this.

Some hashtag generators like Task Ant will let you track the hashtag analytics and see which hashtags are performing well on Instagram as well as what volume they’re being used in. Checking this before you choose hashtags can help you gauge what type of success you will have with a hashtag.

Then, you should keep track of your own account to see if your posts are maintaining similar performance. You can use Instagram analytics to see who has discovered your posts based on the use of a hashtag, letting you know when your hashtags are bringing in results and when you may need to shake things up.

You can also use analytics on IG stories to choose hashtags that are pulling in more views. This can be a great way to supplement your IG stories with things that may be trending in real time.

For your posts and other content, using a hashtag generator and IG analytics is definitely the best way to understand how a hashtag should be performing and what type of results it pulls in for you.

6. How can I create a catchy hashtag?

Creating a catchy hashtag can be tough, but there are a variety of ways that you can do it. If you want a branded hashtag, try to think of something that’s related to your niche and is short but catchy.

If you create a hashtag that’s way too long, people are less likely to use it. Ultimately you want it to be something that has a good ring to it and gets people excited to use it. You may want to use verbs in the hashtag as well to keep it action-focused.

If you are looking for a hashtag that is connected to your niche but you can’t come up with anything, you can always use your hashtag generator tool. You can easily generate a variety of different hashtags based on one keyword, giving you ideas when you need them most.

After you take a look at the populated list, you can choose the one(s) that you think would work best for you and implement them in your posts. You could also use them for inspiration and tweak them a little bit to make sure that it is just how you want it.

If you’re thinking about creating your own hashtag, search it before you use it. That way you can see if anyone has already come up with your brilliant idea; if you want it to be unique to you and your brand/business, it can be good to know what’s already out there before using the tag.

7. How can I tell which hashtags are popular?

If you want to see if a hashtag is popular, check to see if your hashtag generator tool tracks popularity of a hashtag. Many times you’ll be able to see analytics about hashtags so that you can understand what is trending and what the volume of use is.

In addition to that, you can do some searching of your own just to take a look at the numbers on the platform. Some platforms like TikTok will let you know which hashtags are trending; all you have to do is check out the discover page and it will let you know. Twitter also has a “trending” section, making it very easy to see which hashtags are being talked about and searched for.

You can also check for a particular hashtag that you have in mind by searching it in the tag section on Instagram. You can then see how many posts have been published that include that hashtag.

When you see large numbers, the hashtag is being used frequently, but you want to find a balance; using a hashtag that is too popular will bury your content because so many posts are being uploaded.

It’s a good idea to know what the volume of hashtag use is so that you can decide which one is going to get you seen but not smothered by other users’ content.

8. Can I put hashtags in the comments on Instagram?

You can definitely put a hashtag in the comments on Instagram. This is actually a popular strategy amongst Instagram users so they don’t bombard their followers and viewers with hashtags in the captions.

All you have to do is post your content and then take your hashtags, create a comment on your post, and then post the comment. The hashtags will then be active in the first comment.

Now, does putting hashtags in Instagram comments work? It can work, but keep in mind you still need to be using the right hashtags. If you choose overly popular hashtags your content will still get pushed down below all of the other posts that include that hashtag.

You should still follow the strategy that will get you the most viewers, no matter if you’re posting the hashtags on your actual post or in the comment sections. The functionality and reach will be the same; there’s no special advantage of using hashtags in the comments other than to help your posts look less cluttered.

You can also put hashtags in your Instagram stories as well as in your Instagram bio. It’s a good idea to put one or two uber-relevant hashtags in your bio so that your profile will appear in searches that are related to that hashtag.

9. What’s the best hashtag app for Instagram?

The best hashtag app for Instagram is Task Ant. They offer a premium hashtag service with some of the best analytics and filters at affordable pricing that can work with any budget.

Not only that, you can access your account via mobile app or via desktop, giving you flexibility and ease of use. The mobile version is incredibly user-friendly and helps you save time by using your hashtag tool right on your mobile device.

Task Ant is compatible with both iOS and Android so you won’t have to worry about whether or not it will work on your device. Their hashtag app works for all niches as well so no matter what kind of content you post on Instagram, they can provide you with all the valuable details about hashtags that can help you get more reach on the platform.

10. What’s the best way to use hashtags on Instagram? 

This question is quite broad, but there are a variety of different pointers for using hashtags on your Instagram content. We’ll go over a few of them in this section to help you get started.

• Put a # before the hashtag word or phrase. Make sure there are no spaces between the # and the first word, otherwise it won’t work. In fact, you shouldn’t use spaces in between any of the words in a hashtag otherwise it will break up the tag and it won’t be complete.
• You can use a combination of letters, numbers, and whatever else you’d like, including emojis. Emojis can be hashtags all on their own, so you may be able to incorporate relevant ones to get some good results.
• Don’t use irrelevant or repetitive hashtags – this will hinder your strategy and take up valuable space where you could’ve inserted a hashtag that would be more targeted. Be specific and clear about the tags you use.
• Watch out for over-popular hashtags. If you use hashtags that are surging in popularity, your content may not get seen because it’s being pushed down in the feed. Try different variants or hashtags that are more niche-specific.
• General hashtags are usually overused. If you use a tag like #love or #beauty, this is too general. You won’t get any targeted viewers when you use hashtags like that, minimizing your potential to get more followers and engagement. Use niche-specific hashtags.
• Check out the hashtag before using it. You don’t want your content associated with content that is offensive. Taking a quick look can make sure that your reputation stays intact.
• Use your hashtag in a few different spots. You can either integrate hashtags within your caption, you can put them at the end of your caption, you can put your hashtags in the first comment, or you can do a combination of those. Try out a few different things and see which way gets you the best results.

Next Steps: Best Hashtag Generator Tools

Hashtags are a great way to get your content out to more people, generate interest around your account, boost engagement and get more Instagram followers.

You have better chances of doing all of those things when you use a hashtag generator tool. So, what’s next?

Take a look at the hashtag generator tools that we mentioned above and choose one that can work for you. Our vote is for Task Ant, but all of these hashtag generator tools are quite popular among Instagram users.

You can significantly improve your Instagram performance when you use a hashtag generator, so don’t miss the opportunity. You’ll also save time as well.

Once you choose one, start using it immediately and also pay close attention to which hashtags are trending, which ones are popular with your target audience, and how your content performs after you post it.

Do you use a different hashtag generator tool that you love? Let us know in the comments!

Guest author: Johnny Pulling is a serial tech entrepreneur who has been living in Serbia for the past 12 years. Passions are crypto and growth hacking to help companies succeed online.

The post The 15 Best Hashtag Generator Tools For Smart Social Media Marketers appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

source https://www.jeffbullas.com/hashtag-generator-tools/

8 Free A/B Testing Tools to Optimize Your Mobile App

When Uber was first introduced in the market, people found it hard to trust an application that proposed safe and timely travel. 

Despite being just an app, it offered a solution to a multitude of problems. The easy-to-use app had a remarkable user experience and highly effective functionality that revolutionized personal transportation. 

User experience plays an indispensable role in influencing the customer retention of a mobile application. Key features such as the information architect, accessibility, feel, structure, and speed make it easy for a mobile app to stay ahead of the game. It cannot be denied that the quality of user experience determines the future of a business.  

Since 90% of smartphone users spend most of their time on applications, it is integral for app developers to pay extra attention to the user interface. 

The user interface is the first thing that customers notice. It leaves a huge impact on the minds of viewers and influences the progress of a business. 

A user-friendly mobile app promises a better reputation for your brand. Well-thought out investment in the user experience can give you a significant return on investment. 

Examples of A/B testing for enhancing user experience 

YouTube 

YouTube rolled out a new interface over a year ago. The new layout of YouTube is designed with an emphasis on its recommendations feature. Users can create a playlist by clicking the red button next to ‘My recommendations’. This idea is to enhance the user experience and create a relationship of trust among users and YouTube machine learning algorithms. 

Additionally, the new YouTube layout has an ‘Auto Option’ which allows users to adjust the video quality according to the speed of the internet connection. Auto higher picture quality (depending on your internet connection), data saver, and advanced auto speed systems make the user experience of YouTube better than before.

Facebook 

Facebook constantly updates the interface of its mobile application. There is a massive difference between the old interfaces of Facebook with the new one. Everything is changed in the latest design. For better user experience, users can enable the dark mode, have access to a new ‘burger menu’ design from the top-right-drop-down-arrow. The setting remains the same but the icons are updated.  

Instagram 

When Instagram started, it was a place for users to edit and share pictures easily. Over those years, things have changed to a great extent. Instagram has become a diverse community of interests where people share more photos and videos than ever. The new icon of Instagram has a colorful design with a simpler and softer camera appearance. 

While Instagram’s icon is now filled with color, the application itself has had the color removed. The new black and white design of this application engages users and makes it appealing. A seamless experience encourages more users to use the application.

Businesses tend to update their interfaces to provide the most optimal user experience. However, the application interface updates are not done out of the blue.

Extensive research is done before a new interface is finalized. Mobile app developers and business analysts conduct A/B testing on multiple interfaces before actually publishing the update on Play Store and App Store.

Let’s discuss how A/B testing helps businesses determine the most optimum mobile application interface.  

A step-by-step guide for conducting effective A/B testing

In a competitive app development world, it is imperative to learn how to optimize a mobile application. A small and positive change in user experience can have a significant impact on conversion rates. Therefore, it is essential to test what works.

The aforementioned examples of Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram state that A/B testing for mobile applications works by dividing an audience into two or more groups. Then see how different layouts and user interfaces impact the user experiences.  

A/B testing is one of the cyclical processes used by app developers for optimizing an application and its campaigns.

Here are the steps for doing it effectively. 

Develop a hypothesis 

Research and analyze the available information and commence developing your hypothesis. 

What type of application do you want to test? 

Who is your target audience? 

How to proceed if your hypotheses are proven/disproven? 

Segment your audience 

The next step in this program is to create a target audience based on your hypothesis. Multiple interfaces are rolled out to the target audience sample for testing. You can also test interfaces with multiple target audiences to see which one works best for you.  

Analyze results and deploy changes 

A/B testing is a process of persistent data gathering and analysis. Therefore, the entire journey unravels. Once you are done with A/B testing, analyze the overall feedback of your audience such as their receptiveness to the interface and accessibility of key features.  

To improve conversions, A/B testing is one of the optimum ways that lets you work systematically through every part of your mobile application. This test is carried out to enhance the overall user experience by enhancing accessibility, creating alluring calls to action (CTAs), and organizing the overall user story of a mobile application. 

The best A/B testing tools

Here are the best A/B testing tools on the market for optimizing the user experience of your app.

#1. Firebase A/B testing 

Now is the time to achieve your business goals with Firebase A/B testing. It helps people improve the functionality of an application by making it easy to run, analyze, and scale products. 

This tool gives you the flexibility to customize your experiment according to unique business needs. You can determine what elements to test, which target audience to focus on, what parameters to put in place, and how many variants to include. 

#2. Omni Convert 

Omni convert is a conversation rate platform that offers A/B testing tools and segmentation tools. With the help of this effective and highly versatile tool, companies can run the test on various devices like desktop, mobile, and tablet. This platform blends the segmentation tool with the A/B testing tool for testing over 40 segmentation parameters like traffic source, geo-location, and visitor behavior. This ends up strengthening the overall user experience of mobile application users. 

#3. AB testy 

AB testy is an A/B testing optimization software with personalization tools, data insights, and multivariate testing processes. With the help of this tool, companies can build tests, split tests, multivariate tests, and funnel tests. 

AB testing is an ideally suitable tool for validating tests and offering reports. It displays the answers to the test in real-time. 

#4. Freshmarketer 

Freshmarketer is the best conversion rate optimization software that offers A/B testing and Split URL testing. Through this test, companies get to know the preferences of their target audience and they can track the amount of revenue generated from these experiments. 

This tool helps in testing various variations of URLs, turning winning test variations into real mobile applications, and grasping the effectiveness of your mobile application by offering heatmaps of every variation of URL split test. 

#5. Optimizely 

Optimizely is the best digital experimentation platform for the engineering team and enterprise marketing. Using this powerful multi-page experimentation tool, companies can run various experiments at the same time. This effective tool allows you to test multiple variables of your mobile application. 

Also, it offers testing on dynamic mobile applications (geography, campaigns, and cookies) and various experiment segmentation parameters (devices, browsers). 

#6. Pushwoosh 

Pushwoosh is a free kit with everything you need to run A/B testing including a tracking template, instructional guide, and statistical significance calculator. Pushwoosh clearly tells whether your test wins, losses, or is inconclusive. 

This tool sets up efficient cross-channel communications by sending push notifications, in-app messages, and emails to users. 

#7. VWO 

VWO is a highly effective tool that is trusted by over 45, 00 enterprise brands. This conversion rate optimization platform is specifically tailored for enterprise brands. This tool has a drop-and-drop editor that builds A/B tests, split URL tests, and multivariate tests.         

#8. Mixpanel

Mixpanel is a web personalization software that plays a crucial role in offering A/B testing, multivariate testing, and split testing. Additionally, mixpanel offers an advanced segmentation tool that allows companies to divide users based on historical behaviors, cookies, and events. 

This highly effective tool can gauge the overall performance of all tests by reporting on a large mix of metrics. By integrating this tool with other tools, companies get a ton of integrations with third-party tools such as Shopify and Hubspot. 

Conclusion 

No matter how much extensive research you do, not every marketing campaign will get you positive results. This is why A/B testing is an optimum method for calculating the online promotional and marketing strategies of your application. Through this cyclical testing process, you can get the best-performing version of your app. While A/B testing can be a time-consuming process, its benefits are sufficient to improve the overall user experience and retention of your app. 

A/B testing is the single most effective way to escalate conversion rates. When you see what types of headlines and features your audience responds to, you get a complete insight into who your audience is and what they want.

Guest author: Waqar Ahmed is an extraordinary Digital Marketer and a wonderful addition to Appstirr. His passion for his work and unmatched dedication is the talk of the town. Waqar knows search engine optimization inside out and follows a result-driven approach. Connect with him on Twitter.

The post 8 Free A/B Testing Tools to Optimize Your Mobile App appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

source https://www.jeffbullas.com/a-b-testing-tools/