What is SMO?

What is SMO? or Social Media Optimization?

Social Media Optimization or SMO is not a tool but it is today’s internet culture. With the Social Media Optimization sites on internet, people have got a good platform to become more social, more interactive and more communicative. What is SMO? Social Media Optimization doesn’t only allow discovering and reading the content and information but also encourages you to share the knowledge what you have. It is no more a one-way process but is a two way communication..

What is SMO?
(You have to Watch this Great Video on Youtube Now!)

How To Start A Blog In Any Niche With No Technical Experience And (Almost) No Money (2023 Update)

It was 2008…

I was unemployed, recently divorced, and searching for a passion project that had escaped me for my 50+ years on this planet.

Jump forward to today and my website, that you are on right now, has had over 16 million readers.

I don’t say that to brag. I say that because perhaps the craziest thing about this whole journey is that I wasn’t a “writer” in the traditional sense, and from a technical perspective I didn’t know the first thing about how to start a blog.

I used a spare $10 to start a blog and ended up growing it into something that others took notice of. I learnt about how to do all of that along the way. From defining my message, buying a domain name, figuring out this whole hosting business, growing a social media following, and eventually finding a way to make some money from the whole thing.

In the beginning, the one thing that held me back from starting was the fear of not knowing how or where to start. The fear of not being good enough. The fear of failure.

Today I want to help you overcome all of those things. Firstly, if I’m good enough to get started then so are you. If I can make this happen then so can you. If I can overcome the challenges of being unemployed and divorced to build something of note, then so can you.

So what about the fear of not knowing where to start?

That’s what the rest of this blog post is all about. I want to teach you how to start a blog from scratch and discover the passion that will empower your life with the greatest gift of all – choice.

Let’s dive into it.

How to start a blog and make money

BONUS: Want to make money blogging? Join the Side Hustle Strategies Membership Community to get the inspiration, resources, and community to start and grow your side hustle.

Why should you start a blog in the first place?
Step 1 – Find your passion and write a mission statement
Step 2 – Discover your tribe
Step 3 – Develop a memorable brand
Step 4 – Choose a web host
Step 5 – Setup your hosting account
Step 6 – Pick a blogging platform
Step 7 – Create compelling content

Why should you start a blog in the first place?

People start blogs for all sorts of reasons…

To educate, to have a voice, to make money. It’s important to understand your driving force. The reason you start is the reason you will keep going. The reason you will get up every morning at 4am while everyone else is happily sleeping, to write your next inspired piece of content.

For me, it was about the power of the social web. My blog was a publishing machine that gave me a voice to the masses, it gave my audience a voice, it helped the little guy get noticed in a world of inflated egos and celebrity clickbait headlines.

Blogging helped me make some noise and leave a little dent on this universe.

But it’s also more than that. Above all else, blogging is a platform for self development.

It drives you to:

Learn by doing
Document your knowledge
Embrace a life discipline
Network and connect with a global audience

It won’t happen overnight, but all of this is within your reach if you just start.

How To Start A Blog In Any Niche With No Technical Experience And (Almost) No Money

So if you are ready and willing to get started, here’s a shortcut to my 7-step success formula.

Step 1 – Find your passion and write a mission statement

Your passion closely aligns to your “why” for starting a blog in the first place.

This will act as a guiding light to keep you on track. Keep you energized. Keep you turning up every day when it all feels too hard.

What is it that makes you tick? What do you love? What topics inspire you and help you write with ease?

Finding your passion is an essential part of sustaining a blog in the long term. It will help you find like-minded people who are excited about the same things as you, and it will motivate you to push that little bit harder when it feels like your wheels are spinning.

You want to be able to define your passion in a succinct mission statement – 20 words or less. For me, it is all about winning at business and life in a digital world. What is it for you?

One approach you can take to defining your blog’s mission statement is with Porter Gale’s 4-steps:

Make a list of your interests and passions
Discover the sweet spot at the intersection
Describe your tone – Witty, Irreverent, Inspirational etc
Write the mission statement that distills your passions

For you this might be obvious, it may be subconscious, or it could be buried deep down within. Either way you need to find it and document it. Post it on your wall. Read it every day.

It will keep you on track.

Step 2 – Discover your tribe

Traffic, shares, open rates, click throughs… all of it means nothing if you can’t connect with the human on the other side of the technology.

The most successful bloggers find a way to connect on a very personal level with their audience. I call this your tribe.

Your tribe are the people who turn up day after day, waiting for your next piece of blogging wisdom.

You don’t pay for them to turn up (at least you don’t have to). Instead they turn up because they share your passion. They crave a sense of community and association with the other people in your tribe. They want to comment, share and interact with you.

Without a tribe your blog will die a slow death.

So how do you find your tribe and engage with them online?

Here are some tips:

Understand their fears, dreams, problems and challenges – write about them
Where do they hangout online? Twitter? Facebook? Somewhere else? – be there consistently
Who else do they respect in your niche? – align yourself to these people
What other publications do they read? – write for them

Your tribe members share your passion, and your goal is to turn your blog into a community for these individuals to connect. You will be forever relevant in your niche if you can achieve this.

Step 3 – Develop a memorable brand

I wanted to stand out, so I got a friend to create a caricature of my head…

How will you stand out?

Your blog’s name and brand is more than just a URL. It says something about you and your passion. You need to find something that is memorable, catchy, but also meaningful and congruent to your tribe.

Here are some tips for developing a memorable brand:

Brainstorm 10 alternatives.
Test them with your potential tribe.
Buy your domain name… right here, right now.
Get a logo designed. It’s easy on a site like UpWork.
Create consistent and memorable images for free with a tool like Canva.
Use your new branding elements everywhere… literally.

Step 4 – Choose a web host

Ok so you know your passion, and you have a pretty good idea about where your tribe are hanging out online. Now it’s time to actually get your blog up and running.

This is the technical stuff, but I will try to make it is simple as possible for you.

You can get a blog up and running in a few simple clicks using WordPress.com – but I wouldn’t recommend going down that path.

When I first started that’s how I did it, and as my traffic grew it got to a point where I needed to do a massive site migration. Big headache.

To save yourself the same issues I would recommend going for a self-hosted website.

In the simplest language possible, every website on the internet needs a web host. It’s a place where all of your data, content and blog posts are stored for safekeeping.

If you choose to get a self-hosted solution your hosting provider can grow with you, and you won’t have to deal with slow load times or website down time in the future.

“That sounds kind of expensive!”

Managing a self-hosted website used to be expensive and reserved for web developers or techies who could code their way to success. But hosting solutions such as Bluehost have made it affordable and accessible for anyone and everyone.

I use Bluehost here at JeffBullas.com and they have handled our rapid traffic growth extremely well. The cool thing for you is that as a long-term customer, Bluehost have given me an awesome discount to pass on to my tribe members (that’s you).

Step 5 – Setup your hosting account

Once you pick a web host, it’s time to get set up so you can start blogging.

I find it easiest to learn with screenshots, so let me show you exactly how to get your blog started using Bluehost.

Jump across to the Bluehost home page and click “get started now”.

From there, choose your plan.

Next, you’ll have to pick a domain name. If you didn’t buy a domain name when you were developing your brand identity, they will let you do it during the signup process. There are a couple of steps at this stage, but they will guide you every step of the way.

If the domain you select is free, then you can move onto the signup process where you will provide the rest of your contact information, confirm your choice of hosting package, and finally enter your payment details.

The final step of the signup process is to pick a password.

And that’s it, your Bluehost account is set up and good to go. The whole process shouldn’t take longer than 5 to 10 minutes.

Claim our special offer and sign up to Bluehost now.

Step 6 – Pick a blogging platform

Once your hosting account is setup, the next step is to pick a blogging platform. (We’re almost there I promise!)

There are a lot of options out there, from Blogger to Tumblr, SquareSpace and several more.

I started out on WordPress.org and it has grown with my site, so that’s what I recommend you use to get started.

But it’s not just me who thinks WordPress is a great option… 25% of all websites online are built on the WordPress platform, and it is uniquely designed for bloggers.

To get started with WordPress, login to your Bluehost account and look for the “Install WordPress” icon in your home dashboard:

You will then be prompted to choose a domain to install WordPress on – you will most likely just have the one, so choose that from the drop down menu.

Next, fill in your site information in the form provided. The key information they are looking for at this point is your “Site Name”, which you can choose yourself, as well as an email address, username and password for the primary contact for the site – that’s you!

Start a Blog: Input WordPress admin data

Let Bluehost do its magic for a few moments and you will see a message on your screen that says “Your installation was successful”.

Now you can go to your WordPress installation at the URL ‘yourdomainname.com/wp-login’ and use your login details to access behind-the-curtains of your new blog!

The look and feel of your WordPress site will automatically go to one of the default themes. You can get started blogging with this look straight away, or choose to upgrade your look with a premium theme available in your Bluehost account.

Step 7 – Create compelling content

Now you have your website all setup and ready to go, your excuses are quickly running out!

It’s time to start blogging.

The best bloggers… The ones that make a name for themselves in this noisy world. The ones who build a tribe of thousands of dedicated fans. The ones that make a living out of their passions. They all have one thing in common.

They publish great content consistently, time and time again.

So what is great content? What makes a blog post compelling?

Here’s a quick checklist:

It has a headline that induces a click
It tells a story that naturally flows from the headline
It’s jam packed full of visual cues and diverse media
It’s easy to scan with bullet points, sub-headers and smart formatting throughout
It focuses on one key point, and the whole article builds a powerful case for that point
It encourages reader’s to take an action – share it on social media, comment, sign up for your mailing list – something to progress your relationship

Wrapping up on how to start a blog

You started reading this post wanting to know how to start a blog…

Well, what are you waiting for?

You’ve got the tips, tools, and tactics to make it happen. The only thing holding you back is yourself. Your fears. Your internal dialogue.

So overcome those fears of failure and make it happen. If I can, then you can too.

Ready to get started?

All it takes is the price of a coffee.

Bonus: Don’t forget the bonus offer exclusively to the Jeff Bullas tribe members from Bluehost – get started with their first-class hosting plan for just $2.95 a month.

The post How To Start A Blog In Any Niche With No Technical Experience And (Almost) No Money (2023 Update) appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

source https://www.jeffbullas.com/start-a-blog/

The Ultimate Guide to Selling Your Blog for Profit

There’s a lot of money to be made in the blogging world; whether you’re a small blogger who makes money selling digital products or the owner of a high-trafficked blog that earns through affiliate programs and ads, there is something for everyone.

But as a blog owner, have you ever considered selling your blog?

Selling your blog can be a great way to earn a significant amount of money, especially if it is properly monetized. You can use the money to invest in another business or just give yourself a new start.

This article is here to provide you with all the information you need about selling your blog and how you can get the best price.

How much can you sell your blog for?

Identifying your blog’s worth is the first step in selling it. While there are no standard formulas for calculating a blog’s value, some basic guidelines can help you determine how much your site is worth.

The most basic measure of a blog’s value is its traffic. The more visitors your blog gets, the more valuable it is.

For example, suppose you have a blog that gets 500 visitors per day and another that gets 2,000 visitors per day. In that case, the latter is obviously worth more money than the former, even though both blogs may have similar designs and content quality.

Another way to determine this is by looking at how much money you make with your blog. If you’re making $1,000 per month, then it might be worth $12,000 or more. However, If you’re only making $50 per month (after years of working hard on your blog), then maybe it isn’t worth much.

Once you’ve figured out these two, it will be easier to understand the value of your blog. Of course, keep in mind there are other things to look at too, such as DR, domain age, niche, and audience.

Why should you sell your blog?

Selling your blog is a big step, and hanging on to it for as long as possible can be tempting. But there are some good reasons why you might want to sell your blog.

Here are a few reasons why:

1. You can earn money from an asset that’s currently not producing any income. Even if your site doesn’t generate much traffic now, it may still be worth something because of its potential value in the future.

2. You can achieve financial freedom sooner than expected by investing money in another business.

3. Selling a blog can take away the daily grind of running a website and let you focus on other things in life.

4. If you’re in a time crunch, selling your blog can help you get out of debt or fund an emergency expense.

If any of these apply to you, it’s best to sell your blog while it has some value in the online market.

Where to buy and sell blogs

The market for buying and selling blogs is large, with hundreds of websites offering their services. However, not all of them are worth using. Here are four great options for selling your blog:

Flippa

Flippa is one of the most popular sites for buying and selling websites. The platform has sold thousands of websites across all industries and provides a safe, secure, and easy way to buy or sell websites.

EmpireFlippers

Empire Flippers is another popular marketplace for buying and selling websites with various payment options, including PayPal and Escrow.io. The site also has an advanced search function that lets buyers find what they want based on their budget and other criteria, including niche, traffic, revenue, and more.

Go Daddy Domain Auction

GoDaddy domain auction is a self-service, online auction platform where you can list your domain names for sale. You can list your domains in a variety of categories, including “Buy Now,” “Make an Offer,” and “Auction.” It’s worth noting that GoDaddy charges sellers a small membership fee for using its selling service.

Motion Invest

Motion Invest is an online marketplace for buying and selling websites. It allows sellers to list their sites for sale and buyers to search for sites that meet their needs. The platform offers a 0% listing fee, so if you want to sell a blog and stay on budget, Motion Invest is a good option.

The process of selling your blog

There is a lot of pressure involved in selling your blog. You’ve probably spent years building it, and now you need to find a buyer. Follow these steps, and you’ll be able to sell your blog for a good price.

Step 1: Make sure your blog is ready for sale

The first step to selling your website is to ensure it’s ready for sale. This means getting rid of personal information and ensuring the design is clean, professional, and easy to use. Also, check that your site has no broken links or other technical flaws that might turn off buyers.

Step 2: Determine the value of your blog

Before you start looking for buyers, determine whether your blog is worth selling in the first place. This means you’ll need to make sure that it’s generating enough revenue for its age, has a good number of visitors per month, and has a solid reputation in the niche.

Step 3: Decide how you want to sell it

There are several options for selling a blog, including selling directly to another blogger or using a third-party website such as Flippa or Empire Flippers that specializes in this type of transaction. Each option has pros and cons, so think carefully before deciding.

Step 4: Set a price range

Selling a blog is like selling any other business. You should set a price range to see what kind of offers you get, but also make sure your blog is worth what you are asking. When setting a price range, consider how much time you’ve spent building the site and what it would cost to build an equivalent website from scratch today.

Step 5: Make it easy for buyers

Put together a detailed guide on how to buy the blog and what the buyer needs to know before buying it. This will help eliminate any confusion from buyers interested in purchasing your site and help them make an informed decision about whether or not they should go ahead and purchase.

Step 6: Know your buyer

Many bloggers who want to sell their blogs don’t realize buyers look for more than just traffic numbers and social media followers when they buy a blog. A large audience doesn’t mean anything if the traffic can’t be converted into sales or leads, so make sure that you have a plan in place to convert visitors into subscribers before listing your site online

Step 7: Close the deal

Once you’ve found someone who wants to buy your site, it’s time to start thinking about closing the deal. This is where things get complicated. There are all sorts of documents that need to be signed and hoops to jump through for everything to go smoothly on both sides.

What to do when you receive an offer

Before committing to anything, take your time and understand what’s being offered and what happens next.
If your buyer has already sent over a purchase agreement, read it carefully and make sure everything is spelled out clearly.
Ensure you’re familiar with any contingencies in the seller’s contract (i.e., conditions that must be met before closing takes place).
Set up an escrow account for payment. An escrow service holds on to your money until all of the terms have been met by both parties involved in the transaction.
After you’ve agreed on a price for your blog, you and your buyer will sign some documents that finalize the sale. These include a contract between both parties and a deed transferring ownership of the blog from one person/entity (you) to another (your buyer).
Once all of these papers have been signed and ownership has been transferred. It’s finally time for the buyer to approve the domain on escrow and send the payment to your bank account.

How to create a blog and sell it from scratch

Don’t have a blog to sell yet? Here’s what to do if you’re starting from zero.

Target the most profitable niche

The first step to building a blog is choosing a niche. To find a profitable niche, start by looking at other popular blogs that are already established in your desired field. What kinds of topics do they cover? What kinds of problems do they solve for their readers? How could you create something similar but different enough to be unique and valuable?

Once you have an idea of what niche you want to target, try searching Google Trends to see how popular the topic is with people online right now. The more searches related to a given topic, the more potential there is for making money from it.

Write high-quality content

The most important aspect of any blog is the content. Without it, your blog will not be as successful as you want it to be. This doesn’t mean you need to be a professional writer, but it does mean you need to write articles that are interesting, informative, and useful.

In order for people to want to click on your links, they need to trust you first. That’s why you need to create an image of yourself as an expert in your niche. You can do this by consistently publishing high-quality content that demonstrates your expertise and helps readers solve their problems.

Also, you need to pay close attention to grammar and spelling; only then can you expect your readers to take you seriously.

Get traffic

To attract organic traffic, you need to make sure that people can easily find your blog when they search Google or other search engines. This means having a good title tag, meta description, and content that is relevant to your target keywords.

Also, you can use social media like Facebook and Twitter. These sites allow you to post links directly from your blog so that people can see what you’re writing about in real-time.

Try using Google Analytics to track how many people visit your site daily, weekly, or monthly. This will give you an idea of your post’s popularity and help you determine what type of content works best for attracting new readers.

Monetize your blog

When it comes to monetizing your blog, there are many different ways you can do it. The most common way is through affiliate marketing, which means you promote other people’s products and earn a commission when someone buys something through your link.

Other options include Google ads, courses, e-books, and selling products. The best way is to combine different monetization strategies.

Consider buying and selling other blogs for profit

Another great way you can earn money with blogs is through blog flipping. But what exactly is blog flipping? Blog flipping is the process of buying a blog with existing content and then shaping it into something more profitable.

The idea behind blog flipping is to purchase a blog that has an established readership and turn it into a money-making asset. You can find blogs that have been neglected by their previous owners, which means they may be available at a relatively low cost.

Once you’ve purchased the site, you’ll need to fix any technical issues (such as broken links), update outdated content, add new content and then promote it through social media channels and search engines.

If you’re able to transform the site into something that generates income from ads or affiliate marketing commissions, then it will be worth more than what you paid for it.

The best part about blog flipping is that you don’t need any prior experience; all you need is an entrepreneurial mindset, some cash in your bank account, and some basic web knowledge.

Wrapping it up

It’s important to remember that selling your blog can be a rewarding experience but also a lot of work. You need to know what you want out of the sale and go about getting it accordingly.

You’ll need to do some research to find the right buyer and then prove to them that your blog is worth buying. But once you’ve gone through all the effort, selling your blog can be highly profitable.

Guest Author: Author and the founder of Blogituplife, Shama Shafiq, writes about blogging and marketing on her blog. Her goal with her blog is to help beginner bloggers who need step-by-step guidance.

The post The Ultimate Guide to Selling Your Blog for Profit appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

source https://www.jeffbullas.com/selling-your-blog/

Top 16 Ways to Get More Followers on Instagram in 2023

The 16 Best Ways to Get More Followers on Instagram in 2022

When you’re crafting your digital marketing toolkit, you might be wondering how to get more followers on Instagram.

After all, creating a business account is only the first step. If you don’t have anyone following you, or more importantly – if you don’t have anyone relevant following you, then your efforts won’t pay off in terms of generating customers. You need to have a strong follower base to show great content to so they will convert into customers.

But how do you find these followers?

Well, here are 16 different ways you can get more followers on Instagram this year.

16 ways to get more followers on Instagram

1. Automate your Instagram growth

Growing your following on Instagram doesn’t have to be difficult, especially in 2023.

With an Instagram growth service like Kicksta, you can automate your growth just like you would your posting, analytics or any other task in your business.

The founders of Original Grain, an innovative watch brand with a new technique, knew that Instagram could be an important part of their marketing plan. Original Grain has grown to over 150,000 followers on Instagram with Kicksta’s help.

Because the founders automated their Instagram growth, they’ve been able to focus their time on perfecting their watches and creating impactful content to be used in Instagram marketing.

They’ve been able to monitor their analytics reports to see the consistent traffic Kicksta has brought to their account. Kicksta attracts real, organic followers who engage with their posts, not bots who just sit there and inflate follower numbers. If you’re looking for a way to quickly start getting more Instagram followers, consider automation.

2. Explore Instagram reels

Reels are going to continue to grow in popularity throughout 2023.

Whether you love video or hate it, it’s here to stay. If you haven’t created a Reel yet, now’s the time to do so. You can start with something simple. Just pick a song, point to various places in mid-air on-beat, and then add text where you’re pointing to that explains a concept or something about your business.

Reels are popping up in everyone’s Instagram feed, so make sure you’re there, too.

Top Tip for creating Instagram reels in 2023

When you’re starting out with Reels, it’s important to start by posting consistently. The more Reels you create, the better you’ll become. That said, it can sometimes feel daunting to take on a new form of media.

With Reels, try to create content that’s unique and relatable. Share glamour shots of your products or quick hacks of features your service offers. Create a lyric or dance video to hop on a trend, and then follow it up with something that only applies to your brand. As you test various video types and lengths, you can see what resonates with your audience.

Use your insights tools to analyze your Reels to know which are performing best and track trends.

And have fun with it.

Sure, this is business, but video should be enjoyable for you to make and for your audience to watch. It’s no secret that creators will reuse content from different social media platforms. That isn’t a bad strategy. In fact, it’s a good way to save time. However, if your marketing strategy is to simply repost your TikTok video, you might want to re-think that.

Tweak it a little or at least record it outside of the TikTok app so you don’t have the watermark when you upload to Instagram, unless you’re trying to cross-promote.

Drunk Elephant does a great job with their Reels.

This video feels like it could be something that any average person could have posted, not just a brand, which makes it feel relatable and accessible for many Instagram users.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Drunk Elephant (@drunkelephant)

3. Engaging Instagram stories

Instagram provides so many tools to encourage your followers in your Stories, use them!

Stories are one of the most popular elements of Instagram these days. Many people just get on the platform to scroll through Stories, rather than the feed.

4. Optimise your bio to attract new followers

Your bio can make or break you when someone lands on your profile to hit that “follow” button. Here are some best practices for each piece of your bio:

Profile picture: if possible, include people. If you’re going to have your logo, make sure it’s clear enough to see in a tiny circle.
Bio: in your actual copy, make sure you use the right keywords – your bio is searchable, too!
Branded hashtags: if you use specific hashtags related to your brand, include them in your bio so people can see and use them.
Highlight: use the highlights to your advantage by saving FAQs, your brand’s story, product introductions and other pieces of information your followers might want to know.

Top tip to optimize your bio

To take your Instagram bio to the next level, though, use a link in bio tool to include multiple links to your blog, ecommerce page, and other social media sites. This is an important tip because now you can share multiple links at once, and you don’t have to worry if someone finds a post from weeks ago that sent them to your link in bio. You can just add additional resource links so everyone can find what they’re looking for.

Drivetime does a great job optimizing their Instagram profile, because they’ve included a link in bio tool, they have branded highlights, and their bio copy is short and sweet and contains a hashtag. Their highlight covers are on-brand, which adds to the overall professional look of their bio.

5. Create a strong hashtag strategy

Using the right hashtags is a great way to attract Instagram followers because it helps your posts land in front of the people who want to see and engage with your content. Even if you don’t use a particular keyword in your post copy, as long as it’s relevant you can use that keyword as a hashtag. Then, the people who are interested in and following that hashtag will be able to see your post.

Different kinds of hashtags

Did you know there were a few different kinds of hashtags that you could (and should) be using on your Instagram content?

Brand keyword hashtags have to do with your industry and your brand overall. Any strong hashtags that apply to your overall business fall here. This can also include branded hashtags that you’ve created specifically for your brand. You can use some of these brand keyword hashtags on any of your posts.

The next kind of hashtag is product category hashtags.

If you have a variety of products or product categories, they’ll probably each need a different set of hashtags. For instance, stickers and keychains are similar products, but they can use different hashtags. You should only use the product keyword hashtags that apply to the product or products you mention in a particular post.

Finally, location-specific keywords are most important if you run a business that serves people in a specific area.

If that’s the case, you’ll want to add hashtags of your location frequently. Get creative with the types of hashtags you use, though, especially if your city or town has a nickname. Even if your business isn’t location-based and you can serve customers or clients anywhere, it’s a good idea to add a location hashtag every once in a while, since that’s a great way to attract some followers or customers.

Top tip to creating a hashtag strategy

It can be difficult to decide which relevant hashtags to use, though. There are a few ways to make the process easier.

First of all, use a hashtag generator tool. As long as you have a few keywords to get started, this tool can help you find related hashtags. Another great idea is to see what hashtags your competitors are using. You likely won’t want to copy them exactly, but mixing in a few of their hashtags can be a good decision. Finally, as with any new tactic, track your hashtags analytics to see what’s working.

You don’t want to spend time using a hashtag that isn’t bringing you new followers.

6. Stay on top of your posting

Speaking of consistency, if you’re looking to get ahead in 2023, you need to make sure you’re posting consistently and at the right times. If you build up a strong following and then only post randomly, they’re not going to know what to expect from you and they might decide to unfollow. Instead, create a schedule and stick to it. You don’t have to post everyday, but decide what’ll work for your business and commit to it.

7. Maintain a consistent tone and feed

Staying consistent is important for both attracting followers and keeping them.

If someone sees one or two of your posts, decides they like you and wants to follow, they’re going to want to continue to see the same tone. If you come across as knowledgeable to begin with, you don’t want to then change your tone and seem flippant and carefree. That’s not what your followers signed up for, so to speak.

Top tip for maintaining consistency across your account

Before you start posting (or before you publish your next post), think about what you want your tone to be on Instagram.

Are you going to be playful? Irreverent? Professional? Fun-loving?

There’s no right or wrong answer, but you need to make a decision for your brand voice and then stick with it.

Choose a few adjectives that describe your brand in the tone that you’ve chosen and try to use one of them in each of your next few posts while you’re getting the hang of this.

The blanket brand Minky Couture is very good at keeping their content consistent. Overall, when you look at their feed, you’ll see pale, pastel colors, happy people and, of course, their blankets.

You’ll notice a few of their posts are more red-white-and-blue forward, and those posts were for their Presidents Day sale. It’s important to remember that even if you’re committed to keeping your feed consistent, especially visually, you can break that mold if you have a good reason, like a holiday or a promotion.

8. Optimize your captions for engagement and search

Much like you would optimize your blog post for SEO, you can optimize your Instagram caption for search, too. Believe it or not, people are using Instagram to search for plenty of things, including businesses. Make sure you’re using the right keywords so you can land on the right results pages.

If you’re a photographer in Chicago, make sure that most of your captions include the phrase “Chicago photographer” if you’re trying to find potential clients.

Top tips for caption optimization

The captions of your Instagram posts should start with a catchy headline.

If you’re writing long captions, you only have a couple of lines to capture your audience’s attention and convince them to hit the “read more” button. Start with something catchy that makes them want to keep reading. Then, farther into your caption, ask them a question.

This will give them a very easy way to leave a comment on your post, which helps boost your engagement overall.

Whether you’re looking for a way to break up lines in your caption or just want to add some fun, try mixing some emojis into your copy. This will add some visual appeal and help people skim through your content.

Finally, use strong calls to action (CTAs) in your captions so your audience knows how to respond. Sometimes someone might want to engage with you, but they aren’t sure what kind of comment to leave.

When you ask them a question, like we mentioned, or tell them “tag your friend who’s interested in learning this,” you make it easier for them to engage with you. Working to increase your engagement rate, whether that’s through deciding to curate your content, use templates or stick to a posting schedule, is a practice that will pay off in the long run.

Engagement from real followers will make a big difference in your Instagram marketing strategy.

9. Work with Influencers

Influencer marketing is the real deal in 2023.

People trust the influencers they know and love, and your brand can benefit from that. If you’ve never tried working with an influencer, this is your year. Think of a good pitch and then try it. Begin by following them and engaging with their content so that they know you exist before you slide in their DMs and pitch a partnership.

Once you’ve engaged with them, then you can start working on adding a partnership to your content strategy.

Top tips for working with Influencers

Believe it or not, it’s an excellent idea to consider working with a micro influencer. Major influencers with millions of followers don’t have as strong of a connection with their audience as micro influencers do. In this world, that connection means everything because it means the followers are ready and willing to trust what the influencer has to say and recommend, and that trust is more important than follower count. Also, make sure you share the same target audience. Working with an influencer is only effective if their audience will be interested in your brand.

The protein powder brand Ritual works with influencer Carissa Stanton, better known on Instagram as @broccyourbody.

Carissa recently posted a Reel of a smoothie recipe that used the Ritual protein powder. She’s built her following to know that she prioritizes good, tasty recipes. Anyone who follows her can tell that she cares about what she recommends.

So, when she posts a recipe and recommends a certain brand, her followers can be confident in that ingredient and that partnership.

10. Take advantage of the location and tagging tools

People like to support local businesses, so the more you can use the location tag, the better. Even if you’re an online company that can help people in various locations, using the location feature can be helpful.

Also, whenever it’s appropriate, tag other people or brands in your posts. It might seem counterintuitive, but it works.

Top tips for adding your location and tags

Shoutout or mention other Instagram accounts in your posts when possible and tag them in your content.

This will help you show up in their tagged photos, and they might even share the post out of appreciation! If they did, this would expose your content to more users who might be interested in checking out your brand.

11. Engage your followers with giveaways and contests

Giveaways and contests help boost your engagement. This shows Instagram that your content is valuable and makes the algorithm more likely to boost your posts and share them with new people. It also helps potential new followers see that people actually do engage with your posts, so your content is worthwhile.

Top tip for giveaways and contests

Whenever possible, try to build your contests around User-Generated Content (UGC). Ask people to post about your brand on their profiles and tag you for a chance to win. Not only will you be able to re-post those posts, but you’re also generating endorsements from real people. Their friends are going to see them speaking highly of you and be interested in checking out your page.

12. Be authentic and relatable

2023 is all about authenticity.

Your followers want to see that you’re a real person or brand they can relate to easily. Gone are the days of the perfect, highly-curated feeds, but that doesn’t mean you should just throw random pictures on your feed. You still want to create a nice-looking page, it just doesn’t need to be so manicured that nothing is out of place. When you’re authentic, your audience will be able to recognize you across social networks.

They’ll know you’re the same brand posting quality content on Instagram as you are on LinkedIn.

13. Create more presence on video

We mentioned this earlier regarding Instagram Reels, but there are more ways to use video on Instagram.

IGTV and Instagram Live aren’t going anywhere, so they should be a part of your Instagram strategy. IGTV can be a great place to put product demonstrations. Your audience wants to see this, so it’s likely to get strong engagement.

When it comes to Instagram Live, try doing a Q&A or something else where you are generating engagement while you’re on Live. You can always save the video and use it as an IGTV so you’re getting multiple uses from it.

14. Create content worthy of sharing and saving

Instagram’s algorithm is all based on proving to Instagram that people are interested and engaging with your content. If Instagram sees people are sharing and saving your content, they will know it’s worth seeing, and it’s more likely to show it to more people. This, in turn, can help new potential followers see your content.

Top tips for getting people to save and share your content

Start mixing in some inspirational posts to your currently planned content.

Just like on Pinterest, if you’re posting inspirational content people will save it to come back to later. It’s also easy for people to share their Stories, because it’s something that anyone wants to hear.

Additionally, post relatable or educational content. Again, it’s easy for someone to share because it applies to many people. As you test out new kinds of posts, keep an eye on your metrics to know what’s working best for your brand.

15. Hop on popular trends

Trends are popular for a reason: many people enjoy what they’re about.

Whether it’s a new dance or trending audio on Reels or a new hashtag and post style for your feed, try jumping on a trend the next time you see one. It’ll bring you new Instagram followers and it might just be fun.

Top tip for following Instagram trends

Stay aware of what’s trending right now by spending time on Instagram regularly.

Scroll through your feed and spend time on the Explore page to see what’s popular. Sometimes following trends mean posting a variety of different things. Califia Farms does a great job of sharing different types of posts.

They have recipes, they have photos, they have videos, they tag influencers and they post promotions. They know what their audience enjoys, and they’re willing to post a variety of types of content depending on what’s important on Instagram at the moment.

16. Monitor and adapt your strategy

In social media, things move fast.

To attract new followers in 2023, you have to be consistently analyzing and adapting your content to stay in the game. If you aren’t monitoring your analytics to see what’s working and what isn’t, you’re going to fall behind.

Top tip for social media strategy

Take advantage of Instagram analytics and post insights. They’re built into your app, and they’ll show you what posts are resonating best with your audience.

From there, you can decide how to move forward and what content you should create more of so that your audience continues to engage with it.

Time to get started

So there you have it: 16 ways to optimize your strategy on Instagram and attract new followers at the same time.

Many of these are small changes to what you’re already doing, but some might take a little more time and effort to roll out as part of your social media marketing.

Which one will you implement first to help drive traffic and improve brand awareness?

No matter what you start with, you should see an increase in your number of followers soon.

Guest author: Samantha Hackett is a Marketing Coordinator at Kicksta with expertise in all things Instagram and social media marketing.

The post Top 16 Ways to Get More Followers on Instagram in 2023 appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

source https://www.jeffbullas.com/get-more-followers-on-instagram/

An AI Text Generator will Revolutionize Your Content Marketing

Content marketing was an obscure term that I stumbled upon while reading the book “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” by David Meerman-Scott in 2008. It revealed a new creative digital marketing tactic that turned my old ideas of lead generation on its head.

Instead of chasing customers (outbound marketing) they would chase you if you created online content that solved their problems and informed them (inbound marketing).

Nowadays, the term “inbound marketing” is a common phrase in the digital marketing world and has given rise to a whole industry known as “content marketing”.

As a salesperson that had done the hard yards, it was a revelation. Now we can attract leads and sales rather than chase them.

But the game is about to change again as A.I. text generators change the rules of engagement.

Content Marketing has entered a new phase with AI text generators

The emergence of AI text generators is poised to disrupt traditional practices and paradigms. To understand the significance of this shift, it’s worth noting that we’ve already gone through three phases of content creation.

In the past, content creation involved laborious research and poring over books and other sources to extract insights. However, this process is on the brink of being upended by the advent of AI-powered content creation.

The librarians are not happy.

Phase one: Analog content

Writing content in the past involved researching for information in libraries and weaving your ideas and creativity into the mix. It was slow and laborious and involved paper stuffed between book covers and waiting for the borrowed book you were seeking to be returned a week later.

When I started using the Internet and the Netscape browser in 1994 my first thought was “I no longer need to go to the library”. But the interface and search function was clunky and messy. Often I didn’t find anything useful until page 20! Also the crackling beeping modem was so slow that waiting for it to download a web page involved making a coffee and coming back a few minutes later. And the information was ugly.

But despite the frustration it was a game changer. It was the wild west of the Internet; built for humans rather than geeks. I was in love.

Phase two: Digital content

Google’s emergence in the late 1990’s (enabled by the internet) allowed us global access to humanity’s superconscious that was made usable, faster and friendly.

We now had a connected digital world brain that was searchable and made sense. Their mission was to “Organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”. And they delivered on that promise.

This has been our content playpen for just over 20 years. Phase three made its presence felt on November 30, 2022.

Phase three: Artificial intelligence text generators

A.I. has been the plaything of white coated scientists that created scientific theory and delivered crap. But generative artificial intelligence is now real. And the text format and delivery platform of that tech is ChatGPT.

ChatGPT is powered by A.I. and now provides content marketing professionals and writers with a powerful tool to make them more productive and creative.

A.I. has been given a friendly face (a user interface on the platform ChatGPT) for creating content rather than just links to websites.

The result?

We now have an application that is “Google on steroids”. Content marketing has been supercharged by artificial intelligence.

We are at the tipping point of “Content marketing 2.0”.

How can we use A.I text generators to amplify our content marketing?

Most writers use search results to find information and verifiable resources. Then you need to add that to your content and link. But an AI text generator can write almost all of it for you.

Optimized and accelerated

ChatGPT can write a 700 word article in less than a minute. Then you simply optimize and verify. Currently it doesn’t provide links but Bing’s new search engine is proposing to blend the two.

AI-driven content marketing strategies can help businesses improve their content creation and curation processes, personalize content for their audience, and optimize their content for search engines.

Here are some AI-driven content marketing strategies to consider:

Personalization

AI can help businesses create personalized content for their audience by analyzing data about their preferences, behaviors, and interests. By using AI-powered recommendation engines, businesses can deliver content that is more relevant and engaging to their audience.

Automated content creation

AI can also be used to generate content automatically. This can include using chatbots to create content for FAQs, or using natural language processing (NLP) to generate articles, social media posts, and other content.

Content optimization

AI can help businesses optimize their content for search engines by analyzing keywords, analyzing the performance of similar content, and suggesting improvements to optimize for specific search queries.

Predictive analytics

AI-powered predictive analytics tools can help businesses forecast trends and identify patterns in user behavior, which can help them create content that resonates with their audience and drives engagement.

Visual content creation

AI can also be used to create visual content such as images, videos, and infographics. AI-powered tools can analyze the content, identify relevant visual elements, and create customized visuals that are optimized for social media and other platforms.

Content curation

AI can help businesses curate content that is relevant to their audience by analyzing data about their interests and preferences, and identify relevant content from other sources.

A caveat when using an AI text generator

Just blindly using ChatGPT‘s AI text generator will make your writing look bland and boring.

It’s not a perfect solution or every content marketing writer’s wet dream. Because it doesn’t have a human writer’s “voice”, it lacks personality and is a bit robotic.

Strange about that.

Also it doesn’t understand the nuance of writing rhythm.

It’s free (at the moment), new and raw.

But it is the future.

A.I. text generators also need to be optimized with the technicalities of SEO. These include headlines, URL’s that Google loves, keyword density, hierarchical topics and much more.

But by implementing AI-driven content marketing strategies, businesses can improve the quality and relevance of their content, personalize their marketing efforts, and optimize their content for search engines, all of which can drive engagement and conversions.

The post An AI Text Generator will Revolutionize Your Content Marketing appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

source https://www.jeffbullas.com/ai-text-generator/

9 Best Instagram Tools for Instagram Marketing (Revealed)

7 Best Instagram Tools for Massive Instagram Growth in 2019

If you’re serious about growing your Instagram following, you need to get the right Instagram tools to help you reach your goals.

Whether you’re looking for ways to expand your reach or track your progress, there is a tool out there that can help you.

It’s just a matter of finding which one will maximize your efforts.

To save you time, we’ve put together a list of the eight best Instagram tools to improve your Instagram presence in 2023.

1. Useviral: Voted Top Emerging Talent 2023

Useviral has a strong reputation for proving the highest quality Instagram services and providing quick and affordable results.

All packages include:

Highest quality followers
High-retention followers
30 day-refill
Dedicated account manager

When you purchase from Useviral you be assured you will get fast and effective results, and you will be supported by a dedicated account manager.

With their great reputation and outstanding results they have achieved for their customers we highly recommend them.

Try Useviral now

2. Kicksta: Get Real Instagram Followers

It’s no secret that having more real followers on Instagram leads to higher engagement, website clicks, and sales for your business.

But growing a following on Instagram is harder and more time-consuming than ever.

Kicksta is an Instagram growth service that helps you attract your ideal audience and grow your following on autopilot.

Kicksta’s growth methods are simple and organic. Describe your ideal follower and Kicksta will find and engage with users who match your specification.

These interactions increase your brand awareness and organic growth without having to spend hours on Instagram yourself.

Here are two quotes from happy customers of Kicksta:

“Our Instagram growth and engagement has gone up by 20% and I also learned tips and tricks that have helped me manage my account better!”

Emma Wakely, Travel Blogger and Influencer, @wanderingsupertramps

“Instead of spending endless amounts of time liking photos to get growth for our clients, we can spend it creating compelling content and cultivating a community on the accounts we run. It saves us hours and hours a day,”

Alicia Civile, Co-founder of LACE Photo Media

3. Hashtagsforlikes: Use trending hashtags

How do you choose the hashtags you use in your Instagram posts? Is there any data-driven analysis or are you just swinging for the fences?

Using trending hashtags is proven to increase your reach and help you get more followers. Which is why hashtagsforlikes is such an amazing Instagram tool for your arsenal. This tool detects the most trending hashtags based on a search of your choice and instantly provides analytics, data, and hashtag recommendations that you can use to increase your exposure. It’s a must-have for any serious Instagram marketer.

If you want to find out how hashtagsforlikes can help grow your fanbase organically go here. Hashtag searches are free, so you can get started straight away. But by going premium you unlock a suite of powerful hashtag tools to help support your success on Instagram, I highly recommend it.

Here is what a happy customer had to say:

“The changes were instant after I started using the HashtagsForLikes service. I love the lists the dashboard provides for me, whether I want to use Most Popular hashtags, Trending hashtags, or Related hashtags. HTFLS changes daily and that way your hashtags are never stale!”

Tamara Bowman, @tamaracameraphoto 30k+ followers

4. InVideo: Edit Videos for Instagram

For fast, easy and effective video editing, InVideo is one of the best Instagram tools out there. With video marketing on the rise, it’s important to keep up with the industry. The InVideo Instagram video editor, allows you to choose from thousands of flexible and customizable templates and become an Instagram video pro.

Almost 75% of traffic online is motivated by videos. If your brand hasn’t embraced video as a key part of your strategy, now is the time. With InVideo, video editing is as easy as uploading your videos and photos to their site and choosing an editing style and soundtrack from the provided options. InVideo’s technology will take over and generate a beautiful video for you to distribute however you’d like.

“An incredible program to make quality videos. I can openly recommend it to anyone looking for a program to create excellent quality videos.”

Paula C

5. trendHERO: Search and Check Instagram Influencers

Very simple idea: if you want real followers just find people with real followers and ask them for promotion. It’s like the quintessence of influencer marketing!

trendHERO allows you to gather a large Instagram influencers’ list and instantly analyze them. 45M+ database of accounts all over the world, keywords search, 13 different filters. You’ll see engagement rate, audience type, geo, interests, and much more for analysis and fake detection (90+ metrics). There are several plans starting from $10.

For example, you could compare the audience type of followers and likers. So you could in three simple steps find influencers and choose the most effective one for your promotion.

trendHERO is an all-in-one tool for influencer marketing. It includes:

Similar bloggers discovery
Database of influencers’ promotions (posts and stories)
Competitor ads monitoring
Contacts (email and phone)
Report and list exports
Growth tracking
Influencers list management

For example, you just type any influencer’s account name and trendHERO will gather 500 similar accounts based on their followers. It’s a very powerful and comprehensive feature for marketers and business owners who start searching in new niches.

So it’s one of the best Instagram influencer platforms with good pricing and accurate reports.

6. Planoly: Schedule Your Instagram Posts

Speaking of wanting to save time and avoid losing yourself on Instagram for hours at a time, one of the most important Instagram tools to have is an Instagram scheduler.

Planoly, the first visual Instagram planner, gives you the ability to visually plan out your content, meaning you can post consistently and keep your grid looking beautiful. For many businesses, consistent Instagram posts mean consistent business.

Let Planoly handle the posting so you can focus on engagement and building your brand. Your scheduled posts will be automatically published to Instagram, saving you time and energy each day. As an official Instagram partner, Planoly ensure that your posts are published, so you never have to worry about missing a post. Created by a designer and an editor, Planoly has all of the features you need in an Instagram scheduler with nothing extra to get in your way.

Here is a quote from a happy Planoly customer:

“Planoly has genuinely saved my life. I’m the only person managing social. Without it I would not be able to be here right now – I’d still be at my desk!”

Madison Utendahl, @MUSEUMOFICECREAM

7. Iconosquare: Track Your Instagram Analytics

If you know what you’re looking for, analytics can provide you with so much useful information about your audience. Iconosquare provides actionable Instagram analytics and industry benchmarks that can easily make a difference in your strategy. They track metrics like engagement rate per post, impressions history, and follower evolution for your traditional posts.

If you’re looking for data on your Instagram stories, as well, Iconosquare offers that. You’ll gain insight on when to post your stories, what types of stories to include, reach, impressions and more. If that’s not enough for you, they’ll also generate insight on your profile activity and links, hashtag tracking, and competitor tracking. Iconosquare is a complete Instagram analytics solution.

A quote from an Iconosquare user:

“With Iconosquare, we’re able to easily track our performance in full detail. It’s become an essential tool for us to grow and engage with our audience.”

Diana Choi, Digital Marketing Executive, Hypebeast

8. Crello: Create Instagram Graphics

Instagram can be intimidating if graphic design isn’t necessarily your strong suit. Crello is one of the best Instagram tools for people who want beautiful visuals without investing a lot of time into creating them. Don’t worry about spending money hiring a designer or hours learning new software. Crello offers a wide variety of themes, formats, photos and illustrations that are sure to make your life easier and your Instagram beautiful.

Designing should be enjoyable, and Crello offers a straightforward solution for marketers, entrepreneurs, and anyone who wants to make beautiful designs. Choose from any of the beautiful, ready-to-go templates on Crello’s site, and you’ll be well on your way to high-quality, amazing designs. If you’re still stumped, Crello’s inspiration collection is full of post ideas for any holiday, topic, or message you can imagine.

Here’s what a Crello user had to say about this tool:

“In a #startup you may wear many different hats, this simplified graphic design tool can help via @davidrlroberts”

Radivision, @RadivisionTV

9. Lightroom: Edit Instagram Photos

Speaking of design for non-designers, Lightroom offers an easy way to edit your photos so they have a cohesive look. Whether you want to use the available presets or play around to create your own perfect edit, Lightroom will make your feed look consistent. Adobe’s intuitive interface means you won’t have to spend lots of time learning the software before you create images that look exactly how you want. Lightroom also uses Adobe’s cloud, which means you can access and edit your photos online whenever you want.

It can be frustrating if you can’t find that photo you know would be perfect for your next post. With Adobe’s Sensei technology, your photos will be auto-tagged with searchable keywords. Once you find your images and they are edited the way you like them, you have the option to post directly to social media through Lightroom. If you’re not looking to schedule these images for the future, this can be a great feature. Adobe Lightroom makes finding and editing your photos for Instagram a breeze.

“Adobe’s Photoshop Lightroom remains the gold standard in pro photo workflow software. It’s a complete package, with top-notch organization tools, state-of-the-art adjustments, and all the output and printing options you’d want.”

Michael Muchmore, PC Magazine, @MikeMuch

10. HypeAuditor: Analyze Your Instagram Followers

Have you ever had a sneaking suspicion that some of your followers weren’t real? If you have over 1,000 followers, HypeAuditor will analyze your profile for your audience quality, demographics and engagement. They will make sure you only have real, quality Instagram followers who want to be there and engage with your content. As a content creator, it’s a great feeling when someone engages with your posts. HypeAuditor can help you make sure those are real engagements. This can help you zero in on your loyal audience and encourage them to engage with your posts.

On another note, if you’re looking to evaluate the authenticity of someone else’s Instagram account, HypeAuditor makes this as easy as entering their username. Brands want to work with influencers who have real followers, not purchased engagement. Running your username through HypeAuditor can help you understand if you need to make changes to your follower base or if you’re good to go.

“HypeAuditor works like magic. The accuracy and depth of information the tool provides is really great. I especially like how HypeAuditor puts numbers into context.”

Trajan Tosev, Social Media Expert, @trajan.tosev

Hire someone to grow your account

Instead of using one of these services, you could hire someone to help grow your Instagram account.

If so, check out Fiverr.com, the world’s leading freelancer marketplace. There you can find the right freelancer to do whatever you need at the right price – including creating Instagram content, running ads, launching a giveaway, or just promoting your account to a large group of people.

Wrapping up

Instagram can be a tricky platform to market your business, but with a great strategy and the right tools to help you get there, you will likely see excellent results.

Add these 7 Instagram tools into your game plan and you’ll not only see your Instagram followers grow, but you’ll save time doing it.

I hope this list has been helpful as you plan your strategy for the year.

The post 9 Best Instagram Tools for Instagram Marketing (Revealed) appeared first on Jeffbullas's Blog.

source https://www.jeffbullas.com/best-instagram-tools/