Instagram

3 Ways to Use Instagram to Increase Your Affiliate Commissions

By sharing your affiliate links on Instagram, you can drastically increase the amount of money you make through these programs. However, simply dropping an affiliate link into a post isn’t going to cut it.

Updated: A Look Inside | Small Talk’s Social Media Toolbox 2.0

When I was just starting out as a freelance social media manager, I wrote this post which outlined the tools that I was using to manage my business and make life feel a little less hectic.

Over the past two years, some of those resources have definitely stood the test of time. However, as I’ve grown my business, updated my offerings, and brought on a team-- many of my needs have changed-- which means my business tools have too!

The Difference Between an Influencer and a Micro-Influencer (And Which is Best For Your Brand)

An Instagram influencer is defined as someone who has established an engaged audience on Instagram and can use their credibility, trustworthiness, and authenticity to persuade that audience to convert.

In short, an influencer is anyone who has influence over a group of people.

It’s a common misconception that in order to successfully partner with an influencer, the influencer account must have an extremely high number of followers, or be a high-profile celebrity.

This is simply not true.

The 5 Things Every Influencer Needs on Their Media Kit

If you’re interested in working with brands on your social media accounts, blog, or podcast -- you’re going to need a media kit.

A media kit is essentially a content creator’s resume.

It’s used to share the details + statistics of your online reach and partnership capabilities.

Even those who wish to be micro-influencers (accounts with less than 10k followers) should have something on hand to share important details about themselves with potential partners.

How to Save Time on Social with Templates

Let’s face it. As a business owner, you’ve got plenty to do on any given day.

You know the drill.

Each time you check something off of your list, another task is magically added.

It’s a never ending cycle-- and to top it all off, apparently you’re supposed to post high quality content consistently (like every day?!) to social media.

What? Who has that kind of time?!

7 Creative Ways to Grow Your Brand with Instagram Stories

So maybe you’ve heard how important Instagram Stories are becoming.

Maybe you heard it from me ;)

Maybe you see all of your online pals + competitors hopping on and using Stories, and you get it. You understand why + how they work.

You’re totally onboard. Stories are “a thing” on Instagram now. There’s no turning back.

Take Your Instagram Stories to the Next Level with these 5 Apps

Let me ask you a question.

Are you using Instagram Stories regularly for your business?

If the answer is “NO”, you might want to rethink your current marketing strategy.

4 Ways to Build Your Business With Instagram Stories

When Instagram first announced it’s new Stories feature in August of 2016, the world let out a universal deep sigh and collectively rolled their eyes.

Much of the initial pushback on the new feature was because, well-- Snapchat was already doing that… get a life, Instagram, stop playing.

However -- in true Alpha fashion, Insta-stories quickly surpassed SnapChat’s daily active users, and has continued to beef up the in-app offerings with exciting new features.

Do You Need to Be on Every Social Media Platform?!

“Which social media platforms do I need to be on?” is a question that I get asked a lot.

“Should I use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, SnapChat, Youtube? All of them? Some of them? None of them? HALP!!”

The simple answer is— there is no simple answer for every business. #sorry

Does Your Instagram Bio Suck?! (And How to Fix It...)

Let’s have a chat about your Instagram BIO.

Real Talk : In my time on Instagram professionally, I’ve seen some BAD business owner bios.

Bios that barely say anything, or worse, bios that say all the wrong things.

Business bios that say things like “I love coffee, The Bachelor + weekends reading at the library.”

To those bios I say, WHO EFFING CARES.

The Good, The Bad, and The Insta-Bots...

When it comes to automation, I’m a BIG fan.

Maybe it’s because I’m a type A list-maker who loves getting stuff done. (Bonus: Not having to physically do it all myself).

I especially love it when I can get everything accomplished in an extremely efficient manner.

“Automate It” might just be my new motto.

6 Tips for Local Businesses on Instagram...

Let’s talk about local business + Instagram for a minute.

If you own or operate a 4 wall brick + mortar, like a hair salon, a restaurant, a local boutique or a gym— your interest in social media probably lies more heavily in wanting to use your feed to get warm bodies into your establishment, rather than gaining a million followers who never will.

Or at least that’s where your interest should be.

5 Ways to Build Trust with your Audience with Social Media...

There’s a quote from author, Bob Burg, that says, “All things equal, people will do business with, and refer business to people they Know, Like, and Trust”

This makes total sense, right?

I mean, we’ve probably all been in a situation where someone has asked us for a referral— for a doctor, a hair stylist, a place to eat— and we default to someone/somewhere we personally know/go.

3 Ways to Deal with Slow Engagement on Instagram...

It’s not really a huge surprise, but I’ve noticed that many business owners tend to focus all of their efforts on Instagram into growing a following.

Some will even gauge the “success” of the account strictly by the number of followers they acquire.

And sure, while it’s great to have a large number show up in that little box labeled “followers”, that isn’t necessarily putting any money in the bank.