I didn’t know much about it at the time but it seemed like a great way to grow my community and I’m always down for an experiment. I hosted the #30daysofcreating challenge leading up to the launch of createlounge.com last May.

I learned a lot about what worked (and consequently, what didn’t) so I wanted to share my experience with you today along with a few tips for hosting your own. This is the resource I wish I would’ve had when I started!

Determine your purpose, goals, timeline, and objectives

Before you dive straight into the actual prep work of an Instagram challenge, let’s make sure it has a strong foundation. First, you must know why you actually want to host your own challenge. Here are a few common reasons:

• You’re launching a new product or service and want to create a conversation around it
• You’re interested in featuring more UGC in your brand (short for user-generated content which basically means relevant content that you use for your brand that has been created by someone else)
• You’ve been wanting to tackle your own personal challenge and think taking it public will help keep you accountable

Whether it’s one of these reasons or something entirely different, be sure to write the purpose of your Instagram challenge down so you can refer back to it as needed.

Your purpose will lead into setting your goals and objectives. We have to know what a successful Instagram challenge looks like in your eyes before we can get started. Here are a few common metrics:

• X number of participant posts
• X number of participants
• X number of likes and comments (aka engagement)
• X number of client inquiries or sales (aka conversions)
• X number of pageviews (please note that Instagram is better with generating in-platform actions than driving traffic but if this is still a goal, go for it)

Lastly, let’s cover the timeline. What is the best length for your Instagram challenge? The most common lengths are 5-7 days, 2 weeks, or a month long. If you are launching a new product or service, it should probably be for the same length.

One thing I did learn about hosting a month-long challenge is that it is a bit more difficult to sustain the excitement and buzz over time. For that reason, I think shorter Instagram challenges perform better, but do what is right for your schedule. You can also survey your audience if you want to see what they’d prefer too.

Create a name and hashtag for the challenge

Now comes the fun part! When you’re naming your Instagram challenge, it’s important to check to see if (1) it’s already being used by a competitor, (2) it’s a well-established hashtag with lots of activity, or (3) it’s been used for completely irrelevant content.

If you still want to use the name, you can add a word like “challenge” to the end of it or the number of days the challenge goes for. Instagram doesn’t care about character count like Twitter does for hashtags so this is a relatively simple way to keep your name.

If there’s one thing to keep in mind when naming your Instagram challenge, or anything for that matter, it is this:

Clear > Clever

Start brainstorming quick prompts for what people will share

An Instagram challenge is only as good as its prompts. Give yourself some space in your timeline to create really engaging prompts. Keep a small notebook around you or use the Notepad app in your phone to jot down spur-of-the-moment ideas. Sitting down to have a one-time brainstorming session can help too. Here’s a few more brainstorming techniques if you want to try something out-of-the-box.

Take your photos ahead of time

Nothing will stress you out quite like not having all of your photos captured before hosting your Instagram challenge. Trust me, just put in the work beforehand. When I hosted mine, I had all of the challenge graphics made for the #createlounge account but only had about half of my personal account entries done. It was not a great move on my part as I got overwhelmed toward the end of the challenge.

This goes for editing too. If you use a specific filter or mix of settings, edit all of your photos in one sitting ahead of time. It will save you a lot of time down the road and help you feel better when launching.

Write the prompt captions for each photo

Just like with taking the photos, write these captions ahead of time. Your captions should be clear and concise so participants can quickly interpret the challenge prompts and share their own photos and visuals. If you need some more tips on writing captions, I’ve got your back.

Another thing on the list of “What Kayla Did Wrong” was that I didn’t share the full list of Instagram challenge prompts before I launched the challenge. I did this intentionally because I wanted to really inspire everyone participating to create something totally new every day rather than reaching into their archive of photos but I got some negative feedback about it early on.

The truth is many people like to plan out their feed days or even weeks ahead of time so publishing the prompts will help them add your challenge into their content calendar. It’s a best practice now for hosting Instagram challenges and your homegirl had to learn the hard way, but that’s okay! I’ve learned for next time.

Schedule the photos and captions

Now that you’ve got all of the photos with their matching captions, it can save a lot of time up front to schedule them before you launch. I like using the Later app which allows you to schedule photos and captions on your desktop (which I totally love!) or app and sends you reminders to make sure you post it at your desired time.

Without this app, my overwhelm would have been through the roof! It’s easily the best “time hack” in my whole Instagram challenge planning process.

(Note: I am not affiliated with this app, but I really love their team and what they do!) 

Announce the challenge

Phew! Now that the prep work is done, it’s time to let people know about it. Here are a few great ways to announce that you’ll be hosting an Instagram challenge:

• Create a landing page for the challenge with an opt-in form to get updates
• Write a blog post that explains the details of your challenge and gives some sneak peeks as to what people can expect
• Send a newsletter to your subscribers to let them know and give them an exclusive look at the prompts first
• Email your closest business and blogging besties to ask if they’d be willing to participate
• Host a Twitter chat and announce the challenge while everyone is gathered

Engage with participants during the challenge

Once you kick off your challenge, you’ll want to make sure you are regularly interacting with participants. You don’t want to go silent just because you’ve already scheduled your photos and captions. The success in your challenge is ALL in the conversations. Be active in the hashtag feed and briefly check in at least 2-3 times a day.

Now it’s your turn to try!

The post How to Host Your Own Instagram Challenge appeared first on Sindie.

It’s one thing to entice someone to follow you. It’s another for them to stay engaged.

Engagement on Instagram is more important than ever, largely due to the new algorithm. There’s a lot of talk about how to use the best filter for your brand photos or how to style your flat lay, but there are many more variables that factor into a post’s engagement.

Let’s break it down.

First, what is engagement, really? It’s a buzzword that is often thrown around but rarely defined. Think of it as an action your audience takes regarding your post. This could be in the form of double tapping a photo to like it, leaving a thoughtful comment, or even clicking the link in your bio.

Have a call-to-action (CTA) in every post

This does not mean changing your website link and saying ‘link in bio’ at the end of every. single. caption. It’s important to change up your CTA to keep things fresh, unique, and unpredictable. The most overlooked CTA is asking your audience a relevant question. It’s the most simple way to start a conversation.

Adding a question at the end of your caption gives your followers a quick, clear way to share their thoughts rather than having to mentally search for something to say on their own. Once you’ve got your audience’s attention, keep it until the end with an engaging question.

Tell a story in your caption

Every now and then it’s okay to have a witty one-liner, but people are following you on Instagram because they want to get to know you. The more you open up (see buzzword: transparency) and share your heart along with your work, the more you’ll make a lasting impact.

Match the story in your caption to the story in your photo

The stories in your caption and photo don’t have to match up perfectly but they should be similar enough to make sense when blended together. When they have a similar mood, vibe, and sentiment, you’ll be able to share a variety of stories within your brand.

For example, if you have a picture of a beautiful sunset you are dying to share but your primary goal with Instagram is promoting your handmade goods, you can post the photo and talk about a recent highlight or “ah-ha” moment that changed your approach to business or a new sales or subscribers goal that you reached with the help of Instagram friends.

Include *relevant* hashtags

You’ve probably heard a lot about how important hashtags are to your Instagram’s success because it’s true. When you use relevant hashtags, you’re able to find and attract dreamy clients, buyers, and readers who are already interested in the subject matter of your post. I chat a bit more about hashtags in my Instagram captions post.

Make the most of the characters you have in your caption before ‘Read More’

Remember when Instagram showed the entirety of post captions in our home feeds? Oh, those were the days. Now the tool gives you about three lines before it hides the rest of your caption behind a ‘read more’ link.

Think of it like Twitter. You only have a few dozen characters to make an impact so your first sentence should act as a hook to entice your audience to take action. The action, in this case, is reading more. Keep this in mind when you’re crafting your captions.

Optimize your time for engagement

One of the best ways to increase your engagement is to free up more time for it. You can plan your content (photos, hashtags, CTAs, and captions) all in one sitting so posting every day becomes a simple task.

My favorite tool for this is Later, formally Latergramme, which allows you to schedule and plan your Instagram posts from your mobile or desktop. It even sends reminders to your phone if you have a tendency to forget like me. (Oops!)

The post 6 Steps to Higher Engagement on Instagram appeared first on Sindie.

Brands are flocking to Instagram and rightfully so. The power of visual marketing on Instagram is like no other social platform we’ve seen to date.

While some brands are putting their entire focus on hitting the next thousand follower mark as quickly as possible, you’re smart and know that engagement is the most important metric on Instagram. Luckily, we’re not the only ones who think so.

Instagram recently updated their Top Posts algorithm to highlight photos with the highest engagement rates, meaning it compares the ratio of interactions (such as likes and comments) to the number of followers. This is why you’ll see photos in the Top Posts section with a wide range of likes from an even wider range of follower counts.

No matter if you are just starting your online business Instagram account or ramping up your Instagram game, engagement should be your primary focus. One of the best ways to inspire engagement is through your Instagram captions.

You’re already investing time into shooting and editing photos for your eye-catching Instagram feed. Now it’s time to seal the deal with your captions and start a conversation with your target audience.

Let’s break it down!

Include only one CTA

Every photo in your Instagram feed should serve one purpose. That purpose is to get your audience to take an action. Giving your audience several options at once actually discourages them from taking action on any one of them.

Instead, include one CTA, which is an abbreviation for “call-to-action.” Here are some common CTAs you’ll find in Instagram captions:

• Click the link in the bio
• Answer a question
• Tag your friends in the comment section
• Poll your audience for their vote
• Repost an image

The list goes on. Remember, do not distract your audience from the real action you want them to take. If it’s to give you feedback on something specific, don’t reference a link in your bio and ask people to tag their friends. Focus in for your best results.

Choose the right hashtags

Hashtags are one of the best and worst things about Instagram. They are great for helping you build your reach but are often abused by users who fill them with irrelevant photos. You only want to use the hashtags that will help you reach your dreamy clients and buyers.

To find hashtags that are relevant to you, look at other professionals in your niche to see which hashtags they’re using, especially if they have a highly engaging feed. You can also look for people on Instagram who fit your ideal client/buyer/reader profile and look at which hashtags they use on a regular basis.

Tell a story

Sure, you could write a quick one-liner, but it’s not as engaging as a story would be. Of course, the story doesn’t have to be a novel, but in order to start a conversation in your comment section, you’ll want to spend some time crafting an interesting story. This especially works well for personal brands.

It’s important that your caption adds real value to your photo. After all, your main goal is to inspire your audience enough to hit the Read More button so they can continue connecting with you. The comments that follow are priceless.

Not sure which story to tell or even how to tell your story? These questions might help you get started:

• If your photo could talk, what would it say?
• What story is most relevant to your life right now?
• Can a past memory be paired with a recently captured photo?
• How does this story help me tell my bigger brand story?

Infuse your personality

People want to connect with people, not logos. Humanize your Instagram captions by cultivating your own unique voice. The more approachable and authentic your written voice feels, the more you’ll be able to build loyalty and trust.

Another way to showcase your personality and add a little pizazz is through emojis! One way to discover your emoji style (if that’s not a thing, let’s make it one!) is to look at the Frequently Used emoji keyboard on your photo. Which ones feel on-brand? Consider it your new emoji dictionary.

The post The Anatomy of an Effective Instagram Caption appeared first on Sindie.