Tag: instagram strategy

How To Host An Instagram Giveaway

Clairemont InternBlog, Marketing, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , , ,

Insta giveaways can pack a punch, but if not carefully thought out, your business could run the risk of making an Instagram flop and losing time and resources. But have no fear. We’ve pulled together five steps to host the best Instagram giveaway yet:

Plan the Product

What can you offer that will be of value to your followers/customers? Is it an experience, a hallmark product you have in stock or a gift card to your location? Keep in mind, the larger dollar value behind the product, the more potential followership you can gain.

Plan the Timeline

Creating a timeline for your Instagram giveaway will prevent stress while the giveaway is live on your account. First, decide if you want to promote the giveaway on your Instagram account before the giveaway goes live. Then, choose your start date and time. Check your Insta business stats to choose a post time that garners the highest fan engagement. Consider posting a giveaway reminder, such as a promo on your Insta story or a second Insta feed post. A reminder serves to reach followers that might not have seen the giveaway when it was originally posted. Finally, choose the giveaway end date and when you’ll announce the winner(s). Most giveaways perform well when hosted over the course of a few days.

Plan the Announcement Photo

Spend time planning how you will display the product up for grabs. Include telltale words, like “giveaway,” somewhere in the actual photo, making a simple connection when your followers see the post at first glance. Promote the photo across other social media platforms,  encouraging followers from other social media sites to visit your Instagram page.

Plan the Caption

Instagram has specific guidelines for hosting giveaways. Make sure that your giveaway meets all of the requirements of Instagram. Requirements for entering the giveaway might include liking the photo, following your account, liking your last five photos, etc. Again, reference Insta’s rules, which prohibit encouraging people “to tag themselves in photos if they aren’t in the photo.” A finalized Instagram caption will typically follow this sequence: 1. Announcing your business is hosting a giveaway and what is being given. 2. Your requirements to enter the giveaway. 3. Instagram official terms (age requirement, location requirement, etc.).

Plan and Announce the Winner

It’s time to pick a winner! We suggest using sites like Rafflecopter or Random Name Picker to select a winner at random. Broadcasting this selection process via Instagram stories or Instagram Live will allow your followers to see that the giveaway winner was randomly selected and not specifically chosen. To announce the winner you can change the original caption of the giveaway photo and tag the winner to claim their prize, post a dedicated Instagram photo or broadcast the winner on an Instagram Live or story.

Time to get busy! While you’re planning, check out our post on how to take an Instagram-worthy photo to become a rockstar at taking photos for your feed.

Written by Clairemont intern, Kennedy Norton, a junior at North Carolina State University.

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Take an Instagram-worthy Photo

Clairemont InternBlog, Public Relations, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , , ,

“No one’s life is as perfect as his or her Instagram feed.”

Have you ever scrolled past a photo of food or clothing on Instagram and instantly been awed? Without even realizing it, more than just the item on display caught your eye. The photo you loved was staged, filtered and carefully planned by its publisher. You might be surprised to learn just how much planning goes into an Instagram photo! (Those who rock their Instagram feeds can even make a career out of it!)

Here are our tips to becoming a rockstar at Instagram-worthy photos:


Use the best camera that you know how to use. Not all of the best photos Instagram has to offer are taken with a professional HDR camera. An iPhone equips you to take a clear and precise image. Focus on the object by tapping on your screen; turn off HDR to promote clarity. If you do know how to use a more professional camera, absolutely use it, as it offers a variety of manual settings and functionalities.

Leverage natural lighting. Lighting plays a vital role in the quality of the image. Using natural outdoor lighting, whether outside or through a window, will produce life-like images. Be sure not to take photos in direct sunlight, as it will overexpose the image. Aim to photograph in a setting with shade, overcast light and at sunrise or sunset to produce the best quality.

Stage it. First, select a background that expertly showcases your subject. For example, a white backdrop will showcase a complex item or product. A background with a pattern or specific colors will complement your product or person while adding interest and dimension. Keep in mind that photo size restrictions might apply. For example, shooting a photo in square mo
de via your iPhone is always a safe move to match Instagram’s feed. According to Colorlib, the maximum upload for a vertical image without cropping is 1080px in width by 1350px in height and 1080px in width by 566px in height for horizontal images. Finally, employ the rule of thirds, mentally dividing your image with two horizontal and two vertical lines. Note where the horizontal and vertical lines meet, like demonstrated in the graphic, and position the most important elements at the points of intersection. Using the rule of thirds is easy by turning on your iPhone’s grid feature.

Angle it. Explore changing the angles of your photo for widely varied outcomes. For example, stand high above to shoot directly over your product or get on ground level with the object to capture a profile view.

Edit it. Few Instagram-worthy photos are uploaded without a filter or two. To create a coherent feed, apply the same filters to your photos. Of course, you might need to lighten an image more so than another, but if you’re sharpening images to add clarity, sharpen them all. If you’re removing the highlights, remove them all. The app VSCO provides multiple tools to achieve the perfect edit. You can add or remove exposure, contrast, saturation and skin tone — just to name a few. The app Color Story supplies hundreds of additional filters. Need to smooth a specific part of a photo or swap two different pieces of the photo altogether? Check out Facetune.

Follow these steps, and you’re ready to post. We bet it’s your best Instagram photo yet! In the meantime, check out how to use “Instagram ‘Highlights’ for Business” to continue to grow your company’s Insta presence.

Written by Clairemont intern, Kennedy Norton, a junior at North Carolina State University.

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3 New Hacks for Social Storytelling

Cherith AndesBlog, Marketing, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , ,

Major social media updates, such as Facebook Livestream, top headlines and spur chatter in the industry. But smaller tweaks that might go unnoticed can also play a big role in your social strategy. Here are three surfacing tools that can boost your brand’s online presence.

1. Location, Location, Location!

Location Stories on Instagram
We’re all used to searching for posts by location, but searching for Instagram stories by location? It’s social media’s continuing nod to the sharing culture, another way to co-create experiences, memories and — in a way — the identity of a location. Instagram pulls stories from users who have included location stickers in their stories. Right now, it appears that these features are limited to larger locales, such as a city (rather than a shopping complex or specific store). While we’re waiting for this feature to be (hopefully) available for individual locations, utilize the opportunity to have your story featured by the location; include shots of your business or product to integrate your culture with the larger narrative of the area.

2. Go Live! (Or at least fake it).

Live Photos on Instagram
Launched with the iPhone 6s, the Live Photo feature captures the context of a still image, unveiling a little more background to the story. There’s now a work-around to be able to share these glimpses on Instagram. With the surging popularity of video, this provides yet another tactic to share your business’ story with your audience.

3. Let Me Take a (Filtered) Selfie.

Alright, this one hasn’t quite launched yet, but here’s a sneak peek — via Mashable’s infinite wisdom. Give your selfie a face lift…with someone else’s face! Slated to be unveiled later this summer at the SIGGRAPH conference, this new photo stylization technique imposes the style of a painting, artist or statue onto your selfie. No need for self-tanner; just choose a face from a bronze statue.

Looking for other tips to beef up your Instagram? Oh, yeah. We got ‘em.

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