Instagram Starts Testing Invisible Likes. Here’s What That Means For The Future of Instagram

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Imagine yourself scrolling through your Instagram feed and not feeling such a heavy weight on your shoulders when you don’t get enough likes on your photo. Although this can totally be an issue rooted in a lack of self-confidence, it happens to even the most confident where likes dictate how you feel about yourself or what you posted.

So if the possibility of Instagram hiding your likes has driven you into panic mode, worry no more. We’ve touched on this topic and its implications previously on our podcast, The Label, and today we’ll be digging even deeper. As these changes continue to roll out and people continue to freak out, we’re here to help you understand exactly what these changes mean and why you have nothing to worry about. Let’s get started!

Producing meaningful and quality content will become more important than ever.

When you create focusing solely on vanity metrics such as likes and follows, you tend to disconnect from what makes you who you are. You begin to create content that doesn’t truly speak to you and your audience. This happens because you’ve based so much importance on these metrics to dictate how well you do.

Here’s the thing. Although having a ton of likes is great, it’s also about the quality of these interactions. It’s better to have 300 likes from people who actually love what you do and will eventually buy from you rather than likes from 1,000 people who just don’t care.

Removing likes from the public eye will help content creators produce material that’s more in alignment with who they are. But also, it’ll change the social dynamic so there are less mental health concerns around basing your worth on superficial metrics.

Genuine comments and story mentions will be the next visual measurable metrics.

As these changes roll out, the quality of your social interactions will become the primary measure of your performance. People will look to how many comments you have as an indication of a well-performing post. Following the comment section, story mentions will be insanely important. If you want to boost the quality of the comments and overall interactions you have on social media you have to go after them. That means, be more social! Don’t wait for the party to come to you, be the party and go say hi to people who look like they’d enjoy what you’re all about. Do this multiple times a week and eventually your comments and DMs will look less like “nice feed👍” and more like “wow, you read my mind! I need this in my life.😍”

What does this mean for users purchasing their engagement?

We hate to be the bearer of bad news but it’s only because we love you and want what’s best for you! Honestly, you have nothing to worry about with these changes as long as you don’t purchase your likes, comments, follows or automate your activity on social media. But heads up if you do! Instagram doesn’t play when it comes to this and they will at best shadowban you from appearing to new accounts and at worst they’ll delete you. No warning at all. So if you’ve been trying to fake it ‘til you make it by buying engagement, stop now.

Nowadays, brands who want to work with influencers have access to some software that helps them see who is purchasing their engagement. There are also a few free tools online who estimate how many followers are real on your account. It’s normal to have a few fake ones even if you’ve never broken the rules so don’t worry!

After reading this, what kind of content will you create that you think will resonate the most with your audience? Comment below!

4 Ways To Use IG Stories To Grow  Your Email List

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4 Ways To Use IG Stories To Grow  Your Email List

Picture a bridge between you and a sale. Every brick making up this bridge is comprised of the trust you create, the value you provide, and the entertainment factor you incorporate. These essential building blocks are what helps bridge the gap from follower to customer.

This may sound overwhelming. Don’t fret. We’re here to help. Today, we’re going to let you in on 4 of our favorite tips & tricks to use Instagram Stories to grow your email list.

For those of you who are total newcomers to the world of Instagram marketing, your goal is getting people to take action beyond the platform. In a perfect world, people would always go straight from follower to purchase through the link in your bio, swipe up on Instagram Stories or shop on your IG. But, unfortunately, things aren’t always that easy! Capturing emails is a great way to take your follower through your branded user experience on your website and, ultimately, the sales process. So it’s time to stop focusing solely on just growing your following and more on taking them to the next step. Are you ready?

#1 Create An Enticing Digital Download

A freebie is not something free to give out just for fun. It’s a way for you to capture people’s information while also providing them with immense value in exchange. The latter is usually where most brand’s go wrong. You see, a high-performing freebie is born from knowing your audience through market research. In more basic terms, it’s a product of really knowing who you are and who you want to attract.

If you have over 10K followers on Instagram, you can take advantage of using the swipe up feature prompting people to swipe up to get the download. If you don’t have access to the swipe up feature, you can always direct them to either the link in bio or to DM you, which brings us to our next tip.

#2 Just Ask Them To DM Their Email To Attract Your Most Loyal & Qualified Leads

Generally speaking, the rule of thumb is to create as little steps as possible from point A to point B in whatever action you want a person to take. Think of point A as the platform you’re interacting with a user on and point be as your goal or objective such as purchase product. The more steps to get from point A to point B, the higher the drop-off rate.

But, sometimes, there’s an exception to the rule. If you’re trying to find your real MVPs, having them contact you is a way to attract quality over quantity.

A way for you to do this is to have a simple conversation on your stories or tell a story in a caption. You’ll want to plan out how to word things to ensure you’re quickly and clearly addressing your audience’s innermost desires, what your helpful solution is, and how they can get it. How they’ll get it is by asking them to shoot you a DM with their email so they can access whatever super special thing you’re offering.

#3 Tell a Story and Use a Sticker

You’ll notice a trend, storytelling is really important. It doesn’t always cut it to just tell people to go do something without any context or persuasion. The Instagram stories question sticker is a really fun way that people tend to host Q&As. It’s also a highly efficient, and underused, tool to get email signups.

Whether you’re promoting a freebie, your next product launch, or early access to your shop, you’ll want to take advantage of this. Once you’ve taken the time to tell your followers how much you care about them and why what you’re promoting is important for them, throw in a question sticker prompting them to leave their email address.

#4 Create a Special Insiders Club with the Close Friends Feature

Technically, this isn’t grabbing emails but it’s a way to create much more targeted stories for a hand-picked audience.

When you add people to your close friends’ list on Instagram, only those you pick get to see stories you mark for their eyes only. Not many brands have taken advantage of this feature. Usually, people assume it’s just for sending personal Instagram stories to your friends’ accounts but it’s powerful for brands as well as long as you get creative with it!

This is a great way for you to show appreciation to your most loyal followers by offering them a discount code or freebie! So brainstorm some content ideas to announce your invitation. Don’t forget the reward too. You’ll always have a better turnout when you’re offering something desirable to your followers. You could even go ahead and add a handful of followers who are always DMing you and the first to watch your stories. They’ll be pleasantly surprised to see they made it to your VIP list!

Which of these ideas will you implement first? We’d love to know! Comment below which you’ll be testing out first and any questions you might have.

 

5 Design Issues Resolved In Your Content Marketing

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Five design issues resolved in your branding

Design is often an underestimated element that belongs to a strong strategy. You can have what looks like the best marketing plan on paper but if your visual branding isn’t on par, nobody will be doing any double taking, clicking through, or purchasing what you have to sell. We’re on a mission to help you unlock the next level of growth for your brand. Today, we’re helping you achieve that through understanding the 5 Design Issues Resolved In Your Content Marketing. What does that mean? We’ll show you how to put together a better design for your content marketing. Don’t be alarmed though! You don’t need to be a graphic designer to really get these tips and implement them. So read up and drop a comment below if you have any questions!

Impersonal Stock Photography Images

Ever notice how many brands in the same field seem to be using the same popular stock images. These vary from trendy architectural structure or a really nice picture of a donut? We have, and it gets old! That being said, it’s time for you to go against the flow by adding in your brand’s uniqueness and personal touch.

With tools like Canva & Over App, you can easily take that stock photo (or not) and bring in elements that’ll incorporate your brand’s colors. So maybe you take that picture you really liked of a meal for your food blog but you overlay some text and shapes to make it your own. It takes 1-minute of your time to leave a lasting impression through memorable visuals.

We recommend, however, taking your own photos. Don’t let a digital camera scare you. iPhones take great photos these days. Plan out a photo that will really relay what you’re trying to convey in your food blog, snap it, edit it, and post it! This will really set you apart.

Leveling Up Your Design with Typography

You know when you’re scrolling through Instagram or reading a new blogger’s blog and all of a sudden what’s supposed to be 5 paragraphs is just one massive blob? Ya, we hate it too! Rule of thumb, whether you’re building out your next caption or 1,500-word blog post – break it up. We repeat. BREAK. IT. UP. Not only does breaking up your text make it easier to read but it aesthetically it looks so much better. If you’re writing a blog, take advantage of subheadings, avoid extra wide paragraphs, and try your hardest to be clear and concise.

Where’s Your Branding? Identify your signature design

Just because today you like the color purple and tomorrow you like the color yellow it doesn’t mean they both belong in your brand’s content design. Think of your brand as an incredibly confident person who knows exactly what they want and who they are, with little to no variation. Consistent branding creates an identifiable personality for the brand, one that is easily distinguishable and recognizable..

Even though your brand may not literally be a person, think of it like one. Every artwork you put out with your content is an extension of your brand’s expression & personality. Ask yourself, does this match up with my brand or is it confusing & off-brand? Deciding on 1 to 3 colors for your brand and sprinkling them in is a simple and solid starting point to create a cohesive feel.

Ignoring The Data When Putting Out New Designs

What does data have to do with something as artistic as design? Everything, here’s why. The data from your blog, ads, social media etc can help you piece together patterns.

For example, when looking at your top performing posts on Instagram over the course of a 1-year period you should look at the top 9 posts from a variety of angles. One of those angles is design. We look for any patterns when it comes to photography style, colors, filters, props, angles, or even outfits used. This approach works across the board with anything else online that you can pull data from. We encourage you to do the same for your highest converting ads or most-clicked-on blogs and see if there’s a visual pattern to them.

Design and the Psychology of Color & Clear Messaging

Say you own a spa. Using colors like red as your most dominant color doesn’t exude the relaxing atmosphere you want your potential clients to feel.

Oftentimes, people will select colors based on their own personal preference. The thing is, your personal preference may not align with the psychological meaning behind each color. So we’ve taken the time to help you understand the emotions associated with colors. Bookmark this article so you can always come back to it later when you need to.

Meaning behind colors

At Creative Label, we basically eat, sleep, and breathe design. If you’re having a hard time connecting the dots and executing a clear & branded content marketing strategy just send us an email at info@itscreativelabel.com. Let us help you with what we do best while you focus on what you do best. We would love to help you bring your branding to life!

Does Clickbait Really Work?

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Create brandtrust with clickbait

To clickbait or not to clickbait? Does it increase engagement? Does it lose brand trust? These are the questions many marketers and business owners are pondering. Look no further, we are sharing with you three ways to incorporate clickbait while maintaining brand trust. 

Make sure you’re accurately describing your content.

Here’s the thing, you want to drive traffic back to your website. So from that perspective, sure, having a clickbait title that piques curiosity and generates traffic makes sense. However, when viewing the long-term gameplan, using clickbait to lead views to a piece of content that isn’t accurately described by the title causes your audience to lose brand trust.

You don’t want to lose brand trust.

Your audience’s trust is priceless, especially nowadays where consumers care more about the who & why behind the brand. Through brand trust, powerful relationships are born and nurtured, which ultimately creates a sale.

Three ways to build trust.

So how are you supposed to entice people without clickbait? Here’s a couple tested & proven methods to attract people without sacrificing the brand trust factor.

  1. Post a ‘how-to’ piece showing your audience how to do something. Studies show that these type of articles gather a 76% engagement rate.
  2. Make a ‘why’ post to explain to viewers why one should do something. This style of post gathers a 74% engagement rate on average.
  3. Create a list-format post such as ‘7 Ways To Wear Pink This Spring’

Mirror your top performing posts.

Another strategy to incorporate brand trust, while incorporating clickbait, is checking out the top performing posts from your competition to understand what are the buzzwords that make people engage? Be sure to cross-reference is the title is purely clickbait or an enticing title that corresponds with the topic. Make a note of any words that might trigger this effect and plug one into your next headline.

Before submitting the post for publishing, always ask yourself “if I were one of my followers, would I want to go and read this post specifically instead of any others like it? Why?” Asking this question is important to ensure you’re maintaining brand trust. Digging deep to uncover the value of your content not only helps you assess if the blog is read-worthy but helps you perfect the title to something relevant and catchier.

Want to know the ultimate solution though? Stop driving yourself mad with the guesswork and let our team of creatively strategic minds do it for you. You have a business to run and focusing on writing up the perfect headlines shouldn’t be something that slows you down. If you’re looking for blog strategy, shoot us a message at info@itscreativelabel.com. We can’t wait to hear from you!

 

youtube-monetization

YouTube + Monetization

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YouTube Makes Serious Changes to Monetization Eligibility

YouTube has made a new announcement, and it’s terrifying for small content creators. This week, YouTube released a statement regarding changes to their guidelines for monetization. If you aren’t quite sure what that means, it means YouTube is now making it more difficult for content creators to make money. Before this week, in order for a YouTuber to make money, their channel needed to have a total of 10,000 views on their videos. Here’s what a content creator has to do to make a little extra dough now:

 

What Are The New Rules?

1. Before qualifying for monetization, a channel must have 4,000 hours of watch time within the past 12 months.

2. Before qualifying for YouTube monetization, a channel must have a total of 1,000 subscribers.

Dang, Why Would YouTube Do This?

There are many reasons why YouTube could have chosen to do this, but the main reason seems to be to please those who are advertising on the platform. By making it harder to monetize, YouTube will be able to control the content that plays before or after advertisements. These changes come shortly after YouTube sensation Logan Paul posted a video showing the corpse of a man. All in all, it makes it easier for YouTube to shut down inappropriate videos.

Another important note: If your channel is currently being monetized and you do not meet these new requirements, monetization will be disabled on your account on February 20, 2018.

How Can You Keep Up?

1. Don’t get frustrated too easily.

We know! It’s easier said than done. Try your hardest to not get frustrated with YouTube’s new policies. Getting frustrated will only make you more discouraged. As long as you continue to provide your viewers with original content and stay true to your brand, it is possible to get 4,000 hours of watch time or 1,000 subscribers.

2. Continue to post on a schedule.

Do not stop posting your scheduled content! Your audience will still be expecting your videos to be posted at your scheduled times. For example, if you usually post every Wednesday at 3 PM, you should continue to do so.  If you can post an extra video a week that would be even better!

3. Engage! engage! engage! 

One of the easiest things you can do to help increase your own subscriber count is to engage with others on YouTube. Respond to those who comment on your videos, and support other YouTuber’s by watching their videos.

4. Use other social media platforms to promote your channel.

Be sure every time you post a video on YouTube, you make an announcement on your other social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. This will help to increase your view count for each video by driving more traffic to your YouTube channel.

Overall, it can be very hard when social media platforms make unexpected changes. If you feel like you are at a standstill and need additional help with content development or rebranding, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@itscreativelabel.com. We are always here to help!

What do you think about YouTube’s new changes? Leave us a comment below! 

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The Fundamentals of Brand Design

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Truth is, business is as much about perception as it is about reality. In this age of technology and social media, we have more opportunity than ever to take control of our brand perception. We’ve all experienced the power of branding, now it’s time to take that power and apply it to your business. In this blog, we’re breaking brand design down to the fundamentals. Use these simple tips and tools and you’ll be well on your way to a beautiful brand.

Here are the first things you need:

Color Palette:

Find 2-5 complimentary colors that represent your brand. Remember, different colors communicate different things so be sure to choose colors that will represent your brand and attract your dream client.

Font Family:

Then you’ll need 2 fonts–one primary and one supplementary. You can find tons of different fonts online and license them

for a very reasonable price.

Free font sites we love:

Dafont

Google Fonts

Behance

At least one of these two elements should be involved in everything

you do—your logo, your website, your social media your advertisements. The goal is for your brand to be instantly

recognizable so that when people see your content, they know that it’s you even without even reading your brand name.

Now, if you are not a designer, photographer or web designer, we now highly suggest that you take your color palette and font family choices and enlist the help of a professional. Content is KING, we can’t stress that enough. It is worth it to invest in quality professional work when creating the building blocks of your brand.

However, there are some really great tools that you can use to create beautiful professional looking work on your own if you have the time and patience to put into it.

For Graphic Design:

Canva

For Web Design:

Wix

Squarespace

For Photography:

An introductory DSLR

An iPhone 10 or equivalent camera phone for photos

Now once you’ve got the building blocks of your branding decided and created, you can start to implement them into your social media and web strategy. Be sure to stick to your color scheme and font family, post only quality photos and implement your logo into your content often.

That’s really all there is to it, people! Be consistent. And before you know it, you’ll have beautiful content that represents your beautiful business.

At Creative Label, this is what our days consist of. We’re constantly creating beautiful branded content for our clients because we know that it takes a lot of time and effort to do it yourself. Lets face it, you have your business to concentrate on, so let us do what we do best. If you need help, we are here for you. Send us an email at info@itscreativelabel.com. We can’t wait to hear from you.

3 Things to Look for When Partnering with an Influencer

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So your business is interested in partnering with an influencer! You’ve seen brands who do it, you believe that it can be a powerful tool, but when you start looking into applying the strategy to your own business, things start getting complicated. We get it, influencer marketing is a relatively new field and it can be tough to know what to look for when looking for the perfect influencer for your brand. Despite its ability to be a very profitable marketing strategy, influencer marketing can also be a waste of investment if you are not working with the right people. Be sure to look for these 3 things when choosing an influencer to partner with.

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5 Ways to Use Story Highlights to Enhance your Brand

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According to Instagram, one in five stories from businesses will generate a direct message from a follower, and every follower is a potential client or customer. That’s a HUGE deal! It’s worth it to spend time planning out quality posts for your Instagram story to keep your followers hooked. Instagram has taken stories one step further by adding the story highlights feature. This new feature gives you the ability to categorize and display your favorite story posts to be viewed at anytime. They appear under your bio and provide endless opportunities to express your brand story in an easy, accessible way. Here are 5 ways to use Instagram Story Highlights to enhance your branding strategy:

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2 HUGE Reasons Why You Should Implement Pinterest Into Your Marketing Strategy

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Generally, Pinterest is known as a place where people go for inspiration, ideas, tips and tricks. What we hope to convey to you is that Pinterest is a place where people go for help. So if you’re in the business of helping people–in any capacity–using Pinterest as a business resource for brand awareness and generating leads, is marketing tactic you should strongly consider implementing.

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