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Advertisers hate it, but users love it.
The One Link available on Instagram... the Link in your Bio. As businesses, you might think having this limitation is a horrible idea. "Why can't Instagram just let me put a link in my caption?" But I think it's exactly this limitation that makes Instagram what it is. Instagram, over all other social media platforms, has the highest engagement. And it shouldn't be a mystery as to why. It's because there's less SPAM! Instagram, over all other social media platforms, has the highest engagement. And it shouldn't be a mystery as to why.
Instagram is where content is King. Because content is the only way to engage a user enough to retain their attention and to drive them towards that special place... the link in your bio.
But other than great content... what else can we do to help increase the click throughs to the link in our bio? Here's a cool tactic on accomplishing just that.
If you're running a Sass business your onboarding process could be one of the most important things you're overlooking.
Because the quicker you show value, the quicker you can earn the business. With video on social, if you don’t capture and engage the user within the first second or two... you’ve lost them! So is it surprising that the same rule applies for products and services? If you don't capture and engage the user within the first second or two... you've lost them!
A few weeks ago, I installed an analytics service called Mixpanel on Smarthash and found something super interesting... The people who decided to upgrade and pay for Smarthash Premium, 70% of them upgraded within the first 10 days.
And get this... 50% upgraded within the first 12 hours! And 36% upgraded within the first 30 minutes! This is insane!! This shows that if you don’t show value to your customer as soon as possible the probability of them paying for your product or service decreases tremendously over time. 36% of users paid for the upgrade within the first 30 minutes of signing up for Smarthash
So what can we do with this knowledge?
Make painstaking effort to make sure your onboarding process is as smooth as possible, guiding your users to pages and screens where they can see value. And then.. at the opportune time, ask for the upgrade! Because if you don’t ask, they won’t upgrade. I’ve already taken steps to make the onboarding process as quick, easy and as great as possible, and I can already see the percentage increases for upgrades and happy customers. So remember: Quickest to show value earns the business.
Freelancing is a great way to make remote Work your way of life. Even if entrepreneurship calls your name, I highly recommend making freelancing an in between stage.
Why? Because you can start now, even while you’re working your 9-5. It provides a great transition for leaving your job to doing freelancing and opening up more free time during the day, then to starting your own business ( if you choose to do so ) It provides a great transition for leaving your job to doing freelancing and opening up more free time during the day, then to starting your own business
All about that free time baby!
So how to get started with freelancing? I highly recommend signing up for a site like Upwork.com or a similar freelancing website. They already have tons of traffic and job postings looking for work and a need that you can fulfill, so you don’t have to waste time trying to find clients yourself. Don’t waste time trying to find clients yourself
Also, especially for Upwork, they offer services to make sure you get paid for your work. Trust me, nothing is worse then not getting paid for you work. It sucks!
Upwork does take a small percentage, but in my opinion, it’s definitely worth it. Ok what’s next? This is what I did. In the beginning, offer your services for extremely cheap! Why? Because people mostly look for highly recommended freelancers, and you just started. So you can’t win that way. In the beginning, offer your services for extremely cheap!
The way you get customers in the beginning, is to charge so low that people are willing to give you a try. And when they do... over deliver!
Earn that glowing review, because essentially that’s what you’re working for right now. Once you’ve done that a few times, your rating on the platform will be high enough to earn business from those higher paying clients who want the higher rated and reviewed freelancers. Raise your prices, delight your clients, and repeat. Warning: This method takes time and hard work. You have to be ok with getting paid less than your worth now, so you can get paid more later. But it’s worth it.
When I first quit my job and became a full time solopreneur I originally thought that I had enough internal resolve and motivation to work insane hours without any boss looking over my shoulder.
I was dead wrong. Not to say that Im slacking or not doing any work, but back in the day when I had a boss monitoring my progress, I could crunch out a 10 hour day every weekday like it was nothing. I realize now that a lot of that extra effort came from not wanting to disappoint my boss. ( Definitely helpful to have a manager you admire ) Now that I am my own boss, I can kinda skirt from that dynamic and not feel sufficiently motivated Now that I am my own boss, I can kinda skirt from that dynamic and not feel sufficiently motivated
But! I think I found a remedy that works for me. And it came from the most unlikely of places.
Instagram. Instagram stories to be precise. Lately, I’ve been documenting my days with the Big 3 things I need to accomplish, the three things I need to get done that day. And because I throw that out there, it pushes me to continue the story. To finish the objective I set out for myself, and to not disappoint the people who are watching. I want to accomplish my tasks and goals, not only because I know I’m being watched, but also to inspire more people to do, to make, and to chase their dreams through hard work. It lights a fire under my ass, and if you’re working for yourself, that is a helpful tool indeed.
Smarthash wasn’t my first app. Not by a long shot.
Before Smarthash there were several apps, products and services that I came out with... and they all failed. Horribly. And they all had one thing in common, the product came before the customer. Smarthash was completely different. I wasn’t even trying to build anything at first. All of my past failed projects had one thing in common, the product came before the customer.
My intention was to grow my personal Instagram, so that I could be part of a community where I could learn and bounce ideas off of.
That community eventually turned out to be my first beta users for Smarthash. While growing my account, I listened to people’s pain points when growing their accounts, and realized that I had the same pain points. One of them, was not knowing which hashtags were actually performing for them on Instagram. I went around and asked people, “if there was a product that did this, would you be interested?” There was a resounding yes! The customer came before the product, and I was one one of them! Scratching your own itch seems to be a very good start to any product because you at least have one customer. Scratching your own itch seems to be a very good start to any product because you at least have one customer.
Not only did I have the customer before the product, but that customer base grew, and actually had a personal stake in the app since they watched the journey ( via Instagram stories ) of the app being built and even had some suggestions for features.
Put the customer before the product, and they won’t have to come, they’ll already be there. Most likely with a few of their friends to try your product out.
How do I get more followers on Instagram?
I've asked that questions myself more than once. It's the obvious question that arises when you start using Instagram for business. I need more followers, so I can get more clicks, so I can get more page views, so I can sell more of my products. It makes sense on the surface, but it usually doesn't work out like that. Whatever tactic you are using, if you're just trying to gain followers you'll likely reach a ceiling in where those numbers won't rise any higher. Because if your focus is just gaining new followers, you start alienating the people who are already following you. If your focus is just gaining new followers, you start alienating the people who are already following you.
But if you start thinking about it more like participating in a community... then the whole game changes.
Participating in a community means you have to participate! Not just ask people to follow you! You become a trusted person, one who has insightful critiques, or uplifting comments. People don't just follow you, but you actually have a relationship with each individual of the community. That bond is more than just a "Follow me and I'll follow you" type of reciprocity. Which means, that when you start engaging with other people in the community as well, they won't just leave you in the dust. Not only that, but they'll also be more likely to try out your products since they trust you, and possibly even share it with other people in the community. And all of that because you treated people like people and not like a number! Who would of thought. Participate in a community. That's the better way.
One of the cardinal rules of using a hashtag on instagram is that it has to be specific to the type of image or video you are posting. You want your posts to be found by the right people looking for the right thing because it will help increase the chances of them engaging with you.
That's a no brainer. But then how do I create Hash Sets? I understand that saving a group of related hashtags makes it easier to copy and paste them for future posts, but how can I create a Hash Set if I don't know exactly what I'll be posting today, tomorrow, or next week? The short answer should be... You should know what you'll be posting today, tomorrow, next week, or even next month! You should know what you'll be posting today, tomorrow, next week, or even next month!
What I mean by that is... all of your future posts should be surrounding a particular theme, whether that's travel, food, entrepreneurship, or whatever.
Not just because it makes it easier to save and create Hash Sets, but because it helps increase followership to your content. I explain more in detail why that is in my article "Your Instagram Profile Page is a Promise", but in short, sticking to a single theme on your posts allows other people to easily understand what kind of content they will be subscribing to and seeing more of in their feed if they follow you. Which in turn makes them more likely to follow you if in fact they are a fan of the theme you are portraying with your content. Which brings us back to the Hash Set. So if you know what type of content you will be posting for the foreseeable future, which you should because your content should be related to a single theme, then creating Hash Sets should be a breeze because then you can just group related hashtags together that match your theme. Now the hard part is actually finding some related hashtags This is where Smarthash can be of real benefit! With the Smarthash Hashtag Search Page, you can easily search for hashtags and find suggestions for any hashtag. 
With the Smarthash Hashtag Search Page, you can easily search for hashtags and find suggestions for any hashtag.
Grouping them and creating a Hash Set is super easy too. Just select the ones you want and tap the "New Hash Set" button to create a Hash Set with all of the selected hashtags. And of course this makes it easy to Copy All of them with one tap! Happy Hashtagging!
Scott Wyden Kivowitz, father, photographer and blogger is the epitome of what Smarthash is all about.
A chaser of dreams and someone who genuinely enjoys what he does and is intent on sharing that experience with others through photography. Here's what he had to say about Smarthash and how it has helped in his endeavor. You can also see the full video and transcription on his website.
If you're like me, you're using Instagram partly ( or mainly ) for business.
It has grown to be one of the top contenders for your social media presence and for good reason. Engagement is way higher than Twitter and you have the added benefit of discovery via hashtags. And although hashtags may seem like the most important factor when growing your followers, I would argue that your actual Instagram Profile Page is The most important factor. Your actual Instagram Profile Page is The most Important factor when growing your followers
If you imagine Instagram as a funnel in where the goal was to subscribe a person to your email list in order to continue to provide them value, or to sell them something, or whatever it is you are trying to do, then:
A follower on Instagram = An email subscriber Your Instagram Profile Page = Your Sign Up Page for the email list A hashtag = Ads, or Links to your Sign Up Page You can spend hundreds of dollars on ads or have hundreds of links to your Sign Up Page... But if it's ugly or doesn't provide a very clear and concise return for subscribing to the email list, then no one will subscribe. It' s the same thing with your Instagram Profile Page. If you're not being clear and concise about the return someone will get if they start following you, no one will follow you. If you're not being clear and concise about the return someone will get if they start following you, no one will follow you.
Why do we follow people on Instagram?
We follow them ( mostly ) because we like their posts and we want to see more posts like that in our feed. The important part to notice here is that "we want to see more posts like that in our feed". How exactly are we supposed to know what they're going to post? We're not mind readers! We know because when we view their Instagram Profile Page, their last 12 posts are them traveling the world, or them painting, or posts about cars, or coffee, or anything! But it's always the same thing, surrounding one single theme. That very specific, concise and consistent theme across their posts is basically a Promise. It's a Promise that if you follow them, you'll get more posts just like these in your feed. If your posts are all over the place or are inconsistent, people won't know what you are in to. Sure you just posted a great photo of something I liked, but how do I know you won't post something the next day that I'll find repulsive? There's no Promise, no way of knowing what I'll get if I follow you... and so I won't. But, if your Instagram Profile Page consists of a very concise and consistent theme with your latest posts and bio surrounding and backing up that one single theme... You'll be sending out a message, a Promise... Follow me and this is exactly what you'll get. And if we like what you're offering... we follow.
Three years ago I quit my job at a startup company.
I thought I was ready. I learned how to develop websites and apps from scratch, I learned how to think about the numbers... I was ready to start my own company and be my own boss. Sound familiar? Fast forward 8 months. I had 2 failed iOS apps, no income coming in... I was flailing, hard! I decided at that moment that I had to try something different. My passion was building things and I spent countless hours making sure that the product performed it's best, that it looked great... but I could tell something was missing. I scrolled through Instagram, trying to distract my mind from the horrible situation I was in when it dawned on me... I had spent over 4 years at that startup company honing my skills as a developer, preparing for the moment when I would quit and spend most of my days doing what I love and building the things that I wanted to build... But being passionate and doing what I loved wasn't enough. Being passionate and doing what I loved wasn't enough.
You have to share your passion, so that they can they can share it with others.
In part, I think that's what makes Instagram so unique and special compared to the other social media sites out there. Picture after picture, it's clear that the people highlighted on Instagram are passionate and are loving what they are doing, whether it's traveling, painting, woodworking, working on their small business, you name it! They loved what they did, and they shared it with the world. And it's the latter that I wasn't doing enough of. After all, how can someone know how great your app, product, or service is if they don't know about it? How can someone know how great your app, product, or service is if they don't know about it?
I had to get the word out, get more visibility, get my work discovered. I had to share what I was passionate about.
And what better way to do that... than on the platform of people who are passionate about what they do... with a tool that can get the word out, that can help with visibility and discoverability. Of course I am talking about... the Hashtag. It wasn't long after that that I came up with the idea of Smarthash, an app that helps you discover which hashtags are actually working for you on Instagram. And I shared my journey of creating it through Instagram, with a little help from hashtags. Hashtags represent sharing, common ground, love for the same things, and passion. Hashtags represent community, and can help bring your ideas and products and business to the forefront of people who will love what you are offering. Because passion isn't enough. It's not enough to do what you love. You have to share it with the world. |
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