The 5 Most Important Instagram Hacks & Tactics for 2018: With Free Checklist

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The 5 Most Important Instagram Hacks & Tactics for 2018: With Free Checklist

aka How to solidify your status as a Digital Rockstar in 2018

So, let’s just jump right in.

These are Instagram’s 2018 trends that you’ll definitely want to experiment with.

1. Instagram TV! IGTV is an app that integrates with IG and allows you to create your own channel and upload long-form video (up to an hour long). You can also browse other channels and videos under the For You, Following, and Popular categories.

Check out Jaden Smith, who just dropped his new album, NINETY ELECTRIC, a celebration (if you can call it that) of teenage angst, on IGTV!

NINETY ELECTRIC

A post shared by Jaden Smith (@c.syresmith) on

2. UGC. Because U. Gots. To. 

Instagrammers love User Generated Content, because they trust it 20% more than non-UGC. Did you know that when Grammers are looking to buy a car, more than 50% will rely on UGC to influence their decision?!

Do UGC like a Pro

How do you determine what UGC content to share? Here are some tips:
a. You can do so using Instagram’s own Search function, or you can follow relevant streams to your industry in Hootsuite.
b. When you find UGC that has resonance on IG and that reflects accurately and positively on your brand, reach out to the user whose content you want to share by private message.
c. New Development! Now, if a user has used the ‘mention’ tag in a ‘Story’, you can share those UGC ‘Stories’ as well (without having to do the tried-and-tired method of reposting a screenshot!)

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3. Story Highlights are here to stay. Stories used to disappear after 24 hours. No more. Now you can ‘highlight’ multiple stories to showcase what makes your brand stand out. How?

Say you’re a boutique coffee house – The Sum of Us or Mokha 1450 in Dubai, for example – you can:
a. Tell users about the meticulousness that goes into making the perfect roast
b. Share the story of how you began (Mokha 1450 does so quite nicely on their website)
c. In an age of growing awareness for ethical business, users would love to know about the ethical dimensions of your business, for example, how you source your beans, the fair trade practices you implement and the like.

The hilarious Faiza Rammuny of @expiredandfabulous notoriety shows off her highlights on IG quite nicely:

Expired
4. Don’t sell yourself short – Instagrammers are here to buy. So, optimize your selling practices. Two ways to do that in 2018:

a. Check out the Shopify-Instagram integration. So awesome that you can tag products to offer a seamless shopping experience

IG2
b. Sell on Instagram Stories, likes these self-respecting brands do:
IG3

5. Stay Classy. Protect your brand reputation.
In the age of propaganda, trolls and extremist ideologies, it’s important that your brand isn’t associated with any of the above. You can protect your reputation on Instagram with this simple setting:

Set ‘Tagged Photos’ (or ‘Photos of You’) Approval to ‘Manual’ as opposed to ‘Automatic’ so that only the photos that you’ve been tagged in that reflect positively on your brand show up on your profile.

Instagram-Photos_of_You-How_to_Set_to_Manual_Final

To help you work your Instagram A-game, we’ve prepared a Checklist for you.

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Download the checklist, print it, fill it out and watch yourself evolve from ‘Mo in Marketing’ to ‘Digital Rockstar’ in 2018. You’re welcome!

Want more top tips to kill it on social media in 2018? Check out our 2018 Facebook Hacks Checklist! Also take a peek at these 20 actions that’ll get you thinking strategically for all your social media channels!