Tim Peterson says, “Instagram is extending the number of photos and videos that brands can include in their slideshow-like carousel ads and opening up the format to organic posts, the Facebook-owned company announced on Wednesday. As the update rolls out to iOS and Android users over the next few weeks, advertisers and regular accounts will be able to pick up to 10 photos and videos to include in a single post that people can swipe through horizontally. While both groups will be able to pick out the order of the photos and videos in a carousel post or ad, advertisers have the option to leave... [...]

Lindsay Kolowich says, “For a while now, it’s been clear that Instagram isn’t just a social network for selfies and brunch pics. In fact, Instagram has a whopping 600 active monthly million users as of December 2016, the last 100 million of which joined in the prior six months. In a world where visual content remains a crucial part of any business’ marketing strategy, Instagram presents a unique opportunity to visually represent your brand, celebrate its personality, and keep it top-of-mind for all those users who scroll through their Instagram feeds every single day. Although... [...]

Kate Taylor Mighty says, “For many marketers, it’s no longer enough to have a strong Twitter or Facebook presence. We’ve got to go where our prospects and customers are — and for many folks, that’s Instagram. Still working on getting started on Instagram? Got an account but struggling to get more followers and turn them into leads? Unsure how to post and schedule great visual content? We’ve got tools and solutions to all of that, whether you’re new to or experienced with using Instagram for business. In this YouTube Live event, experts from Iconosquare and HubSpot will... [...]

Ayaz Nanji says, “Instagram posts that include emojis receive 17% more likes and comments than posts that do not include emojis, according to recent research from quintly. The report was based on data from 6.2 million Instagram posts by 20,000 profiles (brands and individual users) in 2016. Posts that include at least one emoji have an average interaction rate (an index score of likes/comments standardized by total Instagram posts and followers) of 2.07. Posts that do not include at least one emoji have an average interaction rate of 1.77. More than half (56%) of the accounts examined use... [...]

Brandon Leibowitz says, “Want to create a buzz for your product online and be discovered by even more people around the world? Want to convert browsers into shoppers and grow sales for your business? If yes, then Instagram is an effective tool for taking your eCommerce business to the next level. Did you know these facts about Instagram? Users have shared more than 40 billion photos to date and share an average of 95 million videos and photos in a single day. In 2015, Instagram reported having 77.6 million users. In 2016, the estimated revenue from Instagram accounts was $1.53 billion in... [...]

Andrew Medal says, “All you need to do to cook up a classic example of the word “creepy” is look at today’s targeted ad campaigns. It doesn’t take more than a second between the time you look up a product on one site and find it as an ad on your social feeds. While nearly all social media channels harness targeted ads, Instagram, which Facebook bought for $1 billion in 2012, is leading the charge. Actually, the topic of this article derived from a conversation my girlfriend and I were having, when the topic of discussion all of a sudden coincidentally ended up in her Instagram... [...]

Rich Kahn says, “The holidays are an extremely profitable time of the year for businesses of all sizes. After all, they can account for 20-40 percent of a business’ yearly sales. But what about after the holidays? Budgets are tighter, consumers are exhausted and it can be hard to make the idea of shopping again appealing at all. Don’t let your marketing efforts go stale in the post-holiday shopping season. Your consumers are tired, but they’re still keeping an eye out for the next appealing product or service. Here’s what you can do to keep your business’s holiday success going. Keep... [...]

Today, Dr. Amit Pareek and his team have are ending the launch of their new software, WP SociXplode, that takes advantage of social media (a free resource) to build viral traffic to your website. This new software is a hands-off solution for free targeted traffic to any website on and it does it on complete autopilot. You build your business (and your income) by sending unlimited targeted traffic to whatever site you choose.  [...]

Lesya Liu says, “While Instagram is all the hype these days, a lot of small business owners are confused, or even lost, about the types of content they can publish. Thus, they miss out on a huge opportunity to find new followers and engage their existing customers. Contrary to a widespread belief, entrepreneurship and small business ownership is not so glamorous. Yes, we choose which 18 hours a day to work, but the allure ends there. Plus, inadequate budgets really limit the glamorous content production. An exhausted and overworked entrepreneur might not recognize the Instagram-worthy moments... [...]

Lesya Leu says, “Instagram is looking for more ways to monetize the platform and the astounding consumer reach it has. The photo-sharing app (hasn’t it become much more than that, though?) announced that it is experimenting with video ads within Stories with some of the biggest global advertisers. Of course, those posts will be marked with a “sponsored” sign. In an interview with Fortune, director of product marketing Jim Squires hinted at a “two or three-week test period” before making the feature fully available to all its active advertisers. Here, you might draw a comparison... [...]