Instagram for Business

Resource Directory

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RESOURCE  DIRECTORY  –  Instagram  for  Business   ©www.solopreneursuccess.com.au  

Make  Instagram  even  more  powerful  (and  cut  the  time  you  spend  on  it)  by  picking  and  choosing  among  the  resources  listed  in  this  Resource  Directory.  

Choose  between  content  creation  tools,  scheduling  tools,  “how  to”  links  and  other  miscellaneous  resources.  

1. Crowdfire

You  can  use  Crowdfire  as  a  targeting  and  community-­‐tightening  aid  (as  well  as  to  get  rid  of  dubious  or  spammy  followers).  And  it’s  as  simple  as  a  single  click.  

Use  Crowdfire  to  identify  and  manage  the  following:  

• Fans—People  who  follow  you  and  whose  posts  are  relevant,  butsomehow  you’ve  missed  following  them  yourself

• Who  followed  me—your  most  recent  followers

• Non-­‐followers—people  you  follow  who  don’t  follow  you

• Who  unfollowed  me—People  who  were  among  your  followers  whenyou  signed  up  to  Crowdfire,  but  who  have  left

These  are  just  the  basics  of  how  you  can  use  Crowdfire.  One  of  its  most  valuable  features  is  one  that  many  people  aren’t  aware  of—the  “Copy  Followers”  feature.  Says  Crowdfire:  “All  you  have  to  do  is  enter  the  username  of  the  account,  and  we’ll  fetch  the  most  interactive  followers  of  that  user.  A  peek  behind  the  scenes  will  reveal  that  we’re  only  showing  you  

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RESOURCE  DIRECTORY  –  Instagram  for  Business   ©www.solopreneursuccess.com.au  

the  users  who  are  most  likely  to  check  out  your  profile,  and  follow  you  right  back.”    

Be  very  careful,  however,  that  you  do  not  “Copy”  the  same  [Instagram]  user  account  more  than  once:  They  could  report  you  as  a  spammer.”  

You  can  also  whitelist  and  blacklist  accounts,  as  well  as  use  Crowdfire’s  “Friendcheck”  search  capacity  to  look  up  a  specific  user  and  see  if  she  

follows  you.  

2. CuralateInstagram  schedulers  are  notorious  for  changing  and  disappearing,  so  here is  an  alternative.  It’s  not  cheap,  but  that’s  all  the  more  reason  to  expect  this management  tool  will  stick  around.In  addition  to  scheduling,  Curalate  allows  you  to  “measure  engagement, traffic,  and  revenue  –  at  the  post  level”.Plus,  you  can  also  use  features  such  as  its  Like2buy  app,  where  people  tap on  your  product  or  multiple,  numbered  products  in  a  photo  to  be  taken  to  a purchase  page—while  their  choice  is  shared.

3. Latergramme  

If  you  are  looking  for  a  simpler,  cheaper  Instagram  scheduling  option,  try  Latergramme—it’s  free.  

You  can:  

 

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RESOURCE  DIRECTORY  –  Instagram  for  Business       ©www.solopreneursuccess.com.au  

•   Upload  photo  and  video  posts  from  multiple  devices  (up  to  thirty  per  month  for  free;  unlimited  with  a  paid  account)  

•   Search  and  repost  web  content  

•   Add  team  members  for  Instagram  account  collaboration  

•   Manage  more  than  one  Instagram  account  (up  to  two  with  a  free  account;  unlimited  with  a  paid  account)  

•   Plus,  plan  and  schedule  all  your  Instagram  posts—right  from  this  easy-­‐to-­‐use  app.  

4.   Schedugr.am    

Another  popular  Instagram  scheduling  app.  Their  “first  comment”  feature  allows  you  to  put  your  hashtag  into  a  comment  rather  than  a  caption.  

Schedugr.am  is  quite  unique:  All  other  Instagram  scheduling  apps—including  Crowdfire  and  Latergramme—don’t  actually  post  your  scheduled  post,  thanks  to  Instagram’s  rules  against  that  type  of  automation.  They  send  you  a  reminder  to  post,  when  your  scheduled  post  is  ready  to  launch  and  you  still  have  to  take  the  final  step  and  post  it  yourself.  

Schedugr.am,  however,  explains  what  they  do  like  this:  

 

Prices  are  reasonable  and  easily  tailored—Schedugr.am  recommends  factoring  about  $20.00  USD  for  up  to  10,000—and  there  is  a  free  trial.  

 

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RESOURCE  DIRECTORY  –  Instagram  for  Business       ©www.solopreneursuccess.com.au  

5.   PicPlayPost  

This  app  allows  you  to  “create  video  collages  and  share  your  captivating  stories  using  photos,  videos,  GIFs  and  music”.  

6.   Quick  

 

This  app  bills  itself  as  the  fastest  app  to  add  text  to  images  on  the  net.  It  is  optimized  for  iPhone  6  and  iPhone  6  Plus,  and  has  just  added  five  new  fonts.    

As  with  other  apps  here,  it  is  also  available  on  Google  Play.  

7.   Hootsuite    Although  you  can’t  log  in  with  your  Instagram  account,  if  you  already  have  this  old  industry  favorite,  you  can  schedule  your  Instagram  posts  with  it.  Go  to  the  Hootsuite  official  blog  to  learn  how  to  add  Instagram  to  your  Hootsuite  Dashboard.  (Remember  you’ll  still  have  to  actually  manually  publish  the  post,  on  receiving  the  reminder.)  

8.   Pixelmator    

Pixelmator  is  a  powerful  photo  editor  that  allows  you  to  work  with  layers,  designed  for  iOS.  Use  single-­‐tap  color  presets  to  adjust  your  color.  

 

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RESOURCE  DIRECTORY  –  Instagram  for  Business       ©www.solopreneursuccess.com.au  

Use  templates,  or  manipulate  every  facet  of  your  image  manually.  Use  the  Repair  tool  to  touch  up  blemishes  on  your  image  subjects.  

It  has  just  about  every  feature  you  find  in  sophisticated  graphics  editors  like  Adobe  Photoshop—and  it  can  handle  images  of  up  to  fifty  megapixels.  

 

9.   Vintagio  

 

This  app  provides  a  complete  suite  of  effects  for  giving  your  videos  a  “vintage”  feel.  You  can  apply  effects  as:  

•   Sepia  

•   Soundtracks  

•   Retro  themed  filters  from  every  decade  of  the  20th  century  

 

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RESOURCE  DIRECTORY  –  Instagram  for  Business       ©www.solopreneursuccess.com.au  

•   Slowing  down  your  video  

•   Speeding  up  your  video  

•   Flipping  your  video  (from  right  to  left)  

•   Extract  picture  from  video  

And  much  more.  (Check  it  out  at  the  iTunes  app  store  for  full  details.)  

10.    ShortStack  

 

ShortStack  loves  Instagram:  In  fact,  although  they  are  known  primarily  for  their  Facebook  app  management,  they  focus  considerable  attention  on  Instagram,  providing  templates  for  photo  contests,  and  an  Instagram  Promotion  template  that  allows  you  to  run  a  complete  Instagram  campaign.  

It  has  a  unique  and  easy  Photo  Upload  form  so  that  people  don’t  have  to  enter  through  the  Instagram  app—meaning  desktop  users  can  enter  your  contests  too.  

Start  using  ShortStack  straight  away—the  company  offers  a  generous  free  option—or  sign  up  for  one  of  their  monthly  plans.  

11.    Wishpond  

 This  lead  generation  software  that  not  only  allows  you  to  run  a  full  campaign,  but  also  administer  Instagram  contests.  

 

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RESOURCE  DIRECTORY  –  Instagram  for  Business       ©www.solopreneursuccess.com.au  

There  is  a  limited  free  option,  with  plans  to  suit  those  ready  to  operate  on  a  larger  scale.    

And  be  sure  to  check  out  Wishpond’s  free  Instagram  Contest  webinar.  

12.    How  to  Create  Instagram  Ads  Using  Facebook  Ads  Manager    

Clear,  step-­‐by-­‐step  “how  to”  article  from  Social  Media  Examiner  on  exactly  how  to  create  Instagram  ads  using  your  Facebook  Ads  Manager.  

13.    Instagram  for  Business    

Visit  Instagram  for  Business  and  take  advantage  of  their  marketing  tips  and  “how  to”  sections.  

14.  Instagram  Direct  

 Create  videos  with  Vimeo  and  upload  them  with  Instagram  Direct.    

And  remember  that  Vimeo  is  also  a  community  that  will  feature  your  videos  and  help  you  get  them  out  in  front  of  people.  

15.  Crowdfire    Product  

 Crowdfire  Product  is  the  official  blog  for  the  Crowdfire  app.  If  you  find  you  use  Crowdfire  (or  any  other  app)  frequently,  remember  to  check  their  sites  for  links  to  their  official  blogs.  

 

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RESOURCE  DIRECTORY  –  Instagram  for  Business       ©www.solopreneursuccess.com.au  

That  is  where  you’ll  get  news  of  things  like  changes  to  policy,  new  features,  removed  features  and  more.  

16.      How  to  Take  a  Time-­‐lapse  Selfie  

 This  article  not  only  gives  you  simple  instructions  on  how  to  take  a  time-­‐lapse  selfie  using  the  Hyperlapse  app,  it  also  adds  time-­‐saving  tips  on  what  to  do—and  what  not  to  do—when  creating  one.  

17.    Over™  

 Another  quick  and  easy  app  you  can  download  on  iTunes  or  Google  Play,  if  you  want  to  add  text  to  your  photographs.  

18.    Minter  

When  your  account  grows  larger,  you  might  want  to  invest  in  a  dedicated  Instagram  analytics  service  like  Minter,  which  will  give  you  all  the  data  you  need—such  as:  

•   Which  hashtags  trigger  the  most  engagement  

•   Which  time  of  day  sees  your  photos  getting  the  most  “Likes”  

•   Geo-­‐location  data  

•   Who  followed  and  unfollowed  you  

•   Best  time  to  post  

 

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RESOURCE  DIRECTORY  –  Instagram  for  Business       ©www.solopreneursuccess.com.au  

And  much  more.  

Minter  will  also  help  you  track  your  hashtags,  analyze  your  community  engagement  patterns—and  you  can  export  data  too.  

19.    Instagram  Advertising  Basics  

 The  definitive  Facebook  Help  section  index  page  to  everything  you  want  to  know  about  Instagram  advertising.  

20.    Understanding  and  Creating  Carousel  Ads  for  Instagram  on  Facebook  

 Creating  carousel  ads  for  Instagram  is  not  hard—but  first  it  helps  to  understand  what  they  are  and  what  they  can  do.    Carousel  ads  consist  of  a  series  of  photographs  in  a  sequence.  People  recognize  them  not  only  because  of  the  word  “Sponsored”  appearing  at  the  top  of  the  ad,  but  because  of  the  multiple  dots  underneath.  Viewers  can  click  on  the  dots  in  sequence  to  see  the  “next”  photo.  

Do  take  the  time  to  read  our  link,  however:  Then  you  will  easily  be  ready  to  tackle  how  to  create  your  own  carousel  ad.    

Choose  your  apps  carefully,  making  sure  they  support  your  branding  and  engagement  strategies.  

Using  the  right  apps  for  Instagram  can  make  a  significant  difference  to  your  lead  generation.  Try  them  and  see!