“Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language.”
Walt Disney Company
We all know the saying a picture is worth a thousand words, and on your social pages, a picture can be worth a thousand likes, comments and shares. This is a pretty simple one. Images evoke the highest engagement on social platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest and of course Instagram. But what is important to take away from this super cool infographic is the types of images and the context in which we post them that makes all the difference.
Self-promotion and hard selling is NOT what the social web is about. What it is about is creating value, engaging, listening, sharing, two-way communication and building relationships. So instead of posting an image of a product you have for sale, think about posting a super cool hair image created with the product or client or team member using the product. See the difference?
Understanding these simple “rules of engagement” can transform your content on your social pages and dramatically increase engagement with your community. Awesome.
(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)
“When Instagram was down, I ran around town shouting “like” at flowers, dogs and expensive hamburgers”
via @laurenlaborde on Twitter
It’s clear that Instagram continues to be the latest social obsession. Over 10 million photos mentioning Thanksgiving were shared on Instagram on Thursday, a new record, WOW!
In a blog a few weeks ago, we shared about the new Web Profiles, one step closer to connecting your Instagram creations with the world. Now they have added Badges, to connect your Instagram Web Profile to your website or blog site, which will increase your engagement + connections.
How To Add the Instagram Badge to Your Site
Step One
Go to your Web Profile by typing in the URL www.instagram.com/your Instagram name here and click on your name, then click Badges.
Step Two
Click on the Badge you would like to embed into your site.
Step Three
Copy the code and embed it into your site. If you do not know how to embed code on your Blogsite or Website, ask your Webmaster, IT guy/gal (smart person), or whoever in your world helps you with this kind of stuff.
This is what the Badges look like once they are embedded. Cool, right? Click on the Badge and see where it takes you!
To learn more about Instagram Web Profiles, check out our previous blog on the topic, then go check out your page, and start sharing the love with your community.
We are still using Statigram on our site, which is awesome too. We have also claimed our Webstagram page, also awesome.
Running Instagram Contests on Statigram
On a total side note, if you are interested in running a Photo Contest on Instagram, Statigram has a super easy Toolkit to help you run contests, which can increase the fun and engagement of your community. Go to Statigram to learn more.
We will most likely switch to the official Instagram Badge as we expect Instagram Web Profiles to ultimately be more engaging then some of the other platforms. But only time will tell, as is with everything in this wild and wonderful social evolution.
(shared with LOVE from your passionistas, Nina + Gordon)
PS: You can follow us on Instagram @passionsquared
“A good snapshot stops a moment from running away.”
Eudora Welty
We are loving the evolution of Instagram and how our community has taken to it as the go-to app for engaging, sharing and connecting with the world. It’s no surprise though, as we are a creative and visual group of characters, and Instagram plays right into what we value most.
This week, Instagram introduced Web Profiles, where your page can be directly accessed on the web with your own unique URL. Pretty cool, yes? Why do we think its so cool?
1. It allows us to engage on the web, not just on the app, to like, comment and follow new users. Yes, there are several 3rd party apps that allow this already, but this is just kinda more official.
2. It helps our businesses become more discoverable on the web, just like other social platforms, the more we engage, the more discoverable we are.
3. Having our own URL allows us to share our Instagram page more easily among other platforms, as well as through our marketing and communications.
You can also edit your profile, revoke access to 3rd party apps, etc.
So how do you discover your profile? Simply go to www.instagram.com/your Instagram name here
If your page is set to private, only those who you allow to follow you will be able to see your photos. So you may want to double check your privacy settings on the app. You cannot change those settings on your Web Profile.
So there you have it. We will continue watching Web Profiles develop, as we sense this is only the beginning.
(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)
When we posted the joke/quote above on our Facebook page back in June, it seemed either nobody got it or did not think it was very funny. Ah, the perils of learning what your community responds to. Anyway, we still think its hilarious and discovered this awesome Instagram Cheat Sheet, perfect for all you hipsters out there obsessed with this platform as much as we are. Enjoy.
(image discovered on Google)
Lets play on Instagram, you can follow us @passionsquared. We would love to follow you back and watch how you are using Instagram to showcase your art, your business and of course, your awesome life.
(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)
“Family is not an important thing, it’s everything.”
Michael J. Fox
Meet The Teals, a beautiful family of uber talented artists, educators plus one fantastic photographer.
Ryan, Deannalyn and their daughter Tuesday (who just graduated from beauty school!) are by far one of the coolest families in our industry. What makes The Teals so awesome? They are authentic, kind, creative and have turned their passion for hair into a successful family business. Ryan and Deannalyn are masters of long hairdressing, and won the NAHA Salon Team of the Year in 2008.
Passion Squared: What are your current goals as a salon owner?
Tuesday Teal: The current goals that our salon has set are specific; we make them detailed so that we have more to work toward. For us we want a balance and rhythm of our guests to be happy, as well as to be continually growing.
We are working toward a specific number of friends on social media places. Our newest project is we want as much local traffic as we can. We have local only cards that give everyone in the area a chance to come in a meet us.
Passion Squared: Which social platform are you focusing on to reach that goal?
Tuesday Teal: Well I think that the best way to make friend is by shaking hands. You have to be real. If you are trying to just get random people in your chair that you don’t care about, this is not the industry for you. I like social media because it’s so easy to keep in touch!
Facebook is amazing because you can talk to people and they get nice comments about their hair.
I also love Instagram because there is not a lot of talking just pictures. The fun part is whatever you post is cool no matter what it is. Funny things in the salon are even funnier on Instagram.
The results of using Instagram and Facebook are fantastic; our clients love watching our lives play out.
Passion Squared: What did you do with those platforms?
Ryan Teal: One thing I did was to let my teenage daughter handle most of the social media. I don’t feel like any thing I do is super interesting mainly because I came from a pre-computer generation.
Tuesday, my daughter, grew up with Facebook and knows how to have what I call the Facebook face, which says “we are always having fun and everything we do is great.” For me everything we do is great I just didn’t think any one cares. But I guess they do?!?!?!
Passion Squared: What have the results been?
Ryan Teal: According to our Google Analytics we had 111 visits to our salon website in the month of September. 105 of those visits were new visits. We also have recently claimed our YELP page and have become more active promoting YELP. Two weeks ago, we had 4 new clients call in just one day who found us on YELP.
In my opinion that kind of return is amazing. A business card is typically 2 inch by 3 inches so very little can be printed on it. How many people can you hand out a card to in a month? I feel like spending more time & money on the social media side and less on the traditional advertising side, it’s the only way to grow your business in our new world.
You can find the The Teals traveling the country at shows sharing their passion for hair, at their super cool salon in Portland, Oregon and on the social platforms they play on.
