Another year has whizzed by and we can’t wait to help you achieve your goals online. With many new brands and businesses popping up all over the internet, we’ll bet you’ve daydreamed about making the big bucks using social media. Could this be the year you make your mark? Maybe you’ve been thinking about starting a brand online for a while, or perhaps you already have a bustling business but are yet to tap into a wider audience through the latest social media apps. With social media use growing year on year, there has never been a better time to start! We’re here to help you take the bull by the horns this new year, with the ultimate guide for starting a brand using social media in 2023.

Get Ready!

Pick your platforms

Before you get started, you need to get ready by having a plan. There are multiple social media platforms your business could be on, so picking the best ones for your brand is a crucial first step. Start by getting familiar with the most-used social media platforms because these are the platforms with enough active users to make your efforts worthwhile.

The big players in social media currently include TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook but you might want to look into LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube and Snapchat too.

While it’s a good idea to snap up handles on every platform (to keep your branding cohesive and avoid fakes), you should put the most effort into the platforms where your ideal audience is already hanging out. Different demographics tend to use different platforms so knowing who you want to reach, along with which social media platforms they use the most, is super important.

Play to your strengths

Another thing to note is that different social media platforms host different types of content.

For example:

• TikTok is a short-form video platform
• Instagram is mainly used for photos and video content
• Twitter is primarily a short-form written word platform that also supports media such as photos and video content
• Facebook and LinkedIn allow sharing of long-form text, photos and videos

Pairing your strengths with a platform that caters to those strengths is worth considering. This is because regular, quality content is needed in order to build a following and keep your audience engaged.

The more you learn about each platform, the better informed you’ll be as to which platforms play to your strengths. One of the easiest ways to learn about a platform is to simply observe what other brands and users are already creating. You can find a load of inspiration and examples in our blog.

Get Set!

Create your accounts

Now that you know which social media platforms you’re going to focus on, it’s time to set up your accounts. Wherever possible, opt for a business account. These are usually free and accessible at the touch of a button. This should grant you access to additional tools such as analytics and advertising features. While getting insights within social media apps is a great place to start, you can get loads more with Minter.io - the analytics tool for businesses on social media. Analytics help you track your growth and business goals. They also highlight content that works well for your audience, so as your following grows you can make more of an impact with less guesswork.

Make a good first impression

Use all the areas available across your profiles to share and show off your brand. This includes your profile handles, profile pictures, banners, bios and website links. Your branding on social media is like a first impression of your business. What kind of first impression do you want a new viewer to have of your brand? Ideally, it should be easy to identify who you are, what you do and where to make purchases.

Go!

Get inspired

You’ve picked your platforms and set up your accounts - now it’s time to get creative! Social media is fuelled by content so getting a plan together for your content is a good idea. Start by getting inspired. Check out brands in your space and think about how you can take things that work well and reimagine them for your content.

This could include:

• Hopping on trends
• Making a competition
• Encouraging user-generated content
• Working with collaborators and influencers
• Crafting something difficult to ignore

It’s also a good idea to check out what smaller brands are doing well, as what works for an established brand with a significant following might not work all that well when you’re just starting out.

Consider the culture

The vibe varies significantly from platform to platform. If LinkedIn is the boss babe, Facebook is the family friend and TikTok is the younger sibling. You should take this into account when thinking about the kinds of content you want to create. For example, viewers are generally more willing to spend much more time on a post on LinkedIn than they are on TikTok because of the reason they use the platform and the environment cultivated on it. How can you share content that connects with people within the context of each app? When you take context into account your posts are more likely to perform well.

Engage with others

Social media is all about being social, so don’t forget to interact with people. When you get comments on your posts, respond to those comments with something more substantial than an emoji or a one-word answer. Make it worth commenting by making people who engage feel valued by you as a brand.

Interacting with other brands, accounts and potential customers on social media is a good way to get additional reach, particularly at the start of your social media launch. When you interact with others, you put yourself in a position to be noticed. Curious viewers may hop to your profile to see what you’re about. That’s why engaging with others while simultaneously sharing interesting content on your own profile goes hand-in-hand when building a brand from scratch.

To Infinity and Beyond!

Now that you’ve started publishing posts on social media, it’s time to optimise for success.

Define your goals

It’s very easy to lose sight of the big picture when building a brand on social media. Vanity metrics are great for the ego but don’t necessarily correlate with business success. It doesn’t matter how many followers you have if none of them are buying into what you do. Therefore, having clear social media goals that align with your business goals is vital.

You could use social media to:

• Build brand awareness
• Increase website traffic
• Improve communication with customers
• Boost a campaign
• Generate new customers
• Deliver excellent customer service
• Listen and react to public opinion about your brand

Pick your timing

Depending on the platform you’re using and the audience you’re building, optimising for the best time to post can vary significantly from brand to brand. The frequency of posting also tends to change from platform to platform. That’s why it’s important to understand what works for your brand on each platform you choose to focus on. Use the ‘Optimization’ feature by Minter.io to learn about the best time to post for your audience.

Advertise and boost posts

Posts seen on social media can be organic or paid for. Advertisements often show up as ‘Sponsored’ posts on social media. Depending on your business goals and your budget, it might be worthwhile to look into advertising. Advertising guarantees that your posts will be seen by a group of targeted people. This could get your brand in front of your ideal audience faster than relying on organic reach alone. Often, brands develop strategies that combine organic and paid content, opting to pay for more targeted posts when pushing a campaign.

When you’re starting a new brand on social media, take your time to figure out how you want to showcase your brand. Once you’re confident with your content, advertising can be a valuable asset for building your brand and selling products.

Remain flexible

As you publish more, be sure to adapt your plan as your following builds and you learn what works for your audience. Your business and social media goals will change throughout the seasons, as will the features available to you, technology, society and culture as a whole. Planning ahead but remaining flexible to changes should stand you in good stead.

2023 looks good on you darlin’ and we can’t wait to see the success this new year brings our savvy customers. To kickstart the year, check out analytics from Minter.io and track your social media presence across Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook and LinkedIn.

The topic of applying for verification on TikTok is somewhat ambiguous. Many reputable websites claim there is no way to apply for verification and TikTok itself isn’t forthcoming with a clear way to claim a verification badge. However, we found some information particularly telling which might help your account snag a verification spot beyond crossing your fingers and hoping to get plucked from the masses by the TikTok gods.

Before we share with you the vital info you need, firstly you have to adhere to the several stipulations TikTok demands for an account to become verified…

Rules for TikTok verification

To get verified an account must be:

1. Active - it must have been logged in within the past 6 months.
2. Authentic - it must represent a real person, business or entity.
3. Complete - it must be public and have a completed bio, name, profile photo and at least one TikTok video.
4. Notable - it must be featured in multiple news sources.
5. Secure - it must have multi-factor authentication and a verified email address. It must also have a relevant email domain if the account is a business, institution or entity.
6. Following the terms of service.

There is no charge for verification. Anyone selling TikTok verification is likely a scammer and should be avoided.

TikTok can remove verification from an account if some settings are changed by the account. Make sure when you set up your TikTok account that you choose a username and the account type (business, personal or institution) carefully. If any of these are changed once your account is verified, it may trigger the removal of your verification badge.

Improve your chances of verification

There are several hacks touted all over the internet for increasing your chances of getting verified on TikTok and some of them make perfect sense because they align with the aforementioned stipulations.

Here are the best ones…

Get verified on other social platforms

Verification on any social media platform is generally reserved for accounts that need verification. This is because the account name or likeness is likely to get targeted by copycats and scammers. Accounts needing verification include: well-known brands, recognisable people, public figures, celebrities, politicians, religious heads and influencers with a large amount of followers.

By getting verified on other social media platforms and linking those verified accounts to your TikTok account, you’re proving that you’ve already been accepted by other verification processes. This strengthens your case as others have deemed your profiles as notable and authentic.

Grow your accounts

Building your accounts by gaining more followers increases the need for verification because the larger your following, the more likely your account will be targeted by copycats and scammers.

To build your following:

• Focus on creating great content
• Work towards gaining more reach and impressions
• Seek effective ways to encourage engagement
• Work with influencers and collaborators to reach new audiences

These steps should boost your profile and notability in the process.

Go Viral

Having a TikTok video go viral is a sure-fire way to get more interaction and followers while increasing your brand awareness in a significant way. Going viral on TikTok comes from knowledge of what works on the platform and tapping into ideas other people relate to and want to get involved with. Grab some inspiration before coming up with your own ideas.

Get media coverage

TikTok states your account must be featured in multiple news sources. Getting media coverage will give you examples of your notability which can build your need for verification.

Applying for verification

I’ve been hunting for a clear and obvious way to get verified on TikTok. Many sources claim you can’t apply for verification. Instead, it is thought that TikTok has a team dedicated to finding accounts in need of verification that automatically adds verification badges without input from the account owners. But if celebrities like Tom Cruise can get verified without a single video on the account, there must be a way to get in touch with TikTok if you’re a big enough name.

While looking at the information on TikTok’s help page ‘How to tell if an account is verified on TikTok’ I noticed this phrase, 'the account owner needs to re-apply for verification.’ If you can re-apply, that must mean you can apply for it in the first place, right?

After a little extra digging, I found this page: https://www.tiktok.com/legal/report/verification

Why verification matters

Verification is a stamp of authenticity online. It shows users that your account is legitimate; that you are who you say you are. This helps build trust with your audience and is a form of social proof. Building trust is an important part of building a profitable business with loyal customers. Verification is also crucial for warding off scammers and impersonators. This helps protect your audience and your image.

Track your social media metrics on your journey to verification. With data on reach, impressions, engagement and more, you can confidently grow your audience with Minter.io - the analytics tool for businesses on social media. Try it today!

It’s time to get your Instagram followers interested in your events. As you’re pencilling in dates for the year, let your audience in on the details by adding reminders to your Instagram posts. While you might already be familiar with countdowns on Instagram stories, reminders are added to grid posts that stick around for far longer than 24 hours. Viewers can opt in to get reminders for events in their notifications, so if you haven’t yet discovered this feature, now is the time to get started.

Here’s everything you need to know about reminders on Instagram…

How viewers interact with reminders

A reminder on an Instagram post is indicated by a calendar icon. These icons appear directly on individual posts but also in the search function, in the main feed and on an Instagram profile.

To view more information including the date and name of the event, viewers can tap on the calendar icon. Users who want a reminder for the event can select the ‘Remind me’ button on this screen or directly on the post.

Once a viewer has opted to get a reminder, the option on the post changes to ‘View in upcoming events’.

Upcoming event reminders are available to view in ‘Notifications’.

How to turn off a reminder

If you’ve added a reminder by accident or you’ve simply changed your mind, it’s easy to turn a reminder off.

Here’s how:

1. Head to the original post. You can do this through selecting the specific event in ‘Upcoming events’ in your notifications.
2. Tap the calendar icon.
3. Select ‘Reminder on’. This will remove the reminder.

How to add a reminder to your own post

Adding reminders to Instagram posts is only available for professional accounts on Instagram. You can change your Instagram account to a professional account free of charge using this guide. When you’re ready, start creating a piece of content and opt to publish it as a post. When you get to the screen where you add your caption and tags etc. you can add a reminder.

Here’s how:

1. Tap ‘Add reminder’ from the list of options.
2. Give the reminder a name.

3. Select ‘Start time’.

4. Choose the time and date your event will start, then hit the blue ‘Done’ button. You can schedule events up to 3 months in advance.

5. Add an optional end time if the event spans more than one day. Hit the ‘End time (optional)’ button to select an end time. Then hit the blue ‘Done’ button.

6. When you are happy with your event details, tap the blue ‘Done’ option in the top right-hand corner of the screen.

7. Share your post when ready.

Get your audience excited about the events you’re planning and enjoy experimenting with reminders on your posts. To track how well your posts are performing, try Minter.io - the analytics tool dedicated to helping you know what works for your business on social media.

With sparkle season upon us, you might be looking for new ways to get new eyeballs on your Instagram profile and the shiny products that would make great gifts. If you’re new to advertising, we’re going to show you the simplest way to get started, so your business can grow no matter the season.

Get started with advertising on Instagram

The simplest way to advertise on Instagram is by boosting a post through the app. You need to switch to a free professional Instagram account if you don’t already have one.

There are several reasons why boosting a post is great as an introduction to advertising on Instagram:

• Adverts can be created directly within the app
• Instagram advertising takes the power behind Facebook’s targeted ads and simplifies it
• The app walks you through each step clearly
• Setting a budget is easy
• The creative is taken straight from a published post

This is great if you:

• Are new to advertising
• Find Facebook advertising (which is used for Instagram ads) daunting or confusing at this time
• Want a quick way for a published post to gain more attention
• Want your established audience to see the post too

How to boost a post on Instagram

Here’s the step-by-step process for boosting a post:

1. Open the Instagram app and head to your profile.
2. Tap the ‘Professional dashboard’ at the top of your profile.

3. Scroll and tap ‘Ad tools’ under ‘Your tools’.

4. Select ‘Choose a post’.

5. Find your desired post to boost, then hit the blue ‘Next’ button at the bottom of the screen.

Alternatively, boost a post directly from the creative by finding your desired post on your profile and hitting the blue ‘Boost post’ button directly underneath the media.

6. Select a goal. This could be to get more profile visits, more website visits or more messages.

7. Once you’ve selected an option for your goal, you can tap the ‘Edit’ button underneath it to customise it. This can include adding a URL, changing an action button, toggling a banner on or off or adding a WhatsApp number. Make sure you select ‘Done’ after making edits to save them.

8. Tap the blue ‘Next’ button at the bottom of the screen.

9. Define your audience. The easiest option is to allow Instagram to target people similar to your current audience, however you can choose to create your own target audience by defining locations, interests, age and gender. You can also add special requirements with categories such as credit, employment, properties or social issues, elections or politics. If you add your own audience or special requirements, make sure to save those settings by tapping ‘Done’ after selecting or editing the options you want.

10. When you’re happy with your audience selection, hit the blue ‘Next’ button at the bottom of the screen.

11. Set your budget. To do this, use the slider to select a daily budget. This is the amount you wish to spend each day. You can decide on an amount of days you’d like the ad to run or you can select the option to allow the ad to run until you manually pause it. If you’re new to ads, setting a duration will make it easier not to go over your budget.

12. Hit the blue ‘Next’ button at the bottom of the screen.

13. Review your ad. Preview how the creative will look in different places on Instagram and check you’re happy with your goal, audience, budget and payment settings.

14. When you’ve checked everything and are happy with your ad, hit the blue ‘Boost post’ button at the bottom of the screen.

15. Immediately afterwards your post will be reviewed by Instagram before going live.

Viewing insights for ads

Looking at insights can help you learn how well your ad is performing on its own and when compared with other adverts you’ve created. You can view ad insights through the ‘View Insights’ button directly underneath your post media. You can also find this information in the ‘Ad tools’ section of your professional dashboard.

While your advert is live and once it's ended you can see:

• Ad taps
• Ad goal
• Status (how much time remaining)
• Percentage of budget spent
• Audience insights including gender, age and location (available once the ad has reached more than 100 people)

You can also see percentages for:

• Ad goal
• Reach
• Impressions
• Profile visits

This helps you visualise how many people are finding your post organically vs through advertising.

Get more ad insights with Minter.io

The more information you have for your ads, the better equipped you are to craft ads that yield results. That’s why at Minter.io we are dedicated in providing you more analytical data which is easy to view and compare.

With Minter.io you can view more metrics for ads including:

• Number of Ads
• Ad Likes
• Ad Comments
• Ad Clicks
• Ad Video Views
• Ad Impressions
• Ad Saves
• Engagement Rate by Reach
• Ad Spend

You can also view all your ads within a specific date range and sort them by:

• Interactions
• Likes
• Comments
• Clicks
• Video Views
• Saves
• Impressions
• Reach
• Engagement Rate by Reach
• Spend
• Date

You can view these by grid or list and you can choose to view only photo or video ads as well as both together. We put the power in your hands to choose to view the information that matters the most to you, your team and your business. You can also access up to two years of historical data for boosted posts and separately created Instagram ads.

Now you should have all the knowledge and tools you need to get started with ads on Instagram. Get creative, have fun and we’ll see you at Minter.io for all the analytics your business needs.

Twitter has recently rolled out a brand new feature that allows users to share photos, videos and GIFs in the same tweet. It didn’t take long for creative genius to follow as people, brands and businesses jumped into the deep end with this exciting new Twitter addition. We’ve found 10 examples from brands to give you the confidence to combine multiple pieces of media for maximum impact.

Here’s 10 brands using the new Twitter mixed media feature…

1. Netflix

Video streaming service @netflix opted for a side-by-side photo and video combo capturing a beautiful moment at an event. This brings extra life to the image, making the viewer feel like they could step into the scene.

What moments could benefit from a video in addition to a photo in your business' social media?

2. STUDIO GHIBLI

Japanese animation studio @JP_GHIBLI shared a photo and a video of a book. The video flicks through the pages of the book, giving the viewer a great preview of the product.

Showcasing your product with a shiny image, as well as a video showing its features, could be the next step in drumming up interest from potential buyers.

3. SEGA

Gaming and entertainment company @SEGA used mixed media as a reply in a tweet thread. In the tweet they showcased more moments from an event, through photos and a video, as the event was taking place.

When you want to share even more media, a thread of tweets could be the answer.

4. Kansas City Royals

American professional baseball team @Royals shared this event moment with 2 photos next to a video. Not only can a viewer imagine the atmosphere - they can view it in full swing.

Bring your tweets to life with action shots and a video to suck viewers in.

5. Los Angeles Chargers

American football team @chargers shared this info-led photo with a video of the moment. The image gives viewers context so the video can be fully appreciated and enjoyed.

Would it help your viewers if you added text to a photo to provide more context for a video?

6. KFC

Fast food restaurant chain @kfc embraced the power of a GIF in this creative take on mixed media tweets. Through adding 3 images and 1 GIF in the right order, @kfc created a picture with their product as the star.

Creating a scene through pictures and GIFs could grab attention in an ingenious way.

7. Pizza Hut

Pizza pioneers @pizzahut recreated a popular meme using photos, a GIF and their product as the subject. Using a recognisable meme instantly sparks relatability and might even tease a giggle from the viewer.

How can your brand use well-known images or memes in a creative way?

8. Steak-umm

Thin-sliced frozen steak brand @steak_umm compiled 3 images and a video to recreate a popular and regularly-repurposed meme of the singer @Drake. The premise is that the top thing is bad and the bottom thing is ideal. This tweet by @steak_umm is a little meta, which is cool considering how new the mixed media feature is.

Could your brand repurpose a popular meme for fresh Twitter content?

9. SaKo

This mixed media tweet by @_IAmSaKo_ is nothing short of inspired. This art, code and game developer took note of how Twitter shows multiple GIFs to viewers in a single tweet. When you view this post, the 4 GIFs play one after another. This customises this character with different accessories. It’s fun, it’s functional, it’s fabulous.

Adding several GIFs that play one after another could keep viewers on your tweet for longer. How can you combine creativity with GIFs to make the most of this option?

10. Curly

Artist @crly___ shows a finished design picture next to a video of the process, proving that mixed media tweets can help grow personal brands and smaller businesses. This technique would also work really well for recipes, makeup tutorials and how-to guides.

Is there an interesting process you can show through a video while grabbing attention with a high-quality image?

We hope you’re inspired to try mixed media tweets on your business Twitter profile. Don’t forget to track your exciting new tweets with Minter.io - the analytics tool for social media. You can see which of your tweets your audience vibes with the most, giving you the power to create a bigger impact with your brand, message and mission. Try it today!

You’ve made a sweeeeet video and you want to upload it to your TikTok account. Whether you’re a crossposting crusader, an editing enthusiast or you just have some super snaps to share straight from your camera roll, this guide will help you get your media off your phone and in front of your TikTok fans.

How to upload a video to TikTok from your phone

To upload footage from your camera roll:

1. Open the TikTok app and hit the plus (+) icon at the bottom of the screen.

2. Tap the ‘Upload’ option in the bottom right-hand corner.

3. Select media from your camera roll. This can include videos and/or photos and you can select multiple by toggling the option at the bottom of the screen.

4. Edit your footage before hitting next and publishing your TikTok video.

Crossposting

If you’re looking to crosspost your TikTok videos with other social media platform apps such as Instagram, there’s something you should know…

When you save a video to your camera roll directly from your TikTok profile, it gets a TikTok watermark. This is a sneaky feature that is great for TikTok as it promotes the app in other places and it’s ideal if you’re looking to promote your TikTok profile on other platforms. However, this watermark kind of makes the other platforms feel like an afterthought. It’s obvious that you ripped the video straight off TikTok to upload somewhere else. I don’t know about you, but if I were Instagram I wouldn’t want to feel like sloppy seconds.

Here are a couple of ways to crosspost effectively without watermarks:

1. Make your videos using editing programs such as Adobe Premiere Pro, iMovie or Final Cut (to name just a few) and upload the edit to each platform separately.
2. Capture each clip on your camera roll before uploading to a social media app. This way you can make use of the creative features within each social media app, while keeping the original footage logo-free.
3. Download your TikTok video through a tool that bypasses the watermark such as SnapTik or TikMate.

TikTok size and settings

When you upload to any social media platform, it’ll work in your favour to create content that is optimised for that specific platform. TikTok is designed for videos that take up the whole phone screen. Although you can upload horizontal videos, we’d always recommend vertical videos on TikTok.

Check out these two videos on the @leonrestaurants TikTok account. Both videos are promoting the same product, but how much more eye-catching is the vertical video? It takes up the whole screen, with larger imagery and no wasted space.

The recommended size for TikTok videos is 1080 x 1920 with an aspect ratio of 9:16. This makes the footage vertical and is the standard size of a smartphone screen.

Marketing with vertical video

Vertical video is only becoming more popular as all major social media platforms including TikTok, Instagram and even Facebook are hopping on the trend. In fact, Twitter is currently testing a feature that allows users to add multiple types of media to a single tweet. This includes spaces, audio soundbites, images, GIFs, polls and (you guessed it) videos… so it’s worth getting to grips with marketing through short-form video content and putting it on all the social media apps that are relevant to your audience.

You can learn about your audience and how your content is performing across several social media platforms with Minter.io - the social media analytics tool designed to help your business grow online. With easy-to-understand metrics, the flexibility of a date picker and fully customisable exports, trying it out free of charge today might just be the smartest business decision you made this week.

In the past decade or so we’ve seen an explosion of new concepts such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies and NFTs bursting into the mainstream. Something exciting is happening within this space and now Instagram has announced the introductions of NFTs hosted on the app. This bridges the gap between social media platforms and NFT technology.

In this article, we’re going to break down what an NFT is and how this will shape the Instagram app.

What is an NFT?

There are a few terms to get to grips with to understand what an NFT is.

In simple terms:

• Cryptocurrency = digital money
• Blockchain = a record of transactions that can’t be altered
• NFTs = digital assets

NFT stands for Non-fungible token. These tokens are digital assets based on blockchain technology and are used to represent ownership of unique items. NFTs are becoming increasingly popular in the art space due to artists selling work online. Through NFTs, artwork can be bought and sold online with a digital record of authenticity. NFTs are easily transferable and are viewed as trustworthy due to the security of the blockchain.

Why Instagram is integrating NFTs

The most significant use of NFTs today is in digital content, so it makes sense that places that store digital content (such as social media platforms) would want to get in on the action. Getting involved with NFTs feels like a homage to Instagram’s roots. Remember when Instagram was an app for budding photographers? If this isn’t Instagram opening its arms to artists once again, I don’t know what is. A big plus side of NFTs is that they give creators more opportunities to build successful careers online. By linking the promotion and sale of content, Instagram is opening up options for artists to get seen and paid for their work.

Viewing NFTs on Instagram

There are currently just 500+ posts using the hashtag #nftsoninstagram on the Instagram app. NFTs are easily recognisable as they have a digital collectible badge which is in the shape of a hexagon and has a tick in the centre. NFTs have a shimmer filter when viewed, that looks like light passing over the image, which adds another element to these collectable pieces of content.

Sharing your own NFTs

Instagram has been testing and trialing the integration of NFTs with their platform since May 2022, however recently Instagram shared that it is starting international expansion. At the moment the supported blockchains include: Ethereal, Polygon and Flow. There are no fees for posting or sharing NFTs on Instagram. All you have to do to get started is to connect a digital wallet with your Instagram account.

Connecting a wallet to Instagram

Users in some countries can already connect a wallet to their Instagram account and start sharing digital collectables on the app.

To do this:

1. Head to your Instagram profile.
2. Tap the 3 bar menu in the top right-hand corner.
3. Select ‘Digital collectibles’ from the list.
4. Tap ‘Connect wallet’.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to connect your digital wallet.

Currently you can connect some wallets through the Instagram app. These wallets include: Coinbase Wallet, Dapper, MetaMask, Phantom, Rainbow and Trust Wallet. For more wallet options, connect your wallet using Instagram on a desktop.

We hope this lifts the veil on the exciting new world of digital collecting and the technology behind it. For more ways to grow your presence on social media, try Minter.io today!

While we mere mortals have been tinkering with transitions and trying to keep up with trends, @jamieoliver, @johnlewis and @tefal.uk have created the Instagram reel to beat all other reels. We’re going to break down exactly what they’ve created, why it’s so effective and how you can implement several of these techniques into your own Reels creations.

Check out the reel here and we’ll walk you through the things to apply to your Instagram Reels to level up your business.

Smash together ideas

Before you get snapping, you have to come up with some great ideas to capture for your Instagram Reels. Whether you opt to share information, entertainment or even infotainment (which is a glorious mash-up of the two) you might want to look at the genius of swirling ideas together to create a captivating combination.

1. Giveaway

One of the best ways to get an audience to interact is to give them a chance to get something really cool out of it. Giveaways and competitions are a classic choice as you can ask viewers to do things (like, comment, share, follow) for the chance of getting something in return. This instantly boosts your engagement, but also hooks people into seeing more of your content on their feed. Plus, it gives people a reason to return to your profile - to see if the winners have been announced.

The cover image of this reel example by @jamieoliver includes the word ‘GIVEAWAY’ so there’s an instant and obvious reason to click. The conditions of entering the giveaway include: following all the brands involved in the giveaway, liking the post, commenting and tagging a friend! That’s a whole bunch of engagement to boost this post.

2. How-to guide

How-to guides are great for getting viewers to stay on, save and return to your content. A great guide gives viewers a huge amount of value, which in turn is valuable for your business as it spikes engagement and impressions from return views. The visual and audio elements of Instagram Reels makes step-by-step instructions simple to conceptualise and follow, which makes it the perfect feature for this type of content.

The main substance of this reel by @jamieoliver is a step-by-step recipe using the items in the giveaway. This is a clever way to show off the giveaway items, peaking interest while sharing content that people are likely to stay on, save and return to as they follow the recipe.

3. Collaboration

Let’s not gloss over the massive collaboration of three huge names supercharging the efforts behind this campaign. We’ve got celebrity chef @jamieoliver, superstore giant @johnlewis and kitchenware kingdom @tefal.uk all teaming up to make this a success. This is a suitable three-way because their audiences are relevant to one another without being the exact same, they are all well-known brands operating at a similar business level and they all have sizeable audiences to draw from. The public figure of a celebrity puts a face and a personality at the forefront, which humanises the campaign - another key element that makes this collaboration such a great idea.

You can boost your Instagram Reels with collaborations. When looking for brands to join forces with, try to find businesses at a similar level that are relevant to your audience, without opting for direct competition.

Notice how the @jamieoliver and @johnlewis Instagram profiles are both tagged as the creators of this reel. This is because they have both been added as collaborators when uploading the reel. This reel has been automatically posted to both brand profiles. You can do this by selecting ‘Tag people’ followed by ‘Invite Collaborator’ and selecting another profile before publishing your reel.

Editing techniques

Once you have your idea, it’s time to get creative. An important component of the creative process is to craft content that grabs, holds and keeps the attention of the viewer. This aims to increase audience retention to boost reach and impressions. There are plenty of ways to edit your footage to make it interesting and here are a few key tricks you should know about.

4. Quick cuts

Changing the image on screen regularly can help keep viewers engaged, interested and wondering what they will see next. In this reel by @jamieoliver we counted a whopping 30 cuts in the edit.

5. Added text

Another technique which is becoming increasingly popular in Instagram Reels, Shorts and TikTok content is the use of text overlays. In this example by @jamieoliver, text has been added over the vital parts of the reel - the names of the ingredients. Adding text forces the viewer to read as well as watch and listen to the content. It could even increase views by 80%.

Platform knowledge

Every social media platform has its quirks and Instagram is no different. Even if you crosspost all your Instagram Reels from TikTok, you should optimise for the platform you’re posting on.

6. Main feed crop

When posting to Instagram Reels you have the option to also post the content to your main grid profile. On the main feed and on your main profile, reels are often cropped. This reel by @jamieoliver keeps the most important info at the centre of the video frame so nothing vital is lost no matter where viewers see it.

7. Paid partnership and tags

You can also see that this is a paid partnership with @tefal.uk in an overlay when viewing directly from the profile grid. This isn’t shown on the same content in the Instagram Reels tab. To make this partnership obvious, this reel by @jamieoliver ends with branded logos from all collaborative partners. The brands are also all added to the description and the hashtag #AD is included to avoid any legal missteps.

Clever caption

All good creatives should have killer copy as a caption. Your description can make or break a good piece of content so make it count.

8. Hashtag campaign

The main bulk of this caption by @jamieoliver highlights the giveaway prizes, terms of entry and tagged brand partners. However, a key element that’s been added is the hashtag #JamiesOnePanWonders which viewers must comment to be in for a chance to win. This is a great way to gather the entries into one place to make picking a winner simple.

You can group, view and sort through a specific hashtag with Minter.io which makes tracking hashtag campaigns alongside valuable metrics easy.

9. Use of emojis

Your emoji use can say a lot about your brand and your audience. For instance, younger audiences might appreciate more emojis to grab their attention or simply express emotion. Other brands opt to claim a specific emoji to correlate with their branding.

I really like the use of emojis in this reel by @jamieoliver. It helps to grab attention but remains highly professional, with a singular emoji added to the top and bottom of the text.

Audience engagement

These Instagram Reels techniques should help to set off a cascade of interest and interaction. Having a bright idea and executing it in a way that grabs, hold and maintains viewer focus is extremely import when competing for attention online. Finding a way to encourage multiple views and return views is even better.

A key part of this reel by @jamieoliver is that it gives the viewers multiple reasons to interact and share.

Viewers watch and interact to:

• Enter the competition
• Follow the recipe
• Share the recipe with friends and family
• Show the giveaway to other people

Other reasons might be because they:

• Are a fan of the person featured
• Like the brands involved

It’s important to make content that invites comments and gives audience members a good reason to engage. What are they getting out of your content and why would they want to hit the heart or tag their friends?

Once you’ve come up with cool content, make sure it’s translating into positive, meaningful growth for your business. Track all the metrics you need for business growth on social media using Minter.io - try it today!

We’re living in a time when making money online is becoming more and more accessible. For many years, social media was about building an audience and funnelling that audience to another place on the internet to make a sale, such as a company website. However, recently we’ve been witnessing social media platforms bridge the gap between building an audience and monetising that audience. This is happening on many social media platforms with shopping features now a prominent part of Facebook, Instagram and TikTok without the need to leave the app.

On Twitter we’ve seen monetisation efforts go even further…

Tips

In recent years, we’ve seen virtual tip jars and paid memberships burst onto the scene. With Tips, Twitter takes on websites such as buymeacoffee.com and the donation buttons featured within link-in-bio services such as LinkTree and Koji. The Tips feature allows people to send donations directly through a Twitter page. Set yours up here.

Super Follows

A one-off donation is great, but monthly subscriptions are a much more reliable form of monetisation. Super Follows is Twitter’s answer to Patreon. This allows people to get exclusive content for a recurring monthly payment. Set yours up here.

Twitter help states, ‘People in the U.S. who meet the eligibility requirements can apply to participate in our initial Super Follows test group. Purchase of Super Follows subscriptions are currently available globally on Twitter for iOS and Android, as well as on twitter.com in the US, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Interaction with Super Follows content is only available from an iOS or Android device.’

Revue

Building an email list and sharing a newsletter can be extremely powerful for a business. With Revue, which is owned by Twitter, you can create a newsletter with paid memberships. You can add your newsletter to the top of your Twitter profile, allowing viewers to subscribe directly on Twitter without ever leaving the app. Find out more here.

A smart move for Twitter

Building monetisation features into an app is great for the social media platform hosting the content. From Twitter’s perspective, it’s all about grabbing, holding and keeping attention on the platform. The longer a person stays on the social media site, the more adverts the platform can show that user and the more money the platform can make. Therefore, by creating new ways for people and businesses to make money directly on the platform, users are less inclined to encourage their audience members to leave the platform in favour of a company website. It makes great business sense.

Don’t overlook these features for your business

When looking at this from a business perspective, we see how useful it is to have monetisable elements directly on social media. There are a few reasons for this…

Firstly, a social media platform provides credibility, so customers can confidently consume and purchase without the worry of the legitimacy of the website. Social media platforms are also an explosion of conversation, so if a company is ripping people off, potential customers will definitely hear about it quickly. Equally, if a business values customers and provides a great service, this should be very clearly evident through reviews, user-generated content and conversation on posts, giving customers the ability to confidently press forward in their purchasing endeavours.

Secondly, getting a potential customer off a social media platform and onto another website isn’t always easy. When someone is perusing Twitter, you have to give them a good reason to leave. This requires compelling copy, valuable content and trust in the brand. But, what if you didn’t need anyone to leave the platform? What if you could provide the potential customer with what you’d like to offer them right there on the social media platform? Would that customer be more likely to check something out if they didn’t have to click off a site they’re already familiar and comfortable with? Twitter users can sign up to your newsletter with the click of a button directly from your Twitter profile and support your content in-app without ever leaving Twitter.

Thirdly, the infrastructure is ready for your business to plug in and play. Without the need for a website designer, additional graphics, extensive copy etc. you can easily get going with a new revenue stream in a matter of minutes. This is particularly helpful if you have a smaller company with a smaller team or you currently don’t have a big budget to get everything off the ground all at once. If a social media platform has the features to allow you to grow an audience, share content with that audience and monetise that audience all at once, you can focus without spreading yourself and your finances thin.

Ticketed Spaces

An honourary mention goes to ticketed spaces. We wrote an article on this other money-making Twitter feature which puts audio behind a paywall. However, in an update Twitter stated, ‘We’re pausing the Ticketed Spaces test indefinitely to focus on improving and bringing new features to the core Spaces experience.’

The effort to integrate money-making features within social media apps is super smart, but it doesn’t mean a lot to your business if you’re not building a loyal following. Make sure you’re tracking the metrics that matter to your business with Minter.io - the social media analytics company for business success.

Love them or hate them, there’s no denying the footprint @crocs is stamping across TikTok. This divisive footwear brand is not only blazing a trail on social media; its business growth keeps in tow with its TikTok popularity. The Swiss-cheese lookalikes have hit the hole-y grail of TikTok, so whether you proudly slip on these snuggly toe-cuddlers or swear against ever setting foot in the worst toe toppers since the jelly shoe, it’s worth taking note of what’s working for this brand online.

Here are the key TikTok takeaways for your business to stroll away with…

“We're a digital first brand. We've been a digital first brand for years now." - Heidi Cooley, Head of Global Marketing for @crocs.

It all starts with a unique product

Say what you want about @crocs, the shoes are unique. A huge result from this one-of-a-kind design is that the shoe style is synonymous with the brand name. This really does set the brand in good stead for recognisability, brand awareness and building community. Just as a red sole is indistinguishable from Louboutin, the @crocs shoe is not easily mistaken.

The @crocs brand doesn’t try to appeal to everyone and it doesn’t try to be something it’s not. It has stood by its designs long before it blew up in popularity. This adds to the authenticity of the brand which builds and retains trust and loyalty with customers. Part of the story of so many @crocs lovers is the journey from die-hard hater to obsessive fandom and this is a huge part of the TikTok community discourse.

Leaning heavily into your unique selling point will stand your business in good stead when building a following on TikTok. What makes your business different from others in your field? Are you trying to appeal to everyone or are you staying true to your vision and standing by your differences? As the age-old saying goes: if you try to appeal to everyone, you will appeal to no one.

Listen first, create second

This trend of a hate-then-love relationship with @crocs is a theme throughout the community, which definitely strengthens it. It also creates a lot of conversation and conversation means engagement online.

Clever @crocs capitalised on this conversation by driving it further with new TikTok content on the brand account. This created a central hub for the community to swap stories and get seen by their favourite brand.

Tap into trends

An interesting thing about @crocs is the customer base has driven multiple trends on TikTok using the shoes. The community created a trend by putting shaving cream in the shoes before putting your feet in them and watching the foam squidge out all the holes. It is easy to see why it captured curiosity around the world: it’s visually interesting which grabs attention, the palpable imagery sparks an emotive response and joining in satisfies the desire to be involved. A key point though is that this trend is exclusive to the @crocs community because the product lends itself to unique creativity - you can’t get the same effect with any old sandal.

There was also a challenge that suggested that if you throw a @crocs shoe it will always land the right way up. People encouraged their viewers to try it out for themselves to make sure it wasn’t fake. This got people creating TikTok Stitch videos and responding to comments with videos of them trying out the challenge.

Other challenges included putting the shoes into “sport mode” before running away.

Alongside throwing a @crocs shoe in the air for a comfy outfit change.

The @crocs account capitalised on this momentum by creating its own TikTok challenge - the #ThousandDollarCrocs challenge. This encouraged viewers to share how they think the shoes would look if they cost a thousand dollars. Reportedly, less than 36 hours after launching the challenge, the hashtag had been viewed 95 million times on TikTok and more than 45,000 videos had been created.

To top it off, @crocs gave away a $1k gift card to a sole fan. What a nice touch!

Nurture authentic collaborations

Quirky @crocs has collaborated with some huge names: Post Malone, Balenciaga, Justin Bieber (Drew House) and Ruby Rose to drop just a few. A big part of the ethos of @crocs is partnering with people who already wear and love the products. Heidi Cooley, Head of Global Marketing for @crocs says, “Every collaboration comes from a place of authenticity. Ruby Rose was a fan of Crocs before we ever reached out to her about a partnership. And that's the essence of how we go about marketing at Crocs.”

When you put authenticity at the heart of your connections, you build a deeper trust with your audience online. It can be difficult to tell when influencer marketing and collaborations are coming from a genuine place, so by making a point of this choice, it’s a breath of fresh air. The more customers trust a brand, the more confident they feel to share and recommend the products to their friends, resulting in word-of-mouth marketing.

Encompassing Gen Z values

Knowing your audience is important for content creation, but also for targeting the demographic which uses the social media platform. It’s clear to see that @crocs’ customer-first approach is a key element to the brand’s business success and its success on social media.

TikTok is the social platform of the younger generation. Therefore, appealing to the values of Generation Z has put @crocs in a good position. Don’t toe-tally stub your audience; get to know who you’re appealing to on the platform you’re on.

Forward-thinking @crocs has a commitment to sustainability and the environment, pledging to become a net zero company by 2030. It has also recently transitioned into a vegan footwear brand, which echoes the @crocs ethos of inclusivity.

It is a purpose-driven brand; it knows how to appeal to today’s audience and it know how to share this with its TikTok demographic.

Forget toeing the line between existing on TikTok and running away with success. Track your TikTok metrics with Minter.io - the social media analytics company for every modern business.

User-generated content is one of the most powerful tools in marketing, responsible for building trust and growing business in a way that no other technique can. Social media is the perfect vehicle for supercharging its use because people can share instantly to large volumes of people, as many times as they wish. In this article, we’re looking at how you can encourage more user-generated content by creating opportunities specifically catered to this dynamic marketing technique.

1. Make things worth snapping

User-generated content truth: people share because they want to be associated with something.

Let’s start with this simple fact - people will only create and share user-generated content if they think something is worth sharing. It all starts with creating things people want to share, recommend and be associated with. Keep this in mind as we look through some ways you can make your brand worth snapping and sharing.

Products

When it comes to the world of marketing, appearances do matter. Creating products people want to share with their friends and family should be at the heart of your user-generated content strategy. When a customer opens a delivery from your business, or buys from your brand, are they likely to snap a pic and share it on their socials? If not, why not? How could you change this? Remember that the things people share on social media are an extension of how they want to be seen.

Look at how Instagrammable these products from @bullfrogbottles are. From classic and chic to totally unique, these products stand out from the crowd and look great in aesthetic customer posts, while each design acts as a reflection of the purchaser’s personality. You can tell customers love them by the sheer amount of posts in this stories highlight.

Packaging

While the product should be the star of the show, never underestimate the power of great packaging. From unique boxes to quirky quotes, there are plenty of ways to make your packaging worth shouting about.

Check out the examples below and if you‘re in the mood for more inspiration, check out this recent blog that knocks packaging out of the park.

Stores & Offices

Do you have offices, stores, venues or other places customers can visit? Make it difficult for your customers not to share your business on social media. Whether you opt for transforming your environment into your dream aesthetic, add quirky features or inspirational quotes on the wall, there are so many inventive ways to implement elements that are almost impossible to ignore.

Here are two very different examples of share-worthy features. The gym @pantheonplymouth features large-scale wall art so unique that it invites a share without even the need for a selfie. The store @bullfrogbottles implements a beautiful store layout alongside quirky, cute features such as placing the writing ‘YOU LOOK GOOD’ on the mirror.

Selfie Walls

Talking of wall art, selfie walls are all the rage these days. This creates a dedicated space for customers to take a photo of themselves to share on social media. Trends include foliage walls and neon words as well as hashtags and quirky quotes.

2. Host a dedicated highlight

User-generated content truth: people share to be part of a community.

A popular way to share and encourage more user-generated content is to create a dedicated stories highlight. By displaying these stories prominently on your Instagram account, featured viewers feel they are a valued part of the community. When customers feel valued and seen, it encourages them to repeat this action and the more people share, the more others want to be involved.

Catering company @thedishpatch has the call-to-action ‘Share your meal with us’ as the stories highlight cover image and as the first post in the highlight.

3. Start a competition

User-generated content truth: people share to get something in return.

Starting a competition which requires participants to share images is a sure-fire way to encourage more user-generated content to pour in. Make sure you keep it relevant to your business and provide a prize customers will want to receive and share online. New potential customers who see the user-generated content will be introduced to your brand and might want to be involved, increasing the chances of higher levels of content created.

This example by pet brand @natusan_uk gets it so, so right. The competition post is clear, the terms of entry are stated, the competition is highly relevant to their business, the prize is something their customers want and the winner is congratulated. Furthermore, this competition is a monthly affair, inviting a continuous stream of new user-generated content.

4. Make user-generated content a regular feature

User-generated content truth: people share to get noticed.

No prizes? No problem. Invite your audience to share content with you and pepper your profile with user-generated content, giving credit to the original creator. Not only does this show your public appreciation to the audience member but it helps them get noticed. Doing this regularly encourages more people to get involved as it indicates that their content may be shared at some point.

5. Add a helpful hashtag

User-generated content truth: people share because it’s easy.

Don’t get user-generated content muddled up with other content online. Create a specific hashtag for sharing. This makes it easy for your audience to share and feel seen, while it also makes content simple for you to sort through. Did you know: you can track specific hashtags on Minter.io which allows you to group content from that hashtag and see how well it is performing over time.

Let’s look at one of the previous examples to see how they embrace hashtags in this way.

The hashtag #NatusanCats is specifically used for user-generated content. This hashtag is clearly displayed in the imagery and twice in the description as part of the call to action.

You can add your hashtag to packaging, thank-you notes with deliveries, products, user-generated content you share, advertising, in your bio and as a call to action. You might even name a stories highlight using your hashtag.

There are some super ways to supercharge your user-generated content. Don’t forget to group content together with Minter.io and check out so many more social media metrics to help your business grow while you’re there.

Your Facebook banner is one of the very first visuals someone sees on your business Facebook Page. Make sure it’s a great first impression by checking out these 12 examples. They’re sure to help you best utilise this important visual element of your online branding, no matter your current business focus.

1. The Flat Lay Co.

If you sell one specific type of product, you’ll want to take note of how The Flat Lay Co. uses this space. Here they’ve opted to showcase the product, the size and the functionality. The text solidifies the unique selling point, setting this product apart from its rivals. Furthermore, the target audience is made super clear with this image, so viewers know they’re in the right place.

Whether you have a signature product, a new release or a special sale item, use your Facebook banner image to show what the product is and why it’s great.

You can answer a lot of potential questions such as:

• What do you sell?
• How do you use the product?
• What does the product look like?
• What makes your brand unique?
• Who is this product intended for?

2. Dead Man’s Fingers

This cover image by Dead Man’s Fingers is visually appetising. It captures attention and draws the eye with simple, bold, clear, colourful product imagery. What does this imagery say about the product? My guess is it’s an exciting explosion for the senses.

What do you want your banner to say about your business? How can your imagery reflect your products?

Think about:

• Colours, hue and saturation
• Layout and imagery
• Graphics used
• Background

3. Fender Play

Place the viewer inside your world by using the banner to show your product in use. This way potential customers can visualise themselves as the subject. Fender Play chose a clear, candid-style action shot with warm colours, cosy surroundings and a pleasant, calm expression on the person’s face. This displays how a customer will be able to use the product and their emotional state while using the product. Do you want your customers to feel calm, happy, relaxed or excited? Show that visually in your Facebook banner image.

Invite potential customers into your universe by choosing an image that encourages the viewer to see themselves using your product.

Think about:

• The setting your product is used in
• The colours and tone of the image
• How casual or professional you want your brand to come across
• The expression and positioning of people in the image

4. MADE.COM

This banner by MADE.COM features aesthetic imagery which encompasses the product style and feel of the company. Interesting, this banner sparks a similar response as the Fender Play banner, in which potential customers can visualise themselves in the scene. Can you imagine yourself snuggling up on that sofa, reading that book and reaching for that mug filled with your favourite hot beverage? MADE.COM invites you into its world, allowing you to step right into the image and imagine yourself engaging with all the featured products.

Can you create a scene which features your products and/or services? How can you show them off at their best and invite your customers to envision themselves surrounded by your goods?

Think about:

• The environment your target customer will relate to
• Setting the tone with colours and objects
• Adding multiple products in an aesthetic or engaging way

5. Sky

If you’re currently showcasing a release or pushing a new product, use your banner to supercharge this effort. Sky chose a banner clearly sharing a new product logo with a sneaky sliver of product imagery. This is a great way to create intrigue as it invites questions such as, “What is that?” and ‘What does it look like?’

Think about:

• How much you share on your banner
• Imagery that sparks questions from the viewer
• How and where you answer these questions to drive sales

6. Aldi UK

Let’s think about incorporating your Facebook banner image as part of your current business focus. Aldi UK pushes a seasonal ‘back to school’ event with a banner featuring relevant products and bold, clear text.

What are your current focuses? Perhaps you could use your Facebook banner to shout about seasonal content, events and releases in a similar way?

Think about:

• Using your Facebook banner as part of a wider business goal
• Showcasing multiple relevant products
• Adding bold, clear, simple text
• Using the colour palette of your brand or the specific event

7. Play Music Today

Similarly to events, sales are also great to showcase on your Facebook banner. This banner by Play Music Today features bright, bold colours which grabs the eye to boost the message. The imagery and text almost looks like it belongs on a poster. This example uses much more text than we’ve seen so far, all of which is really informative; it shares the price cut percentage, where you can find the sale (in-store and online) and massive incentives. This aims to drive sales and boost business.

If you’ve got a sale on the horizon, you might want to change your Facebook banner in line with your current business focus.

Think about:

• How you can draw the eye and grab attention
• Text that can incentivise your audience
• Information you can add to drive more sales

8. Trainline

If you want to know what great marketing is, look no further than Trainline. I absolutely love this example because it is exceptionally bold, moving and tangible. In this banner image, Trainline has focused on the feeling. This is a form of emotional marketing. The product isn’t the subject - the emotion of the customer is. It’s all about connection, with Trainline’s products and services reuniting loved ones. In today’s climate, this banner is extremely relevant and powerful.

Whatever your business, you’ll want your customers to feel certain emotions when they think of your brand, business or products. This is something you could portray in your Facebook banner image.

Think about:

• What your products or services do for your customer
• How you want your customers to feel
• How you can portray the relevant emotion with an image

9. The Conqueror Challenges

Oh, we do love user-generated content. Not only does it make your customers feel valued - it makes more people want to be involved! This Facebook banner by The Conqueror Challenges shows a collage of customers with various products, which cultivates an atmosphere of community and inclusivity. The image even snuck in someone’s pet dog (as if we needed a reason to love it more!).

If you want to supercharge community-building on your social media, consider adding user-generated content to your Facebook banner image.

Think about:

• Encouraging user-generated content with your social media
• The amount of images you want to use to make the image exciting but visually appealing
• Showcasing your products in the process

10. Natural History Museum, London

I know, I know - not everyone can show off a dinosaur or something of similar epic proportions on their Facebook banners. However, if your business does have something unique, interesting or spectacular which it can show off, why not make it one of the first things potential customers see?

Whether your business is large or small, global or local, replicable or totally unique… there might be something you’ve overlooked that would work wonderfully as a Facebook banner.

It could be:

• Beautiful aesthetics or scenery surrounding your business
• A tool, device or product that’s unique, rare or specific to your business
• Something out of the ordinary that people don’t see every day

11. Nook Houseplants

If your business has a physical location, adding the outside of your shop, venue or office is a great way to make sure your customers know they are in the right place. This works particularly well if you have a local business or shop front you want to encourage people to visit. However, this might also be an idea to explore if you have a magnificent building you want to show off for clout to encourage big business deals and partnerships. Nook Houseplants uses the Facebook banner to showcase both products and the physical shop.

If your business has a physical location, showing this in your banner might be something your want to consider.

Think about:

• Whether you have one or several locations
• What your business building(s) and surroundings look like
• If your business aims to encourage customers to visit the location
• Whether showing your business location would drive sales or other business goals

12. Masala Masters

Your Facebook banner doesn’t have to be a single image. You can create a slideshow of multiple images displayed in this area, allowing you to showcase multiple messages to your audience. Masala Masters has taken advantage of this feature to showcase multiple aspects of the business.

If you have multiple images you want to share with your audience, a slideshow could be the answer.

Think about:

• How best to showcase your business
• If your business has multiple elements you wish to display
• Whether multiple images would help you reach your business goals
• How your customer is going to interact with the slideshow
• What order the slideshow images should be displayed

Inspired to take your social media presence to the next level? Don’t stop with aesthetics. Dive into all the data you need to create a solid social media strategy with Minter.io - your social media analytics tool for business. Try it today!

Do you crave using more than 280 characters to communicate with your Twitter following? What if you wanted to share product look-books, business updates, deep-dives, theories, contemplations, world-visions, hopes, dreams and aspirations? Maybe a newsletter would hit the mark. Luckily for you, Twitter has bridged the gap between your Twitter following and getting your big ideas into bigger word counts with Revue. What’s even better is that you can use Revue as another stream of revenue.

Interested?

Let’s look at what Revue is, how it works and why it’s good for business…

What is Revue?

Revue is a newsletter tool owned by Twitter. Twitter announced it had “acquired” the Dutch startup in January 2021. Twitter touts that Revue is a way to create newsletters, imbed content and earn money from paid subscribers.

An announcement by Twitter stated, “writers and long-form content curators are a valuable part of the conversation and it’s critical we offer new ways for them to create and share their content, and importantly, help them grow and better connect with their audience.”

Setting up your newsletter

It’s easy to set up a newsletter with Revue.

Here’s how:

1. Open Twitter and select ‘More’ from the navigation bar on the left-hand side.
2. Tap ‘Newsletters’.
3. A pop-up for Revue will appear. Click ‘Find out more’. You’ll be automatically navigated to the Revue website.
4. Tap ‘Start a newsletter for free’.

5. Sign up with your Twitter account or an email address.

Alternatively, go straight to the Revue webpage using this link: https://www.getrevue.co

Features within Revue

With Revue you can create beautiful, professional newsletters by utilising several handy features. Add character to your text with options such as: bold, bullet points, links and quotes. Seamlessly embed tweets and videos. When you’re ready, preview or schedule your newsletter.

If you’ve signed up using your Twitter account, you can pull tweets into your newsletter from the panel on the right-hand side. You can link other social media platforms and integrations for more options.

Revue also boasts:

• Subscribe forms
• Cross-posting
• Social sharing
• Custom domains
• Content integrations
• Subscriber feedback
• API
• Support

Making money with Revue

To make money with Revue you must set up a paid newsletter option, giving your subscribers the opportunity to become paying members.

To do this:

1. Tap your profile icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
2. Select ‘Account settings’ from the drop-down menu.
3. Go to the ‘Members’ tab.

Once in the 'Members' tab, follow the instructions by adding your details, connecting your Stripe account for payment, setting a fee and deciding on your newsletter options.

Twitter takes a 5% cut of earnings made through Revue members.

Why Revue is good for business

Here are some reasons why it’s a good idea to add Revue to your business strategy...

Build a stronger audience

Newsletters are extremely valuable because they give you a direct line of communication with consumers and you don’t have to rely on algorithms or adverts to get your content to the people who want to see it. According to Upland, newsletter subscribers consume more content and spend more time on your website.

Keep your email list

Whether or not you decide to keep using Revue, you can build, keep and take your email list with you. This takes the worry out of having to stick with a company. The valuable data gathered through your hard work stays in your hands.

Subscribe link added to your Twitter account

Twitter users can subscribe to your newsletter at the touch of a button without ever leaving Twitter. This optional feature of Revue places your newsletter at the top of your Twitter profile with a button for users to subscribe to it.

To enable this:

1. Tap your profile icon in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
2. Select ‘Account settings’ from the drop-down menu.
3. Go to the ‘Integrations’ tab.

4. Underneath 'Sources', find Twitter.

5. Tap ‘Settings’.

6. Toggle the checkbox to show newsletter on Twitter profile.

7. Make sure to ‘Save changes’.

Alternatively, you could opt to show an example issue of your newsletter on your Twitter account to encourage subscriptions. Choose one of your issues from the drop-down menu. You can’t choose to show members-only issues as these must be paid for by the reader.

Plug in and play

The infrastructure is ready for your business to plug in and play, with professional results. Without the need for a website designer or any additional budget, you can easily get going with a new revenue stream in a matter of minutes, absolutely free of charge. This is particularly helpful if you’re part of a smaller company with a smaller team or without a big budget to get everything off the ground all at once.

Make money

The option to add another stream of revenue to your business is a welcome option. It’s great that it is an option, not a requirement, so you can craft a newsletter that works with your business goals.

It’s cool to see even more monetisation options and exciting features flourishing on Twitter. This can help take that beautiful following you're building and provide more value to them and to your business. Of course, none of this matters if you’re struggling to grow and keep that following in the first place. Don't worry - we’ve got you covered. Here at Minter.io we’re dedicated to helping you grow your following on social media and keep it thriving. Check out in-depth analytics and helpful articles for all your business needs on social media.

When thinking of social media platforms LinkedIn might not instantly strike your mind, but the reality is that LinkedIn offers several things other social media platforms don’t. It is so different to social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok that there really isn’t the same kind of competition. The way it is set up, the features it boasts and the clientele it appeals to are just some of the things that make LinkedIn brilliant for business.

Here are 4 reasons your business should lean into LinkedIn…

1. Business focus

Looking at the way LinkedIn is set up, it’s clear there is a business focus. As a user, you’re encouraged to ‘grow your network’ through gaining ‘connections’, not friends. When managing your network you can look through connections, contacts and newsletters, all of which sound perfectly at ease in a workplace environment. Meanwhile jobs and work are key components of the navigation system and the general LinkedIn experience.

Due to this clear business focus, when users log into their LinkedIn accounts, they approach this social media platform with a different mindset. While dancing shoes kick about on TikTok and family fun thrives on Facebook, business suits strut about on LinkedIn. It is accepted and encouraged on LinkedIn to showcase business success, brand efforts, promotions etc. in a way that isn’t as widely endorsed on other social platforms.

2. Business-to-business opportunities

We know that LinkedIn has a clear business focus and this opens up more opportunities for business-to-business communication, whereas other social media platforms lean much more heavily into business-to-customer marketing.

One significant reason for this is that users on LinkedIn are there for business-related means. While promoted posts go onto individual feeds just like any other social media feed, because of the business focus of LinkedIn, it makes sense that more promoted posts and organic posts work for a b-to-b audience, no matter where they show up on LinkedIn.

3. Job posting

A huge part of the LinkedIn experience is the ability to post, find and apply for jobs directly from the LinkedIn website. Tabs for ‘Jobs’, ‘Work’ and ‘Post a job’ are prominently featured in the navigation bar at the top of the website. A user’s LinkedIn account acts as a continually evolving CV while businesses and brands can showcase job openings on their business pages.

This ability to learn a lot about prospective employees in a work-focused environment and use a social media platform as a recruitment tool makes LinkedIn unique in the online space. Just as businesses can peruse profiles as though they are CVs, applicants can see a lot about the business they’re applying for including: company products, location, size, events, posts and stats about the current employees.

4. People tab

Another unique feature of LinkedIn is the people tab on company pages.

Here you can find:

• The number of employees
• Where they live
• Where they studied
• What they do
• What they studied
• What they are skilled at
• How you are connected

Below this information, you can view profiles of individuals who work at the company. As a user, you can follow and message a company page and/or get in touch with the most relevant person in the company. This is a great reminder that companies are made up of individuals and that reaching out to the right individual could help you get your foot in the door.

From a business perspective, this tab helps humanise your brand. It also ensures transparency which is great for providing a welcoming environment, clearly showcasing equal opportunities and diversity within roles and employees, while displaying the wealth of skills and education backing your business.

If you’re looking to grow your business on social media, get all the metrics you need with Minter.io - the handy analytics tool for social media success. Try it today!

There must be magic poured into TikTok because other social platforms are straight-up stealing and renaming TikTok features. Meta’s Facebook and Instagram have Reels, YouTube has Shorts and Twitter is reportedly testing Takes as a TikTok imitation. Let’s hope it doesn’t suffer the same fate as Fleets.

Not only are social platforms leaning heavily into short-form vertical content, they’re copying specific TikTok features. Meta platforms use Remix which is essentially TikTok Duet and Stitch, while YouTube allows users to ‘Cut this video’ as a Stitch substitute.

In this article, we’re going to look at the TikTok Stitch feature. We’re going to show you how to use it and share some examples from brands on TikTok…

What is Stitch?

The word ‘stitch’ is synonymous with the word ‘join’. This makes sense because on TikTok, you add your own video onto the end of someone else’s video and share it on your profile. This is different to Duet where the videos play side-by-side at the same time.

There are several ways to utilise this powerful TikTok feature. Whether you wish to Stitch with other creators’ content, create Stitch-worthy content yourself or publish other people’s Stitch videos to your profile - we’ve got you covered!

Stitch with someone else’s TikTok video

If you view a TikTok you wish to add your own video clips to, you’ll have to use the Stitch feature on a pre-existing video. Here’s how…

1. Open TikTok. Then find and select a TikTok video you’d like to Stitch.
2. Tap the share icon from the panel on the right-hand side.
3. Select ‘Stitch’ from the options at the bottom of the screen.

4. Trim and move the selection bar to use 1-5 seconds of the TikTok video.

5. Tap the ‘Next’ button in the top right-hand corner.

6. Capture and customise your own clips to ‘Stitch’ onto the other footage.

7. Hit the tick button when you’re ready to continue.

8. Customise the whole Stitch video and either ‘Post to Story’ or hit ‘Next’.

9. TikTok will automatically place #stitch with the original creator tagged into the description. Further customise your post’s description and publishing settings before hitting ‘Post’ or saving as a draft.

Note: The original TikTok video creator can choose whether or not to allow others to use Stitch with their content. If the Stitch option doesn't appear or you can't select it, this might be the reason.

Check out this example!

Restaurant chain @chipotle created a Stitch using a TikTok from the verified creator @bradley.thor who has a whopping 5.6 million followers. Creating a video which stitches a hunky man cracking a watermelon followed by @chipotle promoting its new organic watermelon limeade is sure to quench some thirst.

Create a TikTok for others to Stitch

Smart brands encourage engagement and interaction with content on social media. One way to do this is to create a piece of content to be interacted with in a specific way. By posing a question, sharing relatable imagery or asking viewers to use Stitch with your TikTok video, you can aim for a specific type of interaction to get more eyes on your content.

People used the Stitch feature to create responses to this TikTok video by @tacobell, just like @skylarrr_marie did.

Brands need to do this!

This TikTok by @onthebeachholidays has soaring engagement because it leaned into the trend #tellmewithouttellingme to create a relatable TikTok video that's relevant to the brand. However, @onthebeachholidays could have made this into a video specifically for the audience to use Stitch with. Encouraging viewers to Stitch their own videos to it could take the engagement up yet another level.

Allow others to Stitch with your videos

If you want viewers to use Stitch on one of your videos, you need to make sure your settings allow people to use the Stitch function on it. When publishing a video, you can decide whether or not to allow others to Stitch with your content. After creating a TikTok, use the settings on the post customisation screen to toggle ‘Allow Stitch’ on.

Allow Stitch on a published video

If you’ve already published a video and not allowed Stitch, you can change this easily. Here’s how…

1. View the TikTok video you want to allow Stitch on.
2. Select the three dots from the bar on the right-hand side.
3. Scroll through the options at the bottom of the screen until you find ‘Privacy settings’. Tap this option.
4. Toggle ‘Allow Stitch’ to on (green).

Save and publish a Stitch to your profile

Saving a Stitch TikTok video to share on your profile could come in handy when showcasing user-generated content. Here’s how you do it…

1. View the TikTok you wish to share.
2. Select the share button from the bar on the right-hand side of the screen.
3. Tap ‘Save video’.

4. Navigate back to the TikTok home screen and hit the plus button in the centre of the bar at the bottom of the screen.

5. Tap the 'Upload' option in the bottom right-hand corner. Then, find and select the saved video.

6. ‘Post to Story’ or tap ‘Next’.

7. Customise the post settings. Then, save as a draft or hit ‘Post’ to publish to your profile.

Some TikTok videos allow you to Repost a video to your own profile within the app which you can access through the share option, although I’ve found this new feature to be a bit hit-and-miss at this time.

Experiment and adapt to suit your brand

Sometimes sharing the same or similar content to multiple accounts without the tagged Stitch account in the description works well for collaborations. In this example, it looks like @redbull manually stitched together a clip showcasing diver @mollycarlson with an epic photo edit, deciding to tag in the contributors instead of opting for a straight Stitch. Remember, features are there to support your creativity, so you can use them as intended or take inspiration from them to create something unique.

We hope this article has sewn up knowledge gaps, threaded together your use of Stitch and the various copycat features and tied up loose ends in your business strategy of this feature. Make sure your efforts are working for you, no matter the social media platform you’re using. Check out Minter.io today for all your social media analytics, metrics and data to keep your business online on track.