Instagram Stories: The Ultimate Business Engagement Tool

Written by: Julia Cavalcanti

Attention spans have been on a rapid decrease since social media became a big part of daily schedules. What used to be a seemingly short 12 seconds has now decreased to around 8 seconds. Social media apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook capitalize on this with the use of stories. These short 10-15 second videos and images are perfect to capitalize on the dramatic changes in attention span. 

How does this affect businesses? Well, there isn’t an easier way to engage with followers and customers than through Instagram stories. Stories have revolutionized the way that businesses go about marketing. With stories businesses can post short term ads that take minimal resources to produce. It is an easy and inexpensive way to grab the attention of potential customers. 

In addition, Instagram is making it a lot easier to see the exact numbers and statistics from these stories with their use of Business Accounts. With a Business Account you can 

unlock features that help you track your analytics. These include, story viewers, poll results, question responses, clicks on the links attached, users that went to your page after the story was posted, and more. This is extremely beneficial to businesses because they can now see what is receiving the greatest response and which parts of their stories’ strategy is working. 

Marketers have to adapt to this new wave in social media and marketing to be able to capitalize. Advertising today is very different from what it was decades ago, as now, we are able to reach thousands more people with just a click of a button.

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6 TikTok Tips for Business

TikTok has quickly become a dominant platform in the world of social media marketing. Gathering user-generated content, cross-pollinating content, and advertising are some of the main reasons why your company may want to utilize TikTok. 

Getting started on a new social platform can be overwhelming, so here are a few tips to help you through the process. 

  1. Be Fun & Vulnerable
    People are on TikTok for a lot of reasons, but the common denominator is to be entertained. If your content is not entertaining or interesting, then it is a waste of time. Be fun, real, and vulnerable.
  1. Keep it Short
    Videos can only be up to 60 seconds on TikTok; however, many gravitate to stay within the 15-second range.
  2. Focus on the Music
    Music is a critical piece of creating shareable, popular content on TikTok. Utilize the trending music and original sounds in your videos.
  3. Maintain Consistency
    When you consistently create content around a specific topic, you generate interest. If users find your content relevant, useful, and interesting, they start following you. Gradually, you start getting more likes, shares, and engagement..
  4. Collaborate
    Every industry has influencers. Find out who they are and make something happen. Reach out to them, duet or react to their videos, and participate in their challenges.
  5. Use Trends & Hashtags
    Check out the “Discover” tab for trends. If you see something relevant that you like, copy it. Make it your own. Expound on the creativity of others. Find trending hashtags that are relevant to your business.

Download your “TikTok Tips” sheet here. Enjoy!

Watch the free TikTok workshop here.

Prolink Wins $10K in Utah Entrepreneurship Challenge

Not only did Prolink win $10,000 at the Utah Entrepreneurship Challenge for its social network for gamers, it did so at one of the only universities in the US that offers a
competitive gaming scholarship.
“We were honored to get so much support from the judges, and we’re incredibly thankful for the opportunity to compete at such an impressive event,” said Prolink Cofounder Derek Omori. “We’re the first true social network for video games, and the UofU is one of the only universities in the country to offer gaming scholarships.”
The second-place win on April 7 followed a first-place win at Utah Valley University earlier this year. The competition required several rounds of pitches, videos and trade show booth appearances, and it pitted Prolink against top entrepreneurs from around the state.
“The Top 8 especially were super competitive,” Omori said. “We got to meet a lot of interesting entrepreneurs, and it was fun to see quite of a few of them that also played video games and we were able to connect on Prolink.”
Prolink, which revealed a beta version of its site last month, has big plans for the prize money and even bigger plans for its main launch on May 8. Its social network offers a one-stop shop for gamers, pros and teams. You can browse stats, watch and post clips, and more. Soon, you’ll also be able to post your own gamertags as well.
To join the beta group, sign up today at https://prolink.gg.