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On – 01 Dec, 2016 By Dakota Shane Nunley

We all know Instagram as one of the most visually appealing platforms on the web. With it’s visual design, Instagram has done for photographers, models, and fitness entrepreneurs what YouTube did for filmmakers: provide a previously-unavailable platform to a community of creatives. For these influencers and entrepreneurs, Instagram has been an absolute godsend for their business.

However, from the standpoint of most ROI-focused brands, Instagram has proven nonessential at best.

This comes to no surprise because what makes Instagram so unique also makes it difficult to monetize, convert leads into sales, and so on. I’m sure those who work at Instagram (and especially the platform’s mother, Facebook), know the downside of this chink in the armor of the social media giant.

But change is coming…Well, actually, it’s kinda already here.

A few recent, strategic updates could result in a tumultuous shift for the platform. These new features, along with Instagram’s existing design, could mold the platform into the strongest selling tool for ecommerce we have seen since over two decades. Period.

Here’s why…

1. The Shop Now Button

In early November 2016, Instagram announced it would be adding a Shop Now button (article here), where brands can link checkout carts to their products displayed in posts.

Here’s an example:

At the moment, brands like Warby Parker and JackThreads are experimenting with the feature.

Think about it: More than 84% of smartphone users in the US browse, research or compare products via a web browser or mobile app. Thus, when it comes to brand’s funneling money into a social media platform (aka monetization), what could be more powerful than linking products as they appear in high-resolution, lifestyle photography?

Note: If you think of any tools more powerful, let me know and maybe I’ll join you in creating it!

2. Instagram Stories

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. Selling stuff takes time. It takes explanation. It takes contemplation. Why do you think infomercials are so damn long? Because it takes hard work for a consumer to gain trust in you as the seller.

Yet, the most important factor in selling is context. Social media mogul, Gary Vaynerchuk, goes as far to say “content is king, but context is God”.

When it comes to social media however, context is exactly what is missing. Previously, YouTube, Snapchat, and blogs were some of the only mediums that enabled users to nurture an intimate, authentic relationship with their audience.

That changed when Instagram Stories hit the market.

Now, Instagram has the potential to hold the same power, the same authenticity and intimacy Snapchat gives users.

I’m not saying Snapchat and Instagram Stories are now equals. In fact, one could reasonably argue Snapchat’s secretive brand will only gain more momentum as other platforms try to replicate it.

What I am saying though, with the addition of Stories, Instagrammers now are able to connect with audiences on a much deeper level in a Snapchat-esque fashion.

Which brings us to our next point…

3. Links Within Instagram Stories

Not only will Instagrammers be able to create Snapchat-like intimacy with their followers, they’ll also be able to promote and share content via a recent update to Stories: link sharing.

While this may not seem like a huge deal, it comes from a company that has lasted 6 years with only allowing one link per user at a time, so the update marks a shift from it’s original design to one eager to monetize. In a recent piece, The Verge told readers that Nathan Sharp, an Instagram product manager, said the company added links in Stories in response to the large number of brands using the feature to promote content there.

Now, imagine if you are an entrepreneur promoting your newest product on Instagram. Using Stories, you would be able to showcase your product, explain the reasons to buy it, then link up the checkout page so your users can purchase it right then and there.

Essentially, you’ll be able to host your own mini-webinar using only your smartphone.

4. Influencer Marketing’s Dream Child

If you keep a close pulse on marketing trends, you know influencer marketing is growing by leaps and bounds regarding brand budgets.

When it comes to influencer marketing, one of the biggest hurdles is driving direct traffic and conversions for the brands who are paying for it. At the end of the day, awareness is great, but conversions are the true marker of a “successful” campaign.

Because of this, most of the influencer marketing on Instagram has centered around generating awareness. This strategy definitely makes sense given the typical CTRs on the channel being 0.4%.

With the addition of links to Instagram Stories, brands will be able to measure conversions easier than ever before. Influencers can tag the brand in their Stories and link up their products they are wishing to sell.

If you’re a travel blogger paid by a brand to visit and review a destination, you’ll be to capture raw footage of the location via Stories, then link up your blog post covering the campaign promotion.

If you’re an Instagram fashion influencer paid by a brand to wear their gear, you’ll be able to scroll through the various products you received, link up the specific product page of each, and direct your audience further down the sales funnel.

5. Discoverability

In addition to all of the other new features, Instagram has also announced Stories will now be displayed on Explore.

The success of Google and proliferation of SEO proved how much brands will shovel money into increasing the likelihood of being “discovered” by consumers. On Instagram, if all goes according to plan, brands will eventually invest in securing high spots on the Explore tab.

In this sense, brands with similar products and services will now be able to capitalize on audience’s similar interests, making Instagram an even more enticing platform to throw money at than ever before.

6. Concision

While the other points made in this article are either features or implications of those features, this point is more high-level. More than likely though, it is the most important aspect of Instagram when it comes to molding it into the most powerful eCommerce tool we have seen in a decade: concision.

Instagram is completely visual. It is free of clutter. With only 87 characters before the Read More option appears in the caption, it is also free of over-explaining. Thus, it is up to the user to interpret the highly-visual content for themselves.

Instagram is a platform completely focused on mobile. On your smartphone, you can’t have 20 tabs open at once. On your smartphone, you can’t split-screen with two monitors. On your smartphone, it is just you alone with a single screen. It’s a much less distracting, almost intimate experience when compared to desktop.

Based on these factors, Instagram has forced creators to do what they do best: be creative. It has forced them to be succinct and tell stories through pictures, not words.

I would argue this makes Instagram the most formidable for selling products because it boils down consumer’s options. And what is the first thing any marketing course teaches you? To always have a clear, concise call to action. For this reason, Instagram would get an A+ in any marketing course.

Instagram is making moves. Big ones. Yet, with how fast the social media landscape moves, it’s easy to think of a platform’s new features as “just another new update”.

Taking a step back and looking at the big picture would be extremely beneficial for anyone who utilizes social media for their business, for their stock portfolio, or for enjoyment.

One of the many big pictures we are looking at here is this: if Instagram continues on this trajectory, it has the opportunity to become the biggest selling tool we have seen in the last 20 years.

Source:

https://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/content-sections/cases-and-causes/6-reasons-instagram-can-become-powerful-ecommerce-tool-social-media-ever-seen/


In the last eight years, we’ve seen a trend of membership organizations looking into increasing their users value per membership. In the traditional sense, membership organizations provide education to their members in a variety of ways. Our Social Jack System, has been a part of that movement, where we provide a ton of education to membership organizations related to Social Selling, growing your business, career advancement—things that help us define what social media and social teaming is.

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In our recent observation, many membership organizations are still in legacy mode, where their education is based on premise or at conferences, and have not completely leveraged the internet with things like streaming and video. Also many membership organizations have seminars and conferences to promote new members. A lot of times there’s education about the organization but not necessarily around the education that is provided to the members. The movement that we’ve seen, and benefit greatly from, is leveraging the internet for webcasts—which we have been involved with for many years and providing that education not just to the current members but to the perspective memberships.

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For instance, we recently held a webinar on ‘how to grow your financial services practice with the use of social selling’ for Exit Planning Institute. This service was provided to their members and perspective members. The members that are “prospects” get to see the high quality education that is provided from the membership and then get test drive of some of that education and value the membership provides. We also allow space in those presentations so that the membership is able to explain the additional value that they provide when registering for a full membership.

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We’ve been doing this over for 8 years and have seen a rapid acceleration of this model being used and the simplicity is, providing web-based information because people want to have a convenient way to get the information without always having to travel to conferences or events. This is also a great way for organizations to attract perspective members to their platforms.

While we see that this is huge movement and we’re seeing more & more membership organizations and institutes going in this direction there’s still many that have to make the move. The good news is for those organizations that this a proven model and it can help them not just for retention of membership but also increasing admission.

Our Social Jack System has a very specific recipe for effectively getting participation, filling and getting people to show up to the webcast. There is a science behind this all and it can be indicated in this slideshow.

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We hope this opens your eyes to the power of Webcasts and Webinars to increase your membership and have people sample content en route to joining your membership organization.


You took your last final two months ago, you walked across a grand stage and shook the Dean’s hand, and now your diploma just is collecting dust at your parent’s house. For young college graduates, the unemployment rate is currently 7.2 percent (compared with 5.5 percent in 2007), and the underemployment rate is 14.9 percent (compared with 9.6 percent in 2007). Employers are looking to hire employees who come through referrals. Think about the saying, “it’s who you know, not what you know.”

The-Next-Step-College-Graduate

  1. Pick your destination:
    Before applying for a job, think about the location in which you envision yourself and where you want to work. This means you will have to decide which industry you will want to pursue, which company interests you the most or geographically where you see yourself. Regardless which one it is, you will want to pick that destination.
  2. Targeting Individuals.
    Next you will want to identify and name the targets. Make a list of what type of people would be connected to the destination you strive to be at. If it is a particular company you are interested in, connect with the employees currently there. A good starting place is to connect with the head of HR, and send them a message introducing yourself and that you applied for a position. You will want to have a clear vision of that target individual looks like. Within the target, you will want to focus on “hubs” or organizations that would contain those people. This would be associations you are a part of, your alumni group, chambers of commerce or past conferences you’ve attended. There all kinds of past involvement that you can tap in to for career opportunities.
  3. Social Media Accounts:
    Make sure to update your profiles so that they are consistently representing who you are as a person, and for where you want to go on your destination. Build your LinkedIn page to its maximum worth. The use of social media for for recruitment has grown 54% in the the past 5 years. A recent SHRM study found that 84 percent of organizations are now recruiting on social media; only 56 percent of companies were hiring on social media in 2011.group of graduates
  4. Current State Team:
    Then you will build your current state team. Start by looking at everybody within your circle of influence and build a team of people. You then match those people with the targets you identified with.
  5. Get Connected:
    After that you will then make sure you are connected with that team on social media like LinkedIn. If these people are personal connections, follow them on virtual hang out places, that could be Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. This will be different for different team members
  6. Stay Connected:
    The next step is to pick four people a day to connect and have conversation with to then build your rapport and your connection with deepen. You want to let these people know what your destination goal is. By reacting out, having simple conversations, being genuine and authentic, you will have access into their networks and can connect with them. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to ask questions, because your end goal is to get into that destination, company or industryimages
  7. Scouting:
    Scouting for new team members on the professional side is seen as almost identical to scouting for a sports team. One thing that is easy but challenging for people is to let go of current team members who are not getting you to your end destination (Derrick Rose to the Knicks??). Thus, we have a scouting and drafting process in our Social Jack system that helps people bring new team members on board. We recommend that you go our Social Jack website and get a free account, and you will have access to the training we provide. It’s easy and fun!
  8. You’re hired!
    Enjoy the benefits that come along with getting hired., most importantly tak
    e advantage of the snacks! We promise that if you follow these steps, and get into a routine on this, your network will ideally connect you to your ideal destination.

 

We’ve successful training over 100,000 professionals, (high school, college, graduate students) with this simple process yet if you stick with it, it works. Make sure to share this blog post with your recent college graduates.

 


In reading recent articles the last couple of weeks, it seems there are mixed reviews on the good and the bad around the purchase of LinkedIn. I have a few thoughts on this:

  • Microsoft has stated that it has plans to integrate LinkedIn and Social Selling into its existing CRM product, Microsoft Dynamics CRM- which is second to sales. I believe this is great for Microsoft but not so sure how it will impact the rest of us that do not use Microsoft CRM. There are also current LinkedIn tools, like “Sales Navigator,” that work well in the sales force. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

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  • My personal thoughts are that Microsoft is genius at wanting to own the data that LinkedIn has. The business intelligence that LinkedIn has from a social perspective of how people are connected and how people work and communicate together, there is nothing out there like this. Microsoft will be able to obtain social trends, social data, business trends, business data all blended together. I believe this is the main reason why they wanted to do this and also give new life to their new CRM products.
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  • Microsoft has historically not been that successful when it comes to social networking or social media. This to me validates that now they’re seeing the value, and it has increased, of social media and social networking. Many people think that this is potentially the death of social media, where these platforms cannot survive on their own, however I believe just the opposite. Microsoft has proven the value of connection, which is what we teach in our Social Jack training programs on coaching individuals the value of their connections based on their own ROI (Return of Investment).
    Microsoft-buys-LinkedIn
  • The fact that Microsoft paid $26.2 billion in cash for 433 million users, tells me that they found the cost per user came out to be $60. In our system, we look at it by value of user based on the ROI and outcome of the relationship, which is expediently more. The fact that Microsoft has placed a value on those connections, which have relationships, shows us that there is a value in social networks and connections.

So, connect with someone new today and you never know where it will take you.


Our new partnership with EPI, Exit Planning Institute, started in late May, when I traveled to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, to certify some of their workers with CEPA. I am proud to announce that Social Jack is their official Social Selling learning provider for EPI.

The Exit Planning Institute is the premier provider of education, networking, professional development, and tools for exit planning professionals worldwide. Exit Planning Institute whose representatives are typically wealth managers, financial services, accountants, and other business related careers, want to add exit planning to their book of business.

Our Social Selling technique is essentially another product line for their members. Social Selling can be defined as, “the interaction between two people to get to an entire network.” This functions no differently than when people build a sports team. That’s the system we use: scouting, drafting, and building a core team around your book of business.

At EPI, we have been brought in to be part of their sales track, part of adding the view add of Exit Planning Institute is that they teach and certify you in how to help a business strategy exit but they also help teach you how to sale those services.

 

This is where the Social Jack curriculum, and modules for Social Selling have now become a standard as part of their modules that they deliver to the membership. We’re so excited to start working with EPI and their members to help them produce more new business by generating this new product and by having the knowledge of leveraging Social Jack and Social Selling.

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Now let’s break down our business plan. Our curriculum is about people teaching people how to do social teaming. Social teaming is when people who are in practice management, (accountants and wealth managers) that have a network, but they don’t know how to organize their network. We then step in and teach them to structure their network, clients, friends and family and then convert that to into a powerful team to generate referrals.

 

As part of their CEPA certification, members of EPI are enrolled into two classes. The first was Social Selling 101: How to harness the power of social selling and thought leadership and Social Selling 201: How to build your influential network. Then members will migrate and become members of the Social Jack system, where they will be introduced to all 15 modules, bi-monthly coaching, and library of over 200 other classes.

About Social Jack

Social Jack is a Micro-Learning coaching and training platform that allows you to learn at your pace for your own objectives, sales, career, culture, business building or lifesyle. We use Social Teaming as an exclusive core to all of our programs. All learners will set an objective, get a game plan and quickly move into result driven power moves with a proven system. Over 100,000 professionals have been coaching and trained on this system and more information can be found at www.SocialJack.com.

About EPI

EPI is emerging as a worldwide recognized leader in the exit planning industry and is on a wave of momentum, powered by a strong, active community of CEPAs, members, faculty, board and leading industry experts. Our team is dedicated to accomplishing this vision, providing leading educational opportunities, certification programs, events, member support, and industry research for exit planning professionals in the United States and worldwide. More information about can be found at http://www.exit-planning-institute.org.

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The inspiration for this blog post came from two recent conversations I had with fellow colleagues, along with life experiences that come along with working in the Social Media field. We currently live in a world that is ever changing, and we have access to so many different social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn) in which we can connect with our network.

 

Think about Facebooks new feature Safety Check, during major disasters the feature will let friends and family know you’re safe, and can mark other friends as safe.

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Now let us discuss your entire network. Over your lifespan, your network has grown by connecting with people around us and we can classify these connections and put them into three different categories.

 

The first is “Friends.” My definition of friends is, people who we connect with, with the intent for relationship. They can be career connections, friends and family, or even the team you build for your life.

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The second is “Followers.” That is defined by, people who have interest is us in some capacity, either professional, or personal and they literally follow what you do. As a professional, often times people follow your social media pages to stay up to date on what you are posting. Having followers is a choice, check your privacy settings on your social media accounts, because each platform is different.

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Lastly, “Foes” can be identified as the people who connect or tune into your page, for reason of harm. Like theft identity, competition, or possible stalkers. When connections begin to feel disruptive they start to feel more like a foe.

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Here at Social Jack it is purely about relationship building from connections and acquaintances with the intent to attract good targeted followers that someday will become friends and relationships we do business with. That stems from the practical business side of social networks. Once you have categories of friends, you can then decide how you want to operate those friends and networks, we define this as your Social Team. These networks and collection of friends can help you with building a business, marketing a brand, and having a good life team.

 

Remember that there are positives and negatives when connecting with people from your past, but above all it is your choice if you stay connect. Never feel obligated to stay connected if it is not a mutually beneficial.


Snackable Content: Winning an Audience One Bite at a Time

This past month, my team and I were able to attend The Social Media Strategy Summit here in our hometown of Chicago. The three days spent there I was able to interact with colleagues, and learn new techniques from them. At the summit there was a wide range of internet savvy people including Fortune 500 companies down to self-made entrepreneurs. These frontrunners were experienced in everything digital, communal, and content. 

Our contribution to the event was a workshop that helped people create, and utilize a fundamental content strategy and then launch it in a short order.

One thing we’ve learned over time is that content will become smaller, and more brief, for it to than become considered by consumption. Not only did we play the teacher role at the event, we were also learners. Did you know that the average internet user:

  • Has an attention span of 8 seconds, that’s one second less than the attention space that a goldfish has.
  • Visits 2,125 internet pages per month, that’s 1.12 pages per minute!
  • Views over 3,000 impressions per day

 

With user’s attention span becoming shorter, businesses have to adapt to grabbing consumer’s attention with less. What the doctor prescribed for this is called, “Snackable Content,” or content that is shorter. This means that:

  • Blogs are becoming shorter, and typically under 200 words. Think about Twitter and how tweets have to be less than 140 characters.
  • Videos are less than 60 seconds. Instagram made the switch from 15 second videos to 60 second videos, Twitter allows 30 second videos, Snapchat only allows for 10 second videos, and Vine allows six second videos.
  • Webinar and Podcasts are under 20 minutes, if you take a look at the content uploaded to TED the large majority of videos are between the range of 10 to 18 minutes long.

Amongst uploading shorter content, we as producers cannot forget to build rapport with our customers, but instead of doing it in minutes, we have seconds, and a few works in the place of paragraphs.

Take this advice and apply it to your online sphere, and I look forward to reading or viewing your shorter content virtually.

– Dean

 

Click  HERE to purchase your tickets to SMSS New York and use code ForwardProgress15 for a 15% discount!


Trump, Hillary, Cruz and Sanders – Twitter battle for the White House

By Dean DeLisle

In the interest of social media, social teaming and all things I love about twitter I just can’t stop helping myself on consuming stats around this election. It’s like a social freak show, but it’s also cool as our curriculum at Social Jack follows Social Teaming and these politicians are practicing at a variety of levels. Let me explain as we use Twitter as the social weapon of choice and notably the most used by all candidates.

First Things First – Accounts and Hashtags:

Trump – @realDonaldTrump
#MakeAmericanGreatAgain

Clinton – @HillaryClinton
#ImWithHer 

Cruz – @tedcruz
#ChooseCruz

Sanders –  @BernieSanders@SenSanders
#FeelTheBern

Social Reach 

One key element of Social Teaming is how far is your reach, to your ideal target. Well here are some stats.

Trump – has 7.2 million followers, at his announcement of the election he was at 4.35 million. His target is 45% female and either very young audience (some not old enough to vote) and the rest of the majority over 40 years of age.

Clinton – has 5.7 million followers, she started with 4.38 million at her announcement. She has 45% women, ages 18-40 make up her majority.

Cruz – he has 977 thousand followers and started with 518 thousand when he announced his candidacy.

Sanders – has 1.7 million and he started at 616 thousand on his announcement.

Summary: While Trump appears to have more, recent report state that 60% of his accounts are fake or idle accounts. Hillary has about 40% of the same. So that makes me feel like their numbers are more even than they look. Although wait till we get through some more of the evidence below and you determine.

Who they Follow 

While they all have had significant growth in their numbers, let look at who they follow. Networking and Social Networking is a two way street and let’s see how those number stack up!

Trump – only 41, mostly family, Trump companies and a few reporters, no competitors

Clinton – 643, mostly, campaign related staff and recently entertainment related people, she does not follow rivals or news reporters.

Cruz – 13.8 thousand, mostly seems to be people who have tons of followers, accounts with a background of American Flag, Confederate Flag, Bald Eagle, does not follow non-conservatives.

Sanders – 1,935, mostly news media, celebrities, labor unions and people from the entertainment industry.

Summary: this all seems pretty normal, with the exception of
Cruz, who seems to working the follow back game. This means he is follow thousands of people to get the follow backs to his accounts and build up his numbers. This is an old game in the twitter play book, so this tells me his social media folks are a bit rooky and lowers my feel of authenticity. The rest are pretty normal. I am impressed with Trump only following 41 and having such a commanding lead

Conversations – Tweet Activity

Trump – 31 thousand tweets, these are definitely mostly him. This is the most authentic, not sure if you like it or not but with the misspellings and rants, this is all Donald.

Clinton – with 4 thousand tweets, when Hillary tweets she uses (-H) to sign her tweets, the rest are her staff. They mostly tweet on speeches, gun control, affordable child care, causes she follows. She even tweeted her plan to defeat ISIS. She does have some Spanish tweets, impressive.

Cruz – 15.5 thousand, this feels like a social media team at work. He retweets news (mostly fox and similar) and I do applaud him as he re-tweets his supporters. Even if this is his team, great move!

Sanders – 7,681 tweets, while he has the least he feels the most connected to his followers. He has a higher re-tweet ration and plays the most.

Summary: We get the most real person (like it or not) from Trump, yet Sanders has the best connection to his followers. He engages with his followers at a much higher rate than the others. Hillary has good content, but not feeling the real person here, she is way to filtered for my liking. Cruz, is ok if you like talking to a social media team.

Final Summary

I am sure I will have more on this, however with our recent interview I promised everyone we would report on this further. As for Social Teaming, all of them has some traits and a few of the best practices. The harsh reality is that after the election, I would wager than most of these accounts will go hiatus, less the winner. That is the only sad part, building a team for a single purpose, then leaving until you need them again. This is my own personal view point, but believe it to be true, We will see after the election. Until then we can be amused by the stats and game here. So now let me give out some awards.

My vote is:

– Trump: Most real, authentic

– Clinton: Most newsworthy, best facts

– Cruz: Most old fashioned twitter techniques

– Sanders: Most engaged with his network

Hope you enjoyed this summary and found as much amusement as I did going through the numbers.

 

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Here is a recent media interview with First AM Business with Angela Miles: video

Follow them on Facebook here.

*Statistics came from researchers Yu Wang, Yuncheng Li, and Jeibo Luo – study can be found here: http://arxiv.org/abs/1603.03097


FUNNY: The Interview – Top Recruiters' Wildest Stories by LinkedIn

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