Social media is an interactive space where brands and influencers share their creations with the world. One great way to capture your audience’s attention is to create an engaging online space where they can connect authentically with your brand.

These days, it’s easy for social content to get diluted or buried in the noise and activity of all the platforms. That’s why intentionally creating engaging content that starts a conversation is so important.

In this post, we’ve curated a list of 4 different types of engaging social media content that will help drive interaction and stand out to your audience.

Why Social Media Engagement Matters

When it comes to your social media posts, views are great, but likes, comments, and shares are even better.

Engagement helps to boost your brand visibility in the algorithms, meaning you can achieve greater reach through interaction. It can also deliver valuable insights into what your audience wants.

When you have greater reach and visibility, plus a stronger relationship with your audience, you’re setting yourself up for success.

4 Types of Social Media Posts that Drive Engagement

Want to know the top kinds of social media posts that encourage audience engagement? Let’s jump right into it.

1. Short-Form, Mobile-Friendly Video

Short-form, mobile friendly video content is continuing to gain traction and popularity over other types of content. In 2022, 66% of consumers said short video was the most engaging kind of content online.

Instagram Reels, TikTok videos, YouTube Shorts, Stories, and other-platform equivalents are all great ways to drive engagement through short-form video.

Here are a few tips to get the most out of your short video content:

• Make sure to create vertical video that utilizes your smartphone’s entire screen.
• Create short, helpful video tutorials for your followers.
• Put your own spin on popular trends to build momentum and boost engagement, especially on platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels.
• Use trending sounds to create fun, informative videos.

2. Educational Content

Educational content helps brands to establish expertise in their respective industries. When you create great educational content for your audience, you create more opportunities for engagement.

Here are some fantastic types of educational content ideas to get you started.

Infographics

Infographics are an informative, visually appealing way to drive engagement through shares. They’re especially effective on platforms such as Pinterest.

Creating a strong infographic provides your readers with valuable information while establishing your credibility and expertise in your industry. Users love to share easy-to-consume, informative content that could be helpful to someone else, so give them that.

Here are some great examples of infographics to inspire you.

Informational Slides on Instagram

Informational Instagram carousels not only provide users with helpful information; they drive engagement, too. According to Hootsuite, carousel posts get 3.1 times more engagement and 1.4 times more reach than other social media posts.

You can create text-based image slides, or even include images and videos in your carousel. Instagram allows for up to ten slides, so use that space wisely and include additional content in the caption.

Long-Form YouTube Videos

Consider creating long-form YouTube videos to share valuable information with your audience. While short video generally performs best, you can’t always fit educational content into a YouTube Short, a Reel, or a TikTok post.

Instead, create video content that encourages engagement. Shares are valuable, but so are likes, dislikes, and comments.

3. Interactive Content

Because social media is designed for two-way communication, it’s important to create content that enables engagement.

There are many different ways to interact with and get to know your followers. Plus, their engagement with your brand could give you valuable insights that help you improve future content, products, and services.

Here are a few ways to create interactive content that encourages your followers to engage.

Quizzes

Quizzes are a fun, informal way to get your audience interacting with you. There are a few ways to include quizzes in your content strategy, including creating them in Instagram Stories and linking quizzes from sites like BuzzFeed in your Facebook feed or group posts.

Encourage your followers to take a quiz, then share their results in the comments section. Be sure to reply to their results. You’ll also notice that they may reply to one another, too, which can create a greater sense of community among your followers.

Interactive Story Elements

Instagram Stories are a popular feature for social media engagement because they expire within 24 hours. Followers don’t want to miss out on special announcements, behind-the-scenes posts, and interactive story elements.

Ask your followers a question, or let them submit their own questions. Create a poll or quiz, or start an Add Yours thread. Then, repost and respond to their engagement when you can!

Group Posts

Interacting in groups on platforms such as Facebook is another great way to drive more engagement and communicate directly with your fans and followers.

Create valuable interactive content that group members can respond to. Polls, questions, this-or-that posts, and ask me anything (AMA) content are all great options. When members respond, keep the conversation going.

4. Contests

A great contest or giveaway can provide valuable incentives to your followers, driving high engagement in the process. It also gives participants a fantastic chance to become a true super-fan of your brand.

Contests not only drive more engagement and get more eyes on your brand; they can also provide you with user-generated content (UGC) in some cases. That’s a great way to get valuable social proof!

Generally speaking, you’ll get the most engagement by simplifying the ways your followers can enter to win.

Give your followers the chance to win a product, service, or piece of swag in exchange for their engagement. This could be in the form of likes, follows, comments, shares, tagging a friend, or tagging your social accounts in a post they create.

Offering incentives in exchange for more engagement is a long game. It might not result in immediate sales, but you’ll gain more viewers and followers in the process – who might go on to buy from you later.

Tips to Get More Engagement on Your Posts

Want to know how to get more engagement on your social media posts? Here are a few tips and best practices to get you started.

• Include great visuals with your social posts. Your posts are more likely to get attention when they include fantastic graphics and visuals. A tool like Snappa can help you create visual content with ease.
• Use video as part of your content strategy. Out of all types of social content, video is growing at the fastest rate. Don’t miss out on that momentum!
• Maintain a consistent presence and brand voice across all channels. Your followers’ experience with your brand should have the same look and feel no matter where they engage with you.
• Post consistently. If you’re not showing up regularly online, the people who need to see your content will be less likely to.
• Be present on social platforms. Social media users notice when you post, then disappear. They want to feel connected with you online, so create that connection where you can.
• Answer questions and interact with your followers. When someone comments on your post, engage with them. Like their comment and reply when it’s appropriate. The more responsive you are, the more likely your followers will keep coming back.
• Engage regularly with other accounts when it makes sense to. Comment on posts from brands in your industry whose target audience overlaps with yours. This can help to boost your visibility and expertise in your space.

Final Thoughts

Creating irresistible opportunities for your followers to engage with your social content can be an effective way to build momentum and brand recognition online. The key is to try a variety of strategies to keep your audience engaged. Take note of what works, then replicate it.

There are so many resources at your fingertips that will help you quickly create eye-catching, engaging content for your brand. Using a tool like Snappa, for example, will make your graphic design a breeze.

As long as your content is valuable, relevant, and on trend, you’re likely to see a boost in your engagement.

Want to see what Snappa can do for your social media marketing? Get started for free here.

Have you seen other effective, emerging social media trends that drive higher engagement? We’d love to hear about them in the comments section. Let us know what content is performing best for you.

The post 4 Types of Social Media Posts That Will Drive Engagement (2024 Update) appeared first on Snappa Blog.

Facebook’s implementation of events has changed the way that businesses and brands market their events. Traditional methods of event promotion, such as print media or signage aren’t as effective and everything is moving online with social media being the main driver.

Facebook events are essential, but there are many factors that contribute to a great Facebook event. One of the most important things to consider when creating a Facebook event is having the proper Facebook event photo size and the proper visuals to make your Facebook event stand out! Be sure to include a strong event description and the correct time, date, and address within the event details.

With Facebook events, you can do more than just invite your friends and fans – you have the ability to:

• Create discussion
• Encourage sharing
• Automate reminders
• Build anticipation

The opportunities for Facebook events are endless and brands who aren’t using Facebook to spread their word are missing out! It’s incredibly simple for you to use and I’ve outlined the best practices and everything you need to know about the best Facebook event photo size. Here are some steps on how you can create a professional event on Facebook!

What is the Facebook Event Photo Size?

Before you begin creating your Facebook event, you will want to create a Facebook event photo with the right size and dimensions. The correct Facebook event photo size has the dimensions of 1920 x 1005 pixels.

The photo size has been recently updated for the changes made to the new Facebook layout. Previously, the dimensions were 1920 x 1080 with an aspect ratio of 16:9, but this has since changed.

Anything smaller than 1920 pixels wide and Facebook will automatically increase the size of your event photo to fit. This will cause a loss in quality of your photo, so you want the dimensions to be exactly 1920 x 1005. If your event photo is too wide in length or too tall in height, Facebook will crop it.

If you’re looking for an easy way to create a Facebook event photo banner with the right size, you can use a free tool like Snappa. We even offer a variety of different Facebook event cover photo templates with the right sizing and dimensions!

How to Create a Facebook Event

Now that you have your Facebook event cover photo created, it’s time to get your event set-up.

What you first want to do when creating a Facebook event is navigate to the far-left menu on Facebook and find the Events tab. Once you’ve found the Events tab, you should then proceed to click + Create Event as directed by Facebook.

You will then be prompted to select the options of having either Public or Private event. Once you’ve selected that, a new window will appear for you to fill out the details for your Facebook Event.

1. Upload the Facebook event cover photo that you made using Snappa.
2. Create a name for your event. Pick something that stands out.
3. Write a Facebook event description so that your invites know what the event is about.
4. Choose the right date and time for the event to start and for the event to end.
5. Pick a location that is clear to those invited (Include correct full address).
6. If your event is public, select relevant keywords for tags so people can find your event

Best Practices When Creating a Facebook Event

Events are simple to make on Facebook, but it offers several additional features that you can take advantage of to make your Facebook event stand out. Some things you want to do when creating a Facebook event is:

1. Build Credibility for Your Event

Facebook events allow you to add admins and other business pages to help you manage the event. Creating a partnership with another business or brand can help show credibility to your invite list.

When you partner with another brand you also have access to their network and a larger invite list which is more exposure for your brand and event.

2. Create Discussion

There is a full section in your Facebook event dedicated to discussion about the event or items related to the event. This is a good opportunity for you to take advantage of this two-way communication feature and keep your invite list engaged.

You can be interactive by creating polls that either seek suggestions from the group or fun polls that will keep users engaged and interested in the event.

You can post any news or relevant information about the event or industry. I’ve seen concert promoters post music videos and press releases from artists. This can help build anticipation for attendees and keep your event on the top of their minds.

The most important thing with discussion in your Facebook event is for you to be responsive. There are going to be questions asked and items that need clarification. If one person asks a question, it could be a question that several individuals will benefit from so do your best to answer them publicly in a professional manner.

3. Set Expectations for Your Event

Give your invite list a glimpse of what the event might look like. Don’t promise what you won’t be able to fulfill. Events are meant to build long-term relationships and if your first event leaves a bad impression, you won’t have people returning. Better yet, you will have horrible reviews, which will have an effect on future attendees.

A good idea would be to post a basic outline of what people can expect at the event. Whether it be food/beverages, a basic itinerary, or information where people can see some type of value for their time if they decide to attend. If you’re serving food or drinks, make sure you let attendees know what type of food they can expect and prices they should expect to pay, so they can come prepared.

If you have hosted events before, try providing photos and graphics from previous years. This will help the user visualize expectations and these visuals can be a contributing factor to selling more tickets or attracting more attendees.

Mistakes to Avoid When Creating Facebook Events

Facebook events are very easy to make and can bring great results. But, to have a successful event, you want to avoid some common mistakes that can hinder your success.

1. Posting Too Many Times

What you don’t want to do is spam your invite list and your attendees. Those who have shown interest in your event will be notified when you post in the event, so remember to post what is relevant and to post items which add some type of value.

2. Being Too Vague

Make sure that those who see the event know exactly what they are signing-up for and what they can expect from the event. Provide all the necessary details ahead of time and make sure that the Facebook event has everything outlined so that there is no confusion when the individual arrives at the event vicinity.

3. Lack of Engagement and Interaction

The great thing about creating an event on Facebook is that you have the ability to interact with your invite list. What you don’t want to do is be completely inactive after creating the event. People will have questions and inquiries and you should be there to answer it as mentioned before. Uncertainty can have a negative turnout for your event.

4. Using the Wrong Cover Photo

People don’t realize that the dimensions of a Facebook event cover photo is different from the sizing of a Facebook group cover photo and a Facebook personal / business page header image. Make sure you’re using the sizing mentioned in this blog post to get the best results.

Final Thoughts

Creating a Facebook event is so simple that it would be a missed opportunity for you not to use it for your brand. The days where you had to send physical invites or call individuals to tell them about your events are over and you can achieve just as much traction with the click of a button.

Additionally, you now have more ways to interact with your event attendees and you can answer any questions or clarify any details from the comfort of your office. Remember to use the right Facebook event photo size and to create strong visuals throughout your event. Come up with an attractive name and a clear description to anticipate excitement to drive positive results.

If you guys have any other tips or tricks when creating a Facebook event or if you guys have any questions about Facebook event photo sizes, feel free to comment them down below!

The post The Ideal Facebook Event Photo Size & Best Practices (2024) appeared first on Snappa Blog.

Photography has always been an integral part of design. Unfortunately, we’ve grown accustomed to seeing cheesy stock images of people in suits shaking hands. Not only are a lot of these stock photos tacky, but they cost a lot of money.

Thankfully, there’s been a growing number of websites with beautiful stock photography popping up all over the web. Best of all, they’re free!

In this post, we’ve curated a list of awesome websites for free stock photos.

Quick Note About Licenses

Many of these photographs are free from copyright restrictions or licensed under creative commons public domain dedication. This means you can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission.

However, some photos may require attribution. We’ve done our best to identify which license they fall under but we still advise you to do your own research and determine how these images can be used.

With that out of the way, let’s dive into our top picks for free stock photos.

1. StockSnap

StockSnap.io has a large selection of beautiful free stock photos and high resolution images. The site also has a very handy search feature making it easy to browse through the thousands of images available. In addition, the site tracks views and downloads so you can find the most popular photos available.

StockSnap adds hundreds of images on a daily basis and all photos are released under creative commons public domain – no attribution required.

2. Pexels

Pexels provides high quality and completely free stock photos licensed under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license. All photos are nicely tagged, searchable and also easy to discover through their discover pages.

3. Unsplash

Unsplash offers a large collection of free high-resolution photos and has become one of the best sources for stock images. The Unsplash team combs through new submissions and features the very best photos on their homepage. All photos are released for free under the Unsplash license.

4. Burst (by Shopify)

Burst is a resource from Shopify that provides free stock photos for entrepreneurs. Some photos are licensed under Creative Commons CC0 while others fall under Shopify’s own photo license.

Burst was launched to help entrepreneurs make better products, websites, and marketing campaigns. Most of the pictures are original photos that were taken in-house and are themed around trending business niches — everything from DIY beard oil to Aliexpress LED sneakers. You can also find more general photographs as well.

5. Vecteezy

Vecteezy has over a million free stock photos and a curation team that manually reviews every image submitted to the site. Their search is powerful – you can filter the images results by color, orientation, style, number of people, age of people, and more.

Vecteezy requires attribution but includes signed model and property releases for every free photo. This protects you (and your projects) from legal risks.

6. Pixabay

Pixabay offers a large collection of free stock photos, vectors and art illustrations. All photos are released under Creative Commons CC0.

7. Reshot

Reshot is a massive library of handpicked free stock photos you won’t find elsewhere. Built for startups, freelancers & makers who are sick of tacky stock photos. Free to use commercially and editorially–no attribution required.

8. FoodiesFeed

FoodiesFeed offers thousands of beautiful realistic free food pictures in high resolution. It’s the perfect stock photo site for food bloggers.

9. Gratisography

Gratisography offers free high-resolution pictures you can use on your personal and commercial projects. New awesome pictures are added weekly and are free of copyright restrictions. All pictures are captured by Ryan McGuire of Bells Design.

10. Freestocks.org

Freestock offers a wide range of high quality photos all released under Creative Commons CC0.

11. Picography

Picography contains beautiful free stock photos submitted by Dave Meier and various other photographers. All photos are released under Creative Commons CC0.

12. Foca

Foca is a collection of high resolution photos provided by Jeffrey Betts. Jeffrey specializes in photos of workspaces and nature. All photos are released under Creative Commons CC0.

13. Picjumbo

Picjumbo is a collection of totally free photos for your commercial & personal works. New photos are added daily from a wide variety of categories including abstract, fashion, nature, technology and much more.

14. Kaboom Pics

Kaboom Pics offers a wide variety of high quality free stock photos including abstract, city/architecture, fashion, food, landscapes and more. Photos can be used for commercial purposes but cannot be sold or redistributed.

15. SkitterPhoto

SkitterPhoto offers a wide variety of free stock photos and are released under Creative Commons CC0. All pictures are authentic and created by Skitterphoto’s owners.

16. Life of Pix

Life of Pix is a resource created by the LEEROY creative agency offering free high-resolution photos with no copyright restrictions.

17. Little Visuals

This mention comes with a bit of sad news. The owner of the site Nic passed away but his photos remain in his memory. All photos that have been posted were released under the creative commons license public domain dedication.

18. New Old Stock

Vintage photos from the public archives free of known copyright restrictions.

19. Jay Mantri

7 new photos released every Thursday under the Creative Commons CC0 license. Jay Mantri posts some really nice photos with a variety of different themes.

20. Picspree

Backed by Getty Images, Picspree provides a large selection of high quality stock photos completely royalty free. With easy searching and frictionless downloading Picspree is an excellent resource for small businesses and web professionals looking for high quality photos without the worry of licensing.

21. ISO Republic

ISO Republic offers a broad range of photos; they add new images every day under for free under the CCO license.

22. StyledStock

StyleStock offers free feminine stock photography for every woman entrepreneur. The collection is totally free for your commercial & personal works.

Conclusion

As you can see, there’s a growing number of fantastic resources for stock photography. These websites have become a blessing for designers, marketers and bloggers. No need to rely on cheesy stock photos anymore!

The post 22 Amazing Sites With Breathtaking Free Stock Photos (2024 Update) appeared first on Snappa Blog.

Whether you’re running your own business, or purely interested in the world around you, business newsletters are a great way to catch up on the business world.

Let’s face it, nobody has time to read the news 24/7, nor do you want to read a million different blogs during your workday. That’s why we love business newsletters! They offer a perfect way to stay informed about all things business, tech, and marketing.

So we curated some of our favorite newsletters that will keep you informed in the business world. Without further ado, here are our favorite 7 business newsletters for you to check out!

1. The Hustle

The hustle is a free, daily newsletter for all things business. They refer to themselves as a 5-minute newsletter, and that’s exactly what you get. It’s a low-commitment read, jam-packed with interesting stories from around the web. They promise it’s delivered daily by 9am Pacific Time.

On Sundays, you’ll see their “Sunday Story” which is a bit of a deeper dive, where they cover businesses, founders, as well as different types of case studies.

What to expect?

It covers the latest in startups, business news, and technology. Each day you’ll get a roundup of news and trends, from Monday to Friday. You’ll see a mix of facts and interesting bits of news, with well over 50 links to stories from around the globe.

2. Jason Fried

Next up is Jason Fried’s newsletter. If his name sounds familiar to you, it’s because of his past successes. Jason is the founder & CEO at Basecamp, creator of 37signals, as well as his latest email software HEY.

He’s also written many successful books on business such as Rework, Shape Up, and Remote.

What to expect?

You can expect tips on personal habits, copywriting, business insights, as well as insights directed to founders.

Jason’s perspective on business is very inviting, which is very helpful for those just starting out. Here’s an example of a past newsletter, that’ll be sure to get you out of bed with a spring in your step:

3. TLDR

The cleverly named TLDR (too long didn’t read) is a daily newsletter with links and summaries of the most interesting stories in startups, tech, and programming!

It boasts of being the largest daily developer-focused newsletter in the world, with over 600 000 readers worldwide.

What to expect?

A text-only roundup of tech news from all over the world. Something to note: each link lets you know how many minutes the article will take to read:

4. Morning Brew

Morning brew is a personal favorite. It centers on business news, but it also offers a wider scope of general news.

What to expect?

Expect entertainment, business, and tech news, with no shortage of jokes! Their copy is easy to read with a funny and light-hearted tone.

They get bonus points for having a very funny Twitter account!

5. The 3-2-1 Newsletter with James Clear

James is a successful author, entrepreneur, and photographer, most popularly known for his best-selling book Atomic Habits. His personal newsletter is one of the most popular newsletters in the world which boasts over 2 million subscribers.

What to expect?

Each issue includes 3 quick thoughts from James himself, 2 quotes from others, and 1 question for you the reader. You can expect thoughtful and deeply motivating thoughts for any business owner:

6. Andrew Chen

The last one on our list is Andrew Chen’s personal newsletter. It features essays on startups, and various types of metrics, all taken from his 650+ essays. His iconic essays have been featured and quoted in many magazines, including The New York Times, Fortune, and Wired.

What to expect?

Expect a lot of wisdom and insights into startup marketing, and building your business. The emails will often offer a roundup of some of his best essays.

Final Thoughts

At this point, I hope you feel well-equipped to keep up with everything in the business world. Whether you’re looking for marketing tips, want to grow your customer base, or just seeking wisdom from one of these industry veterans, we’re confident that one or more of these listed will give you what you need!

Got any other business newsletters we didn’t include that you can’t live without? Let us know in the comments and we’ll check them out.

The post 6 Business Newsletters You Need to Subscribe to in 2024 appeared first on Snappa Blog.

We live in a highly digital world right now, and that world is exceptionally visual. Videos and photos reign supreme, especially in business.

Websites, apps, and social media are full of pictures of businesses’ offices, employees, customers, products, and even image quotes. You can use Snappa to create gorgeous branded images and graphics… but then what do you do with the images once you download them?

That’s where photo-sharing tools come into play. Cloud-based photo sharing and organization tools are crucial for both businesses and individuals. In this post, we’ll look at the best photo organizing software on the market in 2024, depending on your specific needs.

Freelancer who wants an easy way to send images to a client for approval? Part of a small design team that needs to send and share pictures regularly? Pro photographer? We’ve got it all covered, so let’s get started.

1. Google Photos

Best for: Anyone

Cost: Starts at $19.99 per year for 100 GB

When we’re talking about Cloud-based photo-sharing software, Google is always going to be at the top of the list.

The Google Drive suite of tools, speaking from experience, is dead useful for collaborative purposes. I use it to share marketing materials back and forth with my clients as a freelancer, which is essential since I’m not part of any of their internal software. That being said, Google Drive is often used by entire teams, including the Google Photos feature.

These are the biggest benefits:

• Storage is exceptionally cheap, starting at $19.99 per year when paid annually for 100 GB of data
• It’s easy to use; many people are already familiar with Google Drive, so Google Photos won’t have an extensive learning curve
• It can integrate well with a business’s online content sharing system if they’re using Google Docs
• You can order prints directly through Google photos

2. Dropbox

Best for: Businesses, but good for everyone; bulk uploads

Cost: Starts at $9.99 a month for personal usage (2TB), and $15 per user per month for teams (5 TB)

Dropbox is one of the most popular and well-known file-sharing tools. It’s been around for years and used by a large number of businesses small and large alike. It can also be used for personal purposes, with multiple available plans for both.

Some of the business-specific features include content protection and external sharing controls, file recovery for up to 180 days, computer backup directly to the cloud, and security monitoring.

And because Dropbox has been around so long, it also has a ton of available integrations that will make photo sharing much more efficient, whether you’re sending them to friends, clients, colleagues, or no one at all.

If you’re looking for a photo-sharing and file-sharing tool that takes security and collaboration seriously, this is a good option to consider.

3. Flickr

Best for: Anyone needing a dedicated tool specifically for photo sharing

Cost: Free for your first 1,000 photos, annual plan starting as low as $6 per month

Want free photo-sharing tool options? Flickr meets that criteria, up to a limit. You’ve got a 1000 image limit to their free plan, after which you’ll need to sign up for a paid subscription, but that’s not a bad start for casual users.

If you do choose to upgrade beyond the free plan, Flickr has a lot of other great features to consider. If you want people to discover your photos, this is the platform to choose; their Pro plan even allows you to get analytics on how people are finding your images, which can be unlimited in number. There are some great portfolio organization features, the ability to set detailed privacy measures for each photo you upload with that Pro plan.

Simply put, if you want to share photos outside of your organization and you want users to discover them, this is a good platform to consider using.

4. SmugMug

Best for: Professional photographers

Cost: Starts at $13 per month

SmugMug actually acquired Flickr, but has its own dedicated photo-sharing tool that will likely catch the eye of plenty of professional image creators (including graphic designers, illustrators, and photographers).

With both dedicated photo storage and photo sharing features, SmugMug will actually help you create an online portfolio through a dedicated website (with drag-and-drop organization) designed to show off your galleries. You can create password-protected and public galleries, and allow for high-quality print ordering.

5. Adobe Portfolio 

Best for: Current Adobe users

Cost: Starts at $9.99 per month

Are you already using Adobe for photo editing or creation? If so, you’ll want to consider Adobe Portfolio as a photo-sharing tool. It allows you to create a personalized website that will display your portfolio, whether you’re showcasing graphic design, photography, or illustrations.

If you aren’t already using Adobe, you can also sign up for this plan, though we lean slightly towards SmugMug as a favorite otherwise. Adobe does offer great features, including fully-responsive and multi-page sites (with a contact page!), and some exceptional customization options.

For those who want to share their photos with clients (or the world), this is a great platform to consider.

Final Thoughts

There are so many different reasons why people need photo-sharing tools. They may want to store their own images and send them to family as they see fit. Businesses often need to share images internally and with clients, for both collaboration and delivery purposes. And you have professional photographers, illustrators, and designers who need to share massive amounts of files with clients and who want to show off their work to the world.

No matter what specific needs you have, at least one of these five photo-sharing tools will have you covered. There are plenty of great options on the market, so choose the one that best meets your needs and your budget. And for businesses that want to grow, opt for a tool that will grow and scale with you.

What do you think? Which of these tools would you choose? Have you used any before? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The post The Best Photo Organizing Software in 2024 appeared first on Snappa Blog.

Instagram hashtags can help you get your brand in front of more users on the platform.

While Instagram is best known for its visuals—and now its video content, such as Reels—hashtags help you make your posts more specific. With Instagram hashtags, you can tell the platform more about who should be seeing your content.

Wondering how hashtags on Instagram work and why you should be using them? Let’s jump right into it.

Why Do Instagram Hashtags Matter?

Instagram hashtags can strengthen your presence on the platform when you use them to their full potential. For example, hashtags can help you boost your reach and find more relevant users.

Users search for and follow specific hashtags on Instagram because they want to see new content associated with those topics. Accounts that don’t get in on the hashtag game are definitely missing out on those potential warm leads.

For businesses and influencers on Instagram, using custom, branded hashtags helps to build brand awareness. They’re great for getting users to share your content, and can also be used in user-generated content (UGC) campaigns to track others’ posts about you.

Instagram hashtags can also add personality to your account. Beyond reach and branding, using a fun or humorous hashtag can boost engagement and give you a quirky trend to share with your followers.

How Much Do Instagram Hashtags Actually Matter?

Instagram hashtags are just one piece of your overall marketing strategy on the platform. They’re not the most important part, but they do give Instagram context for what kind of content you post.

Your hashtags on Instagram can also help you find the right audience for your posts. If you want to reach specific demographics of followers who are interested in the types of content you post, then hashtags can play a part in getting your posts in front of them.

When you use Instagram hashtags, it’s important to select and include them in your posts strategically. While they may not be as critical as your videos and images on Instagram, they can absolutely help you gain traction.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can put Instagram hashtags to work for your brand.

How Many Instagram Hashtags Should I Use?

Instagram lets you include up to 30 hashtags in their post captions. However, the Instagram Creators account has advised users to stick to a 3-5 hashtag limit in captions.

Research from Statista backs this guidance up. A report from March 2022 indicates that using 2-4 hashtags on your Instagram posts gets a 3.41% engagement rate, on average. That’s the highest engagement rate among the posts studied at that time.

Still, switch it up. Don’t be afraid to experiment with what works for your brand.

Some brands on Instagram prefer to only use one or two hashtags per caption. Others use 10, 20, or even the full 30-hashtag limit.

Remember that you can also use hashtags in your Instagram Stories. Give that a try to see what’s most effective for you.

(If you need stellar visuals for your Stories, Snappa can help with that. We have a guide to help you get the perfect Story dimensions here.)

Keep an eye on your hashtag analytics and use different numbers and combinations of hashtags. When you test a variety of options for your brand, you’ll get a clearer picture of what you should be replicating.

How to Find Great Instagram Hashtags to Include In Your Post

Now that you know the basics of hashtags on Instagram, let’s take a look at how to find great hashtags to include in your posts and Stories.

1. Make a List of Topics Related to Your Brand

First, build a list of topics related to your brand. What product or service do you offer? What kinds of content are your target customers looking for?

Then, research your current analytics. It doesn’t hurt to look at website and Google analytics in addition to your social media stats. This information can tell you a lot about what your users are actively searching for when they come to you.

Getting a good idea of the mix of topics you should be posting about will help you when you research hashtags. You can build your hashtag list using that information.

2. Use Hashtag Tools

Once you’ve written your list of topics, use hashtag tools such as Hashtagify or Later to help you conduct your research. You want to make sure you’re landing on real hashtags that are actually in use on Instagram.

If Instagram users aren’t actively using or searching for a specific hashtag, then there’s no need to include it. The only exception is when it’s a branded hashtag you’re creating as part of your Instagram marketing strategy.

Once you’ve decided which strategic hashtags you’d like to use, incorporate a hashtag tracking tool to keep an eye on what’s working and what’s not. Tools such as RiteTag can give you analytics on specific hashtags and their performance.

On the other hand, tools like Later can tell you more about overall post performance and how your hashtag use factors in.

3. Look At Hashtags Other Brands Are Using

Take a look at your competition on Instagram. Which hashtags are they using?

Are they including hashtags you could also incorporate into your Instagram content? Try it out to see how your posts’ performance changes.

You’ll want to make sure you’re not lifting any brand-specific hashtags they’ve created for themselves. Only use hashtags that are generally available.

Next, take a look at your own primary hashtags. Which of those are your competitors using?

You can search those hashtags on Instagram to find out what other posts are incorporating your primary hashtags. This method could give you additional inspiration for your own content.

4. Make Your Own Branded Hashtag

Creating your own branded hashtag for your Instagram presence is a great way to set your posts apart.

As your brand grows, ask users to include your branded hashtag in posts about you or your products. This will help you keep track of posts, particularly if you’re going to be incorporating UGC into your content strategy.

In addition to a branded hashtag, you can create campaign-specific hashtags to use during special events. These are great for challenges, giveaways, or product launches.

Final Thoughts

When used thoughtfully and strategically, Instagram hashtags can be an effective way to target the audience you want to reach. They can also help your branded posts stand out to current and prospective followers.

Of course, to get the maximum effect out of your hashtags, you’ll need great Instagram visuals, too. Snappa can help with that. It’s free to get started with our easy-to-use templates and tools. Click here to sign up.

What do you think? Have you seen brands using hashtags in really fun memorable ways lately? Let us know in the comments!

The post The Marketer’s Guide to Instagram Hashtags (2024 Update) appeared first on Snappa Blog.

The real estate market is officially online. What used to be an industry that depended on cold calling and traditional marketing, is now an industry that relies heavily on social media marketing.

If you’re a realtor, you understand how big of an impact social media has on building trust in your client base. Social media is a major lead generator for real estate businesses, yet most real estate brands fail to maximize their efficiency online.

It’s simple to tweak your content strategy in order to achieve great results for your real estate brand. Here are 10 tips that will help you step-up your real estate social media marketing this year!

1. Use the Right Real Estate Hashtags to Optimize Your Content

Hashtags are often misinterpreted as a tactic with the sole purpose to increase likes on a social media post. While hashtags do bring more engagement to your content, they also facilitate discovery on social media. They are an avenue for potential customers to find your real estate brand.

You can use real estate hashtags for your content, as an excellent way for homeowners and buyers to find you. But, hashtags are an even better way for you to discover potential buyers and opportunities for your real estate business.

Here is a full guide on Instagram hashtags that we’ve created in a previous blog post.

Here are some hashtags you can use to find potential homebuyers or to attract potential real estate clients:

Generic Real Estate Hashtags

#realestate #realtor #justlisted #broker #forsale #homesale #newhome #househunting #dreamhome #properties #homelisting #oldhousecharm #property #housing #mortgage #homesforsale #openhouse #homeinspection #homesweethome #foreclosure #renovated #justlisted #reo #fixandfliphouses #homeevaluation

Real Estate Agent Hashtags

#investmentsales #realestate #commercialrealestate #realestatebroker #realestateagent #realestatelife #listingagent #homebuyers #homebuyer #realestateinvestment #propertyforsale #businessbrokerage  #commercialboardofrealtors #business #realtoroffice #banking #invest

Customized Real Estate Hashtags

#[Target Neighbourhood] #[Real Estate Team Name] #[Brokerage Name] #[Target City]homes #[Target City]property

Since Instagram only allows a maximum of 30 hashtags per caption or comment, I’ve included 30 hashtags that you can use for more general real estate Instagram posts. I would recommend you do some keyword research and choosing hashtags that are more relevant to your real estate brand and targeted location. You want to experiment with your hashtags and change them up depending on what works.

Use Hashtag Tools

If your hashtags aren’t generating the engagement you’d hoped for, there are some great hashtag tools available to help you take the guesswork out of which hashtags to use. Hashtagify is a popular tool that makes suggestions for twitter hashtags, as well as allowing you to track and analyze hashtags. Ritetag offers hashtag suggestions for images or text on any site, based on real time engagement data. Both services offer free trials, if you’re unsure they’ll be worth it.

2. Include Realtor Quotes in Your Content Strategy

If you run a real estate business, you probably know how difficult it is to come up with quality content for your business. You’re looking for simple ideas that resonate with your audience, so that you can focus your main efforts on buying or selling homes.

Real estate quotes and testimonials are a great thing to include, and a way to improve your overall content strategy. The fun and chatty nature of sharing quotes can help you build trust and camaraderie with your audience. You can use the real estate quotes and turn them into image quotes!

1. Funny real estate quotes

2. Real estate inspirational quotes

3. Real estate sayings

4. Real estate agent quotes

There are so many different realtor quotes you can use to create social media graphics for your real estate business. These examples are just a guideline and you can write your own quotes that make sense for your real estate brand.

5. Real Estate Testimonials

You can also contact previous customers and see if they are willing to give any customer testimonials. With testimonials, you can then use tools like Snappa to turn these quotes into social media graphics for your real estate social media marketing needs.

3. Utilize The Best Social Media Tools for Your Real Estate Business

Time is always a scarce resource, so maximizing efficiency is important in real estate social media marketing. There’s always something else to do, and if you can spend less time creating content, you can spend more time closing deals and buying homes. There are a ton of real estate marketing applications that can help you maximize exposure to buyers and save time. The folks at G2Crowd.com have created a grid to compare some of the different real estate softwares in the industry.

With the amount of technology and resources available online today, you have the ability to simplify and automate marketing for your real estate brand. The barrier to create great content is low and you can save yourself quite a bit of money by using the right resources for your social media efforts.

1. Free Stock Photos to Find Realtor Images

Getting professional photos taken can be quite expensive and although it’s often worth it to pay for professional imagery, you may not have the budget. The good news is, you can get photos for free that will work well for your social media marketing. There are plenty of websites that offer free stock photos, but some of the best ones for real estate images, include:

• Stocksnap.io
• Unsplash
• Burst by Shopify

2. Creating Real Estate Social Media Graphics

Once you acquire great stock images, you’re off to an excellent start. But having bare stock photos isn’t enough. You need to be able to customize your social media posts to resonate with your audience. Using stock photos, you can create customized social media graphics with text, shapes, icons, and much more to help cater your message and really reach your target audience.

Infographics are a great way to engage with people and they provide an easy way for your readers to consume your content. If you’re looking to highlight quantitative information, creating a real estate infographic is the way to go! Done correctly, an infographic is a highly shareable piece that shows industry expertise. I’ve compiled a list of some infographic examples to help you get started.

Venngage wrote a great post that explains the benefits of using infographics in real estate and we offer a selection of pre-designed infographic templates for your needs. Check them out!

Snappa is a great tool, and can help you create these real estate social media marketing graphics. You have the ability to select from a large collection of free stock photos and you can build a graphic with text and icons – all in one application. You can learn more or start your free trial here.

3. Automating Real Estate Social Media Marketing Posts

Consistency in your social media posts can make a huge difference in your social media performance. Having a consistent post schedule is essential, but that can be extremely tough in the real estate business where your schedule is always changing.

That’s why we suggest using free tools and online resources to help you automate your social media posts. That way you can prepare content ahead of time, and keep your posting to a regular schedule, even if your schedule is variable.

Tools such as Buffer and Hootsuite are great tools to use to schedule your social media posts for your real estate business. Once you’ve finished creating your social media graphic, you can integrate Snappa with Buffer to automate your social media posts to go out on a specific date and time.

4. Generate Valuable Real Estate Blog Ideas

Every real estate website seems to have a blog, but many blogs are either inactive or fail to provide any real value for their audience. Your blog posts should help you show your expertise in the real estate market and they should be optimized to attract new prospects to your website and social channels. But how do you do that?

Coming up with real estate blog ideas can be tricky, but here are some examples of blog post ideas you can use to help improve your real estate marketing:

• Articles on market predictions and market statistics
• Tips for homeowners and what they should know when buying or selling
• Posts about the neighbourhood and information about the community

Put yourself in the shoes of a new homeowner who may already be in the area or those looking to move into the area. What would you want to know? Chances are someone else is wondering the same thing. These blog post ideas will help familiarize your readers with your expertise and your real estate brand.

Examples of the Best Real Estate Blogs

To give you a better idea of what works for great real estate blogs, here are a few real examples that generate a ton of traffic and have posts that are a key part of their lead generation.

The BREL Real Estate Team

The BREL team based out of Toronto does a great job with their real estate blog. They focus on local content and on information that homeowners and home buyers actually want to see. They showcase their listings weekly with their “real estate crush of the week” segment and it gives readers a better look at great listings available from the team.

The BREL team also includes posts focused around the consumer. These posts include Q & A segments on various topics related to real estate, as well as posts relating to the real estate industry and statistics to back it up. They put themselves in the clientele’s shoes and create content surrounding their consumer base.

Zillow.com Blog

Another great real estate blog you should check out is by Zillow. Zillow is a real estate marketplace where you can search for listings, compare home values, and connect with other real estate professionals. The Zillow blog provides great articles that once again relate to the average consumer. Posts filled with “what you need to know” or “market trends” to better educate their readers. These blog posts provide value to their audience and help their readers make more informed decisions.

5. Optimize Real Estate Facebook Posts and Ads for Realtors

Facebook is a widely used platform that homeowners and home sellers are actively on. Many real estate businesses have great success using this platform Success from both paid and organic content and it is your time to join in and take advantage.

Real Estate Facebook Posts

You want to start by having the right Facebook posts that won’t bore your audience and will help your real estate business attract new leads. Some popular real estate Facebook post ideas include:

• Real estate tips relating to buying and selling homes for inexperienced individuals
• Showcasing local businesses and events happening in the community
• Holding giveaways or contests to help build awareness and drive engagement
• Real estate stories and testimonials from previous buyers or sellers and their experience
• Professional images and graphics of new homes on the market (Use tools like Snappa)

What you want to avoid is overselling your audience. Yes, the main objective of your business is to sell homes, but social media is a long-term play and your audience will buy a home when they’re ready. No point in pushing a sale, when your followers are not looking to buy or sell.

Give your audience value and awareness so that when the time comes, your real estate brand will be the first thing on their mind. Here is a detailed post we wrote on Facebook post ideas all businesses should use!

Create The Right Realtor Ads to Generate More Leads

Facebook offers more than just a social environment for people and pages. Facebook has access to an enormous amount of valuable data, due to the massive quantity of users using the platform to express everything from opinions to preferences. This data makes paid advertising on Facebook very cost-effective, if done right.

As a real estate business, you can target your ad to an audience in a very specific area with specific interests. Along with that, you can choose to target an audience based on their spending habits, their household income, their relationship status, and much more. This opens up a window of opportunity for you to get creative and to form great ads to connect to the exact audience for your real estate business.

Facebook also offers carousel ads, multi-image ads which are a great option for real estate agents trying to promote listings and open houses. Carousel ads allow you to show both the exterior and interior of a home, which both captures attention and gives the potential buyer a fuller picture of the different benefits of the house.

6. Share Your Real Estate Success Stories

It may seem like posting every time you close a deal is just bragging, but it actually helps build trust and confidence in your real estate brand. The more people see you both buying and selling, the more they’ll trust you when the time comes for them to need your services.

User generated content is especially powerful in this case. Share people giving a shout out to your page, and if your customers are on social media themselves, they can always tag you to generate even more engagement and interest. But even if they aren’t posting about it, whenever possible try to get a photo with the happy customers in front of their new home, and share it on your social media channels.

7. Consider Accessibility

It’s easy to forget about accessibility when you barely have time for social media marketing as it is, but doing so can be unwise. There are a few simple rules to follow, and they can help your marketing reach an even wider audience.

When posting video, always include closed captions. They’re absolutely essential for the hearing impaired, but beyond that 85% of all Facebook videos are watched with the sound off. Captioning the video allows your audience to consume your content in a way that works for them, which makes it more likely that they’ll stay interested. Similarly offering image descriptions of some kind, either in the caption of an image or using instagram’s alt text feature (located in the advanced settings), is a must. Image descriptions don’t need to be fancy, simply describe what people are seeing so those using screen readers are in on it too!

If you are lucky enough to offer bilingual services, run ads in multiple campaigns in the different languages you speak. Just make sure to send them to the relevant landing pages, so that potential customers will be able to find you in the language of their choice. The key is to make it easy for everyone who needs your services to find them.

8. Make Video Part of Your Realtor Strategy

Video is a great option for connecting with your audience. It’s dynamic and engaging, and it typically performs well both in the algorithms and in engagement.

Don’t be afraid to get in front of the camera and be yourself. Remember to put yourself in the shoes of the consumer, and make sure your videos offer value. Educational and informational videos are often a huge success, you can offer general information like how to find a good mortgage broker, updates on the industry, or things relevant to your local community.

Another popular choice is the live video. “Going live” may be intimidating at first, but it’s a valuable way to reach your audience and drive even more engagement. Live videos allow you to host a live Q & A session, such as “Ask Me Anything About Buying a House,” which you schedule ahead of time, so you can share your expertise directly with your potential customers.

9. Collaborate With Local Businesses And Experts

Many realtors have partnerships with other local businesses, such as photographers, mortgage brokers, home stagers, and inspectors. It can be valuable to connect with others in your community, and when you do it’s easy to give each other a boost on social media. You can share each other’s content, and even create content together, and even create resources together.

Remember that it’s not just about waiting for them to share your content. In fact, promoting them can help you to establish greater trust and credibility.

10. Collect Real Estate Reviews

These days, most people are not going to hire anyone for anything until they’ve read a few reviews. That’s why it’s vital that you collect reviews and make it easy for potential customers to see them.

On Facebook, the Reviews tab is located to the left, and you can send a direct link to clients after working with them, to remind them to leave you a review. You can find this link under the Settings section of your Page once Reviews are enabled.

When a potential customer is on the brink of hiring you, they’ll likely be looking for reviews and testimonials to give them a clearer picture of what working with you may be like. That’s why having positive reviews right on your social media platform is so valuable. If you’ve been doing a good job with your social media marketing, great reviews will be just one more reason they’ll trust you, and choose you to help them.

Final Thoughts

The influence of social media and online marketing has made a huge impact on the real estate market. Social media has changed the way that real estate businesses reach their clients and has forced companies to be more interactive and more customized to their audience.

Time is always a rare resource for business owners and real estate brands are no different. Making time for real estate social media marketing can be tough, but there are several tools and ways for real estate companies to minimize the work and maximize results. By optimizing ads and social media posts, businesses should see better performance on social posts. If you’re looking for more ways to increase exposure for your business, check out this article on real estate marketing ideas.

Focus on generating content surrounding your end-user. Once you know what content to create, use available free resources to create professional content with excellent visuals. Put yourselves in the shoes of your consumer. What would you like to see if you were buying and selling a home? Cater your content and you will see great results.

Do you have any real estate social media marketing tips or realtor content ideas to share? Let me know what you do for your social strategy in the comments below!

The post 10 Tips to Step-Up Your Real Estate Social Media Marketing in 2024 appeared first on Snappa Blog.

Instagram Story highlights are a fantastic way to showcase your top Stories on your Instagram profile page. Your Instagram Story highlights allow you to divide your archived Stories into labeled categories. At the same time, you can select which specific Stories you want your audience to see when they visit your profile.

What draws viewers to your Instagram Stories in the first place is their temporary nature. They disappear after 24 hours, creating a sense of scarcity and FOMO for followers who don’t want to miss what’s happening in the moment. However, you likely have important Stories you want to keep sharing after they’ve expired.

Instagram Story highlights give you the option of preserving and sharing certain stories indefinitely. Your Story highlights are a great way to add a little extra life to your Instagram marketing. They’re also excellent for sharing critical information about your brand and what you stand for.

When you create highlights for your Instagram Stories, you have the option of making IG story highlight covers and icons for each. This keeps things looking uniform and organized on your Instagram profile. At the same time, it gives new and existing followers the chance to take a look at past Story content.

Want to know how to make and use your own Instagram Story highlights? Keep reading to learn how!

Instagram Highlight Cover Dimensions and Size

Your Instagram Story highlight cover should be 1080 x 1920 pixels with a 9:16 aspect ratio. Unlike standard Instagram square posts and profile pictures, these IG Story highlight covers are the same size as Stories.

You won’t be able to include a Story in your highlights until after you’ve posted it. On the other hand, you can actually upload your highlight cover before you’ve shared a Story in that category. That means your custom highlight covers for your Stories don’t need to be made on-platform.

With the ability to make custom Instagram IG Story highlight covers using a tool like Snappa, you’ll have plenty of creative freedom. Let’s take a look at how to make a custom IG Story cover.

How to Make Instagram Highlight Covers

An Instagram highlight cover is pretty simple to make. Even better, you don’t need to be a professional graphic designer to create nice Instagram highlight covers for your profile.

You can use tools like Snappa to make an Instagram highlight cover with no fuss. Use our Instagram Story templates to make it super easy. Here’s a quick tutorial to help you out!

Step 1: First, navigate to your Snappa dashboard and select the Instagram Story option.

Then, you’ll see the wide selection of pre-made Instagram Story templates. For your IG Story highlights, you’ll want to choose a solid color with an icon, rather than an image with many design elements or a lot of text.

Step 2: Open a new graphic for your IG Story cover. You can either choose an existing graphic template or select Create From Scratch. In this case, I chose an existing template and deleted the text.

Step 3: Once you’ve figured out the background of your highlight cover, you can add an Instagram Story highlight icon. In Snappa, there’s a massive library of royalty-free icons and free stock photos you can choose from, and these icons can all be used for your Instagram Story covers.

Step 4: Once you’re done, you can go ahead and download your Instagram highlight cover for free. Just navigate to the download button located on the top right of the screen. You can choose which file format to download the highlight cover in. From there, you can upload it to Instagram.

Consider sticking to the same or similar background and the same style of icons for all your highlights. Most importantly, make sure they’re on brand!

How to Edit Instagram Highlight Covers

Editing and adding an Instagram highlight cover is fairly easy. Instagram makes it simple to change your icon cover, too. In order to do this, you will want to navigate to your Instagram Story highlight and click on the bottom right of the Story.

You should have a few options related to your Instagram Story highlights, but you’ll want to “Edit Highlight.”

From here, you’ll have the option to add or remove Stories from your Instagram highlights. But, you’ll also have the opportunity to edit the cover of your Instagram highlight.

You will now be able to choose from your archived Instagram Stories to place as your cover. Alternatively, you can choose from your photo library. From your photo library, you can pick the Instagram cover highlight that you’ve created in Snappa.

How to Add an Instagram Story Highlight

There are two simple ways to add an Instagram Story highlight to your profile. As a reminder, your Story highlights will be previous Instagram Stories you’ve posted on your account in the past. You won’t be able to upload videos from your Camera Roll to the highlight.

One way to add a Story to your Instagram highlight is to click the “+” sign at the top of your profile page. After that, choose the IG Stories you want to include in your highlight. Think of highlights as categorized collections of your best Instagram Stories.

Once you’ve added the Stories you want to your highlight, you can select an IG Story highlight cover.

Your other option for adding an IG Story highlight is to view a Story you’ve posted. At the bottom of the screen, you’ll see a Highlight button. Tap it to add your Story to the appropriate highlight category.

Best Instagram Story Highlight Icons & Covers

Multiple brands on Instagram have created fantastic custom IG Story highlights using a number of brand-aligned graphics and colors. It’s fun and easy to get creative with your Story highlights, so check out what these other brands are doing for some inspiration.

Take a look at some of our favorite examples from across Instagram.

HubSpot

Hubspot’s Instagram Story covers are brightly colored, simple, and eye-catching. Each IG Story highlight cover is part of the brand’s overall palette.

The names of each highlight point the user to the specific information they’ll learn about when they tap. For example, “Our Products” will tell users about the products available from Hubspot.

Drunk Elephant

For its IG Story highlights, Drunk Elephant skincare uses neon graphics that fit with its fun, energetic visual brand. Unlike Hubspot, Drunk Elephant doesn’t stick to a solid-color background and a simplistic graphic. These highlights aren’t overly complicated, but they do take more creative liberties.

Foundr

Creating IG Story covers doesn’t always have to involve graphic design. Some brands and IG users choose to use photographs or still video captures from their previous Stories. Take Foundr, for example. You’ll notice that, while one of their graphics is a logo for Foundr+, the rest are screen grabs from their Stories.

Instagram Story Highlight Best Practices

Now that you know how to make eye-catching IG Story highlights for your profile, there are some best practices to stick to. You want to get the best results possible to draw your viewers’ attention. Let’s take a look at how to maximize your highlights.

Center Your Highlight Icons

When you use a tool like Snappa to design your IG Story highlights, make sure your icon graphics are centered. If the graphic is meant to be the focal point of your highlights, such as Hubspot’s, you’ll want to make sure everything is aligned for maximum impact.

Avoid Busy Images and Backgrounds

A basic graphic design rule of thumb is to be cautious about choosing busy images. If there’s too much going on in your images, your viewers may not know what they’re looking at. Keep things as simple and clear as possible.

Use Images That Fit Your Visual Brand

Make sure your Instagram Story highlights fit your brand’s visual design. Whether they’re graphics, photos, or video stills, they’ll need to fit in well with the other images you’re posting across your online platform.

Final Thoughts

Instagram Story highlight covers are a nice touch that helps to add character to your profile. IG highlights give you an opportunity to share Stories that you wouldn’t normally show on your feed. They can give you great insight into your audience, but more importantly, they help your audience stay engaged with your brand!

Creating new IG Story highlight covers takes only a few minutes with Snappa, so click here to get started today.

Do you have any tips for creating great Instagram highlight covers? What type of Instagram highlight icons do you use for your brand? Share them in the comments below!

The post How to Make Free Instagram Highlight Covers (2024 Update) appeared first on Snappa Blog.

Working from home used to be considered a luxury, reserved largely for lucky workers in select positions or freelancers.

After COVID-19, however, that’s no longer the case. 76% of workers say they now have a preference for working from home, and two years into the pandemic, 59% of workers who say they can work from home are doing so.

Whether you’re a freelancer, business owner, or a conventional employee, working from home in many positions is becoming the standard instead of the exception.

Speaking from experience, working from home is an exceptional perk. I’ve been doing it since I started freelancing in 2014, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.

I have flexibility in my day for doctor’s appointments, lunch with my husband, or going to the gym.

There’s no commute time, and I can spend the day working in loungewear with my dogs around me. And as someone with a chronic illness, I’m typically able to keep working even when I don’t feel well; that wouldn’t be the case with an in-office job.

There are, however, hardships to working from home. For many, it’s been a sometimes bumpy transition, with challenges like poor internet access or home equipment, difficulty collaborating with a team, and even kids barging in on important Zoom calls.

So how can remote work be effective, productive, and enjoyable? In this post, we’re going to look at nine work-from-home tips that we all need, backed by science and tested by your friendly neighborhood freelancer!

1. Create a Quiet, Distraction-Free Space

This is the most important thing that you can do when you want to work remotely.

Set up a quiet workspace that you use pretty exclusively for work. It should be a distraction-free, comfortable space somewhere in your home where you can work relatively undisturbed.

For some, that may be a clean, clutter-free desk in a corner of your house. For others, you might need to be behind a closed door, even if it’s in an unused guest room, where family members can’t barge in on a meeting to ask for snacks.

Here are a few quick tips that can help:

• • Start with an organized, clean desk. Rifling through drawers to find a pen and post it is no good. And for people like me, disorganization and clutter is immediately distracting.
  • Make it a happy space. A few house plants in my office and a picture of my family next to my computer make me relaxed and happy. You’ll be spending a lot of time here, so it shouldn’t feel miserable.

• Choose ergonomic furniture. A good office chair and a desk that meets your needs are essential. Learn more about ergonomic desk chairs here.

2. Have a Morning Routine

I can’t stress this enough— have a basic routine to get your day started.

This will look different for each person.

Maybe you get ready, make a nice breakfast, get the kids ready for school, and then head to work.

For others it may mean a morning walk, have a coffee and catch up on social media for twenty minutes, and then dive in.

I typically wake up, get dressed, have a light breakfast on the porch while I throw a ball for one of our dogs, and then come inside.

You want to feel ready to work, and you want to be relaxed to start your day. Starting your day consistently can help you feel more ready to clock in, and it becomes part of a routine. An established routine can give you a feeling of consistency that can start your day right.

3. Get the Tools & Tech You Need

One of the downsides to working from home is that you may not automatically have the tools or technology that might otherwise come standard with an office.

My husband, for example, was used to two computer screens at work, so he needed to buy a second when he switched to work from home.

If you’re using a personal laptop instead of a company device, you might also need to figure out how to gain access to the software needed to do your job well.

This may also mean upgrading the internet, getting a new mobile phone, or buying any other tech you need.

If you’re self-employed, you can write these off as business expenses to reduce taxes.

If you’re an employee, ask if a stipend is available for setting up your home office. And if not, work in order of priority— what do you need to get the job done well?

4. Stick to Consistent Work Hours (& Don’t Go Over!)

This is a particularly important tip for traditional employees, but it can apply to freelancers and business owners, too.

Having established, consistent work hours is important. And if that’s not possible, at least have designated clock-out times that are truly your end of workday.

Once you work from home, the work/life balance can be great… but it can also be skewed because the line between work and home becomes blurred.

There’s no walking out the door at the end of the day to signal work’s end, and you can easily find yourself working on your laptop through the movie your spouse was excited to watch with you.

A more consistent schedule (at least most of the time) is a good start. It can help you know that it’s time to clock out for the day so you don’t end up consumed by work. A rare outside occasion isn’t a big deal, but if you’re working round-the-clock on a long-term basis, it’s time to find another job.

5. Take Breaks

This may seem counterintuitive, but if you want to be more productive, take breaks.

This is scientifically proven. We’re not meant to sit in front of a desk for eight hours a day with no mental breaks and just focus— it’s not possible.

When we work with no breaks, we end up mentally fatigued. This means our productivity decreases, we get more frustrated, we start making simple mistakes, and we even end up with decision fatigue (which can mean we’re more likely to make poor decisions).

Taking a fifteen-minute break every two hours can be life-changing. And checking work emails does not count as a break.

I always physically get up from my work area, whether it’s to get a snack, take the dogs out, go for a short walk, or do a load of laundry while I listen to a podcast.

Don’t eat lunch at your desk while working, and try to incorporate physical activity (even if it’s just walking to another room!) to keep the blood flowing.

6. Have a To-Do List Every Day

Working from home can feel a little bit disorganized from a task perspective, especially if you’re used to having someone delegate tasks out or supervise progress in-office.

In order to make sure that you’re staying focused, having a to-do list that details each task you need to complete is a good place to start.

This can keep you on track. You know you don’t have an hour to empty out your inbox if you can see that you’ve got two deadlines you need to get done. These tasks will feel more urgent, and it ensures that nothing gets missed, and that you’re staying productive.

You can use software like Asana or Trello for this, even if your company doesn’t use it across the board. I typically just use my Apple Calendar for deadlines and break down individual tasks on a checklist in a Notes app.

Find what works for you, and stick to that.

7. Find Social Outlets

This is an underrated tip that I’ve never seen anyone else mention in work-from-home resources but that I’ve learned is crucial.

Working from home can be deeply isolating if you’re not careful.

You’re home alone (or just with family/roommates) most of the day, and by the time the day is over, you may be too tired to go out and do much. If you’re not careful, you can go an entire week without leaving the house for meaningful socialization.

Make plans with friends, join a fitness studio, or find a club that you want to join with weekly meetings. Even if people are still coming to your home for dinner in, and even if you’re an extrovert, you need intentional social time with people who you don’t already live with.

And if you’re new to the area, check out Meetup for welcoming social groups. You can also use something like Bumble BFF to meet new friends or professionals around you.

8. Have Boundaries with Family & Housemates

When my husband first started working from home, he’d come wandering into my office a few times a day just to see what was up and how I was. It was sweet… but it was also a bit disruptive to both of our schedules.

Having clear boundaries with anyone living in your home is important. I know that when his office door is closed, it means he’s in a meeting and to make sure the dogs (and I) stay out.

He knows that if I’m actively typing to steer clear, because it means that I’m focused and don’t want my concentration broken.

I have friends who use an open-door policy, and some who will take breaks in a “neutral” part of the house where it’s safe to chat about non-urgent matters.

Make sure that kids understand this, too. Explain what constitutes as an emergency, and which parent to talk to if they need something.

9. When In Doubt, Find a Coworking Space

Sometimes you may love remote work, but working from home just is not a fit.

This may be the case when your office chooses to have exclusively remote work, or your office is far enough away that it’s hard to go in, but working from home is distracting or unpleasant.

If this is the case, it is okay to throw in the towel and look into a coworking space. You can find some with established private offices, and some that just allow you to show up, find an empty cubicle or desk and get to work. They range in price, but they’re available all over the world. A new environment might even inspire you with new ideas, whether it’s from an ad you see, a poster on the wall, or cool color combos from the interiors of the coworking space.

Final Thoughts

Working from home can be wonderful. It can also be immensely difficult without the right tools, strategies, and boundaries in place.

The work from home tips listed above will make remote work more enjoyable and productive, allowing you to truly get the most out of this exceptional perk.

What do you think? How do you feel about working from home? How do you keep remote work productive and enjoyable? Let us know in the comments below!

The post 9 Work From Home Tips We All Need for 2024 appeared first on Snappa Blog.

Considering starting a YouTube channel?

You should!

Whether you want to create a brand around a YouTube channel or create a YouTube channel centered around an existing brand, we think it’s a great idea.

YouTube is an outstanding and invaluable marketing platform, and it’s the second-most-used search engine on the market today, second only to Google. It also allows you to create long-form content in a place where users are actively looking for it, which is a huge advantage.

Whether you want to showcase product demos, educate potential clients, or even just share client testimonials, a YouTube channel is the perfect place.

So, in this post, we’re going to make the process easy by sharing how to start a YouTube channel. We’re going to go over the planning stage, the setup process, and some tips for content ideation and creation.

Let’s get started!

The Planning Stage Before Starting a YouTube Channel

It’s important to have some ideas in mind before you start posting to YouTube. Take your time during the planning stage. This process will help you choose the best ideas for your brand, which will give your channel its best chance at success.

Choose What Content You’ll Create

Before you start on the YouTube side of things, take some time to choose what kind of content you’ll create for your channel.

We know you’ll be creating and posting video content. But what will your videos be about? How long will they be? Will you plan to post standard YouTube videos, YouTube Shorts, or both?

Brainstorm some ideas and topics, either on your own or with your team, for inspiration. These answers will be unique, depending on your industry and the audience you serve.

For example, if you’re in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry, here are some of the content types you might include in your YouTube channel:

• Product education videos that teach them how to use your software
• Detailed product updates, especially if you’re rolling out upgrades and new features
• Q&As with experts in your industry
• How-to tutorials that teach users at all levels not only how to operate your software, but how to use other software that’s relevant to their brand, product, or service
• “What is” answers that educate your audience, particularly about related and peripheral industry topics

See What’s Already Out There

Before you start creating YouTube video content, you’ll need to get a feel for what’s already out there. Who’s posting in your industry? What are they talking about? How are they helping their audiences?

Do a little market research before you go full-force with posting your own content. It’s important to understand who and what you’re competing against. You don’t want to be too similar to other creators. On the other hand, you do want your target audience, who might already be following some of your competition, to be able to find your content easily.

Market research is an important step in this process because it will either help to validate your idea or help you course-correct. You might also spot gaps in the current market and decide to fill those yourself.

Think About What Your Branding & USP Will Be

Finally, you’ll want to put some thought into what your branding and unique selling proposition (USP) will be. Don’t skip this step before you start your YouTube channel.

If you already have a brand, you likely have a brand voice and visual branding. If not, this is a great time to develop one and decide on the look and feel of your content. Your branding details will inform the content you create, so it’s important to have that information in place before you get started.

Here are some important questions you should be asking yourself as you build or refine your brand:

• Do you have a logo?
• Have you decided what colors you plan to use on all your marketing materials?
• Do you already know your brand voice–in other words, the tone and cadence of your marketing content?
• Is your brand a personal brand, or is it more of a corporate brand?
• What objectives are you trying to achieve with your brand and your content?

It’s also important to make sure you understand the USP of your channel before you start posting. What can you offer that’s unique? How will you stand out from other content creators in your space?

Once you’ve landed on those answers and solidified your brand, it’s time to set up your YouTube channel.

The Creation Stage for Starting a YouTube Channel

Once you’ve got a solid idea of what kinds of content you’ll be creating for YouTube, it’s time to create your channel.

Create Your Channel

Setting up a YouTube channel is quick and simple. From your YouTube homepage, click your user icon in the upper right-hand corner.

A drop-down menu will appear. Select the Create a Channel option.

Next, you’ll see a pop-up menu that prompts you to enter your name and handle. You can also upload your avatar at this stage.

If you’re a personal brand, a headshot works really well. For corporate brands, try a small version of your logo that’s optimized for use as an avatar.

If you don’t have a headshot or logo, you can create one using a tool like Snappa. Just make sure the image is clear, easily recognizable, and aligned with your brand.

When you’re ready, you can click Create Channel to continue.

Now, YouTube will show you your channel’s dashboard. From here, you can start to optimize it for your brand.

Write a Strong Channel Description

To optimize your YouTube channel, you’ll need to start with a strong description that tells viewers exactly what to expect from you. Click the Customize Channel button in the upper right corner of your screen.

You’ll be taken to the YouTube Studio dashboard. This is the page where you manage your channel and its contents.

Navigate to the Basic Info tab to add your channel description.

From here, you can type in your description. Be sure to incorporate SEO keywords into your description to optimize it further. That way, people who are searching for content like yours will be able to find you.

Optimizing Your Channel

Now, head over to the Branding tab in YouTube Studio.

Under the Branding tab, you’ll see options for uploading your user picture, or avatar, and a YouTube banner image. If you want, you also have the option to add a watermark to your videos.

Want to know how to optimize your avatar? You’ll want a square image that’s 800 pixels wide by 800 pixels tall. We’ve created a tutorial to help you create the perfect YouTube avatar size here.

For your YouTube banner image, you’ll need your graphic to be 2560 pixels wide by 1440 pixels tall. Read more here.

Be sure both images align with your brand and represent it well for your audience. You can build both quickly and easily in Snappa.

Once you’ve uploaded your avatar and banner, YouTube Studio will show you a preview of both.

It’s also easy to create your thumbnails and end screens in Snappa once you start creating videos.

The Content Creation Stage of Starting a YouTube Channel

Now that you have your YouTube channel set up, it’s time to create and publish your content. Here are some best practices to follow as you get started.

Conduct Keyword/Topic Research

Take the idea list you created during the planning stage and use it to conduct keyword and topic research. Use YouTube’s built-in search engine to get an idea of what people are searching for and publishing.

You can also try using a YouTube SEO tool such as TubeBuddy to dive deeper into keyword optimization. Check the search ranking of any given YouTube video in combination with a specific keyword with a tool like YTRank.

Divide Your Content into Playlists

Once you’ve started building a library of YouTube content, you can divide it into playlists. Sort your videos by topic so your viewers can easily find what they’re looking for.

When a viewer selects a playlist, the videos will automatically play in sequence, making it super easy to view a series.

Upload Consistently

As with any marketing platform, you’ll want to make sure you post your YouTube videos consistently.

Your posting schedule will teach your viewers what to expect from you. Decide on a publishing rhythm you can sustain long-term so you can meet their expectations as you grow your audience.

Final Thoughts

YouTube can bring a large number of users to the table for your brand. You can use it for brand discovery, product education, and really build a reputation for your business. And by following these simple practices, you can have a YouTube channel up and running in no time.

Ready to get started creating your YouTube channel? Use Snappa to create your profile images!

The post How to Start a YouTube Channel with Strong Visuals (2024 Update) appeared first on Snappa Blog.