Remember good old chronological news feeds? Back in the early days of Facebook, circa 2006 or so, posts were shown pretty much in order of recency when you opened up the social media platform.

Now… well, things are a lot more complicated. Meet: The Facebook algorithm.

The Facebook algorithm, the ranking system that uses machine learning to arrange content in users’ feeds, has evolved since the days of Facebook walls and ‘poking’ your friends. It makes sense — the social networking giant didn’t grow to an eye-watering 3 billion users without figuring out how to show people exactly what they want in their Facebook news feeds (or just "feeds" as Facebook calls them now). 

There have been hundreds of Facebook algorithm changes over the years (and will doubtless be hundreds more) to get this process just right.

The Facebook algorithm is the lifeblood of the original social network. It's what makes the platform so more-ish — so it's no surprise that it’s developed an almost mythical status for brands and creators. Is there a secret to getting your content seen by as many people as possible? 

The bad news: There isn’t one (that would make for a pretty confusing Facebook experience as a user, after all). This is why it's important for creators and marketers to get to grips with the signals that govern the algorithm and learn to leverage them in their Facebook marketing efforts.

In this article, I’ll unpack everything we know about how the Facebook algorithm works, plus offer some guidance on getting your content the reach it deserves. 

How the Facebook algorithm works in 2023

The Facebook news feed algorithm was created so that the Meta-owned platform shows users more interesting, relevant content and keep them scrolling on the platform longer. The algorithm values what users value.

“Facebook's goal is to make sure that you see posts from the people, interests, and ideas that you find valuable, whether that content comes from people you're already connected to or from those you may not yet know,” the company says.

To that end, there are three different types of content that will make it into users’ feeds:

1. Connected content — content from the people they're friends with or are following, Groups they've joined, and Pages they've liked.
2. Recommended content — content Facebook thinks they'll be interested in from Pages and people they don’t already follow.
3. Ads — controlled by targeting, rather than 'the' algorithm.

Given this post is about the Facebook algorithm and not Facebook ads, I’ll unpack the first two here.

How the Facebook algorithm ranks ‘connected content’

If a user is your ‘friend’ or likes your Facebook Page or profile, your content may show up in their Home feed as part of the connected content system.

Here’s how Facebook evaluates and ranks your content:

1. Taking inventory

In the first part of this process, the algorithm takes stock. It looks at all the content that could show up in a user’s feed: content shared by their friends, the Pages they follow, and the groups they have joined.

Right from the get-go, content that violates Facebook’s Community Standards is excluded (more on this below).

2. Looking at signals

The second thing the algorithm does is look at ranking factors called ‘signals’ to determine how relevant a piece of content will be to the user. There are thousands of possible signals Facebook considers, but here are some examples: 

• When it was posted
• Who posted it
• How much the user interacts with the poster
• What kind of content it is (e.g., link, photo, or video)
• How the user interacts with similar posts
• The user’s current time 
• How fast their internet connection is

3. Making predictions

Each of those thousands of signals is then used to make “personalized predictions about which content you'll find most relevant and valuable.”

In other words, the algorithm observes users’ past behavior and predicts how likely they are to take specific actions on this new content. “Our systems predict how likely you are to comment on a post, how likely it is that your friends will comment on the post if you share it, or how likely the post is to spark a conversation or back-and-forth discussion,” Facebook says. 

For example, if you run a brand Facebook Page that they follow and visit often, and they regularly share your posts, Facebook knows they’re a fan. They probably want to see more of your content in their feed.

A less obvious example: If a user likes shopping in the afternoons and reacts to more branded posts during that time, Facebook will use that as an indicator to surface more branded posts during that time.

4. Scoring the content

After all that, the algorithm gives a ‘relevance score’ to each piece of content. The higher the content score, the higher in the feed it will surface. 

At this point, the algorithm also makes sure to mix up the content so the user’s feed doesn’t get too monotonous — for example, they won’t include consecutive posts from the same creator or several videos one after each other. 

Once all the connected content has been logged, analyzed, and ranked the algorithm then starts to throw recommended content into the mix.

Recommended content

Facebook’s recommended content system offers an important opportunity for brands and creators — it’s a chance to draw in new fans and followers without any ad spend! 

Provided your content is public, it’s a chance for your Page, group, or event to be discovered by members of your target audience who don’t already follow you. 

Much like Facebook feeds, no two users will get the same recommendations. “Our goal is to make recommendations that are relevant and valuable to each person who sees them,” Facebook says. “We work towards our goal by personalizing recommendations, which means making unique recommendations for each person.”

While there is no clear guidance on exactly what ensures your content will be recommended in non-followers feeds, it’s probably safe to assume Facebook uses similar signals to the ones above.

Still, there is plenty of guidance on what disqualifies content from featuring as recommended. It makes sense that, given that Facebook is recommending this content to its users, they apply some pretty strict filters to it to make sure it’s not upsetting or offensive. 

To increase your chances of getting your content recommended to new users, it’s worth familiarizing yourself with — and sticking to — their rules. 

First, the content has to meet Facebook’s Community Standards. There is a pretty exhaustive list in Facebook’s Transparency Center (which is a must-read for all marketers and creators), but here are some examples of content that violates these standards (and will be removed):

• Violence
• Crime
• Suicide or self-injury
• Child exploitation, abuse, or nudity
• Bullying or harassment
• Spam
• Inauthentic behaviour
• Misinformation

Still, if your content doesn’t overtly violate one of these rules, that doesn’t mean it's eligible for recommendation. This is where Facebook’s Recommendations Guidelines come in.

“Our Recommendations Guidelines are designed to maintain a higher standard than our Community Standards,” Facebook says. “Therefore, not all content allowed on our platform will be eligible for recommendation.”

Five categories of content are technically allowed on Facebook, but may not be eligible for recommendations:

1. Content that impedes their ability to foster a safe community (e.g., content that discusses self-harm, suicide, or eating disorders; is sexually explicit; or promotes regulated products) 
2. Sensitive or low-quality content about health or finance (e.g., content that promotes cosmetic procedures; exaggerated health claims, such as "miracle cures"; or misleading or deceptive business models, such as payday loans or "risk-free" investments).
3. Content that users generally dislike (e.g., clickbait, engagement bait, contests, or giveaways).
4. Content associated with low-quality publishing (e.g., news content that does not include transparent information about authorship).
5. False or misleading content (e.g., fake news — claims that have been found to be false by independent fact-checkers, like vaccine-related misinformation that has been widely debunked by leading global health organizations.)

9 best practices for creating successful Facebook content

There’s no surefire way to ‘beat’ the Facebook algorithm, but there are plenty of things you can do to increase your chances of success on the platform. Here’s our list of best practices for generating reach and engagement on Facebook.

1. Share accurate, authentic content that drives engagement

As is the case with all social platforms, producing high-quality content that resonates with your audience should always be your first social media marketing goal.

The more this is true, the more likely your content is to generate engagement — which is the strongest signal to the algorithm that users want to see more of it. 

There’s no cheat sheet for creating content that resonates with your target audience — every audience is different, after all — but let the metrics guide you here. When posts fall flat, try to get to the root of why by analyzing the info available in Facebook Insights. 

Facebook Page Insights are now housed in your Page Dashboard, which can be found by clicking on your profile photo in the top right.

From your dashboard, you'll find a high-level overview of your content performance. Click on See more insights on the top right for more.

To go deeper still, click the Go to Meta Business Suite button.

This will take you to a page like the one below, where you'll also get a look at your Instagram content analytics if you have a connected profile.

To go directly to Meta Business Suite Insights, click on your profile photo from the Facebook home page, then hit the Meta Business Suite button.

When it comes to content that resonates, Facebook has offered guidance of its own on this front. Users value accurate, authentic content, Facebook says. “So we work hard to understand what type of posts people consider genuine, so we can rank them higher in the feed. And we work to understand what kinds of stories people find misleading, sensational, and spammy, to make sure people see those less.”

Here’s their guidance for creating content that hits the mark.

• Clear headlines: “Pages should avoid headlines that withhold information required to understand what the content of the article is and headlines that exaggerate or sensationalize the article to create misleading expectations.”
• Spam: “Pages should not deliberately try to manipulate the feed to get more distribution than they normally would.”
• Accurate information: “We know there is misinformation on Facebook, and we take this very seriously. False information is harmful to our community, it makes the world less informed, and it erodes trust.”

2. Cultivate authentic engagement

Have I mentioned how much the Facebook algorithm loves engagement? Well, sharing top-notch content that resonates with your audiences isn’t the only way to generate engagement. In fact, it’s just a piece of the puzzle.

Whether you’re an influencer, creator, or brand, fostering meaningful connections with your followers will help you build a relationship and trust. That means replying to messages and reacting to and leaving thoughtful responses to their comments. These actions should be baked into your marketing strategy.

This approach will create a ripple effect: the more deeply connected your followers feel to your brand (business or personal), the more likely they are to like, comment on, or share your new content. 

3. Experiment with different types of content 

Text-based posts, photos, GIFs, carousels, videos, live videos — mixing up content times will help you find what achieves the best results with your audience. 

Yes, that means leaning into Facebook Reels, too. While video content might feel intimidating, don’t feel as though you have to create a documentary-quality video for it to get results on the platform — Facebook loves original video content. Plus, Facebook videos have a bit of an edge on the platform as they have a separate feed for users (right next to ‘Home’ in the app) consisting almost entirely of recommended content. Here’s our everything-and-the-kitchen-sink guide to Facebook Reels to get you started.

Another bonus point in short-form video content’s favor: it can be cross-posted to Instagram Reels or even repurposed for YouTube Shorts and TikTok. 

4. Post user-generated content and mention people in your posts

When people tag you in posts, take notice: this is a perfect opportunity for sharing their content as UGC (or user-generated content) — with their permission of, course. 

Another pro tip: Take your reviews on review sites like TrustPilot or Yelp and turn them into quick Facebook posts. Tagging the person who left the review will boost post engagement and probably get you at least one new follower (if the reviewer wasn't following you to begin with).

5. Publish posts that create meaningful conversations

Yes, we’re back on the engagement train again (this time, going in a slightly different direction): Facebook likes authentic accounts that contribute to their community and create meaningful interactions. 

Facebook’s goal is to “bring people closer together and build relationships,” so posting overly promotional content that doesn't get comments or shares won't help your ranking. Interacting with other accounts also boosts your authenticity, so join other people's conversations when relevant.

6. Aim to get on people’s ‘Favorite’ lists

In 2021, Facebook added a new feature that allows users to take more control of their feeds through the Favorite list. Users can now place 30 friends and Pages they follow on their Favorite list so they see content from those friends and Pages first.

Pages and profiles can be added to Favorites by clicking on the Follow button on the Page or profile, then choosing 'Favorites'.

Sticking to the basics in steps 1 and 2 makes it far more likely a follower will add you to their lists.

7. Don't use clickbait and engagement bait

Facebook regularly updates its algorithm to pinpoint posts that are effectively clickbait and spammy links. Clickbait is content that is exaggerated, over-sensationalized, and borderline spam. It promises a result but doesn't deliver (e.g., headlines like “The one fruit you need to stay young”). 

Engagement bait, on the other hand, uses captions or photos that contain phrases like, “Like this if you like dogs better, share this if you like cats better.”

8. Don’t share fake news

Fake news has been rampant on Facebook, so they've been doubling down on looking for signals that indicate misinformation or misdirection since 2018. 

Posting fake news for whatever purpose — creating urgency, fostering fear, etc. — is against their Community Standards, and repeated offenses can get you banned from the platform.

9. Don’t violate Facebook’s Community Standards

We’ve talked about this, but it bears repeating. Facebook takes its Community Standards very seriously. The algorithm is pretty good at weeding out posts that violate these rules, but even if a post manages to skirt under the radar, Facebook users can report it and have it taken down anyway. 

If your posts get removed or reported repeatedly, the overall “score” of your profile will also go down, which will lessen the visibility of your posts. In some cases, Facebook can also remove you from the platform entirely.

Don’t try to game the Facebook algorithm — work with it

There you have it: there’s no shortcut to Facebook success. Yes, it’s a long game. But high-quality, engagement-driving content that doesn’t violate any guidelines is the best way to play it. You’ll be watching those follower numbers climb in no time. 

Imagine forming a group chat with your audience. Like-minded people with a common interest share their struggles, others respond with helpful solutions, and everyone feels like they belong.

A Facebook Group is exactly that — building a community of your followers and bringing them together. It’s a direct line to your audience without worrying about algorithms or organic reach. 

In this article, we’ll cover Facebook Groups from A to Z — how to create, manage, and use them to drum up engagement.

Are Facebook Groups the same as Facebook Pages? (No.)

Facebook Pages are a one-way conversation, while Facebook Groups are a group chat.

• In the former, you post marketing or business updates, and your audience can like the content, interact with it via comments, or share it on their own profile.
• In the latter, anyone in the community can post, and anyone in the Group can respond. (If your Facebook Group is public, people who haven’t joined your community can also interact with posts.)

Ideally, you should have both — a Facebook Page to keep your audience in the loop with business updates and a Facebook Group to build an intimate community of your followers or customers.

But if you are just starting out, begin with Facebook Pages. You can cross-post content from other social media profiles onto your Facebook Page easily, and it's a relatively low lift compared to running a full-fledged community via a Facebook Group.

3 signs you will benefit from creating a Facebook Group

Community management is no easy feat. If you create a Facebook Group, it’ll require significant time and energy from your team to make, run, and maintain it. But the payoff can be worth it when Facebook Groups are managed right.

Here are three signs your business will benefit from a Facebook Group:

1. Your audience hangs out on Facebook. Men between the ages of 25 and 34 comprise Facebook's largest audience, followed by men aged 18 and 24. Ask your audience if they spend time on Facebook and if they’d like to join your community on the platform. If the answer is no, consider hosting your community on another platform.

Remember: Just because your target customers don’t often use Facebook doesn’t mean they won’t be interested in having a community there. More than 1.8 billion people use Facebook Groups every month, and more than half of those people are a part of five or more active Groups, according to a study by NYU’s The Governance Lab. Your community might use Facebook simply to be a part of these Facebook Groups, like this Reddit user.

2. Your followers or customers would benefit from having a community. The success of a Facebook Group relies on its members. Think about what’s in it for them. Would your audience benefit from joining a community with a shared passion? For example, if you’re a vegan food creator, your audience would find it helpful to have a community where people share recipes. 

But people don’t always need concrete solutions to join a community. They often also look for a sense of belonging and getting to know people with a niche, shared interest. For example, in The Write Life Facebook Group, writers ask technical questions about writing, sure. But often, people share their unique experiences in hopes that other writers relate with them, too.

3. Your business goals will benefit from having a community. Communities are built to serve the people in it, but it should also align with your business goals. Even if you have the world’s greatest Facebook Group, it won’t be sustainable if it doesn’t contribute to overarching business goals.

For example, if you aim to create more user-generated content, having a community can help you fulfill that because members will often share their experiences of using your product. Or, if you need fast feedback to improve your product, your community’s perspective can be helpful.

If you’re convinced that creating a Facebook Group is the right choice for your brand, let’s get into exactly how you can start building it.

How to create a Facebook Group in 3 steps

Creating a Facebook Group is easy-peasy. Here are step-by-step instructions:

Step 1: Log in to your Facebook account and click on “Groups” on the left-hand column

As soon as you log in to your Facebook account, you’ll see the “Groups” option on the top left side.

If you don’t have a Facebook account, sign up for one. Facebook profiles are a prerequisite to creating and joining a Facebook Group.

You can also follow the same step to create a new group from your Facebook Page. When you do so, your page will be your Facebook Group’s admin by default.

⚠️ Note: If you link your Facebook Group to your Facebook Page later, modify your settings to accept Facebook Pages as members of your Group.

Step 2: Select “Create new group”

Once you tap “Groups” in the first step, a Group Feed page will appear. Here, Facebook will show all the groups you’ve joined and the posts from it. The left side will show the Groups you manage and are a part of.

To create a new Facebook Group, tap “Create new group” on the left side.

Step 3: Give your Facebook Group a name and choose your privacy settings

Once you click “Create new group,” you’ll be asked to give your Facebook community a name and decide on your Group’s privacy settings.

What group name should you give your Facebook Group?

• If you’re a small business, you can keep it simple and name it “[Brand Name] Community” like Gymshark Community.
• If you’re a creator, you can either form a Facebook Group under your name or call it something along your community’s shared interest, like Dyson Airwrap Community.

What privacy settings should you choose for your Facebook Group?

• Choose “Public” if you want anyone to be able to discover your Group, see members’ posts, and interact with them.
• Choose “Private” and “Visible” if you want your Facebook Group to be discoverable in search but don’t want anyone to see what your members are saying unless they join the group.
• Choose “Private” and “Hidden” if you want members’ posts and your Facebook Group to remain hidden. No one can see your Facebook Group via searching (unless they’re already a member) and can join it only by invitation.

⚠️ Note: You can’t make your Facebook Group public if you initially made it private. If you’re on the fence, create a public Facebook Group that you can turn into a private group later.

I’d recommend keeping your Facebook Group private and visible because people often join groups to get access to an exclusive stream of content and like-minded members. Don’t keep your Group “Hidden” if you want more and more of your audience to join the group.

Although keeping your group private and hidden is suitable if you plan on discussing sensitive topics and want your Facebook community to feel like a safe space for your members.

You also avoid spam by creating a private group since you can vet membership requests and set Group Rules (more on that in the next section).

And voila! You’ve created a Facebook Group. Next, let’s learn how to use the features on Facebook to avoid spammers and make your Group more inviting.

How to manage your Facebook Group using these 5 features

Creating a Facebook Group is the easy bit. Maintaining it can be challenging. Luckily, Facebook has five features to help you evaluate potential members and be more vigilant of spammers.

1: Screen potential members through a questionnaire to avoid spammers

Facebook allows you to ask people up to three questions when they request to join your group. These questions can act as a filter to weed out spammers and people who aren’t genuinely interested in joining your community.

To set up a questionnaire, follow these two steps:

Step 1: Go to your Facebook Group’s “Manage” tab and tap “Membership Questions.”

Step 2: Create your questions. There are options to create multiple choice questions, questions requiring a written answer, or questions requiring potential members to choose one correct answer.

Your questionnaire is now live!

Once set up, potential members must answer all three questions to submit their request. You can choose whether or not to approve someone’s request based on their response.

What questions should your questionnaire contain?

Include questions that help you understand why someone wants to join your Facebook Group. If you’re a brand, you can also include questions about your product to screen spammers.

For example, Bubble Tea Club is a Facebook Group that asks for a member’s favorite bubble tea. This is an easy way to ensure people requesting to join their Facebook Group are already aware of their product.

⚡ Pro-tip: I’d also recommend turning on “Group rules” in membership questions. You’ll find the option to toggle it on under the “Membership questions” section itself.

Why? This way, those who want to join your Facebook Group not only read the rules of getting an entry, they also agree to oblige them before submitting their membership request. If a spammer posts inappropriate content in the future, you can reference their agreement to the Group Rules as grounds for terminating them.

Michelle Tresemer, a Marketing Strategist at Foundations First Marketing, said Women in Marketing is one of her favorite Facebook Groups because toxic members are promptly removed.

“The topics are relevant; the community is incredibly helpful and kind, and the toxic members leave quickly.”

What if you want to pre-approve some incoming members?

Let’s say your customers or influencer partners are eager to join your Facebook Group. Or this is your second Facebook Group, and members from the first one are also eager to join the new one. You wouldn’t want these people to waste their time answering membership questions. How do you get them to skip the queue?

Go to “Group Settings” under the “Manage” tab. In the “Manage membership” section, you’ll see an option of “Who’s approved to join.”

When you click on it, you’ll get the option to pre-approve membership requests from people who are already in your other Facebook Groups or upload a file of the email addresses (connected to Facebook) you’d like to pre-approve.

⚠️ Note: People with pre-approved email addresses must request a membership in your Facebook Group within 90 days to skip the questions. After 90 days, they’ll either have to answer the membership questions, or you’ll have to re-upload an updated list containing their emails.

In the “Admin Assist” tab, you can also auto-approve membership requests based on certain criteria. Suppose you're a local New York Group and want to approve requests of anyone in the city automatically. In that case, you can set a location criteria to auto-approve requests from people living in NYC.

While you’re at it, ensure only group admins and moderators can approve membership requests (instead of any member of the Group) in the “Manage memberships” tab.

Membership questions are the gold standard to avoid spammers and inauthentic people. Only let people in who will be serious about contributing to your community alongside deriving benefits from it.

2: Add group admins and moderators to monitor Group activity

You can only do so much alone. As your Facebook Group grows, you’ll need more hands on deck to monitor for spam and conflict.

Facebook Groups allow you to add admins and moderators to help you manage your Facebook Group.

Here’s how to add admins and moderators to your Facebook Group in three steps:

Step 1: Invite the potential admins and moderators to join your Facebook Group. Someone outside the Group can’t be an admin or moderator.

Step 2. On your Facebook page, click on “Members.”

Step 3. Scroll down to find your potential admin or moderator. Click on the three dots next to their name. You’ll find the option to invite them as admin or moderator.

Once they accept your invite, they’ll be granted access to their admin or moderator powers.

What is the difference between an admin and a moderator?

An admin has full access to your Facebook Group. They can do everything you can, including removing other admins from your Facebook Group.

A moderator can do everything except remove members, change your Group’s cover photo, or alter someone else’s admin or moderator status.

If you’re interested in a detailed breakdown of what an admin can do vs. what a moderator can do, Facebook has shared this helpful chart:

Having admins and moderators helps you outsource the responsibility of managing your Facebook Group to some extent. For example, one admin can be in charge of managing membership requests, and another moderator can be accountable for reporting spam content.

3: Create rules for your Facebook Group to encourage desirable behavior 

Rules lay the groundwork for helping your audience understand what kind of behavior you encourage and condone. Facebook lets you add up to ten rules with a heading and brief written explanation. You can add them in your “About” section as a group description, too, but it’s better to utilize the specific Rules feature provided by Meta.

Here’s how to set up rules for your Facebook Group in three steps:

Step 1. Go to the “Manage” tab of your Facebook Group and click on “Group rules.”

Step 2. Click on “Get started” and start writing your rules.

What should your Group rules be?

Your Group rules should be a mix of basic guidelines — like being kind, avoiding offensive language, and respecting other members’ privacy. But you can also take it a step further and incorporate specific rules like only keeping conversations around a specific topic.

For example, Saie’s Facebook Group, Clean Beauty Crew, has a clear rule to keep all conversations focused on clean makeup.

Enforce these rules during membership questions and during an onboarding message to remind potential and new members of their content. You (or other admins) can also resurface them every now and then through a post on your Facebook Group.

These Group rules are an armor against spammers and inauthentic people. They are guidelines for how to behave in your community and can be fair grounds for removing someone from the Group upon violation.

4: Set up moderation alerts for sensitive keywords to stay proactive

Facebook has a functionality to set up moderation alerts for certain keywords and engagement. You will receive a notification whenever a group member triggers the alert.

This feature can be beneficial for being on top of sensitive posts and managing spam when you’re a one-person team (or even a large team with thousands of members).

Here’s how to set up moderation alerts on your Facebook Group in two steps:

Step 1. Go to the “Manage” tab and click “Moderation alerts.”

Step 2. Click “Edit alerts” and add sensitive keywords or engagement criteria. For example, you can set up alerts to get notified every time:

• someone mentions “COVID” in your Facebook Group’s post
• a post gets 200+ reactions within an hour

Once you set up moderation alerts, you’re proactively managing potentially negative posts or spam content. You can also set up moderation alerts for offensive language, posts mentioning competitors, or content using your product name.

If you run a Facebook Group with a global audience or a community with high chances of frequent conflict, you can automate some actions.

For example, let’s say you want to remove a published post automatically if three or more group members have reported against it. In Admin Assist, you’ll find the option to “Manage posts” and set up certain conditions to decline an incoming post, remove a published post, turn off commenting, move a post to review, or decline commenting.

These features can help you control your Group without micromanaging it and stay on top of all potentially harmful or spammy content without reviewing every single post.

However, if you want every post to be run by you (or other admins and moderators), you can do so in “Group settings.” Under “Manage discussions,” you can toggle on “Require post approval” to ensure no post by any member goes live unless an admin or moderator approves it.

Every Facebook Group will have different needs on how much they need to control member content via moderation alerts and Admin Assist.

If your group is small but about a sensitive topic, approving every post before publishing is better. But if your group is large and on a general topic, you only need to set up moderation alerts. You can always modify these settings depending on the activity you’re seeing in the Group.

5: Encourage group members to report spammy content

Your most loyal members can be your best filters. Ask your community for help by encouraging them to report any content that doesn’t belong in the Group. For example, members can report posts that violate the rules, contain offensive language, or stir controversy.

If you have set up conditions in Admin Assist, certain actions will automatically get triggered if enough members report on a post. But even if you don’t set up Admin Assist, Facebook shows member-reported content under the “Manage” tab.

Facebook also proactively flags content according to its Community Guidelines. Review this thoroughly because Meta can accidentally flag well-intended posts too.

In the “Flagged” section, you can see all the posts your community members (or Meta) have reported. You can decide on one of the following actions:

• Remove the post
• Suspend the member
• Turn on post approval for the member
• Remove or ban the member who created the post

Acting on member-reported content can also reinforce positive feelings in your community because they feel safe and heard.

How to foster engagement in your Facebook Group in 5 ways

Having a fence against spammers is only half the battle of managing a Facebook Group. The other aspect is nurturing connections. It’s only when your members feel like they’re part of a vibrant community of like-minded people that they keep coming back for more. Here are five ways to increase engagement in your Facebook Group.

1: Onboard your new members to help them navigate your Facebook Group

What happens after a member joins your Group? Instead of dropping them right into the discussions, onboard them properly using a welcome message and introducing them to other group members in the community.

To set up an automated welcome message to every new member:

• Go to “Group Settings” and tap “New member intro.” 
• Once you click on “Get started,” you can write your welcome message.

This introduction message will go out to every member once their request gets approved and they open the discussions on your Group for the first time.

Canva’s Facebook Group has an automated welcome message for new members. The first part shares what their group is about, and the second part reinforces the Group Rules.

To set up an automated welcome post to introduce new members:

Go to “Admin Assist” and click on “Add” next to “Publish a welcome post.” Now, you can craft your welcome message, add a photo, and choose the frequency of these posts.

Any new members who have joined since the last welcome post will automatically get tagged in this post. You can even automatically tag admins in the first comment of this introductory post so the new members know who the admins are. 

Through welcome messages, new members feel welcome and everyone else in the community gets a chance to meet them.

Onboarding your members can start off your relationship with them on the right foot and make them feel a sense of belonging from the get-go. 

2: Allow for anonymous posting to make members feel more comfortable

If your Facebook Group is about a sensitive topic, consider letting members post anonymously. You would still be able to see their name on the backend, but no one who’s not an admin or moderator of the Group can make out their identity.

You can turn “Anonymous posting” on under “Group Settings.” Facebook also gives you the option to review and approve anonymous posts before they’re published.

Anonymous posts can make members feel more comfortable discussing certain topics because they don’t have to reveal their names. For example, let’s say you’re running a human resources Facebook Group. A member might want to vent about their manager mistreating them in the workplace. But they can’t do so unless they are allowed to protect their identity.

It’s also applicable in some situations where posts generate a lot of engagement. For example, someone might post a job on a Group but prefer not to be bombarded with direct messages. Going anonymous can be helpful for them here.

There’s no harm in turning on anonymous posts to make your members feel more comfortable. You can always toggle on to approve the anonymous posts before they go live.

3: Use Facebook’s interactive features (like polls, live broadcasts, and community chats) to engage your audience

Meta has launched a lot of features exclusive to Facebook Groups to nurture community relationships. Here are ten things you can do on Facebook Groups to make interactions more fun with your audience:

1. Polls. From Instagram Stories to Facebook Groups, Meta has launched polls everywhere. You can ask multiple choice questions to your audience using the poll feature within your Facebook Group. It’s great for understanding where the majority lies, running quizzes, and gathering community opinions.

For example, the Tasty Community on Facebook ran a poll to ask parents what’s the most important thing for them while preparing an afternoon snack for their kids.

2. Live Broadcasts. You can go live on your Facebook group just as you can do a live broadcast on Instagram Live video. The difference is even members can go live on Facebook Groups. You can require approval before a member goes live or turn it off for members entirely. 

A live stream on your Facebook Group can be an intimate way to connect with your community members and deepen the connection you’ve built. During a Live Broadcast, you can share your screen to run a presentation or even connect to an external streaming software. In your Live dashboard, you can ask questions, run polls, get insights into how many people are watching, and let members communicate via comments.

3. Live Rooms. An extension to Live Broadcasts, Live Rooms are like a video group chat. All members can create a Live Room and either invite all members or choose to invite only specific people from the Group. But you always have to post about creating a Live Room in the Facebook Group to keep other members in the loop.

Live Rooms are a great way to partner with influencers, encourage members to interact with each other, or discuss a specific topic as a community.

4. Community chats. Facebook has recently launched community chats in over 140 countries. It’s a hybrid of messenger and Facebook Group for members to communicate in real-time about a specific sub-topic. Maybe some members met via the Group and have become friends and would like a separate group chat within the Group.

Facebook might release admin-only chats for admins to communicate and view-only chats like Instagram Broadcast channels in the future. In the “Manage” tab, you’ll find the option to “Add features” and “Community chats” will be housed under it. You can choose whether or not members can create community chats independently.

Community chats are perfect for specific sub-conversations in your Facebook Group. For example, Clean Beauty Crew has several community chats (displayed on the left menu) that its members can join depending on their interests.

5. Guides and Files. Information in your Facebook Group is unorganized and any member has to stitch various things they’ve read to learn something new. To make this a smoother experience, you can create Guides to organize info neatly into various sub-topics. It's like a mini-course inside your Facebook Group.

These guides can contain Facebook post(s) and quizzes. You can also share external files within these guides. Members can track their progress by clicking on “Done” once they’ve read through a guide. For example, Instant Pot Community has six guides on how to get the best out of its products.

6. Badges. Badges can help you recognize admins and moderators. But Facebook has elevated this feature to help you distribute other badges — like Conversation starter, Highly rated, Visual storyteller, and more. You can select which badges make the most sense for you and allow members to earn badges. This can encourage members to stay motivated to interact more and strengthen their sense of belonging to your Facebook Group.

7. Events. Facebook Group allows you to schedule online and offline events within the community. Several members can come together to attend an event. You can share all the details of what, when, where, who. Members can accept or decline these invitations. For example, Gymshark marketed an upcoming event on its Facebook Group.

8. Games. If relevant, you can allow members to play Facebook games together within your Group. There are features to let members play directly, share that they’re looking for players, and share game links. These features are under “Add features” in the “Manage” tab of your Facebook Group.

9. Group announcements. Group announcements are the new pinned posts in Facebook Groups. Use them to highlight important information, share company updates, and occasionally reiterate Group rules. You (or other admins) can share something on your Facebook Group and mark it as an announcement by clicking the three dots.

10. Respond to audience posts and comments. An underrated way to communicate with your audience is to simply respond to their comments and interact with their posts. All of Facebook’s fancy features are top-notch for elevating the Group experience, but nothing is more empowering for members than admins and moderators communicating with them directly. For example, Clean Beauty Crew responds to comments from its members as often as possible.

Also, encourage your members to step in wherever they feel they can. Talita Moraes, CMO at Tarotoo, said the feedback and support from ClickFunnels’ Facebook Group is why he loves the community:

“Just last month, I posted a query about optimizing a landing page. I got helpful tips within hours, and a fellow member even shared a video tutorial they'd made. This group has an authentic camaraderie that's rare to find. Their real-time feedback and genuine support have helped to refine our marketing strategies.”

4: Share exclusive content regularly on your Facebook Group to incentivize members

People join groups for the camaraderie of meeting like-minded people who share a passion. But when it comes to small businesses and creators, people also expect exclusive content that the brand isn’t publishing anywhere else.

Posting member-only content for Facebook should be a key part of your Facebook marketing efforts because it helps you incentivize more and more people to join the Group. If you can’t post exclusive content, you can make your Facebook Group the first place where new content drops.

Using Buffer, you can make your Facebook Group’s content calendar and schedule posts in advance. Buffer has a visual calendar that’ll allow you to spread out various exclusive content pieces for the month and monitor their performance.

⚡ Remember: Posting regularly on your Facebook Group is important to increase your Group’s engagement. The Group can run a well-oiled machine without your intervention, but to help your business goals, posting on Facebook Groups is critical. And if people join your brand’s Facebook Group, they sign up to hear more from you. And thus, they expect you to show up.

5: Use Facebook Group insights to understand how you can improve

Meta gives you insight on your Facebook Group’s growth, engagement, admin performance, audience demographics, and guides completed. These Facebook insights are invaluable numbers to help guide your strategy and improve your Group’s performance.

For example, you can find where most of your members are from using audience insights and double down your marketing efforts to that area. Or you might find the kind of posts that perform well and create more posts like that for the next month.

Your Facebook Group is a group chat with your community

Facebook Groups are the group chat equivalent of communicating with your audience. While many other marketing channels like emails, blogs, and posts are a one-way street, Facebook Groups open that to two-way communication with your audience.

This also means you can take the pressure off and be more authentic with your Facebook Group community — like you would in a group chat with your friends. It’s a way to humanize your brand and let people peek behind the curtain.

The only thing that’s non-negotiable is showing up regularly to communicate with your audience. But don’t leave it to chance. Use Buffer to schedule posts in advance for your Facebook Group. Sign up for free today.

Quick: which social network is bringing in the most traffic to your website right now?

It’s OK if you don’t know off the top of your head. (I don’t memorize that sort of stuff either!) But wouldn’t it be great if you could pull up the answer in just a few seconds whenever your boss asks you this?

What about revenue broken down by social network? What about the percentage of traffic generated by social versus email?

You can track it all, and you can track it for free: all you need are an analytics tool (like Google Analytics, Hotjar, or Mixpanel) and UTM codes.

Here’s everything you need to know about the magic of UTM codes and how I use them in my own digital marketing work.

A simple overview of UTM codes

Here's a lightweight beginner's guide to the world of UTM tracking links.

What are UTM codes?

UTM stands for “Urchin tracking module.” Google acquired Urchin Software Corporation in 2005, and their software laid the groundwork for what we now know as Google Analytics.

UTM codes are snippets of text you can add to the end of a URL that tell Google Analytics (and other analytics tools) a little bit more information about each link.

Here’s a sample of what one looks like:

Why are UTMs important?

As a social media manager, content creator, or small business owner, you’re likely sharing scores of links across several social channels as part of your digital marketing efforts every month.

Yes, Google Analytics, Mixpanel, and the like can give you a general, high-level idea of your top traffic sources. But what about when you want to get specific?

UTM links help you track the performance of each of those links so you can see exactly where your traffic is coming from.

You can use the UTM parameters — the short tags within the UTM link, which we'll discuss below — to track big-picture info, like how much traffic you’re getting from certain social media platforms.

You can use them to track the details, too, like how much revenue you get from an ad campaign, the competing performance of a new call to action (CTA), or how much traction you get from a creator you’ve worked with as part of an influencer marketing campaign.

There are many, many ways to track clicks with UTM links. The key to accurately analyzing your social media marketing efforts with UTM codes is consistency. 

If you create a template for your tracking parameters and stick to it, you’ll save yourself a lot of time (and headaches!) in the future.

I’m about to share an approach to UTM tagging that has been especially helpful for me when it comes to measuring the success of my links. I hope it will be for you, too!

But before we jump into that, let’s quickly set our expectations for what a well-tagged URL can accomplish for you.

3 essential questions UTM tracking can answer

When all UTM’ed up, a link should be able to help you answer some basic questions about your website traffic:

1. Where is the traffic coming from?
2. How is it getting to me?
3. Why is it coming to me?

Essentially, UTM tracking codes tell the story of how your traffic is coming to you.

This works by using several elements called UTM parameters, which we’ll cover in detail below. The essential ones are:

• Source
• Medium
• Campaign

That’s why a UTM-tagged URL looks like this:

https://buffer.com/email-courses/actionable-social-media-strategies/?utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=post-original&utm_content=-image&utm_campaign=25-social-media-strategies

See all those “utm_” bits? That’s where we’re labeling the traffic that comes from this link.

Of course, typing that long string of characters is pretty scary, so most people use UTM generators. These nifty tools let you plug in the values for each of those parameters, and then the tools do the magic of stringing them together into a nice URL. Some popular generators include:

• Buffer's free UTM Builder
• Google’s URL Builder
• UTM.io’s Chrome extension
• The Buffer in-app link shortener

The UTM parameters, in turn, tell Google Analytics (or whatever tool you use) how to sort your incoming website traffic. If you’re tracking your links across social media (and across the rest of your digital content), you’ll be able to really drill down on which content is performing best and where.

It’s worth noting that there are several optional tags you can use in your UTM tracking, along with source, medium, and campaign:

• Campaign term (to help you track paid search keywords if you’re running search ads)
• Campaign content (for multiple links to the same landing page — good for things like A/B testing two different banners)
• New tags with Google Analytics 4 (GA4): utm_id: (for a specific campaign, which is necessary in GA4 for importing some data from Google Ads.) and utm_source_platform: (to pinpoint the platform directing traffic to a given Analytics property).

It’s worth getting to grips with the three required UTM tags before you start to use these additional parameters. The good news, though, is that once you have the hang of source, medium, and campaign, adding in the others will be a breeze.

Let’s look at how to use UTM codes and parameters in your social media links.

How to use UTM codes and parameters in your social media links

With UTM codes, we’re trying to help Google Analytics and other tools tell us the story of how our social media traffic is getting to us. We’re trying to answer three questions:

1. Where’s the traffic coming from?
2. How is it coming to me?
3. Why is it coming to me?

The good news? Choosing your UTM parameters is as simple as answering those questions for every link you publish. Let’s look at how that works together.

1. How to use the ‘source’ UTM parameter in social media

You can use the name of the social platform you’re sharing the link to (e.g., LinkedIn, Facebook) as the source UTM tag.

The source parameter is about answering the question: “Where is my traffic coming from?”

By adding the parameter &utm_source= to your links, you’re tagging every visit that comes from that link in a way that says, “This visit came from X.”

So, your source UTM parameter will simply state where the traffic is coming from.

Now, I say “simply,” but there are many ways to do this. For example, if you were tweeting to your followers about a great blog post you just wrote, you could answer the question “Where is the traffic going to come from?” a few ways.

• It’s coming from you, the sharer.
• It’s coming from X (Twitter), where it’s being shared.
• It’s coming from your followers, the ones reading it.

There are all kinds of ways you could think about this.

But Google recommends using the “source” field to describe the “referrer” or the entity sending the traffic your way. In this example, a good source tag would be simply “LinkedIn.” There are a few good reasons for this:

• You will eventually want to track ALL of your traffic from LinkedIn in one place
• In the case of social media links, this makes even more sense. If someone shares or reposts your links, the traffic isn’t really coming from you anymore — but it’s still coming from the same social media platform.

In social media, I’ve found the most straightforward approach is to use the social platform you’re sharing the link to as the source UTM tag. When I share a link to Facebook, it is tagged with “&utm_source=facebook”.

2. How to use the ‘medium’ UTM parameter in social media

Consider setting “social” as your medium tag for all links shared on social media.

This parameter is all about answering the question: “How is my traffic coming to me?”

By adding the parameter &utm_medium= to your links, you’re tagging every visit that comes from that link in a way that says, “This visit came via Y.”

This is a little less straightforward than the source tag we looked at because, for every way to describe where the traffic is coming from, there are probably ten ways to explain how it’s getting to you.

That’s why it can be helpful to establish some UTM conventions up front. If you give yourself a general list of options for the medium tag, then this part of the link-tracking process can be a lot easier.

Google suggests using a general name of the marketing medium for this parameter on their Campaign URL Builder, like “cpc”, “banner”, or “email”.

That helps keep things straightforward. For tagging UTM codes on social media, a straightforward approach is to always use “social” as your medium. You don’t have to do this, but I’ve found it makes it very easy to sort the traffic in my high-level marketing channels — especially if I’m taking Google’s advice on this when I’m tagging other links.

Just FYI, here are some other medium tags you might consider for non-social links:

• “Email” for email marketing campaigns or email newsletters
• “Blog” for your content marketing resources
• Blog-guest (for when you’re guest posting on an influencer’s blog)
• Blog-syndicated (for when you’re sharing your articles with syndication sites)

3. How to use the ‘campaign’ UTM parameter in social media

Now for the last of the questions: “Why is the traffic coming to you?”

This is what the campaign UTM parameter is all about. By adding the parameter &utm_campaign= to your links, you’re tagging every visit that comes from that link in a way that says, “This traffic is coming from This.”

There are so many ways to use this tag. The beauty is that if you’re consistent with the naming conventions for your source and medium UTM parameters, you have a lot of flexibility when it comes to tracking campaigns.

Here are a few ways to think of using the campaign parameter:

• Use it for special promotions. Doing a new product launch? Try “launch-[Product Name]” as your campaign name.
• Use it for personas. If a post is crafted especially for one buyer persona, consider tagging that link accordingly. For example, you could try “manager-mandy” or “practitioner-pam” as your campaign values.
• Use it for business objectives. Is that blog post you’re tweeting about going to generate leads, sales, or thought leadership? You might try using campaign values like “contact,” “complete,” or “lead.”

Important things to remember when creating UTM links

UTM links are case-sensitive, so if you’re inconsistent in your naming conventions, you will get inaccurate data about your link performance. For example, using both ‘instagram’ and ‘Instagram’ as your source in one campaign will mean your metrics are off. 

To be safe, stick to lowercase letters across the board — things can get messy very quickly if you throw variables like capital letters into the mix.

On that note, steer clear of symbols, too. Adding extra ‘?’ and ‘&’s, in particular, might break your UTM links.  

Another thing worth noting: your audience can see your tracking links in their browser when your page loads. Don’t use any words in your tracking parameters you’d rather they didn’t see. 

Case Study: Using UTM parameters to tell the story of Star Wars

Remember the end of Star Wars, when Luke Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance race to blow up the Death Star before the evil Galactic Empire destroys the rebel base?

What if we told that story… with UTM tags?

Luke Skywalker is flying to the Death Star. Let’s assume Luke represents web traffic coming from a tagged link. We’ll make Deathstar.is the target URL the rebels are sending “traffic” to.

The source of that traffic? That would be the Rebel Base. If we were to express that in UTM terms, we’d have…

So we know that the Death Star is where Luke Skywalker (the traffic) is flying to, and we know the source of that traffic (Rebel Base). Now… how’s Luke getting there? In his trusty X-wing fighter, that’s how!

Now, what if we added that to our UTM story? It would look a little something like this:

So we know that Luke Skywalker (the traffic) is flying to the Death Star (the destination URL). He’s flying from the rebel base (the source) in his trusty X-wing fighter (the medium).

But why? Why is that traffic coming to the Death Star in the first place?

Because the Rebels want to save their base and later save the galaxy from the likes of Darth Vader.

So, if we were to sum up this story in UTM tags, we would need a campaign tag to tie this all together. We’ll choose “stop-darth-vader” for this one. 

So, here’s the story of Star Wars in UTM-tagged URL form:

• Destination URL = where the traffic’s going (the Death Star)
• Source UTM tag = where the traffic’s coming from (the rebel base)
• Medium UTM tag = how the traffic’s getting there (X-wing fighters)
• Campaign UTM tag = why the traffic’s going there (to stop Darth Vader)

Happy UTM tracking

Let’s do a super-quick recap of what we’ve covered:

• The source UTM tag = the referrer (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.)
• The medium UTM tag = how the traffic gets to you (for most social media links, this will just be “social”)
• The campaign UTM tag = why the traffic is coming to you (launch, persona, promotion, etc.)

I hope you’ve found this article (and my very well-thought-out Star Wars case study) helpful!

Instagram Live is your direct line to your audience. There’s no interference from the Instagram algorithm, the whole process is interactive, and you move to the top of everyone’s Instagram Stories. Your engaged followers might even get a push notification (if they have them turned on) that you’ve started an Instagram Live.

They’re the perfect addition to your social media marketing strategy.

The problem? There are no retakes. If you don’t make the live broadcast engaging and fruitful, you risk losing your audience’s attention and trust.

But worry no more: In this article, I’ll break down how you can go live on Instagram, use the live stream’s most underrated features, and share pro tips to shoo away the heebie-jeebies of real-time video communication.

How to go live on Instagram in 2 steps

Going live on Instagram is the easiest bit. Here’s how you start your live broadcast on Instagram:

Step 1: Select the “+” icon on your Instagram profile or Story

You’ll find the “+” icon on your Instagram profile and your Instagram Story. You can go live using any method.

In your profile, once you click the “+” icon, you’ll see the option to go live. You might notice that the “+” icon is at the bottom of the screen (at the center) and at the top right of the screen. You can click on any to find the “Live” button.

If you want to go live using your Instagram Stories, click “Your Story” at the top left corner of your screen and select “Live.”

Step 2: Start your live video

Once you land in the live stream window on Instagram, starting your live video is as simple as clicking the ‘go live’ button. Here, you can also give a title to your live stream, schedule it for later, or go in private mode for practice (more on that later).

And voila! You’re now live on Instagram.

I told you starting a live broadcast was simple, didn’t I?

⚡Remember: Put your phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode before starting your Instagram Live. Your live stream will prematurely end if you receive the push notification of a phone call. 

8 Instagram Live video features to refine your live stream

Starting an Instagram Live is simple. But it’s not enough to simply start a live video. Instagram has many features for improving audience engagement too.

1: Use the ‘practice mode’ to clear your throat before every live broadcast

When you’re in step two of going live on Instagram, you’ll see an “audience option” on the left side of your screen. If you click it, you get two options: public and private.

• Public is when all of your Instagram followers can see you’re live.
• Practice is when only you can see your live and no one in your audience will be notified.

Use the Private feature to shake out your nerves and practice speaking on camera. You can also:

• Ask anyone to join your live if you’re planning to collaborate with another creator on Instagram Live
• Send a direct message (DM) to anyone to join the live broadcast and offer feedback

Daniel Willmott, Founder at Shortformvideo.co, says conducting a dry run should be a non-negotiable step to take before every live broadcast: 

“I recommend going over your content, checking your equipment, and familiarizing yourself with all the features and tools you can use on Instagram Live. It might be a small step, but it can have a huge impact on the quality and professionalism of your live broadcasts.”

2: Answer your audience’s questions using Instagram Stories’ question sticker

If you use the question stickers on Instagram Stories to let your audience ask questions, you can answer them on Instagram Live. There’s a question feature at the bottom of the screen when you’re live. Click on it to see a question from your audience pop up. To see other questions, simply tap on the question sticker.

Your audience can also see the sticker you’ve chosen to understand which question you’re answering.

The question sticker is one of the easiest ways to tempt your audience to view your Instagram Live and keep your live broadcast structured.

• You get an opportunity to hype up your live stream in advance when you encourage questions via Instagram Stories.
• Your audience is excited to join because they’ll get their questions answered.
• You don’t have to worry about outlining a story in advance — you can answer audience questions on your feet (or handpick the ones you’d like to answer in advance if you like to be prepared).

Using the question stickers on your Instagram Live is a win-win scenario.

3: Send your Instagram Live stream to your broadcast channel

If you’ve made a broadcast channel on Instagram, use the share button to send your live stream on the channel so people can join.

Not every follower will get a notification about your live video. Some might’ve also missed your advance notice on Instagram Stories or other posts. But everyone checks their DMs and gets a notification for every unread message. Sending your live stream to your broadcast channel is the easiest way to encourage your audience to tune in.

Don’t have a broadcast channel? No worries. You can use the share button to also DM anyone in your audience who you’ve interacted with in the past. Keep a quick “Hey there! I’m going live on Instagram right now — talking about ABC topics. Thought you’d like to join!” template copied on your phone to send messages at scale quickly.

If you have places in other communities like Telegram, YouTube, WhatsApp, or any other platform — you also get the option to “copy link” when you click the “share” button. Copy the link and share it wherever you’d like.

If possible though, it’s best to ask a moderator to share the live video (especially for other platforms) for you so you can focus on communicating with the already present audience.

4: Add a guest or start a Live Room to collaborate with other creators via Instagram Live

Previously, you could collaborate with only one other creator on your Instagram Live video. With Live Rooms, Instagram has increased that limit. Now, up to four people can go live together. If you begin a live stream, you can add three other creators. If you aren’t the one starting the live broadcast, you’ll get a notification from someone inviting you to join their live video.

Going live with other creators or small business owners is a great way to easily increase your Instagram reach and tap into a larger audience than you would’ve alone. It’s also excellent for panel discussions, interviewing your brand ambassadors, and other creative use cases.

5: Restrict your Instagram Live to a tightly-knit community

There are two ways to share your live video with only certain followers on your Instagram profile:

• Go live in “private” mode and share your live link via direct messages with your audience
• Handpick people you’d like to hide your live stream from by going into your settings

If you have many Instagram followers, it makes sense to make a mini-broadcast channel and only share your live with the sub-community (instead of manually hiding everyone else). However, if you’d like to hide your live video only from a handful of people (say competitors), then you can use the “hide live from” feature. You can also hide your Instagram Live video from people who don’t follow you.

Note: Your Instagram Live will be hidden by default for people who don’t have access to view your Instagram Stories.

6: Allow your audience to add comments and badges to interact with you

Instagram Live video allows your audience to interact with you via emojis and posting comments. In some countries, you can even earn through your live stream via Badges. Someone who purchases a badge will be prioritized in the comments of your live stream and possess a standout heart emoji.

Comments, emojis, and badges are an excellent way to interact with your audience, hear their opinions, and keep them engaged. For instance, you could say, “Shoot me a heart if you’ve ever faced [problem your audience faces” to spark a reaction and hook your followers.

Instagram Live video also allows you to pin your favorite comments so they appear at the top. If you’re sharing info you’d like everyone joining to know, you can comment yourself and pin your comment. If not, continue pinning your audiences’ comments for greater engagement.

Unfortunately, trolls are present everywhere — including your Instagram Live. Go to your settings to access comment controls and automatically block comments from certain people and hide comments containing offensive words.

7: Add moderators to your Instagram Live video to avoid trolls and offensive comments

Sometimes hiding offensive words and blocking trolls isn’t enough. Instagram lets you assign moderators for your live broadcast to report specific comments, remove someone from your live video, and hide all comments from someone.

To assign a moderator, click on the three dots next to “add comments” at the bottom of your screen. Click on “Add moderator” and type in the name of the person you’d like to add.

⚠️ Remember: You only see the list of people tuned in to your live video. Your moderator must’ve joined your Instagram Live to receive your request.

8: Add images and videos to make your Instagram Live broadcast more engaging

You can share photos and videos from your camera roll on your Instagram Live videos. You simply have to tap on the gallery icon and select a photo or video you want to display (keep them handy before your live video starts!).

Your audience can’t see your camera roll. The photo or video you choose to share appears in full screen on their mobile phones. If you wish to change this, tap on the photo or video to ensure you get displayed on the full screen. 

What should you use Instagram Live broadcast for: 8 use cases of live video to inspire you

All these features are well and good, but how do you understand what exactly you should use your Instagram Live broadcast for? According to Instagram’s @creators profile, there are several options:

Annie-Mai Hodge, the founder of Girl Power Marketing, emphasizes not using Instagram Live as a direct sales channel: 

“You need to be using it [Instagram Live] as a way to build and nurture connections with your audience, and as a way to humanize your brand. If you’re only going Live to talk about your boring product, to sell a course, or whatever it is — you’re not going to find any real success because no one cares about your brand more than you. You can sell subtly without being so in your audience’s face.” 

Here are eight other ways creators and small business owners have used Instagram Live to inspire you to whip up something similar of your own! 👇

1: Doing a Q&A session with your audience

The first one is the most straightforward — use the Instagram Stories’ question sticker to collate audience questions on a topic and answer them during your live video — like a live Q&A session.

For example, Shreya Pattar runs many Instagram Live videos on several topics. She did a mega Q&A in one live broadcast where she answered any and all questions her audience asked about freelancing.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Shreya Pattar • Freelancing & Sales (@shreyapattar)

You can run a similar Q&A session. It can be an all out ask-me-anything or related to only a certain topic. For instance, if you run a skincare company, you can do an Instagram Live broadcast about:

• Q&A on your company story
• Q&A on your various products
• Q&A on your product formulation 
• Q&A on how you run your business
• Q&A on how to take care of your skin

The options are endless. Consider what your audience wants to know and arrange a Q&A live video accordingly. You can also take audience questions via comments, but I’d advice you to use Instagram Stories because:

• Answering using question stickers is more organized and lets you focus on one thing instead of finding good questions in comments
• Asking your audience to ask questions and answering them later builds excitement around your upcoming live broadcast
• Comments can get lost when they come rolling as a stream
• Collating questions in advance makes you more prepared

2: Collaborate with an influencer or brand ambassador

If you’re doing influencer marketing for your business or have brand ambassadors, you can collaborate with them using Instagram Live. Your audience can get to know the influencer or brand ambassador in a fun and authentic way.

For example, haircare brand Paul Mitchell invited Paula Peralta on an Instagram Live broadcast to talk about all things hair texture.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Paul Mitchell | Luxury haircare range (@paulmitchelluk)

Instagram even lets you mark a live video with a paid partnership label to ensure you meet FTC guidelines. Ask your influencers to click on “Details” and they’ll find the option to add brand partners.

But you don’t need to necessarily partner with an influencer. If you’re a creator, you can also partner with other creators. For example, Jasmine Williams went live with another freelancer — Julia Rose — to answer questions about freelancing and learn more about Julia’s journey.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jasmine | your creative freelance big sis 🫶🏾 (@jasminewilliamsmedia)

Partnering with other creators, influencers, or small business owners is an excellent way to boost your reach and spruce up your Instagram Live. Along with other collaborative partners, you can:

• Show how influencers or brand ambassadors are using your product
• Run a Q&A with your influencers, brand ambassadors, or other creators
• Take your audience behind-the-scenes on a day in the life of another creator
• Share a story of the influencer or creator that can inspire or educate your audience
• Invite someone with topical expertise (adjacent to your niche) and share information on that topic
• Run a panel discussion with three other creators on a specific topic and moderate the conversation

Get creative in your collaborations! Think about what your audience would find the most fun and/or useful and steer your partnering efforts in that direction.

3: Teach your audience something (adjacent to your product)

Instagram Live is A+ to teach your audience something new. Use live video to share product tutorials or educate your followers on a topic they’d be interested in.

You Need A Budget (YNAB) does this regularly through their Instagram Live broadcasts. They show up to teach their audience how to use YNAB in the best way possible and the top money rules they live by.

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A post shared by YNAB (@youneedabudget)

You can use live video for something similar in your niche. Your audience likely follows you because you’re an expert at something. Teach a niche area of your expertise using Instagram Live. For instance, if you sell healthy food products, go live to teach your audience a new recipe using your products. The topic should be adjacent to your expertise and what you sell to be valuable to your audience and business.

If you like, hit two birds with one stone and collaborate with another expert(s) on a topic to teach your audience something together.

4: Take your followers on a behind-the-scenes journey

Nothing beats real-time video when it comes to building an authentic connection with your audience. Use your Instagram Live to let your audience peek behind the curtain and see a more real, unedited aspect of your life.

Interior design brand, Schumacher, does Instagram Live regularly with its design collaborators. In a live video with Drusus Tabor, for instance, Schumacher’s Style Director discussed his new collection in detail — asking insightful questions about Drusus Tabor’s behind-the-scenes journey.

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A post shared by Schumacher (@schumacher1889)

The live video does a great job of sharing enlightening conversations with its collaborators and promoting their new collections.

You can tailor your behind-the-scenes in a similar way to build a deeper bond with your followers. For example, If you’re an Instagram coach, you can share your favorite Instagram tools. As a small business owner on Instagram, you can show your audience what a typical day in your life looks like via discussing your Google Calendar.

Think: What can you share to build a stronger connection with your audience and make them feel closer to you?

5: Launch a new product (or do product unboxing)

Planning to launch a new product? Why not show it on Instagram Live first? It can help build excitement around the launch and nudge pre-orders (if applicable). If you’re a micro-influencer, you can do the same thing via product unboxing videos.

For example, the Stationery company, Happy Planner, previewed their three new planners on Instagram Live broadcast two days before the actual launch.

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A post shared by Happy Planner® (@the_happy_planner)

Seeing the products in real-time video also lets buyers know what they’re buying and get a deeper insight into your products in your own words.

Ensure you use this Instagram Live to share all the features, benefits, and use cases of your new launch. If it’s an unboxing video, share first impressions on each product.

6: Show an actual event

How about you use Instagram Live to showcase an actual event you’re hosting or participating in? For example, Victoria Beckham shared its fashion show for the Spring Summer 2024 collection live on Instagram.

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A post shared by Victoria Beckham (@victoriabeckham)

You can also ask influencer partners you’ve invited to a company event to share an Instagram Live video. Or, if you’re going to an offline event as a creator or business owner, take your audience with you via Instagram Live.

Sharing an offline event with your online audience bridges the gap between both. This is especially relevant if you have a global following and want everyone to stay connected, whether or not they can be physically present.

7: Share a story

You have tons of stories your audience would want to know. For example, any follower would love to know how you began your business or your journey as a creator. Instagram Live streams are a great way to share these stories with your audience.

Wondering what you should share? Scour through your Instagram Stories’ Q&A, DMs, and comments to find the most commonly asked question — something long enough to have its own story. For instance, if you’re a health creator and many people ask you how you lost weight and became healthier, the story of your dietary and movement changes can be its own Instagram Live.

And you don’t have to do it alone: Become a place for other relevant creators to share their own story. For example, Yellow Chair Collective invited Sam and Aussie to provide tips and advice to their audience through their own stories.

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A post shared by Yellow Chair Collective (@yellowchaircollective)

You can always make these stories more interactive and engaging by sharing pictures and videos on your Instagram Live (like a presentation) and answering follow-up questions your audience leaves in the comments.

8: Start a series

Start an episodic series of Instagram Live videos where you show up regularly in real-time and share information on a topic. This can be an individual series — where you show up alone — or an interview series — where you bring in a new expert every time to talk through their experience.

Instagram’s own creator account has a couple of episodic Instagram Live series like Reels Star Search and Disconnect to Reconnect.

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A post shared by Instagram’s @Creators (@creators)

In both series, a creator joins an Instagram employee to share their tips and advice on a specific topic. Having a recurrent series makes your audience take notice and encourages you to show up regularly for an Instagram Live.

And if you deliver on quality and value, you’ll encourage your followers to wait for your next Instagram Live episode. The best part? Having an overarching episodic theme takes the pressure off you to continually develop new ideas for your Instagram Live broadcast.

8 pro tips to level up your Instagram Live game

How do you take your Instagram Live from meh 🤷to magnetic 🤩? Here are eight tips to increase the viewership and engagement of your Instagram live videos:

1: Hype the live broadcast in advance

The easiest way to increase your number of viewers is to inform your audience when exactly you will be live, discussing what, and with whom (if relevant) in advance.

Informing your audience of your live stream in advance has multiple benefits:

• It nudges you to have a solid agenda for your Instagram Live video
• It creates excitement around your live video — increasing viewership
• It ensures your audience doesn’t miss a live stream they would’ve been interested in

How exactly can you bubble excitement around your Instagram Live broadcast? The Instagram app has many features to encourage marketing your live stream.

My favorite is the countdown sticker in Instagram Stories. Your audience can tap on the sticker to add a reminder to join your live stream and share it in their Stories. Katswalk Co hosts an Instagram live on Mondays and Thursdays and uses the countdown sticker to remind her followers to join her live stream.

You can also deliver these reminders through your Instagram feed posts. When you create a post using the “+” icon, select “posts” and click “add reminder” — you can give the reminder a name and add the start time. Your audience can click on the “remind me” button to get reminded of the event (see the example of pilatesology’s post to show what it appears like). Optionally, you can also add an end time to tell your audience how long the event will be.

Apart from the reminder posts, it’s also advisable to sprinkle various feed posts, Instagram Stories, and Reels around your Instagram Live over a period of time. For example, look at how Carly A. Riordan did a feed post about her upcoming live with Ashley Brooke Chambers.

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A post shared by Carly A. Riordan (@carly)

These posts can aid in building enthusiasm around your Instagram Live broadcast and keep the event top-of-mind. But you don’t want to post about it every day in every form of post — it’ll likely annoy your audience. Take around a month’s window and post about your upcoming Instagram Live every other day via different forms of Instagram posts.

And you don’t have to manually remember everything in your head: “Hm, I posted an Instagram Feed post about my upcoming live video yesterday, so maybe today I can do an Instagram Story and tomorrow it can be a Reel and the day after I can reshare the feed post on my Story…”

Sounds exhausting. 😩

Instead, use a social media scheduling tool like Buffer to plan these posts in advance and schedule them however you wish.

This way, marketing your Instagram Live doesn’t have to occupy your headspace and the posts around it go out automatically. Yay!

2: Schedule Instagram Live for when your audience is online

Most creators have a following from a particular country or region. Even if you cater to a global audience, there are times when most of your following demographic is online. Ensure you go live when your followers are browsing on Instagram. It’s the easiest way to increase the number of viewers on your Instagram Live.

How do you find out the best time to go Live? Instagram’s insights might have some data for you, but you can also use Buffer’s analytics to understand your best time to post on Instagram.

Your best time to post likely collides with the time when most of your audience is online and browsing. Try going live at the time and day Buffer recommends and comparing it to other days to see if you see an increase or decrease in the number of viewers and engagement.

3: Repurpose your live video into various short-form videos

If you’re looking to grow on Instagram, posting more is key. And with Instagram Live videos, you can increase the number of posts without the added burden of creating a new post from scratch every time.

We repurpose content successfully at Buffer and you can do the same using your live sessions.

• Go to your profile and click the three horizontal lines at the top right corner of the screen
• Click on “Archive”
• Tap “Live archive” to see an archive of your live videos

Here, you can share, download, or delete your live video. Download your live sessions and edit them into mini short-form clips. You can share them as Instagram Reels, TikTok videos, or YouTube Shorts. Look at how Brandi Rhodes shares a feed post about a question she answered in her Instagram Live.

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A post shared by Brandi Rhodes (@thebrandirhodes)

Repurposing allows for a lot of breathing room to be innovative. For example, Korin Nolan cut her live video into bite-sized pieces and shared it as an Instagram Carousel post (while marketing her upcoming Instagram Live!).

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A post shared by Korin Nolan | PILATES (@korinnolanpilates)

💡 Related: 11 Ideas for Your Instagram Reels in 2023

You can share your Instagram Live video as is to let your audience who couldn’t show up watch the whole thing, but I’d lean toward editing your Instagram Live videos instead of uploading them as-is. Why?

• Your Instagram Live video might have used stickers (like questions), which won’t show up on your Instagram Live video post
• Your live video might contain fluff (especially for the introduction in the beginning) that isn’t useful or gripping to stop someone’s scroll
• Your live broadcast isn’t as polished as an edited video — it’s not even time-stamped on Instagram. Edited videos can have a niche focus, a hook, and some filmmaking editing magic 

4: Offer an incentive for your audience to show up

Along with hyping up your Instagram Live broadcast via various posts and reminders, you can also take it up a notch and offer a tangible incentive for your audience to show up. For example, The Feedfeed ran an Instagram giveaway of a Blender & Food Processor Attachment that required their audience to show up on their Instagram Live with Tuttorosso Tomatoes.

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A post shared by @thefeedfeed

The incentive doesn’t necessarily have to be your product though. You can offer a secret discount code to those showing up, reveal a secret collaborator, or share a story your audience often asks about (but doesn’t know).

Think: What can you offer in your Instagram Live worth the effort, time, and energy your audience puts into showing up?

5: Measure your analytics and improve from them

Track the performance of your Instagram Live sessions to see how they’re performing and improve based on what the data tells you.

As soon as your live video ends, you can view your live video’s analytics — including accounts reached, peak concurrent viewers, comments, and shares.

• Accounts reached is how many people watched some or all of your Instagram Live video
• Peak concurrent viewers is how many followers were watching your live video at its most engaged time
• Comments are the total number of comments your live video received
• Shares is how many times someone shared your live broadcast in their Stories or with another user via direct messaging

Use these Instagram analytics to guide your live video strategy. For example, if you noticed that your account reached number is significantly higher than your peak concurrent viewers, it might mean that you are able to reach your audience at the right time, but struggle keeping them engaged. In this case, you should focus on retaining your audience until the very end of your live video.

Similarly, if you notice that a particular topic gets a large number of comments and shares, you know your audience is interested in learning more about this subject from you.

Whatever your metrics are, analyze them to identify what they mean and how they can help you improve your next live broadcast.

Jade Beason, a creator and social media consultant, recommends having a desired objective tied to these metrics top-of-mind during your Live video too: 

“Have a clear understanding of how you’re going to measure whether or not your Live was effective. [For example], if you’re going to go Live to get more DMs, then the measurement needs to be DM-related. Then, always make sure when you’re planning your Live, you’re doing specific things to help reach your goal.”

6: Start your Instagram Live video with an engaging hook

The biggest mistake you can make at the beginning of your live sessions is saying, “We’re just waiting for other people to join.” It disengages the audience that has already tuned in and they close your video to move on to the next thing. Elise Darma, a social media educator, agrees: 

“When someone is watching the replay of your live, they won’t want to sit through you waiting for some more people to join. That’s not to say you can’t interact with people who are on live with you! Just keep in mind that people will be watching this video afterward, so for the most part, keep your focus on your content.”

Start your Instagram Live video with an engaging hook — even if you’re waiting for other viewers to join. For example, NuFACE often does Instagram Live and starts them immediately by setting the context for the live, introducing & inviting a guest, and diving right into the topic. No fluff whatsoever.

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A post shared by NuFACE (@mynuface)

Maybe share a story about how your day is going so far. If you’ve joined with another creator, play a fun icebreaker game. Or share a background story about how you got into the topic you will discuss.

Whatever you do, avoid blank silences where you wait for more viewers to enter your live broadcast. It can have counterproductive effects.

⚡ Remember: Always introduce yourself and the topic you’re going to discuss in a couple of lines. Not everyone who joins your live sessions might know or remember who you are, what you do, and how the live video can help them.

7: Use the reaction feature and call-to-action statements to engage your audience

Say call-to-action sentences during your live broadcast to keep your audience engaged. It can be something as simple as, “Have you ever struggled with XYZ topic before? Let me know in the comments section!” or “Shoot me a heart reaction if this resonates with you.”

Engaging with your audience not only keeps the live stream interactive, but also tells the algorithm that this live video is performing well — pushing it to more of your followers.

Agatha Relota Luczo, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Furtuna Skin, says not engaging with the audience is the biggest mistake she witnesses: 

“Most of the time, creators who overlook this aren't doing it because they don't care about their viewers; many are over-prepared or are nervous on camera. But if you ignore your audience, they have less incentive to stick around.”

8: Outline the flow so you stay on track

It’s easy to start rambling when you’re live on video and don’t have an outline in mind — especially if you’re nervous speaking on camera without any retakes or editing. Speaking without direction and structure can disengage and alienate your audience and decrease the number of viewers.

To avoid this, outline the sub-topics you will cover in your Instagram Live and how much time you'll devote to each pointer. You can also take it a step further and jot bullet points underneath every sub-topic about what you’re going to discuss so you don’t forget to mention anything crucial. 

Preparing for your live stream doesn’t mean you read off a script in a dry and dull way. Far from it. Your audience wants you to be off the cuff and authentic. But preparing a little bit ensures you give your audience value for their time.

And you don’t have to note everything you’re going to say word-for-word. Create a loose outline you can follow to stay on track without losing your flow. If you’re worried about being too uptight, Sarah Saffari, founder and CEO of InfluencerNexus, advises sprinkling some spontaneity of your everyday life into your Live video:

“Pros bake a life into their Live videos. Maybe that’s their puppy on their lap. Maybe it’s them talking while they’re doing makeup. Maybe it’s them cooking dinner while chatting with their audience. Experts don’t stay in one corner and speak to the camera without anything ‘interesting’ happening.”

Instagram Live = talking to a friend over coffee

The best way to think about Instagram Live is viewing it as talking to a friend over coffee. Be relaxed and real with your audience, take a deep breath, and you’re ready to go live!

Looking to learn more about building an audience? Read this next: How your small business can grow on Instagram.

The key ingredient for great social media marketing? A great social media marketing strategy.

Venturing into social media marketing without a strategy is like wandering into the unknown without a destination in mind — never mind a map to help you get there. If you don't know the basics: your goals, target audience, the kind of content that will resonate with them, you’ll be directionless. It’ll be impossible to know how your social media marketing efforts are meaningfully contributing to your business, if at all.

In other words: Random acts of content = random results. So whether you want to grow your brand or level up as a marketer, developing a social media marketing strategy is essential. Here’s one way to do it — in five steps.

Social media marketing strategy vs. social media marketing plan

Some social media experts will advocate for a separate social media marketing strategy and social media marketing plan. The idea is that a strategy is where you’re headed, and a plan is how you’ll get there. 

However, at Buffer, we prefer to work with a combination approach — our social media strategy contains much more than just high-level goals (though we do have separate plans for specific marketing campaigns where we get more granular).

Every company and seasoned marketer will have a different methodology. Some may prefer an all-encompassing document like the one I’ll walk you through here. In contrast, others might want to zoom in on specific platforms and develop a Facebook marketing strategy or Instagram marketing strategy.

But the method I’ll be outlining here is my favorite. It’s straightforward but will help you create a comprehensive, actionable document to set you on the road to success in social media.

How to create a social media marketing strategy

The foundation of this approach is these five questions or the 5Ws:

1. Why do you want to be on social media?
2. Who is your target audience?
3. What are you going to share?
4. Where are you going to share?
5. When are you going to share?

Social media marketing strategy template

To help you create your strategy, I’ve pulled all the guidance in this article into a lightweight social media marketing strategy template. 

To use this Notion template, duplicate it in your own Notion space. You could also copy the text, paste it into your documentation tool of choice, and fill it out there. (Don’t worry, we won’t ask for your email or anything!)

Keep this article open as you work through this social media strategy template: all the paragraphs contain important context and guidance to help you make the most out of the template. 

Template at the ready? Let’s get to work. 

5 steps to creating a social media marketing strategy

1. Why does your business want to be on social media?

The very first question to answer is the ‘why.’ Are you on social media to promote your products to new customers? To drive traffic to your website? Or to serve your customers? Your social media goals should tie into your overarching business goals to ensure you see a return on investment (ROI) on your social media presence. 

You’ll likely have more than one social media goal, and that’s fine. Generally, it’s great to focus on just a handful of goals unless you have a team where certain people or groups can be responsible for specific goals.

For example, at Buffer, the marketing team uses social media both to increase our brand awareness and drive traffic to our content. Our Advocacy team uses social media to provide timely customer support.

You’ve likely heard of SMART goals — there’s a reason this old business school chestnut is still a strategy staple. They help you set defined, measurable goals that will deliver a return on investment (ROI).

SMART goals are:

• Specific: What are you trying to achieve on social media? e.g., Increase brand awareness, drive traffic to your website, generate leads, or increase signups/sales.
• Measurable: How will you measure whether or not you have been successful? What metrics will you use? e.g., An X percent increase in followers or subscribers, a Y percent increase in engagement rate, or a Z percent increase in click-through rate.
• Attainable: Are your goals actually achievable? e.g., Growing a new YouTube channel to 5,000 subscribers within a month might not be realistic if you’re new to video. 
• Relevant: Are your goals in line with your high-level business objectives? 
• Time-bound: What is your deadline for achieving your goals? It might make sense to work in quarters or months.

2. Who is your target audience?

Once you have figured out your ‘why,’ it’s time to tackle ‘who’: your target audience.

Understanding the demographics of your target audience will help you refine your social media direction, the types of content you should be sharing, and when you will be sharing it. 

A great exercise to try here is to build marketing personas.There are plenty of ways to do this, but my favorite approach is (again!) to lean on the five Ws, with one H thrown in for good measure. (Also, there are two ‘Whats’ in this list, but who is counting?)

• Who are they? (e.g., job title, age, gender, salary, location, etc.)
• What are they interested in that you can provide? (e.g., entertainment, educational content, case studies, information on new products, etc.)
• What goals and challenges do they have? (Ideally, this will be one your content or company can help them achieve or solve.)
• Where do they usually hang out online? (e.g., TikTok, Instagram, etc., or niche platforms)
• When do they look for the type of content you can provide? (e.g., weekends, during their daily commute, etc.)
• Why do they consume the content? (e.g., to get better at their job, become healthy, stay up to date with something, etc.)
• How do they consume the content? (e.g., read social media posts, watch videos, etc.)

You likely don’t have to start from scratch. If your business has been running for a while, you probably already know your target audience well. 

Pro tip: Connect with your sales team and your customer support, success, or advocacy team at this step. They are on the front lines with customers and potential customers every day and will be able to paint the most precise picture of who your business should be talking to. 

If you want to go the extra mile, you can set up one-on-one calls with current customers that fit your ideal customer profile (ICP) to learn more about them. You can ask them all of the questions above.

3. What are you going to share on social media?

Comprehensive answers to Step 2 above will go a long way in helping you pinpoint exactly what kind of content will most resonate with your audience on social media. 

With all that in mind, it’s time to define your social media content pillars. 

Content pillars

A content pillar is a central theme or topic you want to focus on in your content and become known to your audience on social media — you’ll likely have several of them, and they may differ slightly from platform to platform. Having a handful of pillars is perfectly fine, as it gives you the space to share a range of high-quality content to keep your audience engaged without being seemingly unfocused.

A good understanding of your target audience is essential when pinpointing your content pillars. When you created your marketing personas, you asked what goals or challenges your audience has — much of the content you create should help them achieve or solve those goals. 

Competitor analysis

At this point in your social strategy planning, conducting a competitive analysis is a great idea. Effectively, this involves evaluating the social media platforms of other businesses like yours. What platforms are they using? What are they doing that works? Which content types are most successful? Have they made mistakes you can learn from? Are they leaning into influencer marketing? Answering these questions and more can be immensely helpful as you build out your strategy. 

4. Where are you going to share?

The next step is to determine where you will post content. In other words, which social media platforms does your brand want to be on?

Our guide to the top social media sites to consider for your brand has more than 20 platforms — but fear not — you certainly don’t need to be active on all of them. But how many should you choose?

In this #AskBuffer article, one of our readers asked precisely that: How many social media platforms should a small business be active on? The answer, of course, is: “It depends,” — but deciding which ones to prioritize starts with understanding where you’re most likely to find your target audience. 

Here’s a high-level overview of the demographics of each of the most popular social media sites for social media marketing:

Facebook 

• 56.3 percent men, 43.7 percent women
• Dominant age group: 25 - 34 years

YouTube

• Breakdown by gender: 54.4 percent men, 45.6 percent women
• Dominant age group: 25 - 34-year-olds

Instagram

• 51.8 percent men, 48.2 percent women
• Dominant age group: 18 - 24 years (closely followed by 25 - 34-year-olds)

LinkedIn

• 56.3 percent men, 43.7 percent women 
• Dominant age group: 25 - 34-year-olds

X (formerly Twitter)

• 63 percent men, 37 percent women
• Dominant age group: 25 - 34-year-olds

TikTok

• 50.8 percent women, 49.2 percent men
• Dominant age group: 18 - 24-year-olds

Understanding your target audience will come in handy when deciding where to share. Which platforms is your target audience most active on? What makes them visit that platform? For example, teenagers and young adults might like scrolling through TikTok when bored to see what their friends are doing or what products their favorite creator is using.

Understanding the algorithms of your chosen platforms will help you pinpoint what kind of content to post, along with the best content formats. So, it’s worth revisiting your content pillars once you have nailed down which social channels to focus on. 

Finally, consider smaller, niche platforms, too. For example, Zwift, a multiplayer online cycling training software company, has started a club on Strava, a social network for athletes. Their club has more than 57,000 cyclists, and thousands engage with their posts on Strava.

In recent months, a host of X (Twitter) competitors sprung up in reaction to the changes to the platform. Mastodon and Bluesky are increasingly popular, though they don’t quote boast the monthly active users (MAU) of the biggest social networks just yet. But if that’s where your target audience spends their time, building a following on the platforms is a no-brainer.

5. When are you going to share?

Setting up a content calendar, even if it’s just a high-level overview at this point, is an important stress test for your content strategy. 

Seeing a bird’s eye view of how your plan will look in action will help you uncover any potential pitfalls early. For example, have you overcommitted on the number of social platforms you’ve chosen? Will the content pillars you’ve identified yield enough ideas to maintain momentum?

Social media content calendar

A social media content calendar is crucial for any social media manager — particularly if you’re juggling multiple accounts. It helps formalize the process of creating and publishing content by giving you a structured schedule to work with.

With any luck, all your content pillar planning has sparked many great content ideas that you’re eager to get mapped onto your shiny new calendar. But before you do that, I’d advise getting these essential things noted down first:

• Product/service launches or announcements you have in the coming months. You may want to steer clear of any other major posts on our around these dates so as not to detract from your company’s news. You’ll need to start planning digital marketing campaigns around these launches.
• If you have a content marketing team, any new resources they’ll be putting out — this is an excellent source of social content inspiration and a great way to provide value to your audience.
• Holidays your target audience celebrates. These will significantly impact engagement as people are much less likely to be online if they’re celebrating or relaxing with friends and family. For example, at Buffer, we avoid big announcements or high-value social posts during periods like Thanksgiving.  

Now, you can begin to map out your posting schedule. As you get more granular in planning your content, it’s worth researching the best time(s) to post.

Before deciding which time of the day and days of the week you want to post, consider the behaviors of your target audience.

When do they usually use social media to find the type of content that you’ll share?

Here are some examples to consider:

• Sports fans are likely on social media just before, during, and just after sports events to find and interact with content about the event.
• Athletes might be on Instagram while cooling down after their morning or evening workouts.
• People who love to travel might be more active on social media during the weekends when planning their next trip (or during their work breaks, dreaming about their next trip).
• Mothers of babies might be scrolling through social media when breastfeeding in the middle of the night.

You might have inferred from these few examples that there might not be a universal best time to post — but it depends on your audience. So, for this step, start by focusing on the general behavior patterns of your target audience.

When you have created your social media marketing strategy, you can find your brand’s best time to post through experimentation.

Now it’s time to execute — and analyze

The good news: your social media strategy is ready to be moved into the implementation phase. In other words, it’s time to put all those big plans into action. 

But that doesn’t mean your social media strategy is ‘done.’ It likely never will be. In this next phase, you’ll keep a close eye on those social media analytics you pinpointed in Step 1 as part of your SMART goals. These goals and metrics will be your north star, helping you identify whether or not your social media tactics have been successful — and when you may need to go back to the drawing board.

This is where a social media marketing tool like Buffer will come in handy, particularly if you have multiple platforms to manage.

With Buffer, you’ll have a single dashboard for all your social media analytics and reporting. It’ll give you insights on post engagement, the best time and post frequency for your business, plus more details on your audience demographics.

One final point before we go: your strategy will never really be ‘done.’ You will build on, refine, and iterate on it as you build your social media channels and presence. So, your final step in creating a social media strategy is this: set a reminder to revisit your strategy every quarter — and do just that. 

When I can find the time to do so, I love to plan ahead.

I’ll write out tomorrow’s to-do list. I’ll add ideas to our content calendar. And I’ll schedule the next day’s social media updates—or even the next week’s, if I’m feeling ambitious. Maybe some day I’ll get to the point of scheduling a month or even a year ahead!

Scheduling part of your social media content in advance is well worth it and should be a part of your content strategy.

And I’ll be happy to share with you some social media marketing strategies, tips, and tools that can help you get organized and get ahead with your social media sharing.

5 benefits to mapping out your social media content

Social media content feels quite in-the-moment and real-time when you consider the short lifecycle of updates and the rapid way that information moves across social media platforms Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, and others.

A solid social media schedule leaves room for real-time updates on your social profiles.

Planning content on social media still allows for flexibility to the schedule and provides opportunities to slip in real-time engagement to help grow your social media presence.

The Adobe blog also has some keen insights here as well. They mention five benefits for creating a social media content calendar and planning social content ahead of time.

1. It helps you maintain a consistent cadence.
2. You can map time-sensitive social media campaigns and content ahead of time.
3. You’ll take your social marketing out of a silo.
4. It serves as a system of record.
5. It enforces the “411 Rule.”

Here’s a bit more on each of these benefits.

Consistent cadence. There’s a lot to be said for consistency on social media. In terms of publishing frequency, consistency can help your audience learn when to expect new types of content from you, and keeping a consistent schedule makes sure you maximize engagement without hitting any lulls or stretches without updates on your social media accounts.

Time-sensitive content. Events, holidays, product launches, contests—many of these time-sensitive events can be planned ahead of time and placed on a calendar.

No more silo. When social media happens in real-time, it gets created and published in moments. Planning ahead allows others to become involved in the process, involving a whole team rather than a narrow silo of one or two social media managers from the marketing team.

System of record. Keeping a calendar gives you something to keep track of your content. You can track back on the updates you posted, and you can review your posting cadence and rhythm from one period to the next.

The 411 Rule. This rule refers to a ratio of sharing on social media—4 educational and entertaining posts for every 1 “soft promotion” and every 1 “hard promotion.” I’ll get into some additional ratios next.

The elements of a successful social media content plan

1. The best content rules and ratios for sharing on social media

One of the foundations of a social media content plan is figuring out the ideal ratio for the content that you’ll share. For any given slice of updates—say, your past 10 Instagram posts—what is the balance of content shared from your blog and from the blogs of others? How many product pitches do you make?

Here are some popular ratios that have been tried and tested on social. Feel free to test these and discover a ratio that is right for you, even if it doesn’t follow exactly with these. For instance, with our Buffer shares, we’ve flipped many of these ratios; our social media updates are 90 percent our own content and 10 percent from others.

4-1-1

Popularized by Andrew Davis of Tippingpoint Labs and Joe Pulizzi of Content Marketing Institute, the 4-1-1 looks like this in practice:

• 4 pieces of relevant, original content from others
• 1 retweet for every 1 self-serving update

5-3-2

Introduced by TA McCann from Gist.com, here’s how the 5-3-2 rule breaks down:

• 5 should be content from others
• 3 should be content from you
• 2 should be personal status updates

555+

Via Shai Coggins of Vervely

• 5 updates about you and your content
• 5 updates about others
• 5 responses/replies
• + miscellaneous posts that add value like #FollowFriday or user-generated content

Golden Ratio – 30/60/10

Via Rallyverse:

• 30 percent owned
• 60 percent curated
• 10 percent promotional

Rule of Thirds

• 1/3 of your updates are about you and your content
• 1/3 of your updates are for sharing content from others and surfacing ideas
• 1/3 of your updates are based on personal interactions that build your brand

Bonus method: Thinking about the types of updates you post

The above ratios deal with the content itself. But what about the post type? Buffer’s founder Joel came up with a neat balance of the types of updates that he used in the past to share to Twitter—links, quotes, retweets, images, and plain text updates.

His system works like this:

1. Start with the basic five types of updates we all post: Links, images, quotes, reshares, plain-text updates
2. Choose a “staple” update, a single type that will make up the majority of your shares
3. Create a 4:1 ratio of sharing: for every four “staple” updates, publish one different type for variety

The ideal frequency to post to social media

Once you have the general framework for the content you’ll plan, the next step is to figure out the ideal frequency for your posts. Your schedule figures to be unique based on your target audience. That being said, it's all about having a consistent posting scheduling that is manageable for you to keep up with.

Here’s how often we're posting on Buffer's socials:

• Post to Twitter at least 1x a day, but aim for 2x a day
• Post to Instagram 4-5x per week (with at least one Reels post)
• Post to LinkedIn 3-4 times per week
• Post 1x per week on TikTok
• Post 1-2x per week on Facebook

Plan ahead for events and launches in your social media posting schedule

What events do you have planned for the coming year?

Which launches might you be aiming for? (You’re likely to add a few to this list, too, as the year goes on.)

What type of tentpole content did well for you last year that you might want to reproduce at a similar time this year?

Anything that you think might be penciled in for a future date in the coming year, this info can go on your social media calendar. Doing so lets you develop the content and social media strategy for these big moments ahead of time and to get others involved in the process, too.

Here’re just a few calendar events to consider:

• New product releases
• Conferences
• Annual events & meetups
• Holidays
• Major cultural events – the Super Bowl, the Oscars, etc.
• Recurring content – end-of-year lists, mid-year lists, seasonal strategies, etc.

Decide how much you’ll curate

Another element of the calendar could be your curation. If you like to share the best content from others, you’re likely to want to add some space in your calendar for queueing content from others.

Generally speaking, curation happens in the moment. You share a piece of content from other blogs and websites that has been posted recently. In these cases, you can leave some schedule slots open to fill in with curated content the day of.

There are some cases and instances where it works to share great stuff from a blog’s archives or new-to-you content that you just came across. In fact, this might help break up the short lifecycle of social media content and help us all revisit the content that’s worth a second read.

7 tools for organizing and implementing a social media calendar

With a good plan in place, the next step in your workflow is organizing and implementing. Here are some social media management tools we recommend:

1. Buffer – Simple-to-use, great for scheduling social media posts in advance, and has an AI Assistant for content creation, and provides social media analytics for best times to post
2. Notion - Create a fully customized content calendar template, capture your thoughts, and manage projects in one space
3. Google Sheets – Powerful and scalable way to organize and track content
4. Google calendar – Daily, weekly, and monthly views of a content plan (with color-coded organization options)
5. Basecamp – Project management tool that can be repurposed for social media
6. Trello – Add content to boards and cards, and drag-and-drop to reorder and organize
7. Todoist – To-do list app

Social media content plans—daily, weekly, monthly, yearly templates

A daily social media content plan

Work one day ahead.

• What events and launches are planned for tomorrow?
• How much content do you need to plan and schedule?
• How does your sharing ratio fit with a day’s worth of content?

With a daily social media content plan, you can schedule the bulk of your content the day before, placing promotional posts of your existing content and adding curated content that appeared that day.

If you share six times to Twitter, you can schedule the six posts for tomorrow. If you use the 4-1-1 method for sharing, you make four of your six updates be content from others with a single post each for soft promotion (a blogpost of yours) and hard promotion (a CTA for your product).

A weekly social media content plan

Work one week ahead.

• What events and launches are planned for this week?
• Which new blogposts are scheduled to publish?
• How much new content do you need to find ahead of time?
• Which images could you create in advance?

Choose a day of the week to plan everything out for the following seven days. We like to have everything for the following week planned out by Thursdays so we can get it all scheduled in Buffer.

Planning a week ahead, you can fill in many of the slots in your schedule that will hold posts from your archives—the reshared content that you’ve posted before and evergreen content. New content and curated content can join the schedule as the week progresses.

A monthly social media content plan

Look one month ahead.

• What events and launches are planned for this month?
• What are your goals and plans for content this month?
• Which content can you schedule in advance, and what will you need to reserve space for?
• What experiments might you be running?

One month ahead, you may still be able to fill some of your slots with content from your archives. Beyond that, you’ll likely be charting your strategy instead of hand-writing individual updates.

Your monthly calendar can include your sharing ratio and content types. You can plan your social media experiments and tests. You can look ahead to launches and holidays and plan accordingly.

A yearly social media content plan

Look a full year ahead.

• What events and launches are planned for the year?
• What sharing ratio will you start out with?
• What will be your daily frequency to start?
• Which tentpole content do you hope to publish?

Jot down the major events happening over the next 12 months, integrate the social media plan with a blog editorial calendar, and settle on a sharing ratio that feels best to you. You can always come back throughout the year and change and tweak anything you’d like—when planning a year in advance, it’s hard to tell exactly what will be happening three or six or 12 months from now.

Over to you

What methods have you used for planning your social media content in advance and scheduling posts?

I hope you can take away some useful tips and strategies here. Our social media team is currently experimenting with some week-ahead planning for our social media content, and we’re learning tons along the way! If you’ve got any tips to share or questions to ask, feel free to leave a comment here!

As much as it can seem like a status symbol to be verified, there are also really practical reasons to have a verified Instagram account. 

Verification helps with engagement, can help Instagram users find real sources of news, and can stop impersonation, among other things.

Getting verified adds credibility to any account — so it’s no wonder that so many of us are keen to have that blue check on Instagram. And, with the roll-out of the new Meta Verified subscription, getting that little icon is not only reserved for public figures (as long as you’re happy to pay a monthly fee, of course).

In this post, we’ll cover what verification is, the two ways to get a blue check on the social media platform (with and without paying for Meta Verified), plus some FAQs about the blue tick.

Let’s dive in!

What is Instagram verification?

You’ve almost certainly seen the blue check next to an account’s name on Instagram — that means that the account in question has been verified. 

Before the introduction of Meta Verified, that blue badge meant that Instagram had confirmed that the account was both authentic, and represents a notable brand or influencer, public figure, or celebrity. 

But now Meta Verified offers another route to the verified badge, and Meta, the company that owns Instagram and Facebook, is keen to differentiate between the two:

The difference between Meta Verified and verified badges

While both of these are routes to getting the coveted blue check next to your Instagram handle, Meta seems to be keen to draw a line between the two. Here’s how they explain it in Instagram’s Help Center:

“Verified badges are different from Meta Verified.

Verified badges confirm that a notable account is the authentic presence for that person or brand.

Meta Verified is a paid subscription that confirms that the account is validated and authentic. This subscription comes with a bundle of features and benefits available for both eligible profiles and eligible businesses.”

Reading between the lines of this help article, it looks a lot like Instagram might consider changes to the notable person verified badges in the future:

“As we test and learn, there will be no immediate changes to accounts on Instagram or Facebook that are already verified based on prior requirements.”

What are the benefits of getting a blue check on Instagram?

Verified badges are effectively a signpost for Instagram users that certain accounts are authentic — no bots, fake accounts, meme accounts, or even fan accounts are eligible. “If an account has the verified badge, we've confirmed that it represents who it says it does.”

There are a number of benefits to having a verified account on Instagram. If you are a brand or business, getting verified could be a powerful tool in your social media marketing strategy:

• It adds credibility — this can be key if you’re sharing important research, news, or articles.
• It helps you stand out in search results — verified accounts appear at the top of Instagram search results.
• Verification assists with impersonation issues — Instagram won’t verify more than one instance of a person or brand, so you can trust that the one that is verified is the real account.
• Plus, verified accounts get higher engagement rates. A study of 6.5 million Instagram accounts discovered that accounts that are verified on Instagram get on average 30% more engagement than other accounts (though this study was conducted with the old, notable figure version of the badge).

If you opt to go the Meta Verified subscription route, you can expect some extra benefits, per Instagram:

• Account protection. Get added protection from impersonation with proactive account monitoring.
• Customer support. Access support for subscription and account issues.
• Exclusive features. Get exclusive stickers on Stories and Reels.
• Get featured in the 'Meta Verified' feed. In October 2023, Instagram shared they were testing the ability to view only the content of Meta Verified people in your main feed, per the mock-up below.

How to get verified on Instagram

As previously mentioned, there are now two ways to get a blue tick on your Instagram account. The first we’ll unpack here is the simplest, and you don’t need to be a notable figure to do it — but the social media platform will charge you a monthly fee.

Option 1: Subscribe to Meta Verified

First, you need to make sure you meet the Meta Verified eligibility requirements. To go this route, you’ll need:

• To be at least 18 years old.
• A public or private profile that's associated with your full name and has a profile photo that includes your face.
• To meet minimum activity requirements, such as prior posting history.
• A valid photo ID that matches your profile name and profile picture.
• Two-factor authentication enabled on your profile.
• To follow our Terms of Use and Community Guidelines.

If you’re sure you meet all the requirements, here’s how to sign up for Meta Verified via Instagram:

1. ​​Head over to your Instagram profile by tapping your profile picture on the bottom right of the app.
2. Tap the hamburger menu (the three lines on the top right).
3. Choose ‘Meta Verified’. Read through the explainer, then tap ‘Next’.
4. Choose which Meta accounts you’d like verified.
5. Confirm and pay. From here on out, you’ll be charged the monthly subscription fee unless you cancel. It could take up to 48 hours for your blue tick (and all the benefits) to appear. 

Option 2: Get verified as a public figure

This route to getting Instagram verified may be free, but there are a few more hoops to jump through. Here’s a step-by-step guide to the verification process for notable figures. 

Step 1. Follow standard best practices on Instagram (easy)

To be eligible to be verified on Instagram, you need to do a few pretty standard things:

• You have to follow Instagram's Terms of Use and Community Guidelines
• You have to represent a real person
• You need to represent the unique presence of that person or business (only one account per person/business can be verified)
• And you have to have a complete profile: that means a profile picture, a bio, and a public, active account

Step 2. Prove that you are a notable account (more difficult)

This is where most people run into problems because you have to prove to Instagram that you are notable, which is easier for some than others. Being notable means you represent “represent a well-known, highly searched-for person,” according to Instagram.

Instagram shared a helpful tip: when looking at verification, they look for accounts that have been featured in multiple news sources. Paid and promotional content does not count. They also shared that they recently “expanded our list of news sources to include more diverse outlets including those from additional Black, LGBTQ+, Latinx media, and including more outlets from around the world for example.” Which is great news!

If you haven’t yet been featured in multiple outlets, head down to the next section on tips for getting verified and we will walk you through some advice. If you do have this proof, you can move on to submitting your application.

Step 3. Submit an application to Instagram (easy)

The actual application to be verified isn’t too bad, you do it right from within your own Instagram account. Here’s how to request to be verified on Instagram:

• From your Instagram account, tap on the hamburger menu in the top right corner.
• Tap on Settings and privacy.
• Tap Creator/Business tools and controls in the ‘For professionals’ section. (The button name will depend on whether you have an Instagram Creator account or Business account.)
• Tap Request verification at the bottom of the page. 
• Fill out the form (you’ll be asked for an identification document like a driver’s license or passport, your creator category, and links to various articles and other sites you are featured in). When you’ve filled it all out, hit Submit.

That’s it!

You will be notified from Instagram within 30 days if your application is successful. If you don’t get verified, you can apply again in 30 days. Note that if you apply more than once before they review your original application, they will cancel the application entirely — so it’s worth it to be patient here instead of spoiling your chances of getting that blue check.

Tips for increasing your chances of being verified as a notable figure

Now, of course, if getting verified were easy, almost everyone would do it. But it’s not — so here are some things you can do to increase your chances of being verified.

Grow your following on Instagram

Instagram verifies accounts that are active on the platform, so stay active while working to grow your account. Part of being notable in Instagram’s eyes is how many people are following you on the network, so it’s never a bad thing to keep increasing that number.

We can help with that:

• Check out our complete guide to Instagram growth or dive into Instagram for small businesses. 
• Learn the ins and outs of the Instagram algorithm, figure out the best time to post on Instagram, and lean into tools like hashtags and Instagram’s newest features.
• Stay consistent with your posting schedule and check your analytics to see what kinds of posts are performing best. You can try Buffer for free to set up a consistent posting schedule across Instagram posts, Reels, and Instagram Stories.

Get media mentions

Easier said than done, but entirely possible. You want to start with at least three links for your application, and that’s an achievable goal. You can start reaching out to publications that you believe would be interested in your story or what you’re working on and pitch them your business. If you have the budget, you can also hire a publicist or PR agency to help as part of your marketing strategy.

Be strategic about when you apply

If you don’t have a really strong case for being verified, be strategic about when you send off that request. Is a Reel of yours going viral right now? That’s a great time to apply. Did you just get a ton of press mentions in a week? Go ahead and apply! Timing can be everything, so make sure you are careful and thoughtful about your application.

FAQs about verification on Instagram

How many followers do you need on Instagram to get verified as a public figure?

There isn’t a requirement to have a certain number of followers to get a blue check, however, you have to prove that you are notable, and part of that notability is having people interested in following you.

Instagram will likely take follower count into consideration when they are reviewing your application, which is why we recommend growing your Instagram following before you apply.

How long does it take to get verified on Instagram?

Applying for verification as a public figure takes about 30 days, however, you can be approved and verified much sooner than that. It depends on the team that is reviewing those applications, so it varies a lot.

Getting Meta Verified happens much faster. Once you’ve made your first monthly payment, you can expect to see your blue check — and all the other benefits — on your profile within 48 hours. 

Do you have to pay to get verified on Instagram?

If you’re not a public figure who can apply for free verification via the steps we’ve outlined above, then yes — a Meta Verified subscription is the simplest way to get your verification badge.

Be warned, though: There are plenty of scams and websites that promise to get you verified for a fee. Steer clear of these — the only way to get verified is via Instagram or Facebook. 

How much does a Meta Verified subscription cost?

Getting verified on Instagram will cost $14.99 per month (slightly more if you opt for bundling your Facebook page or profile into your subscription). Note that the cost may vary depending on your region.

If you’re after your public figure verification badge on Instagram, the best approach is to work your way up gradually. Over time, you can grow your following and prove your notability, which will significantly help the success rate of your application. If you’re off to apply for that verification right now — good luck to you!

When you’re running a marketing strategy for a small business, you need to master a laundry list of skills, including creating content, managing an advertising budget, and designing engaging graphics.

But marketing best practices are constantly evolving — like the growing demand for email personalization or the rise of video content. TikTok, especially, is changing the way we market products, becoming the top-visited domain in 2021. To stay on top of it all, you need the occasional skill boost.

Luckily, you don’t need to spend a fortune to get a world-class education in digital marketing best practices. We compiled a list of the best (free) marketing courses on email, social media, SEO, paid search, analytics, and graphic design. They’re even broken out by skill, so you can become a marketing wiz in no time.

Free online marketing courses for general digital marketing skills

Let’s start with some marketing courses for crucial skills that any small business owner or marketing professional needs. These courses will give you an overview of digital marketing, including topics like advertising on Google and best practices for marketing emails.

1. Fundamentals of Digital Marketing certificate

Offered by: Google Digital Garage
Created by: Google
Topics covered:

• Planning an online business strategy
• Search engine marketing (SEM) best practices
• Google Ads
• Advertising locally
• Advertising on social media
• Email best practices

Skill level: Beginner

Who’s it for

This 26-module course is for anyone new to marketing who wants to master the basics — including how to build an online presence, find your audience, and use digital advertising to boost sales. It’s taught by Google trainers and uses real-world examples of successful marketing strategies in action.

What you’ll learn

You’ll get an introduction to a ton of Google’s free tools, like Google My Business, Google Ads, and Google Analytics. If you successfully pass the final exam, you’ll gain a certificate that you can place on your LinkedIn profile or resume to prove your marketing know-how.

2. Google Ads certifications

Offered by: Google
Created by: Google
Topics covered:

• How to navigate Google Display ads
• How to navigate Google Search ads
• How to navigate Google Video ads
• How to navigate Google Shopping ads
• How to navigate Google Apps ads

Skill level: Beginner

Who’s it for

If you want to get started with Google Ads but don’t know where to begin, these courses are for you.

What you’ll learn

Google now offers six free courses — each with a certification option — to master their different ad tools. For example, if you know you want to want customers to find your business through ads on the first page of Google, you’ll want to take a course on Google Search ads.

Plus, each course includes an optional certification exam. If you pass, you can place your certificate on your LinkedIn profile and resume.

3. Buffer’s Week of Webinars on Digital Marketing

Offered by: Buffer
Created by: Buffer
Topics covered:

• Getting your content seen on Facebook
• Instagram marketing to boost your business
• Branding and PR outreach
• Getting started with social media data

Skill level: Beginner to intermediate

Who’s it for

This video series is perfect for anyone who wants to learn the basics of online marketing on their time. No registration is required, and you can view all seven of the videos at your leisure.

What you’ll learn

While not a social media “class” in a traditional sense (it’s a series of YouTube videos), Buffer’s Week of Webinars covers everything from content curation and social media analytics to getting your content seen in Facebook’s News Feed.

4. Meta Blueprint marketing courses for businesses

Offered by: Meta Blueprint
Created by: Meta
Topics covered:

• How to find your audience online
• How to map customer journeys
• How to set marketing goals
• How to create a brand tone
• How to use social media to understand your audience

Skill level: Beginner

Who’s it for

When Facebook rebranded as Meta, they launched a series of professional development courses designed to help small business owners learn marketing best practices.

What you’ll learn

Meta offers over a dozen courses that all tie back to understanding your audience and telling your business story online.

Once you’ve successfully completed each beginner-level course, you can choose from eight different certification exams to prove your marketing mastery. If you pass, you can place your certificate on your resume or LinkedIn profile.

5. Pay Per Click University

Offered by: WordStream
Created by: WordStream
Topics covered:

• All about pay-per-click (PPC) — what it is, basic terminology, structuring
• Keyword research
• Landing page optimization
• A/B testing
• PPC for lead generation and B2B

Skill level: Beginner to advanced

Who’s it for

PPC University is a fully free online learning resource created by WordStream to help marketers and business owners build PPC and digital marketing skills.

What you’ll learn

The format is presented in three streams of learning plans that offer lessons for beginning to advanced users, with additional modules for social advertising.

You can also access a number of webinars and white papers to enhance your digital marketing expertise, and best of all, everything’s mobile-friendly, so you can learn on the go whenever you have time.

6. Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content

Offered by: Coursera
Created by: Jonah Berger, University of Pennsylvania
Topics covered:

• What makes some ideas more popular than others
• How social influence shapes behavior
• The power of word of mouth

Skill level: Beginner to intermediate

Who’s it for

This course is perfect for social media managers and marketers looking to put a “science” behind their content marketing method.

Taught by the University of Pennsylvania professor and best-selling author Jonah Berger, this free online marketing course helps to answer the mystery of why some ideas and products become popular and why others do not.

What you’ll learn

You’ll start with an understanding of why things catch on in the first place and how you can use those lessons to create viral content online. Then you’ll move on to spreading your new and creative ideas through social media and other digital marketing channels.

7. Email Marketing for E-Commerce

Offered by: Skillshare
Created by: Ariana Hargrave, Director of VIP Services, Mailchimp
Topics covered:

• Email marketing automation
• Email marketing optimization
• Email marketing personalization

Skill level: Intermediate to advanced

Who’s it for

Marketers and social media professionals with a basic understanding of how email marketing works will love this free online course from Mailchimp. Perfect for those of you on the go, it’s a 25-minute, highly tactical class on developing the basic email marketing principles that you may already be familiar with.

What you’ll learn

By the end of this email marketing course, you’ll have a great understanding of how to create engaging email marketing campaigns and how to optimize your strategy in order to increase business revenue.

This class is part of a paid subscription, but Skillshare offers one month free for all new signups, so you can soak up knowledge from this course before the free trial runs out.

8. Marketing in a Digital World

Offered by: Coursera
Created by: University of Illinois
Topics covered:

• How tools such as smartphones are changing marketing
• How power is shifting from brands to consumers
• Offering product ideas that stick in a digital world

Skill level: Beginner

Who’s it for

This marketing course is perfect for marketers looking to understand where the marketing field is today and how they can leverage new-age strategies to attract customers. And for those who are keen to continue their learning, this course is part of a larger Digital Marketing Specialization and MBA program at the University of Illinois.

What you’ll learn

“Marketing in a Digital World” is one of the most popular free marketing courses on Coursera – with more than 500,000 students enrolled and a 98% approval rating to date. Taught by a professor at the University of Illinois, this class focuses on the transformation of marketing strategies and tactics into a digital-first world — specifically, how technology is putting the power of marketing into the hands of the consumer.

9. Inbound Marketing Certification Course

Offered by: HubSpot Academy
Created by: HubSpot
Topics covered:

• Inbound marketing and sales techniques
• Email marketing
• Content marketing
• Growth-driven design

Skill level: Beginner to advanced

Who’s it for

HubSpot’s Inbound Marketing Certification is perfect for anyone who wants to learn the foundations of inbound marketing. The certification consists of 6 different lessons and 2 hours of learning material in both video and text format.

What you’ll learn

You’ll learn all about the fundamentals of inbound marketing, or creating valuable content that resonates with your ideal customer. This course will teach you how to grow your business with the Flywheel model and how to develop buyer personas. Plus, after you complete the lessons and tests, you’ll be HubSpot certified!

Free online marketing courses for social media strategy

There are roughly 3.96 billion social media users across all platforms. And 65% of consumers have made a purchase through social media. Stay up to date with social media best practices in these free courses. It’s the best way to grow your audience — and potential customer base — quickly.

10. Introduction to Social Media Strategy

Offered by: Skillshare
Created by: Buffer
Topics covered:

• Getting started with social media
• Finding your voice
• Creating content
• Curating content
• Using the right marketing tools
• Paid advertising strategy

Skill level: Beginner to intermediate

Who’s it for

This webinar is for anyone who wants to build a simple social media strategy on any platform, whether it’s Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or Twitter.

What you’ll learn

This is Buffer’s very first Skillshare class on social media marketing strategy! This 45-minute straightforward class will help you create a rock-solid social media strategy to connect with your audience and drive sales.

Bonus: Sign up for this course and gain two free months of Skillshare — no commitment required: www.skl.sh/buffer

11. Introduction to Social Media Advertising

Offered by: Skillshare
Created by: Buffer
Topics covered:

• Demystifying key terms and vocabulary
• Setting campaign goals
• Targeting audience segments
• Developing compelling copy and visuals
• Iterating and optimizing campaigns for long-term success

Skill level: Beginner to intermediate

Who’s it for

This introductory class is perfect for anyone looking to harness the potential of paid social advertising. By the end, you’ll be ready to run your first social media ad campaign — and connect with customers, convert views into action, and drive impact for long-term business success.

What you’ll learn

This course will cover everything marketers and small businesses need to know about succeeding with social media ads.

This class, like most Skillshare classes, is part of a paid subscription. Luckily, Skillshare offers one month free for all new signups.

12. How to Make Your Instagram Content Stand Out

Offered by: Meta Blueprint
Created by: Meta
Topics covered:

• How to create a brand tone on Instagram
• How to batch create photo- and video-based content
• How to create an iron-clad content strategy
• How to develop content aligned with marketing goals

Skill level: Beginner to advanced

Who’s it for

Meta developed this course specifically for beginners who want to build a content strategy for Instagram. This course is especially helpful for anyone who is new to Instagram and wants to understand its many features, like Instagram Stories, Reels, and Live.

What you’ll learn

Meta uses real-world examples to teach learners how to develop branded content. They’ve also included a module about writing engaging captions, so you can be confident that you’re using hashtags, mentions, and location tags correctly.

13. What Is Social?

Offered by: Coursera
Created by: Northwestern University
Topics covered:

• Social media trends
• Defining target audiences
• Data analysis

Skill level: Beginner

Who’s it for

“What Is Social?” is a massive open online course (MOOC) for business owners, executives, and marketing professionals who want to significantly improve their abilities to grow their social media strategy using effective, proven methodologies. In short, it’s a really awesome, action-based intro to social media.

What you’ll learn

The exciting part about this hands-on class is that you not only get to hear about ways to grow your professional persona using social media, but you will also actually do it! “What Is Social?” is the first in a six-course specialization offered by Northwestern University. Keep in mind that only this course is free—the full track is part of a paid program.

14. Social Media Monitoring

Offered by: Udemy
Created by: Eric Schwartzman
Topics covered:

• Keyword filtering
• Google-related searches
• The benefits of using Google Alerts
• Identifying influencers and content curation possibilities
• Strategies for monitoring Facebook, Twitter, and more

Skill level: All levels

Who’s it for

Whether you’re just starting out in social media or are a seasoned veteran, this course has actionable social monitoring takeaways for people of all skill levels.

What you’ll learn

This free social media class will show you how to monitor your online audience and customers with detailed examples of monitoring in action. It will also give you an overview of the different social media monitoring tools and strategies on how you can apply what you’ve learned.

15. The Business of Social

Offered by: Coursera
Created by: Northwestern University
Topics covered:

• Discovering where social media “fits in”
• How to tie social media to real business results
• Managing and measuring a successful social media program

Skill level: Beginner to intermediate

Who’s it for

“The Business of Social” is for business owners, marketers, and social media managers looking to tie social media into real business growth objectives. In other words, those looking to drive real, measurable value from a social media strategy.

What you’ll learn

Instead of focusing on content creation, this class focuses on how to measure your social investments in terms of time, cost, and opportunities.

16. Social Media Ethics

Offered by: Udemy
Created by: Eric Schwartzman
Topics covered:

• How to use good judgment when using social media for work
• What ethical behavior on social media means
• Demonstrating consideration for others on social media

Skill level: Beginner

Who’s it for

Have you ever wondered what it means to use social media effectively and ethically? This free course on “Social Media Ethics” provides the framework for social networking and engaging in ethical conversations online for all professionals and employees.

What you’ll learn

Touching on local, state, and Federal laws, it takes the guessing game out of what is and is not legal on social media for employees of businesses.

17. Advanced Social Media Marketing for Picking Up Clients

Offered by: Udemy
Created by: Brian Yang
Topics covered:

• Common social media myths and mistakes
• The art of using Facebook Groups
• Attracting YouTube subscribers and creating engaging videos
• Creating quality (not spammy) content for social media

Skill level: Intermediate to advanced

Who’s it for

This course is for more seasoned marketers who already have a basic understanding of social media platforms like Facebook, Reddit, and YouTube.

What you’ll learn

This course will help you pick up “coaching and consulting clients within 48 hours” using only social media. It’ll also show you how to use social media forums to generate sales leads.

18. Mastering TikTok

Offered by: Skillshare
Created by: Taylor Loren, Head of Marketing, Girlboss
Topics covered:

• TikTok’s algorithm
• How to create and edit a TikTok video
• How to write engaging captions
• How to use hashtags
• How to discover trending content

Skill level: Beginner

Who’s it for

This course is perfect for anyone who’s new to TikTok or just wants to learn more about creating video-based content.

What you’ll learn

TikTok is quickly becoming the most useful social media platform for brands to connect with their audience — users are 1.5x more likely to purchase a product they saw on the app. This course is a deep dive into all things TikTok, from understanding the algorithm to making your first post.

Plus, the course shows you how to discover trending content like sounds and filters to help your videos go viral quickly.

19. DIY Viral Video: A Class on Making iPhone How-To Videos

Offered by: Skillshare
Created by: Nicole Farb, Founder of Darby Smart
Topics covered:

• Setting up a video
• Shooting a video
• Editing a video
• Sharing a video

Skill level: Beginner

Who’s it for

Nervous about creating video content? This course is for you. You’ll gain expert insight into why video content is important to connect with your audience and how to come up with creative ideas for videos.

What you’ll learn

The best part about video content is that it doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective. Nicole Farb, founder of Darby Smart, shows you step-by-step how to create engaging videos. You don’t need complicated equipment to get started — all you need is an idea and a smartphone to build trendy content.

20. TikTok Masterclass

Offered by: Skillshare
Created by: Angel David Weatherston, Helping Artists Grow
Topics covered:

• How to create a TikTok account
• TikTok features
• How to create and share a TikTok video
• How to use effects and sounds

Skill level: Beginner

Who’s it for

This course is perfect for someone who is brand new to TikTok. Learners will get a step-by-step guide to TikTok, including how to create an account, navigate important features, and discover trending content.

What you’ll learn

The entire course is 39 modules — but don’t let that intimidate you! Each module is short and intended to help you set up your business profile and navigate the app smoothly.
Free online marketing courses for analytics and data tools

Analytics helps you see how your marketing strategy is performing — and gives you a clue about what kinds of content your audience wants to see. These courses touch on the importance of analytics, how to set up and navigate tools like Google Analytics, and how to harness data to make an iron-clad marketing strategy.

21. An Introduction to Consumer Neuroscience & Neuromarketing

Offered by: Coursera
Created by: Copenhagen Business School
Topics covered:

• What neuromarketing is all about
• The psychology behind consumer decisions
• How to tap into a consumer’s emotions using content

Skill level: Beginner to intermediate

Who’s it for

This course is incredibly useful for any marketer who wants to get to know their audience better.

What you’ll learn

This course starts with a question: How do we make decisions as consumers? Understanding the conscious and unconscious reasons why people buy things can help your business make more informed decisions.

You’ll get an overview of the current and future uses of neuroscience in business and learn how you can apply it to your own social media and marketing strategy.

22. Digital Marketing Analytics in Practice

Offered by: Coursera
Created by: University of Illinois
Topics covered:

• Data collection, analysis, and visualization
• How data fits into a company’s marketing strategy
• Making informed marketing decisions based on data

Skill level: Advanced

Who’s it for

Analytics helps you determine if your audience connects with your content. This course is for business owners or marketers who need to learn best practices in analytics and reporting.

What you’ll learn

Taught by Kevin Hartman, head of analytics at Google, this free marketing course focuses on the specific data collection, analysis, and visualization techniques used by the world’s top brands. Unlike some of the other analytics classes offered online, this one focuses specifically on marketing.

This marketing course will set you up with a full understanding of how to properly approach data analytics in marketing and how to make informed decisions based on your finding. In short, you’ll be a data wizard!

23. Social Media Analytics

Offered by: quintly
Created by: quintly
Topics covered:

• Introduction to social media analytics
• The social media landscape
• Differentiation between social networks for data collection
• Finding KPIs that fit your goals

Skill level: Beginner

Who’s it for

This course is perfect for anyone who is a beginner in analytics and reporting for social media content.

What you’ll learn

This free social media marketing course from quintly covers the basic principles of social media analytics both for beginners and for marketers who want to refresh their knowledge. It covers goal-setting and KPIs, defines different types of metrics, and gives an overview of reporting.

24. Discover the Next Generation of Google Analytics

Offered by: Google
Created by: Google
Topics covered:

• Learning the new Google Analytics 4 interface
• Google Analytics concepts
• Data collection
• Managing conversions
• Navigating different metrics and dimensions

Skill level: Beginner to advanced

Who’s it for

Google recently announced they are officially phasing out their popular Universal Analytics interface in favor of Google Analytics 4. That means everyone who uses Google Analytics will benefit from this course.

What you’ll learn

It’s designed to walk you through the GA4 interface, whether you’re an analytics expert or a beginner. You’ll gain foundational knowledge of how to navigate GA4, what certain metrics mean, and how to set up GA4 for your business.

Free online marketing courses to improve blog content and SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) drives traffic to your website. Many small businesses use a blog to promote their brands with SEO-optimized articles designed to bring in potential customers. You can also use keywords across your website to help pull in traffic. These courses will show you how.

25. SEO Training

Offered by: Udemy
Created by: Eric Schwartzman
Topics covered:

• Integrating SEO in marketing activities
• The vocabulary of search engine optimization
• Most effective SEO strategies
• White hat vs. black hat SEO

Skill level: Beginner to intermediate

Who’s it for

This SEO Training class is perfect for social media managers, executives, and entry-level employees.

What you’ll learn

This SEO course will teach you how to increase the search rank of your corporate website, blog, or LinkedIn profile. Learn how to create online content based on keywords your customers are most likely to search for. Plus, this course will teach you how to rank high on Google search engine results pages.

26. Writing for Brands: Freelancing in the Age of Content Marketing

Offered by: Skillshare
Created by: Contently
Topics covered:

• What content marketing entails
• The basics of writing for and working with brands
• Marketing yourself as a writer
• How to craft the perfect pitch to a brand

Skill level: Beginner

Who’s it for

Whether writing turns into a full-time career for you or just a fun project to tackle on the side, the folks at Contently are happy to help you prepare content pitches for brands both big and small.

What you’ll learn

Have you ever wondered how all of those great bloggers get writing gigs for brands online? This course provides the framework for starting a successful freelance career if that’s something you’d be interested in. Taught by Brian Maehl of Contently, “Writing for Brands” is an actionable 30-minutes writing course that breaks down the process into simple steps.

27. SEO Training Course

Offered by: Udemy
Created by: Moz
Topics covered:

• Building a monthly SEO plan
• Five ways to use social media profiles for SEO
• Link building with Twitter
• Mapping keywords to content

Skill level: Beginner

Who’s it for

This course is useful for marketers who want to tap into the value of SEO but don’t have the time to devote to a blog or long-form content.

What you’ll learn

Optimizing a website for search engines requires looking at a ton of unique elements both on and off your website. This course on SEO from the folks at Moz will help you to start making sense of it all. Most importantly, it will help you form consistent SEO habits that you can implement long after this course is over.

28. Content Marketing for B2B Enterprises

Offered by: Udemy
Created by: William Flanagan
Topics covered:

• End-to-end B2B marketing tactics and strategies
• Content creation that converts
• Identifying industry influencers
• Building a data system to foster improvement

Skill level: Intermediate to advanced

Who’s it for

If you are a part of a B2B company, chances are your products and services require a slightly different approach to content marketing. This course will show you how.

What you’ll learn

This content marketing course lasts roughly 35 minutes. You’ll learn how to get inside the mind of your market and quickly build content that interests them — so you can get back to running your business!

29. High-Impact Business Writing

Offered by: Coursera
Created by: University of California at Irvine
Topics covered:

• Introduction to and basics of business writing
• Various business document types
• Informal and social media communication

Skill level: Beginner

Who’s it for

Writing great copy that is meant to drive people to take a specific business action is a unique and valuable skill to have for marketers and business owners alike. This course is aimed at helping you get your thoughts on paper in a clear and concise manner.

What you’ll learn

Structured as a four-week class, you’ll start with the basics of business writing, including why it’s important, and move to more advanced topics such as preparing business documents and translating ideas to more informal channels, like social media.

30. Internet Marketing for Smart People

Offered by: Copyblogger
Created by: Copyblogger
Topics covered:

• Introduction to business writing
• Various business document types
• Informal and social media communication

Skill level: Beginner

Who’s it for

This course is a great starting place for those new to the marketing field, diving into topics like direct response copywriting and relationship building.

What you’ll learn

Copyblogger knows, “you don’t have to be a genius to master internet marketing.” This course is unlike any other on our list: each day, for 20 days, they’ll email you a different lesson on copywriting best practices. All you have to do is sign up with your email address, and you’ll start receiving lessons directly to your inbox.
Free online marketing courses for graphic design basics

Content accompanied by visual media — photos, videos, gifs, just to name a few — is more engaging for your audience: 53% of marketers say images are a valuable content format for achieving their social media goals — compared to 30% of marketers who look to text-based posts.

Whether you’re crafting a social media post, a mass email, or an advertising campaign, you need to know basic design skills.

31. Graphic Design Basics

Offered by: Canva
Created by: Canva
Topics covered:

• Basic elements of design
• How to think like a designer
• How to kick off the design process

Skill level: Beginner

Who’s it for

Canva offers a free course that teaches anyone how to think like a designer — showing you how to use color, fonts, and composition to communicate an idea.

What you’ll learn

This course covers design foundations, like how to build a moodboard, the color wheel, and how to choose a font. Each module includes a lesson along with an activity to apply what you’ve learned.

32. Graphic Design Tips & Tricks

Offered by: LinkedIn Learning
Created by: John McWade
Topics covered:

• Graphic design best practices
• Typography
• Layout
• Logo design

Skill level: Intermediate

Who’s it for

This course is perfect for anyone who has some design knowledge but has more advanced questions.

What you’ll learn

The course is broken into modules based on project type. So if you need help designing a specific deliverable (like a business card, invitation, or logo), this course has a step-by-step guide that’s exactly what you’re looking for.

If you successfully finish the entire course, you’ll get a certificate of completion to put on your LinkedIn profile and resume.

33. Graphic Design Basics: Core Principles for Graphic Design

Offered by: Skillshare
Created by: Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips, MICA
Topics covered:

• Identifying and defining basic design principles
• Effectively critiquing your own work for balance
• Applying what you’ve learned to your own projects

Skill level: Beginner

Who’s it for

This course will help you get started with design, giving you a solid foundation for creating images for social media and marketing.

What you’ll learn

It’s a 35-minute video-based class taught by designers Ellen Lupton and Jennifer Cole Phillips — who also happen to be co-directors of the Graphic Design MFA Program at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). Together, they walk students through what it takes to create great designs.

34. How to Create Better Graphic Design

Offered by: Udemy
Created by: Inoshiro Design
Topics covered:

• Identifying and defining basic design principles
• Effectively critiquing your own work for balance
• Applying what you’ve learned to your own projects

Skill level: Beginner

Who’s it for

Every marketer needs a basic knowledge ofkey design terms. This course is essential for anyone who needs to brush up on design principles and learn the proper terminology.

What you’ll learn

This course does a deep dive into the five steps for better visual communication. These components include creating ideas and applying them to your design, communicating ideas effectively within the design, and having a consistent design look and feel.

35. The Landing Page Conversion Course

Offered by: Unbounce
Created by: Unbounce
Topics covered:

• Landing page 101
• Five core landing page elements
• The psychology of conversion

Skill level: Beginner to intermediate

Who’s it for

If you’ve ever been curious about the power of landing pages and how they can help you grow your business, this is the perfect one for you.

What you’ll learn

Unbounce has perfected the art of the landing page down to a science. And in this comprehensive online marketing class, they share all of that knowledge with you, no questions asked.

The Landing Page Conversion Course takes you from “Landing Page 101” right on down to “Copywriting” and even “Testing and Optimization.”

Buffer has your back with up-to-date resources

At Buffer, our goal is to always be a resource for small business owners and marketers to level up their social media game.

Plus, if you use our scheduling tool, we’ve got you covered with bonus support, including:

• An interactive demo
• On-demand webinars
• Step-by-step video tutorials

Sign up for free.

Growing on Instagram takes time and effort — but with these must-do tactics, the path to an engaged following is a lot more straightforward than you might think.

You will learn

• Instagram fundamentals that are essential for organic growth
• Big-picture guidance on your Instagram content strategy and calendars
• Small tweaks and tips that make all the difference

There are no definitive “growth hacks” for increasing your number of followers on Instagram — but there are still plenty of things you can do to build your Instagram growth strategy.

Here are 13 steps you can take for organic Instagram growth, in the order we recommended doing them.

Before we dive in: If you’re just starting with Instagram for your business or as a creator, the first step is to tighten the nuts and bolts of your Instagram presence. As such, the first few tactics cover the basics and are particularly relevant to new creators or businesses.

Even if you’re a seasoned Instagrammer, it’s worth making sure you have the essential boxes ticked more moving on. If you are, don't worry: there's plenty of guidance in this guide for intermediate and advanced creators too.

Let's get into them all.

1. Avoid buying fake followers like the plague

When websites sell 1,000 Instagram followers for the cheap pricing of $12.99 (yes, those are real figures), it’s enticing to snag a quick win to inflate your follower count. But purchasing fake followers does more harm than good:

• Instagram actively discourages and purges accounts that engage in fraudulent activities
• Fake followers are bots and not real people — they don’t engage with your account authentically or convert into customers
• You destroy your credibility and lose the trust of your audience — which will make them unfollow you

Purchasing engagement such as views and comments or participating in engagement pods is equally futile at growing your Instagram account. You don’t just want a huge number of followers for the sake of it, you want to grow a meaningful community.

2. Embed keywords into your username and name

The Instagram algorithm prioritizes search results containing keywords in the name and username.

• Your username is your Instagram handle (your profile’s @name): Keep this the same as your company’s name and/or consistent with your profile’s username on other social channels to be instantly identifiable.
• Your name is your company’s name (or anything you like): Add relevant keywords here to improve your visibility.

For example, Ursa Major has “skincare” in its name on Instagram to make the company easier to find when someone searches for skincare brands and solutions.

Adding a relevant keyword is also an opportunity to tell who you are and what you sell to potential customers at a glance — since it’s the first thing someone sees when they land on your profile.

3. Optimize your Instagram bio

There are four elements you need to nail to unlock the perfect Instagram bio:

• A straightforward description of what you do and/or what you sell
• A stroke of brand personality
• A clear call to action
• A link

Your Instagram bio is only 150 characters. But it’s what makes or breaks your first impression on potential followers and customers. The science behind Instagram bios is to make them clear, creative, and complete. Anyone reading it should instantly know what your company does, how it can help them, and where they can learn more. Odd Giraffe, a personalized stationery brand, hits the nail on the head with their Instagram bio.

For starters, their “Hello, paper person” not only gives its bio a slash of character that’s uniquely them, but also filters out who they’re speaking to: Someone who lives and breathes stationery. The following line is a crystal-clear call to action that highlights what they sell and how they differentiate themselves (100+ designs).

The link in bio is your chance to redirect your audience to an external page. You can add your company’s website or keep updating it based on your recent posts. But if you want to go the extra mile, use link-in-bio tools like Buffer’s Start Page to combine all your URLs into one. Look how photographer Ryan Johnson does this using Buffer:

Not just this: You can also customize the Start Page as much as you like to make it on-brand and track how each link is performing.

4. Cross-promote your Instagram handle on other channels

Redirecting potential customers from other channels to your Instagram profile is a lightweight strategy to make yourself discoverable and boost your following quickly.

For example, at Buffer, we add our Instagram link on our website footer.

No one should have to manually go and search for you on Instagram if they already follow you in other places. Add your Instagram account’s link to:

• Your product packaging
• Your blogs (when relevant)
• Marketing and transactional emails
• Your website’s footer and/or sidebar
• Social media posts from team members
• Your and your employees’ email signature
• Bios on other social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube
• Networking events and webinars (Use your profile’s Instagram QR code for in-person events)

Your Instagram link doesn’t have to be big and flashy. A small Instagram icon or your QR code works for most places.

5. Find your best times to post on Instagram

What’s the best time to post on Instagram? When your audience is online.

There’s no one universal best time to share content on Instagram. Instead, aim to determine the ideal time to post for your followers.How will you know when your audience is online? Instagram tells you through its Insights in four simple steps:

1. Go to your Instagram profile within the app and click on the hamburger menu (the three horizontal lines) on the top right of your screen.
2. Tap on ‘Insights’.
3. From there, click on ‘Total followers’
4. Scroll down to the bottom of this page and look for ‘Most active times’. You’ll be able to toggle between hours for every day of the week or look at specific days.

Want to take it up a notch? Use Buffer’s analytics to determine the best times to post, the best types of posts, and the best post frequency. Buffer uses data from your previous posts and followers’ activity and organizes the numbers in a way that’s easy to understand.

Along with the time, also consider when your content is more relevant logically. A step-by-step video recipe will perform better post-working hours when people cook. On the other hand, a coffee shop post might do better at the 2 p.m. afternoon slump.

Experiment with posting times to determine when you get the most reach and engagement.

Now we’re moving on from the fundamental tips into intermediate territory. We recommend completing steps 1 through 5 before tackling the rest of this list.

6. Build an Instagram marketing strategy

Having a clear idea of where Instagram fits into your overall social media marketing strategy will not only give you positive business results but also steer you in a laser-focused direction on what to post on Instagram.But how do you create an Instagram growth strategy?

Step 1: Solidify your goals

Define whether you want to increase brand awareness, boost direct conversions, drive website traffic, or something else. Clarifying your goal dictates the content you post, your call-to-actions, and keeps your Instagram grid on-brand.

Step 2: Get a 360-view of your target audience

Knowing the basic demographics is crucial. But also go beyond that and deeply understand what your audience struggles with and how you can help them resolve their challenges using your Instagram content strategy.

Natasha Pierre — host of the Shine Online Podcast and a Video Marketing Coach — says losing sight of your ideal follower in exchange for virality is the single biggest mistake creators make:

“People often focus so much on going viral and reaching as many people as possible that they lose sight of the ideal follower they're trying to reach. You could go viral today, and if you're reaching mostly the wrong people:

1) Chances are it won't result in them following you, and;

2) It would lead to a follower who is not an engaged community member if you're a creator or would never be a warm lead if you're a small business.

Taking the time to reflect on who your ideal follower is will help you create specific-to-them content which will not only result in better growth but quality new followers.”

Step 3: Define your brand voice and aesthetic

Even if you’re a creator and not a company, it’s worth crafting a social media marketing voice that’s uniquely you, so Instagram users can identify your posts without seeing the username.

Brand voice is hard to track or quantify, but it’s non-negotiable to be memorable. On Instagram, you can also define your aesthetic along with your brand voice. Use brand colors, stick to a consistent content theme, and have a personality.⚠️ Remember: If you’re a small business, remember that your social media marketing voice shouldn’t differ vastly from your general brand voice. Reflect your company values on and off the app.

Step 4: Create content pillar themes and stick to them

Decide on a niche for your Instagram account. Have a few overarching topics you’ll post about, and don’t deviate from them too much. This has many benefits:

• You don’t have to constantly reinvent the wheel for brainstorming great content ideas
• Your Instagram community starts recognizing you for the type of content you create
• You don’t get distracted by the new, hot, shiny thing and keep revising your Instagram strategy

Step 5: Create a content calendar and post consistently

How often should you post on Instagram?

We recommend posting at least once daily — whether a carousel, a Reel, or a Story. Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, recommends posting two feed posts per week and two stories per day.

Brock Johnson — an Instagram growth coach who grew to 400K followers in one year — says posting more frequently is the most surprising way to boost your Instagram following. But this often sounds like the route to creator burnout.

A potential solution? Content repurposing. This doesn’t just mean repurposing content you’ve posted on previous channels (though that is a great option, if you’re not doing that already) but also within the same platform. Don’t be afraid of tweaking content that performed well and sharing it again. 

As creators or marketers, we often make the assumption that all of our followers have seen every single piece of content we create, but in reality, only a small portion of our audience will see a particular post. As long as you’re clever with your tweaks, content repurposing can save you loads of time and energy. 

Some examples could be to turn a series of Instagram Stories into a Reel or an insightful caption into a poignant video. Here’s a great example of the latter from @stanforcreators:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Stan — Your All-in-One Creator Store (@stanforcreators)

Content batching often comes to the rescue when creating a content calendar and posting schedule, but you often need to hop on trends to gain visibility — which means publishing Instagram posts on the go.

The ideal scenario is having a mix of scheduled and on-the-go posts. Wondering how to schedule Instagram posts? Use a scheduling tool like Buffer.

The best part? Buffer’s content calendar is visual, giving you a bird’s eye view of what you have coming up and the content gaps you need to fill.

7. Write compelling captions

It’s enticing to skimp on Instagram captions when you’ve toiled to create the perfect carousel or video. But Instagram captions hold more weight than you think: They can either nudge someone to follow you or scroll past you without looking.

For example, wellness brand Cosmix doesn’t simply write, “shop on our website!” on its Instagram posts. It explains the ingredients used, how their products help specific issues, and mentions the studies that back up their claims.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Cosmix - Superfoods (@cosmixwellness)

Don’t mistake long for better though: Instagram captions perform best when they’re either very long or very short (20 characters vs. 2,000 characters), according to HubSpot’s 2023 Instagram Engagement Report.

Writing the perfect Instagram caption is more about understanding your audience and the context of your post than trying to hit a character count. If you’re writing an educational post, it makes sense to have a longer caption. But when you’re sharing an aesthetic product image, shorter is sweeter.

If coming up with cheeky captions isn’t your forte, try Buffer’s AI assistant to have a rough first draft in seconds. For example, if you’re a skincare brand and want to post about wearing sunscreen indoors, write it as a prompt for Buffer.

8. Use relevant hashtags

The right hashtags can expose your Instagram posts to a large and targeted audience.

How many hashtags should you use? The limit is up to 30, but Instagram recommends using only three to five hashtags.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Instagram’s @Creators (@creators)

But quantity isn’t where it’s at — you want to rank for your Instagram hashtags to make the most of them. Why? Many people follow hashtags to see posts about a topic or search for something specific. Your goal is to appear on the Explore page at first glance when someone uses your niche’s hashtag.

The right strategy is to use hashtags with a mix of popular and niche — this way, you don’t get lost in a sea of spam or remain hidden in your little corner of Instagram.

How do you find hashtags that would appeal to your target audience? Use free hashtag generators to help you find relevant hashtags for your Instagram post. Add a few words about your image or video, and these tools will recommend the top hashtags that go well with it.

Curate a list of hashtags for your community and group them together using Buffer’s Hashtag Manager. For example, make a group of product-specific hashtags and another for niche or industry-specific hashtags. Select from your pre-saved groups on Buffer and add hashtags to your scheduled Instagram posts.

9. Understand your analytics

Regularly checking your Instagram analytics is key to understanding what’s working for you and what’s not. You might find that your audience responds best to entertaining Reels, but educational posts work best as carousels. Discovering trends guides your content creation strategy to get maximum return on investment from Instagram.

Instagram has native analytics on its app, but they’re pretty limited. You can’t see your individual post’s performance in a single window to analyze them side by side neither can you handpick metrics important to you. It’s better to use a third-party tool like Buffer’s analytics to get all the data at a glance and even make custom reports for stakeholders.

Which metric is the most important to track? It depends on your Instagram goals and strategy. For example, if you’re testing a new hashtag, knowing the number of new followers is more important than tracking likes from your current followers. But if you’re experimenting with posting times, keeping an eye on impressions is more important.

10. Collaborate with Instagram creators or other small businesses

Collaborating with other creators via influencer marketing or partnerships with small businesses is a win-win because it exposes both parties to a new community. The critical bit is ensuring you partner with a company or creator who aligns with your values and whose followers’ demographics & interests overlap with your target audience.

For example, the period tracker app, Flo, collaborated with Charity Ekezie and created a sarcastic, funny, paid Instagram post to highlight the social initiative by the company where premium features are available free of charge in several countries from Ethiopia to Haiti.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Charity Ekezie (@itssucrepea)

These posts are shown on both accounts — meaning all followers of your creator partner will see the shared post (and, by extension, your Instagram profile and small business).

If influencers with over a hundred thousand followers are out of your budget, run a micro-influencer campaign. Smaller creators often have a tightly-knit community who trusts their recommendations.

How to find these influencers? You can go through a manual Google search or search using hashtags and keywords on Instagram. A smarter approach is to use influencer discovery tools like Modash to save time and find relevant creators.

It’s not necessary to restrict yourself to partnering with individual creators. You can also form partnerships with other small businesses — like LinkedIn and Headspace collaborated to create a post about recovering from job loss.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Headspace (@headspace)

Instagram collab posts don’t necessarily have to be a shared post, either. You can also:

• Go live with a creator
• Do an Instagram account takeover
• Repost Instagram content from an influencer’s profile
• Post videos created by them natively on your brand account

11. Experiment with different types of Instagram posts

Instagram is no longer just a photo app. The platform has introduced many formats, including Instagram Reels, pinned posts, Story Highlights, and carousel posts.

Which type of post will increase your Instagram engagement? Studies show Instagram carousels have the highest engagement, but it’s more complicated than that. Your audience might prefer Instagram Reels for bite-sized entertaining posts and carousel posts for everything educational.

If you feel your Instagram isn’t growing, experiment with different kinds of posts. It’s best to combine all the varieties, like the skincare brand 100percentpure.

12. Talk to your audience in comments and Stories

Engage with your Instagram audience to understand their problems, answer their questions, and get content ideas.

Elise Darma — an Instagram educator for business owners — says speaking to your audience is an underutilized strategy for follower growth on Instagram:

“Don't wait for everyone to come to you. The best hack ever is to proactively engage with other people on Instagram who are the kind of people your business helps. Imagine if you were at a cocktail party and wanted to make friends there.” 

“The smartest strategy wouldn't be to wait for everyone to come up to you; if you were to take the initiative to talk to people, introduce yourself, and ask them questions about themselves, you would leave that party with many more friends than if you didn't take that action.”

How do you talk to your audience on Instagram? Social media management pros will know the basic thing is responding to the comments and messages you receive — especially if it’s a question by a potential customer. The yogurt brand Chobani is a good example. They respond to almost every comment they receive.

Responding to each comment and DM isn’t realistic once you start receiving thousands of them, but do your best to answer all queries. Buffer’s engagement features make it easier — you can respond to comments from your desktop instead of cramping your hand using the mobile app.

Beyond comments and DMs, get active on Instagram Stories. There are so many features that can inspire amazing content ideas — like asking a question, interactive stickers, polls, countdowns, and even adding links. For example, nutrition brand Bulletproof does a weekly Q&A on their Instagram account to answer their audience’s most frequently asked questions about their products.

Don’t have the time or brainpower to whip up Instagram Story Ideas? Many Instagram Stories templates are available to help you save time and create aesthetic designs.

The best part about Stories? You can create a group of them and make Instagram Highlights — these remain in your profile forever instead of disappearing in 24 hours. Use them to create a go-to resource section answering all common customer queries to reduce the hindrance in selling your products on Instagram.

13. Get verified on Instagram

Having the coveted blue checkmark next to your Instagram account is a badge of instant credibility. It helps you stand out in search results, avoids impersonation, and even get higher engagement rates.

If your aim is to increase your Instagram growth rate, getting verified will undoubtedly help. But how do you get verified on Instagram? It’s simple: Buy a subscription through your Instagram profile — but there are certain eligibility requirements you have to meet, like adhering to Meta’s minimum activity requirements.

Getting more followers on Instagram isn’t a one-time affair

With these 13 tips under your belt, you’re certainly more equipped to grow your following on Instagram. But it isn’t a one-and-done deal. Maintaining Instagram growth requires regularly publishing high-quality content and staying on top of your social media strategy.

It’s time-consuming and laborious to manage the planning, posting, engaging, and tracking manually. Having an all-in-one tool — like Buffer — lets you do all of that under one roof. Don’t take just my word for it: Get started for free today and see for yourself.

Here at Buffer, we think a lot about visual content.

We’ve explored tools that help anyone create visual content. Our social media management tool incorporates image posting because we know how important that element is to engage your followers and fans.

But there’s one question we get asked quite often: Where can you find free images that are high quality and cleared to use for your blog posts or social media content?

It’s a question with a lot of different answers and caveats. Nearly every image created in the last 30 years is still protected by copyright — a protection that gives virtually every author the exclusive right to use or reproduce their work. But you can find a public domain photo, use a Creative Commons image that might need attribution, or even create your own image from scratch.

In this post, we’ll share more than 20 different sources and tools for free images, covering searchable image sites, create-your-own-image tools, and more.

Free image terms FAQ

The following terms will come up often as we discuss free image sources. Read over the terms and conditions of each site you try so you know exactly when and what type of attribution is required.

What is Creative Commons?

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools. Various types of Creative Commons licenses range from allowing any type of use with no attribution to allowing only certain uses and no changes.

What is the public domain?

Works in the public domain are those whose copyrights have expired, have been forfeited, or are inapplicable. Finding something online does not mean it is in the public domain.

What is royalty-free?

Royalty-free images aren’t necessarily free. In most cases, you’ll have to pay a one-time fee to obtain the rights to use the image. Then you can use it as many times as you like. The “free” in “royalty-free” only means that you do not have to pay royalties to the owner of the image every time you use it. For a comprehensive read on royalty-free images, check out this guide.

Now, on to the list!

1. Unsplash

Unsplash has its own license, which essentially lets you use the images for free, in any way you like (except for using them to create a competing website). The site is powered by a community of almost 300,000 photographers, from hobbyists to pros, who ‘gift’ their photos to make them freely available under Unsplash’s “do-whatever-you-want” with the images license.

Unsplash, which is owned by Getty, is particularly great for finding really high-quality images: their team hand-selects every photo and, according to the site, “accept only the best.”

2. Burst

Burst is a free stock photo platform for entrepreneurs by Shopify. As is the case with Unsplash, the photos are contributed by photographers “with the expectation that users will be able to download, edit and use them however they see fit.” 

Attribution (giving the photographers credit) is not required but, as Burst puts it “our photographers always appreciate a shout out.”

3. Pexels

Pexels operates along the same lines as Unsplash and Burst, where images are supplied by the photographers themselves. Pexels also has its own license, which states what you can and cannot do with the images. You can use and modify the images for free for both commercial and personal use without attribution.

4. Pixabay

Images on Pixabay are licensed under Creative Commons Zero (CC0), which means you can use them without asking for permission or giving credit to the artist (though it’s always appreciated). 

Pixabay provides a gentle reminder to check that the content depicted in the images doesn’t infringe on any rights. Pixabay also offers more content formats, from illustrations to sound effects.

5. Free Images

Free Images provides over 300,000 free stock images under its own license. The license allows a very broad range of uses, though it does list several restricted use cases (which are quite common for most free image sites).

6. Kaboompics

Kaboompics uses its own license, which is similar to Creative Commons Zero except that you cannot redistribute its photos. There are two things that I love about Kaboompics: one, it allows me to search by color, and two, it provides a complementary palette of colors in the photo.

7. Stocksnap.io

Stocksnap uses the Creative Commons CC0 license, so its photos are free to download, edit, and use for commercial and non-commercial projects.

8. Canva

Canva is a non-photographer’s answer to Photoshop. The online graphic design tool also offers a library of millions of free and premium stock photos, all under their content license agreement. One advantage of using Canva is that you can quickly turn an image into a custom graphic to use on social media or your blog.

You can access Canva’s library of images by using the search function in the editor or heading over to Canva Photos.

9. Life of Pix

Life of Pix lists free high-resolution photographs and videos with no copyright restrictions for both personal and commercial use. Life of Pix partners with Adobe Stock for more (paid) stock photographs.

10. Gratisography

If you’re looking for something a little offbeat, Gratisography should be your first port of call. It also has its own free photo license, which lets you do “almost anything you can think of.” 

While they have a rather limited number of images now, they are high-quality and completely different from any photos you’ll find on the other sites on this list.

11. Vecteezy

Vecteezy offers more than 10 million free and royalty-free images, and it’s not only photos you’ll find on the site. It’s also a great place to hunt for things like PSDs, vectors, videos, and templates — particularly useful if you’re looking to design something of your own with a stock image as a base.

The site offers added protection for users by ensuring they only offer images of people and places that come with a signed model by the photographer and the model — and you can sidestep that issue entirely if you opt for one of their AI-generated images.

Vecteezy also has a simple, helpful advanced search function. It will allow you to filter your search by content type (things like PNGs, PSDs, vectors, and videos) — useful if you’re looking to edit the image yourself), license type, and even those generated by (or not generated by) AI. 

12. Flickr

Flickr is an image hosting platform where you can find images that can be used and modified for commercial purposes. This doesn’t apply to all the images on the site though, so you’ll need to make sure you filter your searches.

To do so, select "Any license" and then “Commercial use allowed” after performing your search. Remember to check the license for each image as they vary.

13. The Jopwell Collection (by Jopwell)

“It’s hard to be what you can’t see,” is a common refrain at Jopwell, a company who have made it their mission to improve workplace diversity.

One of their initiatives is The Jopwell Collection, which they describe as “an album of more than 100 free-to-download stock photos featuring leaders in the Jopwell community – social entrepreneurs, editors, techies, financial analysts, recruiters, marketers, student leaders, and even an Olympian – at work.” 

The images are free to be downloaded and used as long as you visibly attribute Jopwell.

14. WOCinTech

While you’ll find these images on Flickr, which I’ve already mentioned, I thought this particular set deserved a special mention. This is an album of photos of women of color in tech, started the founders of #WOCinTech Chat. 

The images can be used as long as you attribute #WOCinTech Chat or wocintechchat.com. (While the team isn’t updating the album with new photos anymore, there are over 500 images to choose from.)

15. PicJumbo

PicJumbo was created back in 2013 with a host of images regular stock photo sites had rejected due to “lack of quality”. Fastforward a decade and the site offers more than 2.5 million images for any kind of use — free of charge with no registration required. 

You can also get new free images by subscribing to their newsletter. (If you have the budget to spare, do check out their premium photo collections, like this one. They even offer vertical images for Instagram Stories content — or new wallpapers for your phone.)

16. VistaCreate

Similar to Canva, VistaCreate is a graphic design tool that has a host of royalty-free images for you to use in your designs (though you’ll have to create an account to download).

17. Depositphotos

Depositphotos is home to millions of royalty-free images, videos, and music. While they charge a monthly fee for downloads, they do have a selection of free files available for commercial use under an attributed free license agreement.

18. iStock

While iStock, owned by Getty, no longer offers a free membership, their one-month free trial will allow you to continue to use the images you download during that time (you’re allowed 10 downloads from their ‘Essentials’ collection).

19. New Old Stock

New Old Stock is a collection of vintage photos from the public archives, free of known copyright restrictions. The site is a collection of photos found via institutions participating in the Flickr Commons and the rules of Flickr Commons, according to their ‘Rights & Usage’ page.

However, it’s worth nothing that the New Old Stock adds the caveat that photos are “at the very least available for personal and non-commercial use”. If you’re uncertain about whether a photo can be used commercially, rather opt for another of the options on this list.

20. Morguefile

Morguefile was created back in 1996 to serve as a free image exchange for creative professionals and teachers. According to their about page, not much has changed since then (bar the quality of their images, of course): “We are a community-based free photo site, and all photos found in the Morguefile archive are free for you to download and re-use in your work, be it commercial or not.”

Morguefile’s 400,000+ images are free to be used commercially, but must be attributed, per their license.

21. Google Advanced Image Search

Google Advanced Image Search can also be a helpful resource in the hunt for high-quality photos. Here’s how to find free-to-use images on Google:

1. Head over to Google, type your keywords into the search box, and hit enter.
2. Click the ‘Images’ tab at the top of the screen.
3. Click ‘Tools’ (a little to the right of the Images tab).
4. Choose ‘Usage Rights’ and then ‘Creative Commons’ Licenses

Bonus options for non-commercial use

If you’re looking for images you’ll not be using commercially, there are even more options available when it comes to free image sites. 

Getty Images

This might come as a surprise to you (as it was to me). You can use images from Getty Images on your non-commercial websites for free by embedding them.

Downloading an image and uploading it to your website is still a no-no — you’ve got to embed it. An embed is slightly more intrusive than simply adding a photo to your post – it keeps its own frame, share buttons, and branding. Still, for many blogs, it’s an option worth looking into.

CreateHER Stock

CreateHER Stock’s team has manually curated more than 200 high-quality images of women of color – from top-notch close-ups to artful background images. The only caveat: the photos are for personal use only. (Do check out their license here.) You can also receive new free images every month when you sign up to their newsletter.

Facebook posts, Instagram posts, tweets, and more

You can embed Facebook posts, Instagram feed posts or Reels, tweets, TikTok videos, Pinterest pins, and YouTube videos in your blog post.

Often, readers can engage with embedded posts more deeply than static content by following users, liking, or commenting on the posts — meaning credit for the poster is effectively baked into the embed. 

There are two important things to consider here: First, if the content is removed by the poster, your embedded image will be replaced with an error message.

Second: it’s worth making sure you only embed images from creators and accounts you trust own the rights to the image they’ve posted — it’s not too difficult to pass off someone else’s work as your own on social media these days!

Schedule your images with Buffer

Whenever you share your blog posts or marketing websites with Buffer (either through your dashboard or the browser extension), we will automatically pick up images from those websites and suggest them to you for your social media posts. You just have to click on your favorite image to add it to your social media post.

Over to you

What free image sites did I miss? What tools do you like the most to find or create images? I’d love to keep the list growing in the comments!

P.S. If you are looking for background music for your videos, you might like our collection here.

GIFs are awesome. And they’re everywhere. We use them at Buffer in our tweets, our emails, our Slack channel. Anywhere there’s a message, there’s the chance for a GIF. ‌‌

What is a GIF, you ask? For the uninitiated, GIFs are really just animated image files. GIF stands for graphics interchange format.

While plenty of people have very strong feelings about how to pronounce the word — ”giff” vs. “jiff” — the original creator of GIFs, Steve Wilhite, once said: “The Oxford English Dictionary accepts both pronunciations. They are wrong. It is a soft ‘G,’ pronounced ‘jif.’ End of story.”

Want to know how to create a GIF and when and where to share them? We’ve collected all the best tools, tips, and tricks for an A+ GIF game.

Become a GIF-making pro in no time

In this article, we’ll give you all you need on how to start making the most impact with GIFs, including:

1. How to make a GIF
2. Where to find brilliant pre-made GIFs
3. Examples of how you can use GIFs in your marketing

Let’s start with a quick guide on some of the best tools available to create your own GIFs.

8 best apps and tools for making your own GIFs in minutes

Creating your own GIFs is fun and opens up a world of possibilities. These GIF creator tools are easy to use and will turn you into a GIF-making machine in no time.‌

1. Giphy‌

Giphy is home to one of the internet’s largest GIF collections (more on that a little later), and it also has some brilliant GIF-making tools. Giphy’s GIF Maker enables you to make a GIF directly from a video file or YouTube link.‌
‌‌
‌With GIF Maker, you simply paste a video URL or upload a video file, and Giphy’s simple-to-use interface lets you choose the point in the video from which you’d like the GIF to start, choose the duration, and add a caption. ‌
‌‌
‌Once you’re happy with your GIF, click ‘Create GIF,’ and it’ll be added to Giphy, ready to share across any social network!‌

You can also combine your pictures and files in Giphy to create animated GIF slideshows. Simply choose the still images or GIFs you’d like to use, then choose the order and the length of time for images in your slideshow.‌

2: GIFs.com‌

If you want to make a GIF from a YouTube video or Instagram post, GIFs.com is the perfect tool.‌
‌‌
‌With GIFs.com, all you need to do is paste the URL of the video you’d like to convert to a GIF, and you’re all set. The app features a range of great editing tools as well, including the ability to add captions with customizable fonts and crop the image.‌

‌3. Gifmaker.me‌

Gifmaker.me is a free tool that allows you to create animated GIFs and slideshows from images. Gifmaker features a simple ‘Control Panel’ allowing you to customize your GIF by changing the canvas size, speed of transitions, and the number of times the GIF should repeat.‌
‌‌
‌Once you’re done creating your GIF, you can resize it, flip it, and reverse it to meet your needs‌.

4. Imgflip‌

Speaking of flipping, Imgflip enables you to create a GIF from multiple images and also turn a short video clip into a GIF. Imgflip allows you to edit your GIF by adding text, changing the speed, and resizing the image. But if you want to export your final GIF without a watermark, you’ll need to become a member of Imgflip Pro ($12.95 per month).

5. Ezgif‌

If you’re a GIF hoarder, you’ll love Ezgif.com. The site lets you upload up to 2,000 image files (max size 100MB) to the GIF maker. So GIF away!‌

Like most other GIF creators, you can customize your GIFs (resize, crop, reverse, add captions, etc.). Ezgif is proactive about making regular updates to the website based on user suggestions.

6. Canva‌

We love Canva! So much so that our Buffer Dashboard has a Canva integration that lets you connect your Canva and Buffer accounts. In just a few clicks, you can quickly create or import your favorite Canva designs and publish them to your social media channel.‌‌‌

‌When creating GIFs on Canva, you can explore the platform’s extensive library for premade GIF templates, animate designs and export them as GIFs, or design a GIF from scratch in the GIF maker. You also have options to make a GIF from a video, add text to it, play with different fonts, and apply different effects.

‌7. Zight

Zight (formerly known as CloudApp) is incredibly useful and amazingly simple for making GIFs directly from your computer screen. It allows you to take screen recordings, annotate images, record webcam videos, and much more.‌
‌‌
‌This app is super-useful for creating GIFs for tutorials or walk-throughs because once you have Zight installed on your computer, you can record screencasts, download them as GIFs, and even share them with a unique URL generated for each recording you make.‌

8. Recordit‌

‌

Like CloudApp, Recordit is a downloadable software (available for Windows and Mac) that allows you to select a section of your screen to record and create a GIF in seconds. You can see from the GIF above how quick and easy it is to use!

How to make GIFs in Photoshop from images

Creating GIFs in Adobe Photoshop takes a little more time than any of the other apps and products we’ve mentioned so far, but it also gives you the most freedom to create exactly what you’re looking for.

Here’s an example of a GIF we made in Photoshop using the technique we’ll explain below:‌

‌‌
Step 1. Load images into Photoshop

If you already have a sequence of images ready

‌GIFs are made up of a series of images (called frames), and if you already have a bunch of images you’d like to turn into a GIF, open Photoshop, the select File > Scripts > Load Files Into Stack.‌

Then select ‘Browse’ and choose the files you’d like to include in your GIF.‌

If you don’t have an image set ready‌

If you don’t have an existing group of images you’d like to use, you can create a set of new layers within Photoshop to act as the frames in your GIF. To add new layers to your Photoshop project, choose Layer > New > Layer until all your frames are included. When all your layers are ready, go to Step 2 and create your animation.

Step 2: Create your animation

To animate a GIF animation, you need to organize your images into a timeline. This will set up the flow of the animation and make your image ready to export as a GIF. To create your Timeline, click Window > Timeline. You’ll then see a Timeline appear at the bottom right of your screen.‌

Next, click ‘Create Frame Animation’ within your Timeline, and then click the menu in the right-hand corner of your Timeline and choose ‘Make Frames From Layers.’‌

Now that your frames are in place, it’s a good idea to preview your animation. Hit the Play button in the bottom left of your Timeline, and check for any frames that are out of place. If they are, simply drag and drop them to a new position in the Timeline.‌

Step 3: Export your GIF

Once you’re happy with the way your GIF looks, export it for use on your website, social media profiles, or anywhere you’d like to share it. To export your GIF, click File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy).‌
‌‌
‌You’ll now see the ‘Save for Web’ window, and this is where you can choose the type of GIF you’d like to create. Under the “Preset” menu, select GIF 128 Dithered. The number after the GIF indicates the number of colors that’ll be included in your GIF, and including Dither helps to alleviate pixelation from color banding. Then, change the Colors setting to 256 (the maximum number for a GIF).‌
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To see how it turned out, hit Preview… in the bottom left corner. It’ll open your default web browser and play a looping preview of your GIF.‌

‌‌Finally, click Save as, name your GIF file, and download your masterpiece to your computer.

How to convert a video into a GIF using Photoshop

Photoshop can also help you convert a video into a GIF by transforming each frame of the video into a frame within a GIF. To import a video, click File > Import > Video Frames to Layers.‌

You’ll then have the option to choose how much of the video you import and whether you’d like to pull in every frame (for longer GIFs, importing every other frame should be sufficient quality).‌

Once you’ve imported your video, you can add text and captions and make edits within Photoshop, and then follow Step 3 from the previous section to export your GIF.

How to make GIFs on a mobile phone or tablet

Options for making GIFs on your phone vary depending on the software, hardware, and carrier you have. The easiest and quickest option that works across almost all mobile devices is ... (drum roll) Giphy. ‌
‌‌
‌Here’s how to make a GIF in the Giphy app using a video on your device:‌
‌‌
1. Download Giphy (iOS, Android) on your phone or tablet and open the app.‌
2. Click Create + in the top-right corner of the screen.‌‌‌

Step 3: Use the camera button to record a video clip or click the library icon next to it to select one from your phone’s camera roll.‌‌

Step 4: Select ‘Share GIF’ to save your GIF to your device or share it to social media.‌

6 must-visit websites to find the perfect pre-made GIF

There are tons of GIF resources out there; here are just a few of our favorites.

Tap into Canva’s vast library of templates to find the perfect GIF for your brand based on the themes, colors, and styles. You can also narrow your quest further by searching based on what you need it for. Do you need a GIF for a presentation or for social media?

2. Giphy‌

With tons of GIFs, a great search function, and pre-selected categories, Giphy is the gold standard of GIF finding.

3. Tumblr‌

Remember Tumblr? Yep, it’s still around and is still useful for GIF culture and finding the memes of tomorrow before they blow up. Explore all GIFs here, or search for a specific GIF type using the Tumblr search bar.

4. Imgur‌

You never quite know what you’re going to find on Imgur — it could be a viral photo, video, or GIF. Try your luck with the site’s grab bag of new and viral GIFs, or search by topic or activity.

5. Tenor‌

With more than 300 million monthly users, Tenor is GIPHY’s biggest competitor, thanks to its simpler interface. So GIFers who want to quickly find what they’re looking for without any extra bells and whistles will appreciate Tenor’s minimalist dashboard.

6. Google image search

Perhaps the best-known place to search for anything — including GIFs — is Google. To include only GIF images in your search, start with image search, then:

1. Click ‘Tools’
2. Under ‘Type’, choose ‘GIF’
   ‌‌‌A quick word of caution: Be wary of using copyrighted work in your social sharing since most GIFs are protected by copyright law. When in doubt, make your own GIFs.

10 ways to use GIFs for your brand

From product promotions to email marketing, GIFS help tell your brand story in creative ways. Level up your marketing with these ten fun tips for GIFs.

1. To show your brand’s personality

Brands that appear human and share authentically can create a connection with their audience, and funny/weird/endearing GIFs can be a part of that.‌
‌‌
‌Who does it best? Google is always at the forefront of most technological innovations, so, unsurprisingly, they share some incredibly slick GIFs on social that demonstrate the brand’s dedication to aesthetics. ‌
‌‌
‌The example below shows Google’s Dino T-Rex going for the gold ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.‌

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2. As part of your marketing campaigns

GIFs can be a great way to promote your products or services in fun and unconventional ways.‌
‌‌
‌Who does it best? Rent the Runway is a subscription service that allows people to rent designer fashion for work and events. As part of its The World is Your Runway campaign, the brand created its own GIF stickers its followers can upload to their own stories.‌

3. To explain a process or a how-to

Sometimes, it’s a lot easier to explain something visually than with words. GIFs can help show actual steps for guides, manuals, tutorials, and how-tos.‌
‌‌
‌Who does it best? Netflix uses a GIF to show its members how to remove a title from their ‘Continue Watching’ category on all devices.‌

4. For customer service

If a picture says a thousand words, then a GIF can tell a billion. And with more than 10 billion GIFs shared daily on Giphy alone, you’re sure to find something that can help you express a particular sentiment to your customers without using words.‌
‌‌
‌Who does it best? Starbucks loves using GIFs on X. They use Starbucks-branded GIFs in their daily interactions with customers.‌

5. To make a big announcement

If you want to stir up excitement for an upcoming sale, tease customers with a sneak peek of a new product, or surprise and delight your fans, GIFs can help you do that. ‌
‌‌
‌Who does it best? Is it a bit much to be tooting our own horn here? Sorry! GIFs are often a part of Buffer’s launch announcements as they’re a great way to quickly showcase new features. Check out how we shared more about our Beta program in the tweet below.

6. As part of your email marketing

Email is one of the most effective marketing channels. And because GIFs come in small files, they’re easy to engage your audience without clogging their emails.‌
‌‌
‌‌Who does it best? Copyhackers provides writing courses and resources for copywriters, startups, and marketers. Even though they’re all about copy, they throw GIFs into their emails to help get their point across.‌

7. Celebrate special occasions

Just in case you needed an extra excuse to share a GIF, a holiday or special occasion would be it. And if you don’t want to create your own, you’re sure to find a GIF for every occasion online.‌
‌‌
‌Who does it best? Yosushi shows you don’t need to overthink or go overboard with your GIF designs. To ring in the New Year, they shared a GIF with plain white “Happy New Year” text over one of their meals.‌

8. To make data fun

GIFs can help turn what could otherwise be boring numbers into something visually stimulating and engaging.‌
‌‌
‌‌Who does it best? Data Scientist Aron Strandberg used a GIF to animate how India is overtaking China as the world's most populous country. The GIF shows a side-by-side historical and future projection of China and India’s population from 1992 to 2050.‌

9. To promote content

Whether it’s a blog post, article, or newsletter, you can use GIFs as a way to entice people to read, download, or subscribe.‌
‌‌
‌Who does it best? In the tweet below, the television show RuPaul’s Drag Race goes all-in with emojis and a GIF to get their followers to “snatch up” and “subscribe” to their newsletter.‌

10. To generate engagement

GIFs are a gift that keeps on giving. And you don’t even need to share a GIF to get a GIF!‌
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‌Who does it best? On X, we found that just asking our followers to share a GIF is a great way to generate a stream of engagement.‌

Show and tell

In this article, we’ve shown you several ways to make a GIF and places where you can find pre-made ones. We’ve even shared ten examples of ways that GIFs are used by brands. Now over to you.

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If you found this guide useful, we’d love to see a GIF of your own or for you to share one of your favorite GIFs with us on X.

Whether you are a seasoned social media marketer, a marketer looking to venture into social media marketing, or a business owner looking to leverage social media, it’s helpful to know about the most popular social media sites out there right now. This will allow you to maximize your brand reach on social media, engage with the right people, and achieve your social media goals.

Of course, it isn’t only about the size of the social media sites. It’s also whether the social networking site is a right fit for your business and you. Does it fit your brand image? Is your target audience using that social media site? How many social media sites can you manage at once?

To make things easier, we researched and compiled information about the top social media sites in 2023. Some will be familiar to you, while others might sound new. We recommend reading through this list to learn more about the social media apps that might be great for your brand. And remember, you don’t have to be on every social media site to have a successful brand.

The top 23 social networking sites of 2023

The rankings on our list are based on the relevance to brands and creators, as well as the number of Monthly Active Users (MAUs).

1. Facebook — 3.03 billion MAUs

Facebook is the largest social networking site, with over 3 billion people using it monthly, according to Statista. This means roughly 37 percent of the world’s population are Facebook users. Facebook's direct messaging spin-off app, Facebook Messenger, boasts 931 million monthly active users.

More than 200 million businesses (mostly small businesses) use Facebook tools, and more than seven million advertisers actively promote their business on Facebook, which makes it a pretty safe bet if you want to have a presence on social media.

It’s easy to get started on Facebook because almost all content formats work great on Facebook — text, images, video content, and Stories. But the Facebook algorithm prioritizes content that sparks conversations and meaningful interactions between people, especially those from family and friends.

To learn more about how to start conversations on Facebook, check out our guide to marketing your business on Facebook — and measuring your results.

2. YouTube — 2.5 billion MAUs

YouTube is a video-sharing platform where users watch a billion hours of videos daily. Besides being the second largest social media site, YouTube is often called the second largest search engine after Google, its parent company.

So if you use video to promote your business, then you definitely need to add YouTube to your marketing strategy. To get started, here’s how to create a YouTube channel for your brand.

To help your videos get discovered by more people, we recommend reading up on YouTube SEO or considering advertising on YouTube to increase your reach.

3. WhatsApp — 2 billion MAUs

WhatsApp is a messaging app used by people in over 180 countries. Initially, people originally used WhatsApp to send text messages to their family and friends. Gradually, people started communicating with businesses via WhatsApp.

WhatsApp’s business platform allows businesses to provide customer support and share updates with customers about their purchases. For small businesses, there’s the WhatsApp Business app, while enterprise businesses can use the WhatsApp Business API.

As the most widely used messaging platform, WhatsApp can be a great customer service channel for your business. Check out these WhatsApp Business user success stories.

4. Instagram — 2 billion MAUs

As a visual social networking platform, Instagram is the place for showcasing your products or services with photos or videos. On the app, you can share a wide range of content, such as photos, videos, Stories, Reels, and live videos.

As a brand, you can create an Instagram business profile, which provides rich analytics of your profile and posts and the ability to schedule Instagram posts using third-party tools. It’s also a great place to get user-generated content from your audience because users frequently share content and tag brands.

To help you use Instagram like a pro, check out our complete guide to Instagram marketing.

5. WeChat — 1.3 billion MAUs

WeChat was released in 2011 by Tencent, one of China’s biggest tech companies. Like WhatsApp and Messenger, WeChat was originally a messaging app, but it’s evolved into an all-in-one platform. Besides messaging and calling, users can shop online, pay bills, buy groceries, transfer money, make reservations, book taxis, and more.

WeChat is the most popular social media platform in China and other parts of Asia. So if you want to boost your brand in China (where popular social networks like Facebook and X are banned), WeChat is a good alternative. You can run ads on the official WeChat account or on WeChat Moments. There are also many WeChat-based influencers who can help your brand reach millions of Chinese consumers.

6. TikTok — 1.05 billion MAUs

TikTok (known as Douyin in China) is a short-form video-sharing app. Despite only launching in 2017, it’s one of the fastest-growing apps in the world and recently overtook Google as the most visited internet site.​

TikTok allows users to create and share videos between 15 and 60 seconds long, and the app has a vast catalog of sound effects, music snippets, and filters to enhance the videos and make them more appealing.

You can find videos relating to almost all interests, ranging from lip-syncs, dancing, and challenges to DIY tricks and make-up tutorials. About 47.4 percent of TikTok users in the U.S. are aged 10-29. So if your target demographic is young, then TikTok is a great platform for your business to be on.

💡We've added TikTok scheduling to our publishing platform! You can plan and schedule TikTok posts in advance to help you grow your brand and increase your followers!

7. Telegram — 700 million MAUs

Telegram is a free messaging app that works across multiple devices with no limits on media sizes.

Telegram's distinctive feature is its end-to-end encryption for all activities, including chats, groups, and media shared between participants. Its focus on security has drawn more customers over the years, especially when WhatsApp announced changes to its privacy policy that would allow it to share information with parent company Meta.

There are several ways brands can make use of Telegram, besides providing one-on-one customer support. For example, brands can create chatbots for the Telegram platform or make use of Telegram's channel feature to broadcast messages to up to 200,000 people.

8. Snapchat — 557 million MAUs

Snapchat focuses on photos and short videos (known as snaps) shared between friends. It made the vertical video format popular, which eventually proliferated on other social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

But the rise of Instagram Stories, specifically, seems to have hindered Snapchat’s growth and marketers’ interest in using Snapchat for their brands in general.​

Nevertheless, 69% of U.S. teens say they use Snapchat. So if your target audience is mostly teenagers,  you should consider using the app. If you’re not familiar with Snapchat, check out our beginner’s guide to Snapchat. Or if you’re undecided between Snapchat and Instagram, we wrote a little comparison of Snapchat and Instagram for brands.

9. Kuaishou — 626 million MAUs

Kuaishou is a Chinese rival to Douyin or TikTok. Like its competitors, Kuaishou allows users to overlay text and stickers to images or videos and add sound bites. Users can also live stream content to their followers on the platform or record longer videos.

Compared to TikTok, Kuaishou is more popular with an older audience, especially in rural parts of China. The app also relies more on e-commerce revenue than on advertising revenue.

10. Qzone — 600 million MAUs

Qzone is another China-based app from Tencent that mixes social networking and blogging with more than 600 million monthly active users. Users can upload multimedia, keep diaries, write blogs, play games, and stream music.

Like Facebook, users can also connect with friends, see a feed of updates, comment, share or react to posts, and update cover or profile photos.

11. Sina Weibo — 584 million MAUs

“Weibo” (微博) means “micro-blog” in Chinese. Launched by the Chinese technology company Sina Corporation in 2009, Sina Weibo or simply Weibo is, you guessed it, a microblogging platform that compares to Twitter and Instagram.

Through Weibo, users can post images, videos, and stories, see trending topics, use hashtags in posts, and use the platform for instant messaging.

In comparison to WeChat, Sina Weibo has a younger demographic, and it offers more informational and trending content. In fact, The New York Times said Weibo is the place to be if you “want to go viral” in China. Weibo also allows businesses to set up official and verified accounts to communicate with their followers and to use paid advertising.

12. QQ — 574 million MAUs

QQ was released in China in 1999 by Tencent. Prior to the launch of WeChat, QQ was the number one Chinese messaging app. Besides its instant messaging features, QQ also enables users to decorate their avatars, watch movies, play online games, stream music, shop online, blog, and make payments.

While WeChat has become the market leader in China, QQ is still popular with younger social media users. It’s also used in 80 countries and is available in many other languages. One of the upsides of QQ is you don't need a phone number to sign up. This attracts young people who don't have mobile devices but use the desktop version.

However, the largest audience for QQ is in the workforce. QQ’s desktop messenger is popular for its ease of use and ability to transfer files greater than 25 MB, which WeChat doesn’t allow.

13. X (formerly Twitter) — 556 million MAUs

X, a platform with about 556 million monthly active users (as of January 2023), invites an audience that loves to post news, entertainment, sports, politics, and more. What makes the platform once known as Twitter different from most other social networking sites is it strongly emphasizes real-time information — things happening and trending right now — and in just 280 characters (140 for Japanese, Korean, and Chinese).

Many brands use Twitter as an alternate customer service channel. According to advertisers on Twitter, more than 80 percent of social customer service requests happen on Twitter. And Salesforce calls Twitter the “New 1-800 Number for Customer Service.”

If you’re new to the platform, check out our Twitter Tips for Beginners. After you’ve mastered the basics, explore the 20 Hidden Ways to Use Advanced Search for Marketing and Sales.

14. Pinterest — 445 million MAUs

Pinterest is a one-stop shop for inspiration and discovering new products and ideas. On Pinterest, users "pin" photos that link to websites, product pages, blog posts, and other content across the internet. It's a great platform for driving traffic to your website, and Pinterest’s user base are 7 times more likely to purchase products they've pinned.​

Popular topics and themes on the social platform include fashion, beauty, home, garden, and DIY. So if your business operates in any one of those industries, then you should highly consider using Pinterest marketing to gain exposure for your business.

15. Reddit — 430 million MAUs

With roughly 1.7 billion visits in April 2023, Reddit has been called the "front page of the internet," thanks to its mix of current events, celebrity "ask me anything" (AMA) events, and in-depth discussions of niche topics.

There are subreddits (i.e., dedicated forums) for pretty much anything under the sun. Subreddits, however, have different levels of engagement, so it’s great to research to see if there are popular subreddits your brand can be part of. For example, if your business is a beauty brand, you could join r/beauty.

Be aware, though, most subreddits do not allow self-promotion. The aim is to engage with members in the respective subreddits by asking and answering questions, sharing tips and resources, and participating in discussions.

Besides submitting your content to Reddit and participating in discussions, you can also find content ideas and advertise.

16. LinkedIn — 424 million MAUs

At roughly 424 million monthly active users, LinkedIn has evolved from a simple job search engine and resume site into a professional networking platform where industry experts share content, network, and build their personal brand. It has also become a place for businesses to establish thought leadership in their industries and attract top talent.

To help you grow your LinkedIn Business Page, we have written a simple five-step strategy. LinkedIn also offers advertising opportunities, including the ability to send personalized ads to users’ inboxes.

17. Quora — 300 million MAUs

Quora is a community-based Q&A website and app where people can find information on a wide variety of topics. Questions and answers are user-ranked based on views, votes, reviews, and shares.

As a brand, you can create a Quora page for your business or use employee advocates to answer questions about your products or services or about topics in your industry. Quora also has an ads platform you can use to advertise your business. And because 63% of users research major online purchases, it's a great place to reach customers actively looking for a product or service.

18. Discord — 154 million MAUs

Discord is a communication platform primarily designed for gamers. It allows users to create servers, join communities, voice chat, and text chat with others in real time.

Discord is popular due to its ease of use, customizable features, and compatibility with various devices. It has expanded beyond gaming communities and is now used by businesses, educational institutions, and other groups.

19. Twitch — 140 million MAUs

Twitch is a live-streaming platform for gamers. It offers video game content and other forms of entertainment. Users can create a channel, stream their gameplay, and interact with their audience through chat.

Twitch has become a central hub for the gaming and esports communities. It's a place where many professional players, teams, and tournaments use it to broadcast their matches. Twitch's success is driven by its community-driven approach, allowing creators to build a dedicated following and earn money through subscriptions, donations, and sponsorships.

20. Tumblr — 135 million MAUs

Tumblr is a popular microblogging social media site with 135 million monthly active users.

Users can share content in different formats: text, photos, videos, GIFs, audio clips, links, and more. The site's users share content on every topic, niche, and interest imaginable.

Tumblr also lets you customize your blog design. For this reason, many users opt to use their Tumblr account as their website.

21. Threads — 23.7 million (predicted U.S. users)

Instagram’s Twitter alternative, Threads, hit app stores in 2023 with a bang, though its record-breaking rise to 100 million sign-ups couldn’t quite keep momentum.

While the Meta-owned platform has yet to reveal much data about its user base, Insider Intelligence predicts Threads to have 23.7 million monthly active U.S. users in 2023, which is still pretty impressive for a new product.

22. Mastodon — 1.7 million MAUs

Mastodon, a new entrant on the social media scene, exploded in popularity in late 2022, taking it from 300,000 to over 1.7 million monthly active users in 2023.

Mastodon is a decentralized, open-source software that allows users to set up servers to communicate with each other. Users can create posts of up to 5,000 characters, and add images, audio, and video.

23. Bluesky — MAU unknown

Bluesky is a decentralized, invite-only social network built on an open-source protocol. While they’ve yet to publicly share their monthly active user numbers, the platform hit the 1 million (total) users mark in September 2023.

Bluesky was created by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey while he was still in the role. The platform, which also has an iOS and Android app, bears a striking resemblance to Dorsey’s former product.

Be selective with your social media presence

You don't need to be everywhere all at once (Buffer's barely active on Facebook). So regardless of the size of the social media site, consider whether your brand’s target audience is active on those platforms. It’s better to pick two to three sites and do them well rather than create so-so content for five or more different platforms.

P.S. Buffer lets you schedule social media posts to several top social media sites. If you want to manage more than one social media account across multiple platforms, try Buffer (totally free) to experience what it can do for your business.

Whether you're an individual looking to build a personal brand or a business aiming to reach new customers, TikTok offers an unparalleled opportunity for growth. Its algorithm is designed to give even the smallest accounts a chance at viral fame, making it a democratic platform for those looking to make an impact.

While a large number of followers doesn’t equate with success as a creator, a follower count is a currency and can determine many things, like how much you can charge for brand deals and the number of people you can reach.

In this article, we'll provide actionable tips and strategies to help you grow your TikTok following. So whether you're a TikTok newbie or looking to take your account to the next level, read on for insights to help you achieve your TikTok goals.

1. Know your target audience and create for them

TikTok is a melting pot of cultures, age groups, and interests, with over a billion active users. From Gen Z to Baby Boomers, the platform has something for everyone. But if you're looking to grow your followers, it's crucial to understand who you're creating content for.

Creating generic content and hoping it sticks is like throwing spaghetti at the wall. Knowing your audience allows you to make your content more engaging.

• Start by diving into your TikTok analytics. Look for patterns in the age, gender, and location of your followers. Are they mostly teenagers interested in fashion? Are they millennials who love travel? Once you've identified your audience, think about what they would like to see and how they would like to be engaged.
• Create content that speaks to them. Once you know your audience, the next step is identifying your niche. For example, if your followers are into fitness, a video about your workout routine would be more impactful than a random dance video. Always ask yourself, "Would my target audience find this valuable or entertaining?"
• Don't be afraid to experiment. Test different types of content to figure out what gets more engagement. For instance, if you're unsure whether your audience prefers comedy skits or how-to videos, try posting both and see which one gets more likes, shares, and comments.

Knowing your target audience is not just a one-time activity, it's an ongoing process. People's preferences change, and the TikTok algorithm evolves. Keep an eye on your analytics, listen to your audience, and be ready to pivot your content strategy when needed.

2. Watch and participate in trends

Trends are the lifeblood of TikTok – they come and go like the tide, but when they're in, they're in. Participating in trending challenges or using trending sounds can catapult your video onto the For You page (FYP), TikTok's main feed and recommendation algorithm, exponentially increasing your reach.

TikTok trends are more than just viral moments; they're opportunities to showcase your creativity, reach a wider audience, and even go viral. But remember, trends are time-sensitive. The earlier you jump in, the better.

Keeping an eye on the FYP is a good start, but don't stop there. Follow popular creators, check out trending hashtags in your niche, and pay attention to the sounds that are being used repeatedly. Not every trend will align with your brand or interests, and that's okay. The key is to adapt trends to fit naturally with your content. For example, if you're a fitness influencer, you could turn a popular dance trend into a workout routine.

While it's tempting to jump on every trend, it's important to maintain your brand's authenticity. Ask yourself, "Does participating in this trend align with my brand's values and aesthetics?" If the answer is yes, go for it. If not, it might be best to sit this one out.

Trends are a double-edged sword. There's always a chance your take on a trend could flop or, worse, backfire. However, the potential rewards – increased visibility, more followers, and higher engagement – often outweigh the risks.

The key is to use them wisely – participate only if they’re relevant to your content. Keep your finger on the pulse of what's trending, but never lose sight of who you are and what your brand stands for.

3. Cross-promote with other TikTok creators

Collaborating and cross-promoting with other creators can introduce your content to a new audience, doubling your reach with a single video. But it's not just about the numbers – it's about community building and creative exchange.

TikTok offers unique features like duets and stitches that make collaboration easy and fun. A duet allows you to create a side-by-side video with another creator, while a stitch lets you clip and integrate scenes from someone else's video into your own. These features offer a seamless way to engage with other creators and their audiences.

Not all collaborations are made equal. Partnering with influencers or creators who share your target audience and values is important. Do your research, check their engagement rates, and reach out with a well-thought-out proposal. Some other dos and don'ts of collaboration include:

• Do have a clear agreement on the content and message of the collaboration.
• Don't collaborate with someone whose brand conflicts with yours.
• Do give credit where credit is due.
• Don't force a collaboration; it should feel natural and authentic to both parties

A successful collaboration can be the start of an ongoing relationship. Consider creating a content series or challenge together or cross-promoting each other's merchandise or upcoming events. Cross-promotion is a win-win situation when done right. It can help you break out of your follower bubble, enrich your content, and even lead to incredible friendships. So go ahead and reach out to that creator you admire – you never know where it might lead.

4. Start a content series

While one-off videos can be fun and engaging, there's something to be said for the long game. Starting a content series on TikTok can offer a sense of continuity that keeps your audience returning for more. It's storytelling at its finest, a strategy that can pay off in spades.

A content series is essentially a string of interconnected videos that revolve around a central theme or narrative. It could be as simple as a "Tip of the Day" series or as complex as a serialized story. The key is consistency in the theme, tone, and posting schedule of your content.

Steps to creating a winning content series

1. Define your plan: The first step in creating a content series is planning. What's the overarching theme? How many videos will it include? What's the call to action? Sketch out a rough outline and start filling in the details. Remember, the content should be engaging enough to stand alone but intriguing enough to make viewers want to see the next installment.
2. Figure out the hook: Every good series has a hook or a reason for viewers to tune in to the next episode. This could be a cliffhanger, a question left unanswered, or a challenge posed to the audience. Use this hook to your advantage to keep viewers engaged and coming back for more.
3. Post consistently: Once you've started your series, stick to a consistent posting schedule. Whether daily, weekly, or bi-weekly, consistency helps build anticipation and keeps your audience engaged.
4. Don't be afraid to pivot if something isn't working: Use audience feedback and analytics to make data-driven decisions. Maybe your series needs a new angle, or perhaps it's time to wrap it up and start something new. Be flexible and willing to adapt.

Starting a content series is a commitment, but it's one that can offer significant rewards. It can help you build a loyal following, boost engagement, and provide a structured framework that makes content creation a breeze. So go ahead, start that series, and take your TikTok game to the next level.

5. Use hashtags and create captions related to your niche and audience

Hashtags aren't just a trendy add-on – they're a powerful tool for discoverability on TikTok. Using the right hashtags makes it easier for your target audience to find your content, thereby increasing your chances of gaining new followers and boosting engagement.

Selecting the right hashtags is a balancing act. The recommended number of hashtags is three to five hashtags per post. You'll want to include a mix of general, niche-specific, and trending hashtags. General (but relevant) hashtags cast a wide net, niche-specific ones attract a targeted audience, and trending hashtags can give you a shot at viral fame.

In addition, if you've built a significant following or want to establish stronger brand awareness, consider creating a branded hashtag. This can serve as a rallying point for your community and make tracking user-generated content related to your brand easier.

Some tips for using TikTok hashtags include:

• Use relevant hashtags that align with your content. Check TikTok’s Creative Center for potential hashtags to use in your content.
• Keep an eye on trending hashtags and participate when relevant.
• Don't spam your captions with irrelevant or overly general hashtags.
• Don't use the same set of hashtags for every video – mix it up for different kinds of content and to reach different audiences.

Hashtags and captions are more than just afterthoughts; they're integral to your TikTok strategy. You can significantly boost your reach, engagement, and follower growth by being thoughtful and strategic in using hashtags and captions. So go ahead, hashtag away, but do it wisely.

6. Add closed captions to your videos

Closed captions might seem like a small detail, but they can make a world of difference in how your TikTok videos are received. Not only do they make your content more accessible to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, but they also offer SEO benefits and can increase viewer engagement.

More than 1.5 billion people worldwide are currently affected by hearing loss in at least one ear, and about 430 million people worldwide require rehabilitation for disabling hearing loss. Adding closed captions to your videos helps make your content accessible to a broader audience.

TikTok's algorithm is a bit of a mystery, but what we do know is that it values engagement. Closed captions can increase the time people spend watching your video, which in turn can boost its visibility on the platform. Plus, captions make your content more searchable, boosting your TikTok SEO.

Adding closed captions to your TikTok videos is straightforward. You can either manually type them in as you edit your video or use third-party apps that generate captions for you. The key is to ensure they're accurate and sync well with the video.

Tips for effective closed captioning on TikTok

• Keep it short and sweet: TikTok videos are short, so your captions should be too. Aim for concise, clear language.
• Timing is everything: Make sure your captions are well-timed to match the video's audio or action.
• Be mindful of readability: Use a font and background that make the text easy to read. Avoid fancy fonts or colors that clash with the video.

Adding closed captions to your TikTok videos is a small effort that can yield big results. It enhances accessibility, boosts engagement, and even improves your video's discoverability. So the next time you post a video, don't forget the captions—it's a win-win for everyone involved.

7. Publish your videos at the right times

You've worked to create a great TikTok video, but when should you hit that "Post" button? Believe it or not, timing can be a crucial factor in how well your video performs. Publishing your TikToks at the right times can help your video reach a wider audience and increase its chances of going viral.

To maximize your video's reach, aim to post during the hours when your target audience is most active on TikTok. This usually means evenings and weekends, but it can vary depending on your specific audience demographics.

If you have a global following, time zones can complicate things. You might need to experiment with posting at different times to see when you get the best engagement. Some creators even repost videos at different times to reach audiences in various time zones.

While the TikTok algorithm is not fully understood, it's believed that videos that get quick engagement are more likely to be pushed to a broader audience. Posting when your followers are most active can give your video the initial boost it needs.

How to find your ideal posting time

• Analyze past performance: Look at your TikTok analytics to see when your past videos have received the most engagement.
• Conduct A/B tests: Experiment by posting similar videos at different times and days to see which performs better.
• Monitor real-time analytics: After posting, keep an eye on how quickly your video gains views and engagement. This can offer immediate insights into whether you've hit a sweet spot.
• Consistency over perfection: While timing is important, consistency is key. If you can't always post at the ideal time, don't sweat it. What's more important is maintaining a consistent posting schedule that your audience can rely on.

Publishing your videos at the right times can give them the extra push they need to reach a wider audience and rack up those views. It's a simple yet effective strategy that can make a significant difference in your TikTok success. So go ahead, set that alarm, and get ready to hit "Post" when the time is just right.

8. Play around with the length of your videos

TikTok allows videos ranging from 15 seconds to 3 minutes, but what's the ideal length for your content? While shorter videos are more consumable, longer, videos provide the space to delve deeper into a topic. The trick is to find the sweet spot that works for you and your audience.

Short, 15 to 30-second videos are the bread and butter of TikTok. They're quick to watch, easy to engage with, and perfect for simple, catchy content. If you want to capture attention fast, this is your go-to format.

TikTok's 3 to 10-minute video options allow you to explore topics more deeply. This format is ideal for tutorials, storytelling, or any content that requires more time to unfold. However, longer videos demand stronger storytelling skills to keep viewers engaged.

Sometimes, 15 seconds is too short, and 10 minutes is too long. Videos that fall in the 30- to 60-second range offer a happy medium. They're long enough to convey a complete thought but short enough to keep the viewer's attention.

Don't be afraid to mix it up. Experiment with different video lengths to see what resonates most with your audience. Use TikTok analytics to track metrics like watch time and engagement rates for videos of varying lengths.

Tips for effective video lengths

• Start strong: Regardless of length, your video should grab the viewer's attention in the first few seconds.
• Pacing is key: Make sure the content flows naturally and keeps the viewer engaged throughout.
• End with a bang: Conclude with a strong call-to-action or a memorable moment encouraging likes, shares, or follows.

The length of your TikTok videos isn't a one-size-fits-all scenario. It's an element you should tailor to your content type, audience preferences, and the message you're trying to convey. By playing around with different video lengths and analyzing the results, you can optimize your content for maximum impact.

9. Use trending music and sounds

One of the unique features of TikTok is its extensive library of music and sounds that creators can use. Using trending music and sounds can not only make your videos more engaging but also increase their chances of going viral.

Trending music often comes with its own set of trending challenges or dances. By using a popular track, you're essentially hopping on a trend that already has a built-in audience and increasing your video's visibility.

TikTok's algorithm tends to favor videos that use trending music. This is because these videos are more likely to be engaged with, shared, and saved, all of which the algorithm considers metrics when deciding what to show on the 'For You' page.

How to find trending songs and sounds

• Explore the 'For You' page: This is where you'll find videos that are currently trending, complete with the music they use.
• Use TikTok's music discovery feature: This tool within the app helps you find popular tracks in different genres.
• Follow popular creators: Keep an eye on what music popular TikTokers are using; chances are, those tracks are trending.

Tips for using music effectively

• Match the mood: The music should complement the content of your video. A mismatch can be jarring and reduce engagement.
• Volume control: Make sure the music doesn't overpower your voice if you're speaking in the video.
• Legal considerations: Always consider and respect copyright laws. TikTok's library is generally safe to use, but if you're sourcing music externally, make sure you have the rights to use it.

Music and sound are more than just an auditory experience on TikTok; they're a strategic tool that can significantly impact your video's performance. By tapping into trending music and sounds, you're giving your content a leg up in the TikTok algorithm and increasing its potential reach and engagement.

10. Share user-generated content

User-generated content (UGC) is a goldmine for content creators looking to build a more engaged and loyal community. It adds a layer of authenticity to your TikTok account and encourages more interaction from your audience.

When you share content created by your followers or other TikTok users, you give them a shoutout. This can increase engagement, as people are likelier to interact with a creator who appreciates and highlights their community. If someone has said something positive about your brand or content, why not share it?

However, before you use anyone’s content, make sure to always get consent from and give credit to the original creator. You should also prioritize quality over quantity – choose UGC that aligns with your brand and content quality standards. Additionally,

• Make sure your shared UGC fits seamlessly with your existing content strategy.
• Use UGC as an opportunity to engage with your community. Ask questions, seek opinions, and encourage more users to share their content with you.
• Monitor metrics like engagement and follower growth to gauge the effectiveness of sharing UGC.

Sharing user-generated content is not just a strategy – it's a way to build a community around your TikTok presence. It adds a layer of authenticity and engagement that can set you apart from other creators. So go ahead, start sharing, and start engaging!

11. Cross-post your videos

Creating engaging content takes time and effort, so why limit its reach to just one platform? Cross-posting your TikTok videos to other social media platforms that prioritize short-form videos, like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, can maximize your content's exposure and draw a broader audience.

Different platforms have different user demographics, and you tap into multiple audiences by cross-posting. Besides, you've already worked to create a great TikTok video – sharing it on other platforms is a quick way to get more mileage out of your content. More engagement across different social media platforms can signal to algorithms that your content is worth promoting, increasing its visibility.

Remember that each platform has its own set of guidelines and best practices. Make sure to adapt your video accordingly. Consider the peak activity times for each platform to maximize engagement and customize platform-specific features like hashtags and captions to fit each platform.

In addition to Reels and Shorts, you should consider cross-sharing on Twitter and LinkedIn. While not designed for short-form video, these platforms can still be useful for sharing standout TikTok content.

Cross-posting is more than just a time-saver; it's a strategy to amplify your content's reach and impact. By sharing your TikTok videos on other platforms, you're not just recycling content; you're repurposing it for broader success.

Improve your TikTok growth with Buffer

As you implement these strategies, remember that what gets measured gets managed. TikTok offers a range of analytics tools that can help you track your growth, engagement rates, and the effectiveness of your content. Regularly monitoring these metrics will show you what's working and provide insights into improvement areas.

Finally, don’t give in to the temptation to buy TikTok followers – it’ll only hurt your account in the long run. Growing your TikTok following is not an overnight endeavor, but with high-quality content, consistent effort, and a strategic approach, you’re more likely to see significant growth. So go ahead, roll up your sleeves, and dive into the TikTok universe. Your future followers are waiting!

Everything you need to know about pinpointing the best times to post on Instagram for maximum engagement.

You will learn

• Which days and times are generally best for posting
• The best time for sharing Instagram Reels
• How to use analytics to figure out the best time to reach your specific audience

There are many factors to consider when it comes to posting on Instagram — but very few of them can make or break a post in the way that timing can.

The last thing you want is to spend the time and resources it takes to come up with a showstopper piece of content only to post in an engagement dead zone that results in… crickets.

Sharing Instagram Stories, Reels, photos, and carousels at optimal times for engagement is a great way to get around this hurdle – if your content immediately makes it to your target audience’s feed while they have time to engage with it, it’s more likely to succeed.

With all that in mind, let's dig into everything you need to know about when you should be posting on Instagram — including how to figure out the best time for your audience.

Is there a best time to post on Instagram?

While there's no single, universal best time to post on Instagram, there are times when your audience is more likely to be active on the app. Why does that matter?

Well, each section of the app (the main Instagram feed, Stories, Instagram Reels, and the Explore page) is governed by a separate algorithm. One of the most important “signals” for the various Instagram algorithms is engagement.

Engagement — likes, comments, shares, and saves — on your content tells the app that your content is resonating with people. In turn, Instagram will show your content to more people like those who have already engaged. This is particularly true in the public discovery pages, Explore and Reels.

So while Instagram post recency is not as crucial as it once was (R.I.P chronological feed), it’s still an important factor to consider when developing your social media marketing strategy.

As such, active times for your audience are definitely something you should be aware of. In a nutshell: the more people there are online, the more likely your content is to get engagement. The more engagement you get, the better your Instagram content will perform.

The best times to post on Instagram

This study by Influencer Marketing Hub consolidated data from various social media tools to pinpoint trends in peak engagement times.

As you'll see from the graph above, people behave in fairly predictable ways, depending on the day of the week. For example, they’re more likely to get up very early on a Monday (hence that peak engagement time at 5 a.m.) or mentally check out of work earlier on Fridays (which is why app usage generally goes up from 2 p.m. onwards).

Posting content between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. is always a safe bet, as this is when people are most likely to indulge in a lunch break scroll. Audience behavior can be a useful guide when scheduling content and building out your social media strategy.

The best time to post on Instagram on Monday

The numbers suggest the best time slots on Mondays for engagement are 5 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 p.m., and 1 p.m.

• ⏰ Peak Instagram engagement time on Monday: 12 p.m.

The best time to post on Instagram on Tuesday

On Tuesday, the data suggests that the best times to post are early morning: specifically, 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m. and 10 a.m.

• ⏰ Peak Instagram engagement time on Tuesday: 9 a.m.

The best time to post on Instagram on Wednesday

Wednesday is one of the best days to post on Instagram (more on this below), and there are several specific times you can take advantage of for engagement: 5 a.m., 6 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m., and 12 p.m.

• ⏰ Peak Instagram engagement time on Wednesday: 11 a.m.

The best time to post on Instagram on Thursday

On Thursdays, the data suggests the best posting times are 6 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 p.m., and 1 p.m.

• ⏰ Peak Instagram engagement time on Thursday: 11 a.m. & 12 p.m.

The best time to post on Instagram on Friday

On Fridays, the numbers show that the higher engagementtime slots are 7 a.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., and 4 p.m. — people are clearly checking out of their workday early come end-of-week.

• ⏰ Peak Instagram engagement time on Friday:  2 pm

The best time to post on Instagram on Saturday

For a good chance of high engagement, aim to schedule your Instagram content for 6 a.m., 8 a.m., 9 a.m., and 10 a.m. on Saturdays.

• ⏰ Peak Instagram engagement time on Saturday: 9 a.m.

The best time to post on Instagram on Sunday

Instagram users love a late-night/early-morning scroll on the weekend, resulting in an engagement hotspot at 1 a.m. on Sunday morning. Alternatively, content posted at 6 p.m., 7 p.m., and 8 p.m. will likely also do well.

• ⏰ Peak Instagram engagement time on Sunday: 6 p.m.

This is where social media scheduling tools like Buffer really shine. Experiment by systematically going through the times on the list above, scheduling a post, and tracking its performance to see what works best for your specific audience.

What is the best day of the week to post on Instagram?

Weekdays are generally better for posting on the social media platform, with Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays coming out tops.

Comparatively, the worst day to post on Instagram is usually a Sunday.

What is the best time to post Reels on Instagram?

While there is some overlap, data from Influencer Marketing Hub, reveals that there are some differences in the best time to post Instagram Reels.

An update on the algorithm by Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri could offer some insight here: People’s behavior tends to differ in different areas of the app, Adam wrote. “People tend to look for their closest friends in Stories, use Explore to discover new content and creators, and be entertained in Reels.”

It stands to reason, then, that people are looking to be entertained at certain times of day, and catch up with friends, family, and their favorite creators at other times.

After analyzing more than 100,000 short-form video posts to find the best engagement rates, researchers shared these at the best times to post Instagram Reels.

• Monday: 6 a.m., 10 a.m., 10 p.m.
• Tuesday: 2 a.m., 4 a.m., 9 a.m.
• Wednesday: 7 a.m., 8 a.m., 11 p.m.
• Thursday: 9 a.m., 12 a.m., 7 p.m.
• Friday: 5 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m.
• Saturday: 11 a.m., 7 p.m., 8 p.m.
• Sunday: 7 p.m., 8 a.m., 4 p.m.

The best time for you to post on Instagram

While all of the above time frames can be useful in helping you put together a posting schedule as you’re just starting out, take it all with a pinch of salt.

There are better ways to figure out when your audience is online and engaging — and these times might not align with the general guidelines above.

How to find the best time for you to post on Instagram

Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all for the best time to post on Instagram. Your peak engagement time will likely differ from someone else’s.

For example, my Instagram audience’s activity level is pretty steady on work days and on the weekends. They’re less likely to be online during work hours, and engagement usually peaks in the early evening. They’re slightly more active on Wednesday, with activity peaking at 6 p.m. in my time zone (SAST).

For Buffer’s Instagram following, things look a little different. “We’ve found that posting between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. PST on weekdays works well for us, though Mondays at 7 p.m. PST are our best engagement time,” says  Social Media Manager Mitra Mehvar. For ease of comparison, those times are 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. EST, and 10 p.m. EST.

“In general, I’ve found that weekends have had a lower engagement for us so I usually don’t post on Saturday and Sunday,” she adds.

Option 1: Instagram Insights

To get similar stats for your own audience via the Instagram analytics baked into the app, head over to Instagram Insights on the mobile app:

• Go to your Instagram profile and click on the hamburger menu (the three horizontal lines) on the top right of your screen.
• Tap on ‘Insights’.
• From there, click on ‘Total followers’
• Scroll down to the bottom of this page and look for ‘Most active times’. You’ll be able to toggle between hours for every day of the week or look at specific days.

Note that you’ll need an Instagram Business account or Instagram Creator account to access these metrics.

Option 1: Buffer Analytics

Social media analytics tools like Buffer will offer deeper insights. If you’re a Buffer user, our Analytics offer even deeper insights into the best times to post on Instagram. To find yours:

• Head over to analyze.buffer.com in your desktop browser and make sure you’re logged into your Buffer account.
• Click on ‘Instagram’ on the left side of your screen. There’s a host of important data to dig into here, including post performance and audience demographics.

• Click on ‘Answers’. Here, you’ll find insights on a whole lot more than the best time to post (think which post types are the best for you, or how often you should be posting) but the best time to post is the second box from the top.

Here are some of the Answers for our Instagram account in Buffer"

Your checklist for high-performing Instagram posts

While figuring out the best time to post for maximum engagement is an important part of your Instagram marketing strategy, it’s not the be-all and end-all.

As we unpack in our guide to the Instagram algorithm(s) there are a huge number of factors to take into account if you want your content to perform well. Here’s our checklist for high-performing Instagram content:

1. Make the most of Instagram’s new features: As with the launch of Instagram Stories and Reels, the platform loves showcasing its new features. Using them could mean getting your content in front of new audiences.
2. Experiment with post types: Regularly trying out a new type of content will help you figure out what resonates the most with your audience. Plus, it’s a great way to repurpose your content.
3. Don’t neglect your caption: According to a fascinating report by HubSpot, captions that performed the best were either very long (over 2,000 characters) or very short (less than 20). Using emojis in captions was also shown to boost engagement.
4. Use hashtags: Studies show that posts with hashtags receive higher engagement than those without. Buffer’s Hashtag Manager will make adding your favorite ones your caption or comments a breeze.
5. Prioritize authentic engagement: Rather than wasting time and resources on Instagram algorithm hacks, focus on fostering meaningful engagement with your followers. That means replying to comments and messages, resharing their mentions of you, and even interacting with them on their own content.
6. Analyze to see what’s working: Use Instagram Insights to see which of your posts have had the most engagement. Buffer's analytics will also help you uncover your best posts (those with the highest engagement) in just a few clicks.

What have you found most helpful when determining your best time to post on Instagram? Let us know @buffer on all our social media accounts!

As a social media manager, you spend your day juggling various hats: capturing ideas, recording content, designing aesthetic visuals, writing compelling captions, monitoring post performance…I could go on.

But, many tasks on your to-do list are tedious, repetitive, and time-consuming. These jobs are a necessary evil — they need to get done, but they barely move the needle for your social media marketing strategy.

What if I told you you could do many of those tasks in half the time or less? Here are 17 Chrome extensions that’ll make the manual work quicker — and by extension (see what I did there?) your job more enjoyable.

17 best Chrome extensions for social media marketers

The browser extensions on this list fit a wide array of tasks — some are for scheduling posts, some are for making your life easier, and some are for making things more efficient. You’re balancing a wide array of tasks daily — so I’ve ensured the browser extensions I chose reflect that.

If you like the job a browser extension does but don’t like the extension itself, I’ve also shared alternatives wherever available. There’s something on this list for everyone.

Note: While all of these extensions are available on the Chrome web store, you can also install them on another web browser like Firefox, Safari, or Brave. Many extensions are also available on other iOS devices (like iPhone) and other operating systems like Android.

1: Buffer

Best for scheduling your social media posts

Price: Free plan available for up to three social media channels. Paid plans begin at $6/month for one channel.

Buffer’s Chrome extension lets you create posts or save an idea for later without opening your Buffer web app in another tab.

Let’s say you just published a new article and would like to share it on your LinkedIn profile. If you have installed Buffer’s browser extension, you just have to:

1. Click on the Buffer icon

2. Select if you want to create a post or save the link as an idea

3. A new browser will open with the content from your selected webpage

And you’re done!

How easy (and quick!) was that? You can also save images and text the same way. Right-click on the selected text or the image and hover over the “Buffer” option.

2: Evernote Web Clipper

Best for storing interesting stuff you find on the internet

Price: Free plan available. Paid plans begin at $14.99/month.

If you want a separate browser extension for storing interesting articles, Evernote Web Clipper is perfect. It lets you bookmark webpages, PDFs, articles, and screenshots to your Evernote account. You can even use it as a screen capture tool and annotate screenshots however you like.

I love how flexible Evernote’s Web Clipper is. There are a variety of functionality. You can:

• store any link as a simplified article
• save only certain sections of a webpage
• add notes or comments to go with your clip
• categorize what you’re clipping into your choice of notebook

Evernote is also a note-taking app. I often use it to capture all my ideas and take meeting notes. If you’d like a browser extension that only bookmarks and organizes interesting stuff for you — and does nothing else — try Pocket.

3: Grammarly

Best for proofreading your social media posts

Price: Free plan available. Paid plans begin at $30/month.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever published a social media post with a typo and then wished you could bury your head into the ground. 🙋

Typos here and there are no big deal. We’re all human. But we’d all also love to avoid them at all costs. Grammarly’s browser extension helps you do just that — without any hassle. Install the extension, and the plugin will proofread text on almost every website — social media, blogs, Google Docs, or Gmail.

Grammarly goes beyond spell-checking — it also provides suggestions on tone, word choice, and unclear sentences. It’s like having a foolproof proofreader helping you perfect your social media captions at the click of a button.

If you’re not a Grammarly fan, ProWritingAid is also a top-notch grammar checker. If you want more AI suggestions to improve your captions, try Wordtune.

4: Bitly

Best for shortening links

Price: Free plan available with ten links per month. Paid plans begin at $8/month (charged annually).

URL shorteners are essential to make your links short, neat, and trackable. And Bitly is a household name for shortening long links to short ones.
Bitly’s browser extension shrinks your long links into short ones at the click of a button — without needing to open Bitly in a new tab.

As an add-on, you can also create QR codes for your link and add UTM codes, tags, & a title to categorize your URL using the browser extension itself. On your personal dashboard, you can see how your links are performing.

If you want something simpler because you don’t need to track your links, use the T.LY URL Shortener extension. If you need something with more bells and whistles — like adding a custom call-to-action to your shortened links — Sniply is a useful Chrome extension.

5: Pinterest

Best for saving ideas to Pinterest from anywhere

Price: Free.

Whether you’re using the social media site Pinterest to gain exposure for your small business, store interesting post ideas, or multiply your audience, it’s a pain to save ideas from the internet to your boards manually. Enter: The Pinterest browser extension.

Install it, and with a single click, you can save any idea to your public or private boards.

💡 You might like reading: How to Use Pinterest — The Insider Guide for Businesses (With Strategies From the Pinterest Team)

6: Figure It Out

Best for seeing time zones together at a glance

Price: Free plan available for three locations. Paid plans begin at $3/month for unlimited locations.

If you’re a social media marketer with clients across the globe, you’re likely required to post content in different time zones. Figure It Out (FIO) is a browser extension that does the legwork of answering, “What time is it in the U.K.?” without Googling it every time.

Whenever you open your new tab screen, the different time zones you’ve added to FIO will display — making the tedious job of Googling the time in another state or country much quicker.

💡 You might enjoy reading: It’s Time to Reconsider ‘Best Time to Post on Social Media’ Studies. Here’s What to Do Instead.

7: OneTab

Best for cutting down tab clutter

Price: Free.

How many open tabs do you have on your screen right now? If you’re anything like me, it’s no less than ten. One for work, another for research, another for designing posts, the list goes on. All these tabs open at once can feel overwhelming and bite at the focus you need to do deep work.

OneTab browser extension turns all your tabs into a list on a new tab page. You can access these tabs individually or simultaneously as and when you need them.

OneTab also reduces your CPU load — making your computer run faster. Not to mention: Subtracting the tab clutter will significantly enhance your browsing experience.

If you have too many open tabs, you can also use the Tab Wrangler browser extension to close inactive tabs (which are all stored, never lost completely) or The Great Suspender Chrome extension to close them permanently.

What if your problem is organizing your tabs instead of tab overload? Toby and Workona are excellent browser extensions that can double as productivity tools — they bookmark and organize all your tabs.

8: Ghostery

Best for adblock and avoiding getting tracked

Price: Core features are free, but you can always become a contributor at $4.99/month.

A social media marketing plan involves research left and right: Competitive analysis, design inspiration, social media monitoring, and more. But if you’re working with multiple clients or enjoy scrolling on social media for your downtime, a plethora of different ads (that aren’t catered to your interests) will target you. It can be annoying — especially from websites taking your data without the right permissions.

Ghostery is one of the many Google Chrome extensions that protects your privacy by blocking ads, pop-ups, cookies, and trackers.

Since Ghostery has automation to ensure you don’t consent to any cookies, no website tracks your browsing data, and you aren’t targeted with ads related to work. But it goes beyond adblock: You can also use Ghostery to find who is advertising in your competitor’s organization because this extension shows the advertisers on a webpage.

If you don’t want to adblock, use the Click and Clean Chrome extension to delete all your browsing data in one click — including cookies, databases, and websites’ caches. It has keyboard shortcuts, too, so you don’t even have to do a single click.

9: Nimbus Capture

Best for taking screenshots or screen recording

Price: Free basic plan. Paid plans begin at $5/month.

Nimbus’ browser extension lets you capture screenshots from any webpage. Whether you want the full page or only a certain section, Nimbus has you covered. It also enables you to annotate your screenshots and use its editing features like changing background color.

The toolbar lets you save screenshots in your Google Drive or Dropbox folder or even upload them to Slack.

Nimbus also has a screen recorder — you can record your screen (whether one tab or webcam only) and annotate the video recording. It’s great for recording a video of your screen for a social media post or collaborating with your colleagues.

If Nimbus isn’t your thing, Awesome Screenshot & Screen Recorder is another useful Chrome extension that does the same thing Nimbus does. For video recording specifically, you can also try Loom or Vidyard.

10: GIPHY

Best for finding GIFs quickly

Price: Free.

As a social media marketer, GIFs are your best friends to express emotions visually. GIFs have found an irreplaceable place on the internet in sassy replies, inside jokes, and hilarious memes. Finding the right GIF has become an art in itself.

Instead of going to GIPHY to scroll through your options, install GIPHY’s browser extension to have GIFs at your fingertips in a few clicks.

Not just this: GIPHY’s extension also has stickers, clips, emojis, and GIPHY text in its browser extension. You can download the media, link to it, or copy its embed code. For websites that allow it, you can also drag and drop GIFs from the extension directly.

11: Eye Dropper

Best for finding the right color code of any webpage

Price: Free.

How many times have you wanted to create a design using brand colors but forgotten the hex code? Or how many times did you love the color on a website and broke a sweat trying to find the exact shade? Been there, done that.

Eye Dropper is one of the best Google Chrome extensions to find out the exact color code of any website in one click. You just have to click on the Eye Dropper icon after installing it and pick any color from the web page to get the exact color code.

If you’re looking for an alternative, ColorZilla is another great browser extension that does the same thing.

12: WhatFont

Best for finding the fonts used in any webpage

Price: Free.

WhatFont is for fonts what Eye Dropper is for colors. Use the WhatFont browser extension to get the exact font name on any webpage.

1. Go to any webpage of your choice

2. Click the WhatFont icon

3. Hover over the text to get the font name

Fonts and colors are tiny things that need to be consistent across websites, social media, and any marketing asset to give a cohesive feeling to your brand. Using these browser extensions means you don’t have to hunt for the right font or color — enabling you to focus on more important aspects of your job.

If WhatFont isn’t cutting it for you, try the Font Finder Chrome extension.

13: Dashlane

Best for storing all your passwords securely

Price: Free plan available. Paid plans begin at $3.99/month.

Storing all your passwords on a sticky note, secret notebook, or Notes app isn’t the safest thing for the health of your social media accounts (sorry). But you can’t possibly remember the password to every account. That’s where password managers come in.

Dashlane’s browser extension stores all your passwords safely and auto-fills them whenever you try to log in.

You can also generate strong passwords, store secure notes, and get notifications when malware affects your data. The only thing you have to keep handy is the master password you use to log in to Dashlane.

Remember: Syncing passwords across devices is only available in premium accounts.

If Dashlane isn’t your favorite choice, LastPass is also an A+ password manager with a Chrome extension. You can do all the things in LastPass that you can do in Dashlane, but I liked the latter’s user experience better.

14: Unsplash

Best for finding images for your social media posts

Price: Free.

Nothing gives a social media feed more edge than aesthetic designs. Unsplash has one of the best collections of all kinds of images. With Unsplash’s browser extension, you can access all its media much faster.

All you have to do is click on the Unsplash icon and search for your desired image using keywords.

15: vidIQ Vision

Best for analyzing your competitors’ YouTube videos

Price: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $7.50/month.

If you have created a YouTube channel, it’s essential to understand and monitor competitors’ metrics like SEO score, views per hour, and more. vidIQ is a browser extension that gives you all that and every other data that you could possibly need.

All you have to do is install it, and it’ll work its magic for every YouTube video you watch. It also does a channel audit to help you understand what’s working in your strategy and what might need your attention. Its competitive analysis data can also help you improve your YouTube optimization and subscriber engagement.

💡 You might find this helpful: A Comprehensive Glossary of by Social Media Terms

16: Upfluence

Best for analyzing influencer profiles

Price: Free to analyze ten profiles daily. The tool’s pricing is custom-quoted.

If you’re a creator or a social media marketer who also manages influencers, you need Upfluence's browser extension. It gives you the deets on a creator’s audience demographics, engagement rate, and average likes & comments.

Upfluence’s extension is excellent for quickly evaluating creators for your influencer marketing strategy. If you purchase the tool, you can also save influencers to your lists with your notes.

My favorite alternative for Upfluence is Aspire.

17: One Click Extensions Manager

Best for managing all your extensions

Price: Free.

Extensions can definitely improve your efficiency, but there’s a point where they become too much to manage. The solution? Another extension manager to manage all browser extensions. (How meta.)

One Click Extensions Manager is a simple browser extension that shows all your extensions in a list when you click on it. You can enable, disable, or remove your browser extensions from here.

Extension Manager is also a good alternative if you need it.

Extend your efficiency with browser extensions

The best part about any Google Chrome browser extension is it increases your efficiency and quickens manual tasks. But make sure you don’t install so many extensions that you forget you have them at all. This will nullify their functionality.

Start slow and install extensions for the most repetitive tasks in your workflow. As you become habitual to using them, keep adding more to your arsenal.