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floraone · 4 years

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What do we mean when we say “sex positivity?”

With Smutember around the corner, and because this is SADLY nothing sex ed talks about consistently around the globe, I want to take a bit of time to about sex positivity if you’ll allow me. Specifically, what we mean when we use the term, and what it doesn’t. Does sex positivity mean you have to like having sex? (Spoiler, it doesn’t). Does sex positivity mean it’s wrong to not be open about doing certain practices? (Nope, it doesn’t either.) Does sex positivity mean I have to either love or hate porn, or erotic literature? (No, again.)

Since I’ll talk about this for a little longer, AND you because get to decide if you want this topic on your dash*, read ahead after the cut. (*and, while we’re at that, with smutember coming: all posts on this blog will be tagged with the hashtag #smutember2020 henceforth. If you don’t want to see this content, please feel free to block the hashtag.)

Forthose who don’t want a long post, here is the TL;DR:

Sex positivity is defined in many, many different ways, but ultimately spans attitudes regarding how we perceive sex and sexual conduct both for ourselves and others. It sees sex as a healthy expression of ourselves in which all consensual expressions of it are valid. In which shaming each other for sex or sex practices or shaming each other for the lack of experiencing sexual desire and having healthy sexual boundaries is not sex-positive. Sex positivity is about embracing all expressions of sex and sexuality (as long as they are between consenting people) as something positive that embraces open communication about personal limits and desires, and encourages exploration. Consent here is the most important prerequisite requirement: That all people involved are of an age and state of mind and consciousness where they are able to willingly consent, as well as have the perceived power to willingly consent to participate in the action.

So, to preface this shortly, this isn’t actually a term that is super easy to define. Which is why scholars (among them feminist, psychologist, social studies and sexual medicine scholars and many others) have not yet agreed on a universal definition. In fact, there are papers solely focusing on comparing definitions to find their common ground. It is, thus, definitely not something that goes without saying.

Before I can speak about what sex positivity is, we have to talk about the most important ingredient, though: Consent.

What is (and isn’t) consent?

Consent is the explicit agreement to participating in any action, and here, specificially, sex. It can be verbal and non-verbal, but it means everyone involved really wants to do all sexual actions that are being done, no exceptions. It means no one is being coerced against their will, no one’s concerns are being ignored, their desires and boundaries are known and being listened to and respected. It means no one is doing something they had no chance to reflect upon if they want it or not, and no one is doing something they don’t want out of obligation or a sense of duty. It means no one is having sexual contact with someone who isn’t able to consent in any form: be it because they can’t consent because of their age, or limited consciousness, or because of perceived verbal or nonverbal threats and/or consequences. The latter, in its most base terms, means (non-exhaustively) that people below the (culturally differing) ages of consent - meaning children and young teenagers - cannot consent, that people who are intoxicated, under the influence of drugs, asleep, in a state of trauma or shock, in a dissociated state of mind or any similar states cannot consent, and that people who feel they have no power to say no cannot conset - i.e. someone who fears consequences to their physical, social or psychological well-being (or those of others) if they say no, which can range from, say, an employee feeling like they can’t decline an employer’s physical advances that they don’t want without negative consequences in any form in their work-environment, or a person in a romantic relationship fearing a break-up if they don’t “deliver” sex even if they don’t want it, or a person who feels they have to “deliver” sex they don’t want in order to prove their personal worth or love or affection or to avoid ridicule. These are of course non-exhaustive. A person who says yes even though they don’t want to because they feel they can’t say no, as well as a person who is too young and/or unable to say no, isn’t consenting.

And because this is so important, here, have that brilliant Tea of Consent by Emmeline May, quoted and photographed off my copy of “More Orgasms Please: Why Female Pleasure Matters” by the Hotbed Collective.

What Sex Positivity Is

Most of us are very intuitive about what sex positivity is, but the fewest of us have ever discussed it at length in any way or form, and thus the edges are very often hazy!

First and foremost, sex positivity is a set of attitudes that forms personal beliefs regarding sexuality, how we perceive collectively shared sexual norms, and how we view sexual autonomy and sexual expression both in ourselves and others. So what does that all entail, and how does that look?

A basic view of this is: sex is good! Sex is, as long as it’s consensual, something healthy, and a valid and enjoyable way to express intimacy, affection, love and desire. It’s not just a means to an end (satisfaction, babies, etc.) and it should not be shrouded in shame or pain or discomfort, and instead be communicated about openly and respectfully. This is of course, in direct answer to sex-negativity: The belief that sex is bad, shameful, sinful, and having it makes you just as sinful.

Here is one of many scientific definitions for the term: “[Sex positivity is] the belief that all consensual expressions of sexuality are valid.” (p.289)

That means if you’re, say, really into having sex while wearing stockings (actually something that comes up very often when you ask people of their fantasies in surveys!) or maybe wanting to be tied up for it (also a VERY frequent fantasy) and do it ONLY with people who are into it, too, and not against their will, then it’s a healthy expression of your desire and no one (no parents, no society, no church or institution or anyone) is entitled to shame or sanction you for it.

As Justin Lehmiller, a social psychologist and sex researcher says, society (including its medical and psychological history and authorities, sadly!) has had a very narrow and restrictive view of what is “ok” to be desirable when it comes to sex in the past and sadly sometimes still the present, and that “they’ve pretty much told us that we shoudn’t do anything other than put penises in vaginas and even that, ideally, should only take place within the confines of a heterosexual, monogamous marriage).” (p.vi) Bringing with it the dogma of immorality and crime, among else.

Sex positivity aims to be the antithesis of this. It means all forms of consensual sexual expression are valid. Not one form is better than another. If you live and love monogamously or heteronormatively, it isn’t better or worse than living in any other form. From polyamory to kinks, or having any kind of consensual fetish that don’t hurt anyone else or their free sexual expression when sharing them with others, all of them are valid, none of them are better or worse than any other individual choice. It means celebrating and validating all forms of sexual expression (or lack thereof!) as well as all forms consensual practices, while having any form of sexual identity and any placement on the wide spectrum that is gender identity.

What Sex Positivity Isn’t

Because sometimes it is easier to thoroughly understand something by outlining what it DOESN’T include, this is more imporant than many might think. And because I’m obviously not the first person to think about this, there is this really great article by Everyday Feminism about what sex positivity isn’t that is written in a very clear and straight-forward way, that I’ll urge everyone to check out, but I’ll also outline some select few of the (more numerous) basics they’ve described here:

🚫 Sex positivity means liking sex

No. Just because someone really, really enjoys sex, that does not mean at all they are sex-positive by default. Sex positivity isn’t synonym with being overly enthusiastic about having sex or surrounding yourself with it. It can! But that’s not at all the point in the slightest. Someone who really likes sex can still be disrespecful about someone else’s sexual expression, or feel entitled to someone else’s sexual acts or interest in sexuality, or that they can judge someone’s sexual identity or form of expression. Sex positivity is about respecting others in all their forms of sexual expression, even if those forms don’t represent your own. Likewise, someone who does not themselves like or enjoy sex can still be respectful of other’s expression of it in any form and with any other person or persons, and see sexuality as a healthy form of self-expression even when it is their choice to not engage in it for any span of time or reasons.

🚫 Sex positivity means everyone should have and like sex because it’s healthy

No. There are uncountably many reasons why someone might be repulsed by sex or simply not interested it. All of them are valid. None of them are to be shamed. Sexual trauma, sexual exploitation, a lack of feeling sexually empowered, pain during sexual intercourse, lack of desire, internalized shame that prevents sex from being enjoyable, the feeling of being in an environment where your sexuality is coerced or objectified and not feeling comfortable with it, being touch-repulsed or simply feeling no inkling of “lust”. All of this is valid. Sex positiy means respecting boundaries in consentual sex. It does not mean you have to have sex if it is unpleasant for you for any number of reasons. Of course, if you want sex and are suffering under any number of reasons that make you not enjoy it even though you would intrinsincally WANT to enjoy it (Anything from pain to sexual trauma to shame), then there are professionals out there qualified to help and counsel you. But they, too, are not entitled to dictate sexual action for you. Only you decide if you want to have sex or not. No one else. You are the master of your sexual expression in any form and are entitled to decide how, when and if you (and only you) want it, and no one else. That is an expression of sex positivity.

🚫 Sex positivity means being open to all forms of sex

No. Being sex positive means you respect the healthy expression of your own and someone else’s sexuality, and this includes their boundaries. You can believe that sex is healthy and enjoyable and should not be shamed in the least, and still not like anal. It does mean however that you still respect someone and their sexual expression when they do like the shit out of anal (pun intended lol, thank you very much.) This person is not entitled for YOU to like anal or to get it from you if you don’t enjoy it, and you are not entitled for them to not desire it. And this of course goes for any sexual practice. Judging and shaming someone for enjoying giving blowjobs is not sex-positive, just like it isn’t sex-positive to expect someone to inherently WANT to give blowjobs. Sexual boundaries are very healthy, and an important form of self-reflection and the root of true informed consent. Knowing what you like and don’t like and that these things will most likely differ from others in their unique expression is an important path to a most healthy sexual expression.

🚫 Sex positivity means always being ready, available, and interested in sex, with anyone.

No. Sexual expectations wear heavily on people from any gender or sexual identity. Many queer or nonbinary people suffer, among else, under sexualisation and being made the stuff of fetishes or being ascribed heavily sexualized attributions. Many men, among else, suffer under normative stereotypes, myths and sexual scripts that say they always want sex and are unmanly when they don’t feel desire 24/7, that they’re always up for sex and never not in the mood. Likewise, the 70s brought women and their sexual freedom into a position heavily reinforced by porn scripts in which they are expected as ‘sexually freed’ beings to be sexually available, ready, interested, and orgasmic at all times, and if you are not, you are a prude, and if you do it too much, you are a slut. These are all (non-exhaustive) forms of sexual shaming and dictated sexual expectations. If you are generally enthusiastic about sex and enjoying it, you are allowed to have phases where you feel less desire. And whether you are someone with a generally smaller libido that sometimes spikes, or you’re someone who has never felt any sexual desire at all, or someone who wants sex a lot, you are sex positive when you respect other’s free expression of it, and this includes the frequency in which they want it or with whom they have it. You get to pick what sex you have and with whom or how many you have it, no one else. Anyone who tells you otherwise under the mantle of ‘sex positivity’ is, as everyday feminism so eloquently put, employing “sexual coercion cloaked in faux-progressive language. If someone is calling you a prude or sex-negative for not having sex with them, they’re violating your consent and their opinion of you is invalid. And just because you want to create a world in which everyone is empowered to make the sexual choices they want doesn’t mean that you personally have to be interested in casual sex.”

🚫 Sex positivity means sex is healthy, so that means I am entitled to sex.

No. It means you are entitled to WANT to have it, but not to have it. In sex as in every other need involving other people (from receiving oral, to boardgames, to conversations, to a hug or affection): Just because you are entitled to want something or even very validly need something, that does not mean someone else is obligated to give it to you. Just because someone needs comfort and company, you are not obligated to give it. Just because someone wants and needs attention, it is not your job to give it. Just because someone wants sex and feels they need it, even if they are your partner, you are not obligated to give it. This can be frustrating, of course. But NO: Just because you want sex, you are not entitled to have it. Ever. From anyone. No one owes you sex, not even if you’re married to them. Everyone has their own sexual agency, and everyone needs to respect it. In fact, feeling entitled to sex lies at the base of sexual aggressive behavior of all kind, and the idea that your own desire for sexual activity rates higher in priority than the individual needs of the person you’re coercing it from. It’s at the root of rape culture, and something we must all internalize to overcome it: Despite you wanting something and it being healthy to have it or to get this something, no one owes it to us or is obligated to give it to us.

🚫 Sex positivity means you have no problems with sex.

No. The term positivity of course often brings overtly positive connotations with it: something easy and happy. Of course, sex positivity doesn’t require you to have an easy or happy relationship with sex and sexuality. Sex can be traumatising, uncomfortable, regrettable, awkward, unpleasant, confusing, or plain boring and uninteresting to you. Even if it isn’t traumatising or painful, it can still be hell of a lot frustrating navigating it and your own desires. Body image issues or and religious restrictions that can be important to you or not, never having orgasmed but really really wanting to, the feelings of not ever having encountered sex that’s truly fun for you, all of these and many, many more are the giant maze that can arise when navigating sexuality in our lives. None of these means you aren’t sex positive. It’s here for survivors of sexual violence and aggression and those who want to reclaim their sexual agency, sexual empowerment and self-expression, just as it is here for asexuals, demisexuals, aromantics, or anyone else. It’s the belief that we have a right to a healthy sexuality without being shamed, violated, sanctioned or discriminated for it, and that we have a right to our boundaries as well as our fantasies.

So, I’m guessing most of you knew this intuitively all along. I’m preaching to the choir. However, seeing it written down often helps us in expressing ourselves, and in the way we confidently navigate our own sexual empowerment.

And, with smutember on the horizon again, when we once again try to incorporate sex positivity in our writing, too, it might serve as a good reminder that we help along the normalisation of sex positivity whenever we portray it in media in general, and fiction specifically! I hope one day we will take all this fully for granted, and everyone around us, too!

#smutember2020 #sex ed #on consent #on sex positivity #celebrating sex positivity together #long post #🍋

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samuelpboswell · 3 years

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How to Accelerate Reach and Engagement of B2B Content Through Co-Creation

“Look, I made this!” Sharing things we create is a human compulsion that traces back to childhood. Whether you’re showing your mom a drawing so she can pin it up on the fridge, or linking social media followers to your latest blog post, it’s natural for people of all ages to proudly broadcast their creative output. Therein lies the power of co-creation for content amplification. "If you want your content reach to be great, ask your community to participate." Let’s explore this approach to content collaboration from a B2B marketing perspective.

Why Co-create Content for B2B Marketing?

There are many benefits to collaborative content creation. TopRank Marketing CEO Lee Odden covered several in his writeup last year on winning at B2B influence with the magic of content co-creation. Among them:

Incorporating the first-hand viewpoints of experts infuses greater authority and credibility to your content.

Featuring various outside voices makes your content more relatable and accessible to varied audiences.

Relevant influencers can inspire action and foster trust in unique ways.

These qualities all trace back to a core fundamental advantage of co-creation: it generates better and more resonant content. And that contributes heavily to the more easily-observable benefit we’ll focus on today: co-created content drives greater reach and engagement without needing to rely on paid boosting. The influencer marketing campaign we partnered with monday.com to develop serves as a prime example. With a diverse team of influencers helping shape the content and sharing it out to their respective networks, the company surpassed its goal for social reach by an astounding 1,790%, driving more than 300,000 organic impressions on social media.

Maximizing Reach & Engagement with B2B Content Co-creation

Of course, content collaborations are not as simple as pushing a button. Taking the right strategic steps before, during, and after your B2B content co-creation initiative will make a vast difference in reach and engagement. Make the Content Great There are many tactics and techniques that can be activated to increase reach and engagement, but none are more important than simply creating awesome content that people are genuinely compelled to share. Instead of asking “How can co-creation partners maximize the reach of this content?” start by asking “How can co-creation partners make this content incredible?” Tap their prime area of passion and expertise so that their distinct strengths are fully reflected. Get Influencers and Co-creators Invested If the extent of your co-creation approach is adding someone’s generic and extraneous insight on top of your completed content, solely for the purpose of shoehorning an influencer into the mix, those partners are not likely to feel the level of ownership that inspires them to enthusiastically share and amplify. Two specific pointers to drive greater investment from influencers:

Invite them to take part in the planning and shaping of the content, rather than asking for an add-on quote at the very end.

Avoid the urge to push for product-focused or promotional contributions — people will be more motivated to share content if they feel it advances their reputation as a thought leader, as opposed to shilling a solution. (And audiences will find the content far more authentic.)

Make It Easy (and Valuable) to Share Consider drafting social messages on behalf of your co-creators to make the process of amplifying as simple and effortless as possible for them. The key nuance here is to know these partners well enough to be able to create social copy that matches their voice, and to center your message on the content’s value to their audience, rather than its value to your company. For example, if your influencer is Wile E. Coyote, you’ll get better results with the framing, “I recently shared my thoughts on what’s next in the future of trapping technology and desert ecology,” compared to “I joined a podcast to talk about why Acme brand products are great for dealing with pesky roadrunners.” Meep meep. Involve Influencers that Bring Authority and Credibility by Proxy One of the underrated motivators for influencers and co-creators to share content is what I like to call “authority by association.” In part this can stem from the brand itself — if you’ve built a respected and buzzworthy reputation, people in your industry will see value in having their names attached to your content — but also from the other co-creators. Wile E. Coyote will be more inclined to share content he’s involved in if Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck also contributed. (Maybe not the Road Runner.) Or, to tie things back to real life, there’s the aforementioned monday.com campaign. Our roster of influencers included recognizable big names from the creative world, as well as up-and-comers who were extremely enthused to have their insights appear alongside the likes of Ann Handley and Minda Harts. As a more personal example, a few years ago I was invited to write the Minnesota Twins chapter in the Baseball Prospectus 2018 annual. And while I was moved to promote the book in large part because it featured my writing and because Baseball Prospectus is a giant name in the realm of baseball media, I was extra-excited to spread the word because Nick Offerman (aka Ron Swanson) wrote the Cubs chapter. How cool is that?!

via GIPHY Plan for Continued, Ongoing Promotion Given how much effort, time, and resources are often poured into large-scale content projects, it always astounds me how frequently the promotion plan basically entails sharing out a few links when the content goes live, and little else. Brands leave so much reach and utility on the table when they fall victim to Invisible Content Syndrome. Think about ways you can extend the lifecycle of your content promotion and keep co-creators engaged for weeks rather than days. A few suggestions:

Make timely updates to the content over time, giving influencers a prompt to re-share and highlight new value for their audience.

Repurpose the content so they can share their portions in different ways (video, quote snippets, customized visuals, etc.) while linking back to the larger piece or asset, and space them out.

Keep tagging co-creators on social media whenever you’re promoting the content, so it stays on their radar long after launch.

Stay committed to mutual value. Continue to invest in your relationships with these influencers and co-creators, and promote their work on your own feeds when relevant to your audience.

Fuel Your B2B Marketing Reach with Influencer Co-creation

Our famous friend Jay Baer has famously stated that “content is fire, and social media is gasoline.” It’s a great way to describe the role that each plays in a marketing strategy, and I think it can easily be applied to co-creation as well. Selecting the right strategic partners to develop awesome content will start the fire, and taking smart steps to encourage promotion and sharing will help those flames rise high enough to be seen from miles around. Ready to get cooking? Learn more about how TopRank Marketing approaches influencer marketing and how we can help you.

The post How to Accelerate Reach and Engagement of B2B Content Through Co-Creation appeared first on B2B Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

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raggywaltz1954 · 7 years

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If there’s one thing anybody who knows me (or anybody who doesn’t know me but lets me talk to them long enough) is aware of, it’s that I’m a Californian through and through, despite my temporary residence in Alabama. One thing that Alabama has that California does not is seasons, and after suffering through another bleak winter, the weather is warming and the leaves are coming back on the trees. In celebration of the turning season, I thought it would be cool to dedicate each post this month to the first full month of spring, April.

The Music

Track: ‘I’ll Remember April’

Recorded 19 September, 1955 in Carmel, California

Erroll Garner: Piano

Eddie Calhoun: Bass

Denzil Best: Drums

‘I’ll Remember April’ is among my personal favorite jazz standards, and Erroll’s interpretation of it is rather unique. He lengthens the song’s form by adding another verse at the end where ordinarily the song would go to the bridge, inserting a turn-around and then repeating the first 16 bars of the song, stretching what was originally a 48-bar song to what on paper is a whopping 64-bar song. The added verse works though, and I’m surprised other musicians haven’t explored this form of ‘April’, at least on record. Garner’s piano playing had swing built into it; his left hand’s strolling four-to-the-bar chording gave the impression that he had a guitar strumming with the group, and his occasional accents really kicked and jumped the music into some in the pocket grooves. Another interesting thing about Garner’s performance of ‘April’ is his convoluted introduction of the tune itself. He frequently improvised intros to songs that had little resemblance to the song he was about to play, keeping the audience and his sidemen in suspense until the moment he began to play the melody of the tune. When he does finally begin to play the melody here, the audience erupts into applause. ‘Red Top’ is a neat little blues outing that finds Garner in a humorous mood, throwing quotes in his solo with abundance.

This live album came about by accident. Garner’s agent, Martha Glaser, noticed a tape recorder running backstage during the concert. She tracked down the guy who was taping the concert, and about a year later in 1956, Columbia put out selections from the concert on this LP, to a smashing success. It’s not a rare album in the slightest, and it’s not a highly sought after record, either. It’s a solid album, though, with swinging and stimulating performances throughout. As an added bonus, we get to hear Erroll Garner speak, in what the liner notes describe as ‘the most succinct curtain speech’ ever.

The Cover

College Jazz Collector Rating: B

It’s not a bad cover, to be honest. You definitely get a sense of being ‘by the sea’, and the use of color in the font is tasteful. Composition-wise, the photo perfectly uses the Rule of Thirds (photographer jargon for aesthetically pleasing balance), putting the woman off to the bottom and side and using the tree to almost frame the photo. In fact, the use of leading lines (the album title to the pine tree to the rocks in the background to the rocks in the foreground to the girl) makes for visually engaging cover. Why just a B rating, then? I’m glad you asked.

A Tale of Three Covers

In 1956 when the album initially was released, the art department decided to use a white model on the cover, a practice that was common back then. The consensus among the executives was that a record wouldn’t sell if it had a negro prominently displayed on its cover. Quick sidenote- according to an established white author and poet who lectured at my university yesterday, this sentiment was alive and well as recently as 2010.

The cover used in 1956 and on all subsequent pressings of the record had the white model in what I’m sure was then-fashionable black pants, a white shirt, and a red jacket. In case you don’t want to scroll back up, here it is.In 1969, Columbia decided to re-release the album in a ‘electronically re-recorded to simulate stereo’ edition. Most record collectors know to run for the hills whenever they see a fake stereo album; I have this edition of the album, and I can say that fake stereo albums are best left alone. More on that later. The album cover on this edition features an updated photograph of the original cover. That is, a more boring cover. The font is a droll white that almost gets lost in the equally droll and gray scenery. The model is again a white woman, and in a reflection of the times the photo was taken, she is garbed in bell-bottom pants, the red jacket replaced by a different red top, and long flowing hair. Goodbye quaint 1950’s, hello psychedelic ’70’s. In 2015, Columbia/Sony released the entire concert, blessing the world with 11 previously unreleased tracks in addition to more stage announcements. The cover art on the CD and vinyl jackets is subtly historic, if not tongue-in-cheek. The multi-colored fonts are back, and it sports an updated subtitle that tells us specifically when the proceedings were recorded. The historic nature of the cover comes when you look at the actual photo. Sixty years after the album came out, Columbia finally thought it was safe to use a black model on the cover. Dressed in a red shirt and black pants, hands outstretched, and standing on the rocks (albeit on the opposite side), the 2015 cover is both a tribute to the original and a quiet monument to where we are today. I say quiet, because nowhere in the extensive new liner notes or anywhere else online for that matter does Columbia/Sony mention this change in models. The kicker is the black model is wearing her hair au natural. Amen and amen.

And that folks is the sixty-year tale of three album covers and why I gave it a ‘B’ rating. By the way, on the back of the CD booklet, the model seems to be holding something in her hand. Surely there’s no symbolism there…

The Back

Yet another example of the wrong kind of autograph. Despite being sixty years old, the white back cover is still pretty bright.

The Vinyl

Columbia 6-eye mono labels on heavy deep groove vinyl. The matrix numbers end with 1C on side 1 and 1A on side 2. Normally I don’t really care about this, aside from general amusement at where in the pressing process my record came from, but in this case I admit that I have slight case of ‘1st of the 1st Syndrome’. Being that this record had sold millions of copies by the end of the 1950’s, it’s kinda neat to know that this particular record was among the very first pressed and released. To get an idea of how many copies were pressed and mastering tapes used, my 1969 copy of this album on fake stereo has matrix numbers ending in 4B and 4D, signifying that the tape used was the 4 times removed from the original. It sounds terrible. The original album was sourced from an amateur bootleg recording, so the sound was already low-quality. Add electronically simulated stereo, and you can guess what the end result is. Interestingly, it sounds like the tape speed was sped up, giving the impression that music is being played faster than 33 1/3 RPM. Here’s the original rip from my record from above, and then the rip from my 1969 copy of the same album, same track. The difference is night and day.

The Place of Acquisition

Sometimes you find gold in the most unexpected places. Such was the case with this album. While working at a summer camp in a small town in the mountains of Arizona, some friends decided to visit the Goodwill Thrift shop down the road. I went along for the ride, and was pleasantly surprised to find that not only did they have a decent-sized record section, but everything was 99 cents! I quickly scooped up this and two other records , one being the famous George Shearing/Nat King Cole record. Incidentally, the original record’s price tag is on the front cover; it went for 99 cents in 1956, and I bought it for that same price in 2013. How about that?

Concert By The Sea // Erroll Garner If there's one thing anybody who knows me (or anybody who doesn't know me but lets me talk to them long enough) is aware of, it's that I'm a Californian through and through, despite my temporary residence in Alabama.

#Columbia Records #Erroll Garner #Live Jazz

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healthandfitnessrecipes-blog · 6 years

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How to Make the Most of Living a Longer Life

https://healthandfitnessrecipes.com/?p=3285

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"Current 10-year-olds may age to be 104," said Jo Ann Jenkins, CEO of AARP, as she kicked off a conversation about longevity at the 2018 AARP Disrupt Aging: The Implications of Living 100 Forum, powered by Forbes and held at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., last month.

The event featured presentations with leading experts in health, tech, work and personal finance, education and policy to discuss one simple question: If you knew you were going to live to 100, what would you do differently today?

Implications of Living 100

With this overriding question, each speaker challenged us to shift how we think about our own aging and rethink how we earn, learn, connect and live in the present. The facts and figures were staggering. Here goes:

In 1960, 9 percent of the U.S. population was over age 65. In 2060, that number will grow to 24 percent. "You're either going to be a caregiver or need caregiving," said Jo Ann. Ooh, ooh, ooh, I'll be in the 'need caregiving' if I live that long and will be over 100! How about you?

By 2030, the first Boomers will turn 85, the first Gen Xers will turn 65 and the first Millennials will turn 50. Ooh, ooh, ooh, I'll be in my early 70s and my kids will be in their 40s. How old will you be?

The 50 and over category is worth $15 trillion, and $7.6 trillion of annual activity is done by post-50 people in the U.S. Wow-o-wow, we're worth a lot, and we're sure active individuals!

Seventy-five percent of Boomers in the U.S. plan to work past 65, and many will have two, three or four careers in their lifetime. Hmm, I started out as a magazine editor, then I went into public relations, then corporate communications. Now I'm a blogger and yoga instructor. Where are you on your career spectrum?

Jo Ann Jenkins is the CEO of AARP.

"How does the perspective of a longer life make you feel?" Jo Ann asked. "We need to challenge the negative attitudes around aging, including behaviors, social norms, culture and more. We need to disrupt aging, giving people the opportunity to look forward to it, not fear it," she said. "It's about how we live—not how long we live. What if we didn't have the word retirement?" Ooh, ooh, ooh, Jo Ann, can you think of another word to call retirement? I agree, I don't like that word either! I retired from my full-time job five years ago, but I don't consider myself retired. I have so many passions I'm pursuing.

Are you ready to disrupt aging?

Jo Ann noted that the average age of graduation from college is 23. "What if colleges offered lifetime subscriptions?" she said. Ooh, ooh, ooh, I wish I could go back to Cornell and not have to pay so much money for a course, especially since I paid off my student loan.

"Think of the concept of having more time as lifespace," said Jo Ann. It was time to open our workbooks and do some reflecting. I'll share the question so you can reflect too.

Reflection: What's one dream you have for yourself in your later years? Write out that dream in as much detail as possible.

Read more about AARP's Disrupt Aging event from writer Sheryl Kraft.

How are you going to make the most of your lifespace?

Evolution of Longevity With the audience fully engaged and ready and wanting to disrupt aging, Jonathan Stevens, Senior Vice President, Thought Leadership, AARP, took the stage to share powerful data and trends in longevity over the past century.

AARP's Jonathan Stevens shared longevity trends.

"What's past is prologue," Jonathan said quoting Shakespeare. "The past sets the context for the present." He spoke about how over the last century, life expectancy has practically doubled, citing such changes as environmental improvements with cleaner water and cleaner air, penicillin and vaccines to treat disease, increased education with more access to universities, seat belts to reduce car deaths, and "smoke-free zones" to reduce exposure to second-hand smoke, as contributors to longer life.

Referencing the Industrial Revolution from 1850 to 1950, Jonathan said, "Over the 100 years, life expectancy saw a 2.5 year increase every decade." For example, according to records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, life expectancy at birth in the U.S. between 1850 and 1880 ranged between 38.3 and 44.0 years (for both sexes combined) and increased to 68 in 1950. "Despite occasional setbacks, we have continued on a path to longer life," said Jonathan.

Children today could live to 100 and beyond.

"We can project from the past into the future," said Jonathan, as he speculated that by 2070 that number could reach 100 as long as we continue to invest in health, education and medical research.

After all those stunning statistics, we were asked to reflect. Do you want to join me?

Reflection: If you knew you'd live to 100, what changes would you make to your life now?

To what degree would you change your approach to your career and how you earn, your education and how you learn, and your social life and how you connect with others?

Would you not change your approach? Would you slightly tweak it? Would you do a radical change? Or, do you not know?

This post originally appeared on aboomerslifeafter50.com.

Pull Quote:

Some experts project that it won't be that long before people routinely live to be 100 years old, so it's time to examine the implications of living to 100.

Teaser Image:

Judy Freedman

Tags:

aging well

womenTALK Blog Topics:

Midlife Matters

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Long Description:

Some experts project that it won't be that long before people routinely live to be 100 years old, so it's time to examine the implications of living to 100.

Credits: Original Content Source

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douchebagbrainwaves · 7 years

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HERE'S WHAT I JUST REALIZED ABOUT EXAMPLE

I walk into the square, just as, for me at least, taking money from a top firm would generally be better for the company, because it could be helpful to anyone who wants to get things done. We now have several examples to prove that amateurs can surpass professionals, when they started exactly what they were, companies would have been in much better shape.1 01 morris 0. The second big element of Web 2. It was a classic metacircular interpreter written on top of this new type of venture firm? So far these alarms have been false, but they are at least declining gracefully. There are several local maxima. This happens in software too. Fortunately there's someone you can ask for advice: your users. What they'll say is that they become part of their identity.

I thought that I could keep up current rates of spam filtering, I think filtering based on individual words, Bayesian filters automatically notice. There are some stunningly novel ideas in Perl, for example, does not seem to have a cooperatively maintained list of urls promoted by spammers.2 The low points in a startup, not a side project; its goal was to grow as fast as one about religion, because people vote it up without even reading it. I fortify myself by recalling McIlroy and Bentley's famous quote The key to performance is elegance, not battalions of special cases. We had ashtrays in our house when I was growing up. 99, and these are just the first fifteen seen. What about the more theoretical question of whether hockey would be a lot of upvotes, because a lot of email containing the word Lisp, and so on.3

In a sense there's just one mistake that kills startups: not making something users want, you'll be making $80k a month instead of $160k.4 There have been famous instances of collaboration in the arts could tell you that you might want different mediums for the two situations. And one guy is more than 10x cheaper than ten, because a lot of startups during the late 90s was that they hoped to sell them on the Earth, if they do let you down, will still seem to believe that the way to get it. In other words, no one will sue you for patent infringement till you have money, and once you have money, people will sue you whether they have grounds to or not. One reason to launch quickly is that it can be written in itself.5 To start with, it's a vote of no confidence.6 Users don't know what all the choices are, and how easily they can become collateral damage of laws meant to fix some other problem. We have three general suggestions about hiring: a don't do it if you can avoid it, b pay people with equity rather than salary, not just to save money, but they're still an anomaly in most of the techniques I've described are conservative: they're aimed at preserving the character of the site, but also about existing things becoming more addictive.

You could use a Bayesian filter to rate the site just as you must not use the word algorithm in the title of a book. Part of the reason Y Combinator is in Boston half the time: it's hard to stand that year round. The answer to the paradox, I think filtering based on individual words already works so well. So, are you guys hiring? And unless the rate at which you have to advance to a visibly higher level: if all you care about is whether you make something they like. Most successful startups end up doing something different than they originally intended—often so different that it doesn't matter at all where a startup is—that a startup operating out of a kind of ritualized warfare. In return for the exclusive right to use an idea, a working prototype; if you can't recognize good programmers, how would you even do that? For example, a discussion about a topic only if it doesn't engage the identities of any of the participants. Now the default exit strategy is to get bought, and most acquirers care about patents. The Bayesian approach assigns an actual probability.7 The most intriguing thing about this theory, if it's right, is that it would be for the company with him.

Probably the most important thing I've learned about dilution is that it's good enough.8 The Series A round. What program would one like to write? But Occam's razor suggests the truth is less flattering. Every time the site gets slow, I fortify myself by recalling McIlroy and Bentley's famous quote The key to performance is elegance, not battalions of special cases. They're not part of the definition of property be whatever they wanted. Presumably it killed just about 100% of the startups in the US? If you work this way, and I was even more convinced of it after hearing it confirmed by Hilbert.

In that case, stay on a main branch becomes more than a Bayesian combination of the spam probabilities of individual words. I expect them to be. This varies from person to person.9 Fortunately for PayPal they switched CEOs instead. When we started our startup in 1995, the first step is to realize there's a problem. Sometimes it reached the point of economic sadism: site owners assumed that the more different kinds of software being used simultaneously. An experienced CFO I know said flatly: I would not want to make a startup succeed—if you avoid every cause of failure, you succeed—and that's too big a question to answer in the general case.10 If your startup grows big enough, however, you'll start to get sued, no matter how finished you thought it was. Whatever computers are made of in a hundred years is a graspable idea when we consider how slowly languages have evolved in the past 20 years has been to take the C model of computing and add to it, piecemeal, parts taken from the Lisp model. In some ways, this assumption makes life a lot easier.

This is about cities, not countries.11 We knew that if online shopping ever took off, these sites would have to be good, but it is true that there are a lot of ideology that prevents people from viewing it with as cold an eye as they would something like consulting during the Bubble, a startup meant a company headed by an MBA that was blowing through several million dollars of VC money to get big fast in the most literal sense. 06 and 1/1-n to see if it makes sense. My latest trick is taking long hikes. There will of course come a point where you get stupid because you're tired.12 So ironically the original description of the Web 2.13 Buildings to be constructed from stone were tested on a smaller scale.14 Legal definitions of spam don't. At most startups ten years ago, but to raise the issue of evolutionary trees and get people asking, where on the tree is language X? If the aggressive ways of west coast investors out from under the broken models that got imposed on it during the Bubble.

Notes

I explain later. Trevor Blackwell wrote the first half of it. If you extrapolate another 20 years. Mitch Kapor, is to the principles they discovered.

Actually Emerson never mentioned mousetraps specifically. That's a good plan in 2001, but the median tag is just the local stuff. We wasted little time on a map. And since there are already names for this type of proficiency test any apprentice might have done well if they'd survived.

They accepted the article, but they were already profitable. In a country richer; if they do now. Earlier he'd had in grad school, approach the queen bees thereof and offer to be a product manager about problems integrating the Korean version of this type are also the highest returns, like good scientists, motivated less by financial rewards than by selling them overpriced components.

It will require more than investors. But we invest in it. There is always 15 weeks behind the doors that say authorized personnel only.

There's nothing specifically white about such customs. Whereas there is something special that only a few unPC ideas, because even being a tax haven, I asked some founders who'd taken series A round VCs put two partners on your cap table, and the founders. You can get for 500 today would have been about 2, etc. The 1/50th of a single cause.

If you seem evasive than if you repair a machine that's broken because a unless your last funding round usually reflects some other contribution by the fact that the guys running Digg are especially sneaky, but there has to be considered an angel.

This has, like the bizarre consequences of this essay, but all they could imagine needing in their early twenties compressed into the world of the anti-dilution provisions, even if they miss just a few unPC ideas, but all they could to help you along by promising to invest in a safe environment, and for recent art that is exactly the point of treason.

The root of the other becomes visible. As I was once trying to enter the software business, which people used to be delivering results. We fixed both problems immediately.

This wipes out the words out of customers is that so few founders are willing to be a niche. It's somewhat sneaky of me to try to become addictive. Org Worrying that Y Combinator certainly never asks what classes you took in college. There were a variety called Red Delicious that had been a time.

94. But this seems an odd idea. I doubt he is at least one of the flock, or it would have seemed to us that the money they're paid isn't a quid pro quo. Incidentally, if you're a loser they usually decide in way less than the type of product for it.

False positives are not all, the activation energy required.

You can't assume that someone with a woman who, because sometimes artists unconsciously use tricks by imitating art that is not a big market, meaning master.

The best kind of people mad, essentially by macroexpanding them. They're so selective that they won't be able to spend all your time working on filtering at the end of the medium of exchange would not know his name.

If you treat your classes as a symptom, there is one of the great painters in history supported themselves by painting portraits. There are aspects of the flock, or in one where life was tougher, the best hackers want to. The variation in wealth, the effort that would help Web-based applications. That's the difference between good and bad outcomes have origins in words about luck.

0 notes

bizmediaweb · 7 years

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How to Write The Best Instagram Captions: Ideas, Tips, and Strategy

Compelling visuals may be what Instagram is all about, but an effective Instagram caption will push the engagement needle, getting you more Likes and comments. And engagement, dear readers, is key.

The Instagram algorithm displays posts in a user’s feeds “based on the likelihood [that person] will be interested in the content.” That means that a photo or video with lots of comments and Likes has a better chance of appearing at or near the top of your followers’ home streams.

In this guide we’ll show you what goes into a great caption and how to go about crafting your own. We’ll also serve up a collection of Instagram caption ideas and examples from the brands that do them best so you can learn from the pros.

If you need help adding, editing, or deleting the caption of an existing post, check out Instagram’s quick how-to guide.

Table of contents

What makes a good Instagram caption?

12 tips for crafting the perfect Instagram caption

Instagram caption ideas from the brands that do them best

Instagram caption tools

Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps an adventure photographer used to grow from 0 to 110,000 followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear. Plus we’ll show you how you can use Hootsuite to grow your own following on Instagram and other platforms.

What makes a good Instagram caption?

A great Instagram caption will add context, show off your brand’s personality, entertain the audience, and prompt your followers to take action. Captions can be up to 2,200 characters in length, include emoji, and up to 30 hashtags.

Of course that doesn’t mean your captions should be hashtag-ridden essays with lots of distracting emoji. As with any piece of good web copy, your Instagram caption should be attention-grabbing and easy to read. It should also speak to the content and your audience.

12 tips for crafting the perfect Instagram caption

1. Know your audience

Who of 700 million monthly active users are your customers and prospects? As explained in our post, The Top Instagram Demographics That Matter to Social Media Marketers, the platform is used by people in all income brackets and is slightly more popular among women than it is with men.

But those are the broad strokes. The better you know your audience, the easier it is to engage them with your Instagram marketing.

Because you can’t possibly know every prospect, we recommend building audience personas. These archetypes outline basic details about your target customers, their goals, and their pain points.

Our guide to creating audience personas outlines the questions you need to ask yourself to determine who your customers are. How old are they? Where do they live? What sorts of jobs do they have? What do they do outside of work?

Once you know who you’re speaking to, you can answer questions such as:

Will my audience understand this reference?

Are emojis and netspeak appropriate to use here? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Do I need to add more context to this photo?

Answer those, and you’re well on your way to satisfying tip number two.

2. Identify your brand voice

If you haven’t identified your brand voice as part of a broader social media marketing plan, ask yourself: what are the qualities and values I want my brand to embody? Make a list and use it to shape your voice. You might also try jotting down a few adjectives that describe your brand and use those to refine the voice.

You might also try jotting down a few adjectives that describe your business and use those to refine the voice. “Bold,” “curious,” and “authoritative” might make sense for a travel brand, for example.

In general, Instagram users don’t expect a formal or serious tone. Of course it depends on the industry and audience, but you should strive to keep things light, use humor where appropriate, and show your personality.

The social media marketing team at Oreo do a great job of this, combining humor and whimsy to tell the brand’s story.

One very small step for snacks.

A post shared by OREO (@oreo) on May 19, 2015 at 9:45am PDT

3. Consider length

Remember that most people scroll through their Instagram feeds at a brisk pace. If there’s any doubt as to how long your caption should be, keep it brief. Give context where you need to, but if the post speaks for itself, let it.

Let's camp ✨ #TeslaRoadTrip

A post shared by Tesla (@teslamotors) on Aug 25, 2016 at 8:53pm PDT

That said, if there’s an interesting story to tell behind the photo, then share it. National Geographic’s Instagram account is one of the best at the longer-form caption. As impressive as the magazine’s visuals are, the accompanying text always adds value.

Photo by @BrianSkerry. A rare encounter with a mother and calf Northern Right Whale Dolphin in the waters of Cortes Banks, located 100-miles off of San Diego, California. These elusive dolphins have a stunning black-and-white coloration and also lack a dorsal fin. The rich marine ecosystem here is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including many species of fish and invertebrates living near the sea floor and pelagic animals – like these Dolphins – in the waters above. The unique habitat of kelp forest and surf grass at Cortes Banks, along with the influence of ocean currents, creates an oasis for animals that thrive in these special waters. Coverage from an upcoming story in @NatGeo about special marine ecosystems in US waters. @thephotosociety #cortes #banks #northern #right #whale #dolphin #nature #photography #underwater #california #on #assignment #san #diego #national #geographic

A post shared by National Geographic (@natgeo) on Aug 26, 2016 at 3:34pm PDT

4. Place the most important words at the beginning of your caption

Captions are cut off in users’ feeds after a few lines of text, so you need to convey your key point or call to action right away. Put any @mentions and hashtags (more on those later) at the end.

Also, leading with the most important words is simply good writing practice. Hook the reader in and give her a reason to tap more.

5. Edit and rewrite

Take your time and don’t be afraid to go through several drafts, especially if your captions are more than a few lines long. Great copy—whether it be humorous or inspirational—always comes on the rewrite.

Make sure every word supports the content and message you’re trying to convey. Cut out words that are clearly unnecessary to keep it as concise as possible.

You should also have someone else edit your work. A fresh pair of eyes will pick up mistakes you may have gone blind to after spending so much time staring at the text. With a social media management tool like Hootsuite, you can set up your teams and workflows for post review and approval before any content is published.

6. Use hashtags, but use them wisely

Instagram posts with at least one hashtag average 12.6 percent more engagement than those with no hashtags, according to a study by Simply Measured. So use them when they are relevant to your post and target audience—but don’t use so many that they crowd your copy and make it difficult to read.

As we explain in The Complete Instagram Hashtag Guide for Business, if you don’t want to clutter your captions, there are two ways to “hide” your hashtags:

Separate your hashtags from the rest of your caption by burying them beneath periods and line breaks. Once you’ve finished composing your caption, tap the 123 key. Select return and then enter a period, dash, or asterisk. Repeat those steps at least five times. Because Instagram caps off captions after three lines, the hashtags won’t be viewable to users unless they tap the more option.

Don’t put hashtags in your captions at all. Instead, include them in the comment section below your post. Once other people leave a few comments, the hashtags won’t be viewable unless the option to See all is selected.

7. Pose a question

One of the easiest ways to get more comments on your photo is by using the caption to pose a question to your followers.

It could be a yes or no question, a skill-testing question, or an open-ended question.

Fun and feminine with a contemporary dose of cool. How will you interpret autumn's new look? #HM

A post shared by H&M (@hm) on Aug 26, 2016 at 3:42am PDT

You could also use the caption to solicit your audience for tips or recommendations.

8. Give a shout-out with an @mention

Does your post feature another Instagram user? Include their handle in the caption so your followers can check out their profile too. By mentioning another user in the caption, you’ll likely compel that user—and possibly some of his followers—to also engage with your content.

9. Encourage engagement with a call to action

Want to drive engagement? Ask for it by inviting people to leave a comment, tag their friends, or weigh in with an opinion.

Intel’s #CES2016 #Ninebot robot butler wants a new name! Post your suggestions in the comments and we’ll reveal the best name tomorrow.

A post shared by Intel Corporation (@intel) on Jan 8, 2016 at 11:32am PST

Of course the content of the post will have to be compelling for them to want to do that—so be sure to put your best foot forward before you put your hand out. It will reflect poorly on your brand if you try to solicit engagement but receive only silence in return.

Alternatively you could make your call to action too good to refuse. Ask your followers to enter a contest to win a prize.

10. Don’t be afraid to use emoji

Are emoji appropriate to use within an Instagram caption? 💯

The animated icons can help draw the reader’s eye in and are a great way to add a bit of personality to your caption.

🍍 🍊 🍈 🍍 🍉

A post shared by MailChimp (@mailchimp) on Aug 2, 2016 at 2:55pm PDT

Emoji can also stand in for entire words, keeping your copy short and fun.

August suddenly tastes like Hawaii. 🌴🏄🏼🌞-infused #Kopelani blend is here! #CupOfHawaii Shop the link in our bio! 👆

A post shared by Starbucks Coffee ☕ (@starbucks) on Aug 9, 2016 at 9:56am PDT

11. Try using quotes

Not the clichéd inspirational variety, but ones that are specific to the post. Maybe it’s a quote from the person who captured the photo, as GoPro often does with their user-generated content.

#GoPro Featured Photographer: @rorykramer "I am often asked how I got to where I am so quickly in my career. A few DJs saw my personal youtube videos and asked me to tour with them. I quit my job on my 30th Birthday and pushed myself every second and every opportunity I got. I went places on stage I wasn't supposed to be, I shot in a perspective that was different yet true to myself, and I always put my content out the very next day. Many of my videos I wasn't asked or hired to shoot, I knew I had to get the content in front of the right eyes so I would just shoot it and see what happened. That resulted in a music video for @avicii , lyric videos for @thechainsmokers , + 2 music videos for Justin Bieber. #Runit" #GoPro #GoProMusic #dvbbs # Settings: Burst Mode set to 30/3, handheld.

A post shared by gopro (@gopro) on Aug 26, 2016 at 6:43pm PDT

Or it could be a quote from the person featured in the post, as Nike has done with this Instagram video starring Paralympian Scout Bassett.

“The only person that’s going to have power over me, is me.” ⠀ @scoutbassett doesn’t just push limits. She sets them. #justdoit

A post shared by nike (@nike) on Aug 30, 2016 at 9:16am PDT

12. Schedule your Instagram posts for optimal engagement

Once you’ve crafted the perfect caption to go along with your picture-perfect post, it’s time to publish that bad boy. Or is it?

Depending on your audience and region, there might be more optimal times to post on Instagram. As we preach in our guide The Best Time to Post on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, consider your target audience and what parts of the day they would most likely be scrolling through their feeds.

What time are they waking up for a first-thing-in-the-morning browse? When do they break for lunch? And when would they be passing time on their commutes home?

With Hootsuite, you can upload an Instagram photo or video, add a caption, and schedule it for publishing later.

And scheduling your post in advance will give you more time to make further changes. Give your brain a rest between drafts and you might come up with an even better caption or a way to improve the phrasing.

Instagram caption ideas from the brands that do them best

Now that you know how to write the perfect caption, let’s look at some of the most effective caption types and how brands use them to engage their audiences.

The follow-the-link CTA caption

Airbnb uses Instagram to preview accommodations and encourages their fans to click the link in their Instagram bio (which is always changing) to be taken to the listing for more information.

“Work from home” takes on a whole new meaning when your office is inside this craftsman gem in Venice, California. Vine covered interior walls coat this cozy back cottage for a day filled with natural light and inspiration. Listing details for this unique, rustic space are in the link in our bio. Photo cred: @whitneyleighmorris

A post shared by Airbnb (@airbnb) on Aug 29, 2016 at 10:26am PDT

For more tips on how to optimize your Instagram bio for engagement, check out our post Instagram Bio Ideas for Business.

The behind-the-scenes caption

Instagram is a great platform for giving your audience a behind-the-scenes look at your brand. Lush Cosmetics does a great job at this, using their captions to explain how their products are made.

We use real, fresh bananas in our Jungle Solid Conditioner to deep condition and smooth curly, dry, or frizzy hair. #welcometothejungle

A post shared by Lush Cosmetics North America (@lushcosmetics) on Jul 26, 2016 at 4:03pm PDT

The informative and educational caption

General Electric’s Instagram captions are full of compelling facts about science, nature, and company initiatives.

This week, #GE is going under the microscope to celebrate the #lifesciences and feature some cool #nanograms. Here, we can see a low-magnification image of the upper body region of a common fruit fly, which can carry serious diseases and destroy crops. But they can also be useful: housefly larvae feed on a wide range of decaying matter and waste. Research suggests that this adaptation could be used to combat ever-increasing amounts of waste and trash. Does that make them a friend or a foe? #biology #instascience #cellimaging #GEcellfies

A post shared by GE (@generalelectric) on Jun 27, 2016 at 9:44am PDT

The instructional caption

Tasty, BuzzFeed’s food channel, pairs step-by-step cooking videos with the recipe itself. Simple + useful = a great caption.

Roasted Garlic Parmesan Potatoes Servings: 4 – 6 INGREDIENTS 3 russet potatoes, sliced 4 tablespoons olive oil Salt, to taste Pepper, to taste 2 teaspoons garlic powder 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning 1 teaspoon paprika ½ cup parmesan cheese, shredded Parsley, chopped PREPARATION 1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F / 200˚C. 2. Place the potatoes in a large bowl. Drizzle olive oil and toss to coat. 3. In a small bowl, mix salt, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and paprika. Sprinkle seasoning on potatoes and toss to coat. 4. Spread the potatoes on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, remove from the oven, sprinkle with parmesan and pepper, then bake for an additional 20 minutes. 5. Sprinkle potatoes with fresh parsley and serve while hot. 6. Enjoy!

A post shared by Tasty (@buzzfeedtasty) on Sep 6, 2016 at 5:10pm PDT

The contest or giveaway caption

There are few things on Instagram more appealing than the promise of free stuff. If you’re running an Instagram contest, promote it in the caption by explaining to the audience how to enter and what they can win.

Introducing a new take on Secret Santa 🙊🎅. Twelve Instagrammers plus all of you. Here's how it works. 1. We'll reveal each Instagrammer's Secret Santa on our feed 2. You tag a friend that you want to surprise in the comments (tell us a little about them) 3. We'll pick one person in each post to receive a gift ————————— To start things off our dear friend @kimathomas got @katewinsy our Cotton Tank and a pair of Leather Street Shoes. Congratulations to @white_lux, your Secret Santa is @carrielondon.

A post shared by Everlane (@everlane) on Dec 15, 2015 at 9:00am PST

The cross-platform promotion caption

If there’s more to the story than what you’re able to post on Instagram, encourage the audience to check out one of your other social profiles for a closer look. Mercedes Benz used this tactic to promote their behind-the-scenes Snapchat strategy.

That moment when you travel on the #Transalpina through #Romania and get stopped by a group of donkeys.🐴 That's what actually happened today on our #ChasingStars tour with the new #GLC #Coupé! 🚙😂 For more live impressions make sure to check out 👻mercedesbenz on #snapchat! #iaaa #stoppedbydonkeys #MercedesBenz #MBcar #RoadTrip #GLCCoupe #SUV #Mercedes #Benz #4MATIC

A post shared by Mercedes-Benz (@mercedesbenz) on Sep 1, 2016 at 6:07am PDT

The storyteller caption

As we noted in tip number three, if your post calls for context then by all means take advantage of Instagram’s generous character count.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find any brand or publisher on Instagram who consistently publishes more impactful captions than Humans of New York, which of course are always stories from the subjects of the images.

“I’ve always lived off my artwork all my life. I’ve lived all over the world. I’ve had fourteen common law wives. I’ve never needed money because I’m talented. Talent is better than money because it’s always with you. Let me give you an example. Back in 1970 I was getting dinner with a Japanese model at the Sao Paulo Hilton in Brazil. This guy from Texas was sitting at the table next to me, and he’s trying to order a steak, but he keeps sending it back to the kitchen. He keeps saying: ‘The steaks are better in Texas.’ After the second time he sends it back, the master chef comes out, and I hear him say in Portuguese: ‘I’m going to kill this man!’ Now being a Galician myself, I know the character of the Latin American people. If a French person says he’s going to kill you, you don’t have to worry. The French are lovers and all lovers are cowards. Trust me—several of my former wives are French. I know this. But when a Latin American tells you that he’s going to kill you, it’s time to leave. So I walked over to the man’s table and bought him a bottle of wine, and I talked with him about Texas. I knew all about Texas because I competed in fishing tournaments there. After a few minutes of talking, I tell the man: ‘If you order one more steak, you’re going to get killed with a machete.’ So he took my advice and he left. The entire restaurant staff came out and started singing to me with tambourines. They brought out free wine and a full spread. They said, ‘Your money is no good here.’ The Japanese model was so impressed. See what I mean? Talent.”

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Aug 7, 2016 at 2:56pm PDT

The minimalist caption

We’ve already stated it in this post, but it bears repeating: if your content is attention-grabbing and speaks for itself, a short—or even no caption—is best.

Now that's a breakfast spot. 🏃: @_felipecamargo_ & @sashadigiulian 📷: @marcelomaragni #brazil #adventure #climbing

A post shared by Red Bull (@redbull) on Sep 7, 2016 at 3:09am PDT

Instagram caption tools

A couple of apps to help improve your captions—from concept to copy.

Captiona

A tool that generates ideas for Instagram captions. While you should always strive for originality, if you’re really stuck with what to write you can use Captiona as a creative springboard.

The app is basically a search engine for social media captions. All you need to do is enter a keyword that relates to the content of your post, and the app will deliver a list of suggested captions.

Again, we suggest you use it to get your creative juices flowing. Riff off the suggestions, but don’t copy them verbatim. Be original to standout from the crowd.

Hemingway app

Named for Ernest Hemingway, the desktop tool promises to make your writing “bold and clear.” It analyzes text and, with color-coded highlights, points out where your writing has become sloppy or indulgent. Easily cut down on run-on sentences and swap out needlessly difficult words for simpler ones.

Readability is key, especially on a medium like Instagram where users scroll through content quickly. The Hemingway app will help you craft clear, punchy copy that draws in a scanning set of eyes.

Grammarly

Grammarly will catch errors that most traditional spellcheck tools miss—everything from inconsistent use of tense to the misuse of a comma. The tool will even offer synonym suggestions to help add variety to your writing.

Now that you’ve mastered the caption, you’re ready to start driving engagement on Instagram with Hootsuite. From within the dashboard you can easily upload a photo or video, add a caption, and schedule it for publishing later.

Learn More

The post How to Write The Best Instagram Captions: Ideas, Tips, and Strategy appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.

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unifiedsocialblog · 7 years

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How to Write The Best Instagram Captions: Ideas, Tips, and Strategy

Compelling visuals may be what Instagram is all about, but an effective Instagram caption will push the engagement needle, getting you more Likes and comments. And engagement, dear readers, is key.

If you need help adding, editing, or deleting the caption of an existing post, check out Instagram’s quick how-to guide.

Table of contents

What makes a good Instagram caption?

12 tips for crafting the perfect Instagram caption

Instagram caption ideas from the brands that do them best

Instagram caption tools

What makes a good Instagram caption?

12 tips for crafting the perfect Instagram caption

1. Know your audience

But those are the broad strokes. The better you know your audience, the easier it is to engage them with your Instagram marketing.

Because you can’t possibly know every prospect, we recommend building audience personas. These archetypes outline basic details about your target customers, their goals, and their pain points.

Once you know who you’re speaking to, you can answer questions such as:

Will my audience understand this reference?

Are emojis and netspeak appropriate to use here? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Do I need to add more context to this photo?

Answer those, and you’re well on your way to satisfying tip number two.

2. Identify your brand voice

The social media marketing team at Oreo do a great job of this, combining humor and whimsy to tell the brand’s story.

One very small step for snacks.

A post shared by OREO (@oreo) on May 19, 2015 at 9:45am PDT

3. Consider length

Let's camp ✨ #TeslaRoadTrip

A post shared by Tesla (@teslamotors) on Aug 25, 2016 at 8:53pm PDT

A post shared by National Geographic (@natgeo) on Aug 26, 2016 at 3:34pm PDT

4. Place the most important words at the beginning of your caption

Captions are cut off in users’ feeds after a few lines of text, so you need to convey your key point or call to action right away. Put any @mentions and hashtags (more on those later) at the end.

Also, leading with the most important words is simply good writing practice. Hook the reader in and give her a reason to tap more.

5. Edit and rewrite

Make sure every word supports the content and message you’re trying to convey. Cut out words that are clearly unnecessary to keep it as concise as possible.

6. Use hashtags, but use them wisely

As we explain in The Complete Instagram Hashtag Guide for Business, if you don’t want to clutter your captions, there are two ways to “hide” your hashtags:

7. Pose a question

One of the easiest ways to get more comments on your photo is by using the caption to pose a question to your followers.

It could be a yes or no question, a skill-testing question, or an open-ended question.

Fun and feminine with a contemporary dose of cool. How will you interpret autumn's new look? #HM

A post shared by H&M (@hm) on Aug 26, 2016 at 3:42am PDT

You could also use the caption to solicit your audience for tips or recommendations.

8. Give a shout-out with an @mention

9. Encourage engagement with a call to action

Want to drive engagement? Ask for it by inviting people to leave a comment, tag their friends, or weigh in with an opinion.

Intel’s #CES2016 #Ninebot robot butler wants a new name! Post your suggestions in the comments and we’ll reveal the best name tomorrow.

A post shared by Intel Corporation (@intel) on Jan 8, 2016 at 11:32am PST

Alternatively you could make your call to action too good to refuse. Ask your followers to enter a contest to win a prize.

10. Don’t be afraid to use emoji

Are emoji appropriate to use within an Instagram caption? 💯

The animated icons can help draw the reader’s eye in and are a great way to add a bit of personality to your caption.

🍍 🍊 🍈 🍍 🍉

A post shared by MailChimp (@mailchimp) on Aug 2, 2016 at 2:55pm PDT

Emoji can also stand in for entire words, keeping your copy short and fun.

August suddenly tastes like Hawaii. 🌴🏄🏼🌞-infused #Kopelani blend is here! #CupOfHawaii Shop the link in our bio! 👆

A post shared by Starbucks Coffee ☕ (@starbucks) on Aug 9, 2016 at 9:56am PDT

11. Try using quotes

Not the clichéd inspirational variety, but ones that are specific to the post. Maybe it’s a quote from the person who captured the photo, as GoPro often does with their user-generated content.

A post shared by gopro (@gopro) on Aug 26, 2016 at 6:43pm PDT

Or it could be a quote from the person featured in the post, as Nike has done with this Instagram video starring Paralympian Scout Bassett.

“The only person that’s going to have power over me, is me.” ⠀ @scoutbassett doesn’t just push limits. She sets them. #justdoit

A post shared by nike (@nike) on Aug 30, 2016 at 9:16am PDT

12. Schedule your Instagram posts for optimal engagement

Once you’ve crafted the perfect caption to go along with your picture-perfect post, it’s time to publish that bad boy. Or is it?

What time are they waking up for a first-thing-in-the-morning browse? When do they break for lunch? And when would they be passing time on their commutes home?

With Hootsuite, you can upload an Instagram photo or video, add a caption, and schedule it for publishing later.

Instagram caption ideas from the brands that do them best

Now that you know how to write the perfect caption, let’s look at some of the most effective caption types and how brands use them to engage their audiences.

The follow-the-link CTA caption

Airbnb uses Instagram to preview accommodations and encourages their fans to click the link in their Instagram bio (which is always changing) to be taken to the listing for more information.

A post shared by Airbnb (@airbnb) on Aug 29, 2016 at 10:26am PDT

For more tips on how to optimize your Instagram bio for engagement, check out our post Instagram Bio Ideas for Business.

The behind-the-scenes caption

Instagram is a great platform for giving your audience a behind-the-scenes look at your brand. Lush Cosmetics does a great job at this, using their captions to explain how their products are made.

We use real, fresh bananas in our Jungle Solid Conditioner to deep condition and smooth curly, dry, or frizzy hair. #welcometothejungle

A post shared by Lush Cosmetics North America (@lushcosmetics) on Jul 26, 2016 at 4:03pm PDT

The informative and educational caption

General Electric’s Instagram captions are full of compelling facts about science, nature, and company initiatives.

A post shared by GE (@generalelectric) on Jun 27, 2016 at 9:44am PDT

The instructional caption

Tasty, BuzzFeed’s food channel, pairs step-by-step cooking videos with the recipe itself. Simple + useful = a great caption.

A post shared by Tasty (@buzzfeedtasty) on Sep 6, 2016 at 5:10pm PDT

The contest or giveaway caption

A post shared by Everlane (@everlane) on Dec 15, 2015 at 9:00am PST

The cross-platform promotion caption

A post shared by Mercedes-Benz (@mercedesbenz) on Sep 1, 2016 at 6:07am PDT

The storyteller caption

As we noted in tip number three, if your post calls for context then by all means take advantage of Instagram’s generous character count.

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Aug 7, 2016 at 2:56pm PDT

The minimalist caption

We’ve already stated it in this post, but it bears repeating: if your content is attention-grabbing and speaks for itself, a short—or even no caption—is best.

Now that's a breakfast spot. 🏃: @_felipecamargo_ & @sashadigiulian 📷: @marcelomaragni #brazil #adventure #climbing

A post shared by Red Bull (@redbull) on Sep 7, 2016 at 3:09am PDT

Instagram caption tools

A couple of apps to help improve your captions—from concept to copy.

Captiona

A tool that generates ideas for Instagram captions. While you should always strive for originality, if you’re really stuck with what to write you can use Captiona as a creative springboard.

The app is basically a search engine for social media captions. All you need to do is enter a keyword that relates to the content of your post, and the app will deliver a list of suggested captions.

Again, we suggest you use it to get your creative juices flowing. Riff off the suggestions, but don’t copy them verbatim. Be original to standout from the crowd.

Hemingway app

Readability is key, especially on a medium like Instagram where users scroll through content quickly. The Hemingway app will help you craft clear, punchy copy that draws in a scanning set of eyes.

Grammarly

Learn More

The post How to Write The Best Instagram Captions: Ideas, Tips, and Strategy appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.

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she-shall-conquer · 7 years

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Week 2: The 4 Eras of Leadership & the Church Tag-a-long

Daft, R. (2017). The Leadership Experience (7th ed., pp. Chapter 2). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

At some point in my life, the time might come to nail my “95 Thesis” to the proverbial door of the charismatic church, however, that day is not (I repeat, not) today. Also, it wouldn’t really count for anything because I’m a woman, right? Either way, in any form of organisation, there will always be strengths and flaws. There should also be a goal of maximising strengths and minimising weaknesses. With this understanding, as well as the fact that the church is a form of organisation, for the reasons that it is a collective of people with a common goal or objective – and just like any other company, not everyone completely understands or is working towards this goal or set of goals.

The four era’s of leadership are what was covered this week in the leadership lecture and follow the cultural and societal understanding of what relationships should be in a workplace, which is all very heavily influenced by research being done at the time. I aim to briefly summarise key factors of each era and point out how the church has followed the notion (though in some cases in a delayed fashion) and how the church could benefit from moving along into the current era of leadership as it fits more within the doctrine and values of the Christian faith. As far as organisational experience goes, the church is an organisation where I have been both extremely involved and barely there in all kinds and manner of churches and therefore my experience with it is a resource I can draw upon to reflect on these theories.

Era 1: Maybe He’s Born With It, Maybe It’s Lazy Thinking.

Era 1 is rife with the kind of leadership theories that now circulate amongst the common man, theories that leaders have particular traits (a set of personality characteristics that remain stable over time) that make them good leaders, be it the magnetic personalities, the inspiring orators, the confident or gregarious socialites, the social climbers, or the accolade trophy-hunters. In our own minds, we most likely have reflected on a particular authority in our lives and deemed them a good or bad leader (and perhaps have later on become disillusioned). In terms of singular leaders that have been able to mobilise large groups of people through charismatic tendencies and emotional or moral appeals, one would call to mind the preachers of the 17th through 19th century. Charismatic leaders would include Martin Luther who pioneered the Protestant Reformation, challenging the most powerful organisation of the time (the Roman Catholic Church); John and Charles Wesley, who traveled around preaching to the masses in the Methodist Revival as well as George Whitfield who lead the Great Revival in America; 19th century had the Third Great Awakening with the likes of D. L. Moody, William Booth, and Charles Spurgeon, all of these men are revered, well-known, and frequently quoted to this day. They lead big movements, where people’s lives were impacted and forever changed.

However in the 20th century moving forward, the dangers of charismatic leadership was evidenced and shocked the masses in cases such as Hitler in Nazi Germany, Stalin in Communist Russia, and all the other tyranny of dictatorship. Mega-churches and celebrity pastors began to spring up, more and more emulating the celebrity lifestyle of Hollywood. More information was accessible which meant that big name preachers hosting evangelist crusades were caught out for scamming their congregants, money scandals were more public, as were moral failures. And while for the most part, there are many mega-churches that are decently run, the great man theory can be traced to the smallest of churches, where the leaders are not to be questioned, but rather their vision is to be championed and followed without question, unfortunately. Another problem is that one of the characteristics believed to be particular leaders was being male, as has been the case for centuries of the Western civilisation’s belief, however as Era 2’s contingency theories so aptly highlight, there may be certain cases in a church context where a woman is the best person to lead, On the surface level, this seems contrary to biblical teachings, but once cultural factors are taken into consideration, as well as context and understanding the heart and nature of decisions made and advice was given, it is not necessarily country to Scriptural Doctrine for women to be in positions of leadership (unless of course, they really aren’t allowed to be as near to God, or hear from Him, or something of that nature). Looking at the theories of good followership, it is easy to see how charismatic leadership without a good understanding of relational necessity can be a poison of its own – the followers are not encouraged to think critically which already puts the organisation at a disadvantage, as well as that when the leader does make a significant mistake, which will most likely happen, followers, are forced to rationalise or justify the mistake or to come to the conclusion that this pastor is not a leader because he has acted contrary to the characteristics of a leader.

Era 2: Checkboxes and Metal Cages

Era 2 of leadership is comprised of far more precise procedures, where as much as there is talk of people oriented versus task oriented, people, in this era, are a task and must be measured in distance and handled theoretically. The two main themes to emerge from this era are the behaviour theories and the contingency theories. The behaviour theories are evidenced in such as the Leader-Member Exchange theory (LMX) where a unique relationship should be created with each follower, where an orientation must be selected between autocratic or democratic, boss-centric or subordinate-centric, as well as the dimensions of fit, where the contingency must be managed by the appropriate style of leadership. The aim of relational engagement is to direct, control and ultimately manage behaviour. What perhaps leaders still do not completely fully comprehend is that there needs to be room for one leader to respond in different styles to different people in different situations. I grew up in a church culture where there was a great deal of encouragement for leaders to form relationships with new members in an effort to reduce church turnover. This included the then innocent “coffee” which has now become a euphemism for rebuke, berating, voicing disapproval. I grew up in an era where welcome teams were sent out and instructed to speak to new people, and as a result, I have found a million and one ways to ask teenagers about school (what are you studying? what is your favourite subject? what is your favourite part about that subject? what do you want to do after school? where have you thought about studying? what extra-murals do you do? what subjects are you going to choose in grade 10?).

Nothing good happens over forced conversation, but the mission or task was relationships, and so structures and systems were established to force relationships, which as can be imagined never became real friendships, as can be imagined. Building relationships is a good thing, but building relationships out of duty or obligation often is more damaging than helpful because there is little to no authenticity or genuine interest in the relationship. In fact, both task-oriented leadership and people oriented leadership are necessary, they’re not opposites, they’re dimensions and each serves their own role in when they are useful. There needs to be a boss-centric approach towards God, and a subordinate-centric approach towards congregants, there needs to be trust built and treatment as equal, as well as a strong focus on the mission and vision of the Christian faith, there needs to be an intentional partnership and a spirit of inclusion. With the LMX theory, there can often become in-groups and out groups, and in church one of the biggest complaints I’ve ever heard in my life is that church is “cliquey”, which is exactly that. There forms a pattern where leaders form close relationships with people that they like and obligatory hierarchical relationships with those that need to be “check on” but aren’t favourable to the leader. Not only is this a terrible leadership practice for the good of the organisation, but it’s also very contrary to what Jesus modelled, where he had the capacity for close relationships with 3 disciples but did not alienate the other 9. His relationship with each was different, but there was no ingroup or outgroup, and all were treated with dignity, respect and value.

The contingency part of Era 2 requires attention to be paid to the situations that are arising and a commitment to addressing the problems and meeting needs in the best way possible, not in the most comfortable way or in the oldest way. Sometimes organisations and even churches need to be restructured or step out in a new area to meet a need or address a problem that is new and unknown territory, such as the Pokemon Go players that went to churches to find virtual Pokemon. Some churches responded to this and offered refreshments, as well as using it as an opportunity to engage with these people that would not normally be at a church. If the chain of the command is too complicated, the bureaucracy can get in the way of necessary decisions being made and contingencies cannot be adequately addressed. The best way to be a contingency adept church is to focus on empowering congregant sand building relationships of trust where anyone can take initiative and receive necessary support because they are a part of a community. The contingency theory places a big emphasis on the situation, and too often churches don’t. Church leaders can be so convinced that their way of running a church is right because it’s the only way they know, and they don’t think to look at possible systemic or structural improvements that can be made to adjust to the environment – this often leading to detrimental situations. It could also mean that in a situation where the pastor is beyond their depth, they can call on the help of another congregant that is better equipped to handle the situation because of personal insight into strengths and weaknesses. This also allows for engagement with congregants on whatever level they are ready to engage in and at whatever maturity they are at. This can become a problem as there are no recruitment procedures or handing in of CVs. There should be a conscious effort from the leadership to find out about new people, to know their life story, and where they’re at, otherwise, the relationship becomes a task and can often lead to acting in a condescending or inappropriate manner. At first, relationships might be more transactional, but a leader should always be willing to learn, even from the least of these.

Era 3: Entropy

Like a ship, the organisation has to sail, and in a time of rapid change and movement, of international crises and disruptions in long-term strategies and understanding of the world, the company can other be viewed as a ship on calm waters where storms occasionally arise at which point steps have to be taken to get back to status quo, or the ship could be on rough and stormy seas, where the organisation has to constantly grow, learn, evolve and re-evaluate. The era saw the emergence of the team leader, or the change leader and influence theory, where it was no longer the job of a leader to manage people within an existing system, but to recreate the system and the culture to best suit the people and achieved intended goals through greater empowerment, diversity, teamwork, and expertise. I remember the drastic culture shock I got when I moved from Cape Town and had to assimilate into the church music band. I had gone from a very autocratic leadership style, where when we arrived two hours before the meeting for practice, we would be handed a list of songs we had never heard before and we would be given specific direction on how to play it. However, the new team was more team-leadership oriented, which was new for me and took a lot of readjustment to get used to. The thing is, team leadership only works when you trust your team members. It is only profitable when you can acknowledge the strengths of your team members and follow them in certain sections. I remember one particular instance where I had to run with a song and I wanted to use a particular musical rhythmic style for it, which the drummer insisted did not exist. It was a very difficult conflict, as I was the most educated musician on the team, and I knew for a fact that it did exist, but the drummer who perhaps had more experience asserted that it did not. This is a small example, but it tends to happen a lot. With a rapidly changing environment, the only way to escape domineering and authoritarian leaders is to trust each other as a team and allow people space to exercise their strengths as it will be of great benefit to everyone in the long run.

Reminiscent of the great man theories is the charismatic leadership that emerged at this point in the influence theories. which as previously discussed is wonderful for mobilising people, but can be detrimental, such as when a pastor makes quick changes between visions and never sees the previous one to completion because it doesn’t work right away, which I have seen with church mission, vision, direction, affiliation, and it means that the church as a whole always comes up short changed because they never give the ideas time to develop into practice and momentum. Team leadership is important and too often in church goes under the guise of team leadership, but in fact becomes a manipulation. With the charismatic (it’s in the name) church’s complete rejection of any of the traditional churches, they believe they have rid themselves of the hypocrisy of religion, when really, as Jesus pointed out, it is a heart issue and not a case of behaviour, but intention. These, of course, are often interrelated, but too often, the self-righteousness, the empty actions, the living behind a facade and putting on a show is still present even in charismatic churches. And the problem when there is this kind of masquerade is that the truth can never be told for what it is, because critical thinking is viewed as insubordination, and pointing out a lack of foresight in the inspiring vision of the charismatic leader results in victimisation, alienation, and excommunication. The danger of influence theories in the same boat as team leadership is that sometimes this charade can occur and practically nothing can be done that will not cause more damage than good. Where there is a team, there must be humility, and those are some of the most beautiful characteristics to see in a church body. We are assured that there will be more and more rapid change, and the only way we as a church can survive that is if we start trusting each other's abilities to contribute and add value.

Era 4: Imagine...

The age of relational leadership theory, on the mutual benefit of both leader and follower based on their relationship and influence on one other, where leadership is a function, not a status. How I long for a church that fully embraces the tenets of this fourth era that really are so in line with their doctrine. I long to see humble leaders become caught up in something greater and beyond themselves and to take others to that river of refreshment and revelation. I long for an era of no mirrors! No place for leaders to catch their own reflection so as to become proud and let power corrupt them. I long for a time where there is the openness to constant experimentation, learning and change in the building process, where rules and control are far from any relationships that take place. Where expectations are those of love, respect, and kindness, where hearts and filled with grace more and more – far beyond rational management or even team leadership. I long for a time when the church will stop breeding emotionally immature people that don’t know how to have boundaries due to the constant rules and expectations that have been set for them and with which they have been threatened. When emotionally mature adults can function, make decisions without constant supervision and conspiracy, but rather that trust is built and fostered, where young people are empowered. I long for the emotional maturity of engaging with people genuinely, of actually supporting them and being there for them when they are going through a difficult time and not just rambling off the quickest google search results for appropriate bible verse, where leaders engage because they truly are interested in building a relationship with you, not because of a formula of people management. I long for a time where there is freedom to make mistakes, confess mistakes, and have a genuine community rally around to assist and support in overtones mutual growth and learning. For a religion that follows a characteristically relational God, that is so deeply and profoundly invested and so intimately connected to our lives, we treat each other so very badly in the church – and maybe that’s because leaders “are never wrong”, or that you have to be of a certain age or status or gender to submit any theory or revelation or question or criticism that is deemed “valid”. I long for the day where I can walk into a new church and find a brother and a sister, on a different road to the same destination as I am, with unity of heart and spirit, and not have to work my way up the church ladder for 5 years before people will take my faith seriously. We need to start viewing people as people, each with their own stories, own struggles and own journeys, all of which are good and beautiful and can be a good part of the community towards a glorious hope. When will be become more inclusive of the family? Imagine a church that places all the measure of its leadership effectiveness on a “relational process that meaningfully engages all participants and enables each person to contribute to achieving the vision”…

#church #leadership #leadership theories #era #leadership era #church leadership #whats wrong with the church #christianity #bible #doctrine #questions #imagine

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samiam03x · 7 years

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3 Unusual Tactics For Making Your Testimonials More Persuasive

I bet you’ve seen this sort of advice before…

When using a testimonial, you should always:

List the customer’s first and last name

Include their photo

Avoid unbelievable, over-the-top praise

Those are all fine tips to follow, but they’re really just starting points.

Optimizing your social proof requires just as much strategy and testing as improving a headline, hero image or call-to-action button.

Because if you just stick to blindly following ‘best practices,’ you could be missing out on a huge opportunity to squeeze more conversions out of your website or landing page. Here’s why:

Social proof affects different audiences in different ways. The complexity of your offer, the demographics of your visitors and a host of other factors all influence how persuasive your testimonials will be.

And that means you may want to try optimizing them in ways that seem counterintuitive at first.

Or even just plain strange.

I’ll get into more detail about this in a moment. But first, let’s make sure we’re on the same page about what typically makes for a convincing and credible testimonial.

Don’t use testimonials unless you’ve seen these tips…

Plenty of articles have already been written offering great advice for using testimonials. And those tips can generally be summed up as:

Include a photo and other details Providing the customer’s first and last name, location or any other relevant details makes testimonials more realistic. But an even bigger factor is including a (real) photo of the testimonial-giver. There’s plenty of research to back this up.

Use testimonials from people your customers can relate to According to implicit egotism theory, we generally trust people who are either like us or who we aspire to be like. And that means strong testimonials are often from folks who reflect how your prospects see themselves.

Use testimonials from people with authority (if possible) The most powerful testimonials come from people your audience sees as an expert or otherwise having authority. In essence, you’re ‘borrowing’ the positive feelings people have toward these individuals (this is called the Halo Effect) when you get their endorsement.

Reinforce a specific benefit Emphasis on specific. Vague testimonials that say things like “great experience” or “tremendous value” won’t connect with anyone. And it might even hurt your conversion rate. Instead, testimonials should be used strategically as ‘proof’ to support specific claims you’re making on your pages.

Quash a serious objection Research by MECLABS shows that placing testimonials near sources of anxiety (such as the ‘Add to Cart’ button) can ease objections and improve conversions. Bottom line: don’t just randomly sprinkle testimonials throughout your website. First, consider the role they’re playing on the page.

These tips make sense, right?

And if you’ve been in the conversion optimization game for any length of time, I suspect you’re already familiar with most of them.

Now, let’s dive into 3 lesser-known techniques for making your testimonials more credible, engaging and persuasive.

1) Try ‘long-form’ testimonials

Far too many articles give out generic advice like:

“Always keep your testimonials very short.”

Well, no. Not always.

Short, specific quotes from customers may work fine in certain situations. But sometimes a big, juicy testimonial can provide the exact dose of social proof that your page needs. Why?

For the same reasons that long copy can sometimes be more persuasive than short copy. Long-form sales messages often work great when your product is complicated, your audience has loads of objections or the price-tag is high.

As veteran ad man Jay Conrad Levinson puts it:

“Don’t be afraid to use lengthy copy. Of all the things people dislike about marketing, ‘lack of information’ comes in second, after ‘feeling deceived.’”

The trick is to ensure your long-form copy — or long-form testimonial — is interesting and relevant to your audience. Here’s an example:

Long-form testimonials make up the majority of content on Noah Kagan’s sales page for his How To Make A $1,000 A Month Business course. And some of them run well over 500 words!

Now, these testimonials work like sales copy in a number of different ways. But I want to point out one specific technique that makes them so effective: storytelling.

Several testimonials on the page tell raw, human stories about a problem the person was up against and how they discovered a life-changing solution thanks to Kagan’s course.

Take a look at this example:

Dave’s story kicks off with an emotional (and relatable) problem.

He then goes on to tell a story about how the course helped him, eventually building to the ‘climax’ detailing how his life changed afterwards:

In fact, some of the most effective long-form testimonials start with an emotional problem.

Here’s a prime example from the Sweat Block homepage, which was optimized by the team at Copy Hackers. This testimonial follows the tried-and-true problem-agitate-solve copywriting formula:

Now, a customer probably isn’t going to just hand you over a problem-agitate-solve testimonial by fluke. You may need to give them some guidance first.

So ask specific questions when requesting a testimonial. Things like:

What made you seek out our product/service?

What was the exact problem you needed to solve? How did it impact your life?

How did our product/service solve this problem? How did it improve your [business/social life etc.]?

But even if you don’t take a problem-focused approach, the key to using effective long-form testimonials is to make sure they tell a gripping story.

One that will resonate with your target audience in a powerful way.

2) Show your warts (really, it’s OK)

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying you should post a testimonial that outright bashes your company.

That’d be weird. And, well, kind of dumb.

But I am suggesting that by leaving some minor ‘warts’ in your testimonials you can convey trust and credibility — if you do it the right way.

One study found that 68% of consumers trust reviews more when they see both positive and negative scores. And a whopping 30% suspect faked reviews when they don’t see anything negative at all.

As master copywriter Bob Bly puts it, “showing your warts” can be an effective marketing technique provided you:

demonstrate why your product’s weakness isn’t important or

show how you’ve designed your product to overcome the weakness

This tactic works because arguing against your own self-interest builds credibility.

In this Unbounce article, marketer and entrepreneur Pratik Dholakiya suggests testing a landing page testimonial that tells people who your product isn’t right for. This might involve including a line like:

“This product isn’t for [so and so], it’s for [so and so].”

The beauty of this approach is that it sends the message you want happy, long-term customers; not just quicks sales for short-term gain.

Some brands have used not-so-shiny testimonials in more creative ways to reinforce a key message.

For example, Ship Your Enemies Glitter used to feature a reviews section that told an unfiltered story about their product — one testimonial even mentioned a customer’s pending divorce.

OK, this is an extreme example.

The point is that people are skeptical of both online reviews and testimonials. But by slipping in a few “warts” (in a strategic way), you can give your social proof a shot of credibility.

3) Make your testimonial the ‘hero’

Got a beauty of a testimonial?

One that’s credible, relatable and aligns perfectly with the goal of your page?

Then don’t bury it way below the fold! Instead, play that sucker up big time in the hero section for every visitor to see.

Emphasizing the right testimonial immediately sends the message to prospects that your product solves problems for people who are just like them.

I used this strategy while optimizing a key sales page for LivePlan, which is a SaaS product that helps entrepreneurs write professional business plans.

Research showed us that many prospects had niggling doubts when they hit the page. They often wondered:

“Will this software work for my specific industry?”

It was a big barrier to signing up.

So we created a landing page that targeted just a segment of LivePlan’s traffic: people who wanted to write a business plan specifically for a café.

But instead of us telling the audience “this works for café entrepreneurs like you,” we wanted to prove it to them by making a relatable testimonial the hero of the page.

So we emphasized a quick story about how café owner Brian Sung used LivePlan to write a business plan faster and with less effort. Then we A/B tested the new page.

Here are the two hero sections we tested:

The testimonial-focused variant hauled in a 72% boost in paid conversions, which translated into a 53% increase in revenue (when you consider average order value).

There were a few other variables at play here. But ultimately, I believe that this relatable testimonial proved the hypothesis that LivePlan customers needed to feel confident that the product would work for their industry before signing up.

Other companies have also seen ‘wins’ by playing up testimonials like this as well. For example, Highrise saw a 102% lift in conversions when they tested a giant image and quote from one of their customers.

But again, having the right testimonials is key here. You can’t just pick one at random.

If you know headlines focused on “saving time” convert well, playing up a testimonial about how a customer “saved money” isn’t going to cut it.

Consider your goals and strategy for the page. Then select your social proof accordingly.

Conclusion

It doesn’t matter if you’re dealing with testimonials, user-reviews or client logos — the bottom line is the same:

Social proof affects different audiences in different ways.

Following best practices is a great starting point. But to squeeze the most persuasive value out of your testimonials, you need to consider things like your audience’s level of awareness and their thought sequence as they hit your page.

Now, maybe the 3 tactics outlined here aren’t a great fit for your prospects. That’s fine.

But it is important that you make an informed, strategic decision about how you use any type of social proof.

Because just tossing testimonials randomly on a page isn’t doing your visitors — or your conversion rates — any good.

About the author: Dustin Walker is a copywriter and partner at Good Funnel — a marketing agency that does in-depth customer research to help online businesses fire up their revenue. Follow Dustin on Twitter @dustinjaywalker.

http://ift.tt/2lmBCr1 from MarketingRSS http://ift.tt/2makzwX via Youtube

#MarketingRSS

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marie85marketing · 7 years

Text

3 Unusual Tactics For Making Your Testimonials More Persuasive

I bet you’ve seen this sort of advice before…

When using a testimonial, you should always:

List the customer’s first and last name

Include their photo

Avoid unbelievable, over-the-top praise

Those are all fine tips to follow, but they’re really just starting points.

Optimizing your social proof requires just as much strategy and testing as improving a headline, hero image or call-to-action button.

Because if you just stick to blindly following ‘best practices,’ you could be missing out on a huge opportunity to squeeze more conversions out of your website or landing page. Here’s why:

And that means you may want to try optimizing them in ways that seem counterintuitive at first.

Or even just plain strange.

I’ll get into more detail about this in a moment. But first, let’s make sure we’re on the same page about what typically makes for a convincing and credible testimonial.

Don’t use testimonials unless you’ve seen these tips…

Plenty of articles have already been written offering great advice for using testimonials. And those tips can generally be summed up as:

These tips make sense, right?

And if you’ve been in the conversion optimization game for any length of time, I suspect you’re already familiar with most of them.

Now, let’s dive into 3 lesser-known techniques for making your testimonials more credible, engaging and persuasive.

1) Try ‘long-form’ testimonials

Far too many articles give out generic advice like:

“Always keep your testimonials very short.”

Well, no. Not always.

Short, specific quotes from customers may work fine in certain situations. But sometimes a big, juicy testimonial can provide the exact dose of social proof that your page needs. Why?

As veteran ad man Jay Conrad Levinson puts it:

“Don’t be afraid to use lengthy copy. Of all the things people dislike about marketing, ‘lack of information’ comes in second, after ‘feeling deceived.’”

The trick is to ensure your long-form copy — or long-form testimonial — is interesting and relevant to your audience. Here’s an example:

Long-form testimonials make up the majority of content on Noah Kagan’s sales page for his How To Make A $1,000 A Month Business course. And some of them run well over 500 words!

Now, these testimonials work like sales copy in a number of different ways. But I want to point out one specific technique that makes them so effective: storytelling.

Several testimonials on the page tell raw, human stories about a problem the person was up against and how they discovered a life-changing solution thanks to Kagan’s course.

Take a look at this example:

Dave’s story kicks off with an emotional (and relatable) problem.

He then goes on to tell a story about how the course helped him, eventually building to the ‘climax’ detailing how his life changed afterwards:

In fact, some of the most effective long-form testimonials start with an emotional problem.

Here’s a prime example from the Sweat Block homepage, which was optimized by the team at Copy Hackers. This testimonial follows the tried-and-true problem-agitate-solve copywriting formula:

Now, a customer probably isn’t going to just hand you over a problem-agitate-solve testimonial by fluke. You may need to give them some guidance first.

So ask specific questions when requesting a testimonial. Things like:

What made you seek out our product/service?

What was the exact problem you needed to solve? How did it impact your life?

How did our product/service solve this problem? How did it improve your [business/social life etc.]?

But even if you don’t take a problem-focused approach, the key to using effective long-form testimonials is to make sure they tell a gripping story.

One that will resonate with your target audience in a powerful way.

2) Show your warts (really, it’s OK)

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying you should post a testimonial that outright bashes your company.

That’d be weird. And, well, kind of dumb.

But I am suggesting that by leaving some minor ‘warts’ in your testimonials you can convey trust and credibility — if you do it the right way.

One study found that 68% of consumers trust reviews more when they see both positive and negative scores. And a whopping 30% suspect faked reviews when they don’t see anything negative at all.

As master copywriter Bob Bly puts it, “showing your warts” can be an effective marketing technique provided you:

demonstrate why your product’s weakness isn’t important or

show how you’ve designed your product to overcome the weakness

This tactic works because arguing against your own self-interest builds credibility.

“This product isn’t for [so and so], it’s for [so and so].”

The beauty of this approach is that it sends the message you want happy, long-term customers; not just quicks sales for short-term gain.

Some brands have used not-so-shiny testimonials in more creative ways to reinforce a key message.

For example, Ship Your Enemies Glitter used to feature a reviews section that told an unfiltered story about their product — one testimonial even mentioned a customer’s pending divorce.

OK, this is an extreme example.

The point is that people are skeptical of both online reviews and testimonials. But by slipping in a few “warts” (in a strategic way), you can give your social proof a shot of credibility.

3) Make your testimonial the ‘hero’

Got a beauty of a testimonial?

One that’s credible, relatable and aligns perfectly with the goal of your page?

Then don’t bury it way below the fold! Instead, play that sucker up big time in the hero section for every visitor to see.

Emphasizing the right testimonial immediately sends the message to prospects that your product solves problems for people who are just like them.

I used this strategy while optimizing a key sales page for LivePlan, which is a SaaS product that helps entrepreneurs write professional business plans.

Research showed us that many prospects had niggling doubts when they hit the page. They often wondered:

“Will this software work for my specific industry?”

It was a big barrier to signing up.

So we created a landing page that targeted just a segment of LivePlan’s traffic: people who wanted to write a business plan specifically for a café.

But instead of us telling the audience “this works for café entrepreneurs like you,” we wanted to prove it to them by making a relatable testimonial the hero of the page.

So we emphasized a quick story about how café owner Brian Sung used LivePlan to write a business plan faster and with less effort. Then we A/B tested the new page.

Here are the two hero sections we tested:

The testimonial-focused variant hauled in a 72% boost in paid conversions, which translated into a 53% increase in revenue (when you consider average order value).

But again, having the right testimonials is key here. You can’t just pick one at random.

If you know headlines focused on “saving time” convert well, playing up a testimonial about how a customer “saved money” isn’t going to cut it.

Consider your goals and strategy for the page. Then select your social proof accordingly.

Conclusion

It doesn’t matter if you’re dealing with testimonials, user-reviews or client logos — the bottom line is the same:

Social proof affects different audiences in different ways.

Now, maybe the 3 tactics outlined here aren’t a great fit for your prospects. That’s fine.

But it is important that you make an informed, strategic decision about how you use any type of social proof.

Because just tossing testimonials randomly on a page isn’t doing your visitors — or your conversion rates — any good.

0 notes

ericsburden-blog · 7 years

Text

3 Unusual Tactics For Making Your Testimonials More Persuasive

I bet you’ve seen this sort of advice before…

When using a testimonial, you should always:

List the customer’s first and last name

Include their photo

Avoid unbelievable, over-the-top praise

Those are all fine tips to follow, but they’re really just starting points.

Optimizing your social proof requires just as much strategy and testing as improving a headline, hero image or call-to-action button.

Because if you just stick to blindly following ‘best practices,’ you could be missing out on a huge opportunity to squeeze more conversions out of your website or landing page. Here’s why:

And that means you may want to try optimizing them in ways that seem counterintuitive at first.

Or even just plain strange.

I’ll get into more detail about this in a moment. But first, let’s make sure we’re on the same page about what typically makes for a convincing and credible testimonial.

Don’t use testimonials unless you’ve seen these tips…

Plenty of articles have already been written offering great advice for using testimonials. And those tips can generally be summed up as:

These tips make sense, right?

And if you’ve been in the conversion optimization game for any length of time, I suspect you’re already familiar with most of them.

Now, let’s dive into 3 lesser-known techniques for making your testimonials more credible, engaging and persuasive.

1) Try ‘long-form’ testimonials

Far too many articles give out generic advice like:

“Always keep your testimonials very short.”

Well, no. Not always.

Short, specific quotes from customers may work fine in certain situations. But sometimes a big, juicy testimonial can provide the exact dose of social proof that your page needs. Why?

As veteran ad man Jay Conrad Levinson puts it:

“Don’t be afraid to use lengthy copy. Of all the things people dislike about marketing, ‘lack of information’ comes in second, after ‘feeling deceived.’”

The trick is to ensure your long-form copy — or long-form testimonial — is interesting and relevant to your audience. Here’s an example:

Long-form testimonials make up the majority of content on Noah Kagan’s sales page for his How To Make A $1,000 A Month Business course. And some of them run well over 500 words!

Now, these testimonials work like sales copy in a number of different ways. But I want to point out one specific technique that makes them so effective: storytelling.

Several testimonials on the page tell raw, human stories about a problem the person was up against and how they discovered a life-changing solution thanks to Kagan’s course.

Take a look at this example:

Dave’s story kicks off with an emotional (and relatable) problem.

He then goes on to tell a story about how the course helped him, eventually building to the ‘climax’ detailing how his life changed afterwards:

In fact, some of the most effective long-form testimonials start with an emotional problem.

Here’s a prime example from the Sweat Block homepage, which was optimized by the team at Copy Hackers. This testimonial follows the tried-and-true problem-agitate-solve copywriting formula:

Now, a customer probably isn’t going to just hand you over a problem-agitate-solve testimonial by fluke. You may need to give them some guidance first.

So ask specific questions when requesting a testimonial. Things like:

What made you seek out our product/service?

What was the exact problem you needed to solve? How did it impact your life?

How did our product/service solve this problem? How did it improve your [business/social life etc.]?

But even if you don’t take a problem-focused approach, the key to using effective long-form testimonials is to make sure they tell a gripping story.

One that will resonate with your target audience in a powerful way.

2) Show your warts (really, it’s OK)

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying you should post a testimonial that outright bashes your company.

That’d be weird. And, well, kind of dumb.

But I am suggesting that by leaving some minor ‘warts’ in your testimonials you can convey trust and credibility — if you do it the right way.

One study found that 68% of consumers trust reviews more when they see both positive and negative scores. And a whopping 30% suspect faked reviews when they don’t see anything negative at all.

As master copywriter Bob Bly puts it, “showing your warts” can be an effective marketing technique provided you:

demonstrate why your product’s weakness isn’t important or

show how you’ve designed your product to overcome the weakness

This tactic works because arguing against your own self-interest builds credibility.

“This product isn’t for [so and so], it’s for [so and so].”

The beauty of this approach is that it sends the message you want happy, long-term customers; not just quicks sales for short-term gain.

Some brands have used not-so-shiny testimonials in more creative ways to reinforce a key message.

For example, Ship Your Enemies Glitter used to feature a reviews section that told an unfiltered story about their product — one testimonial even mentioned a customer’s pending divorce.

OK, this is an extreme example.

The point is that people are skeptical of both online reviews and testimonials. But by slipping in a few “warts” (in a strategic way), you can give your social proof a shot of credibility.

3) Make your testimonial the ‘hero’

Got a beauty of a testimonial?

One that’s credible, relatable and aligns perfectly with the goal of your page?

Then don’t bury it way below the fold! Instead, play that sucker up big time in the hero section for every visitor to see.

Emphasizing the right testimonial immediately sends the message to prospects that your product solves problems for people who are just like them.

I used this strategy while optimizing a key sales page for LivePlan, which is a SaaS product that helps entrepreneurs write professional business plans.

Research showed us that many prospects had niggling doubts when they hit the page. They often wondered:

“Will this software work for my specific industry?”

It was a big barrier to signing up.

So we created a landing page that targeted just a segment of LivePlan’s traffic: people who wanted to write a business plan specifically for a café.

But instead of us telling the audience “this works for café entrepreneurs like you,” we wanted to prove it to them by making a relatable testimonial the hero of the page.

So we emphasized a quick story about how café owner Brian Sung used LivePlan to write a business plan faster and with less effort. Then we A/B tested the new page.

Here are the two hero sections we tested:

The testimonial-focused variant hauled in a 72% boost in paid conversions, which translated into a 53% increase in revenue (when you consider average order value).

But again, having the right testimonials is key here. You can’t just pick one at random.

If you know headlines focused on “saving time” convert well, playing up a testimonial about how a customer “saved money” isn’t going to cut it.

Consider your goals and strategy for the page. Then select your social proof accordingly.

Conclusion

It doesn’t matter if you’re dealing with testimonials, user-reviews or client logos — the bottom line is the same:

Social proof affects different audiences in different ways.

Now, maybe the 3 tactics outlined here aren’t a great fit for your prospects. That’s fine.

But it is important that you make an informed, strategic decision about how you use any type of social proof.

Because just tossing testimonials randomly on a page isn’t doing your visitors — or your conversion rates — any good.

3 Unusual Tactics For Making Your Testimonials More Persuasive

0 notes

bizmediaweb · 7 years

Text

How to Write The Best Instagram Captions: Ideas, Tips, and Strategy

Compelling visuals may be what Instagram is all about, but an effective Instagram caption will push the engagement needle, getting you more Likes and comments. And engagement, dear readers, is key.

If you need help adding, editing, or deleting the caption of an existing post, check out Instagram’s quick how-to guide.

Table of contents

What makes a good Instagram caption?

12 tips for crafting the perfect Instagram caption

Instagram caption ideas from the brands that do them best

Instagram caption tools

What makes a good Instagram caption?

12 tips for crafting the perfect Instagram caption

1. Know your audience

But those are the broad strokes. The better you know your audience, the easier it is to engage them with your Instagram marketing.

Because you can’t possibly know every prospect, we recommend building audience personas. These archetypes outline basic details about your target customers, their goals, and their pain points.

Once you know who you’re speaking to, you can answer questions such as:

Will my audience understand this reference?

Are emojis and netspeak appropriate to use here? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Do I need to add more context to this photo?

Answer those, and you’re well on your way to satisfying tip number two.

2. Identify your brand voice

The social media marketing team at Oreo do a great job of this, combining humor and whimsy to tell the brand’s story.

One very small step for snacks.

A post shared by OREO (@oreo) on May 19, 2015 at 9:45am PDT

3. Consider length

Let's camp ✨ #TeslaRoadTrip

A post shared by Tesla (@teslamotors) on Aug 25, 2016 at 8:53pm PDT

A post shared by National Geographic (@natgeo) on Aug 26, 2016 at 3:34pm PDT

4. Place the most important words at the beginning of your caption

Captions are cut off in users’ feeds after a few lines of text, so you need to convey your key point or call to action right away. Put any @mentions and hashtags (more on those later) at the end.

Also, leading with the most important words is simply good writing practice. Hook the reader in and give her a reason to tap more.

5. Edit and rewrite

Make sure every word supports the content and message you’re trying to convey. Cut out words that are clearly unnecessary to keep it as concise as possible.

6. Use hashtags, but use them wisely

As we explain in The Complete Instagram Hashtag Guide for Business, if you don’t want to clutter your captions, there are two ways to “hide” your hashtags:

7. Pose a question

One of the easiest ways to get more comments on your photo is by using the caption to pose a question to your followers.

It could be a yes or no question, a skill-testing question, or an open-ended question.

Fun and feminine with a contemporary dose of cool. How will you interpret autumn's new look? #HM

A post shared by H&M (@hm) on Aug 26, 2016 at 3:42am PDT

You could also use the caption to solicit your audience for tips or recommendations.

8. Give a shout-out with an @mention

9. Encourage engagement with a call to action

Want to drive engagement? Ask for it by inviting people to leave a comment, tag their friends, or weigh in with an opinion.

Intel’s #CES2016 #Ninebot robot butler wants a new name! Post your suggestions in the comments and we’ll reveal the best name tomorrow.

A post shared by Intel Corporation (@intel) on Jan 8, 2016 at 11:32am PST

Alternatively you could make your call to action too good to refuse. Ask your followers to enter a contest to win a prize.

10. Don’t be afraid to use emoji

Are emoji appropriate to use within an Instagram caption? 💯

The animated icons can help draw the reader’s eye in and are a great way to add a bit of personality to your caption.

🍍 🍊 🍈 🍍 🍉

A post shared by MailChimp (@mailchimp) on Aug 2, 2016 at 2:55pm PDT

Emoji can also stand in for entire words, keeping your copy short and fun.

August suddenly tastes like Hawaii. 🌴🏄🏼🌞-infused #Kopelani blend is here! #CupOfHawaii Shop the link in our bio! 👆

A post shared by Starbucks Coffee ☕ (@starbucks) on Aug 9, 2016 at 9:56am PDT

11. Try using quotes

Not the clichéd inspirational variety, but ones that are specific to the post. Maybe it’s a quote from the person who captured the photo, as GoPro often does with their user-generated content.

A post shared by gopro (@gopro) on Aug 26, 2016 at 6:43pm PDT

Or it could be a quote from the person featured in the post, as Nike has done with this Instagram video starring Paralympian Scout Bassett.

“The only person that’s going to have power over me, is me.” ⠀ @scoutbassett doesn’t just push limits. She sets them. #justdoit

A post shared by nike (@nike) on Aug 30, 2016 at 9:16am PDT

12. Schedule your Instagram posts for optimal engagement

Once you’ve crafted the perfect caption to go along with your picture-perfect post, it’s time to publish that bad boy. Or is it?

What time are they waking up for a first-thing-in-the-morning browse? When do they break for lunch? And when would they be passing time on their commutes home?

With Hootsuite, you can upload an Instagram photo or video, add a caption, and schedule it for publishing later.

Instagram caption ideas from the brands that do them best

Now that you know how to write the perfect caption, let’s look at some of the most effective caption types and how brands use them to engage their audiences.

The follow-the-link CTA caption

Airbnb uses Instagram to preview accommodations and encourages their fans to click the link in their Instagram bio (which is always changing) to be taken to the listing for more information.

A post shared by Airbnb (@airbnb) on Aug 29, 2016 at 10:26am PDT

For more tips on how to optimize your Instagram bio for engagement, check out our post Instagram Bio Ideas for Business.

The behind-the-scenes caption

Instagram is a great platform for giving your audience a behind-the-scenes look at your brand. Lush Cosmetics does a great job at this, using their captions to explain how their products are made.

We use real, fresh bananas in our Jungle Solid Conditioner to deep condition and smooth curly, dry, or frizzy hair. #welcometothejungle

A post shared by Lush Cosmetics North America (@lushcosmetics) on Jul 26, 2016 at 4:03pm PDT

The informative and educational caption

General Electric’s Instagram captions are full of compelling facts about science, nature, and company initiatives.

A post shared by GE (@generalelectric) on Jun 27, 2016 at 9:44am PDT

The instructional caption

Tasty, BuzzFeed’s food channel, pairs step-by-step cooking videos with the recipe itself. Simple + useful = a great caption.

A post shared by Tasty (@buzzfeedtasty) on Sep 6, 2016 at 5:10pm PDT

The contest or giveaway caption

A post shared by Everlane (@everlane) on Dec 15, 2015 at 9:00am PST

The cross-platform promotion caption

A post shared by Mercedes-Benz (@mercedesbenz) on Sep 1, 2016 at 6:07am PDT

The storyteller caption

As we noted in tip number three, if your post calls for context then by all means take advantage of Instagram’s generous character count.

A post shared by Humans of New York (@humansofny) on Aug 7, 2016 at 2:56pm PDT

The minimalist caption

We’ve already stated it in this post, but it bears repeating: if your content is attention-grabbing and speaks for itself, a short—or even no caption—is best.

Now that's a breakfast spot. 🏃: @_felipecamargo_ & @sashadigiulian 📷: @marcelomaragni #brazil #adventure #climbing

A post shared by Red Bull (@redbull) on Sep 7, 2016 at 3:09am PDT

Instagram caption tools

A couple of apps to help improve your captions—from concept to copy.

Captiona

A tool that generates ideas for Instagram captions. While you should always strive for originality, if you’re really stuck with what to write you can use Captiona as a creative springboard.

The app is basically a search engine for social media captions. All you need to do is enter a keyword that relates to the content of your post, and the app will deliver a list of suggested captions.

Again, we suggest you use it to get your creative juices flowing. Riff off the suggestions, but don’t copy them verbatim. Be original to standout from the crowd.

Hemingway app

Readability is key, especially on a medium like Instagram where users scroll through content quickly. The Hemingway app will help you craft clear, punchy copy that draws in a scanning set of eyes.

Grammarly

Learn More

The post How to Write The Best Instagram Captions: Ideas, Tips, and Strategy appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.

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