Instagram is a truly mercurial social network. It has a great track record of brand building for both consumer products and individual profiles whilst some brands still shun its viral power. The truth is, for some businesses, Instagram is not the best platform to showcase its products nor grow its brand. For others, however, it is likely the most powerful platform but there has long been a limitation with Instagram compared with other platforms: content scheduling.
But that’s about to change.
The Instagram scheduling tool
The two main groups of Instagram account holders that should absolutely thrive on the platform are:
1. Celebrities and individuals building a personal brand
2. Visually appealing consumer products
Now, for those of you who are unaware of what Instagram is or does, it is a photo sharing app. Users see posts from followers or after they’ve searched for a certain hashtag. Users then like and repost images as they see fit, which gives rise to the viral nature of Instagram.
So it should be pretty clear that human beings and brands with a strong visual presence thrive on such a platform.
Something that has been missing from the lives of these users and those who manage them (like us agencies!) is the ability to effectively schedule posts. Why? Because efficient content management requires one to sit down, schedule some content, and get on with our lives, safe in the knowledge our content is being shared at the times we need it to.
Here’s the exciting bit:
Hopper is the answer thousands of you have been waiting for. Hopper is a unique Instagram scheduling tool that does just that. The brilliance of the app is its simplicity – you tell it when to schedule your posts and it gets on with it.
There are other Instagram scheduling tools out there (there are some in this list) but Hopper is the best, in our humble opinion. For example, Latergramme is great BUT it doesn’t actually post content out for you like Hopper – it just notifies you when you should. If you’re glued to your phone and usually have a lot of time on your hands, this isn’t an issue but if you’re looking for low-hassle, seamless scheduling, Hopper’s your tool.
What about Hootsuite?
We love Hootsuite – it’s a great tool. Read more about it here. If you’re looking after social media accounts across multiple social networks, you should consider it. The downside is that it gets a little expensive (because you can manage so many different accounts and platforms on it). This means that if your priority is Instagram and this is how you’re growing your brand, Hopper is more exclusive and better value than Hootsuite.
When and how often to post to Instagram
You see, the problem many of us have when wanting to grow an Instagram presence is posting too often, too little or in waves. One of the major keys to social media success across all platforms is the ability to be consistent. This consistency comes in the form of type of content, the voice in which it’s shared (more important for Facebook and Twitter!) and how much and how often the content is shared!
Until now, this has been a little tricky with Instagram.
Managing a household or growing brand Monday to Friday 9-5? You’re missing out on the peak times that people are using Instagram. Posting loads of images all at once (after you’ve just been to the gym or out for a meal) – you’re more likely to annoy people than endear them.
By far the most important element of growing an Instagram is posting great content.
Simple.
But great content is defined by being something that your audience relates to, enjoys and engages with. To really exploit this, you need to be engaging that audience optimally and that means at the right time and the right frequency. Of course, this all hinges on your audience – their interests and their habits.
So this is what you really need to know:
Who should use Hopper?
We’d recommend Hopper as an Instagram scheduling tool for the following:
- Businesses with a visual brand
- Businesses with a visually appealing consumer product
- Individuals building a personal brand
- Busy individuals looking to maximise the exposure amongst their audience
- Agencies managing the accounts of any of the above!
If this isn’t you, you might be better off considering a different tool or perhaps get better at using Instagram manually. The choice is yours!
You can now save 50% on your first three months as a Hopper customer by using the code “JCSocial50” when you sign up!
