How to Create an SEO Strategy for 2022 [Template Included]

Here's a cliche among digital marketers: search engine optimization (SEO) isn't what it used to be.

Here's a true statement you don't hear as often: your SEO strategy for 2022 shouldn't focus on keywords.

These days, most businesses understand the basic concepts of SEO and why it's important.

However, when it comes to developing and executing a sound SEO strategy for your business, just creating content for the keywords your customers are searching for is both arduous and, well, wrong.

In this post, we’ll explain what an SEO strategy is, and how you create your own to help you meet your content marketing goals.

Know exactly what you need? Jump to one of the following sections:

• What is an SEO Strategy?
• SEO Content Strategy
• Best SEO Examples
• SEO Process
• SEO Monthly Plan

 

Having an SEO strategy is important because it helps you stay on track when creating content. Instead of just creating what you think people are looking for, your strategy will ensure that you’re creating content that people are searching for. 

For content marketing, an SEO strategy is a critical piece of the puzzle because it is how your content will come to be seen in the first place, especially in search engine result pages (SERPs). If your content is scattered and unorganized, search engine bots will have a harder time indexing your site, identifying your area of authority, and ranking your site pages.

Mobile SEO Strategy

Mobile SEO is an important factor to keep in mind when creating your overall strategy. Mobile optimization involves ensuring your site and site content is available and accessible to visitors on mobile devices, so they can have the same experience and receive the same value as desktop browsers. 

Mobile optimization is incredibly important, as Google practices mobile-first indexing. This means instead of crawling a desktop site, the algorithm will use the mobile version of your site when indexing and ranking pages for SERPs. In addition, 61% of Google search queries in the U.S. occur on mobile devices. So, all things considered, your SEO strategy would be ineffective without prioritizing mobile optimization. 

While it’s not an entirely separate process, there are distinct considerations for mobile SEO like monitoring page speed, responsive site design, local SEO, and creating content that is high-quality, regardless of device it’s viewed on.

What is an SEO?

Search engine optimizers (SEOs) are people who optimize websites to help them rank higher on SERPs and gain more organic traffic. In essence, an SEO is a highly specialized content strategist that helps a business discover opportunities to answer questions people have about their respective industries.

There are three types of SEO that an SEO strategist can focus on:

• On-page SEO: This SEO focuses on the content that's actually on site pages, and how to optimize it to boost the website's ranking for specific keywords.
• Off-page SEO: This SEO focuses on links directed to the website from elsewhere on the internet. The number of backlinks a site has from reputable sources helps you build trust with search algorithms.
• Technical SEO: This SEO focuses on a website's backend architecture, like site code. Google cares just as much about technical set-up as it does content, so this position is important for rankings.

Bear in mind that every business has different objectives, so it is an SEO’s job to examine their industry, determine what their audiences care about, and develop a strategy that gives them what they’re looking for. 

Below we’ll go over some steps you can take to ensure your SEO strategy sets you up for success. 

1. Make a list of topics.

Keywords are at the heart of SEO, but they're no longer the first step to achieving organic growth. Instead, the first step is to make a list of topics you’d like your content to address. 

To start, compile a list of about 10 words and terms associated with your product or service. Use an SEO tool ( Google's Keyword Tool, Ahrefs , SEMRush or GrowthBar just to name a few) to research these words, identify their search volume, and come up with variations that make sense for your business. 

By doing this, you are associating these topics with popular short-tail keywords, but you’re not dedicating individual blog posts to these keywords. Let’s go over an example of this process using the image below.

Let’s say a swimming pool business is trying to rank for “fiberglass pools,” which receives 110,000 searches per month. This short-tail keyword can represent the overarching topic for creating their content, but the business will also need to identify a series of related keywords to include in their content. For example, they could opt to use the “fiberglass pool prices,” or “fiberglass pool cost,” to achieve additional rankings for the overall keyword of fiberglass pools. 

Using search volume and competition as your measurement, you can create a list of 10-15 short-tail keywords that are relevant to your business and are being searched for by your target audiences. Then, rank this list based on monthly search volume. 

Each of the keywords that you’ve identified are called pillars, and they serve as the primary support for a larger cluster of long-tail keywords, which we’ll discuss below.

2. Make a list of long-tail keywords based on these topics.

During this step you’ll begin optimizing your pages for specific keywords. For each pillar you've identified, use your keyword tool to identify five to 10 long-tail keywords that dig deeper into the original topic keyword.

For example, we regularly create content about SEO, but it's difficult to rank well on Google for such a popular topic with this acronym alone. We also risk competing with our own content by creating multiple pages that are all targeting the exact same keyword — and potentially the same SERPs. Therefore, we also create content on conducting keyword research, optimizing images for search engines, creating an SEO strategy (which you're reading right now), and other subtopics within the SEO umbrella.

This helps businesses attract people who have varying interests and concerns — and ultimately create more entry points for people interested in what you have to offer.

Use your long-tail keywords to create blog posts or web pages that explain the specific topics within the pillars you’ve selected. Together, all of your long-tail keywords create a cluster around a pillar topic. Search engine algorithms depend on the relationships between clusters to connect users with the information they're looking for.

Here's a short video on this concept:

Think of it this way: the more specific your content, the more specific the needs of your audience can be, and the more likely you'll convert this traffic into leads. This is how Google finds value in the websites it crawls — the pages that dig into the inner workings of a general topic are seen as the best answer to a person's query, and will rank higher.

3. Build pages for each topic.

When it comes to websites and ranking in search engines, trying to get one page to rank for a handful of keywords can be next to impossible. But, here's where the rubber meets the road.

Use the pillar topics you came up with to create a page or post that gives a high-level overview of the topic using the long-tail keywords you came up with for each cluster in step two. These pillar pages can essentially be a table of contents, where you’re giving a description of the main topic, and briefing readers on subtopics you’ll elaborate on in other posts.  

Ultimately, the number of topics for which you create pillar pages should coincide with your business needs, like the number of products and offerings you have. This will make it much easier for your prospects and customers to find you in search engines no matter what keywords they use.

4. Set up a blog.

Blogging can be an incredible way to rank for keywords and engage your website's users. After all, every blog post is a new web page and an additional opportunity to rank in SERPs. If your business does not already have a blog, consider creating one.

As you write each blog post and expand on your clusters, you should do three things:

1. Don't include your long-tail keyword more than three or four times throughout the page as Google doesn't consider exact keyword matches as often as it used to. In fact, too many instances of your keyword can be a red flag to search engines that you're keyword stuffing to gain rankings, and they’ll penalize you for this.
2. Second, always link out to the pillar page you created for your topics. You can do this in the form of tags in your content management system (CMS), or as basic anchor text in the body of the article.
3. Once you publish each blog post, link to it within the parent pillar page that supports the subtopic. By connecting both the pillar and the cluster in this way, you're telling Google that there's a relationship between the long-tail keyword and the overarching topic you're trying to rank for.

5. Create a consistent blogging schedule.

Every blog post or web page you create doesn’t necessarily need to belong to a topic cluster. There's also value in writing about tangential topics your customers care about to build authority with the Google algorithms. 

With that in mind, make it a point to blog at least once a week. Remember, you are blogging primarily for your audience, not search engines, so study your target market and write about things that they are interested in.

It may be helpful to create a content strategy to remain consistent and focused on your goals. 

6. Create a link-building plan.

The topic cluster model is your way forward in SEO, but it's not the only way to get your website content to rank higher once it's been created.

While our first five steps were dedicated to on-page SEO, link-building is the primary objective of off-page SEO. Link-building is the process of attracting inbound links (also called backlinks) to your website from other sources on the internet. As a general rule, sites with more authority that link back to your content have a more significant impact on your rankings. 

Dedicate some time to brainstorming all the various ways you can attract inbound links. Maybe you’ll start by sharing links with local businesses in exchange for links to their own sites, or you’ll write a few blog posts and share them on different social media platforms. You can also approach other blogs for guest blogging opportunities through which you can link back to your website.

7. Compress media files before uploading them to your site.

This is a small but important step in the SEO process, especially for mobile optimization. 

As your blog or website grows, you'll undoubtedly have more images, videos, and related media to support your content. These visual assets help retain your visitors' attention, but it's easy to forget that these files can be very large. Since page speed is a crucial ranking factor, it’s important to monitor the size of the media files you upload to your site. 

The bigger the file size, the more difficult it is for an internet browser to render your website. It’s also harder for mobile browsers to load these images, as the bandwidth on their devices is significantly smaller. So, the smaller the file size, the faster your website will load. But, how do you compress images and still retain quality?

It’s worth considering the use of a compression tool to reduce file sizes before uploading images, videos, and gifs. Sites like TinyPNG compress images in bulk, while Google's Squoosh can shrink image files to microscopic sizes. However you choose to compress your media, keeping files in the kilobytes (KB) range is a good rule of thumb.

8. Stay up-to-date on SEO news and best practices.

Just like marketing, the search engine landscape is ever-evolving. Staying on top of current trends and best practices is an important strategy, and there are multiple online resources that can help you do so. Here are a few resources to check out:

• Moz
• SEOBook
• Search Engine Roundtable
• Search Engine Land
• Diggity Marketing
• This Blog!

9. Measure and track your content's success.

SEO can take a lot of time and effort, and, because of this, you’ll want to know if your strategy works. It’s important to track your metrics to understand the success of your overall process, and identify possible areas for improvement. 

You can monitor organic traffic using your preferred web analytics tool or create your own dashboard using Excel or Google Sheets. Also, tracking indexed pages, conversions, ROI, and your rankings on SERPs can help you recognize your success as well as identify areas of opportunity.

SEO Report

An SEO report is an overview of the SEO efforts you’ve enacted over a specific period of time. It essentially shows how successful you’ve been, as well as any areas that need improvement. Having a consolidated report also helps you present the data to relevant stakeholders to display why your SEO activities are important, and how they drive growth for your business. 

Your SEO report can contain metrics like organic traffic results, the SEO health of your website, inbound link generation, and also address any areas where growth has declined that need to be addressed for future improvement. 

The image below is an example of an SEO report from Ahrefs, where it has given an overview of the link building progress of the SEO efforts. 

Image Source

In order to fuel your SEO report, you’ll actually need to have completed some SEO activities, and below we’ll give some high-quality examples of successful SEO.

Best SEO Examples

As mentioned above, there are a variety of different things you can do for your business to enact your SEO strategy. Below we’ll go over some examples of what this looks like in practice that you can use as inspiration for your own processes. 

There are a variety of different things you can include in your SEO strategy, like: 

1. Writing compelling meta descriptions.

A meta description is the snippet of text below a title and link in search results. The description, well, describes the content of the page to the person conducting the queries so they know what to expect. 

The image below is the result of a search query for market research. 

This is a high-quality meta description because it lets Google know exactly what the page contains, helping your content surface in the correct search results and helping audiences understand exactly what they’re about to click on. 

2. Getting content backlinks and inbound links.

A backlink, also called an inbound link, is when another website links back to your website or blog content. It’s usually placed as a hyperlink on a string of text that relates to your content and, when clicked, they’re taken to your site. 

 

Backlinks are an effective SEO tool because they show search engines that your content is authoritative and relevant, helping you rank higher in SERPs. The image below is an example of a blog post from Kicksta that has a backlink to a HubSpot Blog post. 

Image Source

3. Optimizing your site pages for page speed.

Page speed is how quickly the content on your website loads when someone visits a specific page on your website. Google began taking page speed into account for SERP rankings in 2018, making it a critical area of focus when you enact your strategy. 

 

4. Local SEO

Local SEO is improving search engine visibility for your business’s location. An effective local SEO strategy will surface your content in search queries from customers in your local area, letting them know your business is there to meet their needs. 

The image below is a SERP result for “best restaurants Brooklyn.” The three businesses that appear in results have an optimized Google My Business profile that contains information that helps it surface in results for Brooklyn-area restaurants. 

Image Source

SEO Process

Once you’ve created your SEO strategy, you should also build a process to continue optimizing for new keywords and evolving search intent. Here are a few steps you can take. 

1. Historically optimize your content. 

Devote some time each month to updating old blog posts with new and up-to-date information to continue ranking in SERPs. You can also use this time to add any SEO best-practices that weren’t initially addressed, like missing image alt text.

2. Look out for changing keywords and new search intent.

After a few months, track how your blog posts are ranking, and which keywords they're ranking for. This can help you adjust subheadings and copy to leverage new search intent that your audience may be interested in.

3. Add more editorial value to your old content.

Sometimes, you'll find that a post is completely out of date. In this scenario, you should go beyond the average historical SEO update and give it a full refresh. You can do this by updating out of date information and statistics, incorporating new sections for added depth, and adding quotes or original data to give the post more referral traffic.

4. Create a monthly content plan.

To keep up with your SEO strategy, it can be helpful to create and refine a monthly content plan. You can place it into a spreadsheet, and your teams can track accordingly. The list below is an example of a content monthly content plan that takes the above steps into account. 

 

With a monthly SEO plan like the one above, plus a tracking document like a search insights report, you can build out and execute on an efficient SEO strategy. You can also identify and leverage low-hanging-fruit topics to discuss related to your industry.

Create A Strategy That Supports Your Business Goals

Ranking in search pages can be difficult. While it may seem enticing to create content that is centered around high-traffic keywords, that strategy may not help you meet your business goals. 

Instead, opt to create an SEO strategy that helps you address your individual business needs, like increasing customer acquisition, for greater marketing success.

Editor's Note: This blog post was originally published in April 2019 but was updated in February 2022 for consistency and freshness.

How to Create an SEO Strategy for 2022 [Template Included] was originally posted by Local Sign Company Irvine, Ca. https://goo.gl/4NmUQV https://goo.gl/bQ1zHR http://www.pearltrees.com/anaheimsigns

12 Unique Ways to Generate Leads With QR Codes

If you watched the 2022 Super Bowl, you might have been one of the millions of people who scanned the QR code featured in the ad from cryptocurrency platform Coinbase. 

When scanning the code, you were sent to a page that offered you $15 just for downloading and signing up for Coinbase.

The 1-minute Coinbase ad slot, which showed the QR code floating around the screen and inching closer to lining up with the corner of the screen perfectly, was so successful that the Coinbase app and website completely crashed.

Here's a look at what HubSpot blogger Pamela Bump saw just seconds after the commercial finished.

Coinbase honored its $15 signup promise by emailing scanners who were impacted by the crash the next morning. And, ultimately, the company ran into -- what we call -- "a good problem to have" due to what we can assume was millions of signups.

But, you don't have to spend millions on a Super Bowl ad to launch a success QR campaign that drives leads. 

All you need is a mobile-optimized website and a QR code. I took a deep dive into QR codes and how brands can effectively drive leads with them. 

Who uses QR codes?

anyone with a mobile phone. In addition to our keys and wallet, our phone is one of the few things we can’t leave the house without. Businesses have picked up on this and are constantly finding new ways to use QR codes to get us to engage with them, or make their processes smoother.

Uses of QR Codes in Everyday Life

While the concept of when to implement QR codes may be new, you’ve probably already gotten familiar with their use in local businesses you’ve visited. Here’s some instances where you’ve most likely encountered them:

• Public wifi network access
• Restaurant menus
• Instruction manuals
• Cashless payments
• Web promotions during live events
• Contact information and Linktrees

Later in this article, we'll discuss the many other ways to use QR codes.But first, we’ll dig into how you can create your own QR codes.

How to Create Your Own QR Code Promotion

During our Go Mobile campaigns, we used QR codes to provide clues for a nationwide scavenger hunt for four iPads hidden across the country.

Visitors to our Go Mobile site could scan the QR codes to download the clues. To ensure that we captured leads from the promotion, we also provided the clues via email for anyone who filled out the form on the site. That way, we capture the lead information so we can re-market to that audience in the future.

Creating a QR code promotion is actually pretty simple. Here are the steps we followed when we created the promotion for our iPad nationwide scavenger hunt.

1. Create a Landing Page

First and foremost, you’ll need to create a mobile-optimized landing page. That means a landing page that is designed to be viewed on a smartphone screen. Keep things simple – for example, on a mobile landing page, forms should be kept to a few fields only. Most people don’t have the patience to fill out lengthy forms from a smartphone.

2. Create Your QR Code

Once you’ve created your landing page, copy the URL into a QR code generator. There are plenty of QR code generators on the web, so just do a search for one. Paste your landing page URL into the QR code generator and, like magic, your QR code will be generated on the spot. This QR code is unique to you, so nobody in the world has another one just like it.

3. Add Your QR Code to Your Promotional Materials

Grab your QR code from the generator. On a PC, that means right-clicking it and saving it to your computer. (On a Mac, you can drag and drop.) Now that you have the QR code handy, add it to your promotional materials. That includes any printed materials or websites that are going to be part of the promotion.

4. Get the Word Out

There’s no point in launching a QR Code promotion if you’re not going to let the world know about it. So broadcast your message using your blog, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, or any of the other social media tools at your disposal. The key part at this stage of the game is to let as many people know about the promotion as possible.

5. Stretch Out the Promotion

For our iPad Scavenger Hunt, we wanted as many people as possible to participate, so we’d upload a new QR code each day for several weeks. That way, our audience builds, and we’re able to create as much buzz around the promotion as possible.

How to Put QR Codes to Work for Your Business

There are a variety of ways you can use QR codes for your business, and new ones are cropping up every day. Here are some great ideas you can use below.

Common Uses of QR Codes

1. Websites: Add a QR code to the 'Contact Us' page on your website so visitors can download your contact information to their smartphones.
2. Business Cards: Add a QR code to the front or back of your business card so people can instantly download your contact information.
3. Webinars: Ready to make your webinars more engaging and fun? Then simply include a QR code as part of your presentation. It’s a terrific way to keep the audience engaged and involved.
4. LinkedIn and Facebook Pages: Want another way to stand out from everyone else? Add a QR code to your LinkedIn and Facebook pages to pull people into your website. It’s one of the best ways you can position yourself as a forward, innovative thinker.
5. In-Store Posters With Coupons: Want to provide instant coupons to people while they're shopping? Then add a QR code that drives them through to a special discount that can be scanned at the register.
6. Dial a Phone Number: Want to encourage people to dial your number so they can order your product? Then give them a QR code to scan. If it’s set up properly, it will instantly dial your number on their phone and connect them with your sales center.

Creative Uses for QR Codes

1. Clothing and Merchandise: Ready to promote your product or service in an innovative way? Then add a QR code to a T-shirt that you give away to customers and prospects. Hija De Tu Madre (pictured above), a Latina fashion and accessories brand, cleverly placed a QR code on one of their shirt designs. It encourages viewers to “Scan for community y cultura,” enabling people to learn more about the brand and eventually convert them into new customers.
2. “Hello, My Name Is” Tags: You know those big red and white tags people wear at events with their names on them? If you put a QR code in place of your name, you’ll engage people and easily be able to strike up conversations.
3. Event Posters: Advertising an event? Upgrade your posters and fliers with a QR code passersby can easily scan. Have the code take them to your event page where they can view all pertinent details and buy tickets.
   
   
4. Outdoor Billboards:Be one of the first businesses in your market to run a giant QR code on a billboard for your business. In the example above, Cygames enlisted the help of 1,500 drones to form a giant QR code in the sky to celebrate the anniversary of one of their games.
5. Galleries and Museums: Make it easy for viewers to find out more about your work and upcoming projects. Putting a QR code next to artwork in place of text is a wonderful alternative to the standard description. Guests won’t have to crowd each other to read it, and they can take the information with them. If you’re selling at a gallery, it may also be worth it to enable payment through the QR code as well.
6. Product Packaging: If you sell a physical product, adding a QR code that tells the buyer more about your brand or the product itself can build connections and trust. If you sell food, consider using a QR code for the ingredient list, or maybe easy recipes to use the item in. For cosmetics, have QR codes that give more information on how the products were made, tested, and where ingredients were sourced.

Using QR Codes to Grow Your Business

There’s no real mystery to using QR codes to grow your business. All you have to do is generate the code, and drop it into your promotion. Be sure you test the campaign before you go public with it – people who scan your code expect things to work relatively smoothly the first time out of the gate. But other than that, running a QR code promotion is a snap.

A key point to remember about QR codes is that they’re simply a mechanism to engage prospects and customers. In other words, they’re not the end-game, so it’s up to you to figure out how to use them to capture the visitors you drive to your website as leads using landing pages.

Once your strategy is in place, using QR codes to grow your business is relatively simple. All you have to do is generate the code, and drop it into your promotion. Be sure you test the campaign before you go public with it — people who scan your code expect things to work relatively smoothly the first time out of the gate. Give them an experience that delights them and keeps them coming back for more.

This is a guest blog post written by Jamie Turner, founder and chief content officer of the 60 Second Marketer. In addition, Jamie is the co-author of the book Go Mobile, written with Jeanne Hopkins, VP of marketing @HubSpot. He is a regular guest on CNN and HLN on the topic of digital marketing and is a popular mobile marketing speaker at events and corporations around the globe.

This article was originally published in January 2012 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

12 Unique Ways to Generate Leads With QR Codes was originally posted by Local Sign Company Irvine, Ca. https://goo.gl/4NmUQV https://goo.gl/bQ1zHR http://www.pearltrees.com/anaheimsigns

26 of the Best Brands on Instagram Right Now

 

Contrary to what your friends' photos suggest, Instagram isn't just a social network for selfies and brunch pics. In fact, Instagram has over 200 million businesses that use its platform and 90% of users follow at least one of them, according to recent data.

In a time when visual content remains a crucial part of any brand's marketing strategy, Instagram marketing presents a unique opportunity to showcase your brand identity.

Ready to get inspired? Check out this list of brands that are thriving on Instagram right now, and why their posts set them apart.

Best Brands on Instagram

What makes a brand great on Instagram?

We polled 301 users across the United States, and asked “Which of the following describes the brands you follow and enjoy on Instagram?”

These were their top answers:

Data Source

While this data is from a small sample, it does highlight what we already know about Instagram audiences. They look for:

• Content that relates to their lives: both personal and professional.

• Eye-catching, fun content.
• Product promotions

What you'll see in the next section is that every brand featured meets these needs, earning them high follower counts and high engagement rates.

Psst – Want to get a stunning Instagram Story auto-magically created for your brand? Check out StoriesAds.com, a free Story generator from HubSpot and Shakr. Click here to get started.

1. The Every Mom

Followers: 294k

Modern-day moms face a unique set of challenges from raising children in a digital-first world to navigating relationships with in-laws and extended family during a pandemic. The Every Mom is a lifestyle brand that caters to this audience in every way.

On this Instagram page, you'll find content about handling your kids' big emotions, teaching them about diversity, and tips on how to make mealtime more appealing.

While much of the content on this page lends itself to things a mom can do, there's plenty of content advocating rest, relaxation, and mental health as well. You'll also find the occasional discount code for popular products and cross-promotion of The Every Mom blog in the Instagram stories and highlights.

2. Bolden USA

Followers: 32.1k

Instagram is all about visuals. This means that within minutes of being on Instagram, a user can be bombarded with images.

So, the question is: How do you make sure your brand stands out and is memorable?

One way is by developing a unique aesthetic and remaining consistent. Bolden USA has done just that.

To mirror its green logo, the theme of Bolden USA's Instagram is green. While the brand features other colors in its images, green is always the primary, standout color – an effective tactic to aid brand recall. That brand recall being spread across more than 33,000 followers makes Bolden USA one of the best brands on Instagram right now.

3. The Broke Black Girl

Followers: 174k

Personal finance is like exercise. You need motivation, the right tools, discipline, and a goal to achieve to see real success. It doesn't hurt to have a good coach to guide you along the way, either, and that's exactly what The Broke Black Girl is doing as one of the best brands on Instagram.

Dasha is a financial activist who specializes in competency-based financial education. Over 170,000 people follow her for non-judgemental financial advice, empathetic budgeting tips, and free financial resources. Her work levels the predominantly white-male-led financial literacy landscape to make it more accessible to women of color.

The history of women of color in finance, the $1000 Emergency Fund Challenge, and motivational messages comprise the majority of this brand's Instagram feed making it the best place for young people to start their financial fitness journey.

4. Teleport Watches

Followers: 9.1k

Have you ever wondered where former President Barack Obama buys his watches? One of the brands he sports is Teleport Watches.

This premium luxury timepiece brand is known for its stylish and durable watches that are perfect for day-to-day wear and special occasions. However, people come back to the brand for its modern approach to a classic accessory which is why this Instagram brand makes our list.

Teleport Watches proves that you can have a loyal following on Instagram without millions of followers. Although it's one of the smallest Instagram brands in our lineup, it makes up for it in engagement and influence.

5. Netflix's Strong Black Lead

Followers: 764k

Here is an example of a brand that has mastered the art of having its own identity while remaining connected to its parent brand.

Strong Black Lead is a sub-brand under Netflix dedicated to amplifying Black stories in media.

The brand's Instagram page mainly features screen grabs and short clips from TV shows, movies, and documentaries available on Netflix that feature Black actors and/or directors. They stay on-trend, posting relevant content based on current events, holidays, and buzzy topics.

In addition to its appreciation posts for widely loved TV characters, Strong Black Lead also promotes content the brand hosts on other platforms, such as podcasts and YouTube content.

6. Califia Farms

Followers: 318k

Warning: If you're hungry, don't head to Califia Farms' Instagram page.

The brand's food photography makes it stand out among the rest, showing users how Califia Farms' products can be used to create dishes ranging from pancakes and nice cream to artichoke dip and fettuccine alfredo.

The brand doesn't shy away from featuring its product in the images either. You can usually find it somewhere in its visual content, whether it's the main subject of the photo or more in the background.

7. Anima Iris

Followers: 78.9k

You probably thought this list would only feature enterprise-level brands, huh?

Well, there are a ton of brands that have found the magic recipe on Instagram and Anima Iris is one of them.

What sets this brand apart is the transparency of its CEO.

If you watch one of Anima Iris' Instagram Stories, you'll probably see its CEO, Wilglory Tanjong, showing the behind-the-scenes of running a luxury purse brand, which helps its audience feel more connected.

You'll probably also see Q&As, surveys, and user-generated content – all strategies that have helped the company build a strong online community and gain brand loyalists.

8. Cooking With Constance

Followers: 15.2k

There's more than enough food inspiration on Instagram, but Cooking With Constance takes that inspo a step further by pairing it with a side of judgment-free health and wellness. That's why more than 10,000 people flocked to follow this brand page in just a few weeks.

This isn't your typical vegan brand that compares and contrasts plant-based and non-plant-based lifestyles. Instead, Cooking With Constance serves up hearty and healthy recipes that even the biggest meat lovers will enjoy.

Holiday recipes, quick and easy lunches, and plant-based living tips are just a few of the types of content you'll find as you scroll through her appetizing feed.

9. Lorna Jane

Followers: 1M

If your brand were a person, how would you describe its personality? Australian activewear company Lorna Jane has done an awesome job answering this important branding question with its Instagram content.

Spend just a few seconds scrolling through these photos, and you'll quickly be able to name the target Lorna Jane buyer: a young, sporty, twenty- or thirty-something woman who values looking good while maintaining an active lifestyle.

The images posted by Lorna Jane, which often show the brand's clothing and accessories, as well as images of women who embody its target buyer persona, are colorful, playful, and inspirational, which is a perfect representation of the brand's essence.

10. Letterfolk

Followers: 360k

Letterfolk is a small business run by a couple who create and sell beautiful, handcrafted felt letterboards. Each letterboard comes with a full set of characters so people can personalize the walls of their homes, which means endless room for creativity.

Instagram is the perfect platform for them to inspire customers and aspiring customers with real customers' boards, as well as ideas they've come up with and staged themselves. Their Instagram content is funny and relatable – a great recipe for shareability.

11. Apartment Therapy

Followers: 3.2M

Apartment Therapy's Instagram account really is a source of therapy, if you love the sight of cozy homes.

From home decor inspiration to fun challenges like their #SmallCoolChallenge contest and trendy user-generated content (UGC), this brand gives its followers plenty of inspiration to personalize their own space and "live happy, healthy lives at home,” as written in their profile bio.

12. Sunday II Sunday

Followers: 20.9k

Sunday II Sunday is another small business with a robust social media presence.

The brand describes itself as “haircare for active women.” As such, its content revolves around having and managing an active lifestyle.

Sunday II Sunday also does a great job of engaging its followers, asking them questions about their routines, workouts, and hair care habits.

13. Tentsile

Followers: 201k

"Stunning" is the first word that comes to mind when I scroll through Tentsile's Instagram photos.

Tentsile sells tree tents, what they call "portable treehouses" to elevate your camping experience. Its Instagram page is full of beautiful lifestyle images of their products in just about anywhere in the world: rainforests, mountains, beaches... you name it.

What the brand does well is leveraging its UGC. This saves time and resources and gives the brand some social proof.

14. Desenio

Followers: 1.9M

The first thing you'll notice when you land on Swedish online art print company Desenio's Instagram page is color blocking.

Every image blends beautifully with the one next to it, creating a cohesive, visually appealing page you never want to leave.

Even when using user-generated content, the brand ensures it fits within its aesthetic. Establishing consistency in your creative assets is key in ensuring brand recognition (i.e., when people see your image anywhere, they know it's you.)

15. Vans

Followers: 17M

Vans is known for its stylish shoes and its Instagram business account is no exception.

The maker of the classic checkered slip-on sneakers has a flashy Instagram feed, featuring both standalone product shots and action photos of people expressing themselves in their favorite Vans gear.

One thing that's clear by looking at Vans' Instagram account is that its identity is no longer tied solely to skateboarding. While you'll still see lifestyle images with skateboarders, you'll also see surfers, cyclists, and other fashionable shoe-lovers.

So, as your brand identity and messaging evolve, your content should also follow suit. Not sure how to get started with a strategy like this? Check out this podcast for tips from marketing experts:

16. Grass-Fields

Followers: 949k

Now, here's a brand that knows how to show its personality.

This Cameroon-based clothing brand isn't playing it safe on Instagram with static model shots and sale promotions. Instead, Grass-Fields showcases its products through fun, vibrant dance videos, and behind-the-scenes content.

The brand also highlights Black business owners, creators, and artists on its page, which caters to Black women.

The key takeaway here is: Don't be afraid to do things differently than it has been done if that's what your audience responds to.

17. Finfolk Productions

Followers: 399k

Ever wanted to be a mermaid? You can come pretty close, thanks to companies like FinFolk Productions. Believe it or not, silicone mermaid tails you can put on and swim around in are quite trendy.

Finfolk Productions' Instagram feed is full of beautifully shot photos that play into the mermaid fantasy by looking more like mythical art than real people.

The nostalgia of being a mermaid gives Finfolk Productions' followers a sense of wonder that they can actually wear. This unique brand makes dreams come true, and that's worthy of a spot on this list of the best brands on Instagram.

18. Shiseido

Followers: 1.3m

Shiseido started as Japan's first Western-style pharmacy more than 140 years ago and has since developed into selling high-quality brightening and anti-aging skincare, makeup, and fragrance products.

Its mission is to inspire a life of beauty and culture – a mission it portrays beautifully through Instagram content.

Hot tip: Posts featuring faces, especially for a skincare brand, are ideal for boosting social media engagement.

Don't be intimidated by highly professional Instagram videos like theirs. You can post highly engaging videos on Instagram without a huge video team or a bottomless budget. Here's some inspiration for making amazing Instagram Reels without breaking the bank.

19. The Muted Home

Followers: 49k

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the home improvement industry saw an 18% increase in YOY market size — the largest increase in more than ten years. With people spending more money in the local hardware stores, they were spending more time on social media, too — consuming home decor content.

Instagram brands like The Muted Home provide inspiration to help their followers redefine and elevate their homes with luxury home decor. Candles, vases, spice racks, cooking utensils, and more can be found on The Muted Home's Instagram page making it the go-to brand for nearly 50,000 online home decor enthusiasts.

20. Sephora Collections

Followers: 818k

Sephora Collections' brand personality is playful, colorful, and feminine. It does a wonderful job of characterizing this personality in its Instagram content, using bright colors, patterns, and fun captions.

In addition to partnering with beauty influencers, the brand also promotes content from everyday makeup users, featuring their tutorials and looks on its feed.

Hot Tip: What makes this big brand one of the best on Instagram is the community it's built on the platform. But what we see from Sephora on Instagram is a combination of marketing efforts elsewhere. So take it from Sephora — invest in your brand outside of Instagram, too, so that you can see even more success on this social network.

21. Clare

Followers: 100k

If you're renovating or simply moving into a new home, you're likely looking for inspiration on social media sites like Instagram and Pinterest.

Clare's Instagram features a collection of carefully curated images that meet that exact need. You'll find everything from new product promotions to home decor tips – everything in between.

There's also a beautiful balance of colors on Clare's Instagram page, creating a cohesive profile that's inviting, warm, and inspiring.

22. HoneyBook

Followers: 93.6k

What we love about HoneyBook is how accessible its content is.

Instagram, like many social media platforms, has been slow to develop and promote its accessibility features.

Thankfully, brands like HoneyBook have taken an active approach to make its content accessible by adding captions to their videos and adding image IDs that describe every image the company posts.

For deaf, hard of hearing, and visually impaired users, these extra steps go a long way.

23. Design Essentials

Followers: 147k

Design Essentials knows that hair is more than just something that grows on your body. It can speak to a community, a culture.

If you're looking for inspiration for your Instagram brand, take inspo from Design Essentials and try diversifying your content. Even when your business is niche, there are plenty of ways to stretch your content ideas.

The brand does more than just promote products on its Instagram page. In addition to product shots, you'll find inspirational quotes about hair, playful memes about everyday life, and fun reposts from Design Essentials' audience.

24. Flodesk

Followers: 45.5k

Flodesk's Instagram is everything you want to see on Instagram from an email marketing platform: beautiful designs and inviting content.

When you land on Flodesk's page, you'll gain tips on how to use its platform as well as general tips to optimize your email marketing strategy. With the use of vibrant colors and playful designs, every post is an attention grabber.

What's more, almost every post includes a call-to-action that invites the audience to engage. Whether it's to drop an emoji in the comments or answer a question – engagement done right.

25. Omsom

Followers: 51.8k

Omsom is another small business that has leveraged its CEOs, two first-generation Vietnamese sisters, to build a community on Instagram.

As you scroll through Omsom's Instagram, yes, you'll find beautifully crafted images showcasing the dishes you can make using the brand's food products. However, that's only one piece of the puzzle.

You'll also see many posts celebrating Vietnamese culture, and debunking Asian-American stereotypes and biases.

This strategy helps consumers connect with the Omsom beyond the delicious food and understand its broader mission and purpose.

26. Chipotle

Followers: 1.1M

Instead of reeling in consumers with food pictures, Chipotle has chosen another route: hilarious memes.

While you may find the occasional food post, the brand has focused its Instagram strategy on showing its personality.

Here's why it works: Memes are shareable and tag-friendly, which helps Chipotle reach new consumers as people tag their friends in funny, relatable posts.

The common thread in all the brands featured is that they had a consistent brand identity that was reflected in their visuals and a deep understanding of what resonated with their audience.

Ready to populate your Instagram timeline with pics and videos that are as captivating as the content above? We believe in you!

Editor's note: This post was originally published in June 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

26 of the Best Brands on Instagram Right Now was originally posted by Local Sign Company Irvine, Ca. https://goo.gl/4NmUQV https://goo.gl/bQ1zHR http://www.pearltrees.com/anaheimsigns

When to Post on TikTok: A Simple Guide

HubSpot Blog research found  that 93% of marketers that already leverage TikTok have plans to continue investing in the platform in 2022, and 52% of marketers plan to increase their investments for the year.

If you’re one of the marketers hoping to increase your business’ presence on the app, or you’re leveraging it for the first time, it’s important to have a TikTok-specific strategy that works.

In this post, discover new HubSpot Blog data that will help you decide the best time to post on TikTok to ensure your content has the most significant reach.

What’s the best day to post on TikTok?

The best days to post on TikTok are Saturday, Friday, and Sunday. The graph below displays this data.

Best Times to Post on TikTok

Marketers report that the three best time frames to post on TikTok are 6-9 PM, 3-6 PM, and 12-3 PM, in that order. The graph below displays this result.

When do you know the best time to post on TikTok for your business?

Our Blog research found the best times and days to post on TikTok. However, deciding the best option for your business depends on your audience and their location and activity.

To pick the best option for your business, you’ll need to access your account analytics within your TikTok for Business account. To get there within the TikTok app,

1. Select the hamburger menu on the top right-hand corner of your profile page.

2. In the Settings and privacy menu, select Creator tools, then Analytics (as shown in the image below). If you haven’t yet enabled analytics, you’ll be prompted to turn them on.

Image Source

Once you’ve selected Analytics, you’ll see a dashboard with an overview of different metrics. To get more insights into your audience, select the Followers tab. You should then see your audience metrics, as shown in the image below.

Image Source

You’ll be able to see where your audiences are located and when they’re most active. Take note of this information, compare it to the data we found, and select a time frame that aligns with your audience's presence.

 

It’s important to note that testing different posting schedules is always worthwhile to figure out what works best. For example, our data shows that 6-9 PM is the best posting window, and your in-app analytics show your audiences are most active on Fridays. You can run your own experiment where you post at different times between 6-9 PM on Fridays to see what generates the most engagement.

Can you post too much on TikTok?

Most marketers post on TikTok 4-6 times per week. However, as with many social media sites, it is possible to post too much and oversaturate your audiences.

It’s best to test out different options and come up with a strategy that aligns with your goals so that when you do post, you’re sharing content your audiences want to see and when they’re most likely to see it.

When to Post on TikTok: A Simple Guide was originally posted by Local Sign Company Irvine, Ca. https://goo.gl/4NmUQV https://goo.gl/bQ1zHR http://www.pearltrees.com/anaheimsigns