Instagram Rules: The Essential Guide to Building Brands, Business and Community

by Jodie Cook

Overview

SALES & MARKETING BOOK OF THE YEAR, THE BUSINESS BOOK AWARDS 2021

'Essential for anyone wanting to take Instagram seriously.' – ALEX WOOD, FORBES

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Boost your business, grow an online community or promote a side-hustle with Instagram Rules. 
 
Instagram is an essential tool for any business, and an estimated 60% of users discover new products via the platform. But how can you use it effectively? Social media expert Jodie Cook breaks it down into 125 bite-sized rules, making Instagram an easy and efficient method for expanding your venture. 

Jodie takes you through the most important aspects of running a professional account – strategy, content, community, growth – and drills into the key concepts so that you can apply expert digital marketing knowledge to your profile, no matter the size.

• Learn the dos and don’ts of post planning; developing a voice; identifying trends; driving a campaign; responding to engagement; and more. 
• Create a personalised Instagram strategy, whatever your business is. 
• Apply insight from interviews with successful users (from Ben & Jerry's and Papier, to freelancers and community groups) and Jodie's own experience working with international brands, celebrities and small businesses. 
• Read as a quick-fire reference or as a step-by-step guide or for effective, focused strategy.

Whether you’re a complete novice, short on time or want to improve your engagement – Instagram Rules makes social media marketing straightforward and hassle-free for any small business or serious Instagram user.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780711251779
Publisher:	Lincoln, Frances Limited
Publication date:	10/27/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Jodie Cook is founder of JC Social Media, an award-winning social media agency that works with international brands, celebrities and small businesses. Jodie was selected as one of Forbes Europe 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs; is a regular commentator on social media; and has written over five books, including the '50 Great Ideas’ series (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Easy SEO) and Winning at Social Media and Stop Acting Like You're Going to Live Forever.

Table of Contents

Introduction 6

Chapter 1 Strategic Approach 11

Why be strategic? 12

The four steps to building an effective strategy 13

Goal-setting 14

Interview: Holly Chapman, Papier 28

Profile Optimisation 32

Brand and Branding 44

Interview: Kayleigh, O'Connor, Tikiboo Fitness 54

Tone of Voice 58

Chapter 2 Content 69

Why does content matter so much? 70

The four steps to creating great content 73

Post-planning 74

Interview: Kathryn Griffin, Ben & Jerry's 88

Creating Great Content 92

Captions and Hashtags 106

Interview: Can Atham 120

Finding New Ideas 124

Chapter 3 Community 135

What community means 136

The four steps to building a community 139

Understanding Your Community 140

Interview: Jess Reading, Tentsile 152

Active Outreach 156

Responding to Engagement 168

Interview: Sunny Oshan, Frenchiestore 174

Encouraging Interaction 178

Chapter 4 Growth 189

What growth means 190

The four steps to achieving growth 193

Gaining Traction 194

Reaching New Audiences 204

Interview: Elise Armitage, What The Fab 214

Paid Advertising 218

Measuring Results 230

Interview: Carrie Green, Female Entrepreneur Association 238

Health 242

Final thoughts 250

Index 252

Further reading 254

Acknolwedgments 255

Editorial Reviews

08/24/2020

Social media consultant Cook (Stop Acting Like You’re Going to Live Forever) delivers a disorganized conglomeration of pointers with her muddled, frustrating guide to Instagram success. It’s unclear what audience she is speaking to as she shuttles between personality-driven ideas that make sense for individual influencers and brand-driven tips useful for corporate brand managers, with no identifiable separation between the two. This means swinging back and forth between big-picture thoughts on strategy and branding (including beyond Instagram) and advice on such small specifics as emoji use and choosing effective link-outs. Seeded throughout are some helpful examples of brands to emulate, like Ben & Jerry’s, camping goods company Tentsile, and activewear brand Tikiboo Fitness. The categories of information are on-target, including content creation, building community, and audience growth. However, the commentary on each topic is unfailingly obvious (a community “likely shares common values, interests and attitudes,” while “the growth of your Instagram account demonstrates that you’re hitting the right notes when it comes to content”) and canned-sounding. The result is so scattered that it’s hard to imagine the audience that would benefit. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly