Featuring Daniel Hill Media from the podcast: “The Instagram Stories” @danielhillmedia
We spoke to the talented and Instagram stories pro, Daniel Hill from Daniel Hill media. The 3-minute daily audio show includes Instagram news and tips, along with The Instagram Stories Podcast, where he interviews Instagram experts about their strategies and secrets. Check out these great tips for our members this month!
He had some great tips for our members, check out the interview below:
Where do you look to get your daily/weekly inspiration for Instagram topics, reels, new tips, etc.?
“I spend a lot of time on TikTok getting inspiration to make my own versions of amazing videos!
I also closely follow Adam Mosseri (Head of Instagram), Vishal Shah (VP of Product at Instagram), SocialMediaToday, as well as some key members of the Instagram community on Twitter”.
What tools do you use for staying on top of trends?
“I’m a big fan of Google Alerts!
I set up some keywords then monitor the Google Alert using RSS feeds – I just roll my mouse over my toolbar to see if there’s anything interesting or new to read, without needing to open any new tabs. It’s a huge time saver!”
What does your feed look like? Does it align with the services you provide or is it a wide range?
“My feed is all about keeping up with my friends and people who inspire me. If we’re not cool in real life, I’m definitely not following you. I recommend keeping the number of people you follow very low. I recommend under 500 if possible. If I notice that someone I’m following hasn’t posted content in 2 years, I’ll unfollow them.”
What tips do you have for someone just getting started on Instagram, and not sure where to start?
“Start experimenting, and don’t be afraid to do something that doesn’t get a lot of engagement! Do things on the platform that you enjoy. Figure out how to edit video, and be willing to put yourself out there as much as possible! Try to be funny and entertaining – the goal is to make people think “what did I just watch? I need to watch that again!”
What are your thoughts on cookie-cutter branding and comparing your page to others?
“Comparing is always going to happen, but it’s really a giant waste of time. One of the biggest problems with Instagram is when you join, you immediately follow people with huge audiences. These users get millions of likes and comments on every post. This is extremely discouraging if you’re just starting out. For that reason, I recommend not following people who are on a different trajectory like that, even if you admire them. Just browse their page every once in a while if you really want to know what’s going on with them.
Fundamentally, Instagram is trying to change that “comparison” factor on the platform. Instagram has been testing the ability to turn off “likes” in 3 ways.
- On your own individual posts (so no one else could see how many likes your post got)
- Turning it off on all your posts globally
- Turning off being able to see like counts on OTHER people’s posts.
Ultimately I think that will go a long way to changing how we think about comparison on social media, which will only help in the long run. And don’t worry, those stats will still be available in the analytics of your account if you want to share them with brands!”
Our takeaway:
- Follow trends that matter to you, and inspire you
- Don’t get in your head about comparing yourself or your business to other “big accounts”
- Stay inspired by people who inspire you back!
Lastly, create content that matters to your audience! Achieve this by listening, engaging, and being in the know of what’s going on in your industry and social media.
You can find more of Daniel Hill on Instagram and Twitter @danielhillmedia, and you can also find “The Instagram Stories” on Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever else you get podcasts.
We highly recommend adding this into your routine, as a free way to gain weekly inspiration for your Instagram account.
