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GETTING TO KNOW INSTAGRAM Here are several of social media marketing's biggest secrets and misconceptions. What should go in my captions? ere is, with complete certainty, no right or wrong answer to this question, but a good "best practice" is to open your captions with a "call to action," like "Tag someone who would love these fl owers," or, on a carousel of images, "Which do you like best?" Captions can be directly "advertorial," stating what a product is and its price. Alternatively, captions can also be a place to pour out your heart and soul in long-winded stories. Finding the right voice for your business takes time and experimentation. Do I have to use hashtags? In short, no. However, embracing hashtags that are authentic to each individual image or video you share will ensure they remain easy to fi nd for your future customers. Here's an example: Searching for a way to send fl owers to your ailing cousin in Tulsa? Try searching "#tulsafl orist" under the magnifying-glass icon. A process that would have been a wild guess, such as searching for fl owers in an unfamiliar city, becomes easy and tailor-made to the customers' aesthetic choices by visually cataloging yourself in the phrases they are most likely to search by. Where should I place my #hashtags on a post? ere are two preferred ways to add hashtags to your posts on Instagram: 1) Immediately following your caption text, and 2) In a single comment on your own work immediately following the post. To many viewers, hashtags are distracting, so try using this trick favored by the pros: Before adding your hashtags, type a single period followed by enter (no spaces), repeat this step fi ve times and then tag away using up to 30 hashtags. What is a user tag? User tags are one of my favorite ways to build business relationships. In each post or story, you have an opportunity to "tag" other users. is can take many forms, from tagging your favorite suppliers to score a dream sponsorship, to giving local clients a way to reshare your work with their followers. (Spoiler alert: is is an eff ective way to get free advertising!) Tagging is also a terrifi c way to show gratitude to your staff , supporters and inspirations. What is a geo-tag, and do they matter? Geotags can help make your image searchable by location, and, astoundingly, yes, they do matter. oughtful geotagging can play much like a game of chess. Let's say that you are looking to break into a new customer base such as the growing number of elopement-style small weddings. By geotagging your fl owers at locations such as popular landmarks or that adorable historic courthouse, you will unlock a whole new way for customers to stumble across your work.

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