Instagram Marketing: Instagram Essentials and Content Creation (FutureLearn)

Offered by Social Media College,
Instagram Marketing: Instagram Essentials and Content Creation (FutureLearn)

Learn how Instagram works and how to create great content that the algorithm rewards. Create great content for Instagram that gets engagement and results. This is part 1 of a 4 part series which will teach you how to rapidly scale your followers, maximise engagement and generate income through direct-sales and collaborations.

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In Part 1 you will fast-track your knowledge of the essential skills you can apply to immediately improve your brand or personal Instagram account. This course focuses on building a branded instagram account directly and organically, rather than on the processes around paid promotion and platform marketing.

Learn from Instagram’s top marketers & influencers.
The team at Social Media College partner with industry leading Insta-pros to teach you the strategies & hacks that make all the difference.
Join an active community of like-minded Instagram marketers, learn through participation with other students and share your journey through collaboration and conversation in this socially focused course.
Immediately applicable to your Instagram account, no fluff or useless theory. This course provides you with useful templates, real world examples and practical tools for you to fast-track your insta-success.

What topics will you cover?

  • Background to Instagram
  • Benefits of Instagram Marketing
  • Understanding the Instagram algorithm.
  • Top Factors Which Influence Ranking
  • Creating Great Content
  • Maintaining a Consistent Theme
  • Planning a posting Schedule
  • Designing Grids
  • Sparking an Emotional Reaction

Learning on this course
You can take this self-guided course and learn at your own pace. On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

  • Determine the key benefits of marketing and advertising on Instagram
  • Determine how a post is processed by the Instagram algorithm and identify the factors that influence ranking
  • Define ‘great visual content’ in terms of its characteristics and qualities
  • Apply strategies to grow and develop an organic instagram following and influence

Who is the course for?
This course is designed with a wide range of learners in mind. People wanting to create great content for Instagram that the algorithm rewards, whether for business or personal accounts.
Business owners who want to ramp up Instagram engagement to build brand loyalty and turn followers into customers, as well as marketing professionals who want to up theirsocial game
Social media newbies will not find this course too advanced, we will give you the guidance you need to get started.

Go to Class
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