Where are my creative small business owners and wedding professionals? This blog’s for you!

I should start off with a disclaimer…

One thing I won’t claim to be is an expert at Instagram or social media. Perhaps if I were a Marketing major at Purdue in current time, I would be! But so much has changed since earning my degree many moons ago – a big one being the emergence of social media platforms.

Though, I will say I’ve learned a lot about Instagram through our presence on the social media platform over last few years. Here are a few tips and tricks I’ve learned, which can help your Instagram exposure, increase your post likes and interactions, and help you gain followers.

We all know Instagram has an algorithm that determines where you show up in others’ feeds. These tips and tricks will essentially help boost your clout!

1. WHO YOU FOLLOW
   First, it’s important to interact on a regular basis with those that you follow. Be sure to spend a 5-10 minutes a day scrolling through your Instagram feed, liking and leaving comments (4+ words is the rule of thumb. Emojis are fun but don’t count towards your word count!).
    
2. BE SURE TO FOLLOW BACK
   When new instagram accounts begin to follow you, it's important to follow them back! Instagram will pick up on the fact that you're interactive with your followers. My usual rule of thumb: If the account is semi-relevant to my line of work (for example: weddings, graphic design, laser cutting), I will follow them back. The exceptions to this "follow back" rule would be the obvious fake or "sales" accounts, who will likely unfollow you within a day or two.
   
   *** A tip to manage this, to weed out the "follow for follow" seekers: download an app that generates instagram reports, such as Reports+ (my go-to app). This will tell you who has unfollowed you - so, if you see someone on this report that you followed back, just unfollow them. They were just fishing for followers anyway!
    
3. FOLLOWING HASHTAGS
   Start following a few hashtags that are of interest or relevance to you. For instance, I follow #weddinginvitations, #engagementphotos, and #indianaweddings (to name a few). I follow about 10 hashtags total. This gives you some diversity in your Instagram feed & allows you the chance to like and comment on other’s photos that you don’t necessarily follow (another element that helps boost your clout!).
    
4. INSTAGRAM STORIES
   Utilize your “stories” feature! It shows Instagram that you are an active user, not a passive occasional one. These can be as personal or impersonal as you’d like. Though, I’ll say from experience, the first option tends to get more interaction. Show your followers what you’re working on that day, give sneak peeks into projects or events, or create a fun poll (either business or non-business related). Be sure to include a hashtag to gain more visibility. Also, if your story involves another Instagram user, it’s important to tag them! They’ll then have the opportunity to share your story in their story – and BOOM, upping your clout again. =)
    
5. POSTING NEW CONTENT
   Post new content 2-3 times a week consistently. I know this one is a struggle during our busiest times (I fail at times). If you fall off the posting wagon, just hop right back on as soon as you can. You’ll notice you may have lost a tiny bit of clout (with less likes and followers), but you’ll quickly pick back up! With each post, it’s important to utilize your hashtags (you can use up to 14) and tag others when you can (i.e. the venue featured, the photographer’s work who should be credited, other individuals who also contributed to the content of the photo or setting).
    

I hope you’ve found these quick tips and tricks to be somewhat helpful! For more advice on how to increase your followers and post interactions, we highly recommend checking out Gary Vee’s strategy. He spells it out simply on why it’s important to share your “two cents”, in order to get that same investment in return from others. Give it a read, you won’t regret it!

With all of the hard work, hours and manual labor we invest in each of our clients’ wedding stationery, it is always rewarding to see recent Indianapolis weddings and events featured in local and national publications. If you are looking for wedding inspiration or simply enjoy seeing what is happening in the Indianapolis and general wedding stationery and event planning scene, you’ll enjoy today’s blog recap!

We had the honor of helping all of the brides and grooms below with custom designed wedding invitations and day-of stationery (ceremony programs, menus, table numbers, and seating cards, just to name a few examples). Here’s a look at what we’ve been up to in our studio…

A CORAL AND VINTAGE INFUSED EVENT

Vintage elements always seem to add a little romance and elegance to just about anything. Not only that, but this special day also incorporated the Pantone Color of the Year, which is Living Coral. For our custom stationery pieces, Bethany from Eden + Vine provided all of the gorgeous spot calligraphy elements (isn't her lettering so lovely?). What made this day extra pretty were the amazing florals by our pal Courtney at Violets are Blue, a local wedding florist located in downtown Indianapolis. Thanks to Beth Waterman for capturing this day on camera!

For more photos and a full list of vendor credits, you can see the wedding featured on the Tacari Weddings blog.

VINTAGE CHIC TRAVEL-INSPIRED NUPTIALS

Sometimes we get the chance to hop outside of the Indianapolis wedding and events circle, and play a role in weddings across the country. We especially love southern weddings – they have impeccable taste!

A popular blog, Strictly Weddings, recently featured this gorgeous day – jam packed with incredible travel and aviation inspired details. The day took place at a private airfield in rural Georgia, where a vintage yellow airplane served as the backdrop for the outdoor ceremony space. Our favorite detail? That breathtaking cake by The Topiary! A true work of art!

For a full list of contributing wedding vendors, please visit:

http://strictlyweddings.com/blog/2019/03/vintage-chic-wedding-ideas/

BEACHY DESTINATION WEDDING VIBES

Speaking of southern weddings, here’s another recent one we LOVE! It a day packed with so many gorgeous wedding elements! This stunning day took place at The Island Weddings in Ft. Walton Beach, where Taylor’d Southern Events executed this wedding style perfectly! The stunning florals were provided by the talented Moonstruck Florals team – aren’t the wedding flowers just dreamy?!

Photos were taken by Madeline Vezain. Click the link below for a full list of the wedding day vendor team:

https://www.madelinevezain.com/blog/albums/967005