Whether you have seen me on our social media, or on our website, let me formally introduce myself. I am Katie Bishop, and I am a marketing associate here at Starr Social. I began my journey with this company almost a year ago as a social media marketing intern as I finished my last semester in Athens, Georgia. I am now a Psychology student at Georgia State University, and am loving the urban-vibe of school in the city. With all of this being said, living in an efficient and organized function is the only way I can juggle work-life, school-life and social life. 

So when I found myself making New Year's Resolutions (yes, the things we all neglect by the end of the year) I wanted to be realistic about what those resolutions were, and found myself wanting my mornings to look different. A new way to start the day that will increase productivity, happiness and achieve the things I have always felt like I don't have time to do, but mean a great deal to me. Morning routines have always been important to me, and are crucial for the rest of my day, however, I tried something new this time. I have created two morning routines. 1 routine is for the days I am working, and the other is for the days I am in school. Now, I think it is important to note two things: 

1. Do not, no matter what your morning routine is, or whatever that thing might be that you want to achieve in the morning, be hard on yourself if things don't go according to plan. Life, especially in the world of COVID-19, has shown us we are bound to a world of uncertainty. 

2. Everyone is different, but I think the point of a “morning routine” is to have healthy habits that start your morning in a way you want. In a way that is happy, motivating, and wholesome to yourself. Plus, who doesn't need a little extra self-love? 

Morning Routine for Work Days 

8:00-8:15 Five-Minute Meditation and Moment of Gratitude 

8:15-8:25 Drink! Drink! Drink! It is important that water is the first thing that your body has in the morning. To make sure you achieve this goal, fill up a water bottle before you go to sleep the night before! 

Make the bed, did you know that this is the one thing that all millionaires have in common? Eye on the prize, am I right?

8:25-8:45 Skincare (the best part of the morning), teeth brushing and coconut pulling. 

8:45-9:25 Make coffee, and go on a 15 minute walk, or longer. This was one thing I have been wanting to incorporate into my morning routine, and I feel so energetic and motivated afterwards. 

9:25-10:00 Journal/Mind Dump. I find this allows me to put my focus where I want it. If I can put all of my thoughts out on paper, I am able to go into any task centered and sound-minded. 

10:00 Begin working for the day :) 

Morning Routine for School Days 

7:00-7:15 Five-Minute Meditation and Moment of Gratitude 

7:15-7:25 Water! Water! Water! & make the bed 

7:25-7:45 Skincare, and all the morning thinggsss. 

7:45-7:55 So up until this point, my morning routine is similar to the work days, except I don’t have time to go on a walk or journal, so I found a solution. ‘Get Untamed: The Journal’ by the infamous Glennon Doyle is a great way to get your mind going in the morning, and I feel like it's a moment of self love before the craziness begins. 

7:55-8:25 Make coffee, breakfast, and pack lunch for the day. Packing your lunch saves so much time in the long run. every. single. time. 

Morning routines are meant to work with and for you, not against you. Happy New Year to all, and I wish you all the best of luck with whatever your New Year's Resolutions may be!

Most frequently asked question we get is: How do I properly use Instagram analytics.

Did you know that Instagram has 500 billion active users on the daily?? Yes. WOW. You may be trying to figure out how to use analytics to grow your business, brand, or blog. And with 500 billion users at your disposal you should be able to, right? Right! We are going to teach you how without buying fake followers. Please don’t do that. Seriously, everyone will know. 

First, let’s talk about the importance of IG analytics. This is a feature that Instagram offers that allows you to find information about your followers, content, and stories. These insights offer surface-level analytics through: Impressions, Reach, and Engagement. By checking and tracking this information you will learn how to interpret and implement the data towards a strategy to grow your business. 

There are 4 awesome tools you can use to leverage Instagram analytics and grow your following! Step 1, is figuring out when to post. To do this, you will want to determine when your followers are most active. Everyone’s audience is different! So check yours to know when to post and at what time for the future! Using this information, set a schedule, and plan out your instagram posts. Try using one of our favorite planning apps “Later” or “Plannoly”. Those come highly recommended. From us. Be sure to track the success of each post and time and adjust your schedule accordingly. 

Step 2, appeal to your target audience. Again, figuring out who your target audience is, is so important! Instagram analytics can help you figure out who your current audience is made up of. Age, location, gender, interests, etc. Adjust your content to cater to your target audience!

Step 3, understand the type of content your audience engages with. As this step ties into step 2 closely. We are again referring to what your audience/consumer wants to see more of! For example, if you get more post engagement when you upload a photo of you, as opposed to not a lot of post interaction from a funny meme post…. You now know what your audience wants to see more of. YOU! So check out the interactions and reach features to determine this.

Finally, step 4, analyze your call-to-action. If you own a small business and all of your revenue comes from “sales or purchases”, you may want your CTA to be “click the link in our bio” to learn more. But if you want your CTA to direct people to your Instagram profile to grow your following base because you are an influencer, then your call-to-action should be asking people to check out your profile! Make sense? I hope so! Another fun call-to-action is to have people tag their besties, or comment in the captions. You will be able to decide from your analytics if you should use these special call-to-actions or not. 

We hope this helps you figure out  how to best use Instagram analytics to physically see improvement in your social media marketing.

 If you have any questions, let us know in the comments below! (see what I did there? haha) 

So, you’re thinking about finally starting your small business? Congrats! The leap of faith can be one of the hardest parts about starting your small business, but you know what they say, “it’s now or never”. They are right because the best time to start is NOW. It’s no secret that the best way to market your business is through social media. Ah, social media, the blessing and curse of the 21st Century. It is a very powerful tool. Here at Starr Social we understand just how daunting it can feel! To help lighten your load, we’ve come up with three of our best social media tips when it comes to starting your own small business.

1. Create a posting schedule:

The biggest mistake you can make when it comes to social media is not planning out your posts ahead of time. This can lead to feeling overwhelmed and unmotivated. The last thing you want is a bad case of burnouts! This plan can be as simple as writing down the days of the week on a piece of paper and jotting down different content ideas for each day. If you want to step up your game a little, try using a planning app. These apps let you visually see what your social media feed will look like and even let you schedule your posts for specific times! The “Later” app and “Planoly” are two of our favorites over here at Starr Social. 

1. Make your Instagram profile a business profile: 

Setting your Instagram to be a business profile is a very crucial step on your journey of becoming a small business owner. This will allow you to have access to your analytics, Instagram users will be able to recognize you as a business right away, and you will be given the option to promote your page through Instagram Ads. All of these features are extremely useful! Especially being able to view your analytics. Analytics provide you with info, such as but not limited to, the best time to post your content, what content your followers interact with most, and how much traffic you are receiving on your page daily. Analytics are the best way to figure out how to appeal to your audience. So what are you waiting for? Go switch your Instagram account to a business profile!

1. Stay active and engaging:

The best way to grow your social media is not only by staying consistent with engaging content, but also by consistently engaging with your followers and following. Think of this as saying hi to someone that you pass on the street. Everyone loves a friendly face and the same thing goes for social media. Start scheduling a few minutes out of your day to engage with people. Go further than simply liking someone’s photo. Comment words of encouragement, save their post, add it to your story, or better yet do all three! This engagement from your end will encourage people to engage with you right back and ultimately drive more traffic to your account. 

The road to growing your small business is not an easy one but it sure is rewarding. From one small business to the next, we wish you the very best of luck!