Here’s a no-frills guide to Instagram hashtags and how to use them.
👋🏾 Hey folks,
December’s flying by, and I feel like we’re speedrunning the end of the year. I’m deep in planning mode for January and have been thinking through how I want to spend 2025 (very proactive, I know).
It got me thinking — what’s on your mind for the new year? Is 2025 your year of growth as a creator? Or are you taking a step back from social for a while?
If you aren’t thinking about it yet, I highly recommend setting aside some time within the next few weeks before the holidays are in full swing. That way, you can enjoy your time off and come back in the new year with maximum energy.
💌 What’s in this issue: 3 minutes, 19 seconds
- 💻 The latest content on the blog
- 📰 Social media news and features to note
- 📸 Start planning your “2024 Wrapped”
- 🪂 Dive into our primer on influencer marketing
That’s it from me!
Hope you have a lovely weekend, and we’ll see you next Friday!
Warmly,
Tami & the Buffer team
P.S. You can now schedule videos to Bluesky in Buffer! Try it →
👇 The latest from the blog
- Here’s a no-frills guide to Instagram hashtags and how to use them.
- Discover 40 free, high-quality social media icons to elevate your website's design
- Get our tips and strategies to help you grow your TikTok following
🖊️ Deep dive
How to Adopt Influencer Marketing As a Business or Creator
Influencer marketing has become a core strategy for many brands—and it’s easy to see why. Done well, it offers:
- Authenticity: Consumers trust creators more than traditional ads.
- Niche audiences: You gain access to highly engaged, targeted followers.
- Scalability: It works whether you’re spending $100 or $100,000.
However, as influencer marketing grows, so does skepticism as audiences become more concerned with authenticity.
Not to worry, even if you’re new to influencer marketing and are just exploring it on either end! Here’s how to get started:
- Understand what influencer marketing is. Simply put, it’s partnering with creators to promote your brand to their audience. The best influencers aren’t just popular — they actually influence purchasing decisions.
- Set clear goals. Decide if your focus is brand awareness, engagement, sales, or something else. If you’re on the other end, determine what you offer the brands looking for creators like you. Choose metrics that align with these goals, like impressions for awareness or revenue for sales to focus on or highlight in your media kit.
- Define your budget or pricing. Whether it’s product gifting or paid sponsorships, figure out what you can afford — and get creative to make it stretch. As a creator, determine your pricing according to the right compensation for what you offer.
- Find the right influencers. Nano- and micro-influencers are great for smaller budgets, while larger creators can help you scale your reach. For creators, this means that audience size is less important than the quality of your content. Authenticity always wins, regardless of size.
- Track your results. Focus on 2–3 metrics to measure success and refine your strategy over time.
Influencer marketing offers an organic way to build trust with new audiences and grow — and it won’t hurt your creator or business brand if done authentically.
Start small. Look for influencers of a similar size and niche to yours and explore their brand partnerships to get ideas. You can start outreach by engaging with their content. Or, if you’re a creator, reach out to brands you’ve seen partner with people similar to you and propose a partnership. From there, evaluate what works and build on it.
📱Social tip of the week
If you’re chronically online like me, you’ve likely heard the “…and with that, the [insert year] season comes to an end” sound every year since 2021. The creator, sportscaster Sammy Levitt, always has his voice go viral across TikTok and Instagram
This is your reminder to start putting together the images or videos you’d like to include when doing the trend, ready to go for the end of the year!
Bookmark the sound on Instagram and TikTok.
🤳 What's happening in social?
- LinkedIn shares posting tips
- Threads is planning a significant update to its search features
- Speaking of Threads, Meta launched a hub that you might find helpful
- Youtube shared their top trends of 2024 — and Pinterest made some predictions
🎬 How to use Bluesky
If you’re new to Bluesky or don’t quite know to get setup, Kirsti put together a handy guide in this video.
Thanks for reading! ❤️
What would you like to see more (or less) of in the newsletter? Give us all your feedback in this form or let us know on all our social channels @buffer!
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