5 Steps to Crush It on Instagram
There’s a reason why Instagram is the #1 social platform for business interactions today. From gathering insights to selling products, Instagram keeps rolling out tools to help business owners succeed. But if you’re new to the game, read on to learn our top 5 steps to growing a successful small business profile on the ‘gram.
Find your “why”
The first thing you need to do is ask yourself this very important question: “Why am I even on Instagram?”
Dig deep and really figure out what it is that you will offer your audience in your feed. People get confused when you throw too much at them so keep it simple. You might be great at 20 different things but promoting them all is going to be tough. Pick your strongest offerings and focus on those. Your “why” can certainly evolve over time, just make sure you have a solid one before you hit publish on anything.
Now that you know your why, think about what your customers want — what they really really want. I’ll tell you what they don’t want. Lots of ME talk. We get that you have a great house, and a perfect family, in perfect clothes spending perfect days in perfect places. And that’s all good, but how does that help your customers? Save that for a personal account, or just tone it down.
What you’ll need to do is get into the minds of your customers and figure out their pain points. If you’re an interior designer, offer up design tips and some of your favorite staging pieces. If you’re a photographer, of course you’ll need to showcase that beautiful portfolio, but also offer up some iPhone photography tips to enable your customers to shoot great photos on their own every day. Not only will you have them coming back for more, you’re setting yourself as a thought-leader in your industry.
2. Create your visual theme
Ever visit an instagram account and notice that beautiful quilt of perfectly customized imagery? You know what I’m talking about. I’ll tell you the secret to having a beautiful and captivating feed. It’s called consistency. Consistency is what helps bring people back again and again. It creates loyalty.
Over @studiobrinks you’ll see three things right away:
1. purple
2. lifestyle photography
3. our work
To attract local female business owners, we chose visuals that would likely appeal to that audience. Lifestyle imagery and a modern shade of purple resonate with them, and in order to break up that monotony we throw up typography with a purple background every 2-3 posts.
Don’t know where to get great photos? Hire a photographer, or use some killer stock photos.
3. Write captions that sound like you
If you’re a small business owner, YOU are your brand. Write your captions the way you would speak to a good friend and see how easily your followers respond to you.
Are you obsessed with emojis? Don’t be afraid to throw a few in there.
Do you use slang in your everyday life? Go ahead and drop it in the caption.
It’s all about being authentic and relatable. You have a unique perspective that your followers are dying to hear. So take your mom’s advice already, and just be yourself.
Pro tip: Don’t forget to include a CTA at the bottom of each post. End with a question to increase engagement. You need those interactions to stay on the insta algorithm’s good side!
4. Get in the hashtag game
If you’re not using hashtags, it’s time to start. Like, now. These little gold nuggets help you get in front of your audience over and over. You’ll want to get your post to trend so that it’s found by many people, not just by your mom.
Now, what I’m about to say may sound counterintuitive but it’s true. Use hashtags associated with a smaller amount of mentions. Many people fall into the trap of believing they need to use all 30 hashtags and that those hashtags need to be the most popular ones out there. Your post will be in a sea of 1M+ mentions and won’t get the love it deserves.
Pro tip: Don’t use the same hashtags on every post. Instead have a different set for different topics. And don’t forget to refresh them every couple of months as trends online begin to change.
5. Show up every single day
Would you leave a text message unanswered longer than 24 hours?
Think of your instagram as a way for your followers (and potential customers) to quickly text you. Engagement doesn’t have to be hard work, but it does have to be consistent. Make it fun by talking to people about things outside of business too.
Instagram’s algorithm’s goal is to figure out who your post will appeal to, and that’s likely the followers who are mostly engaged with you. To keep that going, continue to post consistently. One easy way to do that is to sit down once a week/ month and plan out all of your content.
Pro tip: When you comment on others’ posts, add something of value. A simple “cool post” isn’t all that interesting, is it? Instead, offer up why you like the post and maybe even a follow-up question. Try to start up a conversation or join one that’s already there. Instagram’s algorithm serves up posts based on authentic relationships, so keep those going.
Need us to manage your instagram account for you?
Once you start applying these simple tips, you’ll immediately start to see an increase in your following. Sometimes maintaining the momentum isn’t always as easy. That’s why we’re here to help. Studio Brinks offers monthly social media management and content marketing at affordable prices. Let us take the load off of you. Contact us today to learn more.