This post is all about Instagram and how I use it in my business. Some of the strategies I’m about to share have translated into actual money in the bank! I am not a social media guru, but I have spent a lot of time researching for myself and my clients and I’d like to share what I’ve learned so far, because I know it can benefit your business too.
Instagram is a user-friendly platform, but understanding the algorithms, growing your following, choosing the right hashtags, and getting engagement can all feel so overwhelming. But, don’t worry! These simple tips will be easy to understand and apply!
Let’s start at the beginning.
Should I have a business Instagram Account?
If you have a business, you should convert your existing account to a business account or start a new one. You can learn how to do that here. A business account can help you track your engagement, interactions, profile visits, website clicks, reach, impressions and the best time to post. You also have access to the gender and age range of your current following, which comes in handy when you are creating content and choosing images for your feed. It is completely up to you whether you should combine your personal and business accounts or keep them separate. It will likely depend on what you are selling or promoting and how much your business and personal life overlap. Because of the nature of what I offer, I have chosen to open a separate account because I felt it best to not intertwine business and personal. If you choose to have two accounts, just remember that posting personal elements on your business account is a great way for people to connect with you.
How many hashtags should I use?
Instagram allows you to post 30 hashtags in each post and I’ve heard a lot of conflicting advice on whether you should use all 30 or not. Personally, I have seen more engagement and follows from maximizing as many as I can in each post or by putting them immediately in the comments below. Which brings me to the next debated topic, hashtags in the comments or in the copy of the post itself? Upon testing, I have found no noticeable difference in the search engine results. Esthetically, I prefer my hashtags in the comments, but I got a little crazy today and put them in the post, just to mix it up!
What hashtags should I use to get the right followers?
First, you need to know who your target audience is. Attracting the right kind of people to your account is the key to growing your following and maximizing Instagram to grow your business. The “right” kind of person would be anyone who your message, product or service might resonate with. If your content does not attract your target audience then you’ll have a harder time gaining a loyal following. Once you have narrowed that down, you should start researching the hashtags that your target audience is using. I will use about 50% of my 30 hashtags to attract my target market using this method. The other 50% should be used to target the audience who might be searching for the service or product you are offering. Let me give an example of my target audience hashtags vs. my Virtual Assistant type hashtags.
My target audience is anyone who is an entrepreneur, has a goal to be an entrepreneur or owns a small business – with a strong lean towards woman. So, within my posts, you’ll find hashtags like #momboss #momwhoworks #entremom #stayathomemom #girlbossesofinstagram #bossbabes #entrepreneurs
To attract my target audience who might be searching for my services, I’ll use hashtags like #virtualassistants #remoteadminservices #socialmediamanager #pinterestmanager #emailmarketing
Now these hashtag percentages are not an exact science and I do mix them up a bit depending on what I am posting. If I am posting an inspirational quote, I will also throw in hashtags that are related to the quote or topic. It has been reported that Instagram will not show your posts to as many people if you use the same hashtags over and over again, so be sure to mix it up! I like to save groups of hashtags in my phone notes, and copy and paste them into my posts on a rotation.
There are so many hashtags, how do I choose?
Now let’s move on to choosing your hashtags because there are A LOT! If you have a low number of followers, then you should be using hashtags that have a low number of posts. You can find the hashtag post number under the hashtag itself when you plug it into the search bar under “Tags”. I have about 900 followers, so I use the hashtags that are in the range of 1,000-30,000. Why does it matter? You want your post to be searchable by the hashtags you are using in your posts. The higher the post number, the less likely it is for someone to find you when they search for the that hashtag. This strategic method will give you a greater chance of being found. Another element to this is how much engagement you get on your posts. The more likes and comments you have, the longer your post will stay at the top of Instagram’s search page! As your followers increase, your engagement should go up, which means you’ll be able to branch out into a higher hashtag post count.
Let me give you an example just in case you’re still a little confused! Let’s just pretend that you sell baby clothes, which means you are probably trying to target moms. Instead of using #mom or #mama which has millions, MILLIONS, of posts, use #momswhohavetoddlers or #soccermomsofinstagram, (these are called longtailed key words ). They will still target your potential audience but without having to compete with a larger number of posts.
What should I post?
If you are on Instagram to sell a product or a service, then it can be really hard to resist the urge to make every post about what you do. I use the 80/20 rule. 80% of your posts should add value to your audience like a motivational quote, a funny story that resonates, a how-to tip, market research, etc. and the other 20% should be about what you are offering. But, try not to make even the 20% seem like a paid ad. I usually try to solve a problem that my target audience may have. For example, my unique position as a Virtual Assistant is that I thrive on quality customer service. I can showcase this by giving advice to other business owners on how to treat their clients. I’m still adding value to my followers who might also be business owners, and at the same time give a potential client a window into what it would be like if they chose me as their Virtual Assistant.
What kind of pictures should I post?
Take a few minutes to think about the accounts that you follow (that are not your friends or family). What do you like about them? What makes you stop scrolling? Chances are, it’s a high-quality photo with good lighting and it’s also likely a close-up picture of a person. There are a lot of experts that I admire and follow and they all recommend posting a healthy number of pictures of yourself. I’ve tested this theory out and it is so true! It can feel a little uncomfortable and vulnerable to post pictures of yourself, I still struggle with this as well. So if this is true for you, start small. Just get your face in the rotation and then use good quality stock photos and branded graphics in-between.
How do I engage my followers and the people that I follow?
I like people, don’t you? Most people are interesting and I really enjoy getting to know more about the person behind the pretty pictures. Because of this, it feels natural to comment on pictures, stories and even personal message on occasion. Engagement is the key to converting people into loyal followers, and maybe even into paying customers. But, if you go about engaging with people with your only goal being for personal gain, I assure you that your road will be long, unfulfilling and quite likely unprofitable. Let me be clear on what I think you should NOT do, because I think there are a lot of people who get this so wrong. Do NOT post generic comments on a post that is not related to the post topic. For example, don’t comment, “I think you’d be great for my team, PM me.” or “I love your page, you should follow mine.” This is a fantastic way to get your comment deleted and your name tarnished! I cannot count the number of times I have been contacted by someone trying to make a quick sale before even attempting to get to know me! So please note, this is not engagement, this is borderline harassment! Remember that Instagram is made up of people just like yourself and real relationships are the key to having success on social media.
That was a lot to cover and I have still have so much more to share! Stay tuned, because I’ll be coming back with Part 2! I’ll be sharing how I keep my feed consistent, what scheduling apps I use, where I get my stock photos and even how I get those perfect spaces in my posts!
If you need extra guidance, have a question, or want to chat about how I can help you manage your social media account(s), please contact me! I’d love to get to know you!
