by Jane Willmott
“Instagram won’t work for me because I don’t have a product based business”
You heard that comment? I bet you have in fact you may have said it yourself, but here’s the reality Instagram and even Pinterest can be utalised for non product based businesses.
Shock horror! It’s completely true, non product based businesses can utalise visual platforms like Instagram and actually get not just any old results but amazing results using them.
I’m in the service based business, I’m a Freedom Strategist some would call me a business coach, but just last week I had 15 discovery sessions booked with me in 1 night 13 of those came from Instagram and this isn’t a one off occurrence either, at to that the speaking opportunities and guest publication opportunites that have come from Instagram and it’s now hot on the tails on Facebook for being my best platform to get results on.
So you see if you’re discounting the visual platforms just because you don’t have a product based business you’re probably missing out on results for your business, but I get it, how can you actually make this work for you if you don’t have any products to take pictures of?
Do your research
Don’t just jump in without doing your research first, have a look around get a feel for what others are doing on the platform. You’ll also want to research some hashtags to get you started, yea I know people usually associate hashtags with Twitter but they’re effective on Instagram too and you’ll need to use them on there, hashtags give you the opportunity to get in front of your ideal clients so you’ll need to be choosing those hashtags wisely, you can use things like IconSquare to check out different hashtags and other relevant or similar ones.
Get visual
It’s a visual platform we’ve already discussed that so it stands to reason that you actually need to get visual on there. If I’m posting a tip which I usually do then I’ll create an image to go with it, that image usually tells a story and grabs my ideal clients attention. It’s important that although all your images don’t look the same you do keep them on point with your brand this way people will get to recognise you. Don’t underestimate the power of a powerful visual, if you get it right then it could set your Instagram on fire.
Be specific
People want to understand what they’re following you for, if one minute you post quotes then tips and the next minute you’re posting photos of your food people are going to get confused, that’s exactly why many people have mutliple accounts, they’ll have an account where it’s more like the behind the scenes (food pics etc) then another account which is more aimed at tips and quotes things to help and give value to their ideal clients.
Tell them what you want them to do
It’s important that you tell them what action you want them to take, you may want them to double tap so they like the post, you may want them to engage with you in some way or you may want them to click the link in your bio, whatever action you want them to take be sure to tell them so that they know!
Engage
Now this is important it’s important that you actually remember to engage with people, so when people leave a comment on your photo don’t just ignore them go back reply, thank them etc engage with them. You may also want to go and engage with other people from time to time, if you see something interesting comment on it, it’s as much about building relationships as anything else. I’ve had pretty amazing people reach out to me from what they’ve seen on my Instagram and equally I’ve also had results from going and engaging on their stuff too. So don’t forget to engage it’s important!
There’s obviously a wider strategy that you’re going to want to create to really utilise the platform but these points should be enough to get started, why not feel out the platform and see whether it could be for you before jumping in with both feet and committing to creating a longer term strategy for using it? You never know it may just become the biggest lead generator for you business!
——————————————————–
Jane Willmott is a successful business coach, she works with entrepreneurs worldwide helping them create/grow their kick ass business. She works with them on their message, offerings, branding, sales funnels and Jane will even cover the technical elements. Jane works with her clients through tailored programmes that are designed to help them unlock their income goals so they can finally have a business that enables them to live the life they dream of.
Currently Jane has clients who have achieved 6 figures in 6 months, sold out in 2 weeks, waiting lists that are over 4 months long, quadrupple their income, doubled their list in just 30 days, retired their husbands from their corporate jobs, bought their first brand new car and house, plus much more.
You can discover more about Jane and how she works by visiting her website www.janewillmott.com
She Owns It accepts guest post submissions at https://sheownsit.com/guest-post-submissions/. If you have an article that would be of value to our community, please submit for approval.
All posts will be screened, links checked (limited to 3 and must be relevant), and author must be verifiable through a website and social media accounts.
