Is it worth spending time to get Instagram followers? YES! The COVID pandemic in 2020 brought more Instagram users than ever before. 2021 started the year with 1 billion active Instagram users making it a great resource for growing your business. Although organic reach is down and competition is up, you can still use Instagram as a sales force with new tools like reels, IGTV captions, new stickers for small businesses, and Instagram Shop.
So, where do you start with Instagram? As with ALL marketing, you need to start at the beginning. That means you need to think about your customer.
Make Your Instagram Blueprint
You need to design your customer journey,, aka your sales funnel. This is the process your customer goes through from the time they hear about you to the time they become your brand advocate. There are a lot of things you need to consider in this step: • Age range • Location • Gender • Interests of your target customer. • Find the accounts and hashtags your desired customers follow The most important thing to define is your target audience’s problem and the solution your products or services can provide. Yes, we’ve said that before, and we will keep it saying it forever.The Problem
You need to consider these questions to determine what problems your customers are facing: • What causes anxiety for your customer? • What keeps them awake at night? • What is holding your customer back?And Provide a Solution…
By answering these questions for your Instagram followers: • What transformation can they expect from your product or service? • How can your product or service bring them closer to their goals? • What benefits will your followers see by using your product or service?Followers Will Convert to a Lead
Now you need to focus on converting your Instagram followers to leads. What CTA (call to action) will you present and what steps will they take to transition from an Instagram follower to a lead or even a customer? If you don’t take action, the product or service you offer won’t be able to help those who need it so much. Don’t focus solely on follower growth of your Instagram account, focus on fostering the relationship between the followers you have and how your product or service will benefit them. Make it easy for your followers to contact you and continue to further your relationship. Wouldn’t you rather have 100 loyal brand advocates for your business than 10,000 followers who don’t engage with you at all? YES. You aren’t making any money with the 10,000….Everyone Needs a Little Nurturing
Once you have your leads, it’s time to nurture those leads. You must keep them engaged and interested in your product or service. A great tip from Kim Walsh Phillips’ blog 7 Ways to Turn Instagram Followers into Customers for Life is to make your posts and ads about your target audience, NOT YOU. Focus on their needs and how you can uniquely meet them. Most brands are focused on their products and services. Stand out by focusing on your target market instead. You can connect with clients by using direct messages (DMs). This creates a personal connection with your customer. With DMs, you can send unlimited links to inform your leads about your products or services. You can also send personalized voice notes which creates even more of a human connection to your product or service. Wouldn’t it be cool to get a voice message telling you “thank you” for your order? Also, you can send videos! Video messages can be personalized to an individual, or you can make them more general and send to multiple leads. To make an even greater personal connection, it may be time to get on a call with your lead. This is a great option if you’re selling a service as a B2B company. You can discuss the personalized options for your service(s) and how they can be tailored, if applicable, to the individual business. Another way to nurture your leads is through an email sequence. A nurture sequence (sometimes called an email nurture series) is an automated series of emails that someone receives when they subscribe to your email lists. It starts to build trust with your subscribers and nurtures them down the funnel, eventually converting them from a lead into a customer. (Email does work! In fact, if you’re not building your email list, you need to get on that ASAP.)Analytics
The last step in making your blueprint is tracking your sales. This is essential to your business so you can determine what sales methods are working and which are not. Instagram has analytics built into the app. You can go to your professional dashboard or go to your insights tab on the menu in the top right-hand corner of your profile. Instagram analytics can help you target the right audience, improve your content strategy, and reach new audiences. This is the best way to understand who your audience is, when they’re most active, and what type of content they engage with the most. Take a look at The Ultimate Guide to Instagram Analytics to learn more about how to use analytics to track sales and grow your business.
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn