New to Instagram?

Trust me. . . I know getting your head around social media can be difficult! And it can have such a big impact on your business for better or for worse!

I’m not an expert in this area, by any means, but I have experience in different facets of social media from launching my own online small business with sales coming almost exclusively from Facebook and Instagram, managing a corporate social media account with over 100,000 followers and connecting with thousands of accounts through NZ Collab and seeing what seems to work and what doesn’t.

So here are a few things that might be useful if you’re new to social media or wanting to make sure you’re on the right track. . .

Potential followers shouldn’t have to work to figure out what you’re selling or what your account is all about. Your feed should have plenty of well photographed, clear shots of your products or what your service entails and it should be obvious for anyone glancing at your social media account what it is that you do.

Client testimonials are great!! But screenshots can look a bit higgeldy piggeldy on your feed so using a simple third party app (or even Instagram) to type out the testimonial with your brand colours or colours/fonts you can use through your feed to create some cohesion is a great way of using text but still keeping things looking consistent. I would do the same for any other text images you need to use; whether it’s announcing a sale, a giveaway, a discount code, a fun quote etc. Having a mix of branded or at least consistent text tiles and product/service photos mean someone can easily identify what it is that you do and know that this is clearly your content when they see it pop up. Having a recognisable style is ideal.

Have you got a good range of most (if not all!) of your products on your feed? So often I see accounts with such a minimal range of product photos in their posts but when I check out their website that have so many beautiful pieces that they’re not showcasing.

If you’re going to utilise Instagram as a sales tool (and it can be all you need!) then it’s so important that your followers, potential followers and potential customers can see what you have on offer.

Do you have a difference between what you share in your posts and what you share on your stories? That banana bread you baked during lockdown might look delicious and be great to share in your stories but popping it in a post that stays on your feed can be a bit confusing to followers first engaging with your account and getting a sense for what your business is.

Make sure you’re utilising your bio space – again, at a quick glance someone should be able to see your website (if you have one), what your business is/does, where you’re located (if relevant) and just personally, I love to see the name of the person behind the business as it feels a lot nice when messaging someone to know who you’re addressing.

A little checklist:

Your bio –

·       Does it have your business name?

·       Does it explain what you do, make or sell?

·       Do you have YOUR name in there? Or perhaps your location is relevant?

·       Does it have your website?

·       If you were a potential customer who knew nothing about your business, could you look at your bio and get all the important details?

Your posts –

·       Do you have enough clear and well-presented photos of your products?

·       Is there a mix of other content to break up the product photos?

·       Do your testimonials, text and quotes have a consistent style/font/colour?

·       Is there a pattern to your posts?

·       Do your photos have a cohesive style like a common filter, a border or a style?

These are a just few ways that might help bring a little order to your account, look appealing to a potential follower, or showcase your products in a way that might lead to sales.

For me, there’s nothing worse than seeing a business account that I know has beautiful products but aren’t showing them off as best they could be.