Instagram can be a great place to build relationships and generate business. BUT, only if you have the right audience following you on there!
But, how do you attract the right audience?
Here are 5 things you should do that will definitely help….
1. Share the right content
Make sure your content is focused on your audience. It should meet one of the following purposes:
- It entertains them
- It adds value to them
- It gets them thinking
- It opens discussion with you
- It is of interest to them
If your content is more focused on your business and less focused on your audience, it’s not going to attract your ideal audience. Figure out who your audience is and what content they would like to see from you.
2. Use the right hashtags
Hashtags can be a great way for your audience to find you on Instagram. But they need to be ones that your audience will be searching for (while also being relevant to the post you are sharing). For example, while I could accompany a picture of my dog with #dogsofinstagram, I don’t want to attract dog lovers (unless they are business owning dog lovers!). Instead, I’d accompany a post with a picture of my dog with some form of business or social media message, and use hashtags such as #socialmediatips or #smallbusinessuk, to attract my ideal audience. If you are looking to attract a local audience, make sure you are using as many local hashtags as possible. Remember, it’s not about creating a big audience. It’s about creating the RIGHT audience.
3. Incorporate keywords
Instagram is now keyword searchable, so make sure you have your keywords both in your profile and in your posts so your audience can find you. You don’t have to go overboard with the keyword use (it’s far more important that your caption reads well and captivates your audience). But it doesn’t hurt to keep in mind what your keywords are and if there is an opportunity to use them in your post or profile. You can also use your keywords in your profile name. For example, my full name on Instagram is Sam Flynn Social Media.
4. Go find them
Don’t wait for your target audience to find you. Go find them!! Search the hashtags that will lead you to your target audience and follow those who you’d like to become your audience. Think about who they might already be following and go and look through the followers of those accounts. Search the keywords they might incorporate in to their profiles and posts. Sure, we all want 100k followers while following 3 people. But this isn’t about vanity. It’s about generating business. Go follow them!!!
5. Engage with them
And don’t just follow them. Talk to them! Send them a DM when they follow you back, saying hello. Engage with their recent posts. Spend time every day engaging with the posts on your feed. If they don’t already follow you back, they are far more likely to if you engage with them. This also builds a relationship with them. And they are far more likely to buy from you if you’ve built some form of relationship with them first.
