When we first started thinking about our Autumn/ Winter content plan for Yellow Tuxedo using Instagram for business was a no brainer content title for us. We've been fortunate enough recently to be asked to present at a number of events and interviewed for several podcasts and each and every time we have been introduced as "instagram experts"
Truth is we're not experts...we're nowhere close to knowing the finite intricacies of the platform and the exact science behind the magic algorithm that everybody bangs on about. We're not guru's on reels production and quite frankly we have no idea on trending music.
But that being said, Instagram is probably the top of our social media hit list when it come to showing up online and we have been incredibly successful in securing good, quality business leads through the platform to the point where we can comfortably say that we think 70% of our business can be traced back to our Instagram account.
We do not have a large following. At time of writing we've just hit over 1500 followers. This is actually our smallest account that we own with our other two business accounts sitting at 6k and 15k respectively. That being said it is our MOST engaged following, the most enjoyable account to sit in and arguably in terms of ROI the most successful.
We wanted to create this video for businesses just like you to understand exactly how we use instagram for business with a hope that it might help you see the way you approach the platform a little differently. I don't know about you but my feed is chocker block full of successful marketers talking about their instagram "success" and giving you their top tips for business success on Instagram. I might actually scream if I see another reel talking about their top 3 tips for success based on a consistent feed, content pillars and audience avatars. I want to hear from the real businesses being successful and not just the digital nomad type instagram influencers living their best lives being clever with transitions.
So how do we use Instagram for business? This video gives you our top three things.
For many years we saw Instagram and pretty much every other social media platform in the same way as most of you, a content sharing platform.
The moment we shifted our view it all changed for us. We stopped seeing Instagram as a content sharing platform first and treated it like a networking platform.
The clue is in the title, Its SOCIAL media. If you're not there to talk and meet people you're really in the wrong space. We have to remember that social media was never designed for businesses and marketers, we have all corrupted social media with our need to make a quick sale and we've all got shiny object syndrome as we aspire to have a huge instagram following just like the influencers who have hit the big time.
Truth bomb.
Real, sustainable business growth on Instagram takes time and effort to build relationships and this might mean that you should think a little bit less about the colours on your curated grid and a little more on finding people to have actual human conversations with in a digital space.
Go and say hello to people, converse, drop them the odd message or voice note. Don't sell, selling will come when people have had the opportunity to get to know you.
And no, this point is less about how many posts you throw on your grid in a week or how many dancing reels you create, but much more about how much time you are spending hanging out on the platform and engaging.
Engagement is such an over used phrase in the social media space. We all want to check on the engagement of our posts and all of the vanity metrics that come with it. But when we talk about engagement we are talking about how much YOU are engaging with other people.
Engagement is not a one way street, there is definitely two way traffic. We all want it but how much are we prepared to give out too?
We recently worked on our culture and values in Yellow Tuxedo and one of the top values is that we were curious optimists. We are genuinely interested in other people and what they are doing. With this in mind we will show up every single damn day but not always to post. Sometimes we just go to hang out and support our fellow business owners. We search for interesting people, we leave genuine comments, we send messages of support, we share things that other people are doing on our stories. Not because we want something in return but just because we know how it feels to put your heart and soul into your content to get crickets.
Treat others how you want to be treated. Stop scheduling posts 6 months ahead and spend the time you spend scheduling to schedule your content to actually hang out on Instagram. It works!
The biggest thing.
Stop thinking about the ROI of every single post you put out there and start caring about sharing your business adventure. It makes for better viewing and your audience are much more interested in real life than the prescribed caption you have written.
You are interesting so start believing it.
We're only on this planet for a short time, if you're not enjoying social media then what is the actual point? Share you're adventure and have some fun along the way. You'll be more inclined to show up everyday if you want to be there in the first place.
We really hope you enjoy watching this video. We really enjoyed getting back into the filming seat and we have lots more planned over the coming weeks and months. But as always we would much prefer to make the content that you want to see. If you have any questions or thoughts about your own visibility online then do drop us a message as we are always happy to create content to help you out!
Have you heard about The Digital Circus yet? Our online community designed to help you get your head around that digital minefield that is the internet! Come and get involved, we'd love to help you grow your business.
P.S We've also just launched another video all about the new October 2021 Instagram features...Check it out!