In the past, the ability to grow your business and brand relied on traditional news sources and expensive ad campaigns. Today, social media is widely considered the best way to approach marketing because it helps potential clients familiarize themselves with your brand. Lets talk some real facts right now… Studies suggest that 70 percent of the customers journey is complete before they even reach out to make an appointment. This means that, as overwhelming as social media may feel, it’s crucial to your business that you reach potential customers through digital marketing. To make it simple and easy, I’ve created these five easy marketing tips that will help your Instagram grow.
Engage with other accounts. Social media should social! Commenting, liking, and following accounts of the same interests or within our same Industry can help you create a network. You can also follow local influencers and individuals who have even some who have smaller accounts that you think may be interested in your services. This will help you get new followers and draw attention to your brand. Building up a follower base takes time, but if you’re not following anyone, you're only hurting yourself. Spend some time following new people and reaching out in the community every day. Engage with your local businesses and other salons. The relationships start here.
Create quality content. Instagram is a place where an aesthetically pleasing feed is appreciated. It doesn’t have to be perfectly curated, but it does have to look good! Invest time in thinking about the content that you create. Which photos best reflect your services and brand? Get creative with graphics or personal branded quotes. Canva is the perfect site to create beautiful graphics and designs. Check it out!
Add videos for variety. It may feel overwhelming and complicated to take video, but there are numerous apps available to helps streamline the process. My personal favorite is called Videoshop. Just upload the clips that you took throughout the day, and it’ll transform it into a ready-to-post video. It's so easy to use!
Stay organized with social media planning apps. Apps like Plann allow you to easily manage your Instagram schedule. You can upload pictures, see what it would look like on your feed, and arrange them as needed. It’s one of my favorite tools to stay organized.
Use Instagram stories to your advantage. The Instagram stories feature has really taken off in a totally unexpected way! When it first launched, it mimicked Snapchat stories, and no one really seemed to use it. Now, it's an amazing way to showcase the “behind the scenes” shots of your business that don't make it to your feed. The best part is that people love to see content from you that is relatable. It allows them to see the work that goes into your final product. Make sure you save some of those “work in progress” pictures of videos while at the salon for stories so that you can highlight the best of your company. Also, don’t forget to hashtag in your stories. You can simply go to the text feature and hashtag away. Then, make the text super small or hide it behind a sticker! Awesome right?
Marketing on social media doesn’t have to be overwhelming. You now have all the key tips for success, as well as all the apps to make it possible. Now, go out there and take your social to the next level. You’ve got this!