Earlier this year I surveyed my clients and asked them what their biggest struggle is when it comes to social media. Ladies responded: posting consistently, generating leads, content creation and being found on Instagram. In this episode I share all about my content marketing strategy to generate leads from Instagram.  I give a behind the scenes look at my Instagram content strategy and what I do to connect with my ideal client on that platform.

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Use Instagram to Build your Personal Brand

Over 90% of accounts on Instagram follow business accounts! Instagram is the perfect place to build your personal brand… Which will eventually allow you to easily sell to your clients. When I started showing up in my feed consistently, that is when the game changed for me. I recommend showing up at least once a week, but really just show up authentically post a picture of yourself. People buy from companies that they know like and trust. So when you use Instagram to build your personal brand and to actually connect with your followers, that’s when you’re going to successfully generate leads.

 

Use Content Themes to Never Run Out of Content to Post About

The second biggest thing that you can do to improve your social strategy is to develop content themes or message themes. So you might be wondering what is a content theme? The way I like to explain this is that it’s four to six categories or themes that you can repeatedly post about. These are things that you’re comfortable talking about and are authentic to you and your brand. It’s a way to infuse your personality and they can also set you up as an expert.

The key to Instagram is repetition and consistency. Only about 34% of people will see your content in the first place. And then 5% of those are gonna engage with you. So consistency and repetition through content themes will help more people learn about what you do. Customers need to hear about your offer or service seven times before they take action.

Some examples of content themes could be coffee, gardening, education or business tips, and self care. You could also have a vendor or partner highlight, showcase things in your city, and share a behind the scenes post each week.

Highlights

• (5:25) The most important thing to keep in mind when creating Instagram content
• (5:53) Examples of how I use content themes for Instagram in my own business
• (7:09) What is User Generated Content and how it can help increase your engagement
• (8:06) Examples of Instagram posts and content themes for Doulas
• (9:15) How wedding planners can use message themes on Instagram to create more social content
• (11:03) Instagram post ideas for Realtors and Real Estate Agents

 

What hashtags you should use to increase your Instagram Engagement

Another thing that helped me with my social media strategy was to research and use the right hashtags and to know what to look for in my analytics. Hashtags are what you’re putting in your post so that other people can find your content. I recommend using a mix of local hashtags, niche hashtags, and words your clients would search to find your service or product.  I also just want to share the biggest mistake I see people make when it comes to hashtags.  And that is using hashtags that actually attract your competitors or other businesses that do exactly what you do.

One way that this plays out in the photography industry is that photographers will use hashtags like Nikon, Canon or Sony. What happens here is that you’re going to be attracting other photographers. You might be getting people engaging with your content, but they’re not people that are going to buy from you.

 

Tools to make Social Media Management Easy

Now let’s talk about the tools to make it all easier. The first thing I would recommend is to use a scheduler. This will allow you to pre-plan your content. It lets you do all from a computer instead of a phone, so you can batch all your content at one time. I use Planoly and it’s allowed me to stay consistent!

Another tool I love using is Canva. This is a free website where you can design graphics. The best thing you can and do with Canva is create eye catching quotes, testimonials, and content that others might want to share to their stories.

As a brand photographer I obviously have to mention the benefits of having your own brand photos. Brand photography is an investment, but it is so worth the time that you save, you can spend two to three hours with a brand photographer and walk away with a gallery full of images that you can post to social media. They are custom stock photos. So you don’t have to waste time looking for free stock photos or finding content to share.

 

Links and Resources Mentioned

• Social Media Cheat Sheet to brainstorm your content themes and create your own Instagram strategy
• Planoly for scheduling
• Canva
• Take your own brand photos and create branding photos for Instagram with your phone
• DIY Flatlays with these 5 pro-tips for taking better product and flatlay photos
• How to create a cohesive and consistent Instagram feed
• 20 free stock photos you can download and use today!