Instagram for Business - How to win customers not

INSTAGRAM FOR
BUSINESS
HOW TO WIN CUSTOMERS
NOT CREEP THEM OUT!
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W W W . S U G E R C O A T I T . C O M
WWW.SUGERCOATIT.COM
Guiding you {not so gently}
from the life you have to the
one you want through style,
confidence and go get 'em
advice. Start living the sweet
life.
My aim is to have you out there, kicking
butt, rocking the socks off life and loving
every minute of it.
I hope the posts I share on Suger Coat It
will inspire you to go bigger, try harder,
do better without the angst and
pressure. Just doing those things
because this is your life, and you want to
do it the best way you know how.
So who are the people who read my
blog? The readers of this blog are pretty
darn cool, and I don’t say that sort of
thing lightly. They visit the blog to smile
and laugh along with life being lived unseriously.
They come to the blog to be inspired
and challenge themselves in their own
life. They are smart, savvy and know
what they like. And, they’re fun without
being an idiot. Well, not ALL the time,
anyway.
If you are hearing about us for the first
time, consider visiting the Newbies page.
It has some links to great posts, old stuff
and new, so you can get a feel for the
way I run things around here.
This blog is about living your
best life, whatever that may be.
BIG LOVE,
Suger x
About Melissa Walker Horn
Melissa Walker Horn is the chief blogger
at Suger Coat It, and that makes her
much cooler on the internet than in real
life.
Practically a dinosaur, Melissa has been
blogging since 2009. But being the
cheer squad behind people’s best life is
what motivates her to blog, even after all
these years.
Professionally, Melissa has worked with
numerous small businesses to devise and
implement their social media strategies
but still can’t get hired by her husband
{he’s holding out on her}.
Her specialist knowledge in the area of
social media, online safety, and small
business development has been applied
to school-based programs and featured
in publications, both print and digital,
throughout Australia.
Want to work with Melissa?
Email [email protected] or connect
via Linkedin.
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Introduction
Put your business in front of a global audience on Instagram and create a personal, oneon-one relationship between you and your customers that can be as local as you are.
Perfect for small business owners or bloggers, this workbook is designed to give you the
focus to brand your Instagram account, the tools to grow your audience and all the
essential information to do that without being a creep.
With a focus on developing a lasting relationship with your customer, developing your
Instagram profile is a fun way to do business. With social media influences being paid in
the tens of thousands for posts on the medium, you know that there has to be business
something there for you too.
This workbook will lead you through the steps to brand, promote and grow your
Instagram account and drive customers to your website or business page.
Let’s go!
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Setting up
ACCOUNT NAME:
PERSONAL OR BUSINESS?
LINK TO FACEBOOK PAGES & TWITTER:
WRITING YOUR BIO:
WHAT IS THE LINK IN YOUR BIO?
WHY THAT LINK?
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Branding
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?
WHAT OF THAT CAN BE TRANSFERRED TO INSTAGRAM?
WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE?
What is the experience or feeling you want your brand to convey. Think Virgin Airlines
and their fun and cheeky brand. Think colours and filters that work best for you. What
sort of images represent your brand.
When you wrote your bio did you consider that? Is there anything you’d write again now
that you’ve spent a little while working on it? Rework it as often as you need to to
capture your audience.
NOW TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR TOP 9 (THOSE FIRST 9 PHOTOS
IN YOUR PROFILE) AND TELL ME, DO THEY LOOK LIKE YOUR
BRAND OWNS THEM? WWW.SUGERCOATIT.COM
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The basics
There are some fundamentals that you must have in place if you are looking to not only
grow your Instagram following but have an interactive community of people who will buy
from your business.
Instagram is a visual medium. So while you are there you have to consider how
everything you posts looks visually. Captions are great, hashtags are awesome, but none
of that will matter one tiny bit if your Instagram is ugly.
Not. One. Bit.
Ugly Instagram accounts will always be relegated to the corners of the interwebs where
only your Mum and the neighbour’s geek kid can find them. On Instagram, especially
when it comes to growing your account, it really is what is on the outside that counts.
Being somewhat worthy, comes later.
Check your account for the following, tick off those that you feel you have under control.
Leave blank the ones that need work. Make some notes about where you’d like to
improve.
Is your profile image representative of your brand?
Are your images of a good quality, do they appear clear and sharp on the screen)?
Are your top 9 representative of your brand?
Are your top 9 similar in colour and style to reflect your branding?
Are your top 9 the best they can be? (Maybe have a friend check it out)
Does your content look deliberate or like you threw it together?
Is your account looking like a sales pitch or BUY NOW fest? (stop that, a-sap)
When your customers read your bio is there an action for them to take?
When your customer clicks the link in your bio, is it mobile friendly?
NOTES:
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CHECK OUT THESE ACCOUNTS FOR SOME INSTAGRAM
BRANDING PERFECTION TYPE INSPIRATION!
THIS IS ASHLEY ROSE @THISISASHROSE
THE DAILY MARK @THEDAILYMARK
HOW TWO LIVE @HOWTWOLIVE
EMMA KATE CO @EMMAKATECO
JAMIE OLIVER @JAMIEOLIVER
AUSTRALIA’S OFFICIAL INSTAGRAM @AUSTRALIA
THINK ABOUT YOUR FAVOURITE ACCOUNT, WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT IT?
WHY DO YOU GO BACK AND VISIT THIS ACCOUNT AGAIN AND AGAIN?
DO YOU LIKE, COMMENT OR TAG FRIENDS IN IT REGULARLY? WHY IS THAT?
WHAT CAN YOU LEARN FROM THAT ACCOUNT THAT CAN BE APPLIED TO YOURS?
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Attracting your community
Attracting people to your Instagram page requires a certain amount of interaction and
participation. You have to work for a genuine audience of interested followers.
Because I guarantee you there is not an entire audience of people waiting to talk to
someone who doesn’t talk back, contribute nothing and who is all about themselves.
Those people don’t exist.
But there is an entire pool of people who are interested in your Instagram account if you
give them a reason to be. So make sure you have the basics down with great content,
beautiful images, planned timing and interacting with the people on your account and in
the wider Instagram community.
WHO IS YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER?
WHAT DO THEY LIKE?
WHY IS YOUR BUSINESS RELEVANT TO THEM?
WHEN ARE THEY ONLINE AND WHY?
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HOW DO YOU DO THAT?
The simplest and most effective method is, as usual, the best. You spend 15-30 minutes
on Instagram every morning, noon and night. And yes, I know you are the busy type but
no excuses. But you don’t spend it hanging out with your family and friends, you spend
your time representing your business.
Derrr.
I spend at least this amount of time everyday visiting hashtags that apply to my business,
liking photos and when I feel the urge to say something, I leave a comment. Genuine
interaction will have you in front of your ideal customer fast and your numbers will just
keep growing.
Don’t think you’ve got time to commit to that? Try just the 15 minutes of an evening and
build up from there. Once your number start to grow it will hook you in.
HASHTAGS THAT APPLY TO YOUR BUSINESS?
ACCOUNTS SIMILAR TO YOURS TO FOLLOW:
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Keeping your community strong
REPLY TO COMMENTS
When someone writes on your image with a comment, respond to them. If you are not
talking back you will never have a real live community. Use that time you set away
everyday to scroll though, that people for commenting, replying to their questions and
start to get to know the people on your page.
POST IDEAS
Keep coming up with new and fresh ideas for content on your page. Collect images and
store them on your phone to utilises when you need them. The more you think in
advance and plan what you want to post and when, the more professional your account
will appear to those visiting for the first time.
CHALLENGES
Can you challenge your community on Instagram? Some of the most successful business
account out there utilise this strategy.
GIVEAWAYS
Want to find new customers and keep the old ones happy at the same time? Host a
giveaway of something you know your ideal customer will love. Don’t be stingy. If you
promote it well it will pay off for you. Too soon for a giveaway? Find a way you can say
thank you for being there to your community that is exciting enough for them to tell a
friend. A free eProduct or download is perfect (use your link in the bio to distribute it).
HOW WILL YOU KEEP YOUR COMMUNITY STRONG?
WHY WILL THEY STAY WITH YOU OVER ALL THE OTHERS?
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THINGS I SUGGEST AVOIDING WHEN YOU’RE GROWING YOUR INSTAGRAM.
• Like for like/follow for a follow type visiting. Following someone’s page in the hope
they’ll follow you back is a little desperate and a lot lame. Especially if you plan to
unfollow them at some stage.
• Buying likes. These follows rarely hang around, never genuinely interact or comment
and can have your account flagged as spam.
• Posting for the sake of posting. Rather than loading a bunch of new content that is
poorly thought out or totally off brand, spend the time visiting other accounts similar to
yours instead.
• Begging people to follow you or like your photos. I’ve seen some larger brands write in
comments asking Instagram users to use their hashtag. Gag. Creep factor one
thousand. Ick. Don’t do that, be so good they can’t ignore you.
THINGS WE AGREE ARE CREEPY AND SHOULD BE STOPPED
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What’s next?
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