How can you improve your business presence on Instagram?
6 ways To self-audit and boost your Instagram game
Today is the first day of the rest of your life. - Charles Dederich
This article is a part of my series called “Weekly Agenda” where I encourage not only thinking, but provide action items for you to implement into your business practice. These articles are sent out most Mondays. Find more here.
My time off of work, and Instagram, gave me an objectivity that I had been lacking with my business serving clients’ digital marketing needs.
I knew before I started working again, changes needed to be made. This feeling of disruption is what led me to starting IN-ORBIT.
If you are reading this— my goal is to teach you how to harness your own gravitational pull. Each Monday you will receive the Weekly Agenda, and we will work together through these practices towards our own goals of success and freedom.
Weekly Agenda, 14/52
April 01, 2024
How can you improve your business presence on Instagram?
In addition to today being the first day of the rest of your life, it is also the first day of April and I am sure your inbox was flooded with April themed newsletters, well-meaning as they are, impossible to navigate in bulk. Like, respectfully, do we need another monthly mood board?
This week we are auditing ourselves and our accounts on Instagram. We are going to be brutal with ourselves and take our magnifying glass inward.
01. Cut the emotional cord between your ego and your business.
Removing yourself emotionally from a situation will always give you a new perspective and find objectivity. Just like a mother births a child, and has to allow that child to be free in the world, you have to put up boundaries for your feelings regarding your business online. Ideally, your friends and family will be supportive and the first to comment and share, but oftentimes they are not. Give them the space to have their own online experience without feeling the stress of being an unofficial ambassador for yours.
Do you have a friend that would pick you up if you got a flat tire, but might not like your IG post? That still sounds like a good friend to me.
You might feel like they are not engaging or sharing because they think what you are doing is silly, or cringe-worthy, but that is way more about them and what they are comfortable with than it is about you. Be open to meaningful insight and constructive criticism from those you trust, but take it in stride and assume best intentions for all. I fully believe that what you put out into the universe, you get back, and if this universe is Instagram, a generous spirit will come back tenfold.
02. Communicate clearly with your audience.
What are your posts communicating to your audience? What is it inspiring or asking them to do? The days of Instagram being vibes only, is long gone, and who has time for that anyway?
Do you have a lot of followers, but the sales aren’t coming through? → Your audience doesn’t understand what you are asking of them. Is the info clear?
Hint, hint: all sales graphics should pass the squint test. Important info, date and/or price should be legible if I don’t have my readers on. Long captions should have a teaser of a request before the fold, and a strong call-to-action at the end.
Do your posts get a lot of likes, but no comments? → Your audience doesn’t feel like this is a conversation. Do they know who is writing the caption? If the voice changes, are they aware? Does the face of who runs the account ever show up in stories?
03. Don’t waste people’s time
Please stop posting just to post something. I once had a business coach tell our mastermind group, show up every day. This was good advice in 2016, but it is not now. The last thing you want is for your audience to be bored when seeing your posts. They might not unfollow, but they won’t engage.
Instagram has continued to grow exponentially and people are in a constant catch up for content. If they see your username on their scroll, make it worth their while. I love a long caption and I can wax poetic about a subject on a moment’s notice, but what does the beautiful prose mean to your audience? Keep in mind most scrollers are viewing on their phone, killing time between appointments, and they are not reading it.
Bring value to your page and your audience will follow where you ask them to go.
04. Play Meta’s game to win
Let’s face it, Meta has us all in a bind here. Your business might be profitable enough to buy ads, but I suggest utilizing all the tools they offer before going the “pay to play” route. Follow Adam Mosseri on Instagram, and watch for any updates to the platform. He does a great job during his AMA sessions and provides insights to what they are testing out up top.
A few examples:
Post with agreeable sizes & formats
Post interactive stories, polls, reaction prompts, etc
Use as many of IG story features as possible
Location tag if your business is in a physical location, or you are in a popular destination at the time
Maximize SEO tools in bio and in captions
If you are interested in knowing more about any of the ways you can use Meta’s features, comment or message me and I can add it to my list of ideas for future posts.
05. Keep the social in social media
Social media is a party. Have fun with it, hang out with your friends, and keep people excited to be there with you, because you are excited to be there with them. If the party is not fun for you, you can leave at any time and come back later. After you cut the cord with your ego and your online presence, you will have a much better experience. I mean, imagine sitting at a party and wondering why no one is talking to you, but you haven’t talked to them first! For those who suffer with social media anxiety, I have heard the advice to post and then to leave. I think that is horrible advice, not only entitling a selfish poster, but creating a one-sided relationship that will not be substantial long term.
A few examples:
Engaging with followers and other brands, comment and share when it feels good to do so
Ask your audience what you need from them and practice gratitude
Show social proof, screenshots from clients, or photos of events, etc
Having founder face on brand page
Collaborate!
Hype up your biggest fans & repost / reshare with comment
06. Clean up regularly
Just like any good party, you need to do some cleanup now and then. Archive old posts that aren’t relevant anymore, remove bots/ ghost followers, and unfollow people you can’t remember why you followed in the first place.
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Love, Britta
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My name is Britta Newton-Tarron and I have been working in social media marketing since 2012. Years freelancing in design and marketing led me to start my own boutique creative agency, which I paused at the end of last year. This new project, IN-ORBIT is my avenue to discuss all things branding and marketing with curiosity. We will navigate together how crafting a brand is writing your own mythology. We will stay in tune with the seasons as we rotate in our orbit, and you can learn how to harness your own gravitational pull. Thank you for reading.