DIY Business Instagram Mini Audit

One of the biggest complaints I hear from business owners is... I WANT MORE FOLLOWERS!

My first piece of advice to you is, don't buy followers. It hasn't happened yet, but Instagram will soon do another wipe of accounts that purchased followers and it's not going to be a good look for a lot of people who did indeed buy followers. Instead, focus on engagement and nurturing the following you already have. The more you nurture and bring content to your audience that is share-worthy, the more your following with grow. We all know Instagram is a popular platform for photographers who are looking to grow their brand and extend their influence, but it also lags Facebook’s proven ability to drive visitors back to a webpage of your choosing. Instagram has taken some modest steps to address this issue—at least for business account holders. (see my feature in Rangefinder Magazine about IGTV).

If you haven't noticed already, Instagram changed how we can view WHO likes our content to our following. As the account holder, YOU can see it, but your following can't see WHO liked the post.

This change is why you NEED to know WHO your target audience is, but also should motivate you to continue to strive for organic reach.

Organic reach and engagement is still possible, but with organic (non-paid) reach that means YOU have to put in the work....but before throwing in the towel KNOW that it doesn't have to be strenuous either.

Organic Engagement on social media is NOT a sprint, it's a marathon. Pace yourself, be authentic, and results will happen. Also, when people find us initially on IG that are in the Inspiration & Researching phase of the customer buying journey. They don’t want to be sold to right away while on the flip-side, a lot of business owners want to just sell. This is where relationship nurturing gets lost.

1. ENGAGEMENT TIPS: Try these 3 Key Tricks To Increase Engagement On Instagram With Every Post

1. Engage with your audience for [20 minutes prior] to posting on your feed.

*If you're using a scheduler, yes this means you need to be prepared to talk to your audience BEFORE your scheduled post release.

2. Engage with your ideal clients (find them through hashtags, similar niche accounts etc.) for 20 minutes after posting on your feed.

*If you're using a scheduler, yes this means you need to be prepared to talk to your audience AFTER your scheduled post release.

3. Use a caption that entices people to leave a comment. Facebook is NOW "dinging" post that use wording like "COMMENT, LIKE, AND SHARE" in the post AND the same verbiage in audio form. They don't want the audience to feel forced anymore.

*Use an open-ended question or verbiage to continue dialogue with your audience instead of these words.

2. FIX YOUR INSTAGRAM BIO

Update your bio using the content listed below. Don’t change it for 3 months. Yes, I know this seems long, but it’s not. IG needs to see your new BIO and see where it fits in the algorithm.

Change Clare’s Photography to: Clare X * X= Insert Your Market - What you do here. Adding an emoji helps you stand out as well.
You need a call to action in your BIO. What do you want people to do next when they visit your profile. See mine for example.

3. CALL TO ACTION: Can you find it? (see photo of my account)

It’s “Couples...click here for a FREEBIE!”

This tells them directly where to go and it’s giving them something THEY NEED before they invest in me (booking me). This is a strategy and needs to be something your target audience actually finds of value. It can even be a blog post with tips for their engagement session. It just needs to be of value.

4. USE VIDEO-MARKETING Initially the platform was for photography, but it’s really rewarding video and you need to pivot with that change.Start small with daily use of IG STORIES, then migrate to IG LIVE, IGTV and then all of them strategically. Here's a QUICK Instagram Stories tip to help increase ENGAGEMENT!

1. Add Subtitles To Your Stories

2. Take the time to write out what you're saying, or bullet-point key things you're saying. A lot of people watch stories, and they are also watching when they can’t always turn on the sound.

5. SHOW MORE DIVERSITY Couples are looking for diversity when looking for a photographer. They want to see diversity in your feed.

Additional questions I want you to answer. You can add your response as a comment to this post and I'll reply back to you: 1. How many of these wedding posts “especially of Brides” are from styled shoots? 2. How are you using your highlights to engage and nurture your audience? 3. How are you using your highlights to educate your audience on your services?