How do you use Instagram in your business? Is it to showcase your work? Does Instagram convert new business for you?

Instagram is a powerful tool for your business and it’s pretty much free!

Without an Instagram strategy your Instagram habits might look like:

Posting everything
Not having a time frame
No curation
No transparency
No call to action
No consistency
No viewer engagement

Better habits include:

Posting with intention
Knowing your market
Speaking their language
Sharing what I want to attract
Encourage engagement
Having a call to action
Using relevant hashtags + geo tags
BTS of my business + life
Engage with others

These are the Instagram tactics that are working right now!

Branding

Curation

Hash + geotags

Engagement

Stories

Highlights

Consistency

Call to action

Analyze

Branding yourself on Instagram

Headshot. Get a professional headshot done that you really love. You can use this in many places, including Instagram.

Full Name. Use your first and last name, not just your business name. It is more personal and easier to relate to when clients reach out.

Category. When your Instagram is a business account, you can display your Facebook page’s category. This will auto populate when you connect the accounts. Examples of categories are “Florist” or “Planner”.

Profile Bio. Express yourself and share who you are. Make it fun and personal! Website. There is a place to display your website URL and it will show underneath your bio.

Address. You can also list your physical studio address if you have one. This will give viewers the option to get directions to your business.

Highlights. You can highlight your favorite Instagram stories, and create cover art that fits into your brand.

CTA. Call to Action!

Hashtags. Use proper hashtags, and don’t be afraid to create your own hashtags

Curation

Brand yourself. Post the kind of weddings you want to continue to attract. Don’t feel pressured to post images of every single wedding you work.

Edit. VSCO is a wonderful editing app. SnapSeed is another that allows you to edit colors.

Real life. Show your real self, while maintaining a professional level of photos.

Showcase. Post your favorite pieces of work so that you can establish yourself as an expert.

Create connections.

Consistent. Always post the same type of content, so you can a consistent timeline and brand.

Engage. Respond to comments and reach out to others on content you enjoy.

Hashtags and Geotags

Use 10-15 at a time. Don’t be afraid to hashtag anything relevant.

Use hashtags in caption and within your comments.

Location. This was you can attract brides and couples in your target area.

Trending keywords. There are popular hashtags that garner a lot of followers. Figure out which ones you can use to attract new viewers.

Don’t be spammy. Post with intention.

Engagement

You can use Instagram to build anticipation. Post two or three days ahead of a big installation so that people are looking out for it. Give exclusivity to your followers and allow them to see inside your world. Use captions and Instagram stories to ask questions and encourage conversations. You can ask “what is your favorite flower” or “have you ever been to this venue?”

Polls are a new and engaging feature on Instagram stories. You can ask a question that has two answers like “Choose your favorite: Peonies or Garden Roses”.

For those of you who have 10,000 followers or more, you have the option of “Swipe up” on Instagram stories. It allows your followers to literally swipe up and go directly to a webpage of your choosing.

Ask followers to like and comment your photos, but also like and comment on other pages as well. Watch a few stories and engage with others for a short bit of time every day. Respond to all your comments! When you post images, tag everyone who was involved. It creates connections and gives credit where it is deserved.

Instagram Stories

Here are some things you can do on IG Stories! Let us know if you have every tried these:

LIVE Tutorials + Demonstrations

Sneak Peeks of something you are going to unveil

Chats / talks

BTS of your business and your life

Show your process

Show your personality

Use hashtags + geo tags

Use gifs, graphics, & captions

Swipe up

Highlights

This is where you can keep your best Instagram stories indefinitely – they won’t disappear after 24 hours. It is a great place to show videos of behind the scenes. You can also customize the covers so they match your brand. Pick 5-7 topics to display. Highlights should include: About You, Editorials, Real Weddings, Reviews.

Call to Action

Link to your website so followers have easy access to your contact information. Use Swipe up in stories to lead directly to a sales page. Use the highlights feature to show off your glowing reviews.

Consistency

Will you post personal photos only? Or professional photos only? Or a happy balance of both? Once you decide, stick to the plan. Branding and curation go hand in hand. The message and images should match your brand. Posting frequency is up to what you can handle. As long as you stay consistent, then you can pot once a day, once a week or once a month! Whatever will work for your schedule, do that. Think about using apps to schedule and automate your posting. Social media can be a time waster, so scheduling posts ahead of time will allow you to stay consistent.

Analyze

Always check your insights on Instagram. Figure out what is working and what is not working. You can check which type of images, stories and captions are receiving the most attention and engagement. You can also see if your hashtags are drawing in new views in the Discovery area of the insights.