Instagram is a great place to find potential clients and customers but not always in the way you think. You can’t just put up a post about what you’re selling and expect people to buy it. You might get lucky but that’s not how it typically works. Instagram isn’t known as the most social of all the social media platforms for nothing! You need to build that trust and relationship before a sale happens. Here are 6 great ways to build those relationships on Instagram:
1. Comment back on every single comment and DM you receive. If the person writes a sentence or two, make sure to give a thoughtful reply back, not just “thanks”. Ask them a question related to their comment or share something about what you have in common. If they leave a 1 or 2 word comment or just emojis than a shorter reply is fine but still reply to everyone!
2. Search hashtags that your ideal client would use. Then engage on their Instagram posts and stories. Try to give genuine comments and ask questions. Start a conversation. Try to leave at least 15 genuine comments on different people’s posts and send 5 DMs from others’ stories a day.
3. Search location tags to find your ideal clients. What cities are your ideal clients located in? Is there an event going on that they would be at? You can look up cities, places (like Boston Convention Center) or even the event itself will sometimes have its own location tag. Search through the location tags to find ideal clients and then comment on their posts and stories about the event or location to establish a conversation. Don’t be afraid to follow them too. You’ll often get a follow back but just don’t play the follow/unfollow game. No one likes to be unfollowed!
4. Another place to search is to go to competitor’s profiles and see who is commenting on their posts. Click on a commenter and go to their Instagram profile. Drop a comment on one of their recent posts or stories. This one often works well because you already know the person is interested in your type of product/service and that they are active on Instagram.
5. Create an intentional newsfeed. Don’t fill your newsfeed with just friends or random posts. Only follow people who would be your ideal client or are in similar/complementary industries as you. Then you can scroll your newsfeed or stories and make comments on their posts to start building a relationship. For example, if you are a wedding photographer, you can follow other wedding professionals like hairstylists, makeup artists, and florists and engage on their profiles. Since you share the same target audience you may gain some recognition from their audiences and they may start following you too. Building relationships with others in similar industries can also help with referrals and collaborations.
6. Share posts from people who you want to start a relationship with, in your stories. If you see a post that resonates with you or your business, share it in your stories and tell them why you like it so much. They will get notified and it’s a great way to get noticed and start a conversation with someone on Instagram.
Instagram can be a great place to network and start those initial conversations with potential clients and even start collaborations with other businesses in your industry. Posting great content is key, but don’t forget to be social and engage with others too. That’s when the real magic happens!
If you need more social media tips – here are a few ways I can help:
✅ Grab my free Instagram Guide – 7 Expert Secrets To Explode Your Instagram …. It’s FIRE: http://bit.ly/7_IGsecrets
✅ Join My Free Facebook Group – where I help Entrepreneurs and Business Owners manage their own social media: http://www.facebook.com/groups/socialmediasmallbusiness