Webinars are a saving grace during quarantine this year. While you can’t go out as much as before, many people have come together to share valuable information live from the internet, many of which are free. You can go to EventBrite and look up any topic you want to develop or improve your skills. I myself want to promote my art or voice over work, so finding Instagram 101 by Empowered Women International was very helpful. The platform can be more than just sharing pretty photos. Here’s an overview of what I learned from this webinar.
If you want to promote your business, social media is the way to go these days. Instagram is very image based, so you have to make sure you have eye catching photos or graphics in your posts. You still need to write to get an audience’s attention; it’s how they get to know you as a person and what you’re offering. You don’t want to complicate your writing with jargon; just write like you talk. Hashtags still matter because it’s how people find you. Finding the right hashtags can be a challenge; you can’t be too vague or else your post will be lost among a million posts with the same tag. Look for niche tags, usually with under 100,000 posts, to guarantee you’ll be seen. When you’re ready to post, make sure it’s the top quality you want to showcase. It may seem like you have to post every day to get noticed, but quality will always dominate quantity. But you still have to post consistently enough to find your audience.
The webinar made sure that you’re able to master the Instagram algorithm to let people see what you have to offer, but burning out is going to be a risk. Luckily they provided some extra sources to help make posting content easier. Planoly and Facebook Creator Studio are platforms that help you schedule your content, so you can be consistent in uploads without worrying about deadlines. If you need help making appealing graphics for your post, you can use Canva and their templates. If you have a team working on the same page but don’t want to share your passwords, LastPass makes it easier to manage accounts while keeping everyone’s passwords secure. If you know any other tools that make posting content easier, leave a comment below.
Another key element in using Instagram for your business is how to talk to your audience, customers, etc. When you have a special offer, be persistent in letting everyone know about it. Get people wanting you over that other person with more followers. Don’t compare yourself to those other guys though. There’s only one you and people will come if you’re honest about who you are and what you do. You need to understand that talking about your sales is vital to getting your business to work. Make sure you are putting your customer’s benefits above your own; what do you have that they want? Feedback and reviews are important as well to get others to want you. If you got something negative, learn from it and try something new. The more positive reviews you get, the bigger your business will grow.
Empowered Women International focuses on helping “immigrant, refugee & low-income women” become entrepreneurs of their passions. You can follow them on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I greatly enjoyed their webinar Instagram 101 and find how a lot of their advice can be used for other social media platforms. No matter what you use to promote your business, you have to be seen in your market and honest with your customers. I hope this overview has been helpful for you and inspires you to step up your game to put you and your work out there.
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