Do you feel like everyone who follows you on Instagram
is just another business or person in your industry?
I'm Sue B. Zimmerman, and I'm going
to explain what to do if you're sick and tired of attracting
your competitors, instead of your customers, on Instagram.
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Do you feel like you're only attracting your competitors?
Because, if you've noticed that the only engagement that
you're getting when you tap into the heart--
you're supposed to be feeling happy,
and you're supposed to be feeling like you're getting
a lot of love, but you're actually getting
your competitors--
it's time to make some changes--
big changes.
And these tips that I'm going to share with you
will help you turn your Instagram followers
from just people in your industry to people
who will actually help you grow your business.
Think about your target audience,
and look at the people who are following you.
Are you attracting the right people?
I know that I like to attract creative entrepreneurs who
are looking to use Instagram to grow their business,
just like Home & Vintage.
Once you've nailed down who your target audience is,
you can see what kind of posts that they're actually
engaging in and following, and start emulating those things.
So one of the things that I like to do
is, when I tap into the heart and the notification,
you can look and see who you're following
and what content they're engaging in.
So spend some time here, looking at some
of your favorite accounts--
the ones that you're wishing that you were attracting--
and seeing what they're doing.
What are they engaging with?
So [? Saleswag, ?] for example, is
engaging in these three posts, and if I was someone
that was in the nautical space selling [? Saleswag, ?]
I would definitely go in and check out the accounts
that they're liking.
This is a way that you can legitimately
spy on other accounts who are attracting the same target
audience that you want.
So spend some time here, looking at the accounts
that you're following and seeing what their activity is.
And you just might be able to go in and start
engaging with some new accounts that you're
trying to attract and have a conversation with.
So spend some time tapping into the accounts that you like,
looking at their feed, seeing what they like--
fresh flowers, kids-- where do they vacation?
Where do they hang out?
Where do they eat?
And really get a sense of the content
that they're sharing that's important to them
that you can actually start creating in your post
to be attracting them.
Often, spending time in other people's Instagram accounts
and seeing what they're doing, and what they're posting,
and where they hang out is a way to understand their habits--
their interests-- so that you can start posting
more of that kind of content.
OK, so say you are looking to hire a photographer
for your wedding.
It's a destination wedding.
And that photographer is using hashtags
all about their equipment.
You're not going to find them there, right?
You need to be using the right hashtags--
#destinationwedding-- that would attract the right photographer.
If you're a wedding photographer,
you don't want to be using hashtags of the equipment.
You want to be using hashtags that
would attract someone to hire you as a wedding photographer.
Now, if you're still confused about which
hashtags to use for your business,
you can check out our hashtag handbook.
I'll link that below this video.
OK, this next tip is gold.
Who are you engaging with?
Are you just following a bunch of people in your industry?
Because if that's the case--
if you just engage with people in your industry--
you're keeping yourself in a bubble.
Start doing things to engage with your target audience.
This, honestly, is the biggest mistake I see people making--
mostly marketers.
Everyone's following each other.
Everyone's engaging in each other's content.
I see the same people on every post, writing, nice posts,
nice pic, good job, emoji up, emoji down.
And everyone's just going in a circle with the same people.
You don't want to do that.
You want to get outside of your bubble,
and you want to go where your target audience is.
And finally, you want to make sure
that your posts are unique to you and your brand.
So Type.Gang.
This is fabulous.
Everything is unique to their brand.
Their branding resonates in every single post.
Creative typography-- you see it over and over again.
You want to make sure that you're
posting content that separates you from everyone else that's
doing what you're doing.
And I can tell you right now, there's
a lot of people doing creative lettering,
but this account really stands out,
because of the way that they're posting.
Here's another great example--
Dagne Dover.
Now there must be thousands of handbags accounts on Instagram,
but when you scroll through their feed,
you can really get a sense of their branding
and their posting style.
It's consistent, and, in my mind, it's never boring.
And when they show up in my feed,
I get excited to see what they're posting,
how they're posting.
And as a content creator here on Instagram,
I love learning from accounts, just
like Dagne Dover, where I get inspiration
from different angles and that emotional pull.
And that's what you want to do.
You want to make sure that you separate yourself
from everyone else--
your competition, who's doing what you're doing.
Having your competitors follow you is not a bad thing.
I can guarantee-- of my 53,000 followers-plus,
I am sure that there are people here who are my competitors.
But I also know that there are a lot of people
who are following me that are my customers, because I show up
every post, attracting those who really want to learn Instagram
marketing to grow their business by teaching tips
and strategies every day, and making my feed stand out
in a way that makes you think of Instagram every time you look
at it.
Did you like this video?
Go ahead, give me a thumbs-up, and hit Subscribe.
And if you're ready for real results on Instagram,
be sure to grab my free Instagram strategy guide.
That link is waiting for you right here
in the description below, and I'll see you on the next video.