- You likely clicked on this video
because you already know
that Instagram marketing for small businesses is effective.
You're here because you're ready to invest
in your Instagram marketing.
But how?
And what features really give you
the most bang for your buck?
I'm not a marketer who teaches you
to do all the things all the time
because if we did that, when it comes to Instagram,
it would be our part-time job.
No.
You're a busy business owner
and in this video, I'm gonna break down
the Instagram marketing strategies
that are working today, right now,
so that you can get the most
out of your Instagram content efforts.
And stay tuned until the end
where I'm gonna drop some gems
about running ads on Instagram.
I don't talk about paid ad strategy
very often on this channel,
but I've spent well over seven figures on paid ads.
- Seven, seven, seven, seven, seven!
- Yes it's true, but it's worth it,
because for every dollar we put into Facebook or Instagram,
we get at least $2 back.
So do the math.
My name is Elise Dharma, and I'm an elder millennial
here to be your bridge between the pre-internet world,
the corporate world, and today's digital marketing world.
And today we're covering Instagram marketing strategy
for small businesses like yours.
First things first, you're probably wondering
which account type you should have
as a business on Instagram.
I get this question for my students a lot
and I know the default is to choose a business account,
but there are downfalls
to being a business account on Instagram.
- I know it doesn't make much sense.
- Much sense?
- I know it's not right, but it's true.
I cover account types on both Instagram and TikTok
in this video right here.
But if I were to sum it up, I would say this,
as a business, choose the creator account option.
Here's why.
With Instagram stories and Instagram reels,
we now have a ton of music options,
but with music comes copyright issues,
especially if you're using music as a business.
Legally that's not allowed.
You couldn't use Britney Spears' song
to promote your business without paying Britney Spears.
♪ Oops, I did it again ♪
So the way to get around all these copyright issues
is to be a creator.
As a creator account, you now have access
to the full music library,
including all of Britney Spears's albums,
and not just the copyright-free music library
that business accounts only have access to.
Now as I said,
I am not an Instagram marketer who tells you
to use every single feature that Instagram gives us.
Because if we did that, we would be spending
like three to four hours a day on Instagram.
And nobody has time for that.
We are business owners.
We have things to do.
So instead, I want you to focus on the features
that give you the most bang for your buck.
And today, the best feature that we have
in order to gain new followers
and to gain visibility on the platform is,
drum roll please,
reels.
15-second videos are your best way
to get in front of new followers.
And I know you're probably thinking like,
"No, I don't want to.
"I don't wanna be on camera.
"Videos, eek!"
But believe me, they're not as complicated
as they might seem in your mind.
When it comes to making reels, you don't have to dance,
you don't have to lip sync,
and you don't even have to point
if you don't want to.
You can simply do this.
Share 10 to 15 second sound bite clips
that are of value to your audience.
And that's it.
Talk on camera,
add some text on screen,
maybe some emojis, publish it,
and let the algorithm do its thing.
With reels,
I don't want you to be precious about the content.
I don't want you to be trying
to make the most perfect video out there
because truthfully, you and I,
we don't know what the algorithm is going to like,
we don't know what our audiences are gonna like
until we put it out there.
So when it comes to making reels,
your C plus work is good enough.
It doesn't have to be A plus or perfect,
just get the content out there,
get it in front of your audience,
get the data and see what resonates with people.
The funny thing about reels is that
as you start making them,
you'll probably find
that the videos where you put in the most effort and time
they're gonna do okay,
but the videos that you make in 10 seconds,
they're probably gonna do the best.
So don't spend hours on a reel,
just get that content out there.
Now the reason why I love reels so much
is because they are your best way
at getting in front of people who aren't following you.
Your reel can end up on someone's explore page,
or it can end up in someone's reel's feed.
So that's why I want you to pause this video right now-
or no, don't pause. Keep watching it.
But I want you to make a reel right after this
and start creating that habit
because it's like a muscle, right?
The more you use it, the easier it's gonna become.
After reels, which are perfect for gaining visibility
and new followers,
the next feature of Instagram
that I want you to focus in on is stories.
Why stories?
Because if your accounts like mine,
you probably see your story engagement dip.
Sometimes you get a lot of views
and sometimes it's in the toilet.
The reason why I don't want you to give up on stories
is because stories are the best way
to engage with your current audience.
Reels are a great way to get in front of new people,
but stories are the best way to engage
with your most avid followers.
Use stories to share the behind the scenes of your business
and share more about you, the person behind the business.
And don't be afraid to use easy engagement stickers,
like the poll sticker or the quiz sticker
to get that feedback from your audience
instead of them just passively watching your stories.
Once you've leveraged stories
and you've really gotten people to engage with them,
maybe even reply to them, which sends you a DM,
the next feature I want you to focus in on
is the direct messages.
♪ It goes down in the DMs. ♪
♪ It go down. ♪
The direct messages is where you close sales.
The direct messages is where people
continue engaging with you
after responding to your stories.
The direct messages are literally gold
because there you can send voice notes,
videos, unlimited number of links,
videos, I said that already,
photos, text messages,
the DMS are the best way to engage with your prospect,
that person who's on the fence
about your business or your offers,
or maybe they just want to feel a deeper connection to you
before they're ready to dive in and become a customer.
Do not neglect the DMs.
In fact, I spend a lot of my time with my content
driving people to the DMs
because I want to have that relationship.
And then I have my team members
in the background helping me out.
They help respond to my DMS, help customers there.
It's a team effort, but it's worth it.
I've done an entire video on how to use DMs to close sales.
Go ahead and check it out right here.
After using these three key features often and comfortably,
the next feature I want you to think about using
for your Instagram marketing strategy is going live.
Now I know this isn't anything new or too exciting,
but going live has changed over the years.
And it's actually a really fun and effective way
to again engage with your current audience
and drive them over to your DMs, similar to your stories.
In the past, I've only gone live
when I was running a promotion or a sale
and I've gone live to help answer questions,
but lately I've been going live just for fun,
just to offer free value
to my followers and answer their questions
and to be honest, it was really fun for me
because there was no pressure.
I had nothing to sell.
I was just connecting with the humans
who are behind my follower number.
It's really an amazing thing.
You think like,
"Oh a thousand followers isn't that many people."
No.
If you see a thousand people watching your live,
you realize it's a lot of people.
All those comments, all those hearts, it's an amazing thing.
So check out going live.
There's some cool new features where you can actually
schedule your live in advance
and connect it to your post in your feed,
then your follower can go ahead and tap a reminder
to be reminded of your live.
And then after your live is done,
they can still hit that button
which will lead them to the replay of your live.
So really slick feature, I'm enjoying it,
and I'm gonna show up live even more now.
The next part of your Instagram strategy
for your small business could involve running paid ads
to your Instagram posts.
Now I say could because not every business is ready for ads.
First thing is you need a budget
and you also have to be prepared
to put that money into ads
and not necessarily see sales back in return.
Not initially, anyway.
You wanna put that money into ads
and then look at the data you get in return
and then make better decisions
when it comes to your ads going forward.
So for me in my business,
we have spent over seven figures in ads over the years
on both Facebook and Instagram.
And today, what's working really well
is actually repurposing our reels into ads.
So see how I'm bringing it back to reels?
Reels can be really powerful organically,
but if that organic reel does well,
it could also do really well as a paid ad.
Now when I say this, I'm not talking about boosting posts.
I do not condone boosting posts.
That's often a waste of money.
But what you're gonna need to do is go into your ads manager
and set up the ad with a campaign,
an ad set,
and use your reel as your creative.
Now you could run that reel
in the story placement, in the reels placement,
or if you crop it to be square or portrait,
you can run it in the feeds as well.
What we're finding is that video content
in that reels style or TikTok style
is performing the best right now
more so than static images, animated graphics,
or talking head videos
which have performed well in the past.
Now like I said,
I don't cover paid traffic strategies
a whole ton on this channel,
but if you like this topic,
let me know in a comment below.
Let me know if you'd like me to cover this more in depth.
And if you wanna learn more about running ads,
I've got another video already to go for you
and it's on how to set up an Instagram story ad
which is a placement that does well for us
so go ahead and check out that video and I'll see you there.