On the back of two very successful social media workshops last year, our PR & Social Media Manager, Jessica, was asked to write a feature in March’s Essential Kitchen & Bathroom Business magazine, on how Instagram can benefit KBB businesses.
Here, she goes into a little more detail on her top tips to make a successful Instagram account work for you.
It’s one of the first things we do on a morning and one of the last things we do at night! Sadly, as much as we hate to admit it, our lives now evolve around social media.
Most millennials would rather verify a company or product on social media first, before heading over to their website. Equally, a person or products popularity is now vilified by the number of likes it receives.
Launched in 2010 as a platform to share photos and videos, Instagram, to put it simply, is an online photo album that you can keep private for friends and family, or share with the whole wide world.
Flash forward to 2019, Instagram is now one of the biggest and most successful platforms, with approximately 500 million unique users per month, Worldwide.
And, with over 80% of users following a business on Instagram, it’s now more important than ever to familiarise yourself with this channel.
However, social media shouldn’t be solely relied on to increase sales, instead utilise the platform as an extension of your marketing campaign or website. It’s first and foremost priority is to increase brand awareness, engage with customers and proactively update them on your work.
Remember, a customer may not necessarily buy from you straight away, but if you keep them engaged and they have actively followed your journey over the last few years, then you are one step closer to completing the sale when they are ready to purchase.
First things first…
Before you start creating content, it’s important to understand your demographic and align a tone of voice which will suit them. Try and avoid writing causally, like you would talk to a friend, instead become impartial and write in third person.
Remember, in the most, you’ll be working within a B2C (business to consumer) market, so you’ll need to tailor your posts towards this.
Include subtle call to actions, encouraging them to engage with your profile, visit your website, or call into your showroom.
Also bear in mind, who will be posting? If you plan on having more than one-person upload content, then establishing brand guidelines before you start will ensure that everyone is ‘singing from the same song sheet’.
A picture is worth a thousand words
Never underestimate the power of a picture. Luckily, we’re in an industry that can provide beautifully imagery, whether that be real projects, showrooms, brand photography or even generic interior inspiration.
Remember, make sure they represent your company/product in the best light and don’t over edit! The last thing you want is to misrepresent your products or abilities online.
Quality over quantity
Equally, don’t just stick to interior images, there are numerous websites offering free stock images, that as long as you credit, you can pick and choose to suit your post. From fancy coffee and lifestyle to the great outdoors – there’s a heap of collateral to help build generic content.
Useful websites:
Unsplash
Pixabay
FreeImages
Next, make friends!
Instagram is also one of the strongest platforms for highlighting collaboration, whether that be with a brand, supplier, influencer, stylist or one of your customers (approval dependant), especially if they have a substantial following compared to your business account. It can be a great way to solidify relationships, share your work, say thanks or simply form bonds to hopefully raise your profile and increase engagement.
And when you’re all up and running…
Spend a little, gain a lot!
When you’ve built up an account and mastered the art of posting, don’t be scared to invest a little into targeted adverts. From as little as £5 you can tailor your posts to reach certain audience types, locations, demographics and interests, all encouraged to drive traffic to your website or Instagram profile.
- Utilise Instagram as an extension of your website – react to what is / isn’t working and learn from it
- Make sure the images you use are high res, excellent quality and that the picture portrays your work/company in the best light
- Don’t over-edit. The last thing you would want is to mis-represent your products to customers
- If you use someone else’s images for inspiration, make sure you credit them!
- Don’t get too personal with your customers – they won’t care about your circumstances, they just want the product in the timescale you advised
- Less is more; try to keep your posts as short and sweet as possible, remember, on Instagram the picture does the talking for you
- Don’t just post on your feed, use stories to showcase on-going projects, behind the scenes snippets or even question and answer sessions with your designers
- Ask open ended questions to encourage conversation and interaction
- Don’t just rely on people liking your posts, give a little love back too – comment, like, share content that is relevant to your company. Even sharing posts from local companies close to you can be a great way to support smaller businesses and your area
- Don’t worry if you haven’t got thousands or even hundred of followers – it’s about quality over quantity
And finally…
One of the biggest things you can take away from this is, you either do it, or you don’t! As there really isn’t much point of posting every month or two as it will just leave your platforms looking untouched and give the perception that you’re not doing very well (even if the reason you can’t post is because you are so busy!)
Another thing to consider is, if social media generates immediate business, can you cope with that? Even if it’s one or two more customers a month, can you fit that into your already busy workload?
If you’re hesitant about any of the above, then it might not be the right time for you now – and that really is okay!
Thanks for reading!
If you want to learn more about how you can utilise Instagram, or any other social media platforms, then please don’t hesitate to get in contact with Jessica via email – jessica.inglis@pws.co.uk.
Fancy setting up and Instagram account, but in need of some inspiration?
Our consumer platforms are growing in followers daily, so why not check them out?
Equally, if you're already set up and posting, tag us in so we can see
what you're doing!
Second Nature
1909 Kitchens
Kindred