Features
Instagram vs. Facebook
The difference between Instagram and Facebook is that Instagram can be considered more of a magazine-like online medium, as opposed to Facebook’s newspaper quality. It is a place for short bits of content. Instagram is a scrolling app; it’s made to be looked at in brief moments of downtime like between meetings, between conversations, or at the dinner table.
People consume Instagram content very quickly. Use Instagram to share short, sweet written pieces, or to send messages, similar to how you would on Facebook. You can interact with your consumer through photographs, videos, and written words, so it offers a lot of variety. It also gives you the ability to deliver genuine and authentic information to your audience.
Direct Messaging
Direct messaging through Instagram is another opportunity to engage with your clients. By responding to the direct messages consumers will inevitably send you, you’re able to network with both pre-existing and potential clients. This is brilliant from a business standpoint. By utilizing hashtags, you can attract new viewers and potential new leads.
These hashtags also draw attention from other businesses. 80% of Instagram users follow at least one business, so there’s a huge opportunity as far as attracting customers from consumer engagement.
Direct messaging gives you the ability to get an authentic discussion going, which leads to more leads. Being able to communicate directly with your client allows you to increase branding on a small scale. These one-on-one interactions give you a place to share your goals and philosophy with your potential clients, making your practice seem more approachable. Over time, responding to direct messages has the potential to draw new business to your practice.
Paid Ads
Instagram also utilizes paid ads, similar to Facebook. They’re fairly new to the system, and because of that, are still fairly cheap. Since the cost is so low, it’s a good opportunity for you to experiment with paid social media advertising. Given Instagram’s large user base, there’s also great potential for long-term growth by advertising on their platform.
What Not to Do
This section is rather straightforward. Don’t post just to post something. You want to be authentic and genuine with your content. Don’t post a picture of the sky just so you’ve posted something for the day. You want to focus on messages and values that are important to you and are important to the people following you.
Don’t pay third-party vendors to create social media posts for you. It’s not necessary, and it’s not authentic. People will realize it’s not your business writing the posts, which is an automatic turn off for many potential clients. Leverage your team. There’s no doubt your staff will be able to manage the account, even if you post less than you would by using a third-party vendor.
Using your staff also showcases their personality and their skills on your Instagram channel. It allows for a level of transparency with the client, which makes your business appear more welcoming, positive, and trustworthy. Posting pictures of your personal lives, and your staff’s personal lives helps establish your brand as a company.
