Want to build your Instagram presence, create amazing posts that demand engagement and curate a feed that makes people sigh with delight?
You are in the right place.
In December 2016, Instagram hit 600 million active monthly users, growing by 100 million over a 6 month period. This growth has made it the second most popular social media platform in the US. But Instagram’s popular everywhere you go. 80% of users are based outside the US. The potential exposure makes it a great choice for service-based businesses.
But, how can service-based businesses create a great Instagram feed when they don’t sell a physical product? What, exactly, do you post?
Digital agencies have a lot to teach service-based businesses about Instagram
Digital agencies face the same problem and yet, they rock at social media.
Who better to learn from than someone who gets paid for upping companies’ Instagram games?
To save you time, we scoured agency accounts and put together some actionable lessons you can start applying today.
1. Use your branding colors consistently
Agencies understand the importance of creating a feed that’s easily recognizable.
Instagram is only going to get more crowded. You have to stand out. Developing a color palette and using it consistently will help your followers instantly recognize your content.
Digital Agency SoVerve uses the same shades of pink, white and gray in their posts consistently—but in different combinations depending on the type of post.
This draws in the eye and makes their content easy to identify. Once you’ve seen a few of their posts, you can spot them anywhere.
Make it super easy for your followers to notice you. Chose key on-brand colors and filters and use them in most of your posts.
2. Make it all about your team
In a service-based business, your team is your key to success. They make or break you.
Agencies don’t shy away from putting their teams front and center.
Every Friday, a different team member takes the spotlight on NeoOgilvy’s Instagram feed with the hashtag #FridayFeatures.
This introduces their followers to the people that make the magic happen.
In the service sector, your people are what really sets you apart from the competition.
Agencies are great at sharing what they do when they aren’t developing big campaigns (and even when they are.) This makes them instantly more relatable. Most of us work. We know that our real lives aren’t always super photogenic.
They are full of messy desks, colleagues, food, and random conversations. Well, that and the actual work.
Sach’s Marketing Group keeps it real by always celebrating team members’ birthdays.
This is a great way to connect. Everyone has birthdays. Most people love seeing businesses taking care of their teams. (And pictures of cake.)
Take shots of everyday personal celebrations and share them with your followers. Sharing these intimate moments creates, and fosters, a strong sense of community.
BLITZ focuses on their team’s behind-the-scenes adventures. Their feed is full of snaps of team outings, events, and even team meetings.
You can create posts around a day at the office or take a shot of your team’s latest outing. These types of posts scream authenticity and show your followers that your business is full of real people, just like them.
3. Develop a distinct voice
Sometimes service-based businesses fall into the trap of trying to entice everyone to be their client.
We get so scared that someone might not like us, the content we create ends up being bland.
Don’t be boring. Be you.
If you create something that people love, really love, I can guarantee you other people will hate it.
It means that the content you created evoked strong emotions. And, strong emotions lead to more follows, shares, comments, sign-ups, and sales as well as the occasional troll.
Develop a voice that’s in line with your brand and speaks directly to the people you want to attract.
Your Hot Copy, a copywriting agency with a comedy twist, does this well. Their posts are distinct and definitely fall in the love it or hate it category.
But, based on their current followers numbers, their average engagement per post is at about 25%.
That’s because they speak directly to the people they want to work with.
So, be like an agency. Don’t try to appeal to everyone. Appeal to your ideal customers, to the people you want to attract and who would actually buy from you.
4. Share tips, tricks, and the odd inspirational quote
Your words are your weapon. Use them.
Create posts that offer short, direct tips or relevant information to your followers.
You can even use an inspiring quote every now and then.
Bonafide, a digital marketing agency mix inspirational quotes with distinct, actionable tips in the digital marketing field that their followers can put to use.
Pull out your ideal client avatars and ask yourself: “What would my followers find useful?”
5. Make Instagram a part of your recruitment strategy
Finding the right team takes time and effort. Why not use your social media assets to attract the right candidates to you?
If someone follows you on Instagram they are already interested in what you’ve got to say. They know about your company. They understand what you stand for.
They like you.
So use your Instagram account to let your followers know when you are looking for a new team member like agency Gertrude and Ivy.
Find your style
Digital agencies tend to have pretty good Instagram feeds yet no two are exactly alike.
I went through a lot of very different feeds to put together this post and the main point that stuck out is the need to find your style.
It’s crucial to know your audience. You are on Instagram to connect with them. The whole point of your feed is to build brand awareness, connect with your existing customers and introduce your services to other potential prospects.
You know who your clients are. You work with them, day in, day out. So, simply focus on creating a feed they’ll love.
Publish and schedule your feed in advance, so you can crush it on Instagram with ease using MavSocial.
