Up your Insta-Game
Want to book more brides with your instagram? Here are 6 things you can do today to get more potential brides with this awesome (and free!!) marketing platform:
1. Set up a business instagram account (if you are already have one: yay! Move on down the list to #2). If you only have a personal account, set up a new one for your business ASAP. Now you can start to post intentionally to reach brides and fill your books!
2. Get your profile to work for you. Do people know what you do? Or do they only know you love coffee + family + puppies? Be clear that you are a bridal hairstylist in your profile so people know who they're following! Isn't it frustrating when you follow someone but can't find out more about their business? Make sure your website is in your profile so they can easily find out more. When brides are looking for vendors, most of the time they are price shopping right away-make it easy for them to find your rates and learn more about you.
3. Be personal! Brides want to know you're a real person and they want to relate with you! Showcase your work, of course, but post some real life stuff too. What are you up to on the weekends? Where's your fave coffee shop? What do you love? Get real with your followers and watch your engagement go UP!
4. Get comfy with videos. Whether you post a video of your bridal hair in a 360 view, record yourself sharing bridal getting ready tips, or a behind the scenes of the venue you are working at-these all will bring you more engagement, make you approachable for your potential brides, and boost your likes and followers. Think about it: when you are scrolling insta late at night what do you stop to actually look closer at? I know I'm more interested in a quick video of hairstyle rather than just a photo. Don't you feel like you "know" the people who are sharing videos of themselves? I for one feel a connection, and I'm always more willing to hire someone I know rather than a stranger.
5. Keep your business instagram professional. Showcase your work, share your personality, and give your potential brides a little glimpse into who you are and what your business is about. Let's say I'm looking for a photographer in my area for a family photoshoot. If I come a across a photographer who has 20 posts of irrelevant pictures and a rant about a something, I'll immediately move on. If I find a photographer with lots of styled photos of families, and then I see some personal photos of their own family on vacation or at home in their backyard-I think they're relatable and will check out their profile to find their website.
6. Lastly, after you post check out on the "view insights" on the left under the pic. You can see how many people it reached and how many people visited your profile. This is golden information! You'll immediately know what posts are working and which aren't.
Instagram can be one of your greatest free marketing tools-who doesn't like free, right??? One more thing before I go-make your life easier by getting Planoly. It's a free app that lets you pre-plan out your posts and then will automatically post for you! Before I went on maternity leave, I made an entire two months of posts within Planoly and then my instagram stayed up and active while I was not. Easy peasy.
See you next month!!
Heidi :)
