As a business, why not use a hashtag to go out on a limb? Get a feel on how your competitors are using Instagram. Use one that relates to your business, and get an idea of what they are doing.
You want to establish some sort of standard, an image, identity, and style. By using this to go out on a limb strategy, you will not only get a feel for what they are doing but will also leave your brand in a better overall shape than if you were to do things the hard way.
Why not design some little brand images, such as a logo and images with your company name or tagline? Make use of these images and add them to your profile. Use the hashtag #yours when posting these photos. Others will associate your images with your brand when they see them.
This strategy will give you an idea of how popular hashtags are and how active they are. This will help you in deciding how to approach the grid. Your business is a part of the city, and the city will decide whether you get a warm welcome or a cold one. Use more hashtags if you want a warmer welcome. If you’re getting a cold reception, use fewer. It’s a dance of urban response.
I was surprised at how many people reacted to my ads and how few were unresponsive. I was using hashtags correctly, but it didn’t work since I wasn’t targeting my ads. I had a sizable subscriber list, but I didn’t have many paying clients. The hashtags I was using were producing great results, but they weren’t translating into many sales. As a result, I decided to convert some of the ad space into direct response advertising. I began calling all of my subscribers and starting email communications with them. I asked for their help in spreading the word about my newsletter and for referrals. Every week, this method yielded better results, and before long, I had 2,000 subscribers and my sales increased.
Your target audience will appear as you begin to construct your grid. It’s not the right moment to start thinking about what you’ll sell. Simply begin to do the urban response dance.
Consider what you’re going to write about with each new post. If you own a salon, you might want to make a to-do list before your day gets too busy. That list of things grew quite extensive for me, and it became so overwhelming that I began to get into more trouble.
You’ll want to decide how you’re going to approach the grid before you begin building it. Hopefully, you won’t find yourself reaching down to grab random hashtags. I didn’t think so. However, if you do find yourself in this situation, there are always things you can say to encourage people to tweet, share, or write about you.
So, how does one go about making the best grid? You must be able to envision the future to create the ideal grid. You need to know what the outcomes will be and how they will affect you. If you choose to change things, you will face plenty of consequences. This is why we must begin to imagine the implications – which might be frightening at times. I’ve seen grids overflowing with posts to the point of absurdity. Some grids were completely impossible. You must select an option that falls somewhere in the middle. But I’ll tell you this: you must put in the effort if you want to succeed. The stats don’t lie; it’s up to you to make the decisions.
Take a look at all of your current posts before you begin building your grid. You should review the ones that you have already written. You must also focus on your most popular posts. What are the ones with the most likes and shares? What are some of the most popular? You must make certain that you have your story clear as you begin and enter your ideal grid. Are you guessing what the outcome will be? Or are you sharing a personal experience? As you continue to write, it becomes more realistic – and then you begin to see the numbers.