How To Sell Services On Instagram
OK, it's finally time I
made a video specifically for all of you out
there asking me, but Sue, what if I have
a service-based business? Do you have any examples? I'm Sue B. Zimmerman,
and today I am going to tell you how to use
Instagram to build awareness for your service-based business. [MUSIC PLAYING] Instagram is a social
network that businesses with all customer types
need to pay attention to, even if you're a
service-based business. I say there is
absolutely a way to sell your services on Instagram. So whether your
business is being an amazing cake
decorator like Sabrina, or a triathlete coach like Jen,
or someone who cares for pets, or maybe you're an amazing
photographer like Manny, you can absolutely have
success with creating your unique visual
strategy on Instagram.
The goal of your
posts should be based on what your clients
or customers are interested in seeing– just like the National
Park Service does here– not what you're
interested in posting. I'm going to share with you
three different tips that you can use to bring your
service-based business to life, and I'm going to use my
account, theinstagramexpert, as an example. Go ahead and offer up tips. Not just any kind of tips,
but exclusive tips that you share only here on Instagram. So these are ones that you
cannot find on the internet. So I have made it my intention
to share a tip every seventh post here on this account. And I've even created
a hashtag, #every7post, so that if you wanted to click
in and see all these exclusive tips, it's an easy way
for you to go do that.
So think about your business. Can you create a strategy
around an exclusive tip and share that on Instagram? The most important thing
that you need to keep in mind is that every single
post that you make has to make a point that
will ultimately bring someone to your business. The second tip is to
leverage your location, and there's three ways
that you can strategically do this for your business. mannyphotos_ does a
great job at this. The first way is to use
a geotag in your post so no matter where you
are, whether you're on site at your business
or you're traveling to different locations,
use the geotag because you can potentially show up in the
top nine of that geolocation. And if you do, someone
can stumble upon you and click in and start following
you and maybe even hire you. You could attract
a new customer.
Now the second way to
leverage your location– and this might sound
pretty simple– put the location in your bio. You can see that Manny is
based in New York City. So clearly if you live
in Dubai, you're not going to be hiring
Manny, but Manny could be attracting people
in and around New York to do business with. So if you have a
physical service like a dentist or a nail salon
or a hairdresser or a gym, then you want to make sure
that people know where you're located, which actually leads
me to the third point which is to use location-based hashtags. So if you are in New
York City like Manny, use the hashtag #newyorkcity. You can also be using
location-based hashtags around New York City, maybe
in the different Boroughs, the different states
that surround New York. But using your
location-based hashtags is the third way to
leverage your location. My third tip, if you are
a service-based business– and I cannot stress
this enough– make sure that you
have a business profile so that you can not only
look at your analytics, but you can also add a contact
button like Massage Envy has here.
This means that you can add your
email and your phone number. And here's a pro tip. If you run your service-based
business from your house and you don't want it
to be your cell phone, just create a Google
number and then create a special ring tone for it. Now let's look at
different case studies of service-based businesses
doing it right on Instagram. The first one is WeWork. WeWork provides shared office
spaces in cities and countries all over the globe. When you look at their
Instagram account, it's not all about sharing
photos of their workspaces. They use Instagram to
capture and share moments. Some of them are with
very large, branded events that members look forward to. And they use hashtags
like #CreatorAwards to label the events and
encourage their customers to share their own
photos of the spaces.
So they have a real strong
sense of a global community. Remember I talked about
the power of hashtags and using them if you're
a service-based business? WeWork does a great
job with this. Obviously they have
locations all over the world. But when you click into
a post, not only are you seeing the location
geotag being used, but the location with the
hashtag #CreatorAwards. It's used there in
that photo and again in a different location,
Andrew Mellon Auditorium, but again with the hashtag. Curating content
around a common hashtag for a service-based business. WeWork also is a
business account. The contact button is right
there, and when you tap it, you can email them or call them.
WeWork also shares
exclusive tips, often collaborating with
other big brands. So the photo itself represents
the work environment. But when you read
the description, they give you a little
fact that takes you to an article from Forbes,
which is a great way to collaborate with other
businesses and brands that align with yours. The second case study
is thecoopmarketing. This is a social media
management company. It's an agency, and they focus
on web design, photography, and branding. And if you look
at their bio, they say that it is "for
chicks by chicks." When you click the
link in their bio, it takes you to a
mobile-friendly site where you can easily
contact the chicks, understand what they do,
and get their backstory. They're playing off the
feminine side of who they're trying to attract. Even when Instagram
has an update, they do it in a very
classy way that still works within their pastel feed. There's a theme going on
here, and it's a good one.
They celebrate. They showcase their
customers and clients. They humanize themselves
and the brand. I love that Colby's
in there a lot. Often you'll see her kids. And it works, because she's
calling them little chicks. So look at the description. So it's not just the
whole look of her feed, it's the words that she's
using and the description that is attracting chicks– women– to do business with her. Colby is not using
the geotag location because she's working
out of her house.
So I caution all of
you solopreneurs to not use that, which is smart. She is using relevant
hashtags like #mompreneur and #creativebusiness that
is attracting her clients. Another thing that Colby does as
a service-based business is she gives shout-outs
to other businesses and features them on her feed. And notice that the post
aligns with her business. The colors are the
same, and she's @ mentioning the user
name in a very classy way. So if you're a
social media manager or you're a social media
agency, take note from Colby. Because not only does
her feed look fabulous, her content really resonates. But she's staying true to her
branding, thecoopmarketing, and then all the
little [INAUDIBLE]. She's staying true
to her branding and all the little
nuances of farm life.
The key to having a successful
service-based business on Instagram is
understanding the audience that you're selling
to and selling them a consistent message
every single time that you post and making sure that every post
has a purpose to drive traffic to your business. Did you like this video? Comment below, and
let me know what service-based business
you're running and if this was helpful. And if you're new here
and just getting started, be sure to grab my free
Instagram Strategy Guide. That link is in the
first description below, and I'll see you
on the next video.
