[FREE Content Calendar] Building an Instagram Strategy for Your Small Business

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Photo by Katka Pavlickova on Unsplash

With over 1 billion active users and the highest engagement rates in the realm of social media, Instagram has become a very powerful tool for brands big and small to connect with their audience. 

Instagram reports that 90% of its users follow a brand account on the platform, which means that if your business caters to customers between the ages of 18-34, it’s a great idea to look into developing a presence on this platform.

In recent years, Instagram has introduced new features that give businesses more opportunities to engage with users and promote their products and services in new ways.

• Features in Stories: Although this has been on the platform for some time, there are features within Instagram stories that can help you interact with your customer base in new ways, like polls, questions, and more. Brands with a larger following can also link directly to products or other webpages in their stories as well. You can also build your social proof by re-sharing stories from other accounts that tag your business page.

Here is an example of how to re-share stories that your page is tagged in.

• Shoppable Posts: Another feature that brands can enjoy is the ability to upload links to products to create “shoppable posts”. This allows businesses to link to products in their posts that users can access by simply tapping the post. Users can even purchase the product and check out without leaving the app. This makes for a seamless shopping experience for your customers.

• Video Posts on IGTV: Before the launch of IGTV, video posts on Instagram were limited to 60 seconds or less. Now, brands can upload longer-form videos to Instagram using this feature. These appear on the profile grid as a regular post where users can watch the beginning and tap to view the full video on IGTV if they want to watch the full segment.

Source: Facebook for Business

Setting Up an Account

To get your business set up on Instagram, you will first need to make sure you have an active Facebook Business page. 

1. Download the Instagram app on your phone and create an account.

2. Next, you will need to convert this personal account to a business account. You can do this by tapping the menu icon in the top right corner, selecting “Settings”, “Account”, and “Switch to Business Account”.

3. You’ll then be asked to connect your Facebook page to your Instagram Business Account.

4. Then, you’ll just need to answer some questions about your business, like your contact info and what type of business you have. Click “Done”, and you’re ready to roll!

5. Once you have switched to a business account, make sure to customize your profile with your branding, a description, and your website!

Building Your Strategy

Now, it’s time to figure out your small business’ Instagram marketing strategy. First, here are some things to think about that will guide you in the right direction.

• Audience: Go back to your target customer profile. What are their interests? What other types of accounts do they follow? What are those accounts doing on Instagram? This will help you better understand how to reach this target audience with engaging content that they will love.

• Competition: Are your competitors on Instagram? Visit their profiles and see what kind of content they’re posting, and if it’s getting any engagement from your target customers. If not, look for other small businesses that have similar offerings but are outside of your market. Give them a follow and see what kind of success they might be seeing from the platform. 

• Hashtags: Using relevant hashtags in your posts will help your account become more discoverable by new audiences. Think of hashtags as search terms that your target customer might type in Google. For example, broad terms like #flowers will return millions of posts that users will need to sort through, but more specific phrases like #grandrapidsflorist or #uniqueweddingflowers will help you reach the people searching for your services or products. There are plenty of theories on hashtag usage, but my best advice is to make sure your hashtags are actually related to the content of your posts. Also, try to use 7 hashtags or less per post. Mix it up and see which ones lead to more followers (and ultimately, more customers).

• Timing & Consistency: It’s a good idea to plan how often you will post, and when. Whether you decide to post twice a week or multiple times a day, it’s important to keep it consistent because of the way the feed works. For example, if you don’t post for a month and then decide to post multiple pictures in one day, your followers will suddenly see a bunch of posts from you in their feed, which doesn’t create a positive experience. This is how brands might lose followers. Additionally, make sure you choose the right time of day to post for maximum engagement. Recent studies show that the best times to post on Instagram are Wednesdays and Fridays at 11am. However, you will be able to view when your followers are most active on the platform by visiting your account’s Instagram Insights. 

• Engagement: In order to boost engagement on your small business’ account, it’s important to spend some time engaging with your followers or other related accounts with likes, comments, and replies to comments (especially comments on your own posts). This shows that there is a real human behind your brand, which people find a lot of value in (...more on that below).

If you’re new to Instagram marketing, understand that there will be some trial and error. Don’t feel like you need to have every single thing figured out before you start posting. After some time, you’ll soon find out what works best for your business.

Posting Great (and Authentic) Content

Once you have your initial goals and strategy nailed down, it’s time to start posting some awesome content! Here are my best tips and trends for small businesses.

• Focus on the visuals, but don’t obsess over them. We know that Instagram is a very visual platform, but there has been a recent shift to more authenticity. Earlier this year, Instagram started hiding the number of “likes” on posts for some accounts and regions. One result of this is that people are starting to post more, and their posts are less edited and more organic. This is great news for small businesses, as it means that the days of obsessing over choosing the correct filter are over. Things like overly-filtered images or stock photos won’t perform well on the platform.

Photo by Ben Kolde on Unsplash

• Look for micro-influencers or even nano-influencers to partner with. Influencer marketing is HUGE on Instagram, but it can also be expensive for small businesses. Look for micro-influencers (10-100k followers) and—a new term here—nano-influencers (less than 20k followers) that post content related to your industry that you could create a partnership with.

• Partner with other local businesses. During times like this, it’s important for small businesses within your community to stick together and support each other. Look for other businesses in your area that you may not be in direct competition with, but that target the same audience as you, to do a giveaway or “Instagram takeover” with. This allows both of your businesses to introduce your followers to each other and promote your products or services to a new audience.

• Again, be authentic. Another trend of brands looking to show more authenticity on the platform is writing longer captions. This gives you an opportunity to talk more about your small business’s story, share your mission, and connect with your followers on a deeper level. It will also have your followers spending more time viewing your posts, which helps boost your posts within the algorithm that Instagram uses.

There are hundreds of other things that you can share on your Instagram account—these are just a few ideas to inspire you. 

If you’re looking for more inspiration for posts on Instagram, check out the example content calendar below with 30 days of Instagram posts ideas for small businesses.

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Earned Media: The (Mostly) Free Marketing Strategy that Generates Results

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Photo by Christine von Raesfeld on Unsplash

Free marketing: two words that are music to a small business owner’s ears. It does exist, to some extent, in the form of earned media. Not only is it low-cost, but it can help you onboard much more engaged and empowered customers.

Although I can’t say that earned media is 100% free—you’ll learn why later—it’s a great strategy to build for your small business if you’re looking at a smaller marketing budget right now.

Let’s take a closer look at how your business can “earn” earned media. You might already be doing these things, but putting more focus on them can generate some fantastic results in today’s marketing landscape!

What is earned media?

In short, earned media is free publicity. It’s the type of media coverage or other type of publicity that you don’t own or pay for. Media that you own, like your website or blog, would be considered owned media. Media that you pay for, like advertising, is considered paid media.

To give you a better idea, here are some more specific examples of earned media:

• A customer has a great experience in your store and gives your company a positive shout out or testimonial on their Facebook or Twitter.

• You make a food donation to frontline workers in your community, and your local news publication does an article or even a TV segment on your business.

• You (or someone else within your company) are asked to do a presentation or panel for a trade show or another industry event. Attendees tag your business on their social media accounts when they share the great things you have to say.

• A disgruntled customer leaves a negative review on your Yelp page. (Yes, negative things like this are an example of earned media too—just not the type that you should be going for!)

Why is earned media important?

Earned media is great for small businesses with small marketing budgets to leverage because, as I said earlier, it’s free (sort of)! When done right, you will start to see these types of strategies really pay off for your brand. Here’s why:

• As I mentioned in my previous post about social proof, people tend to base purchasing decisions and other behaviors off of what they see other people doing. According to research performed by HubSpot, 53% of US consumers hear about new products or companies from friends and family, and 57% of consumers trust information about these new companies from friends and family the most.

• Earned media can help you with your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts—also known as how high your website ranks on Google’s results page. More outside sources linking to your website will positively affect your ranking factors because it shows Google that you have a high-quality website that people find valuable.

• Earned media serves as a way to empower your target audience, rather than interrupting them. Although there is nothing wrong with the more traditional digital advertising tactics like display ads and search ads, younger generations that are starting to make more purchasing decisions grew up with these interruptive ads and are very much “immune” to them. Things like earned media come off as more organic and less forced to your prospective customers.

How can I build a better earned media strategy?

If you’d like to implement a better earned media strategy to attract and engage with more customers, here are my step-by-step recommendations.

1. Identify your objectives. As with anything, make sure you have a clear goal in mind for your earned media strategy. Do you want to make a big splash with your next product release? Do you want to drum up more interest from the local community? Do you want to increase brand awareness from a new audience? Starting off this way not only helps you understand what success looks like, but also helps you know where to go next.

Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash

2. Learn more about your target customer. Where are they spending time online (or offline)? What places or platforms are they going to to ingest media? For example, if you have an older audience, it’s possible they will look at reviews of your business left by previous customers. If you have a younger audience, they might follow the word of their peers on social media. If you target other businesses, they probably read blogs related to your industry.

3. Tell great stories and build great experiences. This is where your earned media strategy takes the most time and patience. You want to build advocates and evangelists of your brand by taking the time to give every single customer a 5-star experience. What are some changes you can make to your customer-facing processes or products that will have them shouting your praises from the rooftops? 

4. Reach out to your community, the local media, and fellow industry members. As a small business, there are so many ways that you can reach out and connect with your local community. We already know that customers feel more empowered when they shop with a business that is socially responsible and gives back to the community, so what are some ways that you can give back that align with your mission statement? Remember, in order to gain local media coverage (if that’s what you’re looking for), you need to do something newsworthy. Additionally, if you’re a B2B business, you can reach out to other members of your industry to get involved as a speaker or panelist at your next industry trade show. (However, if you elect to sponsor an event, remember that since you paid for that coverage, that is paid media, not earned media.)

5. Make the most of each opportunity. You may not have the local news station giving you a call right away, and that’s okay. Even coverage opportunities like a shoutout from a small blogger can pan out to be very powerful. Maybe that blogger won’t be so small-time in the next 3 years! Focus on building relationships with as many writers, influential community members, industry experts, and brand advocates as possible. Engage with your customers that post to your wall on social media. Represent your business at a small community event. Share with your followers where you’ve been featured in the media (no matter what size the publication is). 

Now that you know more about earned media, hopefully you now understand why it’s not 100% free: it takes time! The benefits that you’ll see in brand awareness and quality of customers gained from these tactics, however, make all of that time and energy worth it for your business. With everything going on in the world today, now is a great time to start putting more focus on your earned media efforts. By next year, you’ll be thankful that you did!

Why You Should Hire Employees That Have a Side Hustle (And How to Support Them)

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Photo by Trevor Brown on Unsplash

I have been freelancing on and off ever since I graduated college in 2013. It has helped me make some extra cash, follow my passion, and also has held me over between full-time jobs.

Not to mention, the things I have learned while freelancing have helped me become a better employee for my full-time employers.

I’m a millennial, and it’s no surprise that us millennials are known as the “side hustle generation”. A 2019 survey by Bankrate showed that 48% of millennials make extra money on the side, outside of their regular job. 

This survey also showed that out of the total US workforce, almost half (45%) say they have a side gig.

If you’re a business owner or manager, how would you react if you found out that one of your employees had a side hustle? More traditionally, employers have frowned upon this action—also known as “moonlighting”—out of concern that it would distract from that employee’s regular duties or that the employee would make their side hustle a full-time responsibility and leave.

I’m here today to tell you why that is wrong; truthfully, the best employees I have ever managed were freelancers on nights and weekends. They were ambitious, entrepreneurial, and taught me a lot. Below are some other reasons why you should encourage your employees to have side hustles.

They are self-starters.

Side hustlers make the best employees because as freelancers, they will run into problems that they will need to solve on their own. These employees are more likely to tackle issues at work in a creative way, without throwing their hands up in defeat so easily. Also, if their side hustle is a solo gig, they will flourish in a collaborative environment where they can work on projects and solve problems through discussion.

They’re improving their craft outside of work.

Employees with side gigs are constantly learning and improving, and they’re doing this both on and off the clock. Freelancers and other side hustlers are gaining new skills that will help them be better at what they’re doing for you, on the clock. Think of it like sending them to a conference to improve their skills and develop their professional life. (That’s not to say you don’t need to send these employees to professional development conferences to help empower them, because you should still make that investment too.)

You can learn from them.

In my opinion, the worst leaders are ones that don’t believe there is something to learn from every single one of their employees. If you’re someone that falls into this category, take this as a wake-up call. As a leader, you should always be willing to learn new things from anyone you meet—especially the people you employ. 

I learned every single day from the people on my team that had a side hustle. They taught me how they approached interacting with clients, maintaining work life balance, and managing multiple projects. These were things that we were also able to implement to improve our team’s workflow because we knew that it worked well for them already.

They are extremely disciplined.

If you’re not a side hustler, think about what it might feel like to work a full, mentally draining day, go home, and keep working on more projects. Having a side gig along with a full-time job is super tough, so you know that if someone is juggling both things at once—and successfully so—they practice a level of discipline and balance that you’re probably already looking for in a strong employee.

Photo by Bonnie Kittle on Unsplash

Supporting your side hustlers.

If you have someone on your team that freelances, you will benefit from supporting them and their side gig. Not only will they become more empowered, they will trust you as their leader much more and understand that you’re more interested in their professional success than having them work for you forever.

Here are some ways to support your side hustlers.

• Show you genuinely care by asking how their projects outside of work are going. Actually pay attention and follow up as a way of holding them accountable to keep pursuing this passion of theirs.

• Ask them if they have learned any new skills or processes that can be implemented at work to make their job easier or more fulfilling. 

• Make it clear that you expect them to move up or leave someday for something better. Don’t say this in a threatening way, though! This is just so they understand that you’re dedicated to their success.

• Allow them to have “Professional Development” time during their day to break things up and learn new skills. This is especially beneficial for creative employees, and can be anything from 1-5 hours each week.

Avoiding conflicts of interest.

If there are any side gigs or freelance work that would be a conflict of interest, it’s important for you as the employer to clearly define those boundaries. For example, if I started working full-time for a web design firm, I would probably be asked to discontinue my web design services that I offer my freelance clients, since this would be in direct competition with my employer.

Make sure to have this discussion with your employees or potential employees, regardless if you know that they have a side gig or not. That kind of transparency will create more trust on both sides of the table.

Now that you understand what makes side hustlers such strong employees, go hire some, and encourage your current employees to pursue their passion on the side as well.

[FREE Worksheet] Four Things to Consider Before You Rebrand Your Small Business

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Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

When you think of your small business’ brand or identity, what do you think of? Do you think of your name and logo? Do you think of the sign in front of your storefront or office?

In truth, your “brand” is so much more than this! Think of your brand as the personality of your business. It’s about how you relate to your customers, and how they feel about your business. It’s about how you stand out from your competition. It’s even about how your employees feel about working for your business.

A rebranding campaign is (and should be) more than just a new logo, location, or name. Although all of these things may play a role in your rebrand, there are plenty of other things to acknowledge and plan if you think you’d like to give your company a bit of a “facelift”.

Start here: Why do you want to rebrand?

There are plenty of reasons why you might be thinking about rebranding. Here are some ways your small business might benefit from a rebrand:

• You’ve been in business for a long time, but sales are more recently dwindling. This is an indication that your brand could use a refresh or—as I said before—a bit of a “facelift”. This is especially true if you first opened your doors over 5 or 6 years ago. Sales may be decreasing for a number of different reasons, but one thing that can grab the attention of your target audience again is a new look and feel.

• Your business has evolved and you’d like your brand to match. Is your business offering something new or different than it was when you first opened? Maybe you’ve slowly made some changes to your customer-facing processes and feel that your current branding should catch up.

• You’d like to better differentiate from your competition. If you notice more potential customers choosing your competitor(s) over your business, think about why. A rebrand may help you better stand out as a better option to those potential customers.

• You’re making another massive change to your business. If you’re moving locations or introducing a new product or service, a rebrand can help you make an even bigger splash with that campaign.

• You’d like to reach a new audience. If you’ve already captured the attention of a particular target audience and would like to expand, a rebrand can make your business more appealing to a new type of audience, like Gen Z.

Understanding your specific reason for a rebrand will help you create a campaign that makes the most sense for your business and goals.

What are your goals?

Any successful campaign starts with setting SMART goals, because otherwise, how would you know if it was successful? You may remember me talking about SMART goals in my previous post about building a product launch campaign. If not, here is a bit of a refresher.

Remember why you chose to rebrand in the first place, and write down goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.

After the launch of your rebranding campaign, track the success based on these goals that you’ve written down.

How will this rebrand tie in with your mission statement?

Keep your rebranding true to your original mission and values. How will this help you accomplish the vision you had in mind when you first started on this adventure?

Moreover, if you think that your original mission has changed, make sure to identify and communicate your new mission statement to both your customers and employees. 

Having a clearly communicated mission statement helps boost employee engagement. According to a report by Deloitte, 73% of employees that work at a “purpose-driven” company are engaged, compared to only 23% of employees that don’t work at a company with a clear purpose and mission.

A more engaged workforce leads to more productivity and ultimately, better customer service. It’s a win-win for everyone!

Photo by Patrik Michalicka on Unsplash

Why should your customers care?

Speaking of your customers, how will you get them bought into this rebrand? Are there other changes that will improve their experience that you can launch with your campaign? How can a new brand identity help make their lives easier? After all, the goal here should be to convert more sales and maybe even make your customers so pleased that they turn into vocal advocates for your business!

Here are some ideas to get your customers excited for your new brand identity:

• Launch a new, more streamlined website that your customers can use to buy your products or book your services.

• Introduce a new program that can help them save money, such as a rewards program, referral program, or a recycling program.

• Start using supplies or processes that are more environmentally friendly—think recycled packaging or a “go paperless” option for statements and invoices.

• Boost engagement and hype on social media by hosting a giveaway or contest related to your upcoming launch.

Remember, your rebrand is more than just a new look and feel; it should be something that truly improves the customer experience, drives employee engagement, and helps you achieve your vision for your small business.

Now that you’ve put some thought into these things, it’s time to plan and launch your rebranding campaign! I have found it’s best to collaborate with your teammates on projects like this because not only does it help them feel more bought in, you can get some great ideas and new perspectives on the direction to head in.

Take a look at my free rebranding worksheet that will help you get started on the right track.

Four Ways to Leverage Social Proof for Your Small Business Marketing

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Photo by You X Ventures on Unsplash

I am a member of a Facebook group for vegans in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. Almost every Saturday this past winter, a ton of members would post pictures of these vegan donuts from a local business called Donut Garden.

As a self-proclaimed donut connoisseur, I was a little skeptical. Most vegan donuts that I had tried in the past were really cakey. However, with all these other vegans saying how amazing these donuts were, I had to visit Donut Garden’s booth at the farmer’s market to try them for myself.

Guess what? The donuts are amazing and I order from them almost every chance that I get! If I hadn’t received so many recommendations from my fellow vegan peers about these donuts, I may not have ever tried them!

This is an example of social proof in action. The term “social proof” was first coined by Robert Cialdini in his 1984 book Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion. The basic premise of social proof is that people will adapt their behavior according to what other people are doing. 

This rings true in marketing and business! According to a report by Chatter Matters, 83% of consumers say that a recommendation from a friend or family member would make them more likely to purchase a product or service.

Building Social Proof for Your Small Business

Social proof comes in many different forms, but not all of them are ideal for small businesses. Here are the top four strategies of building social proof that you can implement.

Customer Reviews

When potential customers see positive reviews from your past customers, they will already be more likely to want to check out your products or services.

There are many ways to use customer reviews to build social proof. First, make sure to encourage customers to write a review of your business on Google, Yelp, Facebook, and other platforms if they have had a positive experience with you. More times than not, if you used the angle of helping support a small business, they will happily oblige.

Depending on the type of products or service you sell, you can add this type of social proof to your website. If you sell products, try adding the option for customers to leave reviews on the product level to share their experiences. 

If you own a service-based business, ask customers for a testimonial that you can share on your website, social media platforms, or even video content.

Influencer Marketing

Yes, influencer marketing is an example of building social proof. Why? Because that person has the power to influence the decisions of their following by reviewing your product.

Identify micro-influencers in your industry—or really anyone that has a significant following on social media comprised of your target customers—and introduce your product or service to them.

Aside from a product review or unboxing post, you could ask your influencer to do a “social media takeover” for 24 hours. This is when you grant them access to your social media account and allow them to post content to attract more followers.

Photo by Allie on Unsplash

Expert Reviews

Are there experts in your industry that will endorse your brand in some way? Is there anything you can do to get that stamp of approval?

Additionally, maybe there are opportunities to partner with another business that offers something different to your target audience. Both of you will not only enjoy more traffic, but also added trust in each of your brands. 

Once you’ve identified and established a more synergistic partnership with another business, create some content together. You could do social media takeovers of each other’s brands here too!

Earned Media

Earned media is any sort of publicity or content that is created about your brand that you don’t pay for or create yourself. 

A more traditional example of earned media is an interview segment with the local news station. How do you land something like this without paying for it? Well, your business needs to do or accomplish something newsworthy. 

It’s the same thing with being featured in a news article. Keep your business active with community engagement and making moves in your industry, and you might catch the attention of the local media.

Building social proof can help you reach your small business’ marketing goals, like reaching a wider audience or converting more website visitors to customers. Once you have a better idea of these goals, you can get started with some of these recommendations.