Podcast 88: How to Use Instagram to Find Clients with Helen Perry
Oct 28, 2021
Helen Perry joins me this week on the Holistic Business Matters podcast and what an episode I have for you! She’s an expert in social media marketing and building communities, and her happy place is Instagram where she practices what she preaches.
Helen’s approach is to get people confident about communicating really well. It’s all about identifying the clients they really want to work, with and forgetting about those who aren’t interested.
Pick one platform and start now
Helen recommends choosing one social media platform to start growing your following. You’re one person, so you can’t do everything and be everywhere.
Think about the platform you feel most confident on, where you have the most conversations, and your ideal clients hang out. Essentially, find the platform where you think you can really connect with clients and start here.
Making your marketing work is time-consuming. Each platform has a different tone of voice, so cross-posting the same thing to each site isn’t going to work. Concentrate on producing great content that fits with your chosen platform and give it time to work - Helen recommends a year! Once you’ve learnt how to produce fantastic copy for one platform, you can add another.
One of the biggest mistakes Helen sees is people concentrating on getting their product or service perfect before getting started. Whilst you’re training or developing your product, build your audience: get yourself out there and let people get to know you. Once you’re ready to go live, you’ll have an audience to market to.
Instagram isn’t just pictures
It’s often thought that to have a successful Instagram account, you need beautiful branding and perfect pictures. Whilst it’s important to have recognisable branding, it’s more important to showcase your personality, enthusiasm, and your real self - openly and honestly. This will make Instagram successful for you.
Instagram posts are transient, they’re here today and gone tomorrow. Using Instagram is about getting stuff out there: create, post, and repeat. By posting every day you’ll soon have a good idea about what works. It’s not the place to put something perfect, you cannot test if you’re waiting for perfection.
Instagram was originally about images but as we’ve been able to produce a better quality video from our phones, Instagram has changed and can host large amounts of video. As humans, our eyes are drawn to moving images and we’re more likely to engage with video for longer. We can use this to our own advantage: post video which keeps people engaged with our content for longer periods of time.
Getting comfy on video
Being on video isn’t everyone’s idea of fun and Helen works with clients to increase their confidence on video - it’s all about practice. Many people start off saying they’ll never be comfortable with video and by their 20th, they’re like when’s the next one?
You don’t have to dance around your kitchen, lip-syncing to music. Set your own boundaries around what you’re comfortable doing. For example, post short videos or reels that allow people to understand your work and help to move them to a position of trust in you. It’s easier and more effective to get your message across on video.
Your marketing isn’t about you, it’s about engaging your ideal client, so it only has to be useful to them!
Another misconception about video Helen hears is, “it’s a time suck to produce”. That’s not true, it can be quicker to produce a video than a post with images and text. You just jump onto your stories and tell people what you want them to know. A single, short video will do the job of 100 image and text posts!
Getting started on Instagram
If you’re new to Instagram, start by filling up your main feed with cornerstone content which could include photos videos or quotes that meaningfully illustrate what you do. The posts need to show what you offer and to whom and your potential clients need to be able to connect with you, and what you offer.
Think of your main feed the same way as you would think of your home page on your website. Done correctly, your Instagram main feed could become more powerful than your website home page.
Instagram stories show people your ‘behind the scenes’. It’s a great way to connect personally with your ideal client. They can build a more complete picture of you, which can enhance their connection with you. Instagram stories disappear after 24 hours, so there isn’t a lot to lose by posting one. Stories can also be saved by putting them in your highlights: the little circles you can set up under your profile which are used to collate different types of information.
Using your Instagram link wisely
Instead of being able to add links to your posts, Instagram gives you the facility to have a link in your bio. This can be used to direct people to your other content on the internet. Helen recommends you use this facility wisely and if you do use something like Linktree (where your one link goes to a list of links), limit the number of links you use to a maximum of three.
Helen reminds us people are lazy and want to be taken to the information they want in a click. Remove the barriers by using the link to take people directly to where you want them to go. If you want someone to book a session with you, link to your bookings page. Make your link work for you by changing it regularly to drive people towards different things.
Don’t waste your time by linking them to a generic place like your website homepage and then expect them to find their own way - it’s not going to happen.
Helen’s favourite phrase which is also the name of her podcast is a great way to end this episode – Just Bloody Post It!
Podcast 88 Show Notes:
- (04.05) Pick one platform and start now!
- (07.46) Instagram isn’t just pictures
- (11.18) Getting comfy on video
- (15.36) Getting started on Instagram
- (19.48) Using your Instagram link wisely
Find out more about Helen Perry and her work:
