It’s no mystery by now, you know social media is the best way to get your message out there. The problem is most people don’t know either where to start or have a solid strategy in mind. Remember every post counts. The “selfie”…the “meme”…the “quotes”..we’ve all seen them. Most of the time they create a spark, giving the person looking at it a want to engage with it. Will talk more about engagement later, but just know what you do now with social media can possible change your overall business in a very short period of time. What took you 2 years to build in the beginning, can now take you 6 months because of social media.
You need to stay on top of the competition. See what other people are doing. You don’t have to do it the same, but look at what’s working for them and carve out your own space. Consistently posting can position yourself as the expert in that field.
Content is KING!! It doesn’t matter if you’re a plumber or a real estate agent. The more value in your post, the more you will be seen as an authority. For example, let’s say a plumber posts on Instagram the different services they provide, with contact information, & some pricing. Maybe they throw in a few pictures. It’s informative but it has no value. Now take the same plumbing company and bring up “the 3 most common causes for drains getting clogged” or “Important steps you need to take when your basement floods” Or maybe a post that involves real people who have used the service. This is called social proof. Using a satisfied customer makes a great post. They may say why they went with that plumbing company or why they would never go anywhere else. You can see by these few example, posting services provided and contact info just isn’t enough. Let’s take the example of real estate. If you just post a picture of a house and the selling price, it may be hard to sell without more information. List the benefits of living in that area. List the perks or features of that type of house, but keep giving value. You may want to post something like “5 things homeowners need to know before selling their house.” Or a post such as “3 mistakes new homeowners make, you don’t want to miss!”
You gotta grab em right away. Again, CONTENT IS KING!! Your Facebook business page or Instagram business page is your portfolio. Don’t use your personal account with your favorite nephews in pictures or your trip to Disney. Keep it professional. By having your own pictures, you’ll have a look book of styles to show a potential client. So, as a hairdresser, you may want to have a post like “benefits of using salon products Vs. store bought products.” You may want to show off a certificate from a class you’ve taken . You may want to do before & afters and show what you are skilled in. Use Instagram and Facebook to create authority.
In Beauty School we were taught how to do technical things, but never really learned the business aspect of hair. We learned a skill, but never how to build a business. Now keep in mind what worked 20 years ago has changed. We now have the ability to advertise online ..and for FREE! It could cost you a lot of money years ago to advertise, because we didn’t have access to the internet. Word of mouth travels faster now than it did 20 years ago. Facebook and Instagram are 2 platforms you can utilize to build your business fast today.
Did you know Facebook owns Instagram?
In March 2012, Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion dollars.
An estimated 2.7 billion people use Facebook & Instagram. So, the future is here and online. Everyone is using it!
So, leaving random business cards by a register in a restaurant or leaving your cards anywhere where they don’t know who you are, won’t help your business fast. Now, you have to know how to use these platforms for leverage. We have to brand ourselves. No one else is going to do it for us. It’s not what comes in through the door, but what you get on the outside of it. People have lots of options nowadays. We want to be part of their option in where they go!
Remember Steve Jobs?
He built Apple on the idea of “thinking different.” It can be challenging to think outside of the box, but expand your mind and figure out a way to carve out your own space! Maybe you have your own haircut & name it! Maybe there’s something you do, that no one has ever done with that client..like using a water bottle with eucalyptus oil to give a fresh scent when using the water bottle. Or maybe your tools or cape, or whatever you use, stands out and looks different from the rest of everyone. Maybe your cape has cool designs on it. Whatever the case, these little things make you stand out. You want to be a disruptor.
But the one thing we need to stop doing is making excuses why our business is bad. It always comes back down to us! We can’t just say I had a slow day. We can’t just say it was because of construction. We can’t say well, the weather was really bad. Do you stop buying groceries if the weather is bad? Do you stop getting gas because of construction? If there are negative people around you, separate yourself from them. They will continue to get the same result because of their thinking. Their slow days will get slower and the excuses will get bigger. Don’t be the passenger. Be the driver.
Check out my latest E-book on Instagram here
https://sidehustleaffiliate.com/product/instagram-marketing-secrets/