AND you can do the same using the hashtag search tool.

How?
This trick revolves around being pro-active to seek out potential followers (and therefore, customers!). Social media marketing isn’t all about putting out posts and hoping for the best. You have more control over WHO finds you and when.

Rather than just waiting for the right people to come across your brand, for your content to somehow… hopefully… fingers crossed… land in front of them, and for them to decide they’d like to check out what you’re all about.

Shortcut the route and UP the chances of them coming to your page!

Keep reading and add this process into your weekly to-do tasks to speed up how you market your small business.

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Start by visiting your Explore page in Instagram. (It’s the one that comes up when you tap the ‘search’ icon, second from left in the bottom category bar.)
The main page on Explore is Instagram’s helping hand showing you accounts that are already like the ones you follow.

If you’re already following profiles which match up with that your Dream Customer is likely to have, then your Explore will be filled with more prospects like them.
Instagram’s artificial intelligence (which is programmed to be pretty darned intelligent, by the way!) knows how people behave on the platform and can read the type of content they’re into – so the likelihood is there are lots more people out there who also like similar things.

(My question here is: do you have a good idea of what your Dream Customer’s IG profile would look like? Is that why you’ve chosen to follow them? 😉
One of the most important foundations of running a small business is to have a really clear idea of who your Dream Customer would be. And that includes what their social media profiles are like.
Read more about pinpointing your Dream Customer here.)

Fundamentally…
Instagram wants to show you more accounts in the same mould as the ones you already like.
Same for what it shows you, same for what it shows your customers. Stuff you like. Stuff they like.

It is doing the heavy-lifting for you, finding Dream Customers that are like the ones you have already found.

So, the no.1 golden rule of getting IG to work on your side?
>> Show it the kind of accounts you want to see, in order to be suggested more of the ‘right’ ones!

You do this with these 3 simple steps:

1. Be 100% sure of your Dream Customer profile.
   Brainstorm it like mad beginning with educated guesses which you can then evolve more detail from – it is the foundation for growing your business. (And not just in marketing terms!)
2. Make sure the accounts you follow match that profile.
   If they’re not, you can clean up your ‘following’ list pretty easily, and change it to be made up of more of the ones who are! Connect with more of *those* people, as ones who will become actual customers.
   Say, if you’re an interior designer, are you following mostly other interior designers, decorators and such, people who are great cheerleaders and an inspiring presence but not folks who’re likely to buy your service? Or is there a heavy proportion of potential customers who love to decorate their space in style, keep up with interiors trends and live locally to you? You decide which you prefer 😝
3. Head to your business page’s Explore on a weekly basis.
   Spend half an hour or so engaging with the accounts that Instagram has found for you.
   Engaging means going onto their most recent post, liking and leaving a meaningful comment. Ideally too, watch their latest Stories and leave a DM interaction – is there something you have in common? Tell them so!
   Engaging ISN’T about cold-pitching your brand, but to simply lay foundations for a strong, and trustworthy relationship.

Step 1 is 100% in your control, without even touching your Instagram.
WINNING.

Steps 2 and 3 are also in your control, within Instagram.
Also WINNING!

When people see you’ve interacted and commented, human nature is to wonder ‘who is that, the person who left a nice comment?’ … so they click through to your page and take a look. You drew them in.
Fingers crossed, you pinpointed the right kind of person, because you did the prep to begin with, around who your Dream Customer person is.

So any person now visiting your page is someone who is highly likely to be interested in what you are selling.

BINGO.

As for doing the same within the hashtag search function?
Sure! Take a look at the people using a key hashtag that relates to your business – especially in the ‘recent’ use tab.
If your brand focuses on selling handsewn toys and clothes for kids, you can head straight to the hashtag search tool (again it’s within the Explore function; use the # tab at the top!)… Head to the hashtag search to find accounts using, perhaps #ColourfulKids or #MumOfToddlers. Guess what? Pages and pages of people who’d likely want exactly what you have to offer.
Engaging with them on a genuine level, not a cold-pitch, (and skipping the other brands who are using that hashtag because they’re marketing too), is how you make connections.

I believe these are 3 great steps you can start taking today, to strengthen your business and its online presence. Being consistent with them will pay dividends, and sooner than you might think.

What can you do right now to put these steps in motion?

Just 10 minutes today will be great to make progress on reaching more of the right people, to get you more sales!

And if you need support on any of these areas…
🎯  pinpointing your Dream Customer more clearly
📲  finding them on social media and online generally (not just on Instagram!)
🧲  attracting them with a solid content strategy
👯‍♀️  building better relationships with them, through engagement…
I’m here for you.

Email me here if you’re interested in coaching to find personalised solutions in a 1:1 framework.
Or click here to step up your knowhow on an accessible, group learning workshop; I have lots of online classes already scheduled for 2022 and the months ahead!

I’d love to help you accelerate your business, Ruthx