Tip #1 Stop chasing followers. More followers does not equal more sales, or more clients. Neither do likes or comments. At some point of the social media journey, we bought into the idea that the more followers we have the more successful we are. It’s far better to have less followers who are your ideal clients. A small following especially in the beginning, means that your followers are your current clients or potential clients who are interested in working with you, but have not yet decided to hire you or purchase from you. *Of course, if you are an influencer this does not apply to you. An influencer relies heavily on an engaged audience. Without the audience, there can be no influencer. Tip #2 Always include a call to action at the end of your caption. You would be surprised how much of a difference this makes. You have to tell the reader what you want them to do next. It’s like you’re taking someone on a journey and you walk away in the middle of it. It’s challenging enough to get someone to read your caption, do not lose them at the end... That’s where the sale is. Tip #3 Always tag a location in your posts. Whether you have a location based business or not, always tag a location. This helps your discoverability. If you do have a location based business, try tagging different locations within your area. It’s a waste of time and can be frustrating for the person interested in your business. Also, if you are a location based business it helps to write you address towards the end of your caption right below your CTA (call to action). Tip #4 Follow Hashtags. The follow/unfollow game has been highly popular amongst people who are trying to grow their following. It’s proven to be effective but very time consuming. If you are growing tired of the follow/unfollow game, it’s better to follow hashtags instead of accounts. This way you’ll still see and interact with your target audience without without following them. Follow as many hashtags as you like. Take 20 minutes every day to go through your feed, and comment on the posts from those hashtags. This will help increase your following if that’s what you’re after. Tip #5 Engage with your followers. Accounts that you do not have any interactions with are less likely to see what you post. About once a week, go through your follower list and like their most recent posts and leave a few comments (asking questions is very effective). They are more likely to see your posts if they engage with your account. Extra tip: If you want increased engagement rates, try engaging with your followers about 1 hour before you publish your post. People that you have recently interacted with are more likely to see your post as soon as you share it. Tip #6 Use crisp and vibrant images for your posts. Do not use blurry images for your Instagram feed. Never ever... They do not look appealing, they are actually off-putting. On an overcrowded platform such as Instagram, one of the biggest killers of your engagement is posting poor quality images. Crisp images that feel alive will always perform best. Tip #7 Add a Call To Action to your bio. If someone is reading your bio it means that they took the time to come to your page, they want to know who you are and what you do. Tell people what you can do for them and give them a call to action. It’s like asking for the sale. For example: click on the button, contact me, DM me, visit my website, comment on one of my posts, etc... What ever your goal is, tell them. Tip #8 Tell stories on Story. Use the story feature to tell stories. Your story posts can be more casual than the posts on your feed. This is a great place to share BTS (behind the scenes), short videos of you doing what you do, your products being used, etc. Let your audience in just enough to spark their interest. Stories are also great for making announcements. Also, remember to use hashtags and location tags every time! Tip #9 Include a key word in your name. This helps with your SEO and discoverability on Instagram. For example, if you are a photographer and your name is Adam Smith, add the word ‘photography’ to your name (not to be confused with username). So you would write, Adam Smith Photography for your name. Tip #10 Develop a professionally branded Instagram account. Do you ever feel frustrated because your ads don’t bring more clients? Often a client will tell me that they have tried advertising on Instagram and it hasn’t worked for them. Advertising is just one part of what marketing is all about. Here is a common scenario that a lot of business owners on Instagram can relate to. You have a small business whether it be selling goods or services, and you feel that you need more clients. you know Facebook has been nudging you and promising you more business if you promote that recent post. Sounds so appealing! You must up the courage to take the risk and start investing in ads. So far so good. You ads start performing and drive traffic to your page. That’s great! Then you wait, and wait, and wait, and nothing! How come no one is booking that appointment or buying the product you’re selling? Not even a single follow? All those eyes keep coming to your page only to turn away because they don’t get the feeling of value, trust, or even interest in your brand/service. There is a missing link. Having a professionally branded Instagram account that truly represents your brand plays a very important role in your ad game. Visually appealing, informative, fun, inviting, and exciting pages are get the upper hand.