10 Effective Ways to Attract Clients to Your Small Business. Navigating Instagram for client acquisition can be overwhelming, leaving many businesses stressed about their social media marketing effectiveness. Despite the challenges, winning over dream clients on Instagram is possible, as demonstrated by competitors who have successfully leveraged the platform. The quest for more clients on Instagram is a common concern, and businesses often wonder how to achieve this goal.
Our journey on Instagram mirrors this struggle, but a recent survey revealed that 36.5% of our members discovered us on Instagram. This surprising statistic reflects a shift in our approach, as we initially grappled with selling and promoting our offers on the platform. In the early stages, we lacked a clear strategy to reach more customers and attract the right followers for our business.
How to Get Clients on Instagram for Your Small Business
Discover ten straightforward action steps for crafting an Instagram strategy that fosters business growth, driving more leads, sales, and clients without unnecessary complexity. This guide avoids generic advice like “Set up a business profile” or “Post consistently,” assuming you’ve already covered the basics. If you’re here because those tips haven’t translated into sufficient revenue for your business, fear not. The focus shifts to what it truly takes to establish a sustainable business on Instagram and consistently attract potential clients across various online professions. Whether you’re a virtual assistant, social manager, designer, photographer, or seek clients in marketing, copywriting, or coaching, these steps apply.
A crucial point to note: This guide diverges from the obsession with numbers. Achieving 100k or even 10k followers isn’t the primary goal. Instead, emphasis is placed on Instagram as an engagement tool, building a connected and engaged audience. This approach allows you to acquire clients on Instagram, even with a modest following.
1. Focus on your Target Audience and Find Ideal Clients on Instagram
Begin your marketing strategy with a fundamental principle: understand your target audience and confirm their presence on Instagram. Despite its simplicity, many overlook this crucial step, joining Instagram just because it’s popular. Subsequently, they discover their marketing efforts fall flat because their ideal client isn’t active on the platform. To build an Instagram audience effectively, ensure clarity on:
- Who comprises your target audience and ideal client?
- Does this client use Instagram? Assess their platform preferences and usage patterns.
- Identify if only a segment of your target audience is on Instagram, and understand the distinctions (e.g., brands seeking Instagram marketing help).
- Proceed to the next steps only if you’re certain your desired clients spend ample time on Instagram.
2. Find your USP and stand out
In the fiercely competitive landscape of Instagram, standing out demands more than generic advice and mere presence. To cultivate a community interested in your content, you must uncover your unique selling proposition (USP) — your distinct approach. While the challenge to capture attention is greater, it’s not insurmountable. Consider these strategies:
- For personal brands, authenticity is key. Embrace your true self; avoid mimicking others. Your individuality is your strongest differentiator.
- Share creative and personal stories, offering a unique perspective on your daily business life.
- Experiment with Reels to showcase your story, service, or product from a fresh angle.
- Craft posts that break away from the norm in your niche. Draw inspiration from diverse industries for unique content ideas.
- Differentiate not only through your content and message but also with distinctive branding, content design, and formats.
Above all, resist the urge to conform. Your unique story deserves to be told, so boldly share it without imitating others.
3. Optimize your Instagram profile and bio
Now that you’ve clarified your purpose, let’s focus on your Instagram profile—a crucial aspect for potential followers. Within seconds, they decide whether it’s worth following. The profile should succinctly convey your USP.
Craft a bio that clearly articulates what you stand for and why people should engage with you. Your bio’s title (not the username) is searchable, so incorporate relevant keywords. Use two lines to highlight what you offer, your content focus, unique benefits, and target audience.
Examples:
- “Eat healthy and finally feel good in your body”
“Intuitive Eating for Beginners”
- “Business Coaching for Ambitious Moms”
“Learn to build a business around your kids”
The last line serves as a call-to-action, guiding visitors to your link in bio page, a free offer, or your website.
4. Give your Instagram Feed a Makeover
Profile optimization extends beyond the bio. The most significant aspect is your feed, an ideal space to embody your brand, convey your message, and showcase your uniqueness.
To assess your feed’s effectiveness in turning profile visitors into followers, follow this simple formula:
- Access your insights, tap on Accounts reached, and locate the Profile Visits figure.
- Go to Total Followers and note the Follows within the same timeframe.
- Evaluate these numbers for the last 7, 14, or 30 days.
- Calculate your profile conversion rate: Follows / Profile Visitors * 100.
- What’s considered a good conversion rate?
- <15%: Needs optimization
- 15–30% – Good
- 30%+: Awesome!
5. Create Reels and Carousels
In 2023, Instagram emphasizes Reels and carousels for fast visibility. Reels are effective for brief, engaging content, while carousels excel for storytelling and educational posts. Incorporate trending audio in Reels for broader reach, or create original audio content to enhance your personal brand. If dancing isn’t your style, our Reels Guide shows how to use Canva for face-free creations. Carousels serve as a versatile long-form format for sharing stories or providing valuable tips. Adapt to these trends for optimal impact on your Instagram strategy.
6. Build Relationships
Actively build an engaged Instagram community by dedicating 30 minutes daily to connect with potential clients. Remember, followers come by first following others, so invest effort before expecting returns. Patience is key in developing client relationships, which may evolve into valuable connections, even if not immediate clients.
Utilize Instagram features like story stickers for feedback and DMs to reach followers. Strengthen community bonds through regular personal stories and sharing user-generated content or client feedback in your posts and stories.
7. Start a Client Spreadsheet and Reach out to Clients
Enhance client relationship management by creating a spreadsheet to track interactions at various lead stages—cold, warm, and hot. Engage with potential clients through DMs or comments, maintaining presence without being pushy. Stay top of mind, so when they require your services, they’ll naturally consider you.
8. Get Instagram Followers on your Email List
Beyond tracking leads, having alternative contact methods is crucial. While Instagram is effective for visibility and early-stage engagement, consider the client journey’s next steps. Establish an email list to reach followers off Instagram:
- Include your website link in your bio.
- Create a newsletter list.
- Utilize a lead magnet on your bio page to gather email addresses.
- Regularly engage with your subscribers through email.
View Instagram as a tool that, when complemented by an email list, accelerates client acquisition without constant online presence.
9. Share Client Case Studies and Testimonials
After securing initial clients and achieving tangible results, leverage those successes. Openly discuss the positive outcomes your clients have experienced by working with you or using your products, with their approval.
To build trust and inspire confidence in your offerings, potential customers require reassurance. Demonstrating how others have placed their trust in you and achieved desired outcomes serves as compelling proof, fostering a sense of credibility and reliability.
10. Be patient and keep going
This task is arguably the most challenging on the entire list, and it certainly was for me!
Success is unlikely to happen overnight, and the same holds true for Instagram. Although it’s not what people want to hear, it’s a reality: building something significant requires consistent effort, and Instagram is no exception.
If you persist and stay committed even when results don’t materialize immediately, you’ll eventually cultivate a community genuinely interested in your offerings, not just followers drawn by entertaining Reels. These are the individuals who can evolve into clients for your small business.
Stay determined – you’ve got this!
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