Ep. 13: Does your Instagram bio attract or repel potential clients?

Today’s episode is all about the Instagram bio. We are getting ready to do a series of four episodes here in November. Every Monday, beginning the 8th, to the 15th, 22nd and 29th. They’re all about the four main components to an Instagram platform that never change. Now, we all know Instagram changes constantly at […]

The post Ep. 13: Does your Instagram bio attract or repel potential clients? appeared first on Authentic Online Marketing.

Today’s episode is all about the Instagram bio. We are getting ready to do a series of four episodes here in November. Every Monday, beginning the 8th, to the 15th, 22nd and 29th. They’re all about the four main components to an Instagram platform that never change. Now, we all know Instagram changes constantly at the speed of light. It is frustrating!

We all get that. However, there are four main components that do stay the same that you can count on so far. These things are kind of the same across all boards. As far as all social media, you need to keep all these four things in mind usually. The first is a great Instagram bio. You’ll always have a bio in just about every type of social media that there is.

The second is the content you have to have. Good content is crucial.

*This episode contains either affiliate links or links to my products. Should you choose to purchase, the show will go on! Woo hoo!

Click below for show notes!

Ep. 13: Does your Instagram bio attract or repel potential clients?

Click below to hear Wren Robbin’s interview on growing her account!

Ep. 2: 6 Steps to 100 followers in 15 days (Pt. 1)

Right? We have to provide valuable content. That’s the second. The third item is followers. You have to have followers, no matter which platform you’re on and when. People who follow you and engage with your content are crucial to your small business. Everyone wants more followers because that grows your platform and grows your reach.

Lastly, you almost always need to have a link where you can drive traffic off of that social media platform. So in these next four weeks, we are going to really hone in on these four items and talk about them a little bit. While we do that, I want you to picture, in your mind, a cafe. 

Making an entrance memorable with your bio

When my kids were growing up, our favorite cafe was called K&W. Does anybody remember the K&W cafes? Oh, their macaroni and cheese was to die for. So was the chocolate pie. So, every Sunday after church, We would go there. Usually, a bunch of our friends would show up and our kids would oftentimes go in a different booth than us so that they could feel like they had their own space or whatever.

We would eat with our friends. It was just a great time from the beginning to the end, because the first thing you saw when you walked in the door was actually a person who was sort of the face of the cafe. She had blonde hair, piled on top of her head, lopsided and the kids always commented on it. She was always very nice, dynamic and welcoming and she always had something to say.

Then, we would start to go through the glorious aisle to see all the food starting with the cold things and I’d get their pea salad.

I loved their lasagna and they had different varieties of protein. Then there was the Mac and Cheese and the mashed potatoes and gravy.

We loved their gravy. Then there were the breads and desserts. We always got either the chocolate pie or a chocolate pudding. This was around the formative years of my kids growing up. They’ll always remember that cafe and I remember the day they left town & closed down.

We were all so sad. I don’t think we’ve ever actually found a really good restaurant that we loved quite as much as that cafe. Now, I want to talk to you about cafes because I want you to think of the analogy here. There’s a similarity, when someone lands on your site, “How welcoming is it?”

Your bio predicts your content

I want you to think about something today. We’re especially going to talk about the Instagram bio today. When someone lands on your site, they want to know how you’re going to help. So, a lot of times they’ll go to your bio first, after they have sort of found you and explored, or they’ve seen you as a friend of a friend, and they kind of see your content and want to know, what is this?

People want to know, how can you help them? In the same way, when we went to know, we’re there for our own pleasure. It was an experience from beginning to end. The very beginning was with the host, with the hair on top of her head. 

She was like the gatekeeper. And, for lack of a better term, I think that your Instagram bio is like the gatekeeper of your account. It kind of shows the flair and the personality behind the account. Let me tell you what I mean.

You probably know I have an Instagram Insider Membership, and some members that have been with me for way over a year. Some of them for two years, some more, and there are a few I want to reference today because I want to draw your attention to what they say in their bios. 

The first person is Christa Hutchins of “Do a New Thing.” Christa is a good friend and colleague. We try to give each other shout outs and a lot of times we share audiences. Christa, her whole mantra is helping people break down their projects into small bites and she’s a project manager in real life.

She runs a mastermind program called, “The Move Forward Mastermind.” It opens up every few times a year. Her Instagram bio says this, “Helping go-getter Jesus girls turn their big ideas into completed projects.” She has a podcast called, “Just one Simple Thing,” which she references. She says, what type of stuck are you? Take the quiz. So she has a free quiz. 

Relate everything to your target audience

If you’re stuck, this is how she relates everything to her target audience. Her target audience is women who are serving Jesus in different capacities and they are trying to get their message out, whatever it is, whether it’s a product, book, or whatever. She helps them break down what needs to be done next into small, simple steps.

She’s doing this well through different avenues. One is through Instagram, where she uses all the forms of video. She’s very good with it! She goes live at a certain time every week, and then she uses all the different forms of video. Then she’s got her podcasts and a link there to take the quiz.

That tells right off the bat who she helps. 

Now, let’s go to another friend of mine. Wren Robbins. Wren is a podcast coach and I was actually her very first client back in the day, a couple of years ago. So, we have her to thank for this podcast really! Wren’s hosted her “Friends of a Feather” podcast for years. 

She handles that Instagram account, but she also just started, last summer, the Wren Robbins coach Instagram. She started it because she felt like she needed to be more targeted. That account has really taken off. She’s in the three hundreds now as far as followers, and she said it was so much easier for her to do that.

Over the summer, we recorded a podcast with Wren on how she grew her account to a hundred new followers in less than 15 days. It’s linked at the top of this page, but here’s what she says. “Step-by-step unique podcast strategies that can be easily implemented, catapulting women in biz to reach their goals.”

She is giving podcast strategies that you can use to reach your business goals right there in her Instagram bio. She does that very well. 

The next person I want to reference who’s been with me as a client, the longest, probably two and a half years, maybe three.

She started out as a client and then joined my memberships and she’s still there with me. Her name is Jamie. Her husband is Chris and they run Expedition Marriage. Their account has just taken off like wildfire. 

Their Instagram bio says, “Chris and Jamie, marriage experts, learn to make your marriage God-centered connected, and fun. Podcasters authors, newlywed couples devotional authors”, which they just recently released in the last year in 2020. Then they have the “30 Day praying for your husband challenge.”

Each of these people spell out exactly who they’re for. 

You know what and who they’re for, and you know who they’re not for. That is the thing that you need to decide in your bio. You really have to niche down and decide who you are for. You can’t just be for everybody because that hampers your growth. 

Make it clear

In your bio, do you tell who you’re helping? Do you tell why and how you’re helping? That’s the thing that you have to keep in mind in your bio. Today’s little assignment is to go back and look at your bio to see if that’s clear to you. 

Do you have a link in bio that points to your resources? Each of these women also have a podcast.  Podcasts can be very effective in your business. That’s just an aside, but if you have a podcast, you need to put it in your bio.

To summarize… tell who you’re helping, what you’re helping them do, and…

Have a targeted link to reference in your bio! 

Next week, we’ll discuss your content. We’re going to drill down a little bit. Before we go. I want you to know something. The doors are opening very soon for my Instagram membership and actually the doors are opening very soon for a new Instagram program I’ve developed coupled with my email course!

A word on the Authentic Email Marketing School!

Now, my email course is the authentic email marketing school. It is for those of you who are not so sure that you know what to write, maybe you’re inconsistent. Maybe you just aren’t sure what to include in a newsletter. Maybe you’re not even really a writer! So, you don’t know how to get this down and connect with your people.

Maybe you’re an auditory, visual, or other type of learner. This program is really all about email, but it’s also about Instagram. You see, what I’ve discovered is that when I begin coaching members about their Instagram, the weakest link is their link in bio. The reason it’s weak is because many times they don’t have a targeted opt-in.

That’s something that I’ve addressed today. Each of these three women have a targeted opt in that goes directly with their products and their Instagram. So, you have to have an opt-in and the reason you need that is to get people on your email list. Why? Because social media is flaky! We all know Instagram will go down at the drop of a hat.

We also know that because it changes formats all the time, you’ll need a common ground off of Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter – off of all social media. You need to be able to get in their inboxes and connect with them. Why? Because that is the most personal, intimate way of connecting with your followers!

It opens the door to marketing the right way. So, if you’re seeing a disconnect, if you’re weak with your opt-in, if you’re a little bit shaky on your email or don’t know how to market, then this authentic email marketing school is for you!

Authentic Social Marketing Accelerator

Alongside the authentic social marketing accelerator, that is a four week program beginning in January. Hitting these four key points and going deeper, of course, because there are layers.

If you want feedback, that’s where you’re going to get it! Maybe you need help with that. Maybe you don’t know exactly what your content should be. Then how to grow your followers and what do you do to get them. I tell all the secrets! Then the Link in bio naturally transitions into the authentic email marketing school, which is in February.

But they’re going to be in my black Friday sale. So, keep an eye open and an ear to the ground. When you see that sale, you’ll want to snatch it up! It’s only going to be for a couple of days- a 48 hour window in the price. You want to check it out if you’re serious about learning how to connect with your audience via email and grow your Instagram platform. 

The post Ep. 13: Does your Instagram bio attract or repel potential clients? appeared first on Authentic Online Marketing.