Have you ever wondered what the heck it means to be "authentic" as a business owner on Instagram? If so, you're in the right place.
In this blog post, we're going to break down WHY it's important to be authentic, WHAT it means to be authentic, and HOW exactly to do this. *Psst- if you're more of a video gal, hop on over to my Instagram page where I discussed this very topic.
Ready? Let's get into it...
WHY should you be authentic on Instagram?
People don't buy from businesses, they buy from people. Have you ever heard that phrase before? Assuming you're not a huge named brand, you're probably the face of your business. For people to buy from you, they need to connect with you, the person behind the business/brand; this means you need to show the real you. This will help people like, know, and trust you which all happens BEFORE someone buys from you.
WHAT does it mean to be authentic?
The real you should shine through online on Instagram. Meaning if you run into someone in real life, that you know on Instagram, they should feel like they already know you and it should be the same as how you show up online. If someone meets you and feels that you are different than you are online, you're not being authentic. Sprinkling your real life into your content will help people get to know the person behind the brand. This does not mean that you have to share EVERYTHING online. You should 100% create boundaries around what you are comfortable sharing and what you are not comfortable sharing.
HOW exactly do you do this?
Show up on your stories a few times a day & post consistently to your grid. The secret sauce is to add your personality & uniqueness to industry-relevant content so that it is different than what everyone else is doing. I know that's vague, so here are a few practical tips for you to take and run with:
-90% of feed posts should be related to your industry or niche (with personal life posts sprinkled in for the other 10%).
-Story posts are anything goes and can be 50/50 personal versus business. People love to see the behind-the-scenes of your life and business so anything goes on stories. Stories are a great place to be in the moment and have conversations with your audience. The more personality-filled, the better!
-Use your branding imagery/ professional photos on story slides. You can easily add a photo to your stories & add things like your to-do list for the day or week
-Talk about things that are happening in your life (you can talk to the camera and add closed captions), or you can add an on-brand image and add text to the story. These things can be behind the scenes of your process, FAQs from clients or customers, a day in the life, etc.
Showing up authentically can be overwhelming on your own. If you need more support from a social media expert, I'd love to help you with that. I offer one-time packages for entrepreneurs who are newer to business, and ongoing monthly support for businesses who are ready to fully outsource their social media. If you want to learn more about working with me, click here.