Follow-up communication is a key skill for direct sales success. It helps you build trust, loyalty, and repeat business with your customers. But how can you use Instagram, one of the most popular social media platforms, to improve your follow-up communication? Here are some tips and best practices to help you leverage Instagram for your direct sales business.
The first step is to create a separate Instagram account for your direct sales business. This will help you establish a professional and consistent brand identity, as well as access useful features such as insights, ads, and shopping. You can also link your business account to your personal account, so you can easily switch between them and cross-promote your content.
You can use Instagram for better customer follow-up by engaging with direct messaging, story replies, and comments promptly. Share follow-up content like tutorials or behind-the-scenes glimpses and gather feedback through polls and surveys. This helps build stronger relationships and meet customer needs effectively.
Having a business Instagram account is becoming more and more crucial (at least in some industries), so go ahead and do it! Don't overthink it, just the presence alone will help you stand out from the crowd. Remember - as a salesperson, you are a brand yourself, so Instagram is a really nice way to build your brand.
The next step is to share valuable and engaging content that showcases your products, your personality, and your customer stories. You can use different formats, such as photos, videos, stories, reels, and live streams, to capture your audience's attention and interest. The goal is to provide useful information, tips, testimonials, and behind-the-scenes glimpses that will make your customers want to learn more and stay in touch with you.
Educational content it's the best choice for a business accounts. As well as easy to apply advice and direct condensed info.
A few things you can focus on is that you content is a mix of: 1. Education (people usually like to hear new stuff.) 2. Click-bait (you want to make sure you get your clicks.) 3. Yourself (Show them that there is a real person, like them, behind it.)
The third step is to use hashtags and tags strategically to increase your visibility and reach on Instagram. Hashtags are keywords that help users find relevant content, while tags are mentions of other accounts that help you connect with them. You can use both to attract new followers, join conversations, and collaborate with other direct sales professionals or influencers. However, don't overdo it or spam your posts with irrelevant or generic hashtags and tags.
Hashtags are ok, but the description is the part where you influence the algorithms the most - so don't focus that much on the hashtags, rather make sure your post description is valuable and interesting. A thing that will help you the most is trying to do a collab post with your clients, once the project is done.
The fourth step is to respond to comments and messages from your customers and prospects. This is where you can start or continue the follow-up communication and build relationships. You can use comments and messages to answer questions, address concerns, offer suggestions, and express gratitude. You can also use emojis, GIFs, stickers, and voice notes to add some fun and personality to your responses.
Speed is one of the most important things in sales, and so it is on Instagram. If you reply and respond to comments on your posts the algorithms will be in your favor... if you go into the "having your business Instagram" waters, make sure you do it right.
The fifth step is to use stories and direct messages (DMs) for personalization and exclusivity. Stories are short-lived posts that disappear after 24 hours, while DMs are private messages that only you and the recipient can see. You can use both to create a more intimate and authentic connection with your customers and prospects. You can use stories and DMs to share special offers, discounts, invitations, reminders, and follow-ups that are tailored to their needs and preferences.
The last step is to track and measure your results and adjust your strategy accordingly. You can use the insights feature on your business account to see how your posts, stories, and ads are performing, as well as learn more about your audience's demographics, behaviors, and interests. You can also use tools such as polls, quizzes, and questions to get feedback from your customers and prospects. Based on the data and responses, you can identify what works and what doesn't, and improve your follow-up communication on Instagram.
Make sure your highlights are well organized and valuable to a person who is seeing your business Instagram for the first time. Showcase how you interact and help your clients, what you do at work, and what projects have you already made.