How to Use Instagram to Get More Subscribers and Clients
If you want to turn more of your Instagram followers into email subscribers and clients, there are a few things you need to have in place.
Even though algorithms change, and our organic reach may be lower, social media is still one of the easiest ways people can find out about you and how you may be able to help them.
We like Instagram because there are so many different formats for sharing content, getting engagement, and leading followers further along in the customer journey, so we’re focusing on that platform but take what we share and apply it to the platform of your choice.
Let’s dive into the first strategy which is one of the most important because it sets the stage for everything else.
1. Have a clear bio that highlights what you do and who you help.
If you need help with this, we have a great episode coming up in a couple of weeks, that will help you write a compelling social media bio that will attract your ideal clients. You want to include who you help and how you help them, and keep it short and sweet, while leading them to a free resource in your bio link where they can learn more and find out more about you.
We recommend using Linktree for multiple links in your bio, including your FB group, a free resource, a blog post that leads people to another step (your group, a freebie, etc.) your podcast, your services page, and book a call page if you have one.
Your bio link is a powerful tool in the customer journey, so be strategic with it. Don’t have a ton of links because it’s overwhelming to people – you want to showcase your most important resources, so keep it to no more than 10. Karen has between 8-10 and they include links to:
- One of her freebies
- Her FB group
- The podcast
- A blog post (she switches these out every week or two based on posts I share in my feed)
- Her wellness workshops
- Any other promotions or offers she has going on
If you haven’t used LinkTree yet, it’s great because it allows you to use your one IG bio link to go to multiple web pages or URL’s instead of only using the one bio link that you have to change out based on what your posts are about. The free version is fine to get stared.
2. Pin posts to the top of your profile that will help people see what you’re about and allow them to take the next step.
This is a really cool feature and I know a lot of people are not using it yet. As of a few months ago, you can pin up to 3 posts to the top of your feed which means they will be the first photos or videos (including Reels) that show up as soon as someone visits your profile. The goal is to keep people on your account as long as possible to learn more about you, so this works well when you are strategic about using it.
You want to be intentional with this and use that valuable real estate at the top of your profile/grid for posts that will lead people to a next step with you such as:
- A freebie to grow your email list
- A popular blog post or podcast episode to help people get to know you (that also links to a freebie or next step if possible).
- A post that shares a tip and leads folks to joining your FB group to learn more
- A Reel or other video that allows people to instantly get to connect with you (the video would ideally lead to another step such as read a blog post, listen to your podcast, download a freebie, etc.)
- A post that shares helpful tips and include a “click the link in my bio” to learn more – or “click the link in my bio” to shop for _______.
For my Instagram bio, I’ve pinned a Reel, a freebie and a post about joining my Facebook group. If you go to my account at KathleenLeGrys, you’ll see what I mean. Think about 3 posts you can pin to the top of your profile. I recommend at least one of them is a video of you sharing something helpful, so new visitors get to know you right away, and that may have them bingeing on more your videos.
In case you’re wondering how to pin a post – It’s very easy. You just select a post you have added, click on the 3 dots on the upper right hand of the post and scroll down to select “pin to your profile” and it will bump it to the first row. To unpin a post, you do the same thing but select “Unpin from your profile”. You can switch out different pinned posts whenever you want.
3. Next up is Stories. Use stories to showcase your personality and share behind the scenes of your life and your business.
People want to get to know YOU – not just stuff about your business. If all you share is business stuff, your views will likely be low (and it doesn’t help people get to know you on a personal level). When people find things that you have in common with them or things they find interesting, they feel like they’re building a connection with you. Have you noticed that your story views are so much higher when you share more personal stuff? It makes sense when you think about it because we all want to see what other people are up to and check out behind the scenes stuff. While Karen was in Florida, doing her condo rental renovation, she shared a lot of the behind the scenes of the progress, and the views were super high, but it doesn’t have to be anything major either. Where did you go for a walk today? How are you solving a current problem or dilemma? What would resonate with your followers? People enjoy just seeing ‘real life’ – I know I do, and you probably do too. Look at the types of stories other people share and see what you like and what you are drawn to and use that for inspiration and ideas for your own.
When using stories, be sure to occasionally include interactive stickers such as the poll and slider feature because when people respond to them, your content is more likely to show up in their feed again because it’s telling the algorithm they like your content, so IG will show them more of it. A benefit of using the question sticker is when people respond, it goes into your DM’s and you can reply and start a conversation, so I Iove using that feature sometimes too.
4. We shared how to incorporate the customer journey, how to build connection, and grow your email list with stories, so let’s move on to getting clients.
Here’s how to use Instagram to get clients.
- Share posts that invite people to work with you. This may seem obvious, but you would be surprised out how often we see coaches who aren’t doing this, and they wonder why no one is signing up to work with them. You have to let people know what you do, who you help and directly invite folks to the next step – book a call, purchase a product, join an online group coaching program, etc.
Video works very well for this. Feature a client success story and the call to action (CTA) at the end is to book a free call. You can also do this by sharing a tip or busting a myth or sharing common mistakes you see, and CTA is to book a free call.
- Share content that showcases common struggles your clients have and how you help them. If you haven’t had clients yet, you can share struggles you or people you know have had. The CTA for this type of post would be to either book a call with you or join one of your programs.
The question that usually comes up is how often to promote booking a call, or joining a program, and while there isn’t a set rule on this, the 80/20 rule is a good guideline, so share value 80% of the time and promote about 20% of them time.
- The most common way you’ll get clients through Instagram is by building your email list and using your email follow up series to share an invitation to book a call, join one of your programs or whatever other offers you have. You can also share any special promotions and offers you have during the year.
People need to know what you do and see your offers multiple times before they take action. Most people aren’t going to be ready to work with you as soon as they find you on social media, so staying top of mind and continuing to show up will help them take action when they’re ready.
- Showing up on video is a must these days. You can do short video or Reels that are a minute or less. People need to connect with you and have a level of trust before they become a client, and other than in real life, in person, video is the quickest way to do it. I know when I’m looking at following someone on IG, I first go to their profile and look at a couple of videos to get a feel for who they are, and people are likely doing the same on your account. This is another reason why I think it’s important for at least one of your pinned posts to be a video.
- Be social. That means commenting on posts with a genuine comment, related to the content of the post. Replying to stories with a DM or answering a question sticker that goes into the DM’s. I think people underestimate the power of using DM’s – this is where conversations can start, and people can get to connect and get to know each other. This doesn’t mean pitching your services – it means commenting and conversing when appropriate. What this does is help people see you and lean into your future content more, so when you DO go to promote a program or service, they are more likely to sign up or refer a friend.
You want to think of your social media account as the first step in the customer journey and map out steps that visitors and followers can take that lead them to getting on your email list, connecting with you in other ways such as on video and/or in your Facebook group if you have one.
We can’t wait to hear how it goes once you incorporate some of what we shared today.
Subscribe and listen to The Wellness Business Podcast on your favorite platform!
