Est Read Time: 3 minutes
Razzle’s Instagram account is still very small, with just over 200 followers. And let me just say, I am so proud of where I have got the account to.
Yes, I realize that isn’t a very large following and it’s nothing to write home about, but the account was stuck around 100 followers for over a year. It wasn’t until the last couple months that I started to see some real growth.
Part of that growth is because we finally niched Razzle down to focus on helping small business owners just get online.
But a really big part of that is because I started to show up online more consistently, authentically.
I would describe myself as bubbly, talkative, fun-loving, and highly personable, and I do want my business to have a fun-loving, bubbly, and personable tone. But if you scroll to the bottom of our Instagram and look at the content we started with, none of my personality was conveyed.
It was all polished and professional, using marketing jargon that my ideal audience and clients would not understand. No one resonated with what I was saying, so no one was following me.
As well, I wasn’t interacting authentically. (And I’ve got to say, this is a big no no..)
Because if my content was doing a good job of showing off my personality, but my comments were bland and didn’t match up (or vice versa), it would be a huge deterrent to potential followers or clients. Why? Because I’d come across as fake and that would really hinder my ability to build trust. Maybe you’ve heard me say this before, but trust is huuuuuuuge in client/customer’s buying decision!
If they don’t trust you, they won’t buy from you.
So how did I start to turn that all around?
I started to get clear and be authentic.
I got clear on who I wanted to serve and how I was going to serve them. Once I knew who I was serving, I could identify how to talk to them and resonate with them. –But I will be completely honest with you, I am still working on being as clear as I can be. Especially with what is happening in Canada with our governments overbearing mandates, I’ve had to keep looking at ways to pivot and adapt so I can serve small businesses as best as I can.
Another reason to be authentic is so you’re attracting the right people to you. If you build an entire loyal following of people who are there because they think you are someone you’re not, the second the curtains come open, you will lose a lot more than just followers.
People will feel betrayed and potentially even angry. And unfortunately, people tend to remember bad things longer and more vividly.
But on my path to clarity and authenticity, I have noticed a steady increase in followers on Instagram.
It has grown by over 100 followers in just the last couple months!
Again, I know that doesn’t seem like much, but if you were in a place like I was, where I wasn’t seeing any growth, it is exciting to see the numbers start to steadily increase.
What’s more important than the number of followers though, is your engagement! You do not want to be growing an account to a huge number and have low engagement numbers.
If that happens, Instagram’s algorithm will punish you. It’s going to show your content to way less people because it sees that no one really cares about it.
So be sure that the content you are creating is of value to your audience and share it in a way that is authentic to you and/or your brand!
Followers are vanity metrics, meaning that its a number that only feeds your ego.
Engagement is the value metric.
You want to see lots of post likes, comments, shares, and saves. Those are the numbers you want to watch so you can really learn what content your audience likes to consume. (I guarantee the posts with your face or showing your ‘human’ side, are the ones that are going to get the highest engagement.)
I also want to add that you do not need to start over! Just pivot.
Start creating the content your audience wants from now on.
What To Do
So the first thing you need to do is sit down and get really clear on your business values and voice.
Then you need to define who your ideal customer/client avatar is.
Once you have those hammered down, you want to be clear on how you solve your customer’s problem– ie) how will they benefit from working with you or buying from you?
If you’d like more guidance on how to do all of that, check out my five-part Going Beyond Branding Basics series!
[Click for: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5]
There is even a free resource to help you put all the work you do together in one place!
I truly hope that you are feeling more confident about being authentic and that you understand it’s integral for building trust.
Remember, trust is the most important aspect if you want people to buy from you, whether you sell a product or service.
Let your personality –or your business’s personality shine bright! Don’t let the fear of rejection hold you back.
I truly wish you nothing but happiness, success, and abundance.
-Jordan