Questions, Questions: Understanding the Why of Instagram
The history of Instagram reminds me of the quote:
If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.
While the birth of Instagram was just a few years ago, in 2010, the idea for the photo app happened years before, and it happened because of a different project.
WHERE DID INSTAGRAM COME FROM ANYWAY?
Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger are the official founders of Instagram. Systrom grew up in an upper-middle-class family in Massachusetts. According to rumors, he used to believe that getting rich quick through startups was something that happened to the other guy. (There was nothing quick about his story.)
Systrom left the East Coast to attend Stanford. After graduating, he wound up working for tech giants like Twitter and Google. Eventually, he started working in the marketing department of NextStop, which is a New York City subway directions app. At this time, Systrom decided to embark upon a new project featuring an app called Burbn. He intended for Burbn to become an HTML5-based merger of the online game Mafia Wars and Foursquare’s check-in service. During production, Burbn turned into Instagram (http://gramlike.com/the-history-of-instagram).
Thank goodness they changed the name.
After many iterations, the app was released in the fall of 2010. It went from a few users, which mainly included friends of Systrom and Krieger along with several early testers, to the number-one free photo app in only a few hours. By December of 2010, more than one million users had downloaded the program to their Apple devices.
Over the next two years, Instagram continued to grow, and the founders started to add features like hashtags, high-resolution photo support, one-click rotate, and new filters. In August of 2011, the 150 millionth photograph was uploaded to the app. A month later, Instagram had more than 10 million users, and at this time, the company was able to secure $7 million in Series A funding (http://thenextweb.com/magazine/2013/06/21/instagram-a-brief-history/#gref). This deal valued Instagram at around $25 million. (They are valued at $50 billion now—score!)
The Facebook Adoption
Since Instagram was initially set up as an iOS app, the program was available only through Apple’s platform until April of 2012. At that time, the company finally released a version for Android devices. After taking that step, Facebook jumped in and bought the company for $1 billion in cash and stock. The final purchase amount was less, though, because the social site’s value took a hit on the stock market.
The deal received approval in August of 2012, but by December, the new owners ran into trouble with the app. The problem began when a change was made to the company’s terms of service, giving Instagram the right to sell users’ pictures to third parties without compensating them or providing a notification. Understandably, people weren’t too happy about this, and the consumer backlash began. People even vowed that they would never use Instagram again. Due to the program’s current success, I suspect that a number of those people have now recanted.
You may recall, the backlash was enough to cause the company to retract the sections of its terms of service regarding the sharing of photos with third parties. Unfortunately to some degree, the company’s reputation took a hit. This is just another example of the delicate balance between public, private, and social media networking.
Growing with Facebook
After Facebook purchased Instagram, the company introduced popular features like photo tagging and a “Photos of You” option. It also extended photo tagging to include brands. This move gained the attention of companies that were looking to expand their social media presence and jump into organic advertising.
To become even more social, the company made it easier for users to share posts and videos through links and embed codes. This function lets you show content on Instagram in its original state. You can do this by just copying and pasting an embed link with a website or an article. This was a clever move by the company because it lets users share their content in other places while potentially reeling in new traffic.
The Facebook purchase also brought us natural-looking ads within Instagram. The social media giant claimed it wanted to use natural ads because Instagram users weren’t used to seeing advertisements on the app. Facebook started slow with just a handful of high-quality photos presented by a few brands. This marketing approach proved to be successful since about 5 percent of the app’s users liked the ads. By incorporating marketing, Instagram gave businesses a new advertising platform to help them reach new consumers. The “warm” look of an effective Instagram ad from this time period continues to work today on not only Instagram but on Facebook as well.
By the end of 2013, Instagram added a private chat feature. With it, the app’s users can send private videos and photos to each other. Prior to the chat feature, the only way for people to communicate through Instagram was publicly through comments and likes. Today, users can send private content to as many as 15 people at a time on the company’s network. They’re able to write captions for the images they are sharing, and after releasing a picture, they can have a conversation. With Facebook at the helm, the recent updates were strategic moves designed to increase the engagement levels of Instagram users and expand the site’s traffic.
The Future of Instagram for Commerce
Social and mobile commerce are embracing Instagram in a big way. Not only is organic advertising a welcome form of marketing on the app, it also highly engages users, placing Instagram in the unique position of supporting social and mobile commerce.
Since mobile marketing is still “new” to many businesses (despite the fact that 87 percent of people have a mobile device, only 12 percent of businesses have any type of mobile marketing program), most companies are still trying to determine the best way to use it in their marketing strategies, and for retailers, Instagram has made it easier.
Instagram was one of the first networks to supply call-to-action tools for advertisers. They did this in the form of “Install Now” or “Shop Now” links. When it comes to commerce, Instagram offers intimacy and immediacy for both consumers and companies. These options are engaging more users.
Millennials are especially influenced by these kinds of call-to-action tools because they are seeing their friends and other influencers install or buy those items (while my age group, aka over 40, is more influenced by the ability to find our reading glasses—but I digress). This, more than branded content, gives companies more credibility with millennials. These tools are transitioning Instagram from a marketing platform into a conduit for ecommerce, which decreases the number of clicks a consumer needs to purchase an item. It also makes mobile sales tracking easier for companies.
Ah, the refreshing melody of “making it easier to purchase.” Beautiful.
Businesses that have been waiting to enter the mobile advertising market are starting out on Instagram because the infrastructure is already there for them. For Instagram to remain a favorite advertising spot for commerce, the company will require them to embrace business trends and needs consistently without annoying its customer base. No one wants another spama-palooza like MySpace again. I do miss the constant requests for buying coins from Russia I got in my in-box, though—not!
Instagram’s Future with Everyday Users
Recently, Kevin Systrom said, “We believe you can see the world happening in real time through Instagram, and I think that’s true whether it’s Taylor Swift’s 1989 tour, which trends on Instagram all the time, or an important moment like a protest overseas, or a march like ‘Je suis Charlie’ in Paris. We want to make all of those, no matter how serious, no matter how playful, discoverable, and accessible on Instagram.” He went on to say, “At the end of the day, there’s no better way to consume what’s happening in the world other than through images and video. I think Instagram is at the natural nexus of both of those.”
As you know, our world is one that changes quickly, so while Instagram may be a service we continue to embrace for years, it’s also one that could be gone in an instant. Only time will truly show us the future of Instagram (http://time.com/4059656/this-is-what-the-future-of-instagram-looks-like/). My hope is that with this book, Instagram will help your business achieve ROI in the here and now.
Let’s start first with the “what” of Instagram and then in the chapters to follow, the “how,” in order to achieve maximum ROI for your time, money, and energy spent in the app.
Let me start by sharing a story. My husband, Ian, and I have been married for several years. Like most, it was a while after we started dating before we told each other how we felt, and a while after that before we got engaged.
Later on, we would admit to each other that we fell in love on our second date (truthfully these feelings may have been aided by the Italian guitarist serenading us, or the wine that preceded it). But neither of us told the other then because that would have been weird and a bit creepy at the time. Before we got serious, way back when, there was a series of events that needed to take place to build trust and commitment between us.
The same is true for your business.
At the time of this publication, Instagram allows only one clickable link in your account, and that falls into your bio. This means that your individual posts won’t have links in them, forcing you to create content that connects. Focusing on that content and your messaging—and how it connects back to growing your business—can be confusing, and sadly most businesses get it wrong. Most fall in one of two categories:
1. The Spammy McSpammerson. Unfortunately, many businesses begin their relationships with prospects by asking to get married on the first date. Yuck! Or even worse, they show up like a used car salesman looking to hawk goods from hello. They make all their posts about their products, programs, or services and never about what their prospect really cares about—themselves.
2. Too Chicken to Make a Move. Some companies do the complete opposite and never connect their content with anything that will convert the follower into a buyer. They post and post and post forever and do nothing to turn the follower into a customer. This is like dating the love of your life forever and wanting to marry your beloved, but never asking your sweetie to marry you. Not only will this result in the two of you not getting married, but most likely when someone who has more serious intentions comes along, your twosome will also become a onesome.
When you never create a clear path on how to do business with you, and why someone should do business with you, they won’t. And they will move on to something else that meets their needs. Or even worse, they will do nothing at all.
What Your Prospects Really Want
The truth is, you have a purpose. You have a mission. You have a pain to solve and it is your duty to find those who need you so you can heal their pain. Done well, the process can be seamless and can create lifelong client relationships instead of one-time, love ’em and leave ’em interactions. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Start with value, build trust, and then ask for the sale.
Using Instagram as the start of your funnel is an effective way to create authority, credibility, and celebrity, while magnetically attracting your perfect prospects. But first, you have to start with making your content all about your prospect and what they care about.
So what do they care about?
The reality is, no one cares about your products, programs, or services. What they care about is how your products, programs, and services will make their lives better. Focusing on what they care about—as in how you are going to make their life better in some way—is vital to creating a tribe of loyal followers who become your customers for life.
Take time to consider what they are thinking when their thoughts wander during the day that causes them anxiety. What do they repeatedly hope will become different? What keeps them up at night?
Before you move forward with your Instagram marketing (or any type of marketing for that matter) answer this question:
How would your target market finish this sentence: “If I could just . . .”
For example, clients of the following might say:
Recruiter’s clients. “If I could just find a career that suits me so I can enjoy what I do.”
Personal trainer’s clients. “If I could just get my abs back so I could finally feel comfortable on the beach.”
Financial advisor’s clients. “If I could just take my wife on vacation without worrying about finances.”
Realtor’s clients. “If I could just sell my house for enough money so we can move closer to our grandkids.”
My amazing tribe thinks:
If I could just fill my sales pipeline and get more clients, I could reach and help more people and my business would bring my family and me the financial peace and prosperity we long for. (Yes, my tribe is the bee’s knees.)
This translates into posts like the ones shown in Figure 1–1 on page 7.
I focus my @KWalshPhillips posts on the motivation and mindset necessary for taking your business to the next level, along with some quick how-to tips. These posts tie into how my tribe wants to build an audience of qualified leads, turn those leads into clients, and then become financially prosperous in the process.
Truthfully though, it can be difficult to get into your prospect’s mind. We are so used to focusing on our own products, programs, and services that we tend to spend too much of our marketing power focused on ourselves instead of our audience.
An effective way to get into the mindset of your prospect is to write yourself a letter as though you are them. In the letter, go deep into the problem and what effect it is having on your emotional well-being—go beyond facts to feelings. And in the letter make sure to answer the “If I could just” longing. This will put you into your customer’s mindset (instead of your own) and help you to focus your promotion all on them.
FIGURE 1–1. These Posts Focus on Motivation.
Set a timer for ten minutes, and write yourself this letter from your prospect. (You should set a timer, because you and I both know that if you don’t make yourself sit there and get this done, it won’t happen. When you are done, feel free to treat yourself, and if you’re buying, I’ll take a non-fat cappuccino with cinnamon. Thanks.)
How would your prospect finish this sentence: “If I could just______”?
Spending time outside Instagram before you launch can be hard for the impatient get-it-done-now kind of person (ask me how I know), but it’s imperative for quickly succeeding on this platform. Getting inside your prospect’s mindset before beginning to create content will give you a head start in having an effective Instagram campaign. Once you have determined this, you can set forth on the rest of your marketing and sales funnel.
If you hear someone mention a sales funnel, they are not talking about some type of super-human ride at the beach where tourists climb up and pay money to ride down into the ocean on a slide that gets perpetually smaller (although that would be fun). A sales funnel is the general buying process that companies guide their customers through during a purchase-based transaction.
When companies embrace the sales funnel technique, they usually divide the process into several steps. These stages range from when a customer first becomes aware of a product or service, to repurchasing it after discovering its helpful properties. The term “sales funnel” is a good description of the process because the top of the funnel consists of potential customers. These prospective clients are just learning about a product or service and are expressing some degree of interest in it. The bottom of the funnel features the clients who have already invested in a company’s product or service. The sales industry uses the funnel comparison because potential prospects drop off along the way. The ones who stay funnel down through the buying process.
What the Funnel Should Look Like
Developing a sales funnel is the most important step in your Instagram marketing. It is also where most businesses make terrible mistakes. (Don’t be one of them!)
When a private client or one of my coaching members first comes to us, typically there is no congruency between what they are posting for their business and what they ultimately want their prospect to do.
Think of it this way:
Imagine you are invited to your friend’s daughter’s birthday party. You received the invitation, and you can’t help but smile at the princesses, glitter, and feathers that fill the cover. You can tell this is going to be one adorable gathering.
Because you have manners, you show up to the party with a present for the little girl. When your friend greets you upon arrival, you hand her a present for the birthday princess.
Your friend then looks at you very confused and asks: “Are you sure this is for Jenny?”
You: “Yes. Isn’t it pretty wrapping paper?”
Your confused friend: “It is indeed. It’s just that it says, ‘Happy Retirement.’”
You: “I know. I wanted to use it because the images are so beautiful.”
Your confused friend: “Um. Okay. Thanks.”
And then, with much hesitation, she takes the present. Later, at the end of the party, the little girl Jenny opens up the gift you brought.
Jenny: “Mommy, I don’t know what this is.”
You: “It’s a shoe polish kit! The best in the world. You’ll be able to polish your shoes until the end of time. It’s been around since 1985 and with its great formula it is the #1 choice for shoes. There are endless uses and due to the fact that it is a concentrate, a little amount—just the size of a dime—goes a long way.”
Jenny: “Mommy, do I need shoe polish?”
Your confused friend: “You don’t. Please give me the present.”
You: “Wow. This party is a problem. You should have loved my gift. It is an amazing shoe polish kit.”
And with that, you are never invited to a gathering at your friend’s house again. (Dang! That is too bad. Their crab dip was out of this world. You are going to miss it, I am sure. But you can come over to my house. I make great crab dip as well and would love a shoe shine kit.)
Too often, businesses do this very same thing. They show up to the wrong party with branding and/or an offer that is a terrible match for their target market. They use images because “they are pretty” or offer opt-in opportunities that don’t match the audience. Then they blame the medium for their lack of ROI, when actually, it is the marketing campaign itself that is to blame.
How do you prevent this from happening? Focus on who your target market really is. Focus on what they want, not what they need. Attract them with images that will resonate with them. Make each step of the process make sense. The process works like this:
First, someone comes across an Instagram post, such as the one below, from a friend who liked or shared it, or through a hashtag search (see Figure 1–2 on page 10).
Your messaging resonates with the new follower, and this person wants to learn more. Your new audience member goes to the link in your bio (see Figure 1–3, page 10) and clicks on it. Your link sends them to a lead magnet that gives this person an incentive to give you their contact information so you can continue the conversation outside of Instagram. This should always be the goal, because then you can nurture the relationship over time without the distraction of other shiny objects in the networking platform.
FIGURE 1–2. One of My Instagram Posts that Someone Shared.
FIGURE 1–3. My Bio That Sends Customers to a Lead Magnet.
The lead magnet (see Figure 1–4, page 11) addresses the pain point of your perfect prospect and has a similar look and feel as your Instagram posts. This way, the prospect who is clicking through feels like they are in the right place. Then they enter their contact information to receive a reward in return (see Figure 1–5, page 11).
If it can make sense for your business, this is an excellent time to convert the lead into a customer. Once they have opted in, give them a chance to buy something. In this example, the new subscriber is given an offer for 35 ad designs for $1 (see Figure 1–6 on page 13). This is congruent with the lead magnet they just requested, and the wording is focused on solving the pain point. Always make sure yours is as well.
FIGURE 1–4. An Example of a Lead Magnet.
FIGURE 1–5. A Lead Magnet Gets Customers to Enter in Their Contact Information.
The prospect is given the option to take a test drive of Marketing Insiders Elite membership, a direct-response marketing association of their peers. Again, the wording focuses on the pain point of the customer (see Figure 1–7, page 13).
The marketing and sales path continues even if someone doesn’t take membership. This is so important to get the highest ROI, because many will not be ready to pull the trigger the first time they go through your sales funnel. In this example, in the confirmation email, there’s an invitation to attend a free training at www.FBSalesLaunch.com. See Figure 1–8 on page 14.
In our sales funnel example, when the report is delivered, an opportunity to attend a valuable training on Facebook is presented. While the contact is of course top-notch, there is also an opportunity to enroll in a paid course at the end, hence giving this newbie another chance to become a customer. See Figure 1–9 on page 14.
THE FORTUNE IS IN THE FOLLOW UP
Dr. Herbert True of Notre Dame studied selling behaviors and prospect behaviors to find where people became interested. He found that on average, it took five times of being asked for a person to say yes.
Do you know how many times the average salesperson asked?
Once.
Imagine how many sales are being left on the table!
The same holds true for marketing. Most companies send out one direct-mail piece, run one Instagram or Facebook ad, or send one email and are disappointed with the results. Frankly, if they get anything from doing just one touch to their prospects, they should be thrilled because in general, one is not enough.
I recently attended a sold-out marketing conference, and they shared that until you registered, they continued to contact you, sending out 138 communication pieces. 138! Talk about persistent. Did I mention they sold out the conference? Always develop a path to purchase for those not ready to buy right now. (See more in my conversation with Oli Billson in Chapter 6 for more on that topic.)
FIGURE 1–6. Once a Customer Has Opted In, Give Them a Chance to Buy Something.
FIGURE 1–7. Make Sure the Wording Focuses on the Pain Point of the Customer.
FIGURE 1–8. Give Customers the Option of Taking a Test Drive of the Product.
FIGURE 1–9. This Confirmation Email Offers the Prospect an Opportunity to Take a Free Webinar.
The path from post to sale makes sense and is all geared toward the same perfect prospect.
So how do you ensure yours is as well? You start by keeping it simple.
CREATING YOUR MARKETING AND SALES PATH
Begin with the end in mind.
While it may seem counterintuitive, begin with the last step you want your prospect to take. What is it that you want your prospect to do? Should they contact you to schedule a client consultation? Purchase a product? Subscribe to your blog? Listen to your podcast?
Determine the last thing you want your prospect to do because it will allow you to walk your full campaign in reverse so that every image, blog post, lead magnet, and email all lead seamlessly to the sale. After you’ve determined that last step, work backward to create a lead magnet that would be valuable only to your perfect prospect who would want to take the last step you want them to take. Then create blog posts about that same topic. Finally, create quote image posts that pull content directly from the blog posts. This way, every marketing message you put out there is all leading to the same conclusion—doing business with you.
In one of my prospect paths, my goal for my fans is that they join our Summit Academy, a 90-day program to attract more high-quality clients to pay you what you are worth and have more of a life while doing it. That is the final goal, and not one that I ever talk about in my Instagram posts, but if the product is focused on solving my prospects’ pain points—and I keep my Instagram posts focused on those four topics—then when I am in promotion mode, this funnel will also make sense.
So, why Instagram? Well, Instagram is a tangible, visual representation of your business and your brand. That captivating quality of your brand and content will allow you to continually market to your prospective and current followers. By doing so, you will achieve low-effort, high-impact marketing that directly calls your audience to action and moves followers along your sales funnel with every post. Throughout this book, I will share how to effectively develop each stage of that marketing funnel. I will walk you through brand development, content creation, and communication techniques to ensure each step is congruent and effective for your target market.
Ready to get started? In the next chapter, I will demonstrate how to set up your Instagram account for maximum success.
#INSTAGRAMFORBUSINESS POSTABLES
It’s a post. Not a marriage. #InstagramforBusiness
The truth is, you have a purpose. You have a mission. You have a pain to solve, and it is your duty to find those who need you so you can heal their pain. #InstagramforBusiness
Focus on who your target market really is. #InstagramforBusiness
Always develop a path to purchase for those not ready to buy right now. #InstagramforBusiness
Resource spotlight: Visit www.UGIGbook.com to download the “Path to Purchase” worksheet.