Nobody teaches you from a young age how to jump in front of a camera and promote your business, this is a skill you have to learn over time and a skill I believe is very important when running a business.
Visibility helps you to deliver your key messages loud and clear to your target audience. It is all about being invested in your target market’s happiness as much as you are invested in your own. If you know your audience and communicate well with them then you are more than likely going to benefit in a way your competitors might not.
I recently spoke with Elizabeth Stiles - fashion brand consultant on IGTV about how to stay visible and why it is so important. If you need a push in the right direction, then keep reading for some top tips.
Start Small
If the thought of recording yourself for your followers to see fills you with dread then I want to reassure you, this is normal! It is understandable to feel uncomfortable and firstly I want you to be kind to yourself.
Have you ever shared a behind the scenes image of your face and received more likes and comments than other posts? This is proof in the pudding that it works and it is a great place to start. These types of posts can easily reassure you that your followers do want to hear from you and they pressed follow for a reason.
Once you’ve gained confidence from posting on your feed why not capture a simple video for your stories with a behind-the-scenes element? This could be setting up your workstation and recording yourself working (top tip: buy a cheap tripod for your phone so you don’t have to hold it at the same time!), it could be showing off your studio or simply walking the dog.
By posting this content you are really connecting with your followers and you are showing them that you have a personality, you are normal, and aren’t simply a corporate robot.
What to say?
Now you’ve broken through the initial barrier of posting behind the scenes content, I’m sure you will start to wonder what to say or do next. What will interest your followers? What will make them want to buy your product?
As mentioned before they are following your brand as your products have already caught their eye so the next step is to show those same products off to your audience. Talk through your products, whether it be your favourite product, a new product, or something you get a lot of questions on, your followers who are interested will want to know and see and this content can most definitely lead to sales.
You still might not feel ready to jump on your stories and face the camera but there are still plenty of other ways you can create great content to show off your products and keep visible. Throughout your normal working day, why not take short video snippets of what you are getting up to and then use the new reel feature on Instagram to create a round-up with your favourite song? This is a great way to show your followers your personality, behind the scenes, and what your brand is really like.
Give your followers an invitation to be nosy and get to know you, the more they connect with you the more they will relate to your brand, your products, and ultimately keep buying from you.
Be Consistent
Once you’ve got into the swing of posting behind the scenes stories and reels it’s time to start planning this content into your weekly plans and try not to let it slip. It’s great to get out there once and break the seal but if you want to get results then it is imperative to keep going!
You may wonder how much you should post and as Elizabeth mentions in our IGTV, she believes that however much you see the reflection of your brand in your life is how much you should be posting so if you want this to be your full-time job, so show up every day but if this is just a side hustle then post 3 times a week - consistency is key.
If this is your full-time job then a good tip is to try and never let your stories time out, by posting at least once a day on stories you are staying visible and letting people in whilst growing your account.
To sell or not to sell?
Nobody wants to be known as the pushy salesperson so I understand why it can be quite challenging to know if you should be selling your products to your followers using stories and reels.
By showing your products with emotion and passion you are generally pushing a gentle sell onto your followers without having to try too hard. A simple way of doing this could be simply wearing your products in your videos, filming a how to use video, or even a how's it made video. Your followers are nosy and will want to see these sorts of things and I’m sure you will have had questions from potential customers before that you can build content around without having to push the hard sell onto them.
In Summary
Whilst putting yourself out there and in front of a camera is daunting, I believe that once you’ve done it once you will get the bug and will want to continue. Your brain is probably sending you ‘be scared’ signals but sometimes you need to push through and reassure yourself that you are doing this for the right reasons.
Remember to start small, build on your content, and be consistent. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain - good luck!
To listen to the full IGTV episode with Elizabeth, please click here.
As a small business you already have the products and the knowledge of your brand but could you be doing more to grow? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a helping hand, somebody to help streamline your processes and save you time in the long run? My expertise as a mentor is in helping businesses like yours gain the confidence to sell, be more profitable, feel comfortable with your pricing strategy and be the business owner you dreamed of when you started your journey!
By working with me you will learn how to be more profitable and be a proud business owner at the same time!
Let’s have a chat today, drop me an email at therese@smallbusinesscollaborative.co.uk and I will get back to you personally.
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