3 Ways to Plant Seeds Using Instagram

Today’s article is one you’ll want to save for the next time you’ve got 5 free minutes & some motivation for CONNECTION!

These are the 3 ways I’ve found work best for OUR shop (you may have a different experience & that’s groovy baby) to use Instagram as a way to connect with potential prospects.

To preface, I want to circle back to something I mentioned on Angel & my episode of SS.

Although DLH did contract a social media manager who was & is amazing for ~ 8 months, we ultimately decided that for us, IG was not the best use of our energy when it comes to marketing.

Instagram is a platform that walks the line of being a place people visit for entertainment & information. For DLH specifically, we use IG as a way to maintain a connection with friends, printers, and clients.

If your shop is able to build out a workflow that involves a way to purchase goods directly from the app (for example, we had DLH merch linked for people to shop for a bit), then that helps to introduce the means to use IG as more of traditional sales funnel to some cash monay that way.

Now on to the tips.

1. Commenting on high visibility accounts

• Using your shop account to comment on others might be a no brainer. To level up the visibility of your account, one tip is to comment on an account that values engagement in one of the niches your shop is specifically interested in working with.
• If you’re hoping to work with local businesses, which IG accounts highlight businesses or events in your area? Start authentically commenting with some value (if you wanna be lazy, hearts or gifs work in a pinch but don’t let that be all you do) and people who come across THOSE posts when they scroll will begin to notice if you regularly engage with that content, and will maybe check out your profile & follow or even head to your site to start a convo if they’ve been looking for a printer.
• Looking to work with some tradesmen? Think of the brands that usually inspire that portion of the population (Carhartt, etc) and comment on their posts (being one of the first is the bestttt) to increase your chances of a person seeing your comment who may be interested in what that page promotes, and who may need a garment decorator.

2. Messaging Directly

• Another no brainer :) But let’s level it up, once again. Is there a prospect’s account you have your eye on? An easy way to start gauging interest / opening the door to starting a convo is to respond to their story posts. Doing an emoji reaction is easy, and from there you can up the ante. Act like a normal person, just respond with something authentic that relates to something that piques your interest on their stories. We’re just trying to normalize having some interactions with them in the DMs without pressure.
• If you’re lucky, the owner or a decision maker will be the one you’re talkin’ to. This can be a real hit and miss. But over time, if you foster this small relationship with the account holder, they might end up inquiring with YOU about your services, or down the line (AFTER you have authentically & genuinely shown support on their account for a while), you can feel good about humbly letting them know that you’re a fan of what they do & you’d love to take care of some merch for them if they ever need it.
• If you’ve got no shame & want to ramp up your cold outreach, then I’d tell you something different. I’d say to go HAM on messaging cold prospects directly & outright asking them if you could send them some info about your services / give them a compliment + ask if they could use any screen printing services / read the room & tailor your outbound message accordingly.
• IF you go this route, please make me proud & be sure your IG page, IG bio, & website are optimized with clear information in order to have the BEST chance to impress your prospect & make them feel confident in chatting with you about your services.

3. Pay attention to those who play the game

• If you’re a shop owner who also has limited bandwidth to spare on IG, but want to get as most juice out of the platform as you can – my advice is to understand the value of working with a client who may have a bangin’ IG presence. If you are able to create a genuine & authentic connection / working relationship with them, it IS pretty dang valuable to have one or more clients in your corner who know how to “play the game” of IG, and have the means to help promote you using all the tech-y features IG has. It’s absolutely a skill set to know how to effectively promote something via IG, so if you’re able to win over someone who can help blast your name to the world because you work together – that’s a huuuuuuuuge help in getting your name out there. Additionally, those who value using IG to the fullest for THEIR brand will understand the importance of showing support for someone they respect & have enjoyed working with.
• However, I will caution you to not OVER value this aspect when starting a working relationship with a potential prospect. It is NOT worth slashing your prices, bending over backwards, and going against your policies BECAUSE someone may have a large follower count. (Remember Engagement >>>>>> Follower count, ALL DAY) Be sure to qualify the prospect for your shop first, and the IG thing is a bonus. Remember your worth & what you bring to the table. An account shouting you out on IG is not charity on their end, it’s just an awesome way that someone else with a complimentary skill set can combine their magic with yours 💖😊