I don’t know about you but Instagram has been one of the most challenging social media platforms to navigate as a mompreneur and like most platforms, it’s constantly evolving and changing. I find that just about the time I find a good rhythm and create a strategy that works for the HireMyMom Instagram account, it all changes.  

Well, you know what they say, you either have to beat them or join them, right?

As a freelancing mompreneur Instagram can be a great tool in reaching potential clients but it requires consistency and having a strategic social media marketing plan.

In this post we are going to break down 5 practical tips you can implement today to help you get more out of your Instagram marketing. Before we dive in, I want to offer you some encouragement: any social media platform takes time to grow and that is especially true for Instagram.

You aren’t going to post to Instagram for a week and have thousands of new followers. It will take showing up daily even when you don’t feel like it. It will require consistency even when you don’t feel like you have a clue about what you are doing and you will have to keep showing up even when it feels like no one cares or is even listening.

Give yourself some grace while you are learning, everyone starts out a beginner. Even the accounts you drool over with 30K+ followers at one time started with that first post and only 5 followers. Try to focus on having fun with the journey while letting go of the outcome or you will drive yourself straight to the bottom of the pit of comparison.

So take a deep breath and focus on taking this one day at a time remembering that Martha Stewart did not build an empire in one day.

1. YOUR BIO

When potential clients land on your Instagram account, what are they going to see first? Your bio, right. It’s that first impression when someone steps into your online space. Take the time to create a bio that really showcases your personality.

Instagram bios have a 150 character limit so make your words clear, powerful and compelling to convey what you do and the problem you solve. Be creative and use emojis if that fits your personality but stick to the few that best represent your brand. Too many emojis can look messy and be more distracting than helpful.

Ensure you have a good profile photo. If you are leading with your personal brand use a clear crisp fun photo of yourself or if you are leading with a business brand, a good clean logo or graphic is crucial.

You can have one clickable link in your profile so it’s important to leverage it wisely. If you have multiple places you want to drive your Instagram traffic to you can use Linktree to do that. It’s a pretty awesome tool.

2. IMAGERY IS KEY

Instagram is a platform driven by photography and imagery so it’s important to use photos that are creative, high quality, cohesive and aligned with your brand and personality style. If you are more extroverted and don’t mind being in front of the camera, you can use that to your advantage just ensure you stay on message visually.

If you are more introverted, don’t fret. It doesn’t mean Instagram is not for you, it just means you have to think outside the box and find a strategy that works for your business. You can curate photos from free accounts like Unplash or from other Instagram accounts BUT I want to stress the importance of always giving photo credit to the sources you are using. Don’t be the person who tries to pass off someone else’s work as your own. It’s icky and won’t earn the trust of your followers.  

Here is an example of how you can properly credit photos you curate from another account. We gave credit to @lemons.for.days for this cute photo and you will find that when you market properly, the accounts you credit will often comment on your post thanking you and even follow your account as a result.

If you love photography and can take your own photos, that’s awesome. Ensure that your Instagram feed has a theme to keep it consistent and cohesive. Think of your Instagram feed like a magazine. The photos should all work together and compliment one another.

The HireMyMom brand has an orange and turquoise color scheme so therefore I look for photos that compliment this theme to create a visually interesting feed.

This may take you some practice to get a theme down for your account and that’s okay. Practice makes perfect when you strive for progress over perfection. You can use apps like Snapseed to help you edit your photos and brighten them up so each photo has the same look and feel to it.

3. TELL A STORY AND GIVE VALUE

Instagram is no different than any other platform in how you use it will determine the kind of results you get. If you are going to throw something up just to post with little thought or you use every post to try to sell something you won’t attract many followers so you have to not only think about the image you are posting (will it work with the image you posted before it?) but you have to take the time to think about how you will use the image to give or share something of value.

There is nothing worse than an Instagram post that has nothing but hashtags in the caption. Your followers are on your account for them, not you so it’s important to choose quality over quantity and give your reader a reason to keep following along.

Pair a how-to tip with your image, share a story that will lead to a conversation with your followers and give your followers an insight into what you believe. Instagram has quickly become a very conversational platform so take the time to think about what and how you will share. Marketing requires intentionality.

4. #FRIDAYINTRODUCTIONS

Are you participating in Friday Introductions? It’s a great way to connect with others and build community. Every Friday the #FridayIntroductions hashtag is trending and here are some tips to make the most of it:

1. Post a picture of yourself. I know if you are introverted this is hard to do, I get it. I cringe at the thought of taking a selfie much less posting one.
2. Use #FridayIntroductions in your post so you will pull up in that hashtag feed.
3. Share a story about yourself, a fun fact, the why behind what you to do, etc. Focus on sharing something personal so your followers can learn more about you. The more they feel like they know you the more they will want to stick around.
4. Share, Don’t Sell. This is an opportunity to share and connect with others without an agenda so if you want to make the most out of this let go of the need to try to sell anything or drive traffic to your website when participating in #FridayIntroductions.
5. Follow the #FridayIntroductions feed and connect with others. Take the time to follow accounts that really speak to you. Like and spend time leaving genuine comments on their posts.
6. Make this a part of your weekly social media plan, I promise the consistency will pay off.

5. LEVERAGE STORIES

Instagram stories are seen 10x more than regular posts so they are pretty important to your marketing strategy. They are perfect for those less than polished photos and behind the scenes type of content that aren’t appropriate for your regular feed.

You can let your followers know about a new post you have and why they should care, a new blog post that you have up on your website, a product sneak peek you are working on to build excitement and share a word of encouragement.

And here is an awesome bonus tip: use popular hashtag that is relevant to your business when you share to give them a boost. For example, you can use #mompreneur, #graphicdesign, #ontheblog, #fashionblogger, etc.

Spend some time researching popular hashtags that your target audience would be following for stories and test them out. Stick to 1-2 hashtags for stories and try to minimize them so they don’t overpower the other info you are trying to share. You can make the text small and place them in the upper corners or cover them with a sticker.

Here is an example of how to let your followers know through an Instagram story to check out a recent post. You can see the #mompreneur hashtag at the top. By using hashtags in stories, people following the hashtags you use have a good chance of seeing your content even if they aren’t following you because they are following that hashtag.

I hope you found these tips and examples helpful in getting started with Instagram as a freelancing mompreneur. There will be a learning curve with it like anything new. Give yourself permission to be okay with being a beginner knowing you will have it mastered in no time with patience and consistency.

Looking for more social media tips, training and support? Why not check out more of what HireMyMom has to offer! We have been supporting mompreneurs like you since 2007. Click HERE to learn more.