3 Creative Ways to Market Your Small Business on Instagram in 2020 | Nashville Branding Photographer & Business Systems Educator Dolly DeLong Photography

Effectively marketing your small business in 2020 can feel overwhelming and confusing. There are so many options! But I’m making it simple with 3 creative marketing ideas for Instagram that you can put to work today!

You can’t make sales without marketing your business. But if you’re like most small business owners, you’re doing everything (or almost everything) on your own! That’s why free platforms like Instagram can be such a lifesaver. No spending money you don’t have on expensive ads or marketing plans. Sounds awesome, right?

It is awesome! And that’s why everyone else uses Instagram to market their small business, too. What this means is that in order to stand out on the crowded platform, you’ve got to use some creative strategies!

#1 Go Live!

Showing up on IG Live is one of the most engaging options. If you’re not quite brave enough for a Live video, start with recording a video for your Instagram stories or IGTV. However you choose to show up, talking directly to your audience on video is going to seriously build the know, like, trust factor with your audience. 

If you’re not sure what to talk about, I’ve got plenty of ideas for you.

• Look at a blog post you’ve written and break down one of the points to talk about in more detail
• Tell people about the projects you’ve got on your calendar for the week
• Talk about the current business tools you’re using and how they’re helping you grow
• Share what inspires you
• Repurpose an old IG post and talk about it in detail
• Do a Q&A (come prepared with a few questions in case no one asks anything)

You don’t have to get super personal or intimate on video. Just showing up and talking directly to your audience about business topics will do the trick!

#2 Use Google Analytics

If you want to strategically market your business, especially in 2020, you’re going to need to use Google Analytics to step up your game.

When you’re stuck for an idea of what to write about, instead of just making something up on the spot, look to your analytics to see what performs the best on your website or blog!

What page is everyone visiting? Is there a specific post that gets a ton of hits? Dig in deeper to see what content is on your website or your blog that everyone is loving, and then repurpose that into a caption!

Remember, your audience comes from all different places, so just because someone has been to your website does not mean they’re seeing your Instagram posts. So don’t worry about repeating the information!

#3 Use a Social Media Planning Tool

If you’re still writing your Instagram captions right before you hit publish, you need to try using a social media planning tool.

A planning tool like Tailwind (this is what I use!), Later, or Planoly will help you see all of your content for the week at one time. This way you can make sure your posts are related or cohesive, and you can see how your images will look in your IG grid!

If you choose to use Tailwind to plan your Instagram content, you can also use the same platform to schedule out your Pinterest pins and get hashtag ideas – win-win!

Once you’ve gotten the hang of planning one week at a time, you can bump it up to two weeks or even a month. The more you can plan ahead, the better your overall content strategy will be. And a better content marketing strategy means more sales!

Summary

Even if you are a brand new business owner, please do not convince yourself that it is too “late” to begin your business journey by incorporating Instagram. It is one of the best social media platforms that is incredibly multifaceted and you can find (and build) your tribe slowly over time! Give yourself lots of grace, and just have fun! (This is an overused statement but I’m going to say it anyway: Rome wasn’t built in a day, so give yourself TIME!) Have so much fun exploring all the fun aspects of Instagram for your small business!

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Meet Your Friendly Nashville Branding Photographer & Business Systems Educator

Dolly DeLong is a Nashville-based family & branding photographer and a creative business owner who educates on all things Pinterest, Dubsado, Lead Magnets & Email Marketing (aka pretty much all the fun automation stuff centered around those business systems)!  Dolly loves serving families, and business owners with her timeless, radiant photography.  She loves capturing the joy and emotion in both digital and film photos.

She also has a heart for serving the larger business community. Dolly shares her knowledge of tools like Pinterest, Dubsado, email marketing, and business systems with new creative business owners in an encouraging and supportive way because she believes that even muggles can become automating wizards!

Dolly’s faith and love for her family motivate her to help other business owners find the joy and freedom she’s found in running a successful small business.

Whenever she has a spare moment, she enjoys watching TV (i.e. Survivor), loves eating way too many sweets, and listens to podcasts while running or walking. To work with Dolly DeLong Photography LLC, please email her at thedollydelong@gmail.com or fill out her contact form here.

Interested in learning how to best automate your small business but have NO clue where to start? Click here (or on the image below) to get started with learning the foundations of automating your business with Dolly DeLong Education!