Are you wondering how to build a brand and attract customers on Instagram? Without thousands of followers, without spending hours on Instagram. On your terms? Read on!

You can be sure that your client is on Instagram. But what should you do to find them there?

As an online business owner, when asked "What do you need to do to find customers on Instagram?" most would say: have more followers. Someone else would say you have to have great photos. We don't disagree - both good content and a large number of followers are important elements of your Instagram brand building strategy. However, the truth is that neither the number of followers nor the photos matter if you don't know how to take advantage of the opportunities that Instagram offers as a customer engagement tool. After all, business is about making money.

So what, you may ask, if not the number of followers and beautiful photos will allow you to attract customers on Instagram? Read on!

Define the ideal subscriber profile

Start by defining your ideal follower profile to think about when creating your Instagram content. Who is your ideal follower? It's simply your customer! We're going to be completely honest with you - you shouldn't create any content, especially content that aims to help you sell, if you don't already know who that person is and what that person needs from you. Your success depends on it.

You may be familiar with the concept of the ideal customer profile, Ideal Customer Avatar (acronym: ICA) in English. The ICA represents the profile of your ideal customer. This is a person who needs the products or services you offer. It's a customer you enjoy working with and who appreciates your work. The ideal customer profile sounds good, right? On Instagram, the ideal customer profile is the ideal follower profile.

"The profile of an ideal client = the profile of an ideal subscriber"

If you clearly define the profile of your ideal customer, we promise you that any content you create will hit the nail on the head. Your subscribers will eat it up with spoons!

For example: if your ideal subscriber profile is a woman who loves jewelry, dreams of a luxurious life, a comfortable car, and spends her vacations in five-star hotels, your content, what you say, and how you say it will be completely different from a person who is most willing to spend their free time outdoors, does yoga, is interested in meditation, and spends their vacations in a tent.

Build a brand

Once you know who your subscribers are, think about what kind of brand you want to be. Who are you, what do you want to give your customers? Many companies focus on selling a product, forgetting that brands that help their customers are successful.

What does it mean to help customers? Answer their questions, inspire and motivate them in the context of your offer. If you design gardens, show that it doesn't have to be expensive. If you're a photographer, show how a client can prepare for a session with you. If you're a trainer, offer free instructional videos on Instagram. Whatever is meaningful to your client and meets their needs, pains, and dreams.

Post content regularly. Good content.

Post content to your Instagram feed not once a month, not once a week, but several times a week. Instagram is a relationship marketing platform. Your key task is to maintain a good relationship with your followers. If you don't post regularly, your followers will probably forget about you.

Post valuable content for your ideal followers: educate, show what you do, what the results are, show what you are doing now and what your business looks like. A lot of people who are active on Instagram focus on quick ways to attract followers. Instead of the person for whom they are running their profile. Focus on providing value to your current followers. Satisfied followers will be your ambassadors. They will share your content and recommend you to their friends in real life.

Find time once a week to prepare a content package for the next week, schedule it for publication in one of the free apps (Planoly or PLANN). As a busy person, you no longer need to think about content - it's already waiting to be published.

It's worth remembering that what you post is content that's relevant to your brand and offer. For example, you shouldn't create content about cute kittens if you sell courses online just because you know cute kittens do well on Instagram. Find a way to create content that meets the needs of your ideal follower profile. Yes, that's right - you're helping others - while serving your business. Because it's the companies that are focused on helping that sell the most.

Engage with the content your client publishes

Many people post every day, hoping that through the hashtags they contain, their potential customers will find their way to their profile. This is time-consuming and far less effective than engaging with your customer's content. My advice: post less and engage more! Imagine this: if you engage at least 10 people on your profiles every day, you connect with 300 potential customers in a month. Wow!

Optimize your profile

Do you know the five-second rule? It's what a potential Instagram follower (customer) needs to judge if you're the right person for him/her. If within these 5 seconds, the person doesn't understand what you offer and how you can help them, you will lose the chance to make contact = sale.

When optimizing your profile, pay attention to the following elements:

1. Does your bio express exactly what you are offering?
2. Does your profile photo reflect what your brand does?
3. Does the username or account name reflect what your company does?

First of all, make sure your Instagram profile is searchable on Instagram's search engine. For example, if someone is looking for an English teacher, if you use the keywords "English lessons" in your username or account name, you increase the chance that a potential client will find you through the Instagram search engine.

Add a call to action

One of the most important elements of a bio is the call to action. Include a link in your bio that redirects followers to a landing page. This could be a product page, your latest blog post, or a page where you can schedule a free consultation. Be very specific about what you want to offer your followers - and remember that you can only use one link - use it wisely!

For example, you can redirect a person to a landing page where they can download a free PDF in exchange for subscribing to the newsletter. People who have subscribed to a newsletter are people you can offer your products or services to through the newsletter in the future.

Communicate in the comments, sell in the news

If you already have a following, the followers will be "only" observers if you don't sell anything. Then your Instagram activity can be compared to an expensive hobby.

Be sure to involve observers in the conversation. Conversation is the first step to selling.

Start a conversation in the comment section below the post and then move it to private messages. It's in the news that the magic of selling on Instagram happens!

You might be thinking, how can I talk to each of them individually instead of sending them to a link in their bio where they can, for example, buy my product? Of course, the bio link is an important element of your strategy, but remember that you can only add one link in the bio (or maybe this customer is looking for something else). Instagram allows you to send messages via any link, and by talking to a potential customer in the messages, you can better understand what this person needs and how you can help them.

The most interesting features you can find in messages are the voice message and video message options. We really like using these options because we can answer customers' questions or show them what we have to offer with a short video.

Create an interesting Instagram story

Instagram Story is a place where you can build a real relationship with your followers. It's where they can hear your voice, hear what you're up to, and get a behind-the-scenes look at your work.

Record interesting Instagram stories to build relationships and start conversations. The best way is to use interactive sticker options like polls, questions, quiz. Ask questions like - are you interested in my new blog, what's their opinion on products, are they interested in your offer, or easier questions like what kind of coffee they like best.