3 Indirect Ways Social Media Can Help You Grow Your Business

Many business owners think creating a successful Instagram profile is all about the content you create. They believe that when you put up a post, it will act as a magnet to draw clients to your page. That’s how you grow your business on social media right? Well, kind of, but not entirely.

It used to be that your profile had to be expertly curated and your follower count and the number of likes a post received were all that mattered. 

Then Instagram got wise to the fact that it had created its own monster (do yourself a huge favor and watch the Hulu documentary Fyre Fraud to get a taste of the disaster this created) and decided to change its own algorithm. 

Now, likes and follower count don’t matter as much, and accounts with fake followers are being shut down without warning. 

So what’s the best way to grow your business on Instagram in 2022? 

 

Meaningful engagement.

If you follow me on Instagram, you already know I preach this from the rooftops. When you authentically interact with others on the platform (keyword authentically), you create relationships with potential clients and other users who can positively influence your business.

Here are some indirect ways social media can explode your business. When I say indirect, I mean any scenario other than a user looking at your profile, reading your content, and instantly buying your product or service. 

 

Networking at In-Person Events

I know, I know… In-person events have been on hold the past couple of years. But I’m optimistic we’re on the upswing.

It used to be that networking and creating business relationships only happened face-to-face. I remember going to mixers for female entrepreneurs and awkwardly standing there with no one to talk to, hoping someone would come up and say something to put me out of my misery. We were all forced to initiate relationships while standing in front of someone with whom we were hoping to connect. 

At a weekend-long seminar I recently attended, I reached out to several other attendees ahead of time. I didn’t know them at all beforehand, but when we found each other at the event, you would have thought we were long-lost friends. It was so nice walking into what could have been a super intimidating environment with relationships already in place. It gave me the confidence to pitch my services because I was essentially dealing with a warm market.  

 

Finding a Mentor

One of the first things I did when starting my social media business was to attempt to form connections with other women already working successfully in my field. I went out of my way to join their Facebook groups and interact with them on their profiles. Luckily for me, my field happens to be filled with the most supportive and kind women on the planet. A few of them have become true mentors to me and I have no idea where I would be without their words of wisdom. We all know entrepreneurship can be lonely, but supportive business friends can help move the needle for you. 

 

Visibility

When you are thoughtfully engaging on someone’s profile, you have no idea whose eyes might be reading your comment. I love to tell the story of how I found my first business coach. I had gone to a social media manager’s profile to see if she also offered coaching to people who wanted to also become SMM’s. My coach happened to have commented on one of her posts and I stalked her page and found she offered exactly what I was looking for. 

 

Credibility

Your social media profile represents who you are to your ideal client or patient. If you’ve worked hard on your branding strategy, then you are already speaking directly to that person through every one of your posts. Your profile can also establish you as an authority in your field. If I’m looking for advice on how to prevent occlusions during cosmetic injections, I’m obviously combing through a profile to find information that topic. You can bet I’ll remember the Injector who has the most valuable information. 

 

Referrals

When you get to know other people in your field, you develop a strong network of friends who are there to support you through all of the ups and downs of owning a business. This network also gets to know your work, your personality, and your niche market. I can’t tell you how many referrals I’ve received from other social media consultants, who either don’t have a background in aesthetics or don’t have time in their schedules to accommodate another client. I’m always referring potential clients to other VA’s and SMM’s whom I’ve gotten to know solely through Instagram. 

 

Do you need help getting your social profiles in shape? Schedule a coaching session here!