[Transcript starts at 1:21]
Hello, hello, hello my podcast people and thank you for joining me for yet another episode of my favorite podcast. Today we're talking about one of my favorite topics, which is Instagram. Specifically how to use Instagram for in-person business. Spoiler. It is different than how you use it for online business.
Right off the bat, my suggestion, don't spend a lot of time here. If you have an in-person business, you have a brick and mortar business, you do not need to spend a ton of time on Instagram if your goal is more in-person clients. The main reason that we use social media, we use Instagram, is to expand our reach beyond our physical, immediate location or immediate physical location.
It does not make sense to use Instagram then if you are only offering in-person services that are limited to your immediate physical location. Yes, I do think it's helpful to have an Instagram account, mainly because people do like to go and look at social media to see what they're begun, what they're going to be getting. Especially the kind of, I don't, I wanna say younger demographic, but I'm also including myself in that demographic and by some measures I'm not that young, right? I'm I go on those little things we have to scroll to, to put in your birth year. And I'm like, we, we scrolling a lot. We are on, what is that game? Uh, The Price is Right and we're spinning that wheel and I'm like, this is going back a little too far from me. For my liking. So I will say people do like to go on there and just kind of be like, does what does this look like?
Does it exist? Do they have a social media presence? But I would not spend a ton of time if I had an a brick and mortar business, an in-person business, and I was looking for more in-person clients. You can only geotarget if you're running ads, right? It's not like I can put up a post and be like, only show this to people who live in Redondo Beach.
I can't. It's gonna go to everyone. And so I'm gonna have people that are like in China and I'm like, this is not helpful. This is not helpful unless I wanna offer remote services. So if you're looking to offer primarily or solely in-person services, do not spend a ton of time on Instagram.
What should you be doing if you still want to have some sort of social media presence, which I do recommend having?
That's what this episode is all about.
So my, my number one recommendation here, or my first, my starting piece of advice here is to use Instagram the same way that you would use a website. And yes, you need a website. Like it's 2023. What are you doing? You need a website. If you wanna learn about like what kind of website, how to have a website, what would I recommend?
Number one, I just did an episode about that, if you could link that. Thank you, Courtney. It was just all of the kind of tech and software that I recommend for online business. But my number one recommendation for all things website related is gonna be my girl, Lex Lancaster. Um, she uses, promotes and will help you build a Squarespace website, but learning all the things about the website.
Go to her. She has a podcast as well. You can go learn all of the things. It's 2023. I got something in my eye, folks. I got something in my eye. It is 2023, folks, you need a website. Okay, so we're gonna think about using social media. I still got it in my eye. We're gonna keep the episode rolling. Sorry, if you're watching this on, uh, YouTube and you see me scratching my eye. But I'm a human with eyeballs and uh, I probably got a Rupert hair in there.
Uh, but we are gonna look to use Instagram the same way that we would use a website. Okay. Just about the information that we offer, things like that. Um, so specifically we'll say, use Instagram to provide information about who you are, the problem that you solve, who you solve it for, and how you solve it.
One more time, just like we would do on a website, you're gonna use Instagram to provide information about who you or the business is, the problem that you solve, who you solve it for and how you solve it. Going to caution you against being sucked in by the TikTok allure of food places, where we see these food places just go viral, they blow up, someone goes, an influencer goes and like it's the best pizza they ever had, and then now suddenly the place has like a line, you know, down the block for the next 17 years.
Guess what folks? You don't run a pizza place. There's a good chance if you're listening to this, you run some sort of healthcare kind of facility. You're a PT or a chiro, something like that. That ain't the same. People are not gonna ever be lining up down the block to go to your fucking PT clinic. Sorry, I'm gonna say it.
PT is a grudge purchase. So don't think, oh, well, like, you know, I see people doing stuff on TikTok and then they go viral and then they get all the clients. It is not the same. It's not the same. Uh, also don't, uh, I'm gonna strongly encourage you to not fall victim to the game of exceptions, right? Where it's like, well, I know this one person who did it and like it really helped them.
Okay, cool. But the 99% of everybody else, it doesn't happen for them and it's a waste of your time. So I am saying this as someone who loves Instagram, who coaches people on how to use Instagram, and I'm telling you not to do it. So for what it's worth, perhaps you will, you know, lean into that. Okay.
So, again, we're using Instagram, we're thinking about 30,000 foot view using Instagram the same way we would use a website. We're gonna use it to provide information about who you are, the problem you solve, who you solve it for, and how you solve it. As the specific, as it relates to the specifics and how to actually use it. We're gonna go through each of the parts, and I'm probably gonna speak quickly because I love this stuff.
Maybe you can use your little, you know, your Instagram, not Instagram player. Wow. Your uh podcast player. You put me at like 0.75 speed today, right? Maybe I'm speaking little fast. Uh, but Instagram specifically, start off with the bio. In the bio, state the name of the business, state the problem that you solve, and who you solve it for, and of course, where you are located.
Keep it simple. The whole goal is to just provide that information and not trip people up. You don't have to get all like esoteric and flowery and cute and, and creative, and clever. Keep it simple. Okay? For the picture, let it be your logo or your whole team. If it's you, it's your, it's just you, I would love to see your face and know who you are.
If it's a team, you know, it's a full business, then maybe you go with just the logo or a picture of the team. Depends on what looks best. Um, but if it's just you go ahead and put your face in there. If you are 1000000% sure that you wanna grow outside of yourself, then go ahead and, you know, lean more towards the logo.
If you are unsure, if you have a bug being planted in your ear, that you have to grow this thing massive and you gotta sell it one day. Don't do that. Let it be you. Let it be a person. Let people fall in love with you, grow the business, and then you can branch out and sell the methodology. It is easier to do that than to have no customers because they don't know who you are and they want a person.
They wanna know who's on the other side of that thing. So if it's just you and you're unsure if you wanna grow it or you don't wanna grow it, outside of you, then let the picture be of you. If you can have your logo in there as well. Awesome. But I wanna see who I'm doing business with. If then down the road you decide that you wanna grow, you're bringing people on, you can go through the quote unquote heavy lifting of really leaning on the methodology and selling the the group, selling the entire team as opposed to just you.
You can make that switch. You will be able to do it. I promise. Okay. I'd rather you have the success and then be like, okay, I, I'm too rich now what do I do? Okay.
In the name field, put your personal name if it is just you. If it's, you know, a group of people, if you have a team, then put the business name, especially if the business name is different than the Instagram handle.
Ideally they're the same, but sometimes you have to use like, um, I, I'm gonna say shorthand cause I can't think of the name right now, but you have to kind of change what the Instagram handle is. So if that's the case, then definitely write out the full name of the business in the actual Instagram handle. Of note Instagram- yes- in the Instagram name, field, excuse me. Name, fields of note are searchable. So if you want to put the, you know, like pelvic floor specialists in there as well. Absolutely. You can do that. Cause people can actually search that.
Highlights, right? This is the next part of the bio. Part- next part of the bio section here. The highlights on Instagram. I would use them, personally, like I would use a navigation bar on a website. So I would have a highlight that's meet the team, a highlight that's meet the, excuse me, that's tour the facility. A highlight that is conditions we treat. A highlight that is success stories, right? At least as a start. You can have additional ones, but think about what's in the navigation bar of your website. Have those same things on your, as your Instagram highlights, okay.
Next part, posting. What did you actually post?
Well, frequency, I would say no more than one to two times a week, right? No more than one to two times a week. You don't need to, you're not trying to attract people. You just wanna show that you have life, that you exist, and that it's updated semi-regularly. So you could probably even do less than that, but I think it is nice to do it like once a week. It just kind of keeps your head in the game there.
What should you actually post? I would cycle between three different types of posts, which is gonna be solu- or three different topics for the post, which is gonna be solutions, services, and your personal story or your business story, kind of what the business is about.
All right? Solutions, meaning you're actually gonna teach something, show something, demonstrate something, get people if they were to try something, a win in the post, or at least they could see like, oh, this person solves my problems. Maybe you're talking about, you know, some chiropractic intervention or some physical therapy intervention so they can see it and be like, oh, cool, I did learn something. I'm not gonna try it myself, but like if I went there, they could solve my problem.
Within that services category would also be your, you can actually like say the services that you offer there, but you can also do testimonials in there, right? So people can see, oh, this is what happens if I go there.
And then lastly, like I said, story would be just your personal story or the story of the business, meaning what do you stand for, what are you about?
So you definitely wanna make sure that you're showing your clients in these posts. I get it. In the beginning it's largely just gonna be you, cuz that's the only person that you have.
And it can be weird to ask people, but as you get more clients, people do wanna help you out. And so you'll figure out the way to actually get this footage, which is oftentimes just setting up a camera and let it run. And then at some point you'll have to edit it and like just take clips from it. But asking that person like, Hey, can I just like, you know, film our session so that I can can use this online. People do want to help you, right? They do.
Show people what it's like to get treated there. I am thinking about a client I have right now who has a really successful massage therapy business and she shows her sessions and she does use it for in-person. She's one of those people that's an exception to the rule.
I do not think that the majority of people should be using the um, Instagram that way, but she's also a bit B to B as well. Um, she's branched into that, so that's where some of that online success is from as well. Um, but in general, I would not be spending a ton of time as a in-person business using social media.
Um, like I said, go ahead and show what you are about. This could be something like sharing memes or sharing funny- if you like have a big sense of humor, you've got a big personality, then yes, I wanna see you talking and see you sharing yourself. But the content that you share also tells a story, like a story around the story. Um, and this can be sharing things like, like memes and such.
I personally would put a bumper, what I call a bumper at the bottom of the captions of my post. Something with a call to action or outlining next steps, how to reach you, how to start the process of working with you, and I would just copy and paste and put it in every single post just so that they know, right? The goal is to promote the business, right? And I would just do that every post. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
Next part of Instagram, which I think is probably the most important part of Instagram, which is the Stories. This gives you the real estate to get personal, to be a goddamn human. I, again, I think a lot of the listeners to this pod of this podcast are in the kind of health, wellness, fitness space or, or adjacent, which means we're in the business of trust, right?
There is something so magical about the fact that on Instagram you can start to build that trust by just showing up and being a human. That's what stories are for. Show your day, show what it looks like outside of the office. What are you interested in? You have a dog? Show it. You have kids that you wanna share on there? Show it.
That's what's gonna separate you from the other providers. Right? Yes, now, geographically you're also separated, but they're just like, man, you know what? Lauren has a dog and she's a dog person. I love, I love that dog. I love the way that they play catch. Oh, Susan, she has a cat. I love that. All right. Put those things in there. Or show yourself, you know, and also, I should say, show yourself walking the talk, where you're actually going and doing the things that you promote. Where you're like, maybe you talk about lifting heavy weights, or running, or stretching, or doing cold plunges, whatever. Recovery. Show yourself doing that as well.
You can use Stories for team member takeovers, right? This is a great way to also show the other people on your team what they, what they're like. Um, I'm gonna actually go off script here for a second cuz it's top of mind. I do not recommend that you ask your team members to have their own Instagram accounts.
It makes it really separate and, and difficult. Um, and especially some people don't like using Instagram, so if you want to have them help out on Instagram and create posts, cool. If not, that's fine too. To me, running the business, this is the hardest part, is the marketing, right? It's getting eyes, it's getting the people in the door. And I don't wanna outsource that to my team members.
I want that to be my responsibility. And then they can just focus on delivering the service. If they like doing the marketing, if they like creating content, amazing. I can lean into that. But I would never mandate that. Um, I think that it, it is a slippery slope cuz then they're like, well, why the fuck would I work here if I can get my own clients and I can do all the things?
I, I think just let them be the best at what they wanna be the best at, which is oftentimes delivering the actual service.
A nice way though to integrate them into the, the, the social media account and Instagram into the, into the Instagram account. Whoa. Is, could be Stories. And have 'em do a takeover on the weekend and just show what their weekend is like and, and what they're like. And then that can just be saved to, to a highlight, right?
Uh, additional topics, ideas for Stories, let people get a feel for your space. Do a little tour, show what it's like. What does it look like outside?
Um, I have a next point on this outline, which is that I don't love autoresponders. And the reason I say this is because Stories is where DMs come from.
It's where the conversation comes from. So I get it that, you know, you kind of can serve as like an answering machine. Um, but I don't love 'em. Cause sometimes they're just so out of context. Where someone will just like, like your post and then like this weird autoresponder comes up. So, I personally would look to maybe batch your responses, meaning like, just respond at like on one day, even if it's like just later.
Um, or check it, you know, at a, at a frequency that that works for you. Um, mainly cuz a lot of the auto responders I see don't direct people to where to go. They're just like, they don't, they don't necessarily give them action items. So I don't love auto responders. If you think it fits well for your business, then you can, um, but the main things that I want you to use social- use Stories to humanize yourself and your team members and the business as a whole.
As it relates to growth on social media, I think we're gonna see this from two parts. One is that you can use, I still got something in my eye. One is that you can use local hashtags. Um, I do think that there are certain people out there that do search lo- search locally. Um, so whether it's like the town name and physical therapy, the town name in general, um, see what other businesses, other local businesses are doing, and that could be a viable solution for you.
And then the second part is gonna be to follow, connect with, and shout out other local businesses. Like build genuine relationships and then share that stuff. Share that they have a good post, you went there, you're interacting with them, whatever. Share that in your Stories. Right? Support them. That, that creates, right, we said in, in a previous episode, um, the networking episode, if you could drop that, Courtney, thank you. Um, where the Go-Giver has redefined networking and a network and, and in that book they define it as a group of people who are personally invested in seeing you succeed. And the way that we can cultivate that is by being personally invested in seeing other people succeed. In this case, other local businesses.
Your best bet for customer growth, however, is going to be SEO. Right? Lex really put me onto this. I don't have a brick and mortar, so I'm not really leaning as much into SEO. Um, does it work for the online space? Yes. It's like a little harder to rank for things, but um, if you are looking to learn more or get more into SEO, that's going to be Lex Lancaster again, she's the queen of especially brick and mortar, um, SEO.
I had a phenomenal discussion with Mike and he actually, we did a- Mike is from The Prehab Guys, and we did a presentation with him and two other people, and he said, cuz one of the people in the audience was asking about using social media for their brick and mortar. And Mike said, “Do not think that having 1 million followers”, cause they have 1 million followers, “is what brings us in-person, clients and patients, or fills our clinic.”
What fills our clinic? What fills the, the rosters there is gonna be word of mouth. And I was like, this is such a phenomenal point here. Because people think like, oh yeah, it's this massive following, but the people online want the online stuff and they're not able to get into the clinic. So yes, could it bring some in, perhaps, but your in-person efforts are gonna yield your in-person clients.
So to summarize here, take a step back, take a step out, 30,000 foot view, zoom out, summarizing the episode. When it comes to using Instagram for in-person services, your best bet is to treat Instagram like a website, and then spend your time and effort, serving your current clients, serving your community, and again, my best resource, my favorite resource for this is my, one of my newer clients, Chad Burnham. He's Chad underscore Burnham on Instagram and he has a thriving, thriving in-person business. Um, and he is now doing some B2B coaching, business to business coaching, and helping, um, folks who wanna transition their insurance-based practice to a cash-based practice. Um, but a lot of what he talks about in terms of just building the practice is going to be those in-person efforts. So if you want more ideas from that, that's my guy, Chad.
Um, but when it comes to using Instagram for online for, excuse me, when it comes to using Instagram for in-person services, remember, treat it like a website and then save your time, and then use that time and that effort to serve your current clients, cuz they will go and tell other people, right? That's that word of mouth. You're gonna serve your community, get into the community, pound the pavement, and lean into S E O. S E O is search engine optimization. So when people go and search for the service that you offer, right, they search for a solution to their problem, your business comes up. And that's gonna be my girl, Lex Lancaster. We'll drop all the information in the show notes.
In-person efforts yield in-person clients online. Efforts yield online clients. Remember that distinction. If you got questions, comments, concerns, additions, subtractions hit me up.
I love talking about this stuff. Um, but hopefully this answers those initial questions that you may have about using Instagram for in-person business. All right? All right. That's all I got for you. As always, endlessly, endlessly appreciative, and for every single one of you. Until next time, friends, Maestro out.
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MOTM #469: The Best Software and Platforms for Online Business
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MOTM #466: Networking for Newbies
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