Have you got questions about Instagram? Don’t worry – we’ve got the answers! Well, Katie does!
This week, Katie does a deep dive on YOUR Instagram questions. For episode 80 of The Whin Big Podcast, we’ve chosen three of the most asked listener questions to help you with your Instagram marketing strategy. We cover a range of Instagram topics, like dealing with spammer comments, how to share other people’s content with respect, and how to keep hold of your Instagram followers.
Today's episode is sponsored by the Instagram MOT. This 20-point checklist and free training are freshly updated, so get stuck in to find out if your profile is fit for purpose or needs some attention! Click on the big yellow button below to get started right away.
Listener questions about Instagram – answered.
Katie loves hosting listener questions because new themes and topics always come up that she didn’t know were real-life conundrums.
Katie loves answering your questions full stop – so if you have anything at all you’d like to ask her about Instagram marketing, Instagram for business, or Instagram in general – send her a wee DM on Instagram. She’ll answer your questions straight away.
Better yet – if it’s a question that gets asked regularly, Katie will dedicate an episode of The Whin Big Podcast to answering it. Just like she has today.
Q1: John asks: How do you deal with annoying spam messages while remaining professional?
There’s no getting away from spammers on Instagram or anywhere else. Staying professional is tough when you’ve come to the end of your patience with yet another message offering you 10,000 followers.
Katie, the consummate professional, has not one but two approaches to help you deal with spam messages while maintaining a professional stance.
Spam response #1: Ignore & delete the spammers
Got a spam message that you don’t want to deal with? Ignore and delete is a great way just to wipe the slate clean and pretend it never happened. For some reason, Katie’s always being offered crypto-currency support from bots around the world. A swift ‘delete’ and all is back to normal.
Spam response #2: The polite spammer approach
Sometimes, spam comes in the shape of a slightly strange message. At first glance, it feels like spam, but at the same time, it could be someone who’s trying out sales tactics (badly), and it’s not a bot at all.
Ever had one of those?
Katie’s advice is to reply as politely as possible – as if it’s someone’s nana. Respectful, but awkward. If you’re fed up with comments along the lines of ‘hey – DM me, I have a question you might want to try commenting like this:
“Hi! My inbox is always open. If you have any questions, please do get in touch”.
A response like this is perfect because you keep a professional public face, respond to the possible spammer humanely, and show anyone who reads it that you’re always available – and most importantly, open – to the idea of people getting into your DMs and asking questions.
Q2: Calum asks: How do you convert the non-followers who like or see your post into followers?
Calum is frustrated because he gets a high percentage of engagement on his posts from non-followers, but his follower number doesn’t go up. He’s looking for tips on converting those non-followers into avid fans.
You might remember that Katie talked about Insights in this episode of The Whin Big Podcast. Katie reminds us that it’s essential to get your posts in front of non-followers to grow your audience.
So what’s going on if those non-followers don’t then go on to follow you? Katie says it boils down to two things:
Instagram hashtags
Your hashtags might not be appropriately targeted to your ideal customers, meaning the people who see your content don’t match your perfect audience profile, and you’re accidentally showing your content in the wrong places.
If hashtags are a puzzle for you, or you don’t know how to pick the right ones for your business – have a listen to the Whin Big Podcast episode 75 – how to choose good hashtags for your business. It’s a podcast that takes you on a deep dive on hashtag strategy, and episode 38, where we look at how to do hashtag strategy on Instagram.
Instagram content
Your content isn’t aligned with your ideal audience.
“Think about who you’re trying to speak to. And then create content around what they want to hear.”
When you think about the content you produce, can you see how it could be a series? Katie gives the example of having ‘Motivational Monday’ quotes. These could easily have the same style of post every Monday. It goes a long way to helping your community recognise your content and instantly connect with it.
Q2: Calum asks: How do you convert the non-followers who like or see your post into followers?
This topic has a LOT of grey areas. Sometimes it’s OK to share content from other accounts. Other times – not so much. Let’s dig a little deeper to find out more…
If you’re sharing someone’s content to your Stories by using the aeroplane symbol and sending it straight to your stories, then it’s absolutely fine.
It’s double-fine if you tag the account at the same time – that way, they’ll get a notification, which means they’ll see that you’ve shared it, and there’s no nasty surprises.
But what if I want to use someone else’s content in my own Instagram feed?
This is where it can get a little sketchy. If your account is mostly about curating and supporting other businesses – then it’s great to share someone else’s content. Katie had this experience when someone re-shared her post about a free webinar she hosted.
Katie was grateful – it was great to be included, but it was also free publicity for her free Instagram marketing webinar.
The flip side of sharing other people’s content…
If Katie discovered someone had used her own carefully designed Canva graphics to use to market their services and products – she would be (understandably) frustrated.
When you’re sharing, think about:
- Could it look like you’re using someone else’s content for your gain?
- Does it feel a little bit wrong? How would you feel if someone used your post like this for their purposes? If it doesn’t feel entirely correct – it’s probably not.
- Are you worried the creator would say no if you asked permission to use it?
If you answer ‘yes’ to the above questions, then it’s probably not okay for you to go ahead and share the content. Katie recommends getting in touch with the person who created the content and starts a conversation on DM.
“Be mindful about how other people might feel to have their content reshared and make sure you’re respectful of the time and effort people put into creating it – even if they’re doing it for fun, not for business.”
Got Instagram questions of your own?
Katie LOVES answering listener (or reader) questions. If you have any of your own, then please do get in touch with Katie at The Whin on Instagram or by sending an email.
Can you do us a favour?
If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review. We’re always looking for ways to bring more people into the Whin Big Podcast family, so please share this episode with a business friend who would make great use of everything Katie shares.
Did you find this episode useful?
If you did, we’d love it if you could share it with a friend, leave a review or send us a DM to tell us your thoughts.
You can DM Katie over on Instagram.
Resources in episode 80 of The Whin Big Podcast
“Your sales posts might not get the highest reach, the most comments and saves, but they’ll tell interested people – those who are excited to work with you – exactly how they can buy from you.”
Keeping organised with Canva
If you have a Pro subscription, they have a scheduling tool. While Katie acknowledges that it’s handy, she doesn’t feel that it’s essential because you can schedule your posts directly into Instagram Creator Studio. If you don’t know what Instagram Creator Studio is, don’t worry, we covered that in a previous episode!
Designing and posting effortlessly
When it comes to keeping organised and sticking to a content plan, Katie finds the link between the mobile app and desktop handy.
She will design a more complex graphic using her desktop – something she finds easy with a large screen and a mouse – and then quickly edit from her phone to post when she needs to, wherever she is, or whatever she’s doing.
Think about:
- What are the obstacles that stop you from getting great designs on Instagram?
- What’s making Canva feel like a ‘hassle’?
- What can you do to take the effort and faffing out of the process?
Did you find this episode useful?
If you did, we’d love it if you could share it with a friend, leave a review or send us a DM to tell us your thoughts.
You can DM Katie over on Instagram.
Resources in episode 78 of The Whin Big Podcast
Want to know more about Instagram Creator Studio? Episode 40 of The Whin Big Podcast gives you all the information you need to get started.
Want to get even more out of Canva? Meet Thea Newcomb, one of only 2 Canva trainers in Scotland and Katie’s guest on episode 55 of The Whin Big Podcast
