Pedddle Founder Nicki recently spoke to Helen Perry! Helen helps small business owners get to grips with Instagram and be more comfortable about posting, and grow their email marketing campaigns. She also hosts the Just Bloody Post It podcast, about showing up on the internet.
You can watch the IGTV below (via the PedddleUK Instagram IGTV), but these are the main highlights:
Main take-aways from the IGTV Live chat:
In 5 words, can you sum up what guides your content strategy?
‘I will add value always’. I’m always looking to share value and truly useful things.
This can be useful for any business, as you really want to make a connection with your audience so that they trust what you offer. To do this effectively, you need to give them something, and in return they’ll give you their custom. It’s important to prove and show what you can do, and build trust.
Keep talking about yourself
It’s so hard to feel like you might be boring your audience, but be aware that it’s not always the same people that are looking at you all of the time. You’ll pick up different people along the way, so it’s important to keep showing them what you do.
It’s not vital that you’re on Instagram – but it IS vital that you do some form of marketing
Customers need several chances to see what you’re offering before they’ll buy from you. If you don’t want to connect with Instagram (which is great for product businesses), it’s vital to have some form of marketing, be it other social media platforms, a website, mailing list and so on. It’s all about being present and putting your message out there.
You don’t need to post every day
Consistency doesn’t mean posting every single day, just post when you can. Consistent posting means adding value and authenticity in your posts. Remember – add value always!
What does Just Bloody Post It mean?
It’s the answer to everything – Just Bloody Post It! So many people second guess themselves or don’t have confidence in what they’re posting, but I’ve always found that what will sell, get you more followers, and grow your audience is trying to find your voice. Some posts won’t hit the mark and they won’t get many likes, but if you don’t post then you’ll never find out what does and doesn’t work! Showing up is key, and that is how you learn.
Learn in the open – don’t be embarrassed or you can fall into the trap of telling people what you think they want to hear, rather than being authentic to yourself and actually finding out what they want to hear.
How can you build your email list?
When selling via a website, have a subscription box. When you’re selling at a market you could collect email addresses, or ask customers to opt in each time you sell a product. You could offer freebies or a discount for signing up, or ask your Instagram audience if they’d like to sign up to be first to know about new releases etc. You could also consider adding a QR code to your stall postcards.
Speaking of QR codes…
We have a BRAND NEW feature here at Pedddle, where stallholders can add their very own personalised QR code to their Pedddle board! Once customers scan this code/ a Pedddle board at a market, they can sign up directly to that stallholder’s emailing list.
This QR code also allows access to special market day discounts and lets customers Favourite both stallholders and markets, so you can easily see what’s on and where your favourite stallholders will be exhibiting.
Catch up further with Helen…
Check out the Just Bloody Post It podcast, which Helen hosts. She holds conversations with artists, creators, coaches, influencers and more, talking about showing up on the internet and just bloody posting it! There’s two whole series’ worth of brilliant podcast chats for you to catch up on!
You can also sign up to Helen’s email newsletter if you click the link on her insta bio, to find out more about her work and what she’s up to right now.
Click here to visit her website.
Watch the full IGTV Live here:
We hope this helps you to grow your Instagram further and plan your email marketing strategy better in 2022. Good luck! Check out our other blogs for further small business tips.