Episode 109: Organically Growing Your Instagram Following For Your Pet Sitting Or Dog Walking Business

Are you hearing that Instagram is a great way to get more followers and customers but just confused as all heck on how to use it? Maybe you started using it but have no idea how you can convert your time and energy in the platform into tangible success? Do you just blindly post without a strategy and see little engagement from local pet owners? Is your follower based more other businesses instead of pet owners? If any of these questions resonate with you, then you'll definitely want to tune in to this episode as Erika and I break down exactly how you can organically grow your following on Instagram for your pet sitting or dog walking business. Biggest Takeaways You Don't Want to Miss: How Do I Get More Instagram Followers? The number one question that business owners ask is how do I get more followers? Before we can get into that, it's important that we make the distinction between relevant and irrelevant followers. It is much better to have just 250 followers of local pet owners following your account rather than 1,000 random accounts from around the world that will never use your service. Therefore, it's not the quantity of followers that is most important, but the quality! How Do I Grow My Local Audience On Instagram? First and foremost, you want to make sure you are using a business profile that is set up and optimized. This means using a professional username (tip: try to keep it as close to your URL as possible), linking your website, and using a high-quality logo as your profile photo. Next, you want to start following local pet owners - like and comment on their photos! Although it will take time, eventually they will start to notice you and will remember you when they need your service. But, don't be annoying! You can also follow local hashtags that your prospective clients follow and search location tags in your area to look for pet owners. Search for nearby businesses, parks, etc. and follow/engage with their followers who are pet owners. Also be sure to see what your current clients post and the hashtags that they use. Use this same technique by partnering with local businesses that share the same target audience. You can run contests that will help boost engagement!  On your own profile, you have to put time and effort into consistent posting and be engaging. You can extend your reach with Instagram ads when you have a promotion. Lastly, you can check out Instagram accounts for a local business that's a competitor. Try to study what they're posting and see what's working for them. It doesn't hurt to follow their ideas, but perhaps you can think of even better ideas. Brainstorm with your employees as well! Also, if your competitors have followers, they might be more likely to follow you back since they already like the same type of business. What Hashtags Should I Use? First, you'll need to find the hashtags that your clients are following so you can appear in their feed when they are browsing. Leverage these local hashtags and ask engaging questions! You can use the notepad on your phone to save a few groups of hashtags to copy and paste into the comments section easily. Once you're following a good amount of Instagram users in your area, be sure to like their photos! Continue to like their photos and comment. Eventually, the local Instagram users you follow will follow you back and interact with you. It does take time and you need to be persistent. But don't act desperate or pushy!   Should I Buy Followers Or Use An Engagement Bot? Absolutely, NOT! Scheduling software is okay but never, ever, ever buy followers or use an engagement bot that auto-likes or auto-comments.   How Can I Get People To Actually Contact Me On Instagram? The number one way is to publish relevant, interesting content that affects prospective clients emotionally. You don't want to sell and you don't want to overpost either. Avoid unthoughtful comments that might be mistaken for a bot. Engage with local pet owners. Be human and be genuine! Interact and respond to comments, messages etc. Lastly, create a pattern and use Instagram stories! How Can We Use Instagram Stories To Generate Leads? Show your business! Have your staff record videos of playing with pets, walking dogs etc. Show off what makes you AWESOME! Be sure to touch on pain points your are solving (think trust and security). Make people want to care about what you are saying by sharing valuable information. Show people you are trustworthy, reliable, and knowledgeable! Resources & Links Agora Pulse Wave.video Visual Content Marketing Strategy Share The Show Did you enjoy the show? We would love it if you subscribed today and left us a 5-star review! Click this link – Bella In Your Business Click on the ‘Subscribe’ button below the artwork Go to the ‘Ratings and Reviews’ section Click on ‘Write a Review’ Transcript: This is episode 109 of Bella in Your Business. The next series of episodes are from a previously recorded live event training series that Erica Goodwin and I did together. The following is a past recording, but the information is just as juicy. I hope you enjoy it. Welcome to Bella in Your Business, where Bella will discuss anything and everything about your pet sitting business to help you land on target. So get ready—Bella's got your chute. Let's jump. Hi everybody. Have you guys ever been wondering about all this Instagram stuff going on? Everyone talks about Instagram and how it's the second largest, most popular social media tool, but you have no idea how to use it, or you just post a picture of a cute dog and think, what is this even for? What am I doing? Today we’re going to help you with everything you need to know about how to organically grow your Instagram following locally so you can grow your business. My name is Bella Vasta, and I am the owner of Jump Consulting, and my co-host here—I'll let her introduce herself. Erica: My name is Erica Godwin, and I am the co-founder of ProPet Software and the owner of Barketing Solutions. Bella: Incredible. And so today, Erica, I am so excited to actually have you teach us all about Instagram, myself included, because what our audience might not know is that the reason why we connected is because you were killing it on Instagram. I love what you’re doing and the engagement you get. It’s not just likes—you actually get people to talk to you. I think it’s incredible. So I want to dive deep with you today and have you teach all of us everything we need to know. Before we get into it, I want to remind our audience that these shows take a ton of work, time, and money to put out, whether you realize it or not. We have teams helping us launch the show notes and the bots and everything, and the only way we can do that is because of our sponsors, which happen to be two of our products. Erica: Barketing Solutions websites are templated websites. We actually just relaunched our products to have different levels so you can choose from a template website, and if you want more customizations, we have higher levels where you can get that. We also take care of your monthly maintenance, support, and updates with premium plugins added as we grow. Bella: You can check that out—it’s incredible. I also have the Jump Mastermind, where pet sitters are really changing their business and personal lives by getting accountability, goal tracking, and learning from experts. If you’re a business that needs a kick in the butt and accountability, check out the Jump Consulting Mastermind Group. So without further ado, let’s get into this. Erica, break it down for me—what’s really important on Instagram? Everyone’s trying to get 10,000 followers so they can use the swipe-up feature, but what’s the difference between that and relevant followers? Erica: I’d love to have 10,000 followers for the swipe-up, but I’m not going to buy followers—it’s a waste of money and hurts your brand. I see pet accounts that are brand new and suddenly have 2,000 followers but only get five likes per photo. If that’s you, get rid of your fake followers. It’s only hurting you. Bella: So it’s just like Facebook then—it doesn’t matter how many people like your page, it’s about the algorithm and engagement, right? Erica: Exactly. You should be getting people engaging with your content. It’s not about who follows you—it’s better to have 50 engaged followers than 2,000 who don’t even know you exist. Engagement is key. Bella: That makes total sense. So how do we actually grow that local audience? Is there a difference between my personal profile and a business profile? Erica: Yes. Once Instagram was purchased by Facebook, they introduced business profiles. If you’re not using one, switch now. It gives you insights (analytics), lets you add contact buttons, and connect to Facebook. The insights show which content performs best so you can adjust your strategy. Bella: But some people say switching to a business profile hurts your visibility. What do you think? Erica: I’ve never had issues. It’s all about content, not the type of account. If you’re posting random dog photos without a story, people won’t engage, regardless of account type. Bella: Earlier, you mentioned following and engaging with people to build top-of-mind awareness. Isn’t that a little stalker-ish? Erica: Kind of—but in a good way. Both my companies started from this strategy. It’s non-creepy stalking. Find people who might be interested in your services. Use geotags like dog parks in your area. For example, here in Ottawa, there’s Bruce Pit and Conroy Pit. Everyone posts dog photos there. Those are potential clients! Follow them, like their photos, and leave genuine comments—not bot-like ones. Bella: That’s incredible. Erica: Don’t do it once and stop. Keep engaging consistently. Also,