How to Turn Followers into Cash Flow

1k Followers on Instagram and $0 in my bank account. How to turn followers into cash flow. 

So you’ve started a business page on Instagram now what? Developing a social media presence is a great move for any business. Most businesses start with Instagram and Facebook, both of these are great platforms to reach a wider audience and help you build your brand name. Today our focus is on Instagram and how to convert those likes into dollars in your bank account.

Let’s start at the beginning with quality content. This is an essential part of any money making Instagram page. Leaving Stories and IGTV out of the equation for this moment, we are just going to start with your feed. This content has 2 components picture and text and they are both important. 

The first thing you need to do is build an audience. You do that by producing quality content. First that means quality images. If you need help with that just do a quick Pinterest search, you’ll get thousands of tips for taking light and airy swoon worthy instagram pics. Think about things like light backgrounds, cohesive color schemes and showing your own pretty face. Also people are more likely to like an image if it is a picture of a person. (Specifically the person that they are following versus just pretty images.)    

The second part of the content is the words. This is your chance to connect with your audience. A well known marketing principle is the “like, know, trust” trifecta. If you aren’t familiar with that idea think of it like this; if you have a product you’re dying to buy and it was the same price from 2 sources, one being your bestie and one being a stranger. Who would you buy it from? You’d likely do business with the person you like, know, and trust. Images and the stories behind them are a fantastic way to build up that personal connection with your audience. First they see you, then they get to know you then they decide they like you. (And of course they do, who wouldn’t?) 

Ok, so now you’ve built a loyal audience who loves seeing your images and reading your content. Your likes are skyrocketing and you’re ready to start making some money. Good for you. But nobody wants to feel like a pushy salesperson, so the key here is not to be pushy. There are 2 things you need to do: 

  1. Provide value
  2. Make small asks

What does that mean? Well, providing value for your sunless tanning business can be things like, tips to prolong your tan, how to prime your skin, or photography tips to show off your new bronze skin. Anything that one of your clients might ask, you can answer or explain in an instagram post along with a gorgeous picture. The second part is about training your audience. Start making small asks. Not selling anything, just asking for participation. Ask them to double tap, ask them to drop an emoji, ask them for their opinion. Then interact with their responses. The idea is that you’re training your audience to engage with you on a regular basis.  

 Interacting with them boosts their loyalty to you. It begins to feel personal and not corporate. Then every now and then you drop a freebie, like a discounted service, or sample of primer. Just as sparingly as you give away a freebie, you can make a slightly bigger ask of your audience. Ask for things like their email address or to book their 1st summer session. Your audience will be so used to visiting your page to get great content and in the habit of interacting that when you make the big asks of your audience it will pay off. 

 Don’t forget to tag us in your feed as you build out your page! We love seeing all our Evolv Boss babes killin’ it with their business pages. Remember to keep checking back in here and we will keep posting business tips to help you grow. Do you have a tip we’ve missed?? Drop us a comment!