Episode #079 Why you should consider Instagram Bookkeeping – hosted by Angie Martin

• Blog post partner to this podcast: Number 1 Instagram for Bookkeeping Businesses
• Blog post partner to this podcast: Number 2 Top 9 reasons to be a Bookkeeper on Instagram
• See The Savvy Bookkeeper on Instagram
• Podcast 74 about why Social Media for Bookkeepers is needed
• Book a free initial consultation with me (Angie)

Why you should consider Instagram Bookkeeping – hosted by Angie Martin

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

instagram, bookkeepers, business, clients, platform, creating, people, bookkeeping, facebook, posts, linkedin, content, amy, fantastic, engagement, misconception, amazing, website, hashtags

00:03

Good morning, everyone. This is Angie coming from the Savvy team to talk about another one of our additions of our social media podcast series that we have been doing over the last couple of weeks on the bookkeepers voice. So super excited to do this one. Instagram has been on my radar for quite a while for different kinds of businesses and some super excited to be able to share with you a little bit of my knowledge on the platform to help you really understand whether or not your bookkeeping business should have a presence on Instagram. Instagram is a bit of a different platform opposed to Facebook, or LinkedIn as Instagram will work really well for some of bookkeepers and not so well for other bookkeepers. So I wanted to kind of go through some information about Instagram first before we go into the actual platform so as we've been doing the last couple weeks we're going to do a two part series for this one and do more of an information bit about Instagram On this episode and then our next episode next week is going to be more about the actual ins and outs of the platform and helping you optimise your profile and optimise your actual content that is going out as well. So here we go.

01:35

My main point for this episode is if you aren't on Instagram, you may be missing out on massive marketing opportunities. This is a massive social media platform now and a lot of business is going through Instagram. So if you aren't sure whether or not you should be on Instagram, make sure you definitely listen to both of these episodes I'm going to be doing because if you should be on Instagram, I want you to get on Instagram basically as soon as possible to really help you business so

02:10

a lot about Instagram there's a lot of misconceptions about Instagram and a lot of service based businesses especially bookkeepers kind of think of Instagram as a platform that you just post pretty pictures, and how is it going to help your business? This is actually not true. So Instagram has a several different ways that you can actually create lead generation and sales through its platform. And as it's a new platform, it's still continually rolling out new ways of creating engagement and creating actual realistic ways of businesses being able to make a living through Instagram. And that's not talking about becoming an Instagram influencer.

03:00

or selling your products. This is actually for service based businesses as well. So here are some quick Fast Facts about Instagram. Since it was launched in 2010. It has over 50 million users. And it as of when Instagram was bought out by Facebook back in 2012. It was

03:27

purchased at a billion dollars, but it only has 30 million users. So back in 2012, it had 30 million users and now it has over 500 million users. That is a massive platform growth in just a couple of years.

03:45

Overall 60% of Instagram users log on daily, making it the second highest engaging network opposed to Facebook. So because Facebook owns Instagram, it's no longer competing against itself. So the fact that 60% of Instagram users check Instagram daily, and most check it multiple times in one day, this is a massive platform to be on in a different way of connecting with your consumers and your clients as opposed to Facebook, which I'll go into that a little bit more. But another fast fact that I like doing is that 30% of internet users use Instagram, which doesn't sound like a lot. But if you think about the whole world population in the fact that this company is still relatively young, this platform is still very young opposed to Facebook or Instagram, sorry, Facebook or LinkedIn or anything like that. The fact that 30% of all internet users use Instagram is massive. And with that, 90% of Instagram new users are under the age of 35. So that is a very important stat to remember when you're considering who your client base is and who your ideal client is. If your ideal clients are young, innovative and driven business owners, who have you know, new businesses or have just taken over businesses, anything like that this should be a platform that you're considering.

Instagram has 48% of businesses and brands on it

05:29

Wow, this is a crazy stuff. It makes me just baffled. Over 40 million photos have been shared on this platform since its inception. That's just insane amount of photos. And it's continually growing so Instagram tracks up to 3.5 billion likes every single day, that is a lot of engagement that can lead to possible new clients for you with the amount of engagement it's no wonder that 48% of brands and businesses are now on Instagram. This is not a secret anymore. Instagram is a money maker for service based businesses and product based businesses. So although it is not a secret, a lot of bookkeepers and a lot of people in the same industry are not taking advantage of the platform and are not using it the way it can be used. A lot more product based businesses are taking notice of Instagram; whereas service based businesses aren't as much so this is a fantastic opportunity for you to reach your clients on the platform they are on all the time. Which is why we are doing this episode!

Instagram gets 10 times the engagement than Facebook

So another thing that is a really important stat that you should know is that engagement on Instagram are

07:00

10 times higher than on Facebook 54 times higher than on Pinterest, and 84 times higher than on Twitter. Now, this is the most important stat that I wanted to read out and why I left it to the last.

Is Instagram only for visual products ?

08:46

misconception number one, it only works if you sell visual products, hundred percent No, that is incorrect. So Instagram isn't all about

08:59

selling those sexy products or anything like that is a place where you can show your creativity and show what your company is all about. So the whole point of Instagram is kind of letting people see behind the curtain and really communicating a bit more with your clients. You don't need to sell a physical product. Yes, Instagram has been focusing a lot on product based businesses. But that's just because they're the ones who are picking up the platform faster. Instagram is amazing for service based businesses. And it's something that we just got off the hook Amy's bookkeeping business on Instagram a couple months ago, and right away, we started to see increased engagement, and we even received potential massive potential clients off of the platform.

09:54

bookkeeping off the hook bookkeeping is a bookkeeping service. It's a service based business. Immediately, we started to see an increase in overall engagement and reach. So as soon as you get on that platform, as long as you are, should be on the platform for your clients, this can be a very lucrative and very successful marketing channel for you.

Is Instagram only for big brands ?

Another misconception is that it's only for big brands. This is again, not true. Instagram actually is really well suited for small based businesses, because it's such a great way of connecting with your clients, through the use of stories and posts and everything, you're able to connect with your clients on a different level than you would on Facebook. And it also gets the opportunity of being able to browse other like minded people and follow hashtags that are really similar to what your clients would be following as well. So it's a really fantastic and much more interactive way of connecting with your So it's definitely not just for big brands. In fact, I'm at avid Instagram lover and I follow multiple brands and not one of them are big brands. And it's very few people that I know who actually follow big brands. It's usually the smaller brands they follow on Instagram because it's interesting to watch. It's interesting to see behind the scenes, it's interesting to create that connection, which then creates a really strong loyal client base. It's really fantastic phenomenon.

Is Instagram only for posting photos ?

Instagram is also only for posting photos. I love this misconception. People say it to me all the time, especially bookkeepers. There's something about you guys with Instagram. I don't know what it is. But you know, part of it Yes, Instagram is an image based content platform. That is what it is. But if you only are thinking About the images, you're missing a really key ingredient to how the platform works in general.

12:09

Instagram is a two way platform basically. So it's all about user generated content that other platforms such as Facebook, and LinkedIn just can't replicate. That is what makes Instagram so powerful. So the great thing about Instagram is that you can post anything about your business, you can post blog links, if you use later, you can use Linkin.Bio, which directly puts if you click Linkin.Bio on the photo, it'll go directly to the link that you want it to go. You're able to do stories for more behind the scenes, creating more interactive networking and interactive

13:00

can always watch it to understand a little bit more about you. For service based platforms, I also think it's one of the best ways of offering tips and tricks into the industry to create that value added content that is always wanted for service based businesses on platforms such as social media. Another thing that's really great is the actual user generated content. So Instagram is amazing at being able to connect with other people and really take advantage of user generated content. user generated content for anyone who doesn't know is when someone does a story about you and then tags you or if someone posts a photo about you and then tags you it comes up on your feed, and you can then share it to everyone else, is a fantastic way of connecting and promoting one another on the platform and it is a really great way of creating that

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consumer trust and social trust within your network. It's similar to writing a review. But it's much more engaging and much more interactive. So instead of someone giving you five stars, they can give you five stars on Instagram or Google business listings. But then they can go on LinkedIn and do a story about why they loved you what is so amazing about you, and it can be then shared to your Instagram and saved as a highlight so that people can go back and experience this great consumer feedback that could possibly lead you to landing your next big client. So that is one of the things that Instagram does really, really well and no other platforms can really touch it in regards to that. So it's definitely something to always keep in mind especially once again, if your client and ideal clients are on Instagram if they are using Instagram 100%

Can Instagram monitor results ?

15:00

They will be wanting to equally promote you and have you promote them on Instagram. It's a really social networking kind of feel. Everyone wants to celebrate everyone's business on Instagram. And it's a great way of connecting with your clients. Another misconception that is out there is that the results on Instagram can't be monitored. I don't know why this is a misconception. I actually love Instagram analytics. I think it's amazing. It's actually technically called insights, but still analytics. I find it one of the easiest platforms to actually get exactly the information that I need. There are other analytic apps that you can use to get even more information out of Instagram. But it's a fantastic tool, especially for people who might be new to marketing and don't know all

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the ins and outs of all the different applications that analytics can give you. The Instagram insights section on the app is amazing and it's really clear for you to understand, not only does it tell you when your clients are on most what days they're on what hours are on each day. It also tells you what posts are doing the best what stories are being the most successful and the most watched, where you're getting your engagement from, to help you further pinpoint what is working with your clients and what isn't working. So it helps you really clearly and easily analyse what content is working, how people are reacting and it helps you make really quick decisions when creating or adjusting your digital marketing strategy. I love it. It's amazing. Another Instagram misconception that is out there and it's kind of gone away a little bit is that Instagram sells your photos.

Does Instagram sell your photos ?

17:01

Back in 2012, when Facebook bought Instagram, Facebook rewrote the terms and conditions and they worded it poorly. So it sounded like they were going to sell your content off, which for most people, it really doesn't matter unless you're an influencer a business, like a product business or a photographer. That would have been a really big issue. But for bookkeepers, it's not that big of a deal. Also, since then, since there was a massive outcry with their poor wording, they have completely changed. And it says in the terms and conditions that no we do not sell the images that are posted in there 100% yours that once they're posted on Instagram, so

17:44

it's something that you never need to worry about. And I couldn't see you guys worrying about it. Anyways, I thought I just mentioned that. It's worth just saying.

I've got Facebook why do I need Instagram ?

17:55

A lot of things that you guys say to me when I bring up Instagram, well, I use Facebook, why do I need Instagram? Why do I need to worry about another platform to post on? And the truth is, some of you don't. Let's just be honest, some of you and your clients are not suited to be on Instagram. It's just like some of you and your clients aren't suited to be on LinkedIn. Pretty much all of you are suited to be on Facebook. But some of you are not suited to be on one or the other. Just like some of you are really well suited to be on Twitter, but not maybe Instagram or Pinterest or something like that. Every business is different because of your different clients that you want to reach. So the difference between

18:46

Facebook and Instagram is that over the years, Facebook has been really trying to Yes, they do a lot of promotion. They do a lot of focus for businesses, but Facebook is still really more a friends and family Kind of centred business, where Instagram is all about having people on your feet that you don't know that you wanted to engage with that you find interesting and entertaining to be involved with and watch things play out or just stay up on the news that they're promoting or anything like that. Which is completely different than Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn, sorry, Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Instagram is about reaching out and connecting with people. It's about engaging, and it's about getting involved as well. So what people do quite often is if they like a post, or like an image or something on Instagram, they can share it then to their own platform, which is again, an amazing opportunity for bookkeepers, but it makes it just that much more different than Facebook. And it's also a very different, like consumer base as well in mindset. So Typically, when people are on Facebook, they're a bit more close to looking at new profiles, they just want to check out what's on their newsfeed. And that's pretty much it.

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on LinkedIn, it's all about business. Whereas on Instagram, it's a little bit of both that you want to check out your friends on your newsfeed, but you also want to check out everything else that's out there right now. It's called basically the Instagram hole, you go on your browser, and then you get stuck in a hole for an hour or more, just exploring. Instagram is about exploring and about engaging and who you can engage with next. It's just how the platform works. And the reason it works really well for bookkeepers is that you're in a bit of a bubble right now with everything that's happening with COVID. And although COVID is a horrible thing to happen to us, as a nation and us as a

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world population is actually a secret kind of influx for bookkeepers as that now, people are understanding more about what you do and what services you can provide and how you can really help their business. And this is something that you want people to discover. So if your clients are on Instagram, this is a fantastic time to be on the platform, to let them know how you can help them and let them know what you're all about. Introduce yourself to them, let them know who you are. This is the perfect opportunity to get a presence on Instagram. And again, we did this with Amy just a couple months ago and she's gotten contacts from her Instagram account because we post pictures of her and because we let people in on a little bit of the background of the business and we don't do it by any means a whole heap, you can go through and read the content that we do, it's still very, you know, there's still very much a line there. But it's just enough that people can connect with the business. And that is what is amazing about Instagram, you're able to connect on a different level than you would on Facebook or on LinkedIn. So it's really fantastic. As you can see, I love it.

Why you should be on Instagram

Now, I wanted to go through and really further discuss the main reasons why you should be on Instagram, because they are a little bit different from Facebook and LinkedIn. So I really wanted to go through and just kind of chat about it a little bit more. They're going to be the same base reasons to be on social media, but they're going to be a little bit different because Instagram is so dramatically different from the other two platforms that we have featured in the series. So, once again, Instagram is amazing with brand awareness is one of the strongest influencer and creating brand awareness on inner digital space right now. And

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it's really interesting 38% of shoppers said that they're influenced by Instagrams, like by businesses, Instagram feeds, and that they are influenced to then go to their website through their Instagram page opposed to their Facebook page, which is a really interesting concept. And I have to say, I'm actually guilty of this as well. It's very rare for me to look at any business that I don't already know on Facebook, but on Instagram, I will actually go and look at other businesses and explore a bit more. I don't know what it is, but I feel more comfortable doing it on Instagram than I do on Facebook and From that stat a lot of other people do as well.

Instagram networks build organically

24:04

One thing that is also really, really fantastic about Instagram is the fact that it's a platform you can really build organically because it's so heavily focused on hashtags and so heavily focused on what you're all about. It's really easy to grow your followership. And it's really easy because of the way that the browsing works. And the Discover section in the app, if someone likes your content, it will then go into their followers feeds, saying that, “Oh, well. If you've liked it, maybe they might like it as well” – so it pops up in their feed. So let's say you may have noticed one day your friend who loves cats went through and did an Instagram hole for two hours in liked 100 pictures of cat so you go on your Instagram feed the next day and you have no idea why but you have a lot of cat images in your Instagram feed in the Discover section. That is because you have someone on your followership that liked it.

Instagram's algorithm works well

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And depending on how closely interacting you do with that person, it will directly affect your feed. So this is how Instagram's algorithm works and lets you basically be able to be discovered by more people who have similar things in common. And it's a great way of creating that connection. And it is really perfect for small businesses.

Instagram is for small business too

I think a lot of people again, that misconception that it's for big businesses. This platform is actually perfect for building Small businesses. I personally have a friend who created her business through Instagram, all she really had was Instagram and she has created this business that is bigger than she ever thought she could. And it was all just through her engagement through Instagram.

Instagram works like word of mouth referrals

26:18

Now, one thing I wanted to really talk about as well is word of mouth. A lot of bookkeepers as you know, make most of their referrals and everything they get new clients through word of mouth. Once again, Instagram is a massive platform for word of mouth. It's easy for people to show people things, it's easy for people to tag people and things for them to look at. And it's a really easy way for people to be able to promote other people's businesses through basically two touches. So it's a really fantastic way for you to be able to get your brand more visible and to be found online, which is really, really great.

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So once again, also, it helps build social trust. Once you get your verified Instagram account, you're able to be much more transparent, relatable and real with your clients. And I know for many of you bookkeepers who really don't like doing that you like to have that professional persona, that you have that real separation between you and your clients. But you don't have to, you can still have that really professional persona and still have that kind of distancing away from your clients. But you can do it in a way that still makes them engaged in you and still makes you a bit more relatable. And it reminds them that you're a person and that this is a business as well. I think a lot of small businesses and just businesses in general forget that their bookkeepers are people and that you really human beings. So creating your Instagram account account really helps create that reminder that you are a person and that you are there to support them. And that's what your basic bottom line is. So it's a really great thing to think about as well.

Instagram builds relationships

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Another thing that as you can see they kind of all interconnect with the different reasons to being on Instagram. Instagram is a very fluid platform. But you're able to build better relationships with your clients through interacting with them. So in the blog post that I'm going to be creating for you. This is a massive section, simply because there's so many ways you can engage with your clients. It is incredible. Not only are you allowed to follow their businesses, you're able to follow Like Comment, share their posts, go through and learn more about about them as well remind yourself that they too, or a person behind the business and get to know them a bit more. So, you know, it's a really great way of understanding that. Okay, so they haven't replied to your email because it's their son's birthday today. So they'll probably just reply to it tomorrow. Because they'll probably be busy doing family things. It's just a really great way to create that organic engagement and realistic support and understanding of who you are. You know, it's just one of those things that you're able to do so much more on this platform than you are on Facebook.

Instagram has great engagement

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And I've got a couple more stats for you because I love stats, especially when I'm trying to explain why something is so amazing. So a study was just done, where it says that 71% of adults plugged into Facebook, which is amazing. I'm not saying Facebook isn't great, Facebook is fantastic, and all bookkeepers should be on Facebook, but only 26% are on Instagram. With that said, though, the engagement on Instagram is so much larger than on Facebook. Instagram actually delivers an engagement rate of 4.12 per follower, which is an actual 58 times more engagement than Facebook. So even if you have, let's say, 1000 followers on Facebook, but you have 500 followers on Instagram, you will actually be able to have a greater reach on Instagram than you ever will on Facebook. So it's a very interesting one to kind of look at and really make sure that where you should be putting your time in creating the content for so it's definitely something to have a think about.

Who should market Instagram Bookkeeping

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Once again, this is actually where I wanted to go through and talk through a little bit about who should be on Instagram for bookkeepers. For bookkeepers, it is really difficult because you aren't a product based business and you are heavily business to business service based business. So when deciding whether or not you should be on Instagram, you need to think of your target market and ideal client only. That's all you want to think about. You just want to make sure that you can have a really responsible way of understanding where your clients are. So this is done by creating your proper business plan like the one that we have available at the savvy bookkeeper that Amy has created. In this section it goes through and talks about who your clients are, what they're like. And it really breaks down how you help them and what problems you solve for them.

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So if you are businesses that you support are more front facing businesses, so let's say they're construction workers,  they're renovators,  they're beauty, wellness. Let's see what other businesses would be really, really great for you guys. Basically, anything that has a facial front so let's say you have a contractor who does before and after pictures, they will do really well on Instagram. So you should be on Instagram. If you do restaurants, hospitality, health and wellness, retail. If you support those kind of industries, they will all be on Instagram and using their Instagram quite heavily. So you should be on them. If you are targeting clients who are more of the professional, they spend more time on LinkedIn. And they specifically, don't use more engaging kind of platforms then don't go on Instagram.

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There's certain businesses that are more successful on Instagram than not. So one of the ways that you can actually decide if you should be on Instagram is actually check. So go through your client base, and don't check the person's name the owner's name, check the business name, but go on and actually check is their business on Instagram. If you have a resounding amount of clients that you already have on Instagram, then you should be going on Instagram as well. It's probably the easiest way of figuring out what They're not used to being on Instagram or not is checking your own client base.

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And furthermore, you can go on and check their websites to see what social media they are on as well. So you can make sure that you're on their social medias. You want to make sure that you are where your clients are. That is the biggest thing about social media. If you're on where your clients are on, then your should be on where your potential clients are on as well. So definitely take a peek to see where they actually are on and if they're on Instagram and get on Instagram. If they're on Instagram and they've been on it for five years and they've posted four pictures.

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Maybe don't use

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them as a base. But if you clients are on and they are active, I would hundred percent for you to suggest for you to get on the platform. It's super easy. Next episode, I'm going to teach you how to create the content for the platform and you can push it out to the same content stream As your Facebook and as your LinkedIn, you don't have to do different, completely different content just needs to be laid out in different ways. So don't worry about that. But just worry about where they are and where they're spending their time.

Instagram is great for monitoring digital reputation

35:15

All right, next. Instagram is also a fantastic way of monitoring your digital reputation. So on the digital landscape, it is actually really easy for one Bad review to go everywhere and then everyone think that that's what your reputation is. So creating a really well focused online reputation is really important for businesses, especially for bookkeepers who are just starting out, or for bookkeepers who have just created their own business. So it's definitely a thing to look at. The reputation can be managed through your Instagram accounts, excuse me, through Instagram Accounts through your Facebook accounts and through your LinkedIn like all your social media. The difference again through Instagram is that you can have a content creation section that is created by your customers, which it means so much more having content created by your customers, for potential customers to read then it just coming from you.

Instagram gets visitors to your website

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It's the same as savvy, we can say that we are great at marketing or great at doing, you know, helping with your pricing, but it means a whole lot more when it comes directly from our clients. So you definitely want to make sure that you are able to use your channels to really help with your reputation. Another thing that's great about Instagram is that it drives your followers to your website. Unlike Facebook again, I don't know why this is because I'm definitely of the stats in this case, I will go to a company's website through Instagram, but I don't typically do it through their Facebook page, then I don't know why I do this. consumer behaviour is a very interesting subject and I possibly might do an episode about it one day, I might do it with Amy but

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consumer behaviour behaviour is very interesting and most people about 80% actually I just have a stat here about 80% of people click through to websites through Instagram, which is a massive amount that is almost as high as people clicking through on Google business listing. So you can directly drive people to go to your website through your stories, your posts, and just your online profile. So it really helps you to be able to directly send them to your final sales process section, which is your website. So it's a really important thing to always try and keep driving clients and potential clients back to your website. And Instagram is amazing at doing this.

Instagram is great for sales

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Because of that, it's also amazing at sales. Instagram is a fantastic way to sell. It is quickly becoming one of the easiest ways to sell products on social media. But it's actually really amazing to sell services as well. And one of the ways that you can do services is broadcasting promotions, doing more value added content. So Instagram is amazing at doing value added content because of its stories. So anytime you have a big update, let's say it's a COVID update. You can directly do it in a story, save it to your highlights, and then it can sit there and then go out and show that you are an expert in this field in that anyone who is needing this help can go directly to you for your services. It is incredible, kind of similar to a Facebook Live, but it has a much higher reach. So it is a really fantastic way of creating sales online for you as well.

Instagram is gold for networking

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Networking, networking is amazing on Instagram. I've actually said this point, I think a couple times, but it's a great way of engaging in networking. There are so many ways that you can engage with people and it's people who might be possible business support, possible employees, possible just other bookkeepers as well. People who might be potential clients or people who are already clients. It's an amazing way to create engagement that is on a different level, than LinkedIn might be more on a personal networking level than on a more professional level. So depending on the kind of makeup of your business, Instagram can be incredible.

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Another thing that it's really good at is doing this sneaky and keeping an eye on your competition. So through Instagram, you're easily able to follow any hashtags that might relate to your business. So it's something that you can follow, let's say hashtag bookkeeping, or hashtag bookkeeping services, and see what your competition is posting, because some of the best ways of getting concept ideas is through what they are doing. Whether you like it or not, if it's something you don't like, then you know not to do it. If it's something you do like then you can kind of look at it and say, Okay, how can I make this my own. It is a fantastic way of doing it, using the hashtags as well, which I'll go into a little bit more in depth and then Next episode, it gives you a great way of being able to follow the same hashtags your clients will follow. So anyone who works within who supports businesses within the tradie industry can follow all of the tradie posts that come up through hashtags and then you can directly connect in involved with anyone who's on that hashtag. It's incredible. And it's a great way to target your clients directly. And show that you're also interested in the business that's also a very great thing that Instagram is really great at.

Instagram is great for targeting your ideal clients

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Another thing that Instagram is fantastic at because it's owned by Facebook is targeting. Instagram has such fantastic advanced targeting systems. It's incredible and that is also why their analytics and insights is so powerful, it has all the power of Facebook, and it takes it just an extra step forward. It makes it an incredible way of targeting your audience and targeting the people who need to be seeing your posts. It is a great algorithm. And although it does work a little bit different than Instagram, sorry, then Facebook is just such a power force in the world of marketing. And you can do quite a lot of reach, you can get a lot of reach for your posts by doing quite a bit of minimal work, especially because bookkeeping is still a relatively untapped industry within the platform. There's still statistically not a lot of bookkeepers on Instagram, and utilising Instagram the way that it could be for bookkeeping, so it's a great opportunity for you to get on and then instantly make waves and instantly get followers through your different hashtags.

Instagram shows you are more than “just a bookkeeper”

43:04

The final thing that I wanted to discuss about today is something that, I think is the most important aspect of Instagram, for bookkeepers, and that is that it shows that you're more than just a bookkeeper. Every time I talk to bookkeepers, it's that either they're just a bookkeeper, you just want to be bookkeeper, you just want to do your work and then that's it. There's nothing wrong with that. Then we also get the kind of clients that strive for their clients to understand that they are more than a bookkeeper that they are, you know, a BAS agent, they have accounting degrees, they have financial planning backgrounds, I have so much more than just bookkeeping,

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even with Amy's bookkeeping business. Since she's already a business mentor. She tries to communicate that she can also help mentoring her clients as well so that she Again is more than a bookkeeper, you are a person who have so many different titles to your name and it's a great way to Instagram is a great way to have fun with marketing your business. You don't always have to be so serious in coming across to come to make your clients think that you are a serious bookkeeper and an expert in your field. You can show your personality. It's been so many times when I've been discussing with Amy where she has just followed a new client online on Facebook and it's the her personal page because Amy does do that once in a while and that she instantly once she gets to see their personal profile, her whole conception about them changes because they come across so differently in their business. Everyone is so focused about what you should be as a bookkeeper. Rather than than focusing at what you are. Bookkeepers can be anyone and

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the more personality and the more you, you actually show through your business, the more successful you're going to be because you're going to be getting the kinds of clients that actually represent your ideal client. The more you the more actual, original and the more honest you are about who you are as a business and as business owner, the more relaxed and transparent and willing to engage and get excited about the business and bookkeeping your clients will be. It is a fantastic idea to throw away whatever

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kind of marketing teaching you get as a bookkeeper or whatever it is, because it's a common issue that I get all the time is that you guys have created your businesses on how you Think you're supposed to do it on how you've always seen it done in the past where it's very serious. It's very white. It's very you know you that people think that you should be beige or something you know that you should be just plane, you can be colourful, you can be exciting, you can be energetic, you can be funny, you can be anything you want.

46:25

Show it through your business, and Instagram is a fantastic way of telling your story. People want to know how you became a bookkeeper. Every time I ask our clients to go over their journey to becoming a bookkeeper. It is always an interesting journey. And it's something that your clients, especially if your point of contact is the business owner, your clients are going to be able to relate to you on a whole other level when they get to know a bit more about your story and how you became bookkeeper and a fellow business owner. Remember, you're not just a bookkeeper, you're a business owner, you are an entrepreneur. And that is a whole side of you that I find doesn't come out in bookkeeping marketing very often.

Instagram helps show your branding strategy

47:16

So tell you story, create a whole branding strategy for your business. We've done this with Amy, we have a very specific look for off the hook bookkeeping, and it's directly related to her logo. So all of her colorings and everything we all try and match and work in within her logo, all of her images that we post on Instagram all have a certain look to them. A certain you know, we don't use just certain colorings or certain shades of images so that they all kind of look together and it's creating your brand and it's creating a little bit more in depth look at who your business is. And it matches throughout her Instagram profile to other social medias and to her website as well.

48:06

And this is what you can do with your Instagram and all your social medias. Once you get a, let's say you get a beautiful website created for you. And then you're like, Okay, now I need to create socials, well, you already have all this content that's created in your website. And you already have all this beautiful branding that's been created in your website, continue it through your social media platforms by able to tell your story. And by having a really solid branding recognition on your platform. You're able to get that instant brand recognition that everyone wants as a business owner, you want people to go Oh, yeah, that's definitely so and so's business. I can tell instantly from the look of the image. That's what you want. You want potential consumers to be able to see that what your business is all about. And by actually telling your story and letting your followers

49:09

in on who you are letting them know a bit more about the business. You're not a faceless Corporation anymore. You're actually their bookkeeper. It's someone that you can say, Oh, you know, yeah, my bookkeeper is off the hook bookkeeping, the owners Amy Hooke. She's super funny. She's hilarious. She's really energetic. She always makes me smile when I talk to her. It makes it not just Oh, yeah, my bookkeepers off the hook bookkeeping and they do my bookkeeping… It creates a very different rapport and trust within your followers and a lot more credibility as well because you're showing that you're a human, not just a faceless Corporation,

49:58

and more and more as Australia is becoming Heavily saturated now well not saturated but heavily promoting small businesses. More and more small businesses want to work with other small businesses. They want to help fellow small, small businesses and fellow entrepreneurs in making their dreams come true. Show that you're one of them show that you are 100% they're ready to show up ready to promote their brand ready to help them as much as you possibly can through different shout outs, imagery, interactive videos, just really connecting and creating the overall community that really helps in keeping your clients so let's say you're a bookkeeper and you don't want to grow your client base right now. That's fine. Instagram is amazing at keeping the brand loyalty going in

50:55

keeping your clients because they learn more about about you. And then they're like, oh, you're amazing, I was kind of thinking of maybe going over to this other person that are saw on Instagram or saw on social media, because I feel like they were telling me more than you were. But now that you're on Instagram and you're doing all this great value added content, and I get to see your face, I actually love it. And now I'm much more in love with my bookkeeper and much more willing to work with you than I was before. It's fantastic at creating relationships. And that's just, it takes basically the start of Facebook and Facebook groups to a whole other level. It just lets you be able to create

51:40

that environment of that you're not just a bookkeeper. You are an educated person. You are a mother or father, mother, brothers, sister, whatever you are, but you're also a bookkeeper and a business owner and entrepreneur and you are here to support your clients. achieving their business goals. That's what you always want to come across and Instagram is amazing at helping you complete the whole picture, not just the professional side of who you are. So, here's my little rant on Instagram. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Next episode I am going to go into a bit more in depth about how to optimise your Instagram and make the most of the inclusions that Instagram offers.

52:29

Basically, if your clients are on Instagram and please go through today and check if your clients are on Instagram you should be to hope you guys enjoyed this episode. And as always from the savvy team, and from the bookkeepers voice stay safe, sane and savvy. Thank you so much, guys. Bye