Nu.nl: Attracting new customers via Instagram? Here's how

The number of Instagram users grows every year. More and more companies and entrepreneurs are discovering the platform too. No surprise: it's a cheap and easy form of marketing. But how do you make the most of it?

The life and work of nature illustrator Sterre Verbokkem (34) are really inseparable. She illustrates for various nature organisations and lives with her husband and child on a mountain in the Spanish province of Castellón. There's a small village a fifteen-minute walk away; apart from that, there's only forest and wilderness. Verbokkem

The surroundings where she lives serve as inspiration for her drawings, and you can see that on her Instagram account @illustratorofwildthings. "I alternate photos of the area where I live with photos of my drawings," she says. "Followers are more moved by my drawings when they know the story behind them."

Big reach with Instagram

Instagram gives Verbokkem the space to tell this story. For four years she has been using the platform to attract more customers. Wise, says Noud Baijens. He's the owner of Pro Contact, an online marketing agency specialising in recruiting customers and staff via social media. "More and more people are discovering Instagram. So you can reach more and more people through the platform."

The number of Instagram users is indeed growing steadily. In the Netherlands there were 4.5 million in 2019, 26 percent more than the year before. At first the platform was mainly used privately, but by now the channel has become an essential part of the marketing strategy for many companies and entrepreneurs. "Instagram is really just a very cheap way of advertising," says Baijens. "Say you want to reach a thousand people: with Instagram that's on average a hundred times cheaper than, for example, an ad in the newspaper."

Not always attractive images

It's not hard to imagine that, as a travel blogger or chef, you can attract new customers via Instagram. But what if you earn your money with something that doesn't produce attractive images every day? Bookkeeping, for example. According to Baijens, in principle every type of entrepreneur can benefit from Instagram. "But," he admits, "some have to put a bit more effort into creating fun content than others."

The work of freelance lawyer Charlotte Meindersma doesn't directly lead to beautiful content either. Yet she's an active user and gains 20 percent of her clients through her account @charlotteslaw. Meindersma specialises in intellectual property law and therefore works a lot with people from the creative sector.

"Almost all of them are on Instagram," says Meindersma. But the images on her account aren't the main thing. "I give lots of tips and explanations," she explains. "I put those in the caption." Because every post needs a photo anyway, Meindersma usually uses a photo of herself in her work environment. "Users generally love photos with people in them. But in my case those photos usually have nothing to do with the content of the post."

Make sure your content is relevant

Both Meindersma and Verbokkem post something every weekday. According to Baijens, posting regularly is indeed wise. "The more you share, the bigger your reach. But," he adds, "make sure your content is relevant. If you just post any old thing, you run the risk of people unfollowing you."

It's also handy to vary the type of posts you share a bit. "Post a photo one day and a story with tips the next. That keeps followers engaged," says Baijens. So one day Verbrokkem posts a photo of her work, the next a video showing her sketching, and yet another day a photo of herself and her family in nature. Although Verbrokkem's life on Instagram is enviable, it certainly doesn't come across as unbelievable.

Stay authentic

And that's important, because according to Baijens, followers judge you on your authenticity.

"If you don't come across as credible, followers drop out," he explains. That's why Meindersma takes the questions she gets via Instagram very seriously. "I always answer them. That way people feel heard and notice that I really know what I'm talking about and am not just giving a sales pitch."

This interview was published on nu.nl/ondernemen.

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