How to provide value on instagram


7 Ways to Turn Instagram Followers into Customers for Life #InstagramforBusiness

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Use these seven ways to reach out to prospects and make them want to buy from you, over and over again.

By Kim Walsh Phillips

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

The following excerpt is from Kim Walsh Phillips's book Ultimate Guide to Instagram for Business. Buy it now from Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound or click here to buy it directly from us and SAVE 60% on this book when you use code SOCIAL2021 through 5/27/21.

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If you don't take action, the product, program or service you offer won't be able to help those who need it so much. You need to put yourself out there so your audience can be reached. One way to make this happen? Start selling. Don't focus solely on follower growth through your Instagram account. You have to get to a stage of selling so you can receive an ROI from your Instagram marketing.

Related: Harness the Power of Stardom With Instagram

Here's the thing though: In order to sell, you have to do something most won't -- you have to be different. You have to stop looking, sounding, and appearing the same as everyone else. You are different after all, so stop appearing just as your competitors do. Maybe you don't think you do. Most of our private clients don't realize it. When asked about their competitors, almost every new client answers the question, "We don't really have any."

Unfortunately, your prospects won't see it that way. If your marketing isn't showing up any differently, chances are you appear just like everyone else. That makes you a commodity. And commodities only compete on price. (Just ask Walmart how that's going for them. "Being the cheapest sometimes on most of the days" is not a great distinction. I'm in Target twice a week, but I refuse to step into Walmart after way too many bad experiences.) What makes you different from your competitors? And how can you leverage that in your marketing so that you can excel at sales?

Offer value in your Instagram bio

Tell your prospective qualified audience why they should like your page and how it will benefit them. You can even offer a lead magnet to give them a quick win in their relationship with you. Make sure they know right up front what's in it for them if they decide to follow your page.

Related: How to Make the Power of the Hashtag Work for You

Fill your posts with value

Focus on your unique selling proposition -- that one big idea that makes you different -- and post valuable content around that one thing. For me, it's that we connect marketing with sales, because you have value and deserve to be paid for it, and you have a unique purpose that should be shared with the world. All of my posts are in line with this big idea.

Make your posts and ads about your target audience, not you

Focus on their needs and how you can uniquely meet them. Most brands are focused on their products and services. Stand out by focusing on your target market instead.

Talk to them

Ask questions and have a conversation around your one big idea. Engage with folks and build trust to let them know you are looking for relationships. Not sales. When you ask questions, they're much more likely to engage.

Be willing to be controversial

The most successful brands have raving fans as well as big detractors. Your goal through your posts is to attract exactly your perfect prospect and repel everyone else.

Be authentic

Stop trying to be someone you're not and instead be real with your audience. Different is good. Different stands out. People relate more to those they believe are being real. Occasionally let your fans in a little on your life, your family and who you are as a real person. People want to do business with people they know, like and trust.

Focus on transformation, not information

This is the most important point to remember. Your competitors focus on their product and service features. If they're slightly more advanced, they also focus on their benefits. But you're better than that. You are advanced and will focus on how those benefits will impact their lives. How working with you will be the exact thing they were looking for to bring them peace, take away a pain or bring them joy. This will not only help you make the sale, it will also position you as the leading authority in your marketplace.

Related: Make the Most of Instagram's 'Vanity' Features

The transition from Instagram follower to customer for life can be seamless and fast. Simply focus on why they should pay attention and take action, and why it's the best decision they'll ever make.

Did you enjoy your book preview? Click here to grab a copy today—now 60% off when you use code SOCIAL2021 through 5/27/21.

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About Social Pros Podcast:

Social Pros is one of the most popular marketing podcasts in the world, and was recently named the best podcast at the Content Marketing Awards. Listen for real insight on the real people doing real work in social media. You get the inside stories and behind-the-scenes secrets about how companies like Ford, Dell, IBM, ESPN, and dozens more staff, operate, and measure their social media programs.

Thank you to our sponsor ICUC Social.


Apple Podcast Reviews:

The Social Pros podcast has quickly become a favorite in my feed! I'm consistently impressed by the engaging conversations, insightful content, and actionable ideas. I truly learn something every time I listen!

@Arlie K

This is absolutely an awesome listen for anyone in communications or social media!!

@Will31C

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@Simonstone95

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@MissTriathlon

Posting with Purpose

Are you hungry for more engagement on Instagram? There was a time (long, long ago) when all you had to do was post a half-decent photo with a short, preferably funny caption and that was it. Nowadays, if you want to be classed as an ‘influencer,’ you’ve got to sharpen your game and make sure every post provides value to someone, somehow.
As our guest, David (Rev) Ciancio says, “you’ve got to have a reason why you are creating and sharing content.” If your posts don’t provide any value, you’ll continue to see tumbleweeds roll through your Instagram feed. Know your audience’s pain points and give them content that they actually want and need.
Rev is a Senior Marketing, Branding and Digital Strategist (and expert burger taster), who helps brands and businesses up their game on Instagram. As one of the country’s leading food and hospitality influencers, what he has to say about marketing on Instagram is taken as gospel by many, especially for those in the food and restaurant space. So, if you’re curious to find out more, grab a fork and dig in!

In This Episode:
  • 06:46 – Common mistakes to avoid with your Instagram bio
  • 10:37 – What works when it comes to food marketing on Instagram
  • 15:03 – How to use video effectively on Instagram and the importance of conveying customer experience
  • 19:15 – Why UGC (User Generated Content) is so important when creating a successful Instagram marketing strategy
  • 23:09 – How to take high-quality images to share on Instagram
  • 27:12 – Rev shares his predictions for food trends

Quotes From This Episode:

“Have a reason why you are creating and sharing content. Don’t just do it because you can do it. Do it because it provides value.” – @RevCiancio
If you pick one content type, you're going to fail. Understand what is a unique experience you provide and convey that through your photos. Click To Tweet
“Be awesome at two things and outsource everything else. A jack of all trades isn’t going to get nobody anywhere today.” – @RevCiancio

Resources:
  • Get the new State of Marketing report for free from Salesforce
  • Find out more about the community at SocialMedia.org with a special form for Social Pros listeners
  • Learn more about how Pattern 89 can help optimize your Facebook Ad campaigns
  • Get David’s (Rev’s) FREE guide, “5 Mistakes That You’re Making on Your Instagram Bio
  • Visit Rev’s website, ‘Burger Conquest’ for more marketing tips
  • Find out more about Rev’s company, ‘Yeah! Management’
  • Follow Rev on Instagram to keep up with his delicious posts
  • Connect with Rev on Twitter
  • Check out Weird Al Yankovic’s Instagram profile

The Big Two:


What’s your one tip for becoming a social pro? 
Have a reason why you are creating and sharing content. Don’t just do it because you can do it. Do it because you should do it and it provides value to your audience.
If you could do a Skype call with any living person, who would it be? 
Rev would love to talk to Weird Al Yankovic, who is an American singer and songwriter and find out how he has stayed relevant for so long.

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how to create love for a product

Brand values ​​are needed to win the trust and love of consumers. After all, a brand, like a person, is born, grows and develops. And needs love. Preferably universal. After all, the warm attitude of the audience directly affects sales.

Brand Values: What it is

Brand Values ​​are an intangible positive image of a brand that differentiates itself from competitors and gives consumers a sense of satisfaction from interacting with a product.

Build your brand system

To understand your brand yourself, you need to know the features of its structure. Inside it are the ideas of the brand, its essence. What message does it bring to life? A brand consists of structures of equal importance. One of them is the outer shell, design. Also, the brand is formed thanks to the content - no matter what - text, photo, video. In this case, content is the totality of information that is broadcast for the brand and about the brand. In addition, one of the important segments of the brand system is marketing tools - something that helps to broadcast brand ideas and bring them to life. Once you have a clear understanding of your brand system, you can create and communicate brand values ​​to consumers.

Create a “brand wheel”

Brand-wheel is another system that helps you understand brand values ​​and their place in your company's promotion strategy.

The core of this wheel is the essence of the brand. Next - individuality, that is, what it is like in itself, unlike competitors. In the middle of this layer cake are values, things that make your customers feel good when they buy a product. Only after this come the benefits that the brand and attributes provide, i.e. outer shell.

Identify the needs of the audience

The values ​​that will give the consumer satisfaction from the product must be determined. To do this, you need to know the desires and aspirations of your target audience.

The motives and needs of the target audience can be found out by creating a mind-map. Like this one, for example.

Having a clear understanding of the target audience, you can formulate brand values ​​and link them to the needs of the audience.

Tangible Benefits

Once a consumer buys your product, they will get a specific benefit from it and something that will give them additional benefits. For example, the services of a dentist will relieve pain and discomfort, and a beautiful smile will improve self-esteem. The dental brand Charisma, for example, has the slogan: “Charisma starts with a smile. ” The consumer receives services, and from above - something that will help change life for the better. So the brand formulated value in conjunction with material benefits. This slogan periodically pops up on the company's Instagram, and photo content is used with the most confident people smiling without hesitation.

The introduction of a mental context

The whole set of marketing activities forms around the brand the expectation of any effect from the services or product. For example, “Literary dinners in Moscow” are expected to have a pleasant atmosphere, intelligent surroundings and delicious dishes. Advertising in social networks, with text and visual content, has formed exactly this image and people are waiting for the declared effect from the events.

Established fast food brands are expected to be fast and clean. The mentality is different, although the sphere is the same - catering. Give your audience an idea of ​​the brand - the design and text should scream about the features of your product, forming a mental context that will be fixed in the minds of the public.

Direct experience

The product must anticipate the effect of using the brand through experience. This can be achieved through the expectation of the product. For example, you are waiting for a book that will be published soon. People already know what it is written about, who the author is and what the work will be like. But the expectation causes an experience that enhances the effect of the acquisition.

Creation of a social sphere of competence

The product can convey values ​​that directly affect the social sphere of the consumer's life. Such values ​​can answer the question: how to build your life in order to be happy. It can be proper nutrition, as a way to improve your well-being, or choosing an eco-friendly product that gives a sense of belonging to the care of nature. The social sphere can also be reflected as values ​​in premium goods, encouraging you to use only a quality product (for example, handmade) - for yourself and for your surroundings.

Making dreams come true

Values ​​related to such an ephemeral sphere as fantasies can also be broadcast to quite material brands. Take at least the usual dream - travel. A person may not often travel around the world, but photographs can remind you of the times when traveling was in his plans. And from nostalgia to desire is one step. By reminding them of a dream, you can sell your product to people.

Alter ego

Values ​​that are uncharacteristic of the audience may resonate with them. You can broadcast them with the help of provocation. So the alter ego of the consumer can want what he usually does not allow himself. Designer brands often resort to communicating their values ​​through bold photos and videos.

By broadcasting brand values ​​and conveying them correctly to the audience, you can make your company viable for a long time, as you will influence the minds of consumers.

If you would like us to promote your brand on social media, please contact us. Managers will answer your questions. Our specialists can pack profiles and communities, manage them and set up targeted advertising in social networks.

Read also our articles:

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How to create customer value and win the competition

Many people have heard the phrase - "We don't sell drills, we sell holes in the walls." So it is - people need goods and services not by themselves, but to satisfy a certain need. The extent to which a product satisfies a customer's need is called customer value.

  • Why Focus on Creating Value for the Customer
  • To create products that better meet customer needs
  • Win customer loyalty
  • win the competition
  • How to create value for the customer
  • Step 1. Understand what constitutes value for the target audience
  • Step 2. Study the offers of competitors
  • Step 3: Understand what your value proposition is
  • Step 4. Identify the segments for which you can create the most value compared to your competitors
  • Step 5. Set a price that works for both parties
  • How to increase the value of the product for the client
  • Offer the best quality
  • Increase delivery speed
  • Offer an additional service or product that solves the user's problem
  • Pack the goods nicely
  • Loyalty programs for regular customers
  • Useful content that solves the user's problem
  • Offer more than the buyer expects
  • How to Increase Perceived Value with Marketing Techniques
  • Special discounts for subscribers or club members only
  • Limited choice and urgency
  • social proof
  • Summarize

Value is a relative indicator. Consumers compare competitors' offerings and choose the one that satisfies the need in the best way and at the best price.

Expressing customer value as a formula, it would look like this:

Customer value = Product benefits - cost warranty terms, service quality, delivery terms, company image.

Costs are not only the cost of the product, but also the time spent, the risks, the emotional costs.

That is, the more benefits or lower costs, the higher the value of the product for the customer.

Why Focus on Creating Customer Value

Customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable, according to a study by consulting firm Deloitte and Touche. Many factors influence profitability. Here is some of them.

To create products that better meet customer needs

People buy solutions to their problems, not a set of features and functions. Understanding what is valuable to customers helps to create products that provide the highest value with the minimum set of features. This saves company resources, plus such products are easier to promote and sell.

Earn customer loyalty

More value leads to greater purchase satisfaction. A satisfied customer is a loyal customer.

For example, there are two companies that install good plastic windows. Employees of the first company install windows and leave, and the second company cleans up construction debris. The latter create additional value for the client, relieving him of inconvenience. So this client not only becomes loyal himself, but also brings others.

Win the competition

Companies that compete on price often lose out. Cost is definitely one of the factors for the client. But many people are willing to pay more when they see the value and feel the money is worth it.

How to create customer value

Creating value is an ongoing process as customers and their needs change. There are several steps in this process.

Step 1. Understand what constitutes value for the target audience

You need to constantly collect data to understand what is important for customers and what opportunities you have to help with this.

There are many ways to determine value:

  • ask questions to clients through managers and capture data in CRM;
  • analyze records of conversations between salespeople and customers;
  • conduct surveys - in mailing lists, on the website;
  • organize focus groups;
  • communicate with clients at exhibitions, seminars, after webinars.

Step 2. Study competitors' offers

Above we said that the value of a product is evaluated in relation to competitors' products. Therefore, the second step in developing customer value is to evaluate competitors' offerings. The assessment is carried out according to the parameters that were found out from the clients.

Step 3: Understand Your Value Proposition

Find out how much value your product or service provides to customers and what it costs them in terms of price and additional costs of ownership and service. For example, how much time should be spent buying or using a product.

Step 4: Identify the segments for which you can create the most value relative to competitors

Different customer groups will have different perceptions of the value of a product relative to competitors. For example, for one group, geographic proximity matters, for another, the property of the product.

Step 5. Set a price that is beneficial for both parties

The value of a product to the consumer can be many times greater than its cost. By pricing based on value, a company not only increases profits. In some cases, it makes the product more desirable for the customer.

Probably each of us once said about the product: "Looks good, but suspiciously cheap." This happens when price and value differ in the eyes of the customer. Therefore, it is important to set a price, taking into account how much customers are willing to pay for it.

How to add value to the customer

Offer better quality

The product is the foundation of customer value. All other factors play a role only if the customer is satisfied with the product. This does not necessarily mean major improvements. Sometimes it's enough to do a little better than the competition. Or just do well. For example, on the website of the Dodo Pizza chain, they tell how they provide the main value of pizza - taste. Their main technique is that they “bother”, that is, they try:

The taste of pizza is the core value for the customer

This is especially important if you are selling technical products or a product that needs service. For example, when choosing CRM systems, one of the main factors is the responsiveness of the support service during the test period.

If a company manages to solve a user's problem clearly and quickly, the user becomes a loyal customer and recommends the company to others:

Feedback from a SendPulse customer about the importance of 24/7 support

Increase the speed of delivery

One way to offer more value than the competition is to guarantee accurate or faster delivery of a product or service. For example, the technique “If we don’t deliver on time, the goods are free” is well known. Such a condition exists, for example, on the Dodo Pizza website:

Fast delivery guarantee on the Dodo Pizza website

Offer an additional service or product that solves the user's problem

An additional service that makes life easier for the user will help increase the value. For example, during the pre-holiday period, companies offer gift wrapping for purchases. Even though it won't be free, many customers will appreciate the reminder.

Pack the goods beautifully

The impressions of a gift in craft paper and in a plastic bag will be very different. The same goes for product packaging. Beautiful, quality packaging can add value to a product without changing the product itself.

Packaging is needed not only for physical products, but also for electronic ones. For example, here is how a gift is sent in the MIF publishing house:

A book designed as a gift in the store mailing list

Loyalty programs for regular customers

The opportunity to save increases the value of goods and services for regular customers. For example, for parents of young children who buy children's products almost every day, it will be an advantage to receive bonuses and discounts.

You can read more about this topic in our article “How to build an effective loyalty program”.

Useful content that solves the user's problem

Remember, we said above that effort in choosing a product is a cost that reduces value. Useful content such as training mailing lists, webinars, step-by-step instructions helps to help in choosing a product and reduce stress in the selection process.

For example, Invisible doesn't just sell wine. It solves the problem of choice, as it is really difficult to find a good wine among many brands:

A clear description of the wine on the Invisible website reduces the risk of making mistakes

The Busfor ticket service mailing list warns against scam tricks:

Useful content for travelers in the ticket service mailing list

Offer more than the buyer expects

Unexpected pleasant bonuses increase the value of the product. It can be samples of another product, a compliment from the chef in a restaurant, an e-book when buying a paper one.

How to increase perceived value with marketing techniques

There are psychological techniques that can be used to make a product more desirable to customers. Here is some of them.

Special discounts for subscribers or club members only

One way to add value to a product is to create exclusivity. For example, in the Lamoda fashion store mailing list, closed sales are often announced. subscribers only:

Store subscribers exclusive mailing list

Limited choice and urgency

What can slip away becomes more valuable to us. This feature of behavior is often used in the information business. For example, in the mailing list, Maria Solodar emphasizes that the last places are left on the course. A person thinks: “If almost all the places have already been sold out, then a good course must be taken”:

Creating urgency in the infobusiness mailing list

Social proof

The desire to be on a par with your friends and your circle of acquaintances is one of the human needs. Therefore, social proof is often used as a tactical tool in marketing. Reviews, reviews, success stories increase the value of the trade offer for the consumer.

Positive feedback about the writing course increases its value for potential participants

Let's summarize

The concept of customer value provides an opportunity to look at the development of a product, service, additional services in a different way.


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