Social media these days is often the first thing you think about when you think of marketing your business, especially when it comes to online promotions. So it’s no surprise that one of the most frequent questions I answer for my 1:1 client consultations is, ‘How do I make sure I’m connecting with the right people?’

Getting people to engage on Instagram regularly can be a challenge, but it becomes a little easier when you use this trick to find the RIGHT people to follow for your business.

Know who you’re trying to connect with

First of all, do your market research and know exactly who your target audience is and what platforms they are hanging out on.

Doing market research will take time, but in the end, it is 100% worth it! Where should you start with your market research? Well, since you are trying to grow and engage on Instagram, that’s a perfect place to start.

Use the Instagram app and Meta Business Suite

Your insights on the Instagram App and Meta Business Suite can give you a lot of information!

Who is following you?
Are they male/female?
Where do they live?
How old are they?
When are they looking at your content?
Are they engaging with your feed, your stories/reels etc.

Once you know who is already engaging with your content, it will be easier to find and engage with more of these people.

Following new accounts

One of the best ways to increase engagement is by following the people you want to be following you!

Once you’ve followed them, you’ll start seeing more of your ideal audience’s content on your feed, which will make engaging with it regularly more natural.

Here are a few people you should aim to follow:

Your dream clients

Do you have a list of prospects or dream clients that you would love to work with? Make sure you are following them and engaging with their content!

They will never be your clients if they don’t know you exist! So don’t be afraid to dream really big.

Your chamber of commerce followers

Check out your local Chamber of Commerce account on Instagram to see who’s following them. They’re a magnet for local business owners, so you’ll be able to find lots of locals to follow and engage with.

Bonus: you can also check your Chamber’s website to see their members and follow them online.

Check who your competitors are following

While it’s never okay to copy what your competitors are doing online, it is okay to check out their audience, especially if you’re new to online marketing.

Take a look at their following and followers lists on Instagram and when you find someone who fits your audience, follow and engage with those people.

Look into local business associations

Whether it’s a general business association or a professional association related to your industry, these Instagram accounts make great resources to find people to follow and engage with.

For example, my local Downtown Dartmouth Business Association spends their time building relationships with locals and businesses alike, making them a great place to start.

City or Town accounts

Does your city/town have a town account or municipal account? If so, you know that most followers will also be other locals! The audience will vary widely on these accounts so make sure you’re taking time to review accounts before following and engaging.

Other popular local accounts

Have someone who’s famous on the internet in your area? They’ll be a great resource for finding local accounts to follow and engage with.

In my local area, this would be accounts like Halifax Noise and HalifaxRetales.

Does following more people guarantee more sales?

Unfortunately, it doesn’t, but it does give you more of a chance of exposure and being found by your ideal audience. And since your target audience can’t buy from you or engage with you if they don’t know that you exist, you need to put yourself out there and let them know that your brand/business exists.

It may be hard to talk about yourself and your business and promote yourself—but if you want your business to survive, then you need to do it!

Need help and not sure where to start?

Book The Holiday Brainstorming Bundle

What’s included:

1-hour Zoom Call - we'll cover every aspect of your holiday content planning (plus, it will be recorded so you can listen to it over and over)
We will come up with holiday social media marketing ideas that you can start posting about immediately.
We will come up with key people, events or platforms that you need to be connecting with.
BONUS: You get 50 Bonus Prompts workbook to get started + 50 Content Ideas Template
BONUS #2 50% off The Social Media Content Planner (https://www.kasocialmedia.ca/the-social-media-content-planner)

This offer is a LIMITED offer, and only 5 bundles are available in 2022, so email kerra@kasocialmedia.ca or click here to book yours ASAP!

How to find and engage with your ideal audience on Instagram