How To Grow A Profitable Business Using Instagram

This blog post was first published on 12 December 2019

"I can't make money from my business until I have a swipe up and 10k followers"

Said by me and if I didn't say it out aloud I definitely thought it. The past six months have been a huge learning curve for me in using Instagram and it’s crazy now to realise that an app has helped me to create a profitable business. I genuinely believed that no-one would trust anything I said if I didn't have a hefty number of followers.

However, instead of opting for shortcuts such as buying followers or follow unfollow, I got to work. Fast forward six months and I've made a positive impact on so many people's businesses which actually makes me really proud. I've also already hit my income target for the year which is huge for me and for any new business.

How did I create a profitable business without even 1,000 followers?

1. I committed to stepping away from what was easy and what everyone else was doing and I gave my brand a voice 

You'll struggle to find any other businesses offering legal consultancy promoting their services the way I do. Legal businesses are often corporate and stuffy and use big words which over complicates things and is boring. Whereas I break things down and make it fun, the outcome, people remember me.

2. I showed up and gave away content for free 

Almost every day for the past six months I've shared motivational, inspirational or educational content on my platform. My mission is to empower female entrepreneurs to get the legal documents in place they need in their business. I totally understand that not everyone can afford to invest in legal contracts but want to learn and those are my kind of people too. People may not invest but they do share and engage with my posts which helps them get to the right people.

3. I got social 

It almost seems silly to say this but its called social media for a reason. I have found some incredibly inspiring women in business on here and I talk to them, I cheer them on and they do likewise which is huge for getting my business in front of other driven and passionate women. This above all is my absolute favourite part because I genuinely love the people I follow. I don't know if it's a lawyer thing but I can only promote the people and the messages I believe in. I think my community see the authenticity in the people I share and they get value by finding other fab accounts.

4. I learnt how to get people onto my site 

If you came here from my Instagram post then hiii. This is exactly the key to creating money from your business. Instagram is great but people see your post and if you don’t hold their attention they’ll see a cute picture of a dog and they get distracted. To make a profitable business you need to get people onto your website, that's your home and its where your products are. Inviting people to read my blog posts and telling them what they will get when they arrive. Once they get to your site you need to ask them a very important question - my question to you, would you like to hear more from me? If so I send weekly 'Behind the Business Mailer, with tips and guidance for running a successful online business, including legal pointers you need to know. You can sign up using the form at the bottom of the blog. Behind the Business is where I share the extra juicy stuff and it's the only place you'll find discount codes.

I believed in myself - I had to stop telling myself that you couldn't sell from Instagram and I told myself I could and I asked for the sale. Not in so many words, I never said "please buy my product" but I told people about what I was selling. I told them that legal protection isn't optional. It is the law that you get your policies in place. I told them that having a contract would help them feel less like an imposter and help them to set clear ways of working and ways to get paid. I showed them that the way to stand out in crowded sectors was to get a trade mark and protect their business idea.

I would love to know what you thought about these tips. Let me know by emailing [email protected] if you have any questions about how this could work for you. Don’t forget to get your name on the list for my weekly mailer, 'Behind the Business' below!

Lucy x