instagram tips mindset

Let's get Intentional with our Marketing! 

Do you ever feel like you are putting your all into social media to promote yourself but you are seeing no results? Are you posting every single day but lo and behold, engagement is still low? You aren’t alone, but what is the deal? 

 

As teachers, we are so busy in our everyday lives. Does this sound familiar to you? 

“ What are my lessons today?” 

“ I need to make that parent phone call today at lunch!”

“ Did I remember to grade that assignment?” 

“ OH SHOOT I forgot all about the meeting this afternoon”

 

The last thing on our minds is to remember to post on our Instagrams to grow our business; but then, we remember we must stay consistent in order to keep a good following so we put a random picture on our Instagrams and call it a day. The problem is, that could actually hurt your engagement! 

 

I like to help my students determine if they are falling into the trap of posting just to post and not truly putting up content that will help our business and to help them post on their Instagram with intention. Today, you will get an inside look at what this looks like! 

 

Relating content to your niche and audience

A niche is your expertise or what you focus the majority of your attention on. It is what lights you up and what you look forward to talking about each and every day. It is what others would call you an expert in. 

 

When we talk about getting intentional with our posts, we need to ask ourselves the question, “what is our niche and ideal audience” and “does the content that I am creating and posting on Instagram, relate to this said audience?”.  If you are posting content that does not relate to your audience, sure you might get some new followers, but these followers are not invested in the products you are selling and your business will not thrive and grow. 

 

When you begin posting with intention, then you are going to start getting the engagement that is necessary for growth--and not just any growth-- but the growth that will begin to move your business forward. 

 

Sharing something of value 

Trust is the number one strategy that will sell your product. One mistake I often see is teachers who market themselves with every single Instagram post. Sure, marketing yourself and your product is important but other teachers will buy your resources more if they feel like they have a genuine connection with you; but, how can you build trust through an online platform? 

 

Engagement. Yes, it is all about engaging with your audience. There are other types of posts other than just sales that you can make to build your target audience and to develop relationships and rapport with these teachers. The number one tip I can give you is not only to share what it is you are selling, but also to share something that can solve a problem or fill a need for your ideal customer. Show your audience that you understand some of the problems they are going through and that you are there for them. 

 

Here are some ideas on how to make your page information and valuable other than sales: 

  1. Make tutorials or reels showing one of your resources and how it works and why it is so valuable
  2. Share tips on a specific topic you know your audience is struggling with to show them how valuable you are and how you can fix their problem.
  3.  Post stories that include polls asking your followers for their opinion. 
  4. Post motivational quotes for when your followers are having a rough day or just need a little bit of motivation and inspiration to get them through the week. 

 

Do I post with intention?

Now that we know why it is important to post with intention, and a couple of ideas of how to post with intention, it is time to take a look at our Instagrams and make sure it is set up so our ideal audiences are drawn to our page. 

 

You need to find ways to sell your talents, without selling your product. Create tutorials, explain the value of your product-- really anything that gets your audience to buy into how important your product is! Let your work speak for itself, with the occasional post that is meant to sell. One of the best ways to market yourself is to create a freebie. Now another teacherpernuar is trying to find ways to solve a problem in their classroom and they remember your posts. They see your free resource and decide to give it a try--and sure enough, it works!! Now that teacher is more inclined to purchase more of your courses or resources because they know you can fix a problem they have! 

 

Second, how is your profile set up? Is it set up to humanize your brand? You should have a photo of you as your profile picture so others know who you are and there is a face to the product.  Is your bio concise, informational, and set up to pull followers in? You only have one chance to make a first impression--- so, think of your bio as your business card! You only have a few seconds to attract an audience, so be sure it is set up as such. 

 

Lastly, to stay consistent, use a social media calendar to schedule your posts out in advance with exactly what you want to say! As teachers, we have the best intentions of posting on social media but we get busy and we forget, or we post something that has nothing to do with helping our business grow. Use a calendar! You will never have to worry about last-minute posting and can make sure you are set up for a successful week!

 

If you need a content calendar designed specifically with intention for teacher sellers you can grab your own Ultimate Year Long Content Calendar by CLICKING HERE

So are you posting with intention? Come tell us in our Thriving Teacher Facebook Group