Pro tips (episode #3): How to reach your first 100 fans on Facebook and Instagram

We can't say it enough: being present on social networks is a great way to be visible, to show your work and to sell your creations. When we say social networks, we're obviously talking about a professional account (and not a personal one) on Facebook, which is the most used social network in the world after Youtube, and on Instagram which has a very visual approach, and is therefore suitable for showing all the pretty things you create in the DIY world.

We see you coming: "It's all very well to have a Facebook account and an Instagram account, but how do you gain fans on Facebook?How do you get more followers on Instagram?" Good questions! In this new video, Audrey gives you her tips and advice on how to get your first 100 fans on social media.

1. Tell everyone

Whether it's Uncle Jacky, Auntie Michele, Grandma Maggy, Grandpa Pierrot... Everyone you know who has a Facebook or Instagram account (and who actually uses it!) should be informed of your presence on social networks!

Telling your friends and family in person is one thing. But to reach more people, the best method is tosend an email. It is the most used means of communication, especially when ordering jewelry. Before sending your email, there are two essential points to respect:

• First thing: take care of your signature with your name, address, phone number and the nice logo of your company... This always looks more professional and leaves a good impression!
• Second thing: under the signature, don't forget to add small icons that link to the social networks on which you are present.

A little extra tip for those who know a little: use Bitly, a free and easy-to-use online service, which provides tools to find out how many people received your email and how many of them clicked on the little picto and, in the end, really joined you on your social networks.

2. Use Hashtags (#)

Use hashtags (#) that are catchy, popular, effective.

• On Instagram, hashtags must be varied. We advise you to use between 10 and 15 per publication. Choose them well: don't target hashtags that are too broad, prefer specific hashtags that still have some notoriety on Instagram. You can start your own hashtags, but don't put the cart before the horse: wait until you're completely Instagram hyper hype to do so!
• On Facebook, hashtags work too, but they don't serve the same purpose. They are used in the Edgeranck search engine (see episode 2 of the pro tips for running your Facebook page) to reference your post on a certain theme.

3. Go to Facebook groups

Facebook groups are a gold mine for you! It's all good as long as you've worked out your editorial line: obviously, you don't go to Facebook groups in rough mode (Hi, we don't know each other, but come and like my Facebook page!), at the risk of no one being interested and, above all, of not attracting any followers to your pages.

Before suggesting your page to the other members of the group, you must first work well on your content, your feed, your news feed, both on Facebook and Instagram, with interesting things like videos to watch, contests, events, small useful information ... so as to captivate followers. It's important that other members of the group find an interest in following your page!

So, go about it subtly, humanly, gently... Keep in mind that the best way to receive is to give. So discuss, participate in the life of the group, exchange before redirecting to your Facebook or Instagram pro account.

4. Make stories

On Facebook as well as on Instagram, stories are hyper-trendy and have a much greater reach than a simple post on social networks. The reach rate, i.e. the rate of reaching a story (see episode 2 of the pro tips to animate your Facebook page) is indeed very interesting. So make stories!

On Instagram, we recommend at least 3 stories per day: behind the scenes of the creation, breakfast, the life of the shop, your life in offbeat mode, the mood of the day... Anything you want, integrating little hashtags, little filters, making little montages... Think that people are curious and like to put their brains down for a laugh. So don't hesitate to make them laugh!

Other features can be a plus for you:

• Geolocation: you can geolocate your story, which allows you to broadcast it from other people than those who follow you on the geographical area you mentioned.
• Interactive voting: it's a fun way to get your community involved in the life of your shop.

4. Don't forget the moderation aspect

Don't leave your community members and your potential future followers without any news from you: answer to comments, private messages, people who use your hashtags... But don't be laconic, engage in real exchanges! Also remember to restart the thread of the discussion, because this makes your publication go up in the news feed and this boosts the reach rate even more.

5. Encourage the use of arobases and tags

Don't hesitate to encourage people to use @ and tags to tag their friends. Indeed, it is said that the friends of our friends are our friends, so we count on the snowball effect to increase our number of followers on social networks.

This can be done throughcontests for example by tagging three friends in comments and sharing in public mode on the profile to win one of your creations for your first 50, 100, 150 fans. Be careful, however, to use contests sparingly, not to abuse them and to respect the social network's rules of use.
It can also be the launch of challenges or pledges between friends such as "Click on the arobase and the first person you tag will owe you a creative afternoon" or "Tag a person whose first name starts with the letter A, they will have to make you a chocolate cake"... Many bloggers do it and it works a lot!