How To Find Your Niche On Instagram

I'g interviewing my friend Martin Holsinger, a popular instagrammer, marketer for residential contrators, and an Amazon acknowledged author of TWO books, and host of the Protractor podcast. Plus, he'southward the co-creator of the app, Storeo, that transforms the way you record your Instagram Stories.

After a few years of sharing marketing and social media advice on Instagram, Martin fabricated the selection to re-focus his account to serve a very specific niche – residential abode comeback contractors. This decision has completely changed the face of his business concern. He'll tell you how and why he found "his people." Martin was also an early adopter of Instagram Stories, and volition share with united states some best practices. Read on or lookout man for all the details!

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Molly: How long take y'all been on Instagram, and why did you decide to outset edifice a following on there?

Martin: Well, I had been trying a bunch of different things – building an audience on different platforms. But then I saw some entrepreneurs seem to blow up overnight on Instagram. So I decided to dig in to it a little more than, and I was immediately fatigued to it considering of the incredible appointment.

Molly: We've known each other for a couple of years now, and your Instagram has gone through a little chip of an evolution. When we met, you lot were sharing more than general marketing and social media advice. But maybe a twelvemonth ago you focused and narrowed your niche to focus more on residential contractors. Is that correct?

Martin: Yes, so when I started I was trying to share at least one, if not three posts a twenty-four hours. Everything from inspirational quotes to footling marketing tips, etc. Nigh a twelvemonth ago, I focused my account downwardly to focus on residential contractors. I idea it would be better to be "the guy" in that industry, than to simply be some other head bobbing around in a huge sea of people all offer the aforementioned thing to everybody.

When I offset started my business concern in 2013, I dabbled in a couple of other industries. I tried to serve the wine industry (I live in Washington wine country), but that didn't really take off. Then I got a couple of clients that were lawyers, and a medical clinic, but I didn't really speak their linguistic communication. To serve a customer well, you have to be able to take on their persona. I felt pulled in a agglomeration of different directions, and I really didn't know what to do.

But my background is in home improvement contracting. My dad was a contractor, and his dad was a contractor. My uncle has been in woodworking all his life. So, I actually grew upwards in the trades. Contracting is in my blood.

Molly: I think a lot of people are nervous to niche down, and ignore segments of their audience. So, what advice do you take about focusing your audience, and what accept you experienced since you accept niched your account down?

Martin: At one betoken I endemic a contracting business, but sold all of the assets to move overseas. When we came back, I had to make up one's mind if I was going to first over or practise something different. Well, about a yr agone, the local dwelling builders association asked me to do a workshop for their audience and in that meeting, it totally dawned on me that I was in the presence of "my people," and I had plant my niche. Then, I started writing a new book, and released Contractor Marketing, Simplified, that teaches contractors how to grow and market their business.

As I approached the publish of my book, I started reaching out to contractors with larger audiences, and asking them to read and review my book. Those contractors started to talk about and share my book, which created some buzz and started bringing me new, targeted followers on Instagram. I know have a much more divers sense of purpose in my business and who I'g chosen to help.

Molly: I want to spell out for people something you just described. What yous really did with your book was an influencer campaign. You found those influential people in your niche, and let them do the talking for you. A lot of times people call back of influencer campaigns as finding someone with a massive audition, and you are paying them sums of money to talk about your stuff. Simply influencers are people that other people listen to. In your example, those large contractors are looked up to past smaller contractors that are trying to crevice the business code. You were able to reach those folks through the larger contractors.

Martin: An interesting thing well-nigh contractors is that the serve a local surface area, so they are pretty willing to share information because if they are in Los Angeles, they really aren't competing with someone in New York. There is a neat community.

Molly: You lot've been going to a lot of alive events and tradeshows lately. Tin can y'all talk a little bit about how you are creating content at live events and how you are leveraging meeting people in existent life to translate that into followers and customers?

Martin: Well, at that place is truly nothing like meeting people in real life. When you actually go to run into something, the human relationship is cemented. That's number i for me. But by being in that location, people can run into that I'thou existent.

I like to become to events "on purpose." I think it's smart to write 2-3 objectives for attending an event. Then you lot can look and run into if you reached them. Have some reason that y'all are going and check those objectives off.

While I'thousand there, the energy helps me to overcome some of my insecurities and exercise that Instagram Story or whatever. Attending events besides gives me content to put out. Not merely another flick of my office or whatever.

Molly: Let'south talk about Instagram Stories. You lot were definitely an early adopter. Why did you lot jump into Stories, and what do you find so valuable about them?

Martin: I never could figure out the Snapchat thing. But Instagram was my affair. I loved Instagram and it was working for me. So when they rolled out Snapchat on Instagram, I was in! Stories made influencers and celebrities more accessible. This transparency is where things are headed. Then I watched a lot of other people using Stories, and just tried to figure out what was working. I'thousand even so learning!

Molly: Could yous share some all-time practices with us regarding Instagram Stories, from a local business slant?

Martin: Stories gives local business owners the opportunity to show behind the scenes, who they are, become a petty fleck vulnerable. All of that is what Stories makes possible. While you want to keep you Instagram feed polished and attractive, Stories allows you to be available to your audience.

As far as best practices, I've seen people do 1 or two clips per day and I've seen people do thirty-forty clips per day. I think there's a happy medium in at that place, and you demand to know your audition and what they'll tolerate.

A all-time practice is to sentinel your driblet off rate so you tin can see where people are done watching you. Don't overfeed your story or people are going to start skipping through.

Stories are getting more popular, and the more popular they get, y'all are going to need to think through your Story more. You lot have to call up, why am I creating this Story and what do I want people to take away from it? Try to become concise – and get as much content into small pockets.

Molly: One thing I've seen people practise, which I call back is a really good idea, is people will take a screen shot of their chief feed and put that in their Story to directly people back to their main feed to bank check out their latest post. I kind of like that. I wouldn't overdo it, but I call back it could aid overcome some drib offs from the algorithm.

So, speaking of Stories, I really want to talk nigh your new app, Storeo. We all know how annoying the trivial 15-second video countdown thing is on Stories. I completely freeze when I run across that. You recognized that information technology was difficult to convey coherent thoughts via Stories, so you lot went out and created Storeo. Tell us nigh it.

Martin: Storeo is an app that slices your video into 15-2nd segments that you lot can upload to Stories, where people tin watch them seamlessly.

Earlier Storeo, you could slice longer videos to postal service to Stories, but it was much more than time intensive. You would need to slice and die it on your computer and ship the videos to save on your phone. It took a ton of time, and was cumbersome.

Where to Find Martin:
Martinholsinger.com
Contractormarketingsimplified.com
Protractorpodcast.com
Martin on Instagram
Storeo App

Salvage

Molly Marshall teaches small business organization owners and online entrepreneurs how to systematically and simply grow a profitable online presence through social media. Get your FREE Instagram Strategy Guide now!