Last week, we kicked off a new series designed to help you leverage Instagram to grow your business. It started with a shift in thinking from “How can I get” to “How can I give?” More specifically, it’s asking:

“How can I give my potential clients what they desperately need?”

To answer that question, you’ll need to have clarity on the audience you hope to reach. Take a minute to consider: Who is your target audience? Who is the demographic of people that is most likely to be interested in your product or service?

You might be tempted to say, “Everyone,” because obviously you’d love to have the whole world paying attention to what you offer. But beware: Random equals Random – when you put out random content, you get random followers, and random followers means random sales and random engagement on your content.

Here’s another way to think about it: What’s your niche?

A niche is a specific part of the market that you want to focus on. One of the most important things you can do as a business is GET SPECIFIC. Use categories to niche down and define a precise area that you want to hone in on – that’s where you’ll find your target audience waiting for you.

It may also help to imagine your target audience as one ideal follower. Paint a picture of a single person that you hope to engage:

-How old are they?
-What are they interested in?
-What do they value?

Create this dream follower’s profile with any other specifications relevant to your business. Maybe start by using someone close to you as an example, since you’re already familiar with some of their interests and needs. I know it may feel a little weird inventing this make-believe person, but have fun with it – it can seriously change how your messaging comes across. As they say in writing, “The more specific we are, the more universal something can become.”

So don’t just speak generally to the masses – address that one dream follower, and all those thousands of people will feel like you’re talking directly to them. If you do it right, they’ll look at your content and think, “Wow, I feel like this was made just for me.”

Here’s to that dream follower leading you to many more!

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