How to Grow Your Cake Business on Instagram
Growing an online presence for your baking or food business without a website.
There's no doubt that if you're starting any type of business, you're going to need a website to look professional and to grow your brand. However, if you're not ready to invest your money or time into building a website, I'm about to share five tips that you can use to build your business online and especially on Instagram without ever creating a website.
Let me start by saying that I am definitely not advocating for ditching a website altogether or having a business that exclusively lives on social media. If we've learned anything at all from MySpace, Vine or AOL tech stuff can be here today and gone tomorrow.
However, a website is a spot on the internet that you own. Think of it as your home. You can make changes to it, add content to it, and as long as you keep up the payments to your domain and web host, it will be there until the internet itself dies, which won't be until the zombie apocalypse. So you have plenty of time! 😉
My point is nothing can compare to owning your own little slice of the internet known as your website. However, in the meantime, if you're new to starting a business, I can totally understand the reluctance to invest your money and your energy into building a website in the beginning. So since Instagram is currently the app that shows no signs of stopping anytime soon, and it's one of the best places for foodies to share images and videos of deliciousness, I'm going to share five tips on how you can grow a business using Instagram as your temporary home on the internet, until you're ready to make the leap to into owning your own site.
5 Ways to Grow Your Business without a Website
Buy a domain name
Update and Share Your Location
Add Your Contact Information
Convert Your Account to a Business Account
Engage with Other Accounts
1. Buy a Domain Name
I know this post is supposed to be about using social media as your “home” instead of a website. However, allow me a few minutes to explain myself before you close the tab and you move on. Whether you realize it or not, you can actually buy a domain name before you're ready to use it. What’s even better is that you can use that domain name to funnel people to your Instagram page. That’s why point number one is for you to make that domain purchase.
I want you to buy a domain name from Bluehost or GoDaddy or whichever domain host you prefer. Then, I want you to set up a “domain redirect” or “domain forward”. The domain redirect should point your newly purchased domain to the web address for your Instagram account. If you're not a techy person, don't worry. All of the relevant “how to” links can be found below this post.
2. Update and Share Your Location
If there's one thing I cannot stand on social media it’s when there's a location based business that doesn't actually share its location. It doesn't make any sense to me! It's one thing for a company like Target or Amazon to not share their location because they ship all over the world. However, if your business exists in only one city or town and you're not able to ship your products all over the globe, I would highly recommend that you update your location.
Then, you can take it a step further and tag your location in your posts. By that I mean, use the geotag feature when sharing your posts on social media and then also use appropriate hashtags that relate back to your local areas, such as #Atlanta, #AtlantaBakery, or #AtlantaWeddings.
3. Add Your Contact Information
You should never rely on your potential customer to go digging around for your information. Let's be honest. A lot of online users have the attention span of a gnat, which is why I'm applauding you for making it this far into the post. *Kudos!*
To make things convenient, you should make important details such as contact information easily found in your social media profile and within your posts. In fact, Instagram has made it super easy at this point. You can actually add “Call to Action” buttons on your profile page so that a follower can tap the button and call or email you directly. Take advantage of this feature and make running your business on Instagram, even more seamless for your potential customers.
4. Convert Your Account to a Business Account
Just in case you didn't realize, there's actually a difference between doing business on a Personal Instagram account and having a Business Instagram account.
If you're not sure how to do that, check the resource area under this post for a link to a step by step set-up guide. However, in a nutshell, if you're running a business on Instagram, you should be using a Business account on Instagram to unlock features within the app that aren't available to Personal accounts, such as that call to action button that I previously mentioned and access to boosting posts and creating ads.
All of these business features are going to be super important to running a business on Instagram, especially if you don't have a website. So you should definitely convert your account as soon as you can.
5. Engage with Other Accounts
Thanks to the geotags and hashtags that I mentioned earlier, it's going to be very easy to connect with accounts that are also a part of your local community. Therefore, you should target and interact with pages that relate to your industry and share a similar audience. This can be Instagram accounts for other restaurants, cafes, and even influencers. Don't ever forget the social part of social media. Do your research and start networking and like their posts. Find unique ways to make those local connections on social media.
In conclusion...
Building a website is essential to growing your business, but there are still plenty of ways to get started without one. Instagram is an incredible platform for business growth and social engagement. Using the five tips mentioned above, you can build up your brand and reach your target audience without the need for a website. However, when you are ready to take the leap, you should definitely consider investing in a website to further increase your visibility and help you build credibility online.
Speaking of growing a business, if you enjoyed this post and need more help with growing your food business…make sure to join my mailing list! Marketing and sales for the food industry are kind of my jam and I share helpful business tips a lot. So, if you’d like to stay in the know, use the following email form to stay connected.
HELPFUL LINKS:
The following links were referenced in this post, and they will each provide additional guidance when it comes to building your business on Instagram when you don't have a website.
Buy a Domain Name with Bluehost: http://bit.ly/ytbluehost
Instructions for setting up a Domain Redirect with Bluehost: https://www.bluehost.com/help/article...
Instructions for setting up a Domain Redirect with GoDaddy: https://www.godaddy.com/help/forward-...
How to Add Call to Action Buttons on Instagram: https://soonermarketingsolutions.com/...
How to Convert to a Business Account on Instagram: https://www.facebook.com/help/instagr...
How to tag your location on Instagram Posts: https://help.instagram.com/8415451792...
Online Support Group for Sweet Business Owners http://bit.ly/sweetsuccessgroup
Did you enjoy these tips? I share even more business help on Instagram.
Let's connect over there:
Business Page | https://www.instagram.com/sweet_fest
Academy Page | https://www.instagram.com/sugarcoinac...
