Hello creators!
In this creator spotlight, we’ve spent some time on Instagram (we promise it’s work related) and found five creators who we think are smashing social media. They’re each a great example how to promote a small business via Instagram, and we hope by shining the light on these creators it provides you with some inspiration to up your ‘gram game.
First we have Sophie Downes Studio. Sophie’s Instagram account is full of bright colours and her signature feelgood designs. She has a mix of lifestyle imagery, personal behind-the-scenes photos and digitalised images of her designs.
We like Sophie’s feed as it’s aesthetically pleasing, whilst containing a real mix of content. It’s on-brand and matches the prints she sells, as well as her thortful card collection. Her feed promotes her small business well and within the first few posts you identify what Sophie Downes Studio is and what the product is. Sophie’s bio is simple yet effective – it explains exactly what she does (speaking to her ideal customer), it uses searchable keywords that relate to her business to help with her reach, as well as a linktree directing customers to her website, Etsy shop and thortful page. Have a think to see if your bio follows this order?
Next we look at sister-run card business Jelly Arm Chair, whose feed consists of illustrative prints of their hand-drawn designs and some lifestyle imagery. What we love the most about this account is their hand-drawn guessing game posts which have proven to be excellent for their engagement and growth. Liz and Cat started the daily guessing game posts during the pandemic and the games feature ‘guess the song title’, ‘guess the book’ and ‘guess the film’. The answers are given the day after and it allows their followers to comment their guesses. We play them pretty regularly at thortful HQ!
How can you take your designs and turn them into a fun way for your followers to engage with your account?
Freelance illustrator Jessica Smith has amassed over 80,000 followers with her bold Instagram grid. Jessica regularly posts reels on her feed that are a mix of one-second-shots day in the life videos and design process videos. As you’ll know, the Instagram algorithm is currently favouring video content which Jessica has brilliantly tapped into. She also has story highlights that provide a better insight into her business.
Highlights are a great marketing tool to use as it’s literally highlighting your best Instagram content and will usually be one of the first things a customer sees when they land on your feed – providing a great first impression. If you haven’t already, why not add some story highlights to your feed. You could show tips, tricks and advice on designing, behind the scenes content and customer reviews.
We couldn’t discuss creators smashing social media without mentioning the brilliant Very British Problems. If you’re a regular scroller on Instagram, you’ve probably come across their memes before and we’re super proud that they’re one of our thortful creators. An influencer in their own right, founder Rob Temple creates relatable and awkward timeless memes that can be shared again, and again. The account currently has an impressive 704k followers and due to the shareable content, its reach is equally impressive. What shareable content can you add to your social media strategy?
Marco uses a great range of hashtags relevant to being a creator and running a small business. Hashtags are still relevant on Instagram in 2023, however ensure you use hashtags relevant to your content and target audience – long gone are the days of spamming your post with as many hashtags as possible. Marco gets involved in challenges on Instagram such as #MarchMeetTheMaker and #DrawAsYouMay which is a great way to boost your reach (and not to mention a great networking opportunity). Are there any Instagram challenges coming up you can take part in?
We hope these creators can give you some ideas and tips. If you’re after some more social media tips, find out how to get featured on our Instagram and read our How to make Social Media ads work for your business.
Team thortful
