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Hi there.
Speaker:It's Sue.
Speaker:And thanks for joining me for tips and talk day.
Speaker:These are bite-sized topics that I pull from community questions and
Speaker:things that I'm observing in the world of handmade small business.
Speaker:If you'd like to submit a topic,
Speaker:DME over on Instagram at gift biz unwrapped,
Speaker:before we get into the show today,
Speaker:I want to make sure that you know about the newest
Speaker:thing happening over here.
Speaker:It's called the gift biz bash a zoom party that turns
Speaker:into a podcast episode.
Speaker:Several weeks later,
Speaker:the party consists of a short training with Q and a
Speaker:from yours truly.
Speaker:And then an opportunity for you to give a shout out
Speaker:about your business.
Speaker:You can tell us about a promotion you currently have going
Speaker:on or share a collaboration that you're considering so that you
Speaker:can find a perfect partner for the event.
Speaker:A little bit of learning and visibility for your business.
Speaker:What could be better?
Speaker:There is a catch though spots are limited to keep the
Speaker:party to about 45 minutes or so.
Speaker:That means you should grab your spot right away.
Speaker:It's totally free to make sure you're included.
Speaker:Why not do that right now?
Speaker:Pause this episode,
Speaker:go to gift biz,
Speaker:unwrapped.com forward slash bash to sign up and then come back
Speaker:and listen to the show.
Speaker:I'll see you at the bash.
Speaker:I just have to say it.
Speaker:I have to get it off my chest because it makes
Speaker:me crazy every time I encounter it.
Speaker:And it's a lot.
Speaker:The reason this frustrates me so much is for two reasons.
Speaker:First I'm stopped in my tracks from being able to move
Speaker:forward at all.
Speaker:And second,
Speaker:so are you all attempts at making connections in progress with
Speaker:this strategy in your business are halted hard.
Speaker:Stop. What am I talking about?
Speaker:Instagram accounts that are set on private.
Speaker:If this is you and you want to keep an account
Speaker:private by all means do so,
Speaker:but not if you're interacting with people in any business capacity,
Speaker:I'll give you the resolution to this in a minute,
Speaker:but first,
Speaker:why does this bother me so much?
Speaker:And what's the harm.
Speaker:I'll tell you.
Speaker:As I already said,
Speaker:there are two sides of this from my side.
Speaker:If I organically discover your account,
Speaker:I may want to follow you to see more.
Speaker:I could be interested in your products from a business or
Speaker:personal standpoint.
Speaker:Perhaps I want to see your upcoming line of dog collars,
Speaker:or I want to remember you when fall comes,
Speaker:because at that time I'm going to want to refresh my
Speaker:supply of autumn scented candles.
Speaker:If I can't follow you,
Speaker:I'm going to forget about you,
Speaker:sorry. And my choice of having to ask permission to connect
Speaker:with you just doesn't feel good.
Speaker:It doesn't feel welcoming,
Speaker:or like you're at all interested in my business.
Speaker:I'm certainly not going to take the time to write down
Speaker:the name of your account somewhere so that I can come
Speaker:back to it later.
Speaker:It's just not going to happen when I can follow.
Speaker:You. You'll have the chance of showing up in my feed
Speaker:from time to time.
Speaker:And then I'll be reminded about your beautiful products comment,
Speaker:or maybe even share your products with others.
Speaker:Here's something even worse.
Speaker:If you do the honor of following me,
Speaker:I want to check out what you're up to and possibly
Speaker:follow you back.
Speaker:And this is what really led to my rant here.
Speaker:I'm going to say that upwards of 40% of the time
Speaker:when I circle back to look at accounts that are following
Speaker:me, they're marked as private.
Speaker:What, why now?
Speaker:I understand that some of these are bots,
Speaker:of course,
Speaker:but it makes me so sad because I want to know
Speaker:about you.
Speaker:If you are marked as private,
Speaker:I have to drop it right there.
Speaker:No way are you going to get a follow back from
Speaker:me because what am I following?
Speaker:And it's a rejection of sorts.
Speaker:You've slammed the door on us,
Speaker:continuing a conversation.
Speaker:And here's the thing.
Speaker:Isn't why you're on Instagram in the first place to be
Speaker:social. I hope so because if all you're doing is posting
Speaker:to your account and not interacting with people,
Speaker:you may as well not bother.
Speaker:It's a waste of time up to this point.
Speaker:It's been all about me in my experience when I run
Speaker:into your private account,
Speaker:but maybe I'm a potential new customer.
Speaker:Don't you want me checking out your items and getting in
Speaker:touch with you?
Speaker:If I have a question so much business happens through conversations
Speaker:in direct messages and by being private,
Speaker:you completely shut off that channel of communication.
Speaker:It's like in the olden days,
Speaker:trying to call someone on the phone and hearing we,
Speaker:sorry, this number is no longer available.
Speaker:Yes. Maybe I can go back to your website if you've
Speaker:put a link in there,
Speaker:but you've given me the indication already that you're not very
Speaker:receptive or appreciative of my attention and that doesn't make me
Speaker:very motivated to give you my business.
Speaker:I'm really,
Speaker:really sorry if this sounds harsh,
Speaker:but I'm here to give you tough love.
Speaker:Even if I don't know you because it's affecting your ability
Speaker:to grow your business.
Speaker:So now I'm thinking maybe you don't realize that your account
Speaker:is on private or you don't know how to switch it
Speaker:over, or you honestly do want a private Instagram account for
Speaker:a reason.
Speaker:That's very important to you.
Speaker:That's fine.
Speaker:But did you know that you can have multiple accounts?
Speaker:It's easy.
Speaker:Each account does have its own separate email.
Speaker:And if you don't already have more than one,
Speaker:currently create a free Google account for that purpose.
Speaker:That way your personal account can be private and a second
Speaker:business account can be public for all to see here's how
Speaker:you do this to get your account off the private setting,
Speaker:right on your phone,
Speaker:go to your Instagram account.
Speaker:And in the upper right-hand corner,
Speaker:you'll see three lines.
Speaker:Some people call this the hamburger,
Speaker:click on that and go to settings,
Speaker:click on privacy.
Speaker:And right at the top,
Speaker:you'll see private account.
Speaker:Just toggle that to off.
Speaker:There are other account management options under privacy that you can
Speaker:review and adjust.
Speaker:Also, if you wish to change your account from personal to
Speaker:business, also go to your Instagram account and click on those
Speaker:three lines,
Speaker:go to settings,
Speaker:click on account,
Speaker:and then scroll down to the bottom and select switch account
Speaker:type. Then choose business voila.
Speaker:Having a business account allows you to track and view insights.
Speaker:Oh my gosh,
Speaker:there are so many valuable pieces of information here and they
Speaker:help you understand who you're attracting to your account,
Speaker:where they live age ranges and what's most seen.
Speaker:So whether people are attracted to your reels,
Speaker:posts, stories,
Speaker:or videos,
Speaker:what I really like about this last one is it also
Speaker:shows you if people who are watching are currently followers of
Speaker:yours or not good stuff to direct your activity on Instagram
Speaker:for the future.
Speaker:You can't see me over here,
Speaker:but I am down on my knees begging you to take
Speaker:yourself off private.
Speaker:If you're using Instagram to sell your products,
Speaker:I want to know you and connect with you.
Speaker:My invitation is right here.
Speaker:All you need to do is accept.
Speaker:That's a wrap.
Speaker:I'm a get to the point kind of girl.
Speaker:And this is what you can expect from these quick midweek
Speaker:sessions. Now it's your turn.
Speaker:Go out and fulfill that dream of yours.
Speaker:Share your handmade products with us.
