Maree is my source of inspiration when I plan projects for companies that want to find new customers through Instagram. She’s the owner of Crate, a small cafe in Bali, very popular with the local community of expats.
Maree comes from Bondi, near Sydney, Australia, but her home now is Bali, where she opened this spartan but trendy cafe just over two years ago.
I love her because she's one of very few marketers I met who understood perfectly how to find new customers using social media. To me, she's a living case history and I'm going to share her secrets with you.
INSTAGRAM FOR RETAILERS
The Crate cafe is in a busy small road that leads to a well-known surfing beach in the village of Canggu, close to other hot spots like Deus Ex Machina, Betelnut, The shady shack and a few others.
The first time I went to Crate I noticed this very energetic lady – she was taking orders at the main counter. As soon as the queue of customers ended, she turned around, took two iPhones resting on the shelf, launched Instagram and began browsing photos and notifications. She then reposted photos of customers sipping drinks or having breakfast (or just posing) and finally returned to take new orders from new customers. At an amazing speed. I thought "what a war machine"!
Maree and I ❤️
Seeing a person of a different generation, apparently not the one you'd expect to master Instagram at such speed, perfectly comfortable and indeed, using Instagram like a pro, was really a surprise.
A few words with Maree were then very exciting: she's super inspiring, very kind and focused on her work, which manages with a smile and great professionalism from 7 to 3, every day.
THE CONTEXT: BALI, THE “ISLAND OF INSTAGRAM”
When she decided to open her own cafe, she didn't choose an up and coming area: she picked a very trendy village and set up her cafe which looks a lot as if it was destroyed during a recent war. The competition is strong here: in Bali, in particular that area, you compete to attract customers always looking for something cool, more stylish and it's amazing to see how everyone is using Instagram to find new customers.
There is an ongoing research and entrepreneurs here experiment constantly: you really feel the energy, the creativity and a special "vibe" I could not find anywhere else, not even in London, where I live. Because there, they're not afraid of making mistakes, they don't care if they fail – you live in an environment where everything improves constantly.
Simply put, it was not easy for Maree to open a cafe and become the number one choice, but she did it, managing to set a winning strategy to find new customers thanks to Instagram.
STUDY YOUR AUDIENCE
Maree did not bet on his coffee decor (it is basically a concrete ruin ... looks like it was bombed). Neither the type of cuisine (quite similar to that of the other bars in the same road). And not even on the price.She understood that before deciding on anything, she had to study people, the audience of that area in particular. Then she began to observe and follow these laid back trendy folks in their 20s and 30s who live the creative Bali, surfers riding hand shaped boards made by famous shapers. Those with blond salty hair you can find on a beach in California or Hawaii. Guys that ride a cafe racer to the beach. Her ideal customers.
The approach is therefore not "I open a cafe and serve what I like/what's easy", but the other way around: What do my ideal customers like? How do they want to feel?
What do they look for when they visit a shop/bar/restaurant?An audience-centric approach helps us to reduce mistakes and to shape our product for our most important users: our customers. After understanding what her preferred audience liked in the area, Maree has therefore tried to understand what was the behavior and what influenced people to choose a brand over another, the product X instead of the Y, or simply in her case, where to go for breakfast or lunch.I do not start from what I have/want to offer but from what my potential customers are looking for.
In a totally visual social media like Instagram, why do people post photos? Largely to narcissism, exhibitionism, vanity:
"Here I am, look how I cool I am"And to be associated to the right contexts (or products):"I go to a cool cafe, then I'm cool" So why not help them with scenic and natural sets?
How to manage my company profile on Instagram to find new customers?
- If you have a shop, follow my ASP Approach:
- start from your Audience
- then work on your Shop
- and finally the Product you offer
1. Set your goals
First of all, set measurable objectives and measure them. The objectives should initially be focused on quantity over quality: when you open an account you have to reach a critical mass of users, without them no one will see your content anyway and you can not therefore find new customers for your business. I suggest you define clear indicators, such as the number of followers you want to get on a weekly basis and the engagement rate with your content. Follow what people say about you on Instagram and monitor the media your customers post about you (check when they mention or tag you). Interact, read reviews, and thank them. Make them feel appreciated, they're advertising you for free!
2. Study your target audience
Identify your ideal customers in your area and offer them what they want. Find out what they like, why they choose what they choose. And set yourself up to giving them this, simply.
3. Create beautiful products people will want to photograph
One of the biggest mistakes I see most often is to not have the slightest knowledge that a product or place gets photographed if they look nice. You will not want to take pictures (or make videos) of something ugly, because then you end up with associating yourself with something ugly. You become ugly!If you want to find new customers with Instagram rethink how you display products and make them "Instagram-ready". Enhance the difference even in the most normal product, because images should inspire and tell how you see the world. If you do not try to be original why should people go to your shop?
4. Create "natural sets" in areas of your shop
You know that chair which seems ok, or the old pretty table or the canvas you don't notice anymore? Now, take photos of those objects and see how they look with critical eyes.Replace, update, think, create "natural" sets your customers will use to take photos (and tag you). Add details that, if photographed, make it clear to those who see the photo where it was taken. Every time you post a picture imagine: will my follower want to come in my shop when they see this?
5. Repost photos of your customers regularly
The best source for you are not the photos you take, but those your customers post, because your customers are more credible than you. And, moreover, make your work simple because you don't have to create content!
6. Become a source of inspiration for your customers
What is the difference between the salads of your restaurant and those of your competitor around the corner? Perhaps you even shop from the same suppliers!Be aware people love to choose a brand over another for what the brand represents, not only for what it offers, especially when you can find a similar product in different shops. You have to inspire people and make sure they come to you to feel the vibe, not just to eat.
7. Follow the Instagram netiquette
Don't take advantage of other people's content: Always be polite, appreciate other for the posts, always credit content authors you choose to repost.
8. Do not post too much, or too little
Resist the temptation to post all photos at once just because you like them. Slow your enthusiasm and create an editorial calendar and be consistent with the number of followers you have.But don't post just once in a while: if your customers don't see you in their newsfeed they will soon forget about you. Find the right balance. In most cases an Instagram profile will be effective with 1 to 2 post daily.
9. Run contests on Instagram
If you want to create engagement with your customers, find new ones, or get more visibility, a good idea is to launch a photo contest on Instagram – real competitions where you reward users who post the best pictures. If you decide to organize a contest make sure you follow and comply with the rules on prize contests in your country.
10. Never stop innovating
Trends change often and quickly: follow your audience and never stop studying what people love. A great source for this is... Instagram! Stay trendy and if you can, anticipate trends and remain a source of inspiration.Disclaimer – image credits: all photos taken from the @cratecafe Instagram feed – First image via The return of the road trip