While working at a wholesale beauty supplier, I took it upon myself to run the social media accounts for our local store. Our customer base consisted of licensed cosmetologists, estheticians, and massage therapists purchasing products for their business. Instagram is the main social media platform that this demographic uses so my examples below are tailored specifically toward that.

I researched the Instagram accounts of our customers and found which local hashtags they used the most in order to try and reach more members of our audience. Additionally, I would monitor our analytics and schedule posts for our most active times. Typically I would opt for the times that were earlier in the day because customers would often check their Instagram first thing in the morning. This led to many instances where customers would come in the same day as a post so that they could get the deal.

Instagram’s algorithm gives priority to videos over still images so I would create videos whenever possible. This example is for the store’s popular customer appreciation days. I would create several posts at different high traffic times of day in the weeks leading up to it so that our customers would be informed and keep it top of mind.

Our store’s Instagram account became the 2nd largest of the Minnesota locations. The other stores in the state began using the graphics and videos I created in order to drive more traffic to their social media accounts as well. In my first six months managing our social media, I was able to grow our followers by 50%.