How I used social media to grow my business, with Natwest [AD]

This is a paid partnership with Natwest, find out more about their business insurance for start-ups here.

I wouldn’t be where I am today – a year and a half into freelance life, with my own, growing, interior design business and a successful blog – if it wasn’t for social media. It used to just be a tool to promote new posts and direct people to my blog, but now I use it everyday to share my story and what I do, record my thoughts and ideas, learn, stay inspired and foster my own creativity, build my confidence, post (I hope) inspiring imagery, and mostly importantly, keep connected to you, my audience. Working by yourself at home everyday can be incredibly isolating – I don’t have a team around me to help me stay motivated or chat to in-between bouts of productivity – so the like-minded creatives I’ve met through social media are my colleagues and my co-workers in a way. Through social media I’ve started conversations, made friends for life, sought heartfelt advice and support, developed business partnerships, embarked on new projects and worked with some of my favourite brands. As long as you’re genuine, authentic and post with meaning and intention, I’ve always found it to be a positive place. 

Several years ago I would never have dreamed it would be possible to carve out an independent career as a blogger/creative/influencer/content creator/call it what you will, and make a living out of social media. Times have changed, even just in the past few years, and now online is more important than ever to help grow your business. There’s a whole host of people out there ready to hear your story and willing to see the friendly face behind your brand. I think people value that human connection; knowing they’re buying from a real person or that you’ve been through a similar experience or that you’ve tried something and your recommendation is true.

But it’s not a one way street, you get what you put into social media. For me, it’s less about the numbers and all about engagement. You can’t run your business as an island when it comes to social media. It takes a village to build a small business using social media and you need to find your people – the ones who will resonate with your content, who will invest in you as a brand, and who might eventually become your customers. 

I’m really excited to be working with Natwest to share everything I’ve learnt from using social media to grow my business. Natwest’s Tips & Advice page is such a valuable resource, with a wealth of information for freelancers, small business owners and new businesses. Articles cover everything from calculating rates as a graphic designer, and understanding copyright and trademark, through choosing the right business insurance and filling in your tax return, to managing cash flow and managing finances. You’ll also find my own post on using Instagram as a tool for business here. 

I wish I had been able to read these when I first went freelance. I dived in at the deep end and went into it a little in the dark. I was clueless but eager to learn (and still am). I had no idea about what was the best business bank account, what to put on an invoice, how to organise my time or what I could expense. Soon I learnt that we’re all just winging it really and it’s OK if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing or where you’re going. It’s OK to seek out advice and social media can be great for expanding your knowledge. 

But one thing at a time. Let’s dive into my tips for using social media as a freelance designer or small business owner.

Find your platform
You can’t do everything and be present on every channel all of the time. I find it best to stick to one of two forms of social media rather than spread yourself too thinly. For me that’s mainly Instagram and Pinterest because they’re such visual platforms. I would prefer to do one thing and do it well than do several things poorly. For that reason I don’t tend to use Facebook or Twitter much anymore, but it will depend on your business and where your audience tends to be. Find a platform that inspires you and works for your personal story.  

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
That said, don’t restrict yourself to just one form of online media. These social media platforms own your content, so if they decide to close tomorrow and delete their app, you’ve lost a whole business and all of your audience. A blog is great because it’s evergreen, the content will always be there for people to find, while a social media post will be old news and forgotten by the next day.

Engage, engage, engage
Social media is a two way conversation – it’s about connecting with people and being sociable. You can’t expect people to come to you if you don’t reach out to them and let them know you’re there. Give more than you receive. Take time everyday to seek out like-minded people and support fellow business owners; like, comment and interact with them in a genuine, authentic way. Reply to followers and let them know you appreciate their support and feedback. Take part in Twitter chats (#interiorschat and #theinstachat are brilliant), join a Facebook group for creatives or share your favourite accounts on Instagram for #followfriday.

Build a community
Social media is formed of millions of different tribes with niche interests, similar stories or an appreciation for the same aesthetic. You want to find your people, otherwise the sheer amount of content and people on social media can start to feel overwhelming. You want to find people who will support you and everything you do, and cheer you on. You can have a million followers but if they’re not truly invested in what you do, they won’t be engaged and they probably won’t translate into customers. Similarly you want to seek out people that inspire you and keep you motivated.

Grow your following organically
It may feel painfully slow and sometimes frustrating but you’ll be thankful in the long-run if you grow your social media organically. That means not resorting to bots or buying followers and comments. Yes people do that (you can tell if they don’t have many comments compared to likes, if their comments are things like ‘that’s awesome!’, ‘so cool!’, and if you click on the people who have liked the post and they look like fake accounts). It’s dirty, underhand, unsustainable and undermines the hard work other creatives and business owners put in. If you’re working with brands they’ll soon see through it and customers will become wary that you’re not a business to be trusted. You can just feel when it’s a bit off. And wouldn’t you rather a real, engaged audience that genuinely cares? Embrace authenticity for real.

Be original
It may seem like the easy option to see someone doing well online and try to copy what they’re doing to the letter. Or even repost other people’s images because you’re lacking in confidence in your own work. But you can’t rely on anyone else’s work to get where you want to go – try to create your own images, your own content and carve your own space. Respect other creatives and give credit where credit is due. Pinterest is not a source. If you’re just starting out and feel like you don’t have anything to showcase yet, work with the tools you’ve got. That might be a mini makeover in your own home, setting up a product shot, styling up some shelves or roping in a friend to do a simple decoration project at theirs. It might be showing a glimpse of the behind the scenes of your business or a sneak peek of a new project. It doesn’t have to be perfect or beautifully finished, you just need to start somewhere. 

Develop your personal style
Social media is so saturated with beautifully curated accounts and gorgeous imagery that you need to try to stand out. Developing your personal style is key, so that if someone is scrolling through an endless feed of beautiful images, they’ll instantly recognise your image as yours, and no one else’s. People like consistency and knowing what they’re getting from you. Your social media account should be an expression of you and your brand values, it’s a projection to the – this is me, this is what I’m all about. It takes time to work out what you like and don’t like. To help find your personal style, you could start by simply listing a series of words that you identify with and feel ‘you’. You can then store that set of values and keep checking back in on them every time you post something new.

Be consistent
Make a commitment to social media and create time for it on a regular basis. It doesn’t necessarily have to be everyday, just enough that it becomes a habit, so that people know you’re reliable and that you and your business are there. You don’t want to suddenly appear on someones feed weeks or months after last posting for them to say, ‘who are they?’, ‘why am I following them?’.

Quality over quantity
Really take time to carefully consider everything you’re posting, is there meaning behind it? Does it hold value for the reader or follower? Who will this resonate with? Instead of just posting for the sake of posting, curate your feed to show the best parts of your business. Yes, show a bit of rawness and that you’re a real person, but commit to posting high quality, valuable content with beautiful imagery and thoughtful captions that will inspire and engage. Expand your knowledge and skill set – you could go on a writing course, attend an interiors workshop, invest in a camera, learn how to use Lightroom and Photoshop, download editing apps such as Snapseed and VSCO to get the most out of your photos.

Serve your audience
Use your social media account to help your followers, and subsequently potential customers. Take time to get to know your target audience, who they are, where they are, what they really want and need. My most successful posts are always ones with tips on creating a similar look at home. I don’t want to just post pretty pictures, I want to give my followers something back too. This could simply mean that your post is engaging or inspirational, or it could be entertaining or funny, or a unique insight that no one else has. Great ideas include rounding up favourite interior finds on Instagram, giving a mini tutorial on how to edit photos, showing how you style and put a still life together step by step. Give them a reason to follow you. 

Tell your story
You don’t have to have the best photography in the world or a journalism degree to succeed. If you tell your story with passion and enthusiasm, your audience will come to you. Just look at Mrs Hinch who has garnered 1.3 million followers and tens of thousands of likes by sharing her obsession with cleaning. Tell people about your brand’s ethos, why it matters and keep reminding them of your values. Because customers don’t just buy a product, they buy into values and the person behind it. Let people get to know you and what makes you tick, no matter how bizarre or mundane. Sharing your quirks, human flaws and vulnerability helps people connect and relate to you and your business. People love seeing behind the scenes snapshots, glimpsing work in progress, a day in the life of or learning from how-to’s. It’s all about growing an emotional connection with your audience. As a small business, your authenticity is your biggest asset.

Put the work in
Finally, work hard and you’ll soon see the results. There’s so many social media accounts out there, but the ones that really stand out are the ones who are really putting in the effort and hard graft. You can tell if a post is well composed or written from the heart, or when someone has taken time to put together a beautiful photo. Having passion for what you do and enjoying it is true and honest, you just can’t fake it. When you put all you have into something, it shows, and you’ll become a magnet for people who will appreciate what you do.

And finally a word on comparison
It’s an easy trap to fall into, but everyone is on their own journey. You might be comparing your home to someone’s third or fourth home, or your first attempts at photography with someone who is a professional photographer. Instead, turn it back on yourself and draw a comparison with where you were a few months or years ago. Or use it to better yourself and your business – jealous of someone else’s account? Take the steps forward to get there by improving your imagery or really focusing in on your brand and where it’s going.

All images: Cate St Hill