Fundamentals of Instagram
Discover Skills to Elevate Your Brand and Attract Your Dream Couples using Instagram
Fundamentals of Instagram is a 7-Module, step-by-step system designed to help creatives like you:
- optimize your business profile
- create a content strategy that supports your business goals and eliminates anxiety and overwhelm
- build a beautiful portfolio that best reflects your brand and attracts your dream clients
- make the algorithm, hashtags and Instagram Stories work to your advantage
- AND, helps you discover a community of fellow bakers, makers and creatives who can inspire and support you along the way!
Whether you're brand new to the platform, in a bit of rut or feeling overwhelmed, this course was designed to demystify all the lingo like algorithm, engagement and hashtags, and give you step-by-step instruction, actionable worksheets and the confidence to approach Instagram with a clear path to reach your goal.
Within each of the 7 Modules, we'll dig into specific strategies to help you:
- maximize the real estate in your bio
- streamline your scheduling with third party apps
- collaborate with professional photographers to build up your portfolio
- boost engagement with smarter post scheduling
- implement a mix of niche and community hashtags into every post to boost visibility
- create Instagram Stories that support your business
- AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, transform your Instagram account to a tool that helps you reach your business goals, attract more of your ideal clients and grow your following
Did I mention that I haven't spent a dime on advertising in five years thanks to the leads I get through Instagram?
Geared toward amateur and professional bakers, or anyone in a creative field, just starting out on instagram or in need of a kickstart, this Instagram course will give you the tools and actionable steps to make this FREE marketing app work for you.
- Imagine if your worked looked as beautiful on Instagram as is does in person.
- Imagine if your instagram posts led to instant new business.
- Imagine if potential clients started reaching out to you saying they found your work on Instagram and fell in love.
- Imagine if you didn’t have to pay a dime for advertising.
- Imagine if you had fun with Instagram because you approached it with strategy, not overwhelm.
- Imagine if you only worked with clients you love.
What's Included?
7 Modules, each followed by actionable steps to build upon and help you fully absorb each lesson, with printable worksheets to guide you along the way.
MODULE 1 - Instagram 101
- Getting Started with Instagram
- 3 Reasons Instagram Should be Your Focus on Social Media
- Instagram Statistics That will Blow Your Mind
- Downloadable Instagram GLOSSARY to use throughout the course
- Action Steps to Get Started
MODULE 2 - Optimizing Your Instagram Profile
- 4 Reasons Why You Need A Business Profile
- How to Set up a Business Profile
- How to Create Your Instagram Bio
- 6 Ways to Maximize Your Bio’s Real Estate + Catch your Dream Clients Eye
- Downloadable WORKSHEET - Instagram Bio Checklist
MODULE 3 - Photography
- Audit of Your Current Imagery
- Elements of a strong photo
- 9 Best Practices to Improve Your Photography (even with a smart phone)
- 3 Strategies to gather new imagery and build a stronger Portfolio
- Action Steps to Refine Your Portfolio for 2019
MODULE 4 - Content Strategy
- Ideas to Identify Your Instagram goal
- Brainstorming Visual Content Ideas
- Goal-oriented content brainstorm
- Content Category Strategy to Create A Stress-Free Calendar
- Content Frequency + Timing
- 3 Scheduling Apps for the Super Busy
- 3 Design Apps I Use Daily
- Downloadable WORKBOOK - Content Strategy
- Action Steps to start fleshing out your Content Strategy
MODULE 5 - Hashtags + Hashtag Strategy
- Hashtag Facts
- How Hashtags Work
- Hashtag Strategy Basics
- 5 Ways to Find Hashtags for your Brand
- How to Research Hashtags
- Niche Hashtags versus General Hashtags
- Downloadable WORKBOOK - Create Your Hashtag Strategy
MODULE 6 - The Algorithm
- What's the Algorithm?
- How does the Algorithm Work?
- 10 Strategies to beat the Algorithm
- Actions Steps and Best Practices to optimize each post to beat the Algorithm
MODULE 7 - Instagram Stories
- Stories 101 - Getting Started
- 7 Facts about Instagram Stories
- Step-by-step guide to creating an Instagram Story
- 8 Ways to Optimize Your Instagram Stories for business
- How to Highlight Your Instagram Story
- Action Steps to practice your new Instagram Story skills and analyze engagement
BONUS - 6 Strategies to Get 100 New Followers
Your Instructor
Hi there! I'm Susan, the baker, entrepreneur and teacher behind Cake Bloom, a flourishing, organic wedding cake business based in Sonoma, California.
Before becoming a professional baker, I spent over a decade in marketing for an artisan food and wine company, honing my skills in digital media, website design and brand development. Little did I know how much those skills would serve me as a small business owner and how that work experience has given me an edge in a saturated industry full of other talented bakers.
Now that business is booming with a waiting list of dream clients, I'm in a solid position to share my skills and knowledge with my creative community and help other business bloom.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hey friend!
After finding so much success through this platform, I felt compelled to share it with you because I spent way too much money on advertising in the early days. Money I definitely had no business spending, but I did anyway because the exposure these wedding sites promised seemed worth it. And I'll be honest, I was pretty desperate.
And what did I get? Nothing but budget brides who had no connection with my product and who's primary concern was finding the best deal. I took on a few of them because I had to, and it felt awful. Those weren't the types of couples I wanted. I wanted couples who chose me because they love my work, love my style and to be quite honest, couples who wanted me and only me, regardless of my price.
So rather than doing another season of advertising, I started focusing on my brand. Specifically telling the story of my brand (the values, the history, the aesethic that shape my business), which I've primarily done in use one way. That's right:) Instagram.
Through this free platform, I've created an online portfolio where I can visually give people a taste of my work, while also introduce them to the person behind it. And time and time again, this has brought not just clients, but client-friends into my life. These are people who don't just share my love of cake, but who share my values, my sense of humor, my aesthetic, and my outlook on the world. These are my dream clients, and it's because of them that I find this path so meaningful and continue to do it.
I truly hope this course will give you some new tools to do find the same kind of fulfillment through your work and business growth I've found.
It's a tough path working in a creative field, but it can be so fulfilling if you find community, support and the right clients to help you bloom.
Now, let's do this.
Susan