Ah…the InstaGirl…you know her, even if you don’t know you know her. She’s the one with hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram. She’s always traveling (seriously, do you even have a job?). She’s had three kids but still, manages to have rock hard abs (!?!?)…she’s perfect.

I hate her. 

Why?

Because it’s a load of bullsh*t. Behind every one of those travel photos was her poor husband who probably took upwards of 300 shots until she found the one she thought was just *perfect.* There’s a 99.9% chance that her perfectly clean Joanna Gaines-Style kitchen (HOW!? IT’S ALL WHITE!?) hides a horde of disorganized Tupperware cabinets and junk drawers. And those rock hard abs? Let me tell you…with the right amount of posing, shading and photoshop, anything is possible (oh, and don’t forget the filter *said with an eye roll*). 

Instagram has done an A+ job of creating these Insta-famous people personas we all strive to be like (or are jealous of), all the while, we haven’t come to grips with the fact that they’re just as flawed as the rest of us. 

Now as a small business owner, you may be wondering why I’m even talking about this, and why should you care? Because for every InstaGirl out there, there’s an equally perfectly fake InstaBusiness. 

The InstaBusiness 

Every business in the history of ever has had competitors. You know, the people doing pretty much the same thing you are, but slightly different and with another name? Back in the day, the biggest way competitors differentiated themselves was with their customer service and products. And then: The internet (*DA DA DUMMMMM*). Suddenly, there was so much more to take into consideration, and arguably, the biggest difference between competitors became their brand. The logo, colors, voice, graphics…everything had to change and update so that it was spot on to who they are, and what makes them different. Soon enough, everyone began creating websites and social media pages to be sure their brand touched every corner of the internet.

Now, if you’re a business owner/potential business owner/future customer (and you’re Type A and slightly obsessed with social media practices like myself) you’ve likely looked at multiple companies in a service area or business sect just to see what their social media was about. And I’m sure at one point, you’ve run into an Instagram account of one of these businesses that blew. your. mind. 

What a beautiful storefront! Wow, that looks like an awesome reception area – they have a fish tank!? A Holiday Party at a brewery?? Their display looks PERFECT!! 

Well, dear reader, I hate to break it to you, but this InstaBusiness is just like the InstaGirl. It’s not exactly 100% true. Sure, it looks nice, and their social media and super responsive audience is enviable, but it’s not their real day-to-day.

Just as with every business, they have to deal with overhead and labor costs. They run into the same manufacturing issues, and their distributors are likely just as much of a headache as the rest of ours. And in complete and utter honesty, with the amount of focus they put into their social media (especially Instagram), there’s a chance they’re allowing the other important aspects of their business to fall by the wayside and that can be especially concerning in this ever-changing market. They put forth this persona they want their followers (and customers) to believe in and follow religiously, but in reality, it’s not the real them. 

How We Can Help

HIRE US! Kidding…sorta…but in all honesty, you have more important things to focus on than your Instagram account. That being said, social media accounts are so necessary to our world today, and (IMO) businesses should have a Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Google+ (plus potentially a Linkedin and/or Youtube, depending on the business). But you don’t have the time to properly monitor, post and look into data for 4-6 social media channels. I do, it’s my job, and I freaking love it. 

Hiring a marketing company to take over your social media (among other things) could potentially be the best investment for your business. As Roundpeg’s Digital Media Strategist, my one and only goal is to increase your ROI via social media, blogs, emails, ads, etc. All the while, you can give other aspects of your business some love. 

We can’t promise that you’ll be an InstaBusiness, but I’m not sure that’s the ideal to strive for anyway…rather, we can help you represent the real you, not the InstaYou. And we’ve seen time and time again that potential customers respond best to real life and real businesses, not those shiny perfectly filtered photos. So give us a call, and let us help give your social media a boost.