Week 8 Part A: How to Expand Your Reach on Instagram by Using Hashtags


 Instagram Business Research

Trident Pacific Consulting is a business consulting firm and also an individual life coach. A new mindfulness course in in the works. So I was unsure which way to approach the research. I kept getting bogged down exploring what other people are doing and it was very hard to find exactly the same niche. I didn't want to just stick to former SEALs but in the end I did a lot of research there too. As for former SEALs, there are many doing some kind of coaching or business consulting. They are most active on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter.  

I also had a hard time finding the big consulting firms on Instagram. Maybe Instagram is not the right tool for them. 

Here are some of the non-SEAL people/businesses I looked at:


Elan Solutions (New Zealand firm)
Organisational Effectiveness Consultant & Coach (1 Consultant)
281 posts 218 followers

Around the first of the year in 2021 Elan's Instagram changed dramatically. Before that date they had a variety of photos, quotes, etc. After January 2021 they only use a pink background with a transparent image of a handshake and a block font that never changes.  The quotes are inspirational but your eyes get tired of the same visual.

They consistently post once per day getting usually 5-10 likes and 0-1 comments. There is little engagement. 

Elan could still use the same branding colors but they could mix it up a little: use different pictures, chose another 1-2 colors and post some things not are not quotes. They could ask questions, run promotions, advertise events or podcasts, or otherwise engage their followers. 

They are consistently using/rotating these hashtags:  #vision #mission #strategy #goals #objectives #action #timeline #portfolio #projects #profitable #performance #profitable #projectmanagement #businesschange #individualchange #change #changeleadership #changemanagement #simplicity  #communication #health #wellness #productivity  #humanresources #attract #engage #retain #motivation #organisationdevelopment

As it is now I don't think Instagram is being used to its full advantage for this company. However, I like their quotes and I may "borrow" them for TPC.

People at Right Place (European firm)
Business Consultant (5 consultants)
271 posts 834 followers

This Instagram is one of my inspirations. They always give away useful content and the memes are enough alike to show strong branding and different enough to keep your interest. Because of it I wanted to spend the money to buy their course. I believed them when they enthusiastically said I could have the job of my dreams.

They typically post 2-3 times per day. Each post has 5-10 likes but little in terms of engagement. Their videos have more views with 20-30 views each. They vary their content whicvh keeps the viewers' interest: videos, inspirational quotes, promotions, book reviews.

 
Because they have a knack for making you feel like they are reaching you personally, I plan on coming back here for more inspiration.

Karl Bimshas (Local San Diego Consulting firm)
Bimshas Consulting
1860 posts 2098 followers

This guy Karl has a handle on social media marketing. He has a well developed presence on Facebook and Instagram. He is a prolific author and a one person company. He sell products with leadership quotes on them. He posts 3-6 times per week, usually 5 times per week. The orange and blue branding is fairly consistent. Karl is a leadership coach who wants leaders to not be jerks. I kinda like that! 

While he has a funny personality and has many followers, he does not get may likes , 3-7 per post and no comments that I could find.

He is not using a ton of hashtags. Sometimes none, sometimes 3. Maybe if he used more then more people would find him and like his posts. I like the variety of types of posts. It definitely focuses you on what he is selling. 

Here are some of the hashtags he uses:
#Motivation #goals #dreams #stayonpurpose #personalgrowth #trialanderror #learning #personalleadership #management #personalgrowth #BimBooks #Management #Essays #Poetry #Prose #Inspiration #Books #writersofinstagram #90dayreview #leadership #personaldevelopment #learnfromkarl #servantleadership #Shirts #Gifts #Inspiration  #selfexpression #smallbusiness #Essays  #AnUnusualYear #2020Strong 



Here are some of the former Navy SEALs I could find on Instagram. One can detect a very different feel to these guys' channels. Pervasive masculinity. Hype. But not always rough around the edges like you light expect, but that may be due to the fact that many of the former SEALs promoting their programs were officers. The most polished was Brent Gleeson's Taking Point leadership. He used to run a digital marketing firm and he  (or his people) do an outstanding job with social media.

Jon M Macaskill/Mindfulfrogman
Macaskill Consulting
Public Figure
, Retired Navy SEAL turned mindful dude, leadership consultant
129 posts 1109 followers

Jon is juggling a lot of balls. He has podcasts, recording mediation audio for his app. He's a public speaker. He has a deliberate discomfort program, sells supplements, and mindfulness and movement seminars. 

His mysteadyminds Instagram channel started 3 weeks ago. He is not using any hashtags there. 29 post, 36 followers. Not bad in 3 weeks. 

His mindfulfrogman started in October 2019. On this page uses the following hashtags:
#gratitude #mindfulness #meditation #mentalhealth #men #thankful #awareness
#Corporate #business #mindfulness #mentalhealthawareness
#family #thankful #perspective #faith #fatherhood #strong #strength #stressrelief #stress #art #timelapse #healyourmind #guidedmeditation #inspiration #mindset #mindfulnessatwork

On this page he gets from 15-169 likes (average of 33 likes per post) and about 2-3 comments per post. Some of the comment evolve into conversations and that's what strikes me as an involved community.

He certainly gets a lot of responses on his links to podcasts. He is asking for reviews and getting them.   The most likes he got was on a photo of a program that showed he and Michelle Obama speaking at the same conference. 

Stronghold leadership
Stronghold is led by former Navy SEALs Joe Crandall and Jonathan Cleck
63 posts 67 followers

Stronghold Leadership posts on Instagram less than once per week. It is mostly motivational quotes and links to their podcasts. Almost all of the posts are on Mondays for #motivationmonday or #mondaymotivation

They have 2-4 likes per post and only 16 comments in 63 posts. Most comments are on links to the podcasts. 

They are using mostly muted colors on the memes. The fonts are not outrageous but are not consistent.

I am more inspired by their website than I am their Instagram usage which appears to be more of a thing to do because they should do it not because they find it useful.

 
Consulting Agency
222 posts 2231 followers

One has to admire how Brent has taken his 5 years of battlefield experience and transformed it into a thriving business. He's no knuckle-dragging meathead. He had a business degree before entering the SEAL teams and upon getting out capitalized on the hero worship of SEALs to create an empire. He's a smart businessman who can spin a yarn. Unfortunately, his fellow teammates don't have as much respect for him as I do. 

All of his digital marketing is superb. His social media accounts are active and professional. He has recognizable branding across all platforms.  

For this Instagram account (he has a number of them), he uses motivational quotes, posters of his podcasts, and old battlefield photos. He keeps his warrior image fresh in everyone's minds. He provides useful information for leaders as well to tease them into buying into one of his programs or to hire him to speak publicly or provide business consulting. He has a large number of people on his consulting staff. 

Of the last 10 posts, his likes range from 23-157, however the number of comments were surprisingly low; only 1-2 per post. I think he do a better job of encouraging interaction, however I really have to reach to find fault with what he is doing. 

Here are some of his hashtags he uses: #keynotespeaker #virtualevent #keynotespeaking #workshops #leadershipdevelopment #employeeengagement #virtualworkshop #tbt #embracethesuck #resilience #grit #mindset #goals #challenge #control #discipline #culture #accountability #results #success #businessresults #values #actions #outcomes #remotework #remoteteams #teams #challenges #adversity #resilience #uncertainty #leadership #embracethesuck #mindset #goals #leadershiptips #leadershipskills #tests #problemsolvingskills #recognize #overcomechallenges #highperformanceteams #highperformancecultures #leadingchange #changeleadership #leadershipdevelopment #event #military #success #management #coaching #teamwork #culture  #resilience #frogmanfriday #overcome #trident #navyseals #usnavy

 

In conclusion, I do think Instagram can be a valuable way to reach potential customers and to develop a brand. For my husband's brand new Instagram page I think we will need to be consistent in posting and keep up with exploring a more finely-tuned niche. 

Selling a service like business consulting may not be as straight forward as selling a product, however the processes are much the same. 

I learned that getting feedback on which hashtags work is going to take a while. For Forrest, there needs to be some SEAL lingo, some hooya, and some straight professional business terminology.  Specifically, many of the hashtags that were used in the business research are a good place to start experimenting. 

Lastly, puppies get lots of hits... I need to figure out how to work my thousands of puppy pictures from my own business into these post. I'm only partly kidding... I'm going to have to stretch my mind. 


 
 
 

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