Join Jess Miller as she gives a presentation on how designers and illustrators can leverage instagram for their creative business. I'll touch on all aspects including how to level up IG stories, hashtags, utilize keywords, reels, captions, DMs, etc.
Jess Miller is a Los Angeles-based designer, illustrator, and educator. Her whimsical style is infused with bright pops of color and layered textures, drawing inspiration from nature, retro artwork, and vintage design. With a background in toy package design, Jess has seamlessly transitioned into a flourishing career in illustration. Her areas of expertise include hand lettering, surface pattern design, and character portraits. Jess's work has graced greeting cards, home goods, tech accessories, book covers, packaging, and more! In just three years, she has amassed a dedicated following of over 100K on her social media channels. She takes pleasure in sharing her strategies with fellow creatives, empowering them to harness the power of Instagram for their own creative businesses.
Using Instagram Effectively for Creative Business Growth
Overview and Mindset Shift
The key to growing an impactful creative business on Instagram is developing influence by helping your audience grow through educational, motivational and inspiring content. With the right mindset and strategy, Instagram can become a powerful free marketing tool to connect with clients, collaborators and a supportive community.
Profile Optimization
Brand your profile
Add your name, photo and clearly define your niche/specialty in your bio to establish trust and awareness. Use your username and bio to rank for important keywords.
Archive irrelevant posts
Remove older posts that don't reflect your best work or brand to curate a polished feed that tells your story.
Separate personal and business
Keep personal details private to maintain a professional presence. Create separate accounts if needed.
Content Strategy
Posting a variety of content engages more people. Mix up informative, motivational, beautiful and fun posts to satisfy different interests.
Post types that perform well:
- **Conversational** - Ask questions to spark discussions.
- **Educational** - Teach skills through tutorials or tips. Provides value people seek on social media.
- **Entertaining** - Make people laugh with humorous memes.
- **Beautiful** - Highlight aesthetics fitting the visual platform.
- **Motivational** - Inspire action and progress.
- **Inspirational** - Uplift through positivity and feel-good material.
Community Building
Foster connections through engagement.
Engage with others
- Like, comment and ask questions and polls on other posts in your niche.
- Have friendly discussions to establish yourself as an authority.
Build relationships
- Create educational collaborative content with influencers.
- Offer support to help others grow their businesses.
Growth Strategies
Leverage insights and focus efforts on top-performing content to expand reach.
Optimize further
- Switch to professional dashboard for analytics to A/B test.
- Refine hashtags for discoverability.
- Repurpose Stories to feed.
Expand reach organically
- Repost top comments to reach new audiences.
- Cross-promote on other platforms.
- Promote in relevant Facebook groups.
Monetization
Larger platforms lead to paid opportunities and clients finding you first.
Income sources may include:
- Classes and workshops
- Freelance commissions
- Licensing artwork
- Affiliate marketing
- Brand collaborations
Action Steps
1. Audit profile and purge unrepresentative posts within 1 week.
2. Ask weekly discussion questions to generate engagement.
3. Research hashtags for your niche and use 10-30 per post.
4. Repost top comments 1x/week minimum.
5. Comment on 5 similar creator's posts daily to build relationships.
