Vidya Lakshmi is a lifestyle blogger and Instagram coach who wants to make difference by creating more women entrepreneurs who are able to live their life to the fullest, do what they love, and be their own boss. Vidya figured out that this is what she always wanted to do so she invested in herself and mastered the best possible ways to monetize Instagram. Vidya wants to pass on what she learned from coaches, through a 6 week one one one course which would specifically suit each of her clients’ goals. It is not just a generalized guide that she would teach to everyone who signs up. You would sit together and figure out what would work best for you.
I am also a strong believer in the law of attraction (thanks to Rhonda Byrne) and that we as human beings have the power to attract anything and everything towards us.
Vidya lives in Sydney, Australia, and is originally from Kochi, a quite happening city in Kerala which is the southernmost state in India. Cherry is a nickname, friends used to call her that. Round cheeks that look like cherries. So Life With Cherry means Life with Her!!
PWH: Describe your brand in four words.
VL: Simple, Positive, Freeing, Realistic PWH: What is the big secret to making Instagram work for entrepreneurs?
VL: When it comes to Instagram, the biggest secret to making it work is consistency. Because it takes about three weeks for the algorithm to register anything that you’re doing on there. So you really need to consistently make content, follow relevant accounts, and keep engaging so that you can move up in the algorithm and get that organic reach.
PWH: What advice do you have for entrepreneurs to create engaging content that encourages engagement?
VL: Engagement is the key to Instagram now. No matter how many followers you have, that genuine audience that is actually interested in your content is what matters most. So you definitely need to have an idea about what your audience would like to see. You will need to do your market research for this. Facebook groups can be a great place to know the kind of content your ideal audience would be interested in. You can also use polls, questionnaires, and other features in Instagram Stories to get more insights. Using these features will drive engagement too. So it’s kind of like striking two birds with one stone.
PWH: What is the truth behind Hashtags?
VL: With hashtags, I’ve always heard that we need to use large hashtags if you need to get more views. But the truth is that, the larger the hashtag, the sooner your post will be pushed down, because there are probably thousands of posts being uploaded under them every minute. Its probably good to use a mix of small (10k to 100k), mid-range (400k to 900k), and large (more than 1 million but probably still less than 2 million), so you get that reach.
PWH: At what point does monetization happen on Instagram?
VL: Monetization can happen at any time, even if you just have a couple hundred followers because the point here is that your ideal client/follower sees what you have to offer. For this, first of all, you need to be adding the right kind of audience, engage with them, and keep talking about your offer as often as you can. It is said that a person needs to see something 7 to 21 times before they take some action on it.
PWH: Give us 5 tips to growing our Instagram organically?
VL: My 5 best tips would be: a) Focus on Branding – Create a logo, a color scheme, a set grid, and a theme ( a fixed set of content – for example, I post only about lifestyle and Instagram) so that people can identify you and your brand b) Quality is Better Than Quantity – When posting in your feed (not stories), make sure you’re adding quality content that gives value to your viewers. Even if you just post twice or three times a week, it’s alright as long as you’re consistent and constantly giving value. c) Post Stories Everyday – post 2 to 5 stories every single day and be as real as you can. You can get more personal in stories, show behind the scenes insights, etc so that your audience can relate with you. This will help build that connection. d) Post Pictures of Yourself Often – When people see the face behind a brand, they have something to connect with. They see that the brand is just an ordinary person like them. It will help build trust and actually drive more engagement. Also, show up in stories and talk to your audience at least once a week. If you’re comfortable, do lives too. e) Don’t Stress Too Much About Numbers Like I said, the numbers don’t really matter much. What matters is an engaged audience, a loyal tribe that follows you for the value that you provide. So don’t stress too much about the number of followers you have, the number of accounts you follow, or the number of followers a competitor has. You can monetize your account at any point in time you want as long as you’re in the right mindset.
Connect with Vidya Online WWW.LIFEWITHCHERRY.COM
