Growing your Instagram – part 2

You may remember that back in October we issued a newsletter aimed at creating a bit of two-way support – you follow our Instagram handles and in turn we’ll share yours in a future newsletter and encourage our database to follow you too. All this with the aim of boosting all of our accounts and making rural businesses better known.

Thank you so much to those who followed our various accounts (@sceneherdpr, @on_farmuk, @scottish_farmhouse, @onrecordmemories and @wheatrigbusiness).

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I’m not going to lie though. The number of replies I got to that particular email was pretty low. I was disappointed. I started to wonder if everyone already had as many Instagram followers as they wanted and didn’t need more. Surely not?

In reality, I think that, despite this newsletter being opened by FAR more people than an average mailing (we’re lucky that we get a great open rate to our emails and I like to think that we provide value) people are too busy to deal with too many ‘asks’. It takes far less time to do nothing.

However, this still saddens me because it shows that not enough people are taking their marketing seriously. We sent this email to many thousand people who have signed up and it offers FREE hints, tips and advice, which many folk tell us is useful. So why are some people not using it?

Perhaps we chose a week when folk were busy (it might have been half term, I can’t remember) or maybe people read our email and forgot to reply but somewhat shockingly, despite this being a FREE chance to promote social media handles, most folk ignored it.

Totally their prerogative of course, but it does sadden my marketing mind when a gift horse is looked in the mouth!

However, I won’t hold on to that negative thought for long though and instead, I shall focus on sharing the handles of those of you who did reply (and it’s possible that a few of you slipped through the net in my enormous email inbox – if I’ve missed you, email me and we’ll share you next time).

If you’re reading this, please do go and follow the accounts below (and our accounts above) in order to show support for some of your fellow rural businesses. Mutual support has got to be a key tenet of rural Scotland surely?!

If you haven’t already shared your own Instagram handle with me, please click reply and do so - and we can share you in a future newsletter.

@rangestudioarchitecture

@eastyettsalpacas

@norvitefeeds

@norvite_farmandcountry

@norviteequinenutrition

@potatohouseuk

@yester_farm_dairies

@scottish_farmhouse

@on_farmuk

@sceneherdpr

@wheatrigbusiness

@gosfordoak

@stronabaproduce

@hendersydeholidaycottages

@ardrossfarm

@offgrid.travel

@Ardo.christmastrees

@Ardohostel

@vIneyardbusinesscentre

@Saughland_farm

@duffus_estate

@kula_coffee_hut

@connagecheese

@skyeskynsltd

@fullwoodheaddairysupplies

@scotfooddrink

@euroforest_ltd

@euroforest_ireland

@bordersmachineryringltd

@douriefarming

@gillespie_macandrew_property

@theroyalhighlandeducationtrust

@soilessentials

@officialsayfc

@scottishlandandestates

@flowersgrowninscotland

@scottish_organic

@organicukoil

@birken_tree

@seilich_botanicals

@murphys_law_media

@equk__

@ravenbotanicals

@barnbarroch_organic

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