Using Instagram to Sell your Products - Interview with Lindsay Russell of Backwood Design Co.

Located close to the shores of Georgian Bay, Ontario Canada,: Backwood Design Co. is a female owned and run business that specializes in handcrafting unique, live edge furniture and epoxy art charcuterie boards from salvaged, local wood. Self-taught woodworker, epoxy artist and business owner, Lindsay Russell sits down with Nat and Ang to chat about how she has utilized the power of Instagram to grow her following, create unique collaborations and as the number one tool to sell her handmade products. Instagram for Business. Ang asks if Lindsay intentionally started her Instagram account to sell her products or if that organically transpired. Lindsay notes that 3/4 of her sales come directly from Instagram. Her Instagram account was created in response to her audience and fans asking if she were on the platform. Instagram Growth. Having just reached 15k on Instagram, Nat asks Lindsay about her tips for growing on Instagram? She candidly mentions that she is still learning on Instagram and through trial and error and testing new techniques has been helpful to find what works best for her business. But her top techniques that have helped her grow can be related to collaborations, giveaways and consistency. Collaboration through Instagram. Lindsay shares her collaboration strategy and it’s twofold. One strategy she shares is she sends free or discounted products to certain accounts that they can utilize in their own Instagram photography. Before this was an informal process but she has since implemented a mutually beneficial agreement. Some of her collaborations include work with @chefdevan and @chefsomm  Her other type of collaboration is with other makers which has created opportunities to co-create art together. Instagram Success Story. Lindsay shares one of her recent successes on Instagram where one of her charcuterie boards was shared by Canadian businesswoman, investor, author, television personality and self-made millionaire, Arlene Dickinson. And recently had her boards featured on HGTV’s, Scott Mcgillivray’s  Vacation House Rules.It’s not your audiences job to find you. It’s your job to find your audience. Instagram Features. Lindsay shares that of all of the tools and features on Instagram, she really enjoys utilizing Instagram Stories. She previews her upcoming pieces as well as behind the scenes.Instagram Hashtags. Lindsay uses different groups of hashtags and keeps them relevant to what she is posted. Part of her strategy is segmenting hashtags by the numbers. 75% of the hashtags she uses could have less than 10K posts. And another percentage allocated to hashtags used 25K-50k, etc. Tune in at 28:00 for her detailed breakdown. A lot of her strategy is trial and error. Connect with Lindsay at Backwood Design Co.https://www.backwooddesignco.com On Instagram @backwooddesigncoOn YouTubeThe doors will be opening soon for The Social Storytellers Community! Click here for detail via the link in bio!www.thesocialfocus.coOn Instagram we are:@angela.s.doyon@[email protected]