B.O.

B
Build Or Bullshit
The Instagram Course
The Ultimate Guide for Aesthetics, Hashtags & Building an Audience for any Industry
By: Chris Johnson
 Instagram is the new magazine, news outlet, &
ultimate form of advertising for products,
services, influencers and more!
The problem with Instagram feeds whether
you’re an influencer, a realtor, a skin care
company, have a clothing line, etc is not that you
In 2017, the worldwide

“
Instagram influencer or your product/service sucks, more than likely
market value was
estimated to be 1.07
it's JUST your photos. Great content starts with
billion U.S. dollars. picture CLARITY. Content is king on Instagram
and reflects having a clean trustworthy brand.

Having nice pictures does not always mean hiring

a photographer. It's as simple as a phone upgrade
(iPhone 8+ and up preferred), the perfect
lighting, portrait mode, Pinterest account, HD
stock images, and graphic tools .
 Your Instagram Bio Should Include:

- Who you are & What you do

- Location (if applicable)- People are more inclined

to purchase, connect or become a client if you
are near them. If you are an ecommerce business
that ships worldwide then it’s not important to
include location, just mention you ship
worldwide.

- Call to action- Click the link in bio to “start

shopping”, “book your appointment”, “transform
your body”, etc

- (Optional) Whatever fun fact you’d like to add or

current promotions.

- Website & a way to contact you (email and/or

business phone.) - Profile needs to be a business
Instagram Page.

*Try to keep it clean, nice, & straight to the point.

People like to know who you are, what you can do for
them and what value you add.
Having a Trusted Look
Forget what you know about
Instagram and let's start fresh.
There are several ways you can
nail the Instagram "look". 
This is accomplished by creating According to a study by
Microsoft, the average
a central theme or overall
balance. “ human being now has an
attention span of 8
seconds”… what this means
for your Instagram profile is
that when a user comes to
your profile, they typically
have a 8-10 second window
of viewing your profile and
assessing if they’re
interested.
Creating a brand
starts by telling a
story and painting a
picture...
“Hop Scotch” Method
A cool way to create content is using the “Hop Scotch Method”
Or a “Grid”. Achieve this by uploading you own content and
adding filler content around your original content. Find filler
content on Pinterest by typing “*your niche* aesthetic”, or “*fill
in your color interior” etc etc.
Also use Viral Instagram Pages to find high quality videos that
have already proven to have the capability to go vira. For
instance, if you sell high end luxury jewelry or apparel, typing in
“luxury aesthetic” will give you luxury related content
inspiration. If you’re into photography, you can even make your
own filler content.

Now before you overwhelm yourself and think how can I make
this happen, it's very simple. Notice that each grid of 12 there
are only 6 pictures of Amrezy alone out of those 12 pictures.
The rest is filler content. Filler content is your savior especially if
you don't have a lot of inventory/content. Filler content can be
“Hop Scotch”
Method Cont’d
The Hop Scotch Method is a
picture of you/product/service on
the 1st and 3rd photo and filler
content in the center (2nd photo).
Then filler content on the 1st and
3rd photo and you/product/service
in the center (2nd photo).

Even if the color scheme grid is

not your thing, the Hop Scotch
Method will work with any grid .

and is ideal for influencers,

motivational speakers and
product based businesses.
“Hop Scotch”
Method Cont’d To break this down even further,
the photos circled in red are
you, your product or service.

The photos circled in blue is

filler content. As a lifestyle
influencer, your blue circles can
be food, zoomed in details of
your outfit, scenery, shoe
aesthetics, skin care, bathtub
aesthetics, flowers, makeup,
perfume/cologne.
jewelry/watches, inspirational
quotes, etc etc.

To make your feed a color

aesthetic exactly like hers, pick
2-3 outfits of a certain color,
take. photos in those outfits
(choose 6 photos) and choose
pieces 6 filler content to match
the color of your outfit &
assemble the hop scotch
method.
“Hop Scotch”
Method Cont’d Find Viral Post from different
pages that your target audience
will be interested in, Then
Stealing Content From Viral Repost them on your page.

Pages Example, If I own a brand that

sells pockets knifes, my
audience might be interested in
cars. (Men..Knives..Cars..Martial
arts..etc)

Step 1. Go to Large Car pages

Step 2. Steal Pics/videos
Step 3. Upload on my page in
the Grind format

(Use the Repost app to steal

post quickly, pay to remove the
.
watermark)
Filtered Theme
Grid
Filter themed grids are really dope
and a lot easier to keep up with
because it keeps everything
consistent. It basically just means
that everything posted has the
same filter throughout your whole
feed. The best filter apps are
Snapseed & VSCO. The Afterlight
filter app is OK. But VSCO is my
#1, & Snapseed #2. If If you’d like
to go the extra mile, purchasing
presets are an option (detailed on
the Resources Page).
Filter Themed Grid Cont’d
There's a cool Instagram page called
@omgfiltrs that breakdown VSCO filters. If
you don't like any of the filter apps, you can
always purchase filter/preset packs. So if
you would like all your content to have
white filters, then you can purchase a pack
of 12-15 different variations of white
filters.

Before applying any filters make sure your

pictures are clear. Slapping a filter on a
blurry picture honestly makes things more
hazy and hard on the eyes.
Tell a story with your
Instagram Feed
@_jcscott on Instagram, is someone who
gets it right. He’s done several major
brand collabs, tailors suits for celebrities
& pro athletes and he is a social media
strategist himself. Immediately when you
go to his page, you want to learn more
about him and his story. Tell you & your
brands story through videos of your
clients, the process of making your
products, you on the go, behind the
scene shots, etc. People connect with
authenticity and relatability. The key on
Instagram is to be authentic, and just
have amazing picture clarity. Ask
yourself, would you rather watch TV with
static, or HD clarity mode? Audiences
respond well to LIFESTYLE shots on
Instagram.
 Tell a story with your Instagram
Feed Cont’d

Another great feed to take a look at is

@five_daughters_bakery. They are a local
donut shop in Nashville and immediately
when you go to their page you’re captivated.
Not because they’re pushing you strictly
product, but because they are pushing a
lifestyle around their product. It’s not just
donuts, it’s kids eating donuts, sunny days,
cute inspirational posts , families & dogs
enjoying donuts. It’s appealing to the
consumer, so for instance if you’re a catering
company, don’t just have pictures of food.
Have pictures of the events you catering,
behind the scenes making the food, children
laughing while eating your food, videos
talking about the business. Add different
elements just make sure the quality is great!
 Cleaning up Your Page & Social Proof
Some feeds just need organization so much so, this topic deserves its own slide. Meme’s, sexual suggestive content (can’t
believe I even have to mention that), a crazy amount of flyers, hazy pictures, and content that is not relative to your brand/
business should not be on your page. I recommend using your story for that. Here are some things I invite you to incorporate
on your page & highlights:

-Tips on the product or service your offering (i.e. skincare tips, homebuyers tips, etc) .The purpose is to add value. If your
page tells me the key to healthy a diet is drinking water & meal prepping, I’m going to keep your page in mind when looking
to start meal prepping.
- Behind the scenes (making product, serving customer, large product shipments, owner on the go)
- Testimonials (create a highlight strictly for customer photos and testimonials- having customers on the Instagram feed
may throw off the aesthetics so include it in your stories)
- Clear lifestyle shots. If you’re a lifestyle influencer (depending on what kind): Food, scenery, tons of picture of you, books,
pictures of you at events, fashion/ootd flatlays, you on vacation etc etc
- You at open houses if you’re a realtor
Reposts of clients IF the picture is of good quality. If it’s not good quality, add it in your story to maintain aesthetics!
 Cover Photos
For those of you with product based businesses, or those of you who make a lot of videos about what you do etc etc and you want to stay consistent
with a theme, then cover photos are key. If you’re in skincare and you want to show how your product healed eczema with before and after photos, then
having a cover photo saying customer review w/ instructions to swipe left and repost their review in the caption rather than having eczema on your page
just bold and center will help maintain the aesthetics. You also want to do this because your client photos are going to have different photo quality if
they are taking the pictures themselves. If your a trainer, adding a cover photo to promote your services on top of a video of you training is very
sleek.  Also adding value to your customer by adding tips for your products/ industry is helpful. All graphics made in Canva.

Smart Phone
A Cups
 How to use Canva 101:
Canva will be instrumental in helping you to create custom Instagram stories,
infographics, cover photos, daily tips and curated content that you will send to
shout out pages.
1) Simply download the Canva App (desktop version available also but you’ll
be fine just using the app)
2) Select your template based on desired dimensions – They give you the
option to create Instagram graphics, FB graphics, Instagram stories, etc etc
3) Select a design that’s appealing
4) My
Edit themytext
kinda people, kinda place.toThere's
your liking
5) Download stock photography or pictures from Pinterest
something special about this place. Got no
reason to stray too far, 'cause it's all right
6)in myInsert
here own backyard.your picture

7) Download the image/save to your camera roll

8) Your done- Time to start posting!
 Filters:
VSCO

Resources Snapseed
Presets:
*Go to creativemarket.com
*Type in “Blogger Preset” – Thousands of
presets will be at your disposal. I
recommend ONLY buying the ones that
specify they are for Mobile Lightroom so
you can edit on your phone .

#1

Skin Perfecting app. Downloading an app called "Preview"

or Planoly will allow you to arrange
what your Instagram feed looks like
before anything is ever published.
Resources Pinterest is an amazing place to get your
filler content! The words “flatlay”, “inspo”
& “aesthetic” are about to be your
favorite words. Typing in “travel inspo”,
“laptop flatlay” and/or “fashion
aesthetic” etc etc and those images are
going to take your Instagram feed to the
next level!

#2

I recommend that EVERY realtor has this

app. It allows you to showcase your listings Great for making seamless graphics on
the go!
seamlessly with your company colors.
Every business in general needs to stick to
their company colors for all content. This
app is for any business that wants short
interesting videos!
Resources
Cont’d
Stock Images & Filler Content Attach transparent logo
* You should frequently attach your transparent logo
Pexels.com *free to the bottom right or left corner of each photo to
establish brand recognition and for if someone
Pixabay.com *free reposts your company.
Unsplash.com *free
Pinterest App *free
*Creativemarket.com is super dope to shop anything
digital. Some examples are stock imagery, Instagram
story themes, lighting presets and so much more. Just
type in the key words Social Media, Instagram, Instagram
filters, etc etc (prices may vary)
Additional Tips:

When in Doubt:
When in doubt, if you're unsure about picture quality, hashtag your industry and look at people who are
doing exactly what you do. From there, compile a list of 5-8 profiles you like and write down everything
you like about their profile. Pull something from each profile until you come up with your unique style.

  BRAND AMBASSADORS:
If you have a product or service based business, finding the RIGHT brand ambassadors will exponentially
My kinda people, my kinda place. There's
propel your brand forward. Find individuals thatabout
something special take niceGotCLEAR
this place. no images, have lots of engagement (150 +
reason to stray too far, 'cause it's all right
Comments on average), 2,5000+ likeshere
oninaverage, and 25k + real followers. Be sure to repost their photos
my own backyard.

on your page.
Additional Tips:
If you have a product based business ESPECIALLY, then get your products photographed professionally. It comes across
super professional and creates a subconscious trust factor. Renting a camera from your local rental camera store will help as
well if you don’t have the finances to invest immediately into a camera! NikonD610 takes amazing photos. But if none of
those options are feasible, get creative with your props, get your iPhone in portrait mode, find the light and start snapping
pictures of your product.

INSTAGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:
Instagram Highlights will make you and your business look legit. Taking the opportunity to utilize all of Instagram’s features
will pay off. Here are a some examples of what you can put in your highlight: customer reviews, sale items, picture of the
location, pictures of you on the move and
My at business
kinda events,
people, my kinda shipping and handling policies, typical FAQ’s, behind the
place. There's

scenes such as making the product, meeting the owners

something (Pic
special about of  you
this place. & staff), homes you’ve sold in the past, shopping hauls,
Got no
reason to stray too far, 'cause it's all right
featured guests (if you’re a host/youtuber), events
here &backyard.
in my own venues you’ve played at (musician), pictures of events you’ve planned
(event planners). You can easily make highlights on Canva using the “Instagram Story” template.
FOLLOWERS, SHOUT
OUTS & HASHTAGS

Real Targeting

Building your audience

Utilizing the right hashtags

to boost your posts!
If you have a business, you are missing out on a ton of opportunity if your business does not have a presence on social media,
specifically Instagram if you are a product based business. It is estimated that 71% of businesses are on Instagram and 81% of
users follow a business on Instagram. 71% of users around the globe are under the age of 35 and 60% of 18-29 year olds use
Instagram. If your main demographic is under 35, it is imperative your on Instagram. There are realtors on Instagram who soley
get their leads via Instagram and do GREAT numbers. There are also businesses that do hundreds of thousands and even
millions in sales via Instagram and you could be one of them!
 Instagram for Brick & Mortar Stores

Why does a Brick and Mortar need social media? To increase awareness
+ Foot Traffic + Online sales
How can you help them?
Set up their SM + Manage account
 Instagram for Brick & Mortar Stores

What they need Types of Stores that need SM

Donut shops
Hours of operation Fruit Shoes
Address / Phone number Mom & Pop restaurants
Website Insurance angencies
Photos /Content Escape rooms
Sales announcement etc Nail salons
Hashtag in caption or comments Barbershops
with location Tireshops
ETC
 Instagram for Brick & Mortar Stores

One click of a hashtag can have

exposure to millions of people and
leads to money in the pocket.

I clicked the #Lasvegas hashtag and

it lead me to 36M post..
On the front page is a BBQ
Restaurant
 Now first things first. We have to make sure that your profile is one
people would like to actually follow. If your photos are super hazy, non
engaging, & non aesthetically pleasing, then re- read the last slides.
Content is King and you can’t attract followers with an unattractive page.
 MANUALLY

If you’ve ever wondered “how the hell do these people have 100k followers”, It’s VERY simple. It’s called turning your post
notifications on, going on related shout out pages and having brand ambassadors. Your target audience is out there. You just
have to find them. Your audience is following people who look just like you, people who love the same businesses your
products/ service is in, and people who have the same point of view as you. Find those pages where your audience is
engaged (find pages through hashtags), turn your post notifications on and start following and commenting. Starting out I
recommend choosing 3-5 pages to target. Whenever they post, follow/ comment on everyone who is engaged with that
post within the first 15 min of the post being up, that way you can gauge who immediately wants to be a follower, and who
doesn’t. You have to give engagement to get
Myitkinda
andpeople,
it literally takes
my kinda place. 5 min to follow 100- 200 people on IG. Start doing that
There's
something special about this place. Got no
at least once a day.
reason to stray too far, 'cause it's all right
here in my own backyard.
 SHOUT OUTS
This method is what elevated the Seventeenth
Watches brand to the next level. This can be executed in
three simple steps:

1) Find pages with 20k-1M followers that are shout

out pages relative to your brand and get on as many
of those as possible.
Have a budget set for shout outs per month
consistently to get in front of your audience.

2) Create the content for the shout out pages when

My kinda people, my kinda place. There's
something special about this place. you Got reach
no out to them. The captions and header
reason to stray too far, 'cause it'sneed
all right to be curated beforehand and can be easily
here in my own backyard.
done through Canva (see examples on the next
page)

3) Keep the caption detailed but straight to the point

and be sure to tag yourself in the captain so their
followers can follow you quickly
SHOUT OUTS, Contd
This Method WILL NOT WORK IF YOU HAVE NOT
IDENTIFIED YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE

A page may have 6M followers but if they arent

your ideal customers, the account isn’t worth paying

There’s no benefit of paying a “Poems” page with 16M

followers if you are a powerlifting shoe company.

If you’re selling Vanity Mirrors, this page might work

perfectly
My kinda people, my kinda place. There's
something special about this place. Got no
reason to stray too far, 'cause it's all right
here in my own backyard.
 SHOUT OUTS
1. Use Captions that tell stories, announce sales and or discounts
2. If you want to grow your personal page, @ yourself in the captain
(People will follow you everytime, make sure your page is public)
3. Imagine being tagged on a “S.O” with a page that has 200k
followers, you’ll get hundreds of new followers on your personal
page

My kinda people, my kinda place. There's

something special about this place. Got no
reason to stray too far, 'cause it's all right
here in my own backyard.
 SHOUT OUTS TIPS
Steal from your competitors.

1. Find a brand similar to yours

2. Click on the tagged page
3. Find out which pages they are paying for Shout-otus
4. Contact those pages and get a shout out

My kinda people, my kinda place. There's

something special about this place. Got no
reason to stray too far, 'cause it's all right
here in my own backyard.
 Growing your personal IG Page
The quickest way to grow your personal account is to get posted on large pages with a lot
of followers, as long as they tag you

Some pages will simply post you because they love your content, some you will have to
pay. If you’re selling something paying for a post could bring you thousands of followers.

For this page, I created a video on how to make money reselling shoes. I gave the
blueprint away for FREE! I actually paid this page $60 to post my video. They posted and I
got 2,500 followers on my page, waited for 2 days then ran a sell for my courses.

Results.
Time to make the free video = 2 hours (Driving to the store + Video editings
Cost for AD = $60
Course sales after surplus of new followers = $5,209

My kinda people, my kinda place. There's

something special about this place. Got no
reason to stray too far, 'cause it's all right
here in my own backyard.
Growing your personal IG Page
Find pages in your Niche, Finance, Fitness, MMA, Cars, Travel
ETC

Create the type of content they want to repost, buy them lunch or
pay if you have to.

My kinda people, my kinda place. There's

something special about this place. Got no
reason to stray too far, 'cause it's all right
here in my own backyard.
 If you choose to manually acquire followers, at the end of the week download
an app called Followers. The Followers App will automatically unfollow
everyone who doesn’t follow you back. Also when your strolling your feed and
if you see followers who follow 10k followers and have 100 people who follow
them, its okay to unfollow back. Or people who are just extremely random
who you hate seeing on your feed, then by all means unfollow. But don’t go on
an unfollowing spree. The key is to build relationships & customers. Following
to unfollow should be used in moderation. You’ll miss out on some great
people who can add value but just necessarily don’t have a significant amount
of followers. Also following people who have around the same amount of
My kinda people, my kinda place. There's

followers or less than you is key.

something Ifabout
special I have this place. 300
Got no followers and follow someone
reason to stray too far, 'cause it's all right
with 50k, the likelihood of them following back is slim.
here in my own backyard.
 Hashtag Usage

Think of hashtags as 30 ways to market you/your business on Instagram

(Instagram only allows you 30 hashtags). This process is very simple. Let’s say
you are a fashion blogger. By typing in #fashion 50+ fashion hashtags appear
from that one word. By hashtagging fashion, the sub words may be
#fashionista, #fashionblogger, #fashionbloggers, #fashionforward and so on
and so forth. If you are a Nashville local photographer, hashtag #Nashville,
#Nashvilleweddings #nashvilleparties
My kinda people, my kinda place. #musiccity
There's #Nashvillephotographer,
#thingstodoinnashville… something
you never special about know
this place. Gotwhono is paying attention to those
reason to stray too far, 'cause it's all right
hashtags and where a potential customer
here in my own backyard. could be in those! Be creative, think
about different hashtags your potential customer could be using & use all 30!
.
Thank you so much for your purchase
and allowing me to be apart of your
brand growth!
.

My kinda people, my kinda place. There's

something special about this place. Got no
reason to stray too far, 'cause it's all right
here in my own backyard.