The Instagram Stories: Recent Episodes
Daniel Hill - DanielHillMedia.com
If you want to sell a product or service on Instagram, you can’t just start by posting pictures of your product or service. You need to give value, because Instagram does not exist just so you have a platform to sell your product or service on.
Mats David Awesome Goldberg is the owner of The Instagram Agency. Mats explains the most important thing is to give value in every single post. The value could be educational, or it could be entertaining, or it could be inspiring. Whatever time and effort you put into giving value will come back to you eventually – it could be in the form of relationships, or some other method, but you can’t sell to people unless you build trust by providing free value. Whatever you communicate, it needs to be in a manner that’s open, honest, and authentic. Showing the struggle and where you’ve failed helps people to understand who you are and what you’re dealing with, giving evidence that you are a real person trying your best.
Mats also breaks down his strategy for posting and how he creates such epic posts in the rest of this episode.
You can find Mats at:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tigagency
Facebook: The Instagram Agency Facebook Group
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matsgoldberg/
Did you ever think of niching as a marketing tool? Being incredibly specific is the best way, because it lets you weed out the potential clients who are not a good fit, and gets your ideal customer excited.
Megan Van Groll gained her experience in social media by volunteering at a local non-profit, joined the executive team, and using that opportunity to build her skills.
Megan recommends different approaches and strategies for Instagram based on whether or not a company is service-based or product-based. The principles are the same, regardless of company size. She recommends making sure the Instagram presence is visually curated and looks thoughtfully planned out. It’s important to be proactive by engaging with other people on the platform – interacting with them, liking their content, leaving meaningful comments, and being social.
Megan’s tips on hashtags:
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Using hashtags with millions of posts is not going to help you get found.
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Make sure your hashtags are actually relevant
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Ensure the hashtags will pull in your idea customer, which are probably more related to their industry rather than yours. Figure out what hashtags they’re using and searching for content on.
Megan teaches her clients to develop a customer personas – a description of the ideal customer, what they’re thinking about, and what their world looks like.
She’s a huge fan of Stories, and frequently references the quote that stories will outpace posts in the feed within the next year or two. She works with clients to focus on their Stories rather than the feed. Stories are where you get to let your hair down, show the behind the scenes, and to get new people in front of your content.
If you’re not a graphic designer, you can create images for your Instagram profile using Canva. Canva is a web-based graphic design software that’s easy to use if you have no graphic design skills. It has templates to create amazing graphics and the ability to resize as needed for Instagram feed posts vs. Instagram Story posts. There’s a free version which allows you to do tons of different things. Megan uses the paid version of Canva for $15/month, that allows you to import your brand’s fonts and colors to create a sophisticated on-brand look.
Authenticity is an overused word that has become meaningless, but it’s still an important concept. If you hear that word in a sentence and don’t understand what it means, replace that word with transparent, sincere, unfiltered, or raw. It’s about letting your guard down to build trust. Being unafraid to be vulnerable and showing your human side builds trust with your followers, because they see you as a real person. By showing pictures of your staff and customers along with a story in the captions instead of just focusing your product or service, you will attract more customers.
It’s like a restaurant with an open kitchen. You see how the food is prepared, and you see how clean it is, therefore you enjoy the experience more. Stories are your opportunity to show the open kitchen environment of your business. However, there is a line between being transparent, and airing your dirty laundry – so use common sense to figure out what your customer will want to see.
Check out the rest of the episode to hear all of Megan’s insights.
You can find Megan at:
https://www.instagram.com/hey.mvg
https://www.askmvg.com
https://twitter.com/heymvg
https://www.facebook.
Malvika is the founder and digital content creator behind the platform “Style by Malvika”, focused on creating content in the luxury fashion world.
According to Malvika, the key to Instagram is finding the balance between aspirational and relatable. Those can be contradictory, so it’s important to meet somewhere in the middle.
Small business owners can do that by asking themselves : “in what way does my small business give value to consumers? How through pictures can I capture the value my customers are looking for?”
Start off by posting captivating images. This can be done by flagging, saving, and pinning images Tumblr, Pinterest, and Instagram, where you like just one part of the image, then make your own version.
Building a community is also key. If someone has taken the time to write a comment or send you a message, it’s to your detriment to not respond. Whoever comments, make sure they feel valued and part of the conversation.
Think about the future, because one day it will be a new platform instead of Instagram, and you’re going to have to ask your followers to migrate you over there. And if you’re a small business owner on Instagram, focus on this key question – “what’s the value and how can I convey it?”
You can find Malvika at:
https://www.instagram.com/stylebymalvika
https://www.stylebymalvika.com
https://twitter.com/stylebymalvika
https://www.facebook.com/stylebymalvika
Aaron Render hosts a podcast called “Uncontained” where he interviews people in the entertainment industry – actors, musicians, comedians – about their roots, what advice they’d give, how they promote themselves, and what’s kept them going when others tell them they won’t succeed.
In this episode, we talk about how Aaron can use Instagram to promote his podcast, including Going Live, Engagement pods, dealing with fluxation in the number of followers, and more.
You can find Aaron and the Uncontained Podcast at:
Web: http://wwww.uncontainedpod.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncontainedpod/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncontainedpod
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncontainedpod/
Josh Klemons is a digital storyteller and strategist. He helps brands find, hone, and tell their stories online.
Josh works with brands on Instagram Stories, and shares the reasons businesses should be using Stories, which are pieces of content that are only visible for 24 hours. He calls them “ethereal” – which means “characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; intangible”. Instagram Stories are unique because they show you exactly who watched your Stories – you can tap on their name, see their profiles, or start conversations with them. YouTube doesn’t offer that same level of visibility into who watched your videos.
- If you’re new to Stories, focus on creating content your audience likes. Good content is what your audience is into. What gets looked at? That’s what your audience is into. * Instagram works on the principle of love – if you show the app love by spending time posting, Instagram shows you love by showing your content to other people. * If someone watches all of your Stories right through to the end – THOSE are your people.
Josh gets deep into some hacks for Stories that I didn’t know. Did you know you can repost Stories that you’re tagged in? Listen to the whole episode to hear everything.
Website: http://www.joshklemons.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/ReverbalCommunications
Facebook Live Checklist:
https://www.joshklemons.com/facebook-live-checklist
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jlemonsk
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Reverbalc
Michael Sherman has a digital marketing firm called “The Interactive Imprint,” a full service South Florida interactive marketing consulting company focused on social media and influencer marketing.
He recommends companies focus their social media efforts on being original and showing what’s behind-the-scenes from a human perspective. It’s not a sales tool like other platforms are – it’s a brand awareness tool. Showing testimonials, employee spotlights, happy customers – these are all great ways to show why someone would want to do business with your company.
Michael tells clients to think of social media like a billboard – the more times people see it, the more impactful it becomes. Since people don’t listen to ads on the radio as often or watch TV on commercials, Instagram is the place where you can get people’s attention.
Listen to the podcast, then check out Michael at the links below:
http://theinteractiveimprint.com
https://www.facebook.com/TheInteractiveImprint
https://www.twitter.com/sherm29
Lauren Davis helps organizations improve their branding, social marketing, and public relations. She’s a small business owner of a brick-and-mortar store, and has ingrained herself in the local community in her city.
Want Lauren’s key strategies to using social media wisely as a small business owner?
Lauren teaches her clients the importance of creating an emotional, human connection – and making someone feel something. People remember things if they’re emotionally tied in, but be careful not to overuse this concept.
How do you actually connect on an emotional level with your audience? Use the same kind of conversation you’d have at with a good friend at a coffee shop, with someone who would be your potential client. Open yourself by positioning yourself as an expert, but one who’s a human and still feels things. This reminds your audience of their own lives and the similarities between you.
Want to know more? Listen to the episode below, and then find Lauren online at:
Web: https://laurendaviscreative.com/
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/ldaviscreative
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LDavisCreative
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ldaviscreative
Beverley is a Social Media Strategist from Canada. Her title is “Your Favorite Social Media Strategist”, which is one of the greatest titles I’ve ever heard.
She gave some great information on this episode, including:
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Start building a content database of striking images. Take pictures wherever you are and wherever you go.
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You’re not just competing with other businesses, you’re competing with people’s family and friends for their attention.
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If it’s not a striking image – put it in your Story. Stories is a great place for images that aren’t top quality.
There are some great Instagram hacks we discussed in this episode, including:
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How to tell if someone blocked you
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How to see someone’s posts if they’re private
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How to like every follower a particular user has
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How to start collecting email addresses
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How to download people’s Instagram stories, even if they’re set to private
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How to use Instagram from the PC to answer Direct Messages and comments using your keyboard
Check out Beverley online using the links below (she has one of the best websites I’ve ever seen!):
https://www.instagram.com/hellobeverley
https://www.hellobeverley.com
https://www.facebook.com/hellobeverley
https://twitter.com/hellobeverley
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hellobeverley/
Overland Unlimited consists 3 guys – Shane, Neil, and Steve. They saw an under-served community, and wanted to do something about that. There are people who spend time going on multi-day outdoor trips, living out of their vehicles, so they decided to build an Instagram community based on other people’s posts. Their goal is to “feature the extraordinary and cater to the ordinary.”
This community has grown to 10,000 followers, and have given people with small followings a voice in this community. To them, everyone has a cool story and a good angle that needs to be featured.
Whatever you’re into, no matter what it is, you can find an under-served community that you can bring together.
The takeaway: find the good story behind the photos, and share that story with the community.
Want to hear the exact strategies the team at Overland Unlimited used to build such a great community?
Listen to the podcast, and please, write a review on the iTunes store if you enjoyed it!
You can find Overland Unlimited at:
https://www.instagram.com/overland_unlimited
https://www.overland-unlimited.com/
https://overlandunlimited.bigcartel.com
https://www.twitter.com/OL_Unlimited
How to Use Instagram To Market Your Small Business
Marisa from AllTheSocial is a self-starter. She’s taken on a variety of roles that led to her owning her own small business, offering her social media experience to clients. She started on Instagram at the outset, when things were old school. How old school? She started using Instagram on her iPod Touch. Back in the day, we had to email pictures to ourselves or use Dropbox to get them from the PC to the phone. (Those tricks still work, by the way.)
Marisa’s focus has been on working with small businesses on Instagram. She empowers small business owners by creating visual content for them, teaching them to post valuable content by being a real person, not products or services, which builds trust and helps them engage with people.
If you’re an entrepreneur or small business owner, find what really matters to you (hint: it’s not your product or your service), and then convey that through pictures. That’s called your brand identity. How do you convey it using pictures? You tell your story. You show that you are a real human, not a brand. You have ups and downs. You make mistakes. You want to work with people just like you. Your success will be determined by how well you can convey that through pictures.
Listen to the podcast for more!
You can find Marisa at:
http://www.allthesocial.com
https://www.instagram.com/allthesocial
https://www.twitter.com/allthesocial
https://www.linkedin.com/in/calimarisa/
https://www.allthesocial.com/podcast
Spencer and Sequoia are musicians with an extremely engaged following. I asked them how they got such an engaged following. Here’s what they told me.
To start with, everything has to be sincere, authentic and genuine.
Here are the steps they took to build a community.
First, separate things from your personal account, and tell your friends: if you want to see what we’re doing, we have a new place – and tag your new handle. That ensures your friends will not be inundated with your other content or feel pressured. In the beginning, you may not have a lot of followers, but over time the new fans who join will not necessarily be friends and family, but people who have become new fans because they appreciate what you’re doing.
Show personal content that’s engaging. People like to see personal things because it shows that you’re human, and offers a non-professional side that attracts others to be more interested in what you’re doing.
Using Stories can be a great way to keep fans updated and get content out very quickly, like last minute changes that fans will want to know about.
Going Live is also an excellent way to connect with an audience, because it allows for real-time conversation and interaction – but it can be hard to read and respond to comments while the livestream is going on.
Want to hear more from Spencer and Sequoia? Check them out at:
http://www.spencerandsequoia.com
https://www.instagram.com/spencerandsequoia/
https://www.facebook.com/Spencerandsequoia/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWpvh5FSBpnA5a0QIOogqwQ
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/love-at-first-sound-ep/1317358403
https://open.spotify.com/track/0DU61ZdxfaBHWG7OzRz1jh
Alisa Meredith is obsessed with Pinterest advertising. She’s the content marketing manager at Tailwind, a Pinterest and Instagram scheduling tool.
Pinterest is based on images that you “pin” or save, and it’s built to give people ideas, and then do them.
MIND SHIFT:
Instagram is about projecting an image of yourself. Pinterest is about planning to become who you want to be.
Pinterest viewers don’t care about you, personally. They just care about making their lives better.
HUGE TIP:
The key difference between Pinterest and Instagram: Pinterest is designed to bring you traffic to your website or blog, where Instagram is about keeping users on Instagram.
Pinterest is the #2 social traffic referrer, only behind Facebook. Facebook reach is declining and therefore referral traffic is down. The percentage of Pinterest traffic is up at an even greater rate than Facebook traffic is declining.
If you’ve never used Pinterest before, start as a user. Just look at the site and start “pinning” things to see how it works as an end user, so you can learn what you like and how the site works
If you’re a small business owner, focus on becoming a local resource for your area. Try to get your pins on people’s travel boards for their upcoming trips.
If you’re building your personal brand, create “pin-able images” for Pinterest that will link back to your blog. You can use photos you’ve taken, or images available under the Creative Commons license, especially images that people can’t help but click on.
Where to learn more:
https://www.pinterest.com/alisammeredith/
http://www.alisameredith.com
http://blog.tailwind.com – Tailwind is a tool to analyze your boards to see what is working well
http://www.instagram.com/alisammeredith
http://www.twitter.com/alisammeredith
Thanks for listening!
JoJami and Lana of Ladies Roadmap have found an under served audience and are making content for them. They’re starting a podcast for women over 50, going around the country in a motor home to meet women and inspire them. Here’s some of the recommendations I gave them.
On Instagram:
People care about what you’re doing, behind the scenes. Instagram Stories lets you show what’s going on behind the scenes, save that content, and reuse it if resonates with your audience. Showing the process of starting a process, documenting the efforts you’re making, and showing what’s going on behind the scenes.
Going Live is a great way to get more views and grab the attention of your audience. If you’re working with someone like a business partner, you can go live together from different places – and you can set that content to be rewatchable for the next 24 hours, or download/save that content to reuse as a post or on another platform.
On Podcasts:
Being on other people’s podcasts and having people on your podcast is a great way to introduce people to your audience, and get other people’s audience members to become your fans. My pattened trick for getting people on my podcast is to find someone who had a book out a year or two ago but isn’t currently doing the interview circuit – they may not be getting a lot of requests at that time, but want to build an audience before their next book. I read the book, find my favorite part of the book toward the end, (showing that I read the book) and email them questions about it I want to ask them when we record.
Many women over 50 are not currently listening to podcasts, but they just need to be shown how podcasts can help them. If women over 50 were helped to see the value of podcasting – not in a “here’s our podcast” kind of way but “here’s why podcasts are so great” way, they would be creating a new audience that isn’t currently following 10 other podcasts, so their feeds will be completely empty and they’ll be ready to learn.
You can find JoJami and Lana at:
http://www.ladiesroadmap.com
http://www.instagram.com/ladiesroadmap
http://www.twitter.com/ladiesroadmap
Thanks for listening!
Tabitha Carro teaches small business owners and people working on their side hustles how to use their phones to create visual appealing graphics for social media.
Are you a small business owner who doesn’t have the time to learn all the social media platforms and tools? Tabitha recommends sticking to just one platform, and give yourself time to learn. Be there on that one platform, and just be present and engaged.
Tabitha recommends really getting involved with Stories, and experimenting with how to tell your story visually, adding stickers, dates, tagging people, and watching other people’s Stories to see what they’re doing.
Tools Tabitha Recommends:
To reformat images for Stories, Tabitha recommends an app called Inshot (for both iPhone and Android) that allows you to modify your images accordingly for Stories.
To add text to your images and Stories, Wordswag is an app (for both iPhone and Android) to let you add more stylized fonts, add a watermark, and your logo, and more before posting.
Tabitha suggests also adding a one sentence of what your short video is about to help reinforce the message.
To Build a Huge Following:
If you want long-term progress, you need to be focused on building a community. It’s a process centered around giving, but will pay off in the end.
Want to see more of Tabitha’s work? You can find her at the links below:
http://www.tabithacarro.com
http://courses.tabithacarrao.com – Several free online courses, including one on how to start promoting your business with your phone
https://www.instagram.com/smartphonemarketingschool/
Thanks for listening!
James Santos is a visual artist and designer. He’s done work for major companies as an employee of a company, but now he’s in the process of becoming a freelancer. He’s proud of the experience he’s gained working for larger clients but now he’s looking to build up his own business. What’s the best way to transition and get new clients?
The best way is to approach potential clients and show them what you can do for them by making samples. For instance, pick a business you’d like to work with. Take a look at what they’re currently putting online, and how it’s working. Is their content valuable, interesting, or funny? Is it something you would share with your own friends and family? Would you choose to follow their account? If not, why not? Jot those things down.
Next, create something that you think they would be excited to share on their social media pages. Then, go in with the things you jotted down, introduce yourself and position yourself as an advisor. Start by saying something like “when people decide to follow a business they’re looking for certain things, such as (mention what you jotted down.) I can help you in those areas, I’ve got a ton of great ideas, and here are some samples of my work.”
James know what he looks for when he decides to follow a page. To him, it’s important that the page by aesthetically pleasing and flows well. You might be looking for other things in a page – I look for entertainment value – but whatever you’re looking for, others are looking for it too. Discuss those points with the business owner, tell them some of your ideas, show them how they can incorporate that into their marketing, and what the results will be.
Major key: Give ideas away for free, but charge for implementing those ideas.
You’re probably thinking “I worked hard on those ideas! Why would I give them away for free?” It’s natural to think that way. But ideas are cheap, just like talk. Someone may have a million great ideas, but without the hard work and effort to accomplish them, what good are those ideas? Your goal is to find someone who recognizes the potential value of your ideas, and more significantly, the value of hiring you to implement them.
Want to see more of James’ work? You can find James at:
https://www.instagram.com/onlyjamessantos
https://www.instagram.com/onlyjamesphotography
https://www.youtube.com/user/Jas9rhome3ST/
Jen Lehner teaches digital marketing and has built an amazing community on Facebook called “The Front Row”. She has some great social media courses and even has a course on how to make your own course.
Jen talks about her Instagram strategies for posts, ads, building a community, stories, livestreaming, and more.
Subscribe on iTunes!
Grow Your Instagram Following with these Five Advanced Instagram Strategies I Learned from Jen Lehner of JenLehnerMedia
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Build a community and engage with the people in that group. Be present, and be responsive.
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Make a content creation assembly line. After making a video or blog post, schedule posts to all relevant posting locations using something like onlypult.co. Use a tool that can automatically remove “sales-type” posts during a promotional period.
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Since there’s only one place to post a link on Instagram (in your bio!) manually change the link in your bio to point to your new content.
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People are ready for real. Use Instagram posts for professional side of things and use Instagram Stories for the personal “behind-the-scenes” view.
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Make your livestream content extremely compelling. If you’re sharing something incredibly valuable each time, users will be sure not to miss future livestreams. It can be teaching something very basic that many beginners don’t know.
Follow Jen by
http://www.instagram.com/jenlehner
http://www.jenlehner.com
https://www.facebook.com/thejenlehner/
http://www.twitter.com/jenergy
Join Jen’s Community: The Front Row
Subscribe on iTunes!
Keeyahtay has a fulltime photography job. He’s got also got a photography business on the side. Here’s what I learned from him.
Subscribe on iTunes!
First – if you’re doing something for the fame, you’re doing it wrong.
Second, the beauty of Instagram is being able to see other people’s work – seeing photos from artists you respect and people you’ve never heard of. It keeps you feeling inspired, and it lets people who want to see your work see it.
How to Build a Photography Business from Instagram: Keeyahtay’s Business Strategies
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Photography is hard. In the beginning no one is going to care about you or your work. That’s tough, but that’s how you get started. I forget this all the time. During the time that no one cares about your work and no one cares who you are, that’s when you develop your skills and your own style. That’s a good thing. Hone your craft during that time.
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You’re not going to be making money overnight. You have to put in the work. You have to start interning, volunteering, and focusing on improving. It will take years before you can support yourself from something. I can never seem to remember that.
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Be extremely focused. Figure out what works for you, which could be making your Instagram only one type of image. If you’re going to do this, clear out other images from your Instagram, start from scratch, and just post one type of picture.
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Your posts should make someone want to be wherever you are or wherever you’ve been. Don’t post too much. Avoid posting multiple images in a row from the same event.
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Develop your own style so that people know it’s your work. Pick the same name everywhere, on every platform, so people can easily find you.
Keeyahtay’s Advice on Concert Photography – If you take pictures at concerts, they’re not going to come out great. Take a couple of pictures, but enjoy the moment. You paid money for the show, so put your phone away and just be there.
Want to know more about Keeyahtay? Find him online at the links below.
http://www.instagram.com/deadboltphotos
http://www.deadboltphotos.com
http://www.flickr.com/deadboltphotos
http://www.facebook.com/keeyahtay
http://www.twitter.com/deadboltphotos
Subscribe on iTunes!
Building Your Instagram Quickly Using Facebook Friends and Phonebook Contacts
I wanted to make a podcast where I interview people who know a lot about Instagram. My plan is to get them to spill their secrets (for free!) so you can listen and learn from the best. But this plan has some downsides, which center around the fact that I want to spill what I know too!
I came up with a solution that gives value to everyone listening. Episodes of this podcast will alternate between interviewing experts, and giving suggestions to people just starting out.
Subscribe on iTunes!
My friend Greg Pilla is great at networking. He knows good people, and he’s always at the right events. He’s got an email list full of engaged people, using a method that marketers hate. His email method is so good that I started using it about 4 months ago, and it’s made me love having my own email list. (Side note: I still hate mailing lists. But I love having my own.)
On this podcast, we talk about how Greg could transition his email list into his Instagram, both by finding contacts he’s connected with on Facebook and has saved in address book.
Do you want to know how? Listen to the podcast where I explain at minute 4:15. I also made a video tutorial for you.
Subscribe on iTunes!
Follow Greg On :
https://gregpilla.com
https://instagram.com/gregpilla
https://medium.com/@gregpilla
Thanks for listening!
Subscribe on iTunes!
5 Instagram Strategies I Learned From Sadie Olsen of Otto’s Cassava Flour
Sadie markets a flour for people who can’t eat gluten or are on the paleo diet. She started her company from scratch 2 years ago and she’s now on shelves in major food retailers.
Here are her Instagram secrets.
Subscribe on iTunes!
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Be responsive to comments and questions from your audience. Provide valuable content that saves people the time and effort of experimentation and figuring it out themselves.
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Recognize that there’s going to be trial and error in your strategy. Pay attention to the reactions people have to figure out what works for your audience.
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Use Instagram to start the conversation, then switch to a phone call or email to continue the dialogue.
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Make sure your Instagram name explains exactly what you do. Call out what makes you (or your product different) in your username.
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Go on people’s pages and comment on their photos, and just be nice. People will see your name, and if they’re interested based on your name, click through to your page.
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Make sure your bio is engaging and the link in your bio is relevant so your new followers can easily get more information.
Follow Sadie by :
www.instagram.com/ottos_cassava_flour/
www.ottosnaturals.com
And check out Otto’s Cassava Flour on Amazon, in Wegman’s and Mom’s Organic!
Thanks for listening!
Subscribe on iTunes!
