Getting Visible - Part 2: Instagram Hacks & Increasing Reach by 185% in 7 Days
Episode 793: Show Notes
To drive more buyers to your offer, you have to get in front of more of your ideal clients. During this episode, we’re talking about getting visible! I’m excited to discuss how this applies to you! I’ve also got something super tactical to help you get there. I will even take back something I said before and share what it can open up for you.
I have my eyes on Instagram and I have been in an effort for almost four months to re-figure it out! Leading up to that, I have not been in that area of the business. If I want to serve you, then I have to know what’s working today! Today, I’m sharing more of what I have unlocked and started to understand about Instagram. I also recommend you check out my recent Organic Marketing Training, which is a great next step after listening to this episode.
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Playing the Algorithm Game to Win
You can win visibility. You can win organic reach. You just have to learn to play the algorithm game! For a while, I thought Instagram was dead. I thought it was potentially going to go away. But I do think that Instagram has seen some of the areas in which they have let small businesses down and they are changing course to allow people to get the organic traction that they used to get on this platform. It’s just not the same as it used to be!
When I say take it from me, I really mean it. I used to play this game well. Circa 2015, I was growing my following by 1000s every month. I was playing the game which was a very curated feed and aesthetic. Then, I went through a fantastic season of ‘pay to play’ before I stepped away entirely. But now I’m back and things have changed drastically once again!
Five Ways to Connect on Instagram
On Instagram, there are five different ways to engage with your followers. All five are completely different, they are built by different teams, and they reach different people. Your feed has static posts, stories, reels, messaging, and shop. What goes unchanged in the history of Instagram is that they want to keep you on the app. The only way a post will go viral is if you beat the standards in the post itself. In my opinion, they are rewarding comments the most highly at the moment. That said, you want all forms of engagement to happen. Stories are almost always going to be exposed exclusively to your followers unless something of yours gets shared.
You have to create posts to have them be shared or you have to engage with other accounts to have them share you. The only way to drive traffic to stories is to have someone share them and if you want to increase the number of followers that are seeing your content, then you have to drive stories. Using stickers, using polls, using the graphic feature — they will reward the people using the new thing the most. Always!
The Unbeatable Power of the Instagram Message
Over the last few years, Instagram has been rewarding messaging. If you can get your stories to drive engagement in Messenger, all the better. They really want people who follow you to engage you in conversation. They want to see your followers sending you messages from stories and driving to messages from your posts. One of the new tools they’re putting more emphasis on is broadcast channels. If you want to nurture your superstars, then this is really going to be a great opportunity. Messages on Instagram nearly have a 100% open rate. This is wild! Email is nowhere near that. My list is at 30 to 50% open rate, depending on the size. Could Instagram messages be the next wave of SMS marketing?
The Two Biggest Areas for Visibility
The two biggest areas for visibility are shop and reels. I can’t provide any on shop because I am not personally running a shop on Instagram. But if you are running a product-based business and you are not utilizing the shop feature, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to find free organic reach. As of now, shop does not allow you to sell digital products or services of any kind. With a physical product, liability is much lower for the e-commerce platform.
Let’s talk about Instagram Reels! From my personal experience and observation of many other business accounts, it is very clear to me that if your goal is visibility on this platform, reels are where you need to be investing your time. Your content for reels should be designed for people who have no idea what you do, who you are, what your expertise is, the results you’ve gotten, or the clients you have served. If you can create content that is ideal for someone who has never interacted with you before, you will increase views on your posts.
Why Reels and TikTok Are Definitely Not the Same
The short-form video culture on Instagram is dramatically different than on TikTok. There is an expected way to show up on TikTok, and if you don’t do it, you won’t succeed. But with Instagram, there are so many different things you can try! I have literally been trying everything, and the one thing that’s worked best for me is very short-form videos that are getting people to read and engage with a hook in the caption.
Here’s where I have to take back what I previously said. I told you that I wasn’t sure about bots, or how much effort they were in comparison to the reward. There are ways to make bots quite complicated. But you can use a simple mini chatbot that is literally one step and can deliver a message directly to someone’s inbox by having them comment on a reel or a post. I know I said something different in the past, but I DO think that bots can be helpful if they’re done the right way.
Learning How to Play the Game by Watching How the Game Is Played
I could easily go on for days about all the different ways you could leverage Instagram. But I’m not the expert here! I am someone trying and testing in real-time and sharing my experience. There are plenty of people out there who have the same amount of information, and even less than me, that are trying to sell you what they know. The best thing you can do is to look and see what you are interacting with in the Discovery Feed and Reels. What are their other top-performing reels? Learn by observation! Learn how to play the game by watching how the game is played.
I have found a method that is getting me more reach than I have gotten in years on Instagram. In seven days, I have woken up my account and engaged almost 2x what I was doing before. I haven’t even necessarily had anything crazy pop off yet. When each post’s views consistently rise and you start to do it more consistently, it makes a huge difference. Find what works for you, make it a priority, and know and understand that visibility is necessary for you to do business.
If you are looking for ways for other people to drive leads, then I definitely recommend that you check out our recent Organic Marketing Training so that you can learn about optimizing for search and getting leads on autopilot.
I also want to share my new workbook which talks about everything from identifying the business model you’re building into what you want to build in the future and how to create aligned messaging. We’re even diving into the client spectrum and how to create an offer ecosystem around it. This is a super cool new resource that I really want you to get your hands on, and it’s actually a companion piece for Episode 789 of the podcast, so tune into that once you’ve listened to this!
Quote This
If your goal is visibility on this platform, reels is where you need to be investing your time.
Highlights
Playing the Algorithm Game to Win [0:04:22]
Five Ways to Connect on Instagram [0:05:40]
The Unbeatable Power of the Instagram Message [0:04:22]
The Two Biggest Areas for Visibility [0:15:41]
Why Reels and TikTok Are Definitely Not the Same [0:19:51]
Learning How to Play the Game by Watching How the Game Is Played [0:26:55]
OUR HOST:
Abagail Pumphrey
Boss Project on Instagram | Facebook
Abagail Pumphrey, the Co-Founder & CEO of Boss Project, has been a driving force in the creative entrepreneur industry since 2015. With a passion for empowering service-based business owners around the globe, she became internet-famous after the launch of the transformative training, "Trello for Business." This innovative system revitalized the operations of over 10,000 business owners, making a significant impact on the online business landscape.
Under Abagail's leadership, Boss Project has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Marie Claire, INC, and HuffPost. Her twice-weekly podcast, The Strategy Hour, is a staple in the business community, continuously topping Business and Management Charts on Apple with millions of listeners from around the world.
Abagail's superpower lies in her ability to break down complex concepts into easy-to-implement, duplicatable systems. As an expert in online sales and a data-driven strategist, she has turned a layoff into a 7-figure work-from-home business. Abagail's mission to help more female founders become financially free, without letting their businesses take over their lives, continues to inspire and guide entrepreneurs on their path to success.
Key Topics:
Instagram, Offers, Engagement, Social Media, Marketing, Visibility
