Growing Your Brand on Instagram with Natasha Samuel of Sol Studio Marketing
Episode 457: Show Notes
The 'gram is a topic near and dear to our hearts, and it’s one we know every entrepreneur who we cross paths with thinks about on a daily basis. For most of the people that we know, it’s their happy place — that’s definitely the case for us! Today's guest does things differently on this incredible platform. Natasha Samuel, Founder of Sol Studio Marketing, is not simply posting stories or putting things on her feed. Of course, she is still doing these important things intentionally, but she has some other tricks up her sleeve that most people probably have not thought about when it comes to their Instagram account, so you definitely want to stick around to hear what she has to say.
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Why Live Streams Are the Ultimate Instagram Growth Hack
If you want to grow your audience intentionally, live streams are the way to go. We know that video is one of the most powerful ways to establish yourself as a thought leader on Instagram, and live streams are the best type of video out there. While the thought of getting in front of a camera without being able to pause, edit, and polish your videos is enough to break most people out into a cold sweat, Natasha shows us that this is where the magic lies. By being authentic, unfiltered, and vulnerable, audiences will see that you are relatable and human. It is important to set clear expectations about when the live will happen. Natasha herself goes live on a certain day every week at a designated time, which helps solidify her place in her audience’s lives. If you are feeling at a loss on how to even go about it, that’s fine, Natasha’s got you covered. She shares the three formats that work best for live streams: Doing it with someone else, a Q&A, or a training style session with slides you have taken from your phone. This probably sounds a bit daunting, but Natasha provides great insights into how each of these setups works. You are rewarded for using new features on your favorite social media platform every time, so there’s no need for fear!
Laying the Groundwork for Live Stream Success
Other types of video content, like webinars, often require a great deal of preparation and promotion far ahead of time. So, do the same rules apply to more casual live streams? While it’s important to do some groundwork ahead of time, Natasha tells us that if live streams are going to be a part of our content strategy, the preparation does not need to be as robust as it would be for a webinar. It is important to give people at least a 24-hour heads up about when you will be going live. We hear some great preparation tips from Natasha on how to get ready for your live. These include preparing a cover photo ahead of time, having a title that encapsulates the theme of the session, a pinned comment where you outline the gist of the video, and the description which goes into the caption section of the IGTV video. What's great about this caption is that you get a clickable URL, which as we know, is super valuable because getting people to click on anything on Instagram is tough! Remember, the product of a live is an evergreen video on your feed, so set a bit of time aside to make sure it’s something you would be happy to come back to over again.
Personalizing Your Brand and Generating Revenue
Managing multiple Instagram accounts can make you want to tear your hair out, so is it wise to combine your personal account with your business one? If it makes sense, then do it! Of course, it depends on your brand, but there is no better place to make your brand more personal than on Instagram. Natasha shares her approach to her business page and the rationale behind the organic feeling her feed has. While she started out with a very structured plan of how to curate her page, this was creatively stifling, which is why she decided to let go a bit more and do what felt natural. Although it’s great to be yourself and let things flow, Natasha highlights the importance of consistency with branded elements like color palettes, font styles, and even the way your pictures are edited. Having these consistent features across posts will grow your brand recognition while still allowing you the freedom to have a range of content as part of your strategy. Having this mixed bag of content is part of what has helped Natasha make money off of Instagram. She shares the three separate types of clients who typically work with her as a result of finding her on Instagram, and the role that live streams have played in helping her convert. Do not underestimate how quickly people can go from cold to hot once they get a taste of who you are.
The Collaborative Live Stream: Building Connection with Others
At the start of the show, we touched on a great live stream format, which is collaborating with others, and we circle back to unpack it a bit more. Natasha shares how to prepare for these collaborative sessions including showing guests how to add themselves to the live stream and having a rough outline of what the show will be about. When inviting a friend or someone in your industry onto the live stream, the format will probably be quite similar to a podcast, where the conversation just flows naturally. With live testimonials, which Natasha makes use of as well, a client who has worked with you will share what their experience of your product or service was like. We also hear about a whole different type of live stream that has worked great for Natasha — opening up the floor and allowing any audience members to join in. This not only gives you a chance to engage with your audience but it also means that your followers can connect with one another and build community this way.
Strategically Approaching Your Instagram Stories
Stories are still one of the greatest features on this beloved platform, and although they offer us a chance to be ourselves in an unedited way, this does not mean that we should share them haphazardly. It is important to be strategic about your stories. You should try to post multiple times a day to get your bubble to the front of people’s feeds. If you can always be the first in line, people are far more likely to engage with what you’re putting out there. Natasha talks about her strategy when it comes to stories and the role that having the same elements plays in building connections. Whether you regularly show your morning coffee, smoothie bowl, or house plants, by sharing these parts of your day, followers can definitely turn into friends because of the access they have to your life. Stories really are where some of the best ‘gram magic happens.
The Changing Rules of Engagement
As likes are becoming less important on Instagram, comments, shares, and saves are growing in prominence. For Natasha, her focus has shifted far more to how many saves her posts are getting. Not all posts drive audiences to save in the same way, so Natasha highlights the two main types of savable posts that have worked for her. Content either needs to touch on specific audience pain points or it needs to have very actionable steps, like a ‘how to’ list or a set of instructions that audience members can refer to time and again. Natasha has stuck to her guns and has seen her saves grow exponentially to the point where her posts now have 100s of saves each! In these savable posts, Natasha reminds us about the importance of an intentional call to action. Remember, there is so much content out there already, so use words wisely to really engage your potential audience.
The Importance of IGTV and Highlights
We could not let Natasha go before we picked her brain about IGTV. Keep in mind that as you are constantly adding new things to your feed, older content can become harder to find. This is why Natasha feels that IGTV is so great — it’s easy to categorize and save your videos in an accessible way. These videos are a key piece in establishing your authority in your field and building your thought leadership platform. Natasha reminds us that it is important for videos to be engaging, especially in the first 10 seconds! Do not mince your words, be snappy, and cut to the core so people can get what they need quickly while still being entertained. We also touch on the role highlights play on your Instagram page. While Natasha admits that she is guilty of having a lot of highlights, she has seen the value of them, particularly in how they help her gain new followers. When people are visiting your page for the first time, your highlights carousel is often their first port of call, so put your best foot forward. It's fine to have lots of highlights, but you should make sure that they are relevant and still engaging for people who are watching them.
Quote This
Everything can be strategic in its own way, even if it’s just building connection.
—Natasha Samuel
Highlights
Why Live Streams Are the Ultimate Instagram Growth Hack. [0:03:27.0]
Laying the Groundwork for Live Stream Success. [0:10:27.0]
Personalizing Your Brand and Generating Revenue. [0:13:34.0]
The Collaborative Live Stream: Building Connection with Others. [0:26:46.0]
Strategically Approaching Your Instagram Stories. [0:29:30.0]
The Changing Rules of Engagement. [0:33:19.0]
The Importance of IGTV and Highlights. [0:36:50.0]
#TalkStrategyToMe [0:43:29.0]
Try something new on stories — Use stickers, feed videos, and memes
Explore ways to create a high value carousel.
Overcome that fear and dive into a live and try to do it once a week.
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Natasha Samuel
Sol Studio Marketing
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Natasha is the Founder of Sol Studio, an Instagram studio that offers small businesses and creative entrepreneurs Instagram content management, strategy sessions, and educational resources. Instagram storytelling is Natasha’s specialty and she helps her clients shine through effective strategies and intentional execution. As a keynote speaker, Natasha uses digital and in-person events to inspire intentional action. Her areas of expertise include Instagram, social media strategy, copywriting, grid planning, content creation, video marketing, Instagram video, female entrepreneurship, student entrepreneurship, IGTV, Instagram Stories, course creation, and batch.
KEY TOPICS
Instagram, Live Streams, Establishing Authority, Thought Leadership, Personalizing Brands, Marketing, Instagram Revenue, Engagement, Instagram Stories, Community, IGTV, Instagram Highlights
