33. The 4-Part Instagram Strategy That Actually Works (Without Posting 5x a Day)

[MUSIC PLAYING] Welcome to Social Content Made Easy, the podcast that helps you simplify content creation, grow your audience, and make sales on Instagram without spending hours glued to your phone. I'm your host, Nicole Iologio. And each week, I'll bring you bite-sized actionable strategies to help you confidently create scroll stopping content that actually grows your business. So if you're sick of wasting hours creating content that no one sees and just want a simple proven way to show up while having some fun, you're in the right place. Let's go. Hey, and welcome. We're nearing the end of September. I can't believe that September went by so fast. I don't know if I'm the only one. In this episode, we're talking all about strategy. And no, this isn't another post three times a day type of strategy. In this episode, specifically, I'm going to walk you through the exact four-part Instagram strategy that I use with my clients to help them show up consistently and to grow their audience and start turning followers into real clients without being online all day long. I know it's so easy to fall into the trap when we see people that are saying post three times a day, post five times a day, the more you post, the more you grow. Is that true? Yes, but is that sustainable? Heck, no. This is specifically for business owners that feel stuck or like you've kind of plateaued on Instagram. This is for people that are showing up, but not seeing growth or conversions into sales. This is also for newer plug-in post members who want to better understand how to use the prompts strategically in all of their content. So whether you're new here or maybe you've been winging your Instagram content strategy for a while, this is exactly how you're going to go from nothing to a little bit more growth. This is how I've helped clients go from crickets no growth to consistent growth. I want you to remember that strategy doesn't have to be complicated, but it does need to be very intentional. I know you've heard me talk about this before, but I'm going to briefly mention it again. Your profile needs to be super clear. If you have a fantastic reel and someone goes to your profile and has no idea what they're getting from you, they are not going to follow you. So your profile is your storefront. Before anything else, it needs to tell people what you do, who you help, how you help them, why they should even follow you in the first place. And then it could also lead to your next step. It could lead to a freebie, maybe a product, maybe booking a call. If your profile is not clear, your content isn't going to convert because people aren't going to press that follow button. Now, if you're looking for a very strategic way to do this, I do have a mini course, super affordable. I'll put it in the show notes. If you're looking to really get your profile amped up because this one thing, seriously, when we change this one thing, I have clients that shoot up their followers and they're like, wow, that kind of felt like magic. Like, yeah, you don't have to change the way that you're posting as long as your profile is clear. All right, if you already have your profile set, fantastic. Next, what we need to focus on is the right type of content and the right content mix. I recommend three main content types, which is growth content, trust building and conversion. With growth content, you're going to think reels or carousels that really give a bunch of value. For growth content, you are going to need to be a master at hooks. You're going to need a bunch of hooks and you can even try some trends for brand awareness, but don't overdo it on the trends. For trust building content, think like behind the scenes, what are your beliefs? What are things that you do in a specific way that other people don't necessarily do? Then you're going to do conversions. So conversion content is things like testimonials, storytelling, direct calls to action that go to what you offer. What most people do is they get stuck creating only one type of content and that's usually they get stuck in the educating. So they get stuck in just spitting out random tips that they think are going to help their audience and that make people want to follow them. But if you're missing the other stuff, your profile is going to feel kind of cold. If you're like, okay, fantastic, but I really don't have the time to think about what I'm going to post for each of these three content types, then I do recommend that you take a look at the plug and post hub. It's listed below. That's what I do every single week I give my members a fantastic mix of all of these, leading to an evergreen funnel with everything that you need. It has your reels, the carousels, the story prompts, everything you're going to need, including the trending audio, including example reels, including full caption prompts. So you don't need to sit there and think for hours about what you're going to post. Then you're going to show up in stories, but do it strategically. Stories build trust and connection more than anything else. And if you're able to connect with your audience, then when it's time to actually pitch something, they're going to be way more receptive to it, and they're not going to immediately ex out once they see you pitching something. You don't need to post your whole day on stories, I promise, just be present and intentional. Now, if you want to post your entire day on stories, go ahead, no one's stopping you. Those people that are telling you to just post one a day, or you can't post more than one a day, that is a strategy, and you can do the one story strategy. I think I have a whole podcast episode on it, but don't do it all the time. I really truly believe that connection is way more important than just having one promoting post every day on your stories. So you can use things like behind the scenes. What are you doing today? Think about ways that you can subtly promote your products or services, while you're talking about things that are going on throughout your day. The main thing I want you to focus on is engagement and making relationships with your followers. Instagram is not just for posting. It is for connection. We are craving that connection, and it's really important that you remember that your followers are not just numbers. They are looking to connect with somebody. So I really want you to set aside like five to 10 minutes a day to reply to all of your comments, respond to all of your DMs. And then if you have time, go ahead and you can comment on anything that you're watching in Reels or in your content that makes you want to comment. We're not just saying, yeah, great post to do it. We are making real connections with people commenting something that seems silly to us. Saying, I agree, this is so me. You can even use the repost feature to repost something that you think is a really good, funny, entertaining to your own page. And you can make a note about it on there. It's so stinking cool. What can happen when we create connection? Honestly, some of my best friends I have met on Instagram and I know people think it's crazy. But once you start creating that connection with people, you're going to see your account blossom. All right, this is our quick wrap up of all the things that we covered today. And if you're looking for more specific help with any of these, just check the show notes. It will link to more resources that can help with all four of these. So number one, you need a clear, clear, clear profile. Number two is you need a balanced content mix. Three, you need to be showing up in your stories. I don't remember who I heard this from, but somebody said, it's kind of like your stories. If you don't have a story, it's kind of like they're not being any lights on at your store. So like you walk into a store and there's no lights on no one's going to walk in. But if you have a story, that's kind of inviting people in to see a little bit more. So think about it like that. And then number four is simply prioritizing connection and engagement and replying back to people that are responding to you. Once you have this foundation down, and you can branch out and be more creative with your content. If you're ready to make this easier, the plugin post hub helps you implement this exact strategy. You'll get all the weekly prompts, the trending audio, the done for you content ideas. So you can just plug it into your strategy and go. And if you want specific help with your profile, there is another resource for that below as well. If you have questions, if you liked this episode, if it helped, please DM me on Instagram at Insta.amplified or tag me and let me know that you listen to this episode. I love that I'm able to help you really grow your Instagram and that I have this platform to do it. If you have any suggestions for future episodes, please DM me and let me know. I have a lot of ideas about what to post on these podcast episodes and what to talk about. But if there's something that you specifically want covered, please let me know. And I will definitely make an episode on it just for you. So hop into my DMs at Insta.amplified and let me know something that I could make an episode on here that would help you in your Instagram journey. I hope you have a fantastic rest of your day. Thanks for hanging out with me today. I hope you're walking away with at least one actionable take away to make creating content easier. If you love today's episode, it would be in the world if you could take 10 seconds, leave a review or screenshot this episode and tag me on Instagram at Insta.amplified. I'd love to connect and see your new content. Always cheering for you. See you next time. (upbeat music)