Your new instagram strategy with Natasha Samuel
Does it feel like Instagram has changed quite a bit over the past few years?
Well, that’s because it has.
I am joined today by my great friend Natasha Samuel who is an Instagram and video expert.
She started her business in college when she found a love for digital marketing and helping small businesses with social media and story-telling.
Her philosophy now is: “How can we bring the authentic human pieces of your brand into your marketing while leveraging the amazing features that Instagram has?“
Natasha has grown so much with the referrals and has evolved so much with the platform which is just so cool.
The first question I asked Natasha was:
Tell us a high-level overview of what’s going on on IG and what you’re noticing.
She replied, “I know it can be overwhelming, absorb as much information as you can and try your best to understand the features. If it feels like something you have the capacity for in your schedule then go for it. If it feels like a complete scratch and it throws off your whole strategy, don’t adopt it right away.
I asked Natasha which new features she is excited about, and she replied:
Grid pins
You can use them like a navigation bar on a website
You can use them as an “about me” section
You can break down your offers and programs
You can highlight your best content
Longer reels (90 sec)
This is leaning into the original content that’s a little longer and gives you more creative freedom. You can use this as:
Vlogs
How-to’s
Case studies
Stories you share
Auto-posting reels
This is only available on a third-party apple like Later, Planoly, and other platforms
You also can’t choose your cover photo or add music to it.
Often clients feel like they missed the “reel boat” or the “TikTok boat”, there is no boat, maybe a ferry.
How do we use the platform to get them to take action with us?
Here is my three Part Follower Journey
How do we take them from being completely new to our brand to being ready to convert?
They discover you and land on your Instagram home page.
Nurturing and building a community. Where they are spending the most time, this is where we add value and share who we are beyond the business. This is where we turn them from a follower to super fans and warm leads.
They start to realize the ways they can invest and want to know more about how they can work with you.
Tips to leverage Instagram for the launch:
Starting with the bio making it very clear
Have a really great call to action that bio that leads to the link
Updating stories and highlights
Having breakdowns of your offers
Bingeable a grid where they can absorb more content from you
We need to be talking about our offer way before launching
Helping them make small wins and breakthroughs
Talking about your offer before you have it open as a soft launch
When it comes to launching, people absorb sales content differently and they usually create sales content for the type of buyer they are.
Some people need all of the Facts and FAQ to make a purchasing decision. Some people need to buy by just feeling connected to the person, it doesn't necessarily matter what the offer is, but they want to be in the same room as you.
When creating your sales content, talk about it more than you think you should.
Create an emotional connection for on stories.
I often feel like when people go into launch mode there are two sides to them
The launching side and the non-launching side.
Ideally, we want this person to be the same so if you’re posting a lot of fun reels and posting your morning coffee, keep doing that. We just need to infuse more selling into the type of content we are already creating
Do you find entrepreneurs who come to you and don’t want to be salesy?
Reframing how we think about sales
We are doing a disservice to them, if I am selling I’m serving my people.
They feel it’s stressful and not enjoyable, how can we make it more fun?
What does problem awareness content, and what does this mean?
I like to think of our ideal followers/avatar and ask:
How are they consuming content?
What are they on Instagram for?
What are the problems they need help with?
I recommend taking some notes on who are those ideal followers in your community and what is the solution you have to offer.
I know that a lot of my audience struggles with just pressing the record button and showing up on video. So I create content helping people feel more confident on video/
Sometimes people don’t know why are they struggling with certain things, like showing up on video.
Natasha left us with a few tips for video skill building:
Take a look at the 5 surfaces of Instagram and choose one or two with one of them being video:
Stories (I always recommend starting here if you’re getting started)
Reels
Posts
IGTV
LIVES
Do what you like.
If you like chatting on video, do that.
Don’t love the sound of your own voice? Use music.
More of a visual person? Use graphics and images.
As long as you are showing up and staying consistent, you’re doing this right
Now that you have some amazing Instagram insight from Natasha, get ready for ACCESS YOUR AUTHORITY.
You’re invited to join Team Weber Co. for a workshop that will reignite your fire for what you do and the impact you have on your audience.
During this 5-day workshop experience, you’ll learn:
What it means to define & claim your authority: 3 fundamentals for establishing an authority brand
How to leverage your authority in your sales system to create consistent conversions
A simple marketing approach designed to help you scale in a constantly changing digital landscape
Pre-register here to gain access to some stellar free resources that will help you create binge-worthy content that converts.