5 WAYS TO SET YOUR INSTAGRAM UP FOR SUCCESS
Let’s talk about what is needed to set up your Instagram for success for your business!
Hi friends! My name is Heather Caldera! I am the CEO of She is Social where I coach women-owned businesses how to use Instagram successfully and realistically. I also have been a Social Media Manager for the past 11 years where I have managed over 30 accounts for salons, coffee shops, restaurants, farms, and so much more!
When I began She is Social in 2018, Instagram wasn’t what it is today. The only video content on Instagram was stories and you could go weeks without posting content to your feed! It was such an easier time. As I began reaching out to businesses for social media management, I quickly realized that a majority of the women I spoke with didn’t want an SMM, they wanted to learn how to use social media themselves. They just needed some guidance! This is why I pivoted my business to coaching, while also still managing accounts, back in 2020!
The 3 main things women would tell me they struggle with when it comes to Instagram are:
-Lacking the confidence to record any video content as they didn’t know what to say, felt that their lives were boring and hated the sound of their own voice.
-Struggled with staying consistent as they wear so many different hats in their business and as a Mom, wife, friend, sister, aunt, etc.
-Overthought everything they created and posted. Often they overthink their content so much to the point that they just won’t post at all.
What good do any of the above do for your business if you are trying to succeed??
Nothing.
My goal with my business, my Instagram and my program is to help YOU succeed on Instagram confidently and with ease! While also having the time to put your phone down without guilt and to enjoy your life off of social media!
In order to do that, we must first set up your Instagram for success! Because with 500 million daily users on Instagram, you can literally no longer post whatever, whenever.
Here are 5 Ways to Set Your Instagram Up For Success:
✨Know Who Your Ideal Client Is!
When you speak to everybody, create content for everybody and aim to please your Mom, Dad, Aunt Lisa, Grandma Sue, neighbor Kelly, etc…you speak to nobody!! Seriously, stop creating content for every single person you know. Not everybody is your ideal client and that’s okay! You are not for everybody and that’s okay too!
Creating your ideal client is so important and will make all the difference in the content you create, the products and services you create and how you show up. This is always one of the hardest challenges my students go through when they take my program because they feel like they are eliminating so many people. Again, that’s okay! Not everybody is for you!
When creating your ideal client, think of who currently follows you who would be your dream client to work with. You may already work with this person and if so, perfect! Create your ideal client off of her/him! You are going to get so close to your ideal client and write down every single detail you can about them! It’s going to feel weird but you’ll get over it!
Give them a name, an age (ranging no more than 5 years), where they like to shop, what they like to eat, how they take their coffee, etc. For a full Ideal Client checklist, click here: She is Social | Ideal Client Checklist.
This is who you will create content for. This is who you will speak to when you create stories and Reels. Always refer back to your ideal client!
✨Create Your Content Strategy!
A solid content strategy tells the story of:
who you are
what you do
what services and products you provide
who you help
what your mission is
It also helps you:
Organically grow your following!
Drives traffic to your website!
Converts sales!
Saves you time & stress!
Create consistency!
Building your content strategy will also help you to create a running list of content ideas so you are never stumped on what to create and post again! It’s seriously such a game changer and I make sure to do this for every single one of my clients!
Begin with identifying your 3-5 pillars. These are what you feel that you are experienced in and want to share about on your Instagram! These are totally up to you!
Underneath each pillar, you will create 4 categories! Keep them simple! These will be some topic points on what content you can and should be creating!
From here, your mind should be running with so many ideas! Begin creating your content bank with these ideas! I like to break mine up into: carousel posts, static posts, Reels, emails, etc!
Make sure to audit your content strategy at least once a quarter and always add content ideas to your content bank! Refer to it when you need a little motivation and reminder of what to create!
✨Plan and schedule your content!
Taking about an hour out of your day at the end of the month to plan your content for the month to come is such a life-saver! Doing this saves you time, saves you stress and helps keep you consistent! Again, this is something that I do for every single one of my SMM clients and it makes my work more efficient. It also gives me the time to focus on other things in my business that I often put on the back burner as well as allows me to take Fridays off so I can spend more time with my kids.
I create monthly content calendars in my Google Drive and simply write down what type of content I want to post and what the topic of my content will be about.
Example: Reel-5 Ways to Set Up Your Instagram for Success
From here I can easily create the content, write my caption and schedule it to post! Instagram has a scheduling feature for Reels and posts! I highly recommend using it!
✨Don’t be afraid to be YOU!
Your audience is invested in you! They are following you for a reason! They are looking to you as the expert! They’re also nosy and want to know what you have going on behind the scenes, in your business and personal life.
Too often I have had women reach out to me telling me that they are afraid to show up because they think their life is boring or they have nothing to say. First, stop that! Your life isn’t boring and like I said, people are nosy! Share what you love! Share your morning routine, how you drink your coffee, your work outfits, your skin routine, etc. Start small and then work your way to feeling more comfortable. I bet you’ll be more surprised by what people love to see on your stories and content vs people hitting the unfollow button. And if they do unfollow you, good riddance! They weren’t for you anyway! 😉
✨Mute, Unfollow People and Turn Off Your Notifications!
This is not only healthy for your mental health but it’s just a necessity and has made all the difference in how I approach Instagram! I have been on Instagram since it launched (yes, I had a MySpace account too). I used to have my like notifications on and would open my phone every time I got a like. I would also always check my follower count, like why??
A couple of years ago I made the decision to turn off my notifications for my She is Social account and it has been SO freeing! I still have comments and DM notifications on for my clients but I also have set times that I am on my phone and am off my phone. My phone also goes on ‘Do Not Disturb’ around 8:30pm and won’t be turned off till about 8:30am the next day. We do not need to constantly be checking Instagram or every little notification that pops up. Turn your notifications off! Better yet, turn on your time limits too!
Another decision I made for my mental health was beginning to unfollow or mute people on Instagram. I’ll even block people (copy cats) too. If I don’t vibe with something I see or if I find myself comparing myself to someone’s content, I’ll either unfollow them or mute them. Don’t feel bad about doing this either. This is purely for your mental health and I promise it helps so much! This is your space that you are allowed to do whatever you want with, protect it and protect you!
When you join She is Social Academy, my 6-month Instagram program, we focus on all of the above as well as your mindset, creating realistic strategies, and confidence! If you struggle with any of the above, I invite you to join!
The portal that is loaded with 30+ modules opens September 18th and the weekly coaching calls within She is Social Academy begin the week of September 25th!
You’ll walk away from this 6-month program confidently knowing:
-How to create content that speaks directly to and attracts your ideal client.
-How to create more time in your life so that you can put your phone down without guilt and enjoy REAL life!
-How Instagram really works! Finally understand the Instagram algorithms, when to post, what to post and what to write in your captions. None of this posting every day, twice a day BS!
Join She is Social Academy here: https://www.sheissocial.co/sheissocialacademy