In episode #76 of Oh Shoot!, Cassidy Lynne shares her updated 2022 Instagram strategies that she’s using to grow and talks about what strategies have become a thing of the past. This podcast episode is not just for photographers, but anyone trying to grow a business on social media!
Listen to the full podcast on Spotify or watch it on Youtube!
Current Instagram Strategies
Two Ways to Get Discovered on Instagram
- Instagram Reels
- Hashtags
The two ways to get discovered by new people on Instagram are Reels and hashtags that get you on the Instagram Explore page.
In my feed carousel posts, I’ve found that if my post starts to get really popular on hashtags, shortly after it’ll start popping up on the explore page too. I have gained a decent amount of new followers from the hashtags I put on my post!
For example, my Horseshoe Bend photos got around 100,000 impressions. 75,000 of those people didn’t follow me, so they found me on hashtags and the explore page. And I gained 500 followers from a post, which I didn’t know was possible!
So be sure to check out the Insights for your posts to see your stats and where people are seeing your content! Reels and hashtags that lead to the explore page are working!
Long-form Captions Aren’t Necessary
Long-form captions get lost easier and aren’t as necessary or popular anymore. Before Reels, long-form captions were how you made a post interesting and valuable. Now long captions are not necessary. They’re almost over the top and overdone.
I know a lot of people love writing long captions! However, instead of putting a long story in your caption, make a video of it and post it as a Reel. People want to watch or hear about it, not read it in the caption. This is why I personally don’t think you need a super long caption on Reels. With feed posts maybe two paragraphs at the most most. Long captions are no longer needed and are a thing of the past, especially on Reels.
Posting Daily is No Longer Essential
Posting every day or every other day is no longer essential. People are getting in this mindset that they don’t need Instagram and are spending time off the app or in other areas.
Instead, quality content over quantity is key right now.
I’ve adjusted my posting schedule to look like this:
- One or 2 feed posts a week.
- 6 Reels a week. Reels matter with quantity and 6 reels a week is a great number for me.
Prioritize several high quality reels and a few feed posts every week. Either posting Sunday-Friday or Monday-Friday is huge because less people seem to be on the app on Saturdays.
Incorporate Email Marketing
Incorporate email marketing into your strategies because relying on Instagram to push out your message is not always effective. Putting all your eggs in the Instagram basket is not a good long term idea. So branching out and having a few options for marketing and getting content out is huge! If you do create an email list, work on creating exclusive content only for your email list or creating blogs that are shared to your email only. It’s a great way to utilize your audience on Instagram and start getting them in another funnel.
Show Your Face Consistently
Showing your face consistently in your feed posts is KEY for keeping followers. Anytime I post a photo of myself on my feed, it is guaranteed to be my most liked, most commented and saved post because it’s me. When you start posting your face to your feed, it brings value to your audience. They know who they’re connecting with and who they’re following. It helps establish your personal brand and keeps people at the forefront of people’s minds. People want to see who the person is they’re supporting!
Storytelling in Posts
Storytelling is key for reels, posts, and stories. Storytelling is one of the only consistent strategies right now. By telling a story your post is going to perform better. Think of yourself as the user on Instagram. What keeps you watching? What keeps you wanting more content from this person? For me as a user, I am hooked on things that tell a story.
Be Ready if You Go Viral
If you’re consistent with reels, you could go viral at any moment so be prepared with additional resources for your new followers. This is essential with Instagram. You never know if something is going to hit and you’re going to blow up. If it happens and you’re not ready, you’re going to lose that potential of new bookings and opportunities.
Maybe it’s having a free resource on an email list or a website that showcases your work really well. Be ready for the potential of going viral, so if it happens you can utilize it as much as you can.
5 Second Reels
Five second reels. It’s going to loop and will get more views. Make it simple and easy to rewatch! Pair it with fast flashes of half second clips. Those videos always blow up and are on my Reels page!
More Authenticity & Relatability
Authenticity and relatability is huge with content right now. Making things seem more romanticized than they are is a thing of the past. The more you show your every day life and just things that are happening, the better your account will perform. More connection and less impressing people. Instead, it’s about helping people to relate to me and feel like they know me as a person.
Keeping things strictly business is not interesting and will not lead to long-lasting results. It’s not really what people are looking for anymore. We are looking for fun accounts that are also advertising a product. It all comes down to creating connection with your user.
If you’re a photographer, your customers are people looking for photo sessions, getting married, have a family, etc. Those people are your customers, so when you are being strictly business it’s boring. The super business and professional accounts are not the ones that are growing right now. We are seeing so much growth in personality, relatability, and connection!
Create Original Content
With social media it feels like everyone is doing the same thing. Everyone is using the same trending sounds or lip syncing to the same audio. It gets redundant. When we can think outside the box that’s when we really start to thrive. Storytelling and original audio is huge! Create original content instead of always recreating what everyone else is doing.
You can hear me talk about this more on the “I have Beef with Social Media” podcast episode.
Quality Instagram Stories
We need to focus on the quality over quantity on Instagram Stories as well. Whenever someone has a ton of stories up, I’m tempted to just swipe past it. I’ve been trying to stick to under 10 stories a day, but sometimes it’s hard when I have something exciting to share!
Recap of Instagram Strategies
- Long-form captions are out.
- You don’t have to post every day.
- Quality over quantity.
- Incorporate email marketing.
- Show your face.
- Be consistent with Reels.
- Be ready to support going viral.
- 5 second Reels.
- Be authentic and relatable.
- Don’t be all business.
- Use storytelling.
I hope this episode was helpful with updating your current Instagram strategies! These are things that are working for me right now, but remember what works for everyone might not work for you! Thanks for listening! Be sure to share this episode on Instagram, and rate and review the podcast!
Show Notes
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