How to Explode on Instagram

Using social media accounts to boost your brand’s success is a necessity now that people spend so much time on their phones. While some sites like Facebook and Snapchat are seeing a decrease in the amount of time that users spend on them, Instagram is in the midst of an upward swing. The trend for all three websites is expected to remain this way at least through the next two years.

Harnessing the power of Instagram might seem like another daunting task on your plate, but it isn’t. There are five steps that you need to incorporate into your IG plan if you want to make your brand well-known, increase your audience, and get more sales.

#1: Post regularly

Just like the search engines have an algorithm for what websites rank higher on the lists that show up when a person enters a keyword, social media sites have one for the ads and posts that they show. One of the most important things that you can do on ‘The Gram’ is to post new things on a consistent basis. You shouldn’t overwhelm your followers with posts, and there is no evidence that a more frequent routine gets better algorithmic results, but a good rule of thumb is to  schedule 3-7 posts per week. This keeps you in their feed without making it seem like you are desperate for attention.

#2: Follow the competition’s followers

You can learn a lot by following people on Instagram. Some of the best people to follow are the ones who follow your closest competition. You can get clues to why they like the competitor and then use that information to develop your brand. Once you follow them, there is a good chance that they might follow you back, which means they have opted in to your marketing.

#3: Always be responsive and engage frequently

People who follow you on Instagram aren’t exclusively there for you to post at them. They want to engage with you. Make sure that you are responsive to private messages and comments on your posts. The goal is to become closer to your followers and establish a sense of trust with a core group of individuals. Engaging is translated as user activity to the Instagram algorithm, which is a critical factor in reaching more people and quickly growing your page.

#4: Create a theme for the page

Your Instagram page needs a cohesive theme. Are you going to share tips for health or wellness? Will you post about nature and include beautiful scenic photos? Will people be in your photos? Maybe you’ll use a specific filter or editing style. Creating a theme that communicates what your brand is about requires you not only to know your product or service, but the demographics of those who are most likely going to be impressed with it.

#5: Enlist the help of influencers

With the right following, Instagram influencers can make or break a brand with a single post. Enlisting the help of these individuals is one of the best ways to build your following and get people fired up about your product or service. Some social media influencers are compensated exorbitantly; however, others with smaller followings will often post about your product/service for free. Researching which influencer you want to use for your brand is a critical step here, because you don’t want to put efforts into sponsoring content with someone if nobody in their audience is going to convert into a customer. If you have a small budget to spare on Instagram marketing, Influencer posts are generally the best place to put your money for rapid initial growth.

Bonus tip:

Learn from your successful posts

You can track your IG posts to see which ones your followers are interacting with the most. Once you know this, you can try to replicate that success with others. Because people don’t want to continue to read the same information regularly, try to replicate the photography style, copywriting, or editing from one successful campaign to another one without posting a replica. Other important metrics to look at for replicating success include the time of day of your post and the day of the week. Are people engaging more with your posts over the weekends? Maybe it’s time to push 50% of your scheduled posts to Saturdays and Sundays. Are certain hashtags you’re using bringing in more engagement? Keep using them and find variations of them to add to future posts. 

Remember, your Instagram page is entirely customizable as long as you remain within the confines of the terms and conditions of the website. Use these steps to grow your following, increase engagement, and show exactly how your customers can benefit from what your company has to offer.

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Marla DiCarlo is an accomplished business consultant with more than 28 years of professional accounting experience. As co-owner and CEO of Raincatcher, she helps business owners learn how to sell a business so they can get paid the maximum value for their company.

3 Video Tools for the DIY Business Owner

If you’re a tech-savvy business owner who wants to save money and DIY, these video apps are for you⁣⁣.

1. Clips

Clips is great if you want to create a quick promo video for a product launch or an upcoming event. Combine your still images with eye catching text and pre-made cover templates to intrigue your followers. This app is free and offers free background music. Pro tip: write out your goal before starting, choose quick concise copy, and pick 3-4 images that clearly convey what you are trying to promote or sell.⁣⁣ #appleclips

Sample Clips Video:

2. Wix Video Maker

This one is only available if you have a premium Wix website (or can borrow someone elses!) so if you are considering switching website platforms, this is an added perk. Wix's video maker is so simple to use, desktop friendly, and offers tons of cool template options to choose from.

Sample Wix Video:

3. iMovie

Although this one may be "old news" it still has more FREE capabilities than many newer video apps (Splice, Magisto, etc.) which are designed to get you to upgrade to a monthly subscription to unlock better features. #iMovie is easy on desktop and mobile, and you can stay simple or get more complex and creative, it's up to you.⁣⁣

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Work With Me

If you decide to check out any of these video apps and want some extra guidance, send me a message, I'm happy to help you learn how to use them. Or if you don't have the time or the interest to learn a new app or platform, I’ll work with you on a quick project to get a promo video made for your next launch or event.

Are there any other video apps you love? Leave a comment with your thoughts and let’s discuss 🙌 🎥 🍿 📸

Is Your Instagram Name Winning You Clients?

7 Business Owners Share Their IG Journey

Ever wonder if you would be getting more profile views and generating more online leads with a different Instagram handle? Or maybe you have a business handle but are wondering if you need a separate personal account as well. This is a huge topic with a lot of possible answers, so I’ve broken it down into 3 main categories of Instagram handles to help you decide which one is right for your business. To make this more manageable, I enlisted the help of 7 Southern California-based business owners, who discuss how their business has evolved and why their Instagram handle has helped them grow their brand.

The Three Categories of IG Handles:

1) @FirstName_LastName

Handle Type: @FirstNameLastName

Inspo: @bradenadamdrake, @alisonkiney, or @christie__bailey

Best for: Solopreneurs who are service based and confident in being the face of their brand.

Why: You know that people could get your value from many other sources, but they choose you because of you who are and how you make them feel.

“I have two websites, my law firm Braden Drake Law and Your legal GBF AND I have a podcast. I definitely don’t want to manage multiple IG accounts and this way I can use my personal brand to direct people to my different resources based on their needs and interests.” -@bradenadamdrake

Braden has the right idea here. Rather than try to manage way too many channels, he can build a personal relationship with everyone and point them in the right direction from there.

“I love having my name reflected as my business name…it feels personal, friendly, and approachable. However, I’ve often thought to myself, if the business is only under my name, could it really go on and thrive 100 years from now?” - @alisonkinsey

Alison Kinsey is asking the right questions. For now it makes sense to keep using her personal name, since she is known among her community. Her mission is to cultivate amazing friendships among entrepreneurial women through intimate events and mastermind-style experiences. She was the first person who welcomed me into the San Diego networking scene!

“I like using my name because I’m always changing as I grow as a person.” - @christie__bailey

Christie and I went to college together and now she’s killing it as an Online Business & Life Coach, helping driven women build 6-figure coaching businesses. Check out her daily IG stories for motivation and growth hacks.

2) @Business_Name

Handle Type: @BusinessName

Inspo: @createwithgusto, or @lifeeffect_media_

Best for: Product Based Businesses, Partnerships and (sometimes) Freelancers

Why: It’s more professional and allows for consistency across all platforms. Also, it gives freelancers the flexibility to be seen as a single person or grow into a larger business with team members and contractors, depending on the types of clients they want to market their services to.

“I’ve always had high hopes for Create With Gusto that it would expand into more than a one-woman show. I didn’t want the business to be limited by being associated with my personal brand since it could change in the future.” - @createwithgusto

Create With Gusto, is a creative agency in San Diego run by Angela Garzon who specializes in brand photography. I’ve collaborated with her on several client projects and workshops, and though her personality certainly merits her own IG account, we also love her brand name, and it makes sense for her to stick with that as her business evolves.

“I wanted to call my account “sandiegosocialmediaexpert” but that was taken (and quite long). Plus I already had my LLC set up and Life Effect media means a lot to me.” - @lifeeffect_media_

Life Effect media is a marketing agency, specializing in social media management and web design, definitely worth following for weekly tips on IG strategy and follower growth.

3) @Industry_Expert

Handle Type: @Adjective_Industry_Skillset

Inspo: millennialretailsavant

Best for: Freelancers , consultants, and any solopreneur who’s not getting traction with 1) or 2) - try it for a few weeks and see what happens!

Why: If you have a niche audience in a specific industry, you know exactly what you offer, and you’re trying to become a thought leader or subject matter expert, and you aren’t planning to pivot into a new field or audience demographic, this is a great way to quickly communicate what you do to your followers and can often help people find you by search if they are looking for experts in a certain city.

“I wanted to create something that told people what I brought to the table. There are a lot of talking heads in the retail industry…why should anyone give a damn about my perspective? The fact that I’m a member of the demographic that so many retailers are trying to reach automatically set me apart.” - @millennialretailsavant

This is proof that sometimes, it’s more valuable to tell people what you do for them than what your name is, or that you have a fully functioning business with team members, an office etc. etc. In three seconds of reading your handle, the prospective client instantly knows you speak the language of their demographic, you’re in their industry, and you are confident calling yourself an expert, “savant” or similar.

Feel Like You Should Switch Your Handle?

If you feel like you might need to change your Instagram handle to reach your audience better, you’re not alone. When I messaged Cathy of @altcontent about her unique handle she told me,

As I have built my content creation business, I realized that I am becoming an expert in the social media marketing field. When people hire expert coaches, they want to see your name. So I have been working more on building my personal name as the face of my brand. It’s time to pivot! – @altcontent

Consider this:

At the end of the day, you want to balance prioritizing your personal brand, professional appearance, and niche audience. You can do this through posting a variety of content that caters to each goal, for example on Mondays you share a personal story, on Wednesdays you talk about a professional win or client testimonial, and on Fridays you share a blog post with industry tips to demonstrate your expertise. Still, it’s helpful to know which of these three is the most likely to win you clients, and that doesn’t mean you have it figured out from day one. It means you take time to post meaningful content, interact with your audience, and learn from previous efforts.

Your audience will respect you more for making a bold move than being afraid to try something different. - @mwecreative

Never be afraid to try something new, or go in a different direction. If it feels right it will be right and your audience will respect you more for making a bold move than being afraid to try something different.

🙌🙌🙌

MWE Creative Featured in SD Voyager's New Interview Series, The Trailblazers

About the Trailblazer Series

“Today, women are doing incredible things in all fields – from science and technology to finance, law, business, athletics and more.  With the Trailblazers series, we hope to highlight and celebrate female role models, encourage more equal and just representation in the media, and help foster a more tight-knit community locally helping women find mentors, business partners, friends and more.” – SD Voyager editorial team.

SD Voyager is an online publication covering San Diego’s most inspiring stories. I am humbled to have been selected for their new series, The Trailblazers: Rewriting the Narrative, and grateful to my good friend Renee Yomtob for putting my name in the hat. Having started MWE Creative just over a year ago, this is a huge milestone moment.

Interview with MWE Creative

To read the full article, click here.

How to Get Your Blog Published on Medium – A Client Success Story

Ben Fairbrother is an empowerment coach and founder of ProjectSelf.io.

When our clients win, we win! And yesterday, our favorite empowerment coach achieved a big milestone in his business. Not only was Ben’s blog published on Medium, it was also selected as premium content by the Medium editorial staff. Congrats to Ben Fairbrother, empowerment coach and founder of ProjectSelf.io. Our team at MWE Creative love seeing your success! So for anyone struggling to write quality content that engages viewers, here’s how I helped Ben get published on Medium.

Develop Your Digital Strategy

It all started back in February when Ben came to me for a digital strategy consultation. Though normally we like to meet clients at a coffee shop or co-working space, Ben and I agreed that, as entrepreneurs, we spend too much time sitting as it is, and we’d be better off getting the creative juices flowing by taking a walk on Sunset Cliffs. In an hour-long session, we discussed everything from goal setting, audience targeting and how to achieve the right tone to engage prospective clients.

Perfect the Art of Blog Writing

Of course, strategy is only half the battle, the rest is up to the client. Ben took our tactics and put them to use in his writing. Over the next few weeks, he wrote a number of compelling and thought provoking blog posts and sent them to me for review. To give you an idea of the tips and tricks we provided, take a look at our 5 Best Practices for Coaches Writing a Blog, these are just a sneak peek of the work we did with Ben to uplevel his blog writing and formatting.

TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND HIT ‘SUBMIT’

The final step was again up to Ben. “I signed up as a partner and published my blog, then it went to review and they loved it.” he tells me. But the best part of all is that Ben’s blog was not just published, it was selected by the editorial staff as premium content. Obviously this means they thought it was great content, and for Ben’s business, this means more viewers, targeted by their interests, and more prospective leads. We can’t wait to follow up with Ben over the next few weeks to see what leads this blog brings him, and what his plans are next for his coaching business. To get in touch with ben visit his website ProjectSelf.io.

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Work With Me!

If you are struggling to write blogs, or figure out how to convert your content to sales, let’s chat. Book your digital strategy consultation today. First 30 minutes free, $90/hour.

MWE Creative is a full spectrum digital marketing agency that specializes in digital strategy, website design and content creation. Book your call today!

6 Tips on Avoiding Burnout and Boosting Productivity

What does burnout look like for you?

Recently in my business, I’ve noticed that work has felt more tiresome and tasks I could normally get through quickly are taking longer. I feel distracted, disheartened, and unmotivated. Projects that were new and exciting are now “been-there-done-that.” Maybe this is me leaving the honeymoon phase of my business, since it’s been just over a year. I also find other priorities clouding my focus: we just got through tax season, I’ve had to fix my car and things around the house, and deal with family matters. The hardest part is that, the more I get off track, the more I get down on myself for not reaching my usual overachieving productivity levels.

Friends, this is what burnout looks like, at least for me. Can you share what it looks like for you?

What steps can we take to recover?

The good news is, once you learn to recognize it in yourself, you can implement a few little things that make a huge difference. Taking care of burnout now will save you hours of wasted time over the next few months - and what a perfect time to get that sorted out - summer is around the corner and we want you spending lots of time with friends and family enjoying the beautiful beach days, not hiding away in your office trying to work and feeling stuck!

So without further ado, here are my 10 favorite tips on avoiding burnout and boosting productivity!

1. Focus your energy on three things

“A very wealthy and wise mentor taught me a long time ago to focus my energy and time on three things in my business. Tasks that are leading to a sale, tasks that are actually making a sale and tasks that are actually generating revenues.  

Everything else I needed to get off my plate and hire for or outsource. The time I stopped spending on non revenue generating tasks, and it was plenty, I divided up and gave a portion to generating more revenues, that more than covered my outsourcing costs, and I actually ended up making more money than when I was trying to do it all.” – Maury K.

2. Schedule twenty minutes of “sacred time”

“It took me several years to figure out (finally) that I needed to reserve SOME time for me every single day.  Even if it's only twenty to thirty minutes.  This "sacred time" has to be scheduled into your calendar or it isn't going to happen.  Believe me. Treat this block of time as if it was an appointment with an important client or community business person.  Once I started doing this faithfully I felt so much better!” – Sylvia H.

3. Build your ‘Dream Team’ support system

“Build your business around your lifestyle and not the other way around. Have a great (not just good) support system, and top level Dream Team or Board of Directors even if you happen to be a "Party of One" business owner.” – Ali R.

4. Revisit the ‘Why’ in your business

“When things become difficult or take a downward turn, it’s very important to revisit why you started or took over a business. That passion can push you through the early stages of burnout. ”

— Michael W.

“When things in a small or medium-sized business get tough, the first thing I tell my clients to do is revisit their "Why". Why they are in business and why they do what they do is a critical cornerstone on which they built their company. When things become difficult or take a downward turn, it's very important to revisit why you started or took over a business. That passion can push you through the early stages of burnout.

Another thing I assess with them is what elements of the business are they involved in that they could let go of and delegate. Often I find that business owners, CEOs and Presidents immerse themselves in granular tasks that are not productive and don't support the growth of business. That kind of 'busy-work' can certainly cause burnout and cause a loss of focus on the bigger picture.” – Michael W.

5. Learn to lead

“Delegate and trust those you hire to have the skillset you paid for! Leadership is the key.” – Darnell L.

6. Manage your energy levels

“You always need to manage your energy levels. Make sure you have enough sleep, even if you have to adjust your work hours or schedule. If you collapse or crash, what happens to your business? You are doing right by your business when you do right by yourself.” – Joseph B.

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Delegate your marketing tasks to an expert without breaking the bank

Stick to doing what you love and offload the work that doesn’t feel easy or enjoyable. Take my client questionnaire to find out what marketing services you can delegate that won’t break the bank or mean more time micro managing others.

Which of these 4 Instagram Grids is Right for Your Brand?

If you are a business owner who has decided to handle your own social media marketing, you may be struggling with any one of the following:

• Taking high quality photos

• Maintaining consistent colors and patterns that fit your brand

• Creating captions that provide value, resonate with your audience, and feel authentic to you

• Learning the latest tools, platforms, and best practices of social media marketing

• Staying up to date on algorithms and other changes that affect your engagement metrics

• Dealing with everything else that often takes higher priority and stops you from getting any of the above done!

So before you get so overwhelmed you close this page and vow never to read my content again, I promise there are some great tips from a few local San Diego entrepreneurs, who all have a unique style and all are getting results! Check out their ideas and Instagram profiles to see which one fits best with your own. If nothing less, you’ll walk away with a few new ideas for content and some great accounts to follow!

The Low-Maintenance Vertical Grid - as demonstrated by @megladd

Best for: Brands that want to highlight a key piece of content and provide low-maintenance structure to their profile

Worst for: No one that I can think of. This works pretty well for anyone unless you forget to stick to your own structure, then it just looks messy and disorganized :P

Meet Megan, a life and business coach with a big, beautiful smile and even bigger heart! Megan has used the vertical grid pattern since early 2018 and has stuck with it through and through.

I decided on the column layout because I’ve always loved quotes, and this seemed like an easy way to incorporate them into my feed! It’s also simple to follow and low-maintenance. I’m a fan of keeping things streamlined like that! Plus, I love when things look organized, and this aesthetic felt so clean. – @megladd

We like Megan’s uncomplicated approach to posting but we really love that all her messages are genuine and thought provoking.

I only post 2-3 times a week on average, but when I share, I'm intentional about it. I speak from the heart, and a lot of what I post is inspired by sessions with my clients — messages I'm inspired to put out into the world. – @megladd

Create a Profile Like Megan’s

Did you know that you can use content created by other Instagram profiles and easily share it on your own account? To save images you like, use the little Flag icon to the right of any image and click ‘Save to Collection.’ Just make sure to give credit to the author in your caption (and you may also want to tag them in the image).

“I would recommend that anyone who’s deciding on a layout lean into what resonates the most with their personal style and the type of content they enjoy creating. There’s no wrong way to do it! Try whatever you’re naturally drawn to that also makes sense with your strengths and your business strategy. Then, show up consistently and long enough to start seeing results. Let go of it needing to be perfect. You could spend hours, days, or even months trying to decide on the perfect layout or feed aesthetic, but that’s all time you could be creating instead!”

— @megladd

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The Expert Diagonal Grid – as demonstrated by @checreates

Best for: Brands that want to demonstrate their knowledge and provide consistency for followers

Worst for: Lazy entrepreneurs who have no time to create valuable content and resort to motivational quotes or filler content “because everyone does it” - LOL sorry guys!

Meet Ché, a copywriter and brand strategist (who also happens to have excellent taste in music!). Ché has recently started using the diagonal grid pattern, where every other post is an eye-catching headline or quote with valuable insights from her area of focus in marketing. When asked why she decided on using this pattern, Ché tells me,

“It’s easy to lose the interest of your audience if you stick to just one stroke. Mixing up your content while still providing structure gives customers something to look forward to, along with continuity. People like patterns and knowing what to expect.” – @checreates

I definitely agree that people like patterns! This goes back to evolution if you think about it. And from a strategic perspective, the continuity of the pattern helps bring viewers back to your profile more often, especially when they can expect valuable information to be shared that will help them in business.

Ché’s approach is also particularly interesting because she hasn’t just selected a background color. If you look closely, you’ll see there is a high quality image behind a brand color, and the diagonal slant of the color helps reinforce the nice pattern, so it is quite aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Even the italic font helps convey a sense of urgency that you really want to click on this post to learn more and feel a sense of momentum!

“What takes the most time is figuring out what I actually want to say. This is where planning a content calendar in advance, with topics you want to cover relevant to your brand, services, and offerings, really helps! ”

— @checreates

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The Spontaneous Colorful Grid – as demonstrated by @stefaniebalesfineart

Best for: Brands that aim to prioritize authenticity and avoid a corporate look, especially solo entrepreneurs

Worst for: Brands that have not yet created a style guide / have no clarity on brand colors, image standards and content themes

Meet Stefanie, a contemporary fine artist located in Little Italy, whose work has been published extensively in magazines like San Diego Home and Garden, Modern Luxury Magazine, and SD Voyager.

Stefanie was refreshingly candid in her comments about Instagram aesthetics and grid patterns.

“Honestly, I think most grid and especially quote patterns are sort of tacky. 🙈” – @stefaniebalesfineart

I was interested to find out that Stefanie does not plan out most of her content in advance and what she ends up posting often changes day to day. Though many social media managers may argue this lack of strategy means she is missing out on engagement and leads, there is also something to be said for authenticity and posting genuine content.

“Trying to use a pattern would take away from the organic nature of my content. I think everything should coordinate and be fluid, and the only thing I really focus on is the overall composition: Value, texture, and where your eye is able to both focus and rest.”

— @stefaniebalesfineart

Spoken like a true artist, Stephanie! :D

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The Planned to Perfection Grid – as demonstrated by @envimarketing

Best for: Brands that want to capture attention and instantly convey design expertise and dedication to social media

Worst for: Solo entrepreneurs who are wearing too many hats and don’t have the time to focus on design. Also not great if your target audience is not on Instagram much and you are only using it as a secondary platform for potential leads. (Devote your efforts to the social media platform where your audience spends the majority of their time!)

OMG! I have been fan-girling hard on this profile. This is Envi Marketing, a social media marketing agency based in La Jolla, CA. Founder, Ashley Evans, started Envi back in 2017, but more recently revamped her Instagram profile to its current aesthetic in July of 2018.

Ashley broke it down for me by providing the key steps of her grid design process:

We create all of our Instagram content on Adobe Photoshop. The key to creating a grid layout is creating the layout and then slicing it into individual posts. We do this by starting with a 3240x3240 document and applying document guides. You can apply document guides by going to View > New Guide Layout on Photoshop. Create 3 columns and 3 rows, with no gutter space. Now that you have your metaphorical guidelines, you're ready to design! 

To divide the layout into individual posts, you'll select the Rectangular Marque Tool and set the Style to a fixed size of 1080x1080 (A standard Instagram post.) Then you'll select each post individually, cropping the document and saving the new piece of content when necessary. Be careful to not overwrite the rest of your content during this step.

– @envimarketing

The Envi Marketing profile can be described as less of a grid pattern and more of an overall aesthetic. Ashely has capitalized on using white space in each post which separates her brand’s profile from millions of others on the platform. She has also clearly communicated her brand color palette by using dazzling shades of green throughout the grid. Most importantly, she has expertly conveyed what her brand does: if you work with Envi, you know they are going to elevate your design and transform your social media presence. I told you I was fan-girling, don’t judge!

“We recommend breaking your content creation up into three steps; strategy, copy and design. Take one day to focus on each of these, starting with strategy. Once you have an outline of your content goals and accompanying copy, you can create visuals more effectively. ”

— @envimarketing

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Need help with your social media content calendar?

I’m hosting a Content + Strategy Workshop on May 1st in downtown San Diego with @createwithgusto to help business owners get all the content they need and the strategy to see real results!

Learn more about our event below and let me know if you have any questions

How to Make the Most of Instagram in 2019

Is your business using Instagram to attract leads? Are you unhappy with the engagement you’re seeing on your posts? If so, you’ll probably want to know the latest statistics on IG Engagement and what to focus on for the next quarter.

This report by Jumper Media outlines the latest data on engagement (likes and comments) and gives you an idea of what you should strive for based on your industry. The report reveals which industries are seeing the most success, but also, the ugly truth of plummeting engagement rates and what that will mean for small businesses.

Jumper Media collected data from 10,000 business accounts:

• All accounts are from the United States and Canada.

• From each account, they took an average of their last 20 posts.

• They didn’t include accounts with less than 100 followers, because they didn’t think those should count. (Lots of outliers and abandoned accounts)

• The data was collected at the end of January 2019.

They analyzed data from over 174,568 Instagram posts, and over 400 industries. Below are my key takeaways.

Key Takeaways from the 2019 IG Engagement Report by Jumper Media

• Average Instagram engagement rates have tanked over the last three years.

• In March of 2016, average Instagram engagement was 4.3% (10x Facebook). It is now 1.2%

• 1.2% is still better than Facebook and Twitter.

• Why is organic reach and engagement so low? ADS - plain and simple. They want you spending $$$ in order to get any results from your content efforts

• Athletes, Comedians, and Real Estate are some of the best performing industries for engagement

• The number of followers was not correlated with average engagement

• Story reach is between 4% and 12%

• Posts still get better reach than stories (if this seems odd, remember, we’re comparing engagement not views - stories may get more views but not more actions taken)

• Videos are more engaging than carousels and carousels are more engaging than images

• Weekends are better for engagement

• More tags equals more likes

How to Get More Engagement on Instagram

• Start conversations by posting engaging content and asking questions in your captions.

• Continue conversations by responding to comments, and replying to DMs.

• Host a giveaway for your current followers where you enter them to win a prize if they like and comment on the photo.

Read the full report here.

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But Meg, is it Really Worth It?

Before your heart starts beating too fast and you feel overwhelmed with your content strategy and to-do list items for the day, take a step back and see the bigger picture. This perspective might just save you from spending hours creating content that STILL doesn’t increase your engagement. Consider this:

We Don’t Own Our Social Media Accounts

Yes, we own the content we post, but we are really just renting space on the internet that could be sold, converted, or demolished at the click of a button by our friend Mark Zuckerberg.

Instagram Could Be Gone Tomorrow. (It Won’t Be…But It Could!)

If Mark was to delete Instagram tomorrow, what would happen to your business? You’d probably lose a ton of leads. Because although you spent time creating engaging content and capturing viewers, you weren’t giving them anything that compelled them to visit your website and more importantly, SUBSCRIBE TO YOUR EMAIL LIST.

Invest Your Time in Optimizing Your Website and Building Your Email List

An email list is something you DO have control over, it’s yours, you own it. Everyone who signs up for your email list has given you permission to contact them. So why aren’y you focusing on that? Who cares about views and likes, yes they are indications that more people might visit your site…but if your energy is on engagement, there is a good chance your energy is not on your email list.

So let’s talk more about taking conversations off Instagram and onto your website and email list.

Get in touch if you’re ready to put your energy in the right place 🙌🙌🙌

Five best practices for coaches launching a blog

Launching your coaching business AND starting a blog? These 5 tricks will save you hours of writing content that never gets read.

If you’re thinking about starting a blog or you already have one, but it isn’t getting the engagement you were hoping for, here are a few actionable items to work on for your next post.

Let’s start with some context:

A friend of mine is in the process of developing his coaching business and recently launched a blog on personal development and limiting beliefs. Though his content is refreshingly authentic and the ideas he proposes have lots of potential, he decided he could use some guidance on the marketing side of things. For instance, how to create an eye-catching title, and how to make a personal experience more relatable to a larger audience.

Here is the advice I gave him:

1) Avoid use of the first person “I” as much as possible

As a coach, you’ll inevitably need to talk about yourself in your blog posts. You want the reader to get to know you, trust you, and learn from you. And in 2019, a huge trend in content strategy is providing authentic, vulnerable stories that show your reader you are willing to go deep and be honest with them. However, even when describing your most personal, vulnerable, and authentic experiences, please avoid using “I” over and over again. It’s a little habit we all have, and it can be easy to overlook.

PRO TIP: After you write your first draft, go back through and see how many times you use “I.” Then take them out wherever possible.

2) Figure out how research affects your writing

If you’re the kind of person who struggles with perfectionism, don’t research too heavily before you write. It will stop you dead in your tracks and that blog will never get written. However, if you’re the kind of person who hates research because it reminds you of writing a college paper at midnight on Redbull, consider how much value you can add to your blog by taking a quick look at other content. You can quote an industry influencer, or cite statistics that will strengthen your position, and solidify you as an expert in your Coaching arena.

PRO TIP: Write your first draft as a brain dump or stream-of-consciousness to ensure you’re sharing your unique perspective. Then research other blog articles and see what you may want to include to show you’ve done your homework on the subject.

“Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But since no one was listening, everything must be said again.”

— Andre Gide

3) Ask yourself, should this even be a blog post?

We don’t always have time to create an amazing blog, with statistics, influencer quotes, and actionable steps that will help our readers. Let’s be honest, it’s a lot of work. So if you go through your morning journal and find something vulnerable that is worth sharing but not necessarily as a blog piece, decide how else the content can be used. Especially if you are discussing philosophical ideas or personal experiences, people may relate to it better if they hear it from you rather than read it in their heads.

PRO TIP: If your stream-of-consciousness first draft isn’t feeling like a full blog post, why not turn it into a short script and film an Instagram live, or create a Facebook post in your group? Authentic, vulnerable content is sometimes best used to connect with people on social media. Leave your blog for factual, evidence-based, professional content (something you would be comfortable sharing on LinkedIn).

4) Make your readers say Yes, Yes Yes!

One of the most important things to remember is that people are bombarded with advertisements and they don’t want to waste time. They demand to know instantly if what they are seeing is for them or not. So, the more you can do to make it obvious whether the content was created with them in mind, the better your content will perform. (Plus the more you can do to narrow down your niche and provide specific advice for specific people rather than masses of people who have way too many different needs…the better your content will perform). KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!!

PRO TIP: Get your readers to say (or think) YES three times in a row by asking them a direct questions in the first few sentences of your writing. Try beginning your blog posts with two sentences that answer the following for the reader: Who am I? What am I doing? How will this help me succeed at what I am doing? (Check out the beginning of this post, that’s exactly what I did in the title, first line, and opening paragraph: Who are you - a coach. What are you doing - launching a blog. How will this help - you’ll save time and create better blogs).

5) Make your blog accessible for in-depth AND skim reading

Did you notice that this blog is formatted as 5 main bullet points, includes a quick PRO TIP as well as a longer, in-depth paragraph explaining my point? This is one example of how to make your blog accessible to two kinds of readers, the ones who want a really fast digestion of your value, and the ones who are in the mood to absorb every word you write. This is also helpful because you can be attracting new prospective followers at the same time as providing highly valuable content to your loyal supporters. The people who don’t know you are deciding if they care to. The people who do know you are remembering why they continue to pay attention. It’s a win win.

PRO TIP: Take a look at blogs you follow, or email newsletters you always read. How do they format their paragraphs to make it easy to skim but also go in-depth if you want more detail (Marie Forleo is a great example).

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I Saved This Seat For Ya!

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