Instagram has helped so many businesses thrive in their own ways. On episode 88 of the Business & Life Conversations Podcast, I’m super pumped to have Emily Osmond to chat with us about using Instagram for your business. She gives us super valuable tips and tricks to leverage Instagram and build people’s trust and confidence in us.
Important Links Mentioned in the Show:
Women in Business Retreat 2020
Angela Henderson Active Business Facebook Group
Angela Henderson Facebook Business Page
Angela Henderson Consulting Instagram
Prefer to read 3 Ways to Leverage Instagram for Business? Here’s the transcript:
ANGELA:
You’re listening to the Business and Life Conversations Podcast with Angela Henderson, Episode 88.
Hey there, you’re listening to the Business and Life Conversations Podcast. My name is Angela Henderson and on this show, we talk about improving your business, life or both, by having amazing and rich conversations with brilliant guests who will inspire you and who will give you tips and tricks to help you grow both in life and in business.
Well, hey there and welcome back to another awesome episode of the Business and Life Conversations Podcast. I am obviously your host, Ange, from Angela Henderson Consulting where I am a Business Consultant and Coach who has helped hundreds of women business owners get all the pieces in place to have consistent five-figure months and then on to six-figure years without burning out in the process.
Now, let’s be honest, Instagram is a force to be reckoned with. It can help businesses of any shape and size. But I do hear a lot of people talking about how they’ve got this love-hate relationship with Instagram. But here’s the thing; are you waiting for it? It is a free platform and so many businesses are spending so much time whinging and moaning about this, that and the other, about the algorithms; that they don’t want to follow the Facebook rules. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Listen, people, either you play with Instagram or you don’t play with Instagram, right? Those are your choices. But, Instagram; if you choose to play with it, if you choose to be adaptable, if you choose to be flexible, Instagram is going to help your business grow. And let’s be honest, Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, is a business. They are here to make money, just like me and you.
And so, gone are the days of the quick wins on Instagram and hello are the days of needing a strategy to make sure that Instagram has an ROI for each and every one of you in business. We’ve got to learn to embrace the algorithms and again be adaptable and be flexible.
And that’s why I’m super pumped to have Emily Osmond on the show today who’s going to chat with us about Instagram. She’s going to share with us three awesome ways that you can leverage Instagram, moving your business forward also in 2020. It’s going to be an epic episode.
But before we hop straight into this amazing episode, I’d like to remind you that if you enjoy this episode, I would love for you to share your key takeaway, a fun fact, or anything you’d love to share about the podcast over on your Instagram stories and don’t forget to tag me @angelahendersonconsulting. It just lights me up. It would make my day, so I greatly appreciate that.
Also, this episode is sponsored by my 12-month group coaching program, Profit Pillars, which helps women in business create consistent 5k plus months. My 12-month group coaching program is for women business owners who are ready to take action to grow sustainable and profitable businesses; ready to invest in themselves, ready to step up and stop playing small and play big.
The program includes a complete Profit Pillar training system, which includes my videos, my PDFs and my guides and more to make sure that you can have the foundational elements you need to grow that sustainable and profitable business.
We also have monthly live coaching sessions, monthly hot seat sessions; we’ve got monthly mastermind classes with guest experts, 24/7 access to our private Facebook community, world-class member support, and so much more.
To learn about how you can join my 12-month group coaching program, you can head to angelahenderson.com.au and under the header, ‘Here’s How I Could Help,’ simply click on, ‘I Want Help Creating 5K Months.’
Alright. Now, let’s jump into this awesome episode. Welcome to the show, Emily.
EMILY:
Yeah. Great to be here, Ange.
ANGELA:
It is fantastic to be here and as most of my podcast episodes, I’m running into this awesome habit, I should say is we were scheduled to start recording 50 minutes ago and we have eagerly spent chatting like we’ve been best friends for the last 50 years. Well, not 50, but 40 years, we could say, right?
EMILY:
Totally.
ANGELA:
I always say this and it might start to like people out there, but the genuineness of connectedness. And you and I initially found each other as I was putting together a list of the Australian Women in Business Podcast, so you can actually get that list over at my blog at angelahenderson.com.au. And I’d reached out to Suz Chadwick, and I said, “Suz, I just want to make sure I’m not missing any amazing women in business,” because I’m really big about collaboration and not competition. And Suz was like, “Oh, do you know of Emily?” And I was like, “No, I don’t.”
And then I like run and obviously did a normal mini stalk, and then I was like, “Hey, Em. Are you cool if I include you?” I didn’t even know about you and I’ve checked out your podcast. It is amazing. You’re going to be able to help so many other women in business. “Are you cool that I include you?” And you’re like, “Yes.” And that’s how you and I have, I guess, started to build this friendship together over the last few weeks.
EMILY:
I know.
ANGELA:
So the world works in miraculous ways, but it also goes back to what I remind people that is asking. If I wouldn’t have asked Suz for help or guidance because I would have had my ego going, “Oh, God. I can’t. I’m supposed to know all of these,” then I wouldn’t have ever had this opportunity to meet you.
So just to remind that no matter where you are in business, ask for help, and it is completely okay. And if anything, so many opportunities stem from asking for help. So, yeah. So that’s kind of how Em and I met initially is through putting together the recent blog about the Australian Women in Business Podcast. And now, we’re connecting today to dive into some juicy conversations about Instagram, which again, is another hot topic.
But before we start, I always like to ask my guest a fun question about the person that I’m interviewing because I think it’s important that they get to know you a little bit better. So my question to you is I know you are an award-winning interior designer; and am I saying that correctly?
EMILY:
Interiors blogger. Well, I have an interiors blog. Yeah, yeah. So I don’t do design.
ANGELA:
Design? Okay. Good. So as long as I just want to make sure I don’t mess it up, so I always double-check for clarity there. So I want to know, what is your all-time favourite piece that you wrote about that just kind of like sparked you joy, lit you up, and you’re like, “Damn, that was awesome.”
EMILY:
Okay. I’m totally obsessed with mid-century modern design. And so, I think that would have to be like the stuff that I obsess over and my partner and I are actually heading to America soon for a friend’s wedding. So I’m like, “I have to go to Palm Springs and see like Palm Springs mid-century, modern times style.” So that’s like; I could write about that all day.
ANGELA:
Yes. Love it. And tell me a little bit more because I’m your least interior know, like techy; whatever you want to call it. So what would that look like? Is it bright colours? What type? Like, what does it look like?
EMILY:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So mid-century modern is all about like really long lines type of thing. So flat roofs, like length, massive-like windows; all the furniture is quite low line. So it’s pretty, pretty, simple chic. It’s not about like bright colours and heaps of patterns. So it’s pretty refined, which isn’t going to be for everyone, but I…
ANGELA:
You love it. And obviously, so now we know a little bit about what you love in regards to design; tell us a little bit about who is Emily? Where do you come from? What’s your background and what are you working on?
EMILY:
Yeah, cool. So it’s always a big question, isn’t it? But I started my blog when I was doing my masters in Communications and I was learning all about websites and that type of thing and I’m like, “Oh, I’ll just start a blog.” And I started attracting clients that wanted me to write for them and help them with their marketing and their email newsletters and their social media.
So at the time, I was working for a tourism body, managing their social media. I just finished my master and I was like, “This is way too good,” having my own clients. I can like choose their hours and I always just like leave my work, go home, and work for my clients. So I quit my job and I started out on my own. And that was about; it’s coming up to five years ago.
And I started out; like I think, quite a few of us do in terms of, well, for me; I can say anyway that I didn’t really have much of a plan in place. I just knew I wanted to work for myself and I was going to try and figure it out. And so, I started out offering websites and branding, and basically, if someone was like, “Do you do logos?” I’m like, “Yeah, sure.”
So it got to the point, about a year ago, where I’m like, “This is good, what I’ve created.” But for me to take this, for me to grow this now; I had a few contractors, we had clients; I was like, “The next thing is to take on more clients, more projects, more contractors and probably bring in a project manager.” And I was just like, “This does not appeal to me.”
And what I realized that I really love doing the most and where I was at the happiest and felt most inflow was when I was teaching, and when I was running workshops, and when I was basically helping people figure out stuff for themselves. And so, I had about six months of work booked in. So I’m like, “At the end of that, I’m not taking on any more client work and I’m just going to figure something out.”
And so, over that time, I was just really open to kind of hearing what some ideas might be. And I heard a podcast and they were talking about memberships. It was on Amy Porterfield’s and they were talking about memberships. I’m like, “Memberships, hey. That sounds really good. That sounds like such a good fit.” So it was about two weeks later, I’ve launched my membership.
ANGELA:
How cool is that?
EMILY:
Yeah.
ANGELA:
I love the action taking.
EMILY:
Yup. Totally. And it’s been the best thing. So now, I teach women how to grow their business using Instagram. And for me, I don’t actually care about Instagram, what I care about is women actually getting results from their marketing.
So the primary I teach is actually how to use Instagram to do it, but we go so much deeper to it in terms of what type of content to share, actually the sales messages, too, and how to grow their email list because it’s so important as well that we’re not overly reliant in all eggs in one bucket. So that’s what I do. Then I have the podcast; like you said, The Emily Osmond Show.
ANGELA:
Dude, fantastic. And it’s like, again, there’s never; you can always pivot in life, right? You can always make your life this beautiful art. Whatever it is that you want in life, you can make it happen. You just got to take action. And like you said, you’re like; heard podcast, “Great, we’re going to do this,” and now you’ve got a couple of hundred members in your membership, which is absolutely amazing.
And what I love is that you said about not putting all your eggs into one basket. I do think, [Inaudible 00:10:03] talks a lot about owning your own racecourse, so for those who’ve been listening for a while will know that is you need to be able to have your own data. You need to be able to still reach your ideal audience and that so many people are dependent on the Instagram platform or Facebook platform; whatever that is.
And I also know that so many people have this love-hate relationship with many of the platforms, including Instagram.
EMILY:
Yeah.
ANGELA:
But what I have to say is listen; it’s a free platform, people. And the other thing is that and the way I see it is that if you don’t like it, leave it, or you need to adapt. Because at the end of the day, they are in a business; they’ve got shareholders now, they’ve got people in demand that they need to be making at any given second of any given day.
And so, listen, we are very fortunate enough that we get to play in their playground. But what you said is what can we do to take people off of their playground in order to build our own assets. What are your thoughts about that?
EMILY:
Yeah. Totally. Yeah, that’s a thing and the thing I see business owners doing wrong is almost using Instagram like it’s such; so they tick it off there like a person on Instagram, tick that box. Or they might be posting every day or multiple times a day, or even a few times a week, but they’re treating it like a content sharing platform, whereas it’s actually relationship-building platform.
And so, that’s why I say like who’s doing posts this good, but really, we should now be using Instagram stories and showing up in video and doing things like going live. And that’s; people, when they haven’t done it before, it’s super scary and I totally understand that, but when you can make the shift from just like posting a few posts that don’t really have a whole lot of purpose behind it to first of all getting super clear about what you’re actually trying to achieve and what your business goals are, and then developing your content around them, which also includes; like I know a lot of your audience would be the type of businesses that are really going to work well when they are showing up in their own feed as themselves.
ANGELA:
Yes.
EMILY:
And then showing up on video, too. And that’s where people then feel so; like the connection that you can build with people there is so quick. And you’ll start noticing; some of my students know, they go in Instagram stories; never would have done it before. Now, they’re going on there and they’re being asked to do guest speaking gigs and they’re booking more clients because people are seeing them and connecting with them and also seeing them as that expert and obviously, they take their business seriously because they’re not just posting a few Instagram posts but they’re showing up online.
ANGELA:
And they’re showing up and they’re showing up again with a strategy, right? Like you said, it’s not just a tick box, “Oh, I’ve posted,” and I think gone are the days, well, it’s not are they. They are.
EMILY:
Yes.
ANGELA:
Gone are the days with that perfect picture flat lay that Instagram was initially kind of forecasted about. And then when Facebook kind of started saying we want a platform for our community and people; then really, you don’t need a perfect picture anymore.
EMILY:
Yes.
ANGELA:
You need to be able to tell a story, you need to be able to connect with them, you need to treat them like human beings and not just as a transaction. And when you do that and you can equally show up as yourself, then you are going to repel those that don’t like you and you’re going to keep those that do; you attract those that do.
EMILY:
That is totally; that’s totally it. And that’s what I say, like, the goal isn’t perfection. Like, in your feed, like you said, no one actually wants; who cares about perfect flat lay anymore? And the goal on video isn’t perfection either. The ones that I share where I forget what I’m saying are the ones that get the best response.
So if people are scared and holding back because they think, “Oh, I don’t look good enough. I’m not going to be like smooth enough with what I’m trying to say.” Like, just do it because people actually really love that anyway.
ANGELA:
People do. Exactly right. And I know, with Finlee and Me, my first business, and even with Angela Henderson Consulting is that those times where I just showed up the imperfect was far more greater engagement than ever the perfect because it’s relatable. People are going, “Oh, she said fuck, too.” “Oh, she’s like,” I did an Instagram story today and I was in my bedroom, right?
EMILY:
Yeah.
ANGELA:
Talking about you need to slow down in order to speed up, right? And it’s like again, these are things that everyone is thinking about.
EMILY:
Yeah.
ANGELA:
And I think there’s an element of showing up, but there’s also an element that when you’re showing up, there’s a vulnerability. And I think when you become vulnerable and that people see that, they, too, again, it’s a relatable concept. And video or Instagram live or Instagram stories allows you to showcase that.
EMILY:
Yeah, that’s right.
ANGELA:
And that’s why again, I think you’re much quicker to be able to then see the benefits of building your credibility, your trust, your brand and your authority through those platforms.
EMILY:
And can I add to that as well because I think there’s a misconception around vulnerability and people think, “Oh, I have to share things that are like really bad or really hard.”
ANGELA:
Exactly right. Yes.
EMILY:
It’s not true. I say like it’s actually not vulnerability. It’s just being real, it’s just being yourself.
ANGELA:
Yes.
EMILY:
And people, yeah, people can get stuck thinking, “Oh, I’ve got to be vulnerable and I’ve got to share some of the dark stuff or the heavy stuff.” And I like to think when you share, who you’re sharing it for and you should never be sharing something for yourself. Because then, you’re kind of wanting to get people commenting and engaging just for your ego.
So you want to think before you share. And my sharing is for my audience because that’s what you should be doing. And the vulnerability thing, it’s just, like I said, it’s just being real and it’s just being yourself as much as you can. It does get easier as well on camera. Like, I started off and I’m like, “Hello. My name is Emily Osmond.” Like that’s how I used to do videos. And now, it’s just, the more you do it, the easier it gets, too.
ANGELA:
And I think, too, there’s like, I really like what you said is I know when I was hit rock bottom with my depression and anxiety, I wasn’t showing up going, “I haven’t gone out of bed for the last 12 hours.” Like, it’s not fucking helpful for anyone, right?
EMILY:
Right.
ANGELA:
But what I would do is when I started to come out of the depression and anxiety, so I wasn’t being reactive, right? I wasn’t reacting to that situation. I would be like, “Okay. Well, listen. Some of you guys will be going through this and this is what I took away from it.” Like I always go, how am I helping my audience? By sharing whatever it is that might be vulnerable or real, right?
EMILY:
Yes.
ANGELA:
I’m not sharing me doing 12 tequila shots at the bar, alright? “But Ange, you’re being real though, right?” Yeah, I’m being real, but there’s also a time and place around that and those boundaries, right?
EMILY:
Oh, totally.
ANGELA:
So, yes. And I do see some people like to go a little bit over top, where others, I’m like, “You nailed it.” So, yes.
EMILY:
Like that’s the thing. There’s always a strategy behind what I’m posting.
ANGELA:
Yes.
EMILY:
I share a little bit of something that’s happening in my personal life, it’s kind of for a strategy. It’s not just thinking.
ANGELA:
It’s like, “Oh, yeah. I just picked up the phone and I’m just going to talk.”
EMILY:
Yeah.
ANGELA:
And I’ve seen people who have done it really badly where they will be drunk out somewhere and then they just start doing a live. And I’m like, “Want to jump over the telly?” “No, now is not the time. You can’t put your sentence together.” And it was like, that kind of thing can compromise your brand is when you don’t understand that when you need to lead with that in value, whatever that value looks like. And again, within 10, and again, are you actually helping them on the other end of this?
EMILY:
Yeah. Exactly. Exactly.
ANGELA:
So what is it that you love about Instagram?
EMILY:
Yeah. Sure. So I think it’s a brand-building thing and the connections. And it’s like, the opportunities that can come from there in terms of; like the people that you can connect with is pretty amazing. It’s so different to something like Facebook where it’s not; like Facebook people can like your page and then like your posts of it, but Instagram, it feels so much more personal.
Also, on Instagram, the reason that I know it’s so powerful is because posts, like typically, your posts will get seen by more people on Instagram than they do on Facebook. So we know that the organic reach on Facebook is pretty chunking.
ANGELA:
Yes.
EMILY:
On Instagram, it’s better. So that’s another thing. You’re putting out; you can put out the same content, but you’re getting more people to see it as well. And then, there’s things like people can save it to their Instagram galleries to come back to you later as well. And then, of course, the Instagram stories, which is where you’ll find like the way the conversation across social is moving is from the public to the private.
So it is why I say like really make sure that you’re using Instagram stories because what you’ll see is that you’re getting people sending direct messages from your stories and that’s where you’re going to have like pretty amazing conversations in there and build those relationships.
And that’s where actually a lot of my sales also take place because people have interacted with me or I have a discussion with them or find out about them and figure out if something that I have to offer like a couple of my programs is something that’s going to be something they really want to do.
And so, I just see it as such a powerful way to actually have one-on-one connections with people at scale, too. And you can really show yourself and people get a great feel for you and it’s just so interesting because you never really know who’s watching. But the opportunities that can come from it when you’re showing up online, like I said, being asked to do guest speaking and that type of thing is pretty powerful.
ANGELA:
And I know a friend of mine, Teresa, who has also been on the podcast, we were talking about Jasmine Star, who’s a big Instagrammer over in the United States. And someone said, “Well, Jasmine, I’ve got 200,000 people, too, and we just can’t keep up. What do you do? Like, I want to outsource.” And Jasmine had said something along the lines like, “No, you respond,” and she was like, “But I can’t do it.” She’s like, “You outsource the other things and you respond.”
Right. And she’s like, “What do you mean you respond?” And she’s like, “If people are taking time to DM me,” she’s like, “I respond,” and she’s like; and she just kept saying the same thing. Like, I wasn’t there, but my friend Teresa was telling me, but she just kept saying the same thing, she’s like, “And you respond.”
Like, there’s no quick win when you’re building relationships with people. And she’s just like, “So outsource your emails like if you need to,” the things that could be like your payment or whatever. Outsource those things that don’t need to treat people like humans and not a transaction. And I say that so often on this podcast. Again, people are getting sick of it, but conversations equal conversions.
EMILY:
Yeah.
ANGELA:
And when you have those conversations and it’s not done by your team, again, you’re just going to build so much (Inaudible 00:19:57). You’re going to move them along the buying journey quicker.
EMILY:
Yeah.
ANGELA:
Than even if you have your team because your team is like, “I don’t actually really know what to say.”
EMILY:
Yes.
ANGELA:
Whereas like, if it’s just you. So there are certain things that I believe you can outsource and I think again, you can’t. Like, I know for some people, they do do it really, really well, but I do like Jasmine’s type of thing because I’ve always been. It’s just there’s a time and place for outsourcing, but if someone is in your DM, like, just answer.
EMILY:
Totally. And this is a thing I think that when you start out on Instagram, too, you’re probably not going to have a whole heap of comments or a whole heap of DMs. But you should treat each of those like VIPs that leave the comment. And so rather than, like I see so many people will just like a comment that comes up on their post. But don’t do that. Actually, respond to them and go to their profile.
And so, I would be like, like I go and find the name, and this is why it’s so important to have your name in your Instagram profile so people can connect and see who you are. But when someone leaves a comment on your content, go over to their profile, figure out what their name is, choose one thing you can make a comment about. And then go back and respond to their comment and say, “Oh, thank you so much, Ange. Also, congratulations on like launching your website,” or whatever it is.
And that’s how you’re going to take those relationships like very quickly up a notch rather than just liking someone’s comment on your post because they’re probably not really going to bother writing a comment next time.
ANGELA:
Exactly right. And it’s also that additional touchpoints, right?
EMILY:
Yeah.
ANGELA:
So from a branding point of view, so if you like, you’ve got one touchpoint by liking whatever they’ve said, but you’ve got two touchpoints by then writing something, and you’ve got a third kind of leaving that memory if you’ve gone and then found out something specific about them; it’s not just the generic, right?
And I’m not saying like Jasmine said this, but I would suspect though. Someone saying they’re trying to pick her brain, she probably still responded, but she probably has canned responses like, “Hey, this is a really great question. Did you know I offer this and this program?” Right?
So I’m not saying don’t let time-suckers take your time; I’m not saying that. Still be strategic about it, but still take ownership for it.
So, yup. Now, do you think Instagram is for all businesses? Do you think everyone has a place on there? Or do you think it’s only for particular types of business?
EMILY:
I really believe that any business can get results from Instagram and it’s just about how they use it. And so, I talk about, it’s really four types of content you should post and this will depend on the type of business. So like, connection type of content is what we’ve been speaking about a little bit in terms of actually showing up in your Instagram.
And also positioning what you talk about in your own stories so that you know they’re going to resonate with your ideal clients as well. So talking about your own challenges and desires and various that you know your ideal clients can go through. So businesses should be thinking about, “What type of content are we posting that’s creating connection for our audience?”
Then there’s also credibility content. And so, that’s like Ange, when you do your speaking, getting those photos through your feed.
ANGELA:
Exactly right.
EMILY:
Yeah. So showcasing; it’s like that credibility for your audience to be like, “Oh, hang on a minute. Okay. She’s really legit. I trust her. She is one of the experts in her field.” That type of thing. So again, it’s just going to depend on the type of business you have, how much of each of the content you’ll have and exactly what it looks like.
Then, so you’ve got connection, you’ve got credibility. Then you have value, and this is where people can get tripped up. So value is all about why is your; so why is someone going to click, follow on your account. So for my type of business, I share a little bit of the Instagram tips, I share some of my own kind of stories that people can resonate with, I share some quotes that I know that my audience also resonate with.
They’re going to be totally different to other people’s accounts. And so, for photography, sometimes I say to them like they’re getting really caught up trying to think of like how they can share heaps of tips. And I’m like, “People are actually following you for your stunning photos.”
ANGELA:
Yes.
EMILY:
And you still need to get that sense of connection in there and a bit of value, but really, like that’s what they want to see in your feed. So keep doing that, but also get yourself a bit more into your brand. So that’s going to depend on the value that you give your audience depending on the type of business you are. And some businesses, it will be like some tutorial videos. So get creative around what you can give your audience that they actually like thrive in seeing your content and engaging with it.
And then the fourth one is promotion. And so, I find like some people can get a little bit caught up on sharing all this great content, but they never actually share how people can buy from them. And again, like when you share this, what we don’t want to do is share a post and say something like, “Hey, I’ve got this. Go to my website and buy it.”
ANGELA:
Yup.
EMILY:
No one’s going to do that and no one is going to engage in that post. So it’s thinking about, “Right. What’s my call to action at the bottom of my post to move people to the next stage of working with me?” Which is often going to be, like we’ve spoke about, whether they’re going out or not, but some sort of opt-in to move them from your being an Instagram follower to moving them to your list, which is where you can control their messaging a little bit more in terms of who receives what message at what time, and what that message is, too, so when they’ve just joined your list, then you have a sequence set up to send them to basically introduce into your brand and you can give them a special offer for that, too.
So that’s what you want to make sure that you’re doing through your content. And like I said, the promotion side of things; sometimes it isn’t those private conversations that you’re having and you’re actually getting to know someone and finding out what their needs are and that’s when you can actually say, “Well, that’s actually awesome. I think you’ll be a perfect fit for this.”
So that’s connection, credibility, value and promotion. I think all businesses can get results from Instagram. It’s just figuring out what that looks like for them.
ANGELA:
For them, individual business. And I know today, for example, at time of recording is there is this lady who I’ve met at James Schramko’s event this year at a speaking event I was speaking at and I’d made a relationship with her. And then I’d seen that she had just like, but she’s been only like this amazing person and I’d seen her post today just about something has happened within the business.
And I just said like, “Hey, are you okay?” Like, seriously, like that sucks. She’s just such a nice person; this lady. And she’s like, “Oh my goodness. Thank you so much for reaching out.” She goes, “You’re always so nice,” and she was just like, “You’re always; like you just treat me kindly,” and she’s like, “And you expect nothing.” She’s like, “But the funny thing is,” she’s like, “You were on my list to email you later on this week,” and she’s like, “Or early next week,” because she’s like, “Because of what’s happened in the business, I wanted to hire you for a two-hour strategy session.”
EMILY:
Oh my God.
ANGELA:
Because she said, “You’re just like; you’ve always just shown up with value first. You’ve never sold yourself.” She’s like, “Yes, like obviously you sell as in like I’m promoting myself.” But in those DMs, I’ve never; never is my objective been to [Inaudible 00:26:31] a client.
EMILY:
Exactly.
ANGELA:
It’s just like, “Hey, great job on your event. It looked like fun. What was great about it?” Or “Hey, I just love this.” But I lead, like I’m actually leading as a genuine thing and because I’ve lead and showed up and like respected her and understand what she’s going through, now this afternoon, I’ll be sending her her contract to do that two-hour strategy session. So all I’m saying is those things do come up when you’re willing to take the time to invest in your people, right?
EMILY:
That’s apparently true.
ANGELA:
And as I talk a lot about human to human marketing, which is always the experience and interaction; the definition is, I should say, is the experience and interaction one has for a particular brand. And sometimes you can have the interaction but there’s no experience, and sometimes you can have the experience, but there’s not a lot of really in-depth interaction. But when you have both, magic starts to happen.
EMILY:
Exactly.
ANGELA:
And so, it is. It’s something that people need to be thinking about. So for you, I’d also be curious is people can always say, “Well, this is great, Emily. Yes, you can talk about it and you’ve got your hundreds of people in your membership. Yeah, yeah, yeah.” There’s always those Debbie Downers out there and some of you are probably shaking your head. But I’d like to know specifically for you, how has Instagram specifically helped you to grow your business?
EMILY:
Yeah. Well, when I started out, of course, I didn’t have many followers and I started selling workshops. And so, if I go like right back to my early days, it really was like; I say to a lot of people, if there’s one thing that you spend your money on when you’re getting started, get some photos done; like some professional shots.
And so, I really think when you get them done and start sharing them on your Instagram, suddenly, you go from a bit of a hobby-looking account to actually a serious business owner. And as soon as I started sharing those and sharing value; so sharing some advice and tips, like I said, that’s going to be different for every business. But pretty immediately, I started being asked to do speaking and attracting clients because they were like, “Right. This girl knows what she’s talking about.”
And I think people can fall into the trap; I’m sure your audience don’t, but some people can fall into the trap of not really wanting to give away too much; too many tips and that type of thing. And what you’ve got to remember is that probably like 1% or few a percent of people will actually do what you’ve told them, but you actually sharing a bit of your knowledge and giving that value and showing basically a little bit of what you got to offer.
That makes you stand out so much more over other businesses and people then want to follow you and consume your content, and you build that brand equity with them. And so, when you are ready to sell, it’s a pretty easy yes from them. So when I started out, it was sharing like some good quality photos and also leading with value. And then, when I had offers, actually understanding a few of the sales messaging around like urgency and scarcity. It’s so, so important.
And that’s why if you’re probably not getting results from your Instagram, it’s that you’re probably posting similar posts. So a lot of the time that is saying, “Hey, like we’ve got this great thing. Head to our website and go buy it,” or “Head to our website and check it out.” And just, the fact of the matter is no one’s really going to do that. You need a bit more of a strategy.
ANGELA:
Yes.
EMILY:
Around your funnel.
ANGELA:
Yes.
EMILY:
So that started out working really well for me when I had workshops and I could sell them out pretty easily because I had such an amount of trust in my business because of what I was doing on Instagram. And now that I’ve grown there and I’m looking at; I’m moved my business online in the last year, it has really been a place with people again to feel like they trust me.
And we were talking just before we started recording that it really shortens down that; like it builds that loyalty with me, and when I have something to offer, it’s also pretty easy, yes, for those that are ready to buy because they trust me, and we might have had some conversations on Instagram and that type of thing.
So that’s kind of like what it’s helped me achieve. I’m always focused on growing my email list with Instagram, too. So I’m always thinking, “Right. What are my call to actions at the end of my post? Let’s get some great engagements.” So more of my audience see my posts because the more engagement one of your posts gets, the more of your followers in Instagram will show it, too. And for instance, if you liked one of my posts, Ange, the next time I post, the next time I share content, Instagram is probably going to show that to you, too.
ANGELA:
Yes. Exactly. And I think Cherie, from Digital Picnic, was saying when she was speaking at my Women in Business Retreat, “It’s two weeks you’ll stay kind of in someone’s atmosphere. So if you like, comment, engage in a story, you’re more likely to keep seeing them.” So again, you keep having those conversations so people and interactions are going to keep in your feed, which is going to be amazing.
EMILY:
Yes. Yes, that’s it. And like, when someone first follows you, then your latest posts are going to pop-up in their feed. So that’s why, like again, we go back to like what is the purpose of what you’re sharing? You want to make sure that they’re really, really good quality posts and they’re connecting; like they’re moving something in your audience or they’re standing out to them and that they are actually asking them or telling them what to do next. So whether it’s to engage on the post or to move to the next step.
ANGELA:
Exactly. Call to action. Listen, I’m not an Instagram guru by any means, but I have grown a couple of accounts in my time with few thousands, tens of thousands, and it’s one of those things that I’m like, “You’ve done all this work. You’ve done it.” And it’s like that, “Where do they buy this? How do they know where to find you?” And they’re like, “Oh, yeah. I could have just told them to go here.” I’m like, “Yes.” Those call to action are sneaky little devils.
And now, for a business who want to leverage Instagram, what are your kind of top; do you have a couple of tips that you could share with us for leveraging Instagram?
EMILY:
Yeah, yeah. Oh, gosh. Well, I always; so I step through kind of like a five-stage system. So it’s first, where you got to start with your strategy and actually what are you sharing. So that’s the content; we’ve spoken a little bit about that. And the next step is all about your audience. So it’s your business basically, it’s like actually who is your audience, who you are speaking to and then you write your profile specifically to attract them.
So in your profile, you need to make sure that it’s connecting and it’s super clear to your ideal customer; what problem you help solve for them? And also, like we’ve just spoken about, a call to action; you have to have a call to action in your profile, and it’s not just like putting your website address there because no one’s going to click that, really.
So you want to think, “Right. What is something I want my audience to do?” And again, it’s often going to be the first step into your ecosystem. So to your opt-in, your lead magnet, or your upcoming like workshop that you’ve got. So making sure you cool that out in the Instagram profile and have that specific link to take people there. So that’s the next step. So it’s all about your audience and understanding kind of who they are.
Then we look at stories; so actually crafting those great captions that people engage with. And also, of course, Instagram stories. So showing up; like I can’t emphasize enough how powerful it is when you start doing that; how quickly your audience is going to really connect with you and invest back in you because they see you on there.
And also, Instagram live is really good because your audience get a notification when you go live. So they’re like, “Oh, Emily is going live.” So even, I say, like it always doesn’t really matter what you say, it’s just like that fun for your audience. If you go live, let’s say, every week, your audience are getting that notification that, “Hey, Emily Osmond is going live.”
ANGELA:
Yes.
EMILY:
So if even if they don’t jump on and look, I’ve just like got in their ecosystem again. I’m just gone on their radar.
ANGELA:
You just looked another step to go boom Yup. Yeah. And so, when they do want to buy, they can draw down and go, “Oh, yeah. I think she talked about this. I think she does this.” It’s like you’re embedding that more and more.
EMILY:
Yup. Totally. So that’s another one there. And then number four, I would be looking at, “Right. What is your overall system for your content?” And I know you are very passionate about this, too, Ange, in terms of we’re not just focusing in isolation on our social media platform. That’s just silly.
ANGELA:
Yup.
EMILY:
So we’re looking at, “Right. What is my overall content strategy? Where does Instagram fit in?” And this is where we look at our core content. And we’re not sharing content just for the sake of content. It all comes back to our goals and what we’re focusing on in our business, but when we identify, “Right. This is like my weekly copies of content. I can share it in my email.” It might be your podcast topic.
That’s also what you can share in its own way on your Instagram. So really understanding that and using Instagram to grow your email list. So getting that lead magnet set up and moving your followers, you’re building that great brand on Instagram, and then you’re moving them through to be on your email list.
And then the final stage is the Instagram sales, which is basically, now, we have that system setup and it’s just making offers and understanding some sales messaging, too. So you create an irresistible offer and you actually have something like urgencies, scarcity bonuses in there, which is actually quite compelling for people to want to buy from you now.
ANGELA:
Yup. You just don’t want to be the same same is what everyone else is doing.
EMILY:
Yes.
ANGELA:
Like you said, the word compelling, it has to be compelling because there’s so much noise as it already is. And that’s where again, I think a little bit of strategy and a little bit of understanding. Which goes to my next thing is Instagram, yes, you can test it and but it needs strategy. And for me is you need to be able to learn from some of the best. And so, if people want to learn more about Instagram and how they can get into working with you, where can they find you?
EMILY:
Yeah. Thanks, Angela. So emilyosmond.com/free and I have a free online class all about it. So I’m going to set you through more details actually what we’ve covered and a few more pieces there, too, so you can start mapping up your strategy.
ANGELA:
Alright. Well, fantastic. And I have one final question for you is what do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started in business?
EMILY:
Yeah. God. There’s so much, but I think if I even say like my favourite kind of mantra and my belief in business is that you can if you think you can. So just never forget, like if you want to do something, you just got to go and do it, really. And I think at the start, I was holding back, waiting for someone to come and give me permission. And so, that’s what I wish; I just started all this like early days and not felt that like, “Oh, I don’t know enough,” and that type of thing. So yeah, you can if you think you can.
ANGELA:
You can if you think you can. I love it. And before we sign off, please remember that my team and I will also be putting together the whole transcription for this episode at angelahenderson.com.au. And as I mentioned earlier, if you enjoy this episode, I would love for you to share it, especially over on your Instagram stories; see there, Emily, Instagram stories; and tagging me, and tag Emily and I. So Emily is just @emily…
EMILY:
Osmond.
ANGELA:
Osmond. O-s-m-o-n-d.
EMILY:
Correct.
ANGELA:
And tag me @angelahendersonconsulting or share it wherever, really, because either of us, you’ll make our day and we would love that. Also, just a reminder that if do love the Business and Life Conversations Podcast, please subscribe and I would equally love for you to leave a short review because it does help me out in the world of podcasting to be able to impact more women in business.
And again, thank you so much, Emily, for taking the time out for being on here and talking to us all things Instagram. We really appreciate that. And for the rest of you, have a fabulous day no matter where you are in the world and I look forward to you joining me next week for another amazing episode of the Business and Life Conversations Podcast. Have a good day everyone.
Thanks for listening to the Business and Life Conversations Podcast with Angela Henderson, Leverage Instagram for Business. www.angelahenderson.com.au
