Remember the days when you could post your (poorly filtered) Costco hot dog on Instagram, without a caption, and get 30 likes? Yeah, me too. We didn’t know how good we had it. The platform has become a beast, but rest assured it’s still possible to reach new eyeballs and convert them into clients – yep, even in 2022.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

👉 When you actually NEED more reach (sometimes you do!)

👉 How to make content that performs better and lives longer

First, let’s figure out where reach belongs in your marketing strategy.

When you created your marketing plan, I’m guessing that “grow your audience” ranked pretty high on your list of goals. But! You don’t necessarily need more eyes on your stuff. You need to be able to connect with and convert the folks who are already there. If you’ve got 300 people in your community, great. That’s a solid start.

Here’s when you need to grow your audience.

👉 It’s worth the effort if you’ve got a solid, scalable offer – like a digital course, membership, or anything where you’re not trading dollars for hours.

👉 If you’re not promoting heavily right now but you’re planning a launch in the future, consider getting new eyes on your stuff. But! Social media isn’t the be-all and end-all of this. You can speak at summits, collaborate with other biz owners, use paid ads, or — my fave — go all in on your SEO! (That’s Google of course, but YouTube, Pinterest, and TikTok are also search engines!)

What if you have a small account and want to book out your services? Sure, social media’s not going to hurt you, but I recommend these emails from Joana Galvao. Less stress, better results.

The algorithm doesn’t suck, your content does.

I know. So harsh. But I’m going to tell you how to make it better.

VISUALS

Visuals are NOT the most important thing, but some of us are aesthetically driven. (I’m raising my hand here.) If you find yourself spending hours trying to get your graphics just right, there are two things you should do.

👉 Get your brand photos taken. Game. Changer.

👉 Purchase a template pack from Creative Market. Tons of good stuff, super reasonably priced, will save you hours, and you’ll look legit.

Getting nitpicky about your graphics is the easiest thing to do, but it’s not worth the effort. Your content can still be useful if it’s a pixel or two off here and there.

CAPTIONS

If the first six words in the first sentence of your caption don’t grab our attention, we’re scrolling on by. Always get right to the point with a hook. Then relate to your reader, teach ’em what they need to know, and call them to action.

The other BIG thing with captions is to write how you talk! If you can use a smaller word, use it. If you can use a shorter sentence, use it. Read your captions back out loud and you’ll catch yourself saying all kinds of weird shit.

AAAAND… VIDEO 🎉

Video is a crucial part of any content marketing strategy in 2022. If you aren’t seeing the reach you want to see, you MUST make sure you’re posting videos regularly.

[Sidebar: Adam Mosseri recently posted about the IG changes this year. They’re not prioritizing video because they want to, they’re doing it because they have to. THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE ARE CONSUMING. Link here]

Not only is it what people are consuming, but the Instagram algorithm loves it when you use every part of the platform.

I post static content and stories pretty regularly, but hadn’t posted a reel in a few months and noticed that my stories reach was way down. Posted a couple of reels and whaddaya know, my story views went up too. Of course this is purely anecdotal, but it’s a known fact.

So, what should you be focusing on when creating reels?

Burning yourself out trying to create a viral reel isn’t a marketing strategy. We’ve had local brick & mortar clients go viral with their reels — and guess what? If you’ve got a massage therapy business in Lethbridge, Alberta, going viral with a reel, that isn’t going to do squat for your business.

One of my recent reels had 234 views in 24 hours, which is pretty subpar. But! I also had 3 sales from that reel, so it’s a freakin’ WIN. Reach really isn’t everything! Make sure that you’re creating content that nurtures and converts the people that are already there — you’ll get further, faster, in your business.

See you on the other side!

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