You’re doing “all the right things” on Instagram—Reels, carousels, showing up when you can—but it still feels like nothing is working. The leads aren’t coming in, your grid feels messy, and you’re tired of guessing what to post.

This episode answers the real Instagram questions you’ve probably been too overwhelmed or burnt out to ask. From what format to prioritize, to how to actually use your content when you're not actively launching, we’re breaking down how to use Instagram with strategy- not stress.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• Should you focus on Reels or carousels (and how to choose)?
• Can you run a successful business account without showing your face?
• Is it okay to stop posting to your grid? (Spoiler: only if you do this first.)
• Why you're not getting leads—and how to fix the gaps in your content
• What to post when you’re not selling anything (but still want sales later)

If you’re tired of winging it and ready to make your content actually work for your business, this episode is for you.

🔗 Links & Resources Mentioned:

📹 Trial Reels Guide – Learn how to grow with intention, not trends

🎯 Instagram Strategy Quiz – Find and fix the missing piece in your content strategy

💫 Join the Membership – Learn exactly what to post and how to use Instagram to make more sales in less time

📩 DM me your IG questions for the next FAQ episode → @socially.yours.strategist

Mentioned in this episode:

Join Plan it, Post It, Profit and plan a month of Instagram posts that lead to sales in just 5 days!

Join Plan it, Post It, Profit and plan a month of Instagram posts that lead to sales in just 5 days!

Plan 1 Month of Instagram Content That Leads to Sales in 5 Days! Join Plant It, Post It, Profit!

Do you ever open Instagram, stare at your screen and think,

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what am I even doing here?

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You've got a product or a service

that helps people and you wanna

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get it out there and you wanna make

the sales, but Instagram just feels

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like a time suck and you're not

even sure if it's doing anything.

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Today I am answering real questions,

the ones that have been floating

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around in your head and have been

sent to me on Facebook and Instagram.

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But the ones you have been

too burned out to even Google.

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Let's fix that.

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Hello and welcome back to Mompreneur

Mastery, where we don't just

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talk Instagram, we talk about how

to actually use it when you're

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juggling a million other things.

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Half a cup of cold coffee and a kid who

refuses to eat anything but Dino nuggets.

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That is literally my youngest.

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Today I am answering real questions

I've gotten from you, questions that

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come up when Instagram stops feeling

like a tool for your business and

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starts feeling like an energy sucking

black hole that gives nothing back.

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So I put out a request onto the internet

inside my membership, and I asked

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people what Instagram questions they

had that I could answer in this podcast.

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And if you have more,

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feel free to DM them to me on Instagram

at socially dot your strategist

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and I'll answer them

in an upcoming episode.

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So today we're gonna go

over reels versus carousels.

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Faceless marketing on

Instagram, doing a nine grid.

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And why you're not getting any

leads or sales from Instagram, and

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what the heck to post when you're

not actually selling something.

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And as always, I am digging into

the strategy side of things so

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we're not wasting time on fluff that

doesn't actually help our business.

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And let's get into it.

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So the first question

was reels or carousels.

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What should I focus on?

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If you're asking this,

you're being strategic.

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So great work, you're not

overthinking or anything.

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You want to use your limited

time on what actually works.

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But here's the thing.

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This question assumes that the format

is what makes a post work and it's not.

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What makes a post work is having a clear

goal, a message that fits that goal, and a

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structure to the post that gets people to

see, read, and take action from that post.

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So while certain formats can help

with certain posts, depending on what

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the goal of that post is, like how a

couple episodes back, I was talking

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about trial reels and strategizing

those specifically for growth.

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You absolutely can do that.

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But that's not to say you

can't share a carousel and get

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followers from that, you know?

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But yes, if growth is your goal, trial

reels are a really great starting point.

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Because when I talk about growth,

growth being the first step in the

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five steps to sales on Instagram

strategy that I teach, I don't mean

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just having a whole bunch of followers.

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I mean, having targeted followers and

because we know trial reels are shown.

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To people that already

follow accounts like yours.

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So they're already in your target

audience, but it specifically targets

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people that don't already follow you is

a great way to strategize your growth.

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But again, if you don't have the structure

to the real, if you don't have the strong

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hook, if you don't have the messaging

you're still not gonna reach that goal

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of growth in getting those targeted

followers that actually turn into buyers.

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So that growth only matters if

there's something to grow into.

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If those new people land on your

account and there's nothing else

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there for them to engage with,

connect, build, trust, all that

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stuff, they're not gonna stick around.

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You're not gonna get the engagement

you're not gonna get the sales.

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And that is where I really

love using carousels because.

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You can put so much information in them.

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I think reels are great for trial.

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Reels are great for growth.

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They're great for engagement, which

is step two of the five step to sales.

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And then for the more in-depth steps of

the strategy, I teach, I love care sales

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because you can put more information

in there and break it down in a way

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people are more likely to actually read.

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Like a paragraph of text on a reel

or in a caption is not as consumable

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as a longer carousel with curiosity

gaps, so people keep swiping and a

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limited amount of text on each slide.

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But again, having that structure

behind the post really helps knowing

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you have a strong hook or a strong

double hook for your carousels.

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Since Instagram shows the second

slide in people's feeds as well,

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if they missed it the first time.

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Or if there's no visual hook in

your reel, people might not stop

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and watch it, and then Instagram

won't show it to other people.

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So having that kind of structure

behind it while knowing the

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purpose is really powerful.

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I actually created a whole training

on this inside of my membership

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last month that walks the members

through how to structure those

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posts as well as their captions.

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So their posts actually get seen and read

or watched and people follow through on

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whatever call to action you are using

because format is only part of the puzzle.

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The formula is behind your content

and the purpose behind your

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content is what help it convert.

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But as a general rule of thumb,

I mean, you can do any that

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you are most comfortable with.

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If you are constantly rocking

the mom goblin, look like me.

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Reels might not be something

you film all the time, or

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maybe you just use more B roll.

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If you just don't like making

carousels, use more reels.

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Just make sure that you have the purpose

behind it and the structure so that

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people are actually going to consume the

content and take action afterwards so

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you can reach all of those five steps you

need before you get sales on Instagram.

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The second question I got was.

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Can I keep my business faceless?

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Sure you can have a faceless business.

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Who am I to tell you?

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You can't?

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But you cannot have a

connectionless business.

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Instagram is all about being social.

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The best way to do that is

by having connections and

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being a more personal brand.

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Those are the ones that are

gonna have a lot of success on

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like any social media platform.

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So.

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The strategy that leads to

sales isn't about visuals.

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It's more emotional.

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That connection and trust piece inside

my five step framework I mentioned,

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connection and trust are the middle

steps that move people from this looks

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interesting to I am ready to buy.

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Give me that.

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So when you take your face outta your

content, you're removing one of the

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fastest ways that people connect with you.

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So because of that, it just

means you need to lean a little

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harder on your brand voice.

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Consistency and those connection

things like storytelling and emotion.

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So you can build that connection

and foster that trust in

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your brand and your offers.

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So people feel compelled to engage

with you and you get more touch points

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with them and they will eventually

convert into buyers or clients depending

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on what it is that you're selling.

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So yes, you can absolutely go faceless.

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Just make sure you know, you're gonna

have to lean more into the connection

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building and trust building phase.

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'cause it's just a little harder

for our brains to do that.

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When we don't have a face to a brand.

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And question three was, can I leave my

grid alone and just use reels in stories?

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Yes.

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I have seen people do this,

have a nine grid or a 12 grade

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and like, yes, you can.

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But only if your grid is

already doing its job.

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The question is really more about like

automation and wanting to simplify

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and streamline and reduce how often

you have to create new content.

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And I'm all for that absolutely.

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All day, every day.

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I love

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doing less without sacrificing results.

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That's my whole life, honestly.

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But the thing is, you gotta

have the strategy behind it.

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So you wanna think of your grid as

like your website at that point.

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If someone lands there from a reel

that you're sharing and just not

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having it upload to your grid or

a story they need to instantly

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understand what you do, who you help,

how you can help them in particular.

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So if your last few posts are

outdated or vague or the messaging

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isn't right there or if they're just

for engagement, people aren't gonna

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stick around enough to figure it out.

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So you need to make sure your

grid has trust and clarity.

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You need to make sure your stories

and reels are building connection

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and getting that growth and doing all

the other work that the other five

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steps you need for sales on Instagram.

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Utilizing the highlights

feature of Instagram here

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would also be really helpful

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to be able to share more information

without adding more to your grid.

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Another thing to consider here with

the updated grid sizes on Instagram and

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how Instagram is cropping the posts.

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Only on your grid creating that kind of

seamless nine grid or 12 grid look is.

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Going to be a little tricky.

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I'm actually working on recording,

a training to show you how I

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manage to set it up on my account.

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I don't have a full ninth grid, but

just the top three pinned posts for

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me are a seamless, like banner type of

post that have a similar effect while

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still updating the rest of my grid.

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But yes, so stay tuned and

I will be sharing that soon.

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Question four is one I get all the time.

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All the time.

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And that is why is my Instagram

not getting sales or leads?

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And this question normally comes

with like a big heavy sigh because

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you're showing up, you're posting at

least somewhat consistently, but like

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honestly, life happens and that's fine.

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You're doing some reels, you're

sharing stories, and still nothing.

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No comments, no dms, no sales.

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It feels like Instagram is just a box

you check because you're supposed to.

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And here is what happens.

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Most people are stuck creating

content that lives only in

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one part of the strategy.

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It's usually growth or engagement.

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Maybe sometimes just sales and

those alone don't get people to buy.

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Okay?

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So you need all five steps to work

together, and I really want you to

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think of these steps as a staircase.

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'cause having them in the right order.

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Helps people have to hit each of these

steps before they can get to The last

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one, which is ultimately sales, right?

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So you have to have the right

followers, you have to have engagement.

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So they're, you get those touch

points you need to get to the

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next step, which is connection.

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Helping them feel like you get them.

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And you probably, I mean, you

should considering your work,

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but also it's a lot easier.

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When you are them, which I feel like

most of the people I talk to are, we are

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our own ideal clients in a lot of cases.

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Maybe like a couple steps ahead

of them in whatever struggles.

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But usually we have been where

they are, so we do get it.

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After that you need to

build trust in your offers.

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Show them how you can help and why

you are the person to help them.

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And then.

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Is the sale part where

you're inviting them to buy.

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If you skip steps three and

four people might be engaging,

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but they're still not buying.

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It's because they don't quite

trust you yet, or they don't fully

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understand the value of your offer.

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So you would need to create content

that works on those two things.

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It could also be, you know, messaging

that's just missing the mark.

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Maybe your content is good, but

it's not getting into the specifics.

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It is just a little too generic for them

to really think, oh, yes, I need this.

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Maybe there's no real clear

content path leading to your offer.

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When you're getting ready to sell

something, you need to make sure the

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posts leading up to that sale are around

topics that relate to your offer, so

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they're already informed and ready to buy.

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Maybe you're using call to actions

that are too soft or too soon.

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And this is why just post something

doesn't really work for long term.

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It can help, like it can work, it can

absolutely get you sales, but if you

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want consistent sales and be able to

have a sale or a launch or something

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and know you're going to get money

from it, having this clear content path

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with the strategy behind it is the key.

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So if you're stuck in that spot,

I actually have a free quiz to

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help you figure out exactly which

part of your Instagram strategy

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is missing and what to fix first.

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It gives you very actionable things

to work on to make sure you're

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reaching each of those five steps.

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I'll put the link in the show notes.

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It takes about two minutes.

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Honestly, it's super helpful.

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It is called the find and fix the

gaps in your Instagram strategy quiz.

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And again, I'll put it in the show notes.

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It's a long name.

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But definitely check it out.

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It's super helpful.

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Now question five is, what should

I post when I'm not launching?

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What of the five steps

should I be working on?

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And this is such a good question

because honestly, we're not

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launching all of the time.

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Most of your time on Instagram

is not spent in launch mode.

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A lot of it is in that in-between space

and how do you use that time so you're

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still posting with purpose and not

wasting it on stuff that isn't helping.

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That is what determines whether your

next launch feels smooth or like

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you're just shouting into the void.

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'cause we definitely don't want that.

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When I am not actively selling something

or like leading up to a sale, I'm

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not on that launch runway at all.

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I'm not just coasting either.

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I'm just shifting my content focus.

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Okay?

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So that means when I look at those

five steps to sales that I teach,

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that means I'm rotating through posts from

steps one through three in my strategy.

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So growth, bringing new people

into my world, people that are

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actually in my target audience.

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I'm working on engagement, so I'm

keeping visible, keeping relevance high.

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I am keeping top of mind and I'm still

having conversations with people in my

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audience and I'm building connection.

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But instead of focusing it on

my actual offers, it's gonna

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be more personal story, tell.

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Personal brand related, like

storytelling, building that emotional

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trust there in my brand as a

whole instead of specific offers.

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So these posts might not lead

directly to a sale today.

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But they're laying the foundation

for someone to say yes later.

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And they also help get market

research, which is always helpful.

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Because people don't just buy when

you post a reel or write a good call

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to action, they buy because your

content over time made them feel

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seen or understood and supported.

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So if you skip this and you only show

up when you're selling, what happens is

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your audience isn't primed yet to hear

your pitch they're not a warm lead.

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So they might not know what your offer is,

what you're offering, how it helps them.

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And they just, they won't have that

trust needed to buy and invest in

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your services or your products.

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It's not that your offer is bad, it's just

that there's no context for it, right?

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It's like showing up to a first

day asking someone to marry you.

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That's weird.

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No, we're not doing it.

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You gotta build the relationship first.

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But when you do use your non

launch content intentionally,

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you can build a warm audience

that's engaged and responsive.

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So even when you do have like

a flash sale, you know those

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things with very little planning.

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You can still get sales then

because your audience is warm

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and engaged and responsive.

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And when you're not selling, you can

collect data on what's resonating

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so you can sharpen your messaging.

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You don't have to start from zero

every time you promote something.

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It's also the perfect time to test

content topics or new formats.

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Shift beliefs.

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Listen to what people are responding to.

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I'll often use these posts to collect

market research, what dms people

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said, and what comments they're

leaving, what topics, get more

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comments on them what they're saving.

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All of that information shapes future

promos and even offer positioning.

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So if you are not launching

anything right now, that's great.

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It means you've got some time to build.

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Build that trust, build that awareness,

build that connection, build that clarity

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that makes it a very easy yes later

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because the sale doesn't

start when the cart opens.

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It starts with every post you

share between now and then.

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Now remember, you don't

have to post daily.

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I'm not trying to make

this harder for you.

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You don't have to be on camera 24 7.

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You don't have to reinvent

your strategy every month.

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But if Instagram isn't working for your

business right now, I really want you

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to know it's not because you're lazy.

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It's not because you're behind.

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It's probably just because no

one ever showed you the strategy

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behind your posts, and that is

what really makes the difference.

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So if this episode helped, I would love

to keep this conversation going and I

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really want this podcast to be helpful.

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So DM me any other Instagram questions

you have and I'll do another FAQ episode.

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I would love to make this a more

recurring series and I wanna answer

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your specific struggles so we

can untangle Instagram together.

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Alright, so find me on Instagram.

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I am at socially do yours strategist,

and let me know what other

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Instagram questions I can help with.

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Until then, I hope your coffee is

stronger than your kids' tantrums.