I remember when two reels with trending audio could reach thousands and fill a program with a couple hundred followers. That was a season. Today, a reel can still land, but buyers take a lap. They follow for a bit, read your emails, listen to your podcast, maybe skim a blog, and only then feel confident enough to say yes. That is not a problem to fix. It is a sign to adjust.

If you are building your business in the mom cracks of your day, the last thing you need is a plan that demands constant posting plus heavy outbound engagement. In this solo episode, I walk you through how I am shifting my five step framework so Instagram plays to its strengths and the rest of your marketing carries the pieces that actually require time and depth.

We get into

• What changed on Instagram and why buyers now take longer to decide

• How to use Instagram as part of your bigger picture marketing plan, given these changes

• Why that slower path can create better fit clients, stronger testimonials, and more referrals

• How this change saves time and brain space when you do not have hours for engagement

• The role of clear, consistent messaging so every piece connects and nothing starts from scratch

If Instagram has felt harder or slower, you are not doing it wrong. We are in a new stage. Let Instagram open the door and start the conversation. Let your long form and email build confidence so when you make an offer, your people are ready.

Mentioned in this episode

• Buyer Journey Content Map my free guide to plan what to say, where to say it, and how each piece supports the five steps to sales.

If selling your stuff on Instagram feels slower or more difficult

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lately, you are not imagining it.

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Things have changed both on Instagram

online marketing in general, and

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how buyers are making decisions.

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It's kind of like when your kids

hit a news stage and the routines

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you used to rely on don't quite work

anymore, so you have to make some

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tweaks to fit where they're at now.

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That is exactly what we're doing here and

what I'm going to explain in this episode,

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the overall five steps to sales framework

that I teach . Is still applied, but

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how Instagram fits into that needs to be

changed given the changes we're seeing.

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Because as always, I never want

you to waste time and effort on any

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kind of strategy or tactic that is

not gonna get you that return on

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your time and energy investment.

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'cause you have so little

of those two things.

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We need to make sure it's going

towards the things that are actually

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going to help your business without

you losing your ever loving mind.

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Now, I don't know how long you have

been in business, but I remember a

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time where you could post a couple

of reels with trending audios.

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It would reach thousands and thousands,

even if you only had a couple hundred

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followers and you could fill your

one-on-one spots or fill your group

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program without a ton of effort.

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It was a magical time.

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I'm not gonna lie to you now.

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Instagram is more selective about

what it shows and who it shows it to.

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And there's also been a

shift in buyer behavior.

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Buyers are taking more time.

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They wanna get to know you, understand

your approach, and feel super,

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super confident before they say yes.

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And this can be contributed to a lot

of things, you know, the economy.

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So many people having online businesses,

the amount of marketing we see every

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day, all day, like so many things.

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So it's not a bad thing, okay?

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When someone chooses to work with

you after following your account,

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reading your emails, listening to your

podcast, checking out your blog, all

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of these things, they're a better fit.

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They're more excited and they're

more committed, which is great

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for both returning customers, for

getting testimonials, for future

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customers, for getting referrals.

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We love this.

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This is great.

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This is not bad.

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However, given the changes in buyer

behavior and Instagram marketing,

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we're need to shift our marketing

strategy to make sure we are still

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getting these top notch quality, like

the best of the best dream clients.

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So, like I said, the five step to sales.

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It hasn't changed.

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Growth, engagement,

connection, trust, and sales.

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Still the same.

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But now, given what we know about

Instagram, how it's not as reliable

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for consistent sales without a ton and

a ton of time and effort and outbound

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engagement, that I'm pretty sure

most of us just don't have time for.

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I'm switching it around.

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I'm not doing all five

steps just on Instagram.

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Instagram is gonna be good for step

one and two, growth and engagement,

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getting that visibility, getting

in front of the right people,

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starting to foster relationships

with those people through engagement.

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And right now you might be thinking, I'm

still getting sales on Instagram, or can

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I still sell directly from Instagram?

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Absolutely, yes.

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If you're still getting

sales, I love that for you.

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Keep doing what you're doing.

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That's great.

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I am not saying I'm never

gonna sell on Instagram.

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I'm saying

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when I plan all of my marketing content

you know, emails, blog posts, podcasts,

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all of these things, I am not going

to have Instagram be its own thing

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for all five steps when I plan it,

I'm going to make sure I am really.

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Utilizing Instagram, mostly

for steps, one and two.

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Now, when I have a big launch, am

I gonna mention sales on Instagram?

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Absolutely.

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Of course.

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Um, it would be silly not to, but I'm

not going to stress too much about

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getting sales from Instagram 'cause

it's not the best use of our time.

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When you're building a business

in the mom cracks of your day, you

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want the effort you put in to give

you the biggest possible return.

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And asking one platform to

carry all five steps is a lot.

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And right now it's not

the most effective way.

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Knowing what we know about buyer

behavior, um, and your lack

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of free time and brain space.

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. So like I said, now when I plan my

marketing content and I am working

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through steps one through five, . For

Instagram specifically, I'm gonna use a

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lot of step one and two content there.

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With those goals in mind.

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Steps three, four, and five is

going to not only be, but mostly

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be my long form content, my email

marketing, things like that.

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So think of your email list, your

podcast, your blog, anything like that.

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These are the spaces where

you can tell deeper stories.

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Really foster that connection.

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Share client wins, share case studies.

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Explain your process in a way

that truly builds confidence.

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And it's the same idea that I've always

shared for Instagram content, right?

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Every post should work

together to leads to sales.

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Now, as I'm shifting my strategy, as

I'm shifting my business with these

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changes, we're just zooming out a bit.

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We want every piece of your marketing

to work together to lead to sales.

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And like I said before, owning

a business is very much like

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parenting, as is marketing.

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When your kids grow, you don't throw

out every strategy that worked before,

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but you do need to be able to adapt.

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That's all that we're doing now.

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This is just like.

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When a bedtime routine needs to change

because what worked before just no longer

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fits and you, you gotta adapt and move

on so you can still get that end result

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that you need, which is hopefully.

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An easy bedtime where they stay

in their own beds the whole night.

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That's, that's the goal anyway.

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And that's exactly what we're doing here.

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The five steps to sales still applies.

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We're just letting Instagram play to

its strengths right now and letting

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your other platforms do the rest.

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So we're not putting so much

time and energy into one thing

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and expecting results that we're

just ultimately not gonna get.

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And again, it's not that you're not going

to get them, but if you are short on time,

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like I'm sure you are it's not as doable.

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It takes a lot, a lot of engagement

and a lot of posting, and I know

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that my audience being mostly mom

business owners or just busy woman

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entrepreneurs, that's not super doable.

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And it doesn't make sense to

continue to give you advice on

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solely using Instagram for sales.

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When we have very little time to work and

for it to work, we need a lot of time.

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So when you have all of your marketing

working together, you can stop feeling

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like you're starting from scratch.

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Every time you post, every time you write

an email, write a blog, whatever it is,

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Instagram can help get people in the door.

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It can start those conversations and

then you can use your other platforms

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to continue the conversation, to build

that trust, to build that confidence.

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And when you do make an

offer, they're ready.

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And as we're making this

shift, I really want to.

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Talk about the piece that

makes everything work.

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Like the big picture strategy is

so important, but even that is

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not going to work if you don't

have your messaging down pat.

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And this is more than just, you

know, knowing these generic pain

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points or knowing who you help.

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It's digging in really, really deep.

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So that you can turn these casual

followers and email subscribers into

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someone who feels like you are in

their head, describing exactly what

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they've been struggling with, and

showing them that you can help them

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with the solution for their problems

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you could have the perfect mix of

platforms and know exactly which steps

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in your strategy belong where, where to

post what for those steps in the strategy.

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But if your message isn't clear and

concise and consistent, your audience

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won't be able to connect those dots.

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You're not gonna get those dream clients

I talked about earlier, and they might

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see your posts, they might join your

email list, but without the message

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that speaks directly to their needs,

their experiences, their goals, it's.

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Not likely they're ever gonna be

ready to buy for you, especially when

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there are so many people doing online

businesses that could also help them.

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And I'm not saying this to scare

you or make you rethink anything.

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This is a real opportunity here to just

dig deeper into why you do what you

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do, who you help, why you help them,

why your offers are perfect for them.

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When your messaging is strong, creating

your content feels a lot easier, and

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it stops feeling like you're throwing

random pieces out into the void, and

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you have this overall strategy to guide

people to being ready to work with you.

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So this is how it all fits together.

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So Instagram, like I said, still

plays a big role within the strategy.

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It's gonna be steps one and two.

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It's where you're most likely

to get in front of new people

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and start the conversation.

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But now, instead of expecting it to

carry the whole sales process because

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we just don't have time for all the

engagement it takes to do that right now

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we're letting it do what it does best,

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and letting your other platforms handle

the rest and messaging needs to be

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the constant throughout all of this.

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It's what makes your growth and

engagement content actually connect.

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So you're attracting the absolute

dream clients that work with you,

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that give you referrals, that give you

the great testimonials, all of that.

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It's what makes your connection, your

trust, and your sales content feel

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like a natural next step, like a warm

invitation instead of, you know, these

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hard sales pushes that just feel so icky.

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We hate that.

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And it's also why your audience recognizes

your voice no matter where they see

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you, whether it's on Instagram and a

podcast, on a blog post and an email.

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All of that is what makes your marketing

feel intentional instead of scattered.

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So when you combine a clear, consistent

message with a marketing plan that

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spreads the five steps to sales across

the right platforms, you get more out of

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every minute you spend creating content.

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You're not starting from scratch every

time you post and you're building on

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a story that your audience already

knows and believes in, and that is

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how you work smarter and not harder.

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So you can still get results without

spending a ton of time on Instagram

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where you might not be getting the most.

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Return on that time investment.

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So again, if Instagram sales have

felt slower or harder lately, it's not

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because you're doing anything wrong,

it's just because we're in a new stage.

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All right?

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That's kind of online business in general.

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Our job now is to work

with it, not against it.

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We're gonna use Instagram for what

it's best for right now, and letting

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your other platforms carry the rest.

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Keep your messaging front and

center so everything you share

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is pulling in the same direction.

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Marketing is gonna start to feel easier

because you're not relying on one post or

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one platform to do all the heavy lifting.

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You are gonna have a connected strategy.

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You're gonna have that clear, concise

messaging that guides your audience

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towards buying, and that message is gonna

be everywhere your audience sees you.

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If you want help mapping this out

so you know exactly what to say,

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where to say it, and how it all fits

together, I've created a new freebie.

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It is linked in the show notes.

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It's called the Buyer Journey Content Map.

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This is the exact process I use to

plan content across Instagram, email,

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and long form content platforms, think

podcasts, blogs, things like that.

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So every piece is working together

to guide your audience from.

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Oh, hey, I just found you too.

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I am so excited to work with you.

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So go ahead and grab the buyer

journey content map in the show

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notes, and I am so excited to be

back in your earbuds next week.