Instagram is constantly changing, and staying on top of trends and best practices is important to maximize your Teachergram account. If you're looking for tips on all of the above, Instagram expert Jamie Jasperson is here to chat!

Jamie of Basic Girl Teaches is a teacher and instructional designer. She helps teacher business owners establish their brands and connect with their customers on Instagram. You can follow her on Instagram at @basicgirlteaches and her website www.basicgirlteaches.com.

In this episode, you will learn:

• why Instagram a great place for teacher business owners
• the biggest challenge or mistake teacherpreneurs are making when it comes to their IG profile and feed
• which type of posts are best to grow a following
• tips on maximizing your IG profile and feed
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Jamie has a free e-book called Teachergram 101. It's a guide to all the basics of Instagram and includes explanations about topics such as the Instagram algorithm and content types. There are also details about each content format (posts, stories, reels, and live videos) and suggested content ideas for each format. You can download the e-book at club.basicgirlteaches.com/teachergram101

Let's connect!

• TPT Store: ⁠The Southern Teach⁠
• Website: ⁠thesouthernteachdesigns.com⁠
• Instagram: ⁠@thesouthernteach⁠⁠.designs⁠
• Facebook: ⁠The Southern Teach Design and Branding
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Kirsten 0:00

So a lot of people think, Oh, my profile is like the perfect place for me to list facts about myself. But really, your profile is the place for you to help people make a decision. Because the only people that are coming to your profile, are the people who are deciding something they're deciding like, should I follow you? Should I um, follow you? Should I click on your link? Should I look at your content, they're there on your profile on that page because they're making a decision about you. And you've got like two seconds to help them make the decision. And you want them to make the right decision. Like you don't want everybody to follow you. And you don't want everybody to click on your link. You want the people who are your ideal customer who are really going to purchase from you.

You're listening to the creative teacher podcast, a show for busy teachers looking for ways to engage, inspire and make an impact in their teacher businesses. I'm Kiersten, a teacher business owner who is all about simple and actionable tips, strategies and resources that result in wins, big or small. If you're looking for that extra spark of creativity, you've come to the right place. Let's dive in together.

Jamie 3:51

excited to be here. Yeah.

Kirsten 3:53

So tell us about yourself and your teaching experience and what it was like in the classroom?

Jamie 4:01

Yeah, great question. So I've mostly taught fourth grade math and science in Texas. I have taught other years doing a few things kind of in between but most of my public school teaching experience was teaching fourth grade math and science in Texas. And I love fourth grade was my favorite place to be like

Kirsten 4:18

for math my favorite because I'm also in Texas as well is third grade because they are learning multiplication and division and all that. I know fourth grade like Texas, it's like heavy on decimals and stuff. But I love like doing, you know, facts with them. So that's pretty cool that you you've enjoyed. Yeah, great.

Jamie 4:36

My favorite definitely as long division. I love teaching long division. Gosh, I love teaching fractions and decimals and like blowing kids minds that they're the same. Yeah.

Kirsten 4:47

Sorry about that. Yeah, I tried that with some of my third graders. I thought that you know, like, I don't know, they it kind of went over their heads like

Jamie 4:57

and some of them are like, well I know it goes over their heads so

Kirsten 5:04

good that they're getting that exposure though. Yeah, I

Jamie 5:06

love it. I recently moved to a new position as an instructional designer at a university. So that's really exciting. Yeah. And that's been fun. Yeah.

Kirsten 5:16

Like, so I'm, I'm guessing that you transitioned in the middle of the year. It How did that go?

Jamie 5:23

It was such a hard decision for me, I'll be honest, it was really hard. Just I felt so torn between two things that I loved so much. And ultimately, I just had to decide which opportunity I was going to be this last about. And I felt like, I would be sad if I didn't try this. I feel like I'd be sad if I didn't try it, you know, and just

Kirsten 5:46

see how it is. And then like, you know, worst case, you know, there's always a teaching that you can you have that certificate, that license. So, I mean, but that's really great that you were able to jump on that opportunity. I'm sure that's like, it's I have, like, you know, you'll be great at it.

Jamie 6:04

Yeah, so I got my master's in instructional design a few years ago. And so it's been something I've been considering. And it's something I really enjoy. And if you're not familiar with instructional designer, if any of the listeners aren't, it's basically like curriculum writing. And so you work. My role in the university is to work with faculty to help them kind of refine and develop their curriculum specifically for online programs. So I'm helping them create online courses and things like that. Kind of focused on like best practices of assessment and curriculum. And that was something I love so much in teaching. So obviously, I'm still a little torn. It was a hard decision. But I'm excited to try teaching kind of in a different way, and just like look at education in different settings. Yeah. So that's a little bit about that. That's

Kirsten 6:47

great to hear. Because I know, like, I feel like in general, you know, as a teacher, it's great to be able to be able to know that and not all professors or lecturers at universities kind of have that inherent skill as we do as teachers. So that's great that you're able to mentor and help them with that as well.

Jamie 7:06

Yeah, it's been cool just to see, you know, different ways to talk about education, because education is like present in so many different settings. And it's just been fun to have those conversations in a new way. Yeah. Yeah.

Kirsten 7:19

And speaking of like, curriculum design, that kind of relates to what we do, I guess, as teacher business owners, especially if we're on Teachers Pay Teachers. So go ahead and talk about your journey as a teacher printer, because I know before you became an instructional designer, you were you've also been on the online space helping other teacher business owners. So go ahead and talk about that. Yeah,

Jamie 7:42

absolutely. So my business has also come on this big, huge journey. And where I'm at right now is I help other teacher business owners learn how to use Instagram effectively for their businesses. And I ended up there after doing lots of different things. But I started on Teachers Pay teacher's selling mass resources, I still haven't teachers pay teacher's store, have math resources there. But I found that I just really loved Instagram. And I especially love Instagram, because it gave me the space to connect with other teachers. And I just started building these, like real relationships with other teachers on Instagram. And I love those conversations I was having. And I found that it not only helped me grow in my business, but also just brought me a lot of personal satisfaction. And I wanted to help other people have that experience. And the more I did that, and like supporting people in using Instagram, and like, capture the love of that connection you can have from Instagram, the more I was like, You know what, this is the direction I want to take my business. And so now I primarily focus on that helping other people who have a teacher business be able to use Instagram to have that kind of exciting experience of connecting with other people and also marketing kind of at the same time.

Kirsten 8:49

Yeah, and it's super rewarding. And like, just, you know, I started my business Instagram account not too long ago, like less than a couple years ago. And I had no idea, like how in depth like the teacher Graham world was until I actually opened an account. And it's just really cool to be able to not only connect with your audience, but just connecting with other people in your niche and other people that are TPT sellers or teacher printers as well.

Jamie 9:20

Yeah, absolutely. I feel like every platform has its own strengths and like things that it focuses on. And Instagram really is built to like create that kind of connection, just the features that are available in the way people are using it. And I love that like I really have made some really good friends on Instagram. Yeah, same here. Same

Kirsten 9:38

here. Yeah. So you mentioned I can already you know, you've you've already kind of talked about how it's a really great way to connect with other teacher business owners. But in general, why would Instagram be a really great place for teacher business owners? Yeah, absolutely. That's

Jamie 9:56

a great question. So one big reason why Instagram M is a great place to market your teacher business is because teachers are on Instagram. And they're looking for advice and encouragement support. And they're finding it. There's a community of other teacher business owners offering that also other teachers influencers offering that kind of community and support. And because people are looking for that, and they're looking for guidance, and they're looking for ideas, it's the perfect place for you to show up and be able to give that help. And say, like, Hey, I'm an expert on this topic, and I so much want to help you and I have these resources that can support you, and send me a message and I'll talk to you more about it. And people are craving that level of connection, and also that level of support. So it's a great way to kind of show up and leverage that to your advantage. But also, you get to build those relationships to like, it's more than just marketing.

Yeah, exactly. It's, I mean, that's something that I'm really big on as far as branding, like, you have a voice and not every teacher gram is the same. Some people offer a lot of encouragement, and you know, funny memes, there's one in particular, I can't think off the top of my head, but he has like these hilarious teacher relatable, like memes and videos. And I'm gonna, I'm gonna have to figure out what you like I can think of I don't know, you may know who I'm talking about. But he has like his, his beams and all of that are just super relatable and hilarious, especially just in the pandemic, you know, with what we're dealing with. It's just really, it's kind of nice to have a mix of like, just depending on what you're feeling. If you just feel like you need encouragement, if you feel like you need some tips or advice. It's just a really great way overall, just and then it's just you kind of put your own unique style out there. Yeah, it really it is. And it's reminds me a lot of like, when you're working in school, you like go down the hall to like ask your friend a question. I feel that way. A lot of times an Instagram DM Sorry, I'm

like, Oh, I know, this person knows something about this. And I could just ask them, and feeling like I have this relationship with them. And in this kind of generation isn't the word I'm looking for. But like this era, or this time of influencer marketing, people want to make purchases from people that they know. And so when you build that relationship, and you have that level of trust, people are like, Oh, I like I know that person, I trust them. I've talked to them before, of course, I want to make a purchase from them or buy what they recommend.

Yeah. And that's super great to be able to, you know, be able to connect with people through DMS. And then you see their name again, when they're buying one of your products or courses or something like that. So yeah, that's a pretty cool thing to see. So in general, you talked about a lot of, you know, benefits and why it's a really great place for teachers. For teacher printers, what is the biggest challenge or mistake you notice teacher foreigners are making when it comes to their Instagram profile, or Instagram feed? Just pick, you know, you can do one or both. But just what do you think might be a challenge? Yeah,

I'll talk about profile first. And then, if I forget, either remind me about Instagram. I think one big challenge about your profile is being able to use it for the right purpose. So a lot of people think, Oh, my profile is like the perfect place for me to list facts about myself. Mm hmm. But really, your profile is the place for you to help people make a decision? Because the only people that are coming to your profile, are the people who are deciding something, they're deciding, like, should I follow you? Should I unfollow you should I click on your link? Should I look at your content, they're they're on your profile on that page, because they're making a decision about you. And you've got like two seconds to help them make the decision. And you want them to make the right decision. Like you don't want everybody to follow you. And you don't want everybody to click on your link, you want the people who are your ideal customer who are really going to purchase from you. And so you need your profile to give that clarity to kind of help weed those people out if this is the place that they're going to be. So there's a lot of ways you can do that. Like, I won't get into all of that right now. But I think the challenge is using your profile for that purpose. People show up here on your profile, and now you're going to help them say this is exactly what you can expect from me, and then they're going to make a decision. So you do that by being really clear about what your niche is. You do that by using your highlights intentionally and kind of strategically. You do that by having a call to action, so that when people come there to make a decision, they're looking to kind of see what can I expect from this person? And then is that something I'm interested in? Do I kind of

fit into this audience? Yeah, that's great. Because I know like when I first started my teacher, gram, I saw things like you know, third grade teacher, Texas, all of that kind of stuff. So I would add that in my profile thinking you know, that's the norm of what we're supposed to be doing. And that's gonna attract my ideal teacher customer, but you're so right about like, you want people do you know in those in those quick seconds of landing on your profile, to make a quick decision, as far as like following and having you know, the right people following you And

like trends change, like over time, you know, like the advice I gave people in 2019 about your profile is totally different than the advice that I was teaching in my membership like a couple of weeks ago, right? Like, it gets trends change. And so it's good to kind of adjust your profile to and say, like, is this still kind of fitting with what I'm doing in my business? And is this still kind of fitting with like, what's best practice on Instagram right now?

Yeah. And yeah, like social media changes all the time. So yeah, it's always good to stay current on that. Just kind of refine it. Yeah. What are some, I guess, challenges or mistakes people, teacher printers are making with their feed? Yeah,

I think the number one mistake I see people making with their feet is they aren't talking about what they have to offer. Now, it can go too far either way. But I find most people spend a lot of time talking about like relatable connection pieces, like conversation starters, asking questions, sharing a meaningful quote, sharing a picture of their classroom, but they don't talk very much about their offers. And no one can purchase from you if they don't know that you have anything to sell. And so if you're going to be using Instagram to market, you have to actually tell people that you have stuff available to make a purchase. Like they have to know

Yeah, and there. There's always those Instagram accounts that are there. They're purely there for you know, encouragement, and all of that. And if you do have like a TPT store, you do have offers, it's definitely important to make sure you list that out. How, like how, how often is too often is there like a rule that you might think is like, is a little too salesy of an account? Like, what are your thoughts on that?

I think it is so variable on you and your audience. And I am a huge advocate, like every single thing that I have to offer about Instagram, I'm a really big advocate for making database decisions. So go gather some data about your Instagram account and figure out what works for your audience. Because it's going to be really different. And also trends shift, you know, like, your audience likes different things. So if you're like, I wonder if this is too salesy or not, I would just recommend trying it, just start posting a little bit more, collect some data about how people engage about how they click on your link, and then kind of find that balance from there. It feels kind of scary to do that kind of experimenting, but you're not going to break your Instagram account. And honestly, if someone follows you because you're selling something, then they might not have been the right follower for you anyway, you know, like, they might not have been a good fit, and that's okay. Losing followers is sometimes good, too. Yeah,

absolutely. I totally agree. All right. So um, as far as growing a following, you know, there is always changes. And we always are thinking about ways to increase our followers, what type of posts are the best in order to gain followers? Let's say that they're the right people, not just any followers, but like, what type of posts? Could we have for growing a following? Yeah, that we would want? I

guess, this is like everybody's question, right? Like, how do I get more followers? Yeah. And some people will tell you lots of different things. And I'm gonna give you the honest truth, the fastest way to get more followers is to do giveaways. Do I think that's the best way to get more followers? No, but it works. Like if you just want followers fast, you will get them. So if that is like your number one goal, it will work. But I don't think that is necessarily the most effective way to grow your business. And you can totally make that decision. Like, I'm not lying to you, it will work. But I also think it's just good to consider like, what are your business goals? Having more followers doesn't necessarily mean you're going to have more sales, it doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to have more engagement doesn't mean you're going to have more interaction. And so you kind of want to just keep that perspective in mind. It could, it could lead to that, but it doesn't necessarily lead to that. Yeah, when it comes to growing like that kind of following like you're attracting your ideal audience. Right now, the best way to do that is through intentional use of reels. So not just creating reels, but really creating reels that are focused on attracting your ideal audience, things that they'll relate to ways to kind of show that you're an expert in your niche topic, ways to show that you have things to offer that's really going to bring in new followers, because reels are designed to reach lots of people, not just your followers, just the way the algorithm is structured around reels so lots of people will see it. And so it will be reaching so many people that people who are in your ideal audience will watch it and be like, oh, I want to see more from that person. Yeah.

And I feel like I don't know if it's just my feed or that's just kind of what they're pushing like as like algorithm wise, but pretty much all of I mean, I consume a lot of video content and reels anytime I'm on Instagram, so that's naturally what I see mostly in my feed. And you know, and I'm now Facebook now they've got me where I will like see a real or Facebook video and then I go into their Instagram account and so you Yeah, it's just definitely pretty clear that you know, like, it's great to know that it's intentional, as long as you're intentional with it. That's, it's really great to grow following. What are some tips that you have on maximizing your profile and feed? So thinking about like your, you know, the mistakes that we might be making? How can we maximize it so that it's optimized for our profile? And also for our feed? Yeah, great

question. I think the first thing that you can do is kind of spend some time looking at other accounts, and analyzing how you feel, not necessarily analyzing what they say, but analyze your own reaction. So if you catch yourself going to look at somebody's profile, for some reason, it's probably because you're trying to decide if you're going to follow them. Or if you're going to purchase from them, right, that's probably what you're doing. You're scrolling through it, you're like, Oh, I like this real, you go to their profile to see more from them. When you get there, stop for a second and ask yourself, What am I thinking? Like? Why did I get here? What did they do in their content that made me want to be here? And now that I'm here, what decision am I making? did I decide to follow them or not? And why? What did they have here on their profile that helps you make that decision, and just kind of maybe for a dare to watch your own habits and behaviors, something that's really cool in the teacher business world is usually you're inside of your own target audience, like you're creating resources for people who are like you, you're in your own target audience. And so you can look at your own behavior, and kind of think, Oh, my audience is doing the same thing to my content. So I think that's a really great place to start is looking at your own habits around Instagram. Now, I'll give you some actual actionable tips, too. But as you're noticing and reflecting on your own behaviors, you can be like, Oh, I see what they did there. And I can kind of duplicate that same strategy. Not the same words are the same content, but that technique of like, what did they say? What did they write, when it comes to maximizing your profile, I think it's a really good idea to in your bio, in some way, make it obvious who it is that you help, you can be really specific, like you can say, I help these people with this thing. You can also be clever or funny, but make it really clear in your bio, like, if you make third grade math resources, it should say third grade math in your bio. And if you make social studies resources, but you currently teach math, don't put that you're a math teacher, because you're not trying to connect with math teachers, right, you're trying to connect with social use resources. And then when it comes to maximizing your feed, I think that you should make every single post that you make with a really clear purpose. There's tons of content out there, and there's going to be lots of people posting very similar content to you. And so just be really purposeful that like this content is part of my plan. It's communicating something to my audience, it's representing my business, it's showing people that I know what I'm talking about. Those

are amazing tips there. And I know that a lot of people listening are going to hopefully be able to utilize that to kind of, you know, tweak their Instagram, maybe they don't need tweaking, maybe so but those are some amazing tips there. So where can we learn more information about any Instagram, any more Instagram strategies from you? Yeah,

so I have this event coming up called Spring Fling. And this is an event I do every spring here since actually going to be part of Spring Fling this year. So that'll be fun. And you're there last year, too. So we're excited to have you come back. Yeah. And sprinkling is an online event. It's a conference for teacher Business Center, specifically. And we have a lot of presenters come together, they share things that they're an expert in. And it's a great place to come and learn from other teacher business owners, connect with other people, and it's free. So that's really exciting. And I will be sharing some more strategies about Instagram at the event. So definitely anyone who's listening, we'd love to have you it's always a ton of fun. And I'm really excited for us to come back for year three, and I have some new things kind of planned for that. So it's gonna be fun. Yeah,

I'll definitely make sure to link that in the show notes so people can get access or get information about that and sign up.

Yeah, absolutely. It'll be really it's always a really good time and I learned so much like this is one reason why I do is I just learned a ton from other people. And we have sessions about like everything Pinterest, Instagram, podcasting, Facebook groups, self care, resource creation using templates, Google Sheets, I mean, like we have so many different sessions on a lot of different topics related both to TPT stores and also just to teach your business in general.

I know it's I learned a lot too last year so I cannot wait to join in this year as well and the wait like you are an amazing host so she makes it smooth and easy to navigate. So definitely sign up for that. Yeah, that's

my goal. Make it as easy as possible. It'll be real it'll be really good. Um, other ways that you can learn more about Instagram for me honestly, my Instagram account is the best place I am always have Have in conversations with people in the DMS about Instagram. And so you're welcome to hop over to my Instagram, send me a message. And I post a lot of content with these kinds of Instagram tips. You can click on my links and things from there. My Instagram is basic real teachers. So that's where you can find me.

Right? Yeah. And that was my next question. Where can we find you online?

Definitely Instagram, but I'm basically all teachers everywhere. My websites, physical teachers, and my Instagram is so you can find me online with that search.

Well, thank you so much, Jamie, for being a guest on the podcast. Thank you. All right, that was such an amazing episode to listen to. And I know that you've gotten amazing tips from Jamie, she is super, super passionate about Instagram marketing, just Instagram in general. And she gives a lot of great advice, I highly encourage you to take home one of those tips that Jamie shared with you today in this episode, and try to see what tweaks you can make to your own Instagram account to optimize it and make it even more powerful for your audience. Something that Jamie is also really good at his hosting and putting on conferences for specifically teacher business owners. And if you're listening to this, at the time that it's been published, there is a online conference that's going to be happening from March 18 through 22nd. It's called Spring Fling 2022. So this is a really great time to not only hear more from Jamie, but from a host of other presenters. And the coolest part is that it's absolutely free, you can register for free. But there's also an option for attendees to upgrade, so that you can receive access to replays and a library of bonuses. So if you're interested at all your teacher, printer or teacher business owner, who would love to get a lot of great tips and more information on how you can grow your business, check out my link in the show notes or on my blog. And you can register for free or if you want to upgrade that ticket to get the replays in the bonuses. You can do that on that link as well. It's going to be happening really soon. March 18 through 22nd. So definitely check that out. All right. Well, that's the end of this episode. I hope you enjoyed this amazing conversation as much as I have. I hope you have an amazing day and I'll talk to you again soon.

Thanks for tuning in to the creative teacher podcast. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode, feel free to subscribe and leave a review. I'd love to hear your feedback. You can also find me on Instagram at the southern teach. I cannot wait for you to join me in the next episode for more tips and inspiration. Have an amazing day.