Maybe you're a fan of Instagram, and maybe you're not. Either way, it can be a really powerful addition to your business if you can just figure out how to use it in a way that works for you.

Today, I'm joined by Instagram strategist Nicole Ialeggio to talk all about tweaking your Instagram funnel to bring more connection (and ultimately sales) back to Instagram. She shares what exactly an Instagram funnel is, how to create one for yourself, how your podcast and Instagram can work together, how to spice up your Instagram stories, and more!

⭐️ Resources Mentioned:

• ManyChat
• Mel Robbins on Instagram @melrobbins
• Follow me on Instagram @podcastingforeducators 

🔗 Connect with Nicole: 

• Create your own Instagram Funnel
• Say hi on her new Instagram account @insta.amplified

🎤 Recommended Podcasting Resources:

• Hosting: Captivate.fm (Get a free 7-day trial!)
• Transcription: Otter.ai
• Project Management: ClickUp
• Private Podcasting: Hello Audio
• Podcast Playlist Toolkit - use code PODCAST to grab it for $17!
• Launch Your Podcast: Free Podcast Launch Guide & Podcasting for Educators Prep School
• Level Up Your Podcast: Podcast Like You Mean It
• Leverage Podcast Guesting: Guesting for Educators Mini-Course

Show Notes: https://podcastingforeducators.com/episode138

Some links mentioned are affiliate links. This helps to support this podcast at no additional cost to you. 

Sara Whittaker 0:00

Maybe you're a fan of Instagram, maybe not. But either way, it can be a really powerful addition to your business if you can just figure out how to use it in a way that works for you. And that's what this episode is all about. I'm joined by Nicole I Leggio, who is an Instagram strategist who has figured out exactly how to make Instagram work for her by creating a social media funnel that makes her sales. She started doing this for her clients, then her students and before she knew it, she had a repeatable process for creating content that converts on Instagram. You'll hear Nicole share exactly what an Instagram funnel is, and how to create one for yourself how your podcast and Instagram can work together, how to spice up your Instagram stories and more. This interview was extra special because I got to interview Nicole in person, which was so much fun. Be sure to check out Nicole on Instagram after listening at Insta dot amplified. You're your podcast is a powerful tool that serves your audience and your business. But how do you manage it all bring in new listeners and convert those listeners into customers. That's what this show is all about. Welcome to podcasting for educators. I'm Sara Whitaker, classroom teacher turn podcast manager. And I'm here to help you get the most out of your show, all while making an impact on other educators. Hey, Nicole, how are you?

Nicole 1:22

I'm good. How are you doing?

Sara Whittaker 1:23

I'm good. I'm actually sitting across from you looking at you face to face, which is so cool.

Nicole 1:30

This is only my second in person podcast interview. And the first one was with you,

Sara Whittaker 1:35

Nicole 1:52

It's so much different. And it's nice to actually like talk to you. Yes,

Sara Whittaker 1:55

yeah, there's that over zoom. Yeah, we're lucky because that we live so close to each other that we can do this.

Nicole 2:02

I know. Thank goodness for the internet for bringing us together. I know so

Sara Whittaker 2:05

close to each other. I know it's so fun. Okay, so we are going to be getting into Instagram today, which is always a hot topic, especially for podcasters. Because podcasters that I have worked with always have kind of like a mixed view when it comes to Instagram, like some of them have started their podcast as a way to still show up for their audience, but like kind of pull back from Instagram a little bit. Because maybe they're feeling like Instagram wasn't working for them, or they didn't have the time to consistently show up on there. They didn't have a strategy, whatever the reason, and then others really use Instagram as one of their main platforms alongside their podcasts. I always say I have like a trifecta that I like to use together, which is your podcast, your email marketing and your Instagram, I think that they all like work so well together. So I'm excited to get into this with you today. Definitely.

Nicole 2:59

And Instagram, I feel like especially for podcasters sometimes it can be like a little bit of they have like resistance towards it. Because in the past few years for Instagram, it's been very like salesy on Instagram, and it hasn't been like connection and right podcasts are all about connection and like telling a story and like sharing personal things, and Instagram in the past few years, it's just been like, here are three tips for this, buy my thing, and that's really it. So it's like figuring out how to make all of it work together, which is really exciting. And we're gonna get into that today. Yes,

Sara Whittaker 3:32

we are gonna get into that. And I know another big and we'll talk about this hesitation that people have is, you know, they want to use Instagram to promote their podcast, but a lot of the traditional things that used to work years ago, don't really work anymore, like just plopping an audio grandma or plopping up a new episode graphic, that doesn't really get much engagement. And so people are like, I don't know what the heck to do on Instagram, especially when it comes to my podcast. So we'll get into all of that. But like I've mentioned a little bit people definitely have some frustration for various reasons whether it's that they don't have the time they feel like it's not paying off. So as an Instagram strategist, how do you how would you kind of respond to anybody who's listening who feels like Instagram isn't working for them or they're not really seeing the kind of growth that they hoped for. And

Nicole 4:24

Sara Whittaker 6:20

no, and I didn't know that you used to have like a little nano influencer account before you even started your business. I didn't know that.

Nicole 6:29

That's how I kind of got into everything. And then one of my friends was like, Hey, your Instagram is doing really well. She had a business. And she was like, Can you help me with my Instagram? So I did it for free and ended up doing amazing. And then I was like, okay, I can probably like charge for this. Yeah. Oh, that's so cool. That's how my business started. And then I got into a program that taught me how to grow my business. And yeah, nice.

Sara Whittaker 6:53

That's awesome. I love that that was like just a really organic transition into being a business owner.

Nicole 6:59

It worked really, really well. But I just from going through all of that I really do understand like, how frustrating it can be to try to grow if you don't know what you're doing. So I want to go through like a little bit of like tips and tricks for like how you can kind of transition to all of that.

Sara Whittaker 7:19

Nicole 7:54

Exactly. And it's also like, it's hard. But it's important to take a good look at your content. And like, check out your content and imagine yourself as your ideal client. Most of the time, we are our ideal clients in the past. So think about yourself in the past. And if you were scrolling through Instagram, would you stop and take a look at your content that you're putting out? If you're like, Oh, it's just a new podcast graphic, and you'd probably keep scrolling, most likely. So the hardest part is taking a good look at your content and seeing what I stopped to read this. Is this valuable? Is it something I can Google? Or is this something that's going to give me perspective from someone that's been there before? So that's like the first step, and then adding in your personal touches to it. So like, are you funny, go ahead and add in some humor to it. Are you silly? Go ahead and like do a silly dancing real. Are you serious? Go ahead and do a face talking real? Yeah, it's all about like, figuring out what works for you and your personality and not trying to copy what everyone else is doing. Especially when reels first came out. Everyone was trying to do those like silly dancing, pointing reels. And it doesn't work for everybody. It works well for some people, because that's their personality. But some people you can tell they're faking it. They're trying so hard to like put on a face for Instagram, and your people can see through it.

Sara Whittaker 9:17

Yes, 100%. I always said I will not be somebody who's up there dancing and pointing and I don't think I ever have so I have stayed true to that which is good. But I completely agree. I love to put myself in the shoes of my ideal client and like think about me as a consumer and as somebody scrolling on Instagram or somebody listening to podcasts or whatever, fill in the blank in your business, like what would make you interested in the content that you're putting out. So I know that you and I feel like you're kind of you've kind of hinted at some of this but you talk a lot about Instagram funnels and about like okay, if somebody comes to your profile, are they going to follow you? Are they going to stick around So what exactly is an Instagram funnel?

So before we kind of get into Instagram funnels, if you're listening to this, obviously not if you're driving, but if you're listening to this, I want you to pull up your Instagram and go to your insights. If you've been consistently posting for the past month, I want you to pull up your insights and look at the metric profile visits, check your profile visits, if you are getting, let's say 1000 profile visits, but you only grew three followers this month. There's a problem there. Yeah. So what is that problem? The problem is that people are coming to your profile, and they're confused. If they come to your profile, and they're confused, even a little bit, they're leaving, they're not going to stick around, they're not going to build your content, they're not going to grab your freebie, they're not going to follow you. So by having an Instagram funnel setup that ensures that the right people that come to your profile will immediately be like, Oh, this page is for me, I'm sticking around. So basically, an Instagram funnel is you post a post a reel, whatever it may be, somebody comes to your profile, they see your name, it explains who you are, and what you do. They see your bio, it explains why somebody should be following you. And then it shows Hey, I have this awesome free resource I'd love for you to pick up, they look at your highlights, your highlights are like a mini website. And they are able to tell okay, this is all about podcasting. This is all about like her success stories. This is her story about who she is as a person. And then they see your pinch posts, which could be some of your best tips could be like your most your best performing reel, something that entices them to stay a little bit longer. And in those pin posts says follow me for more information on this. So that's what an Instagram funnel is, is somebody sees your content, then they get to your profile. And immediately within 10 seconds, I'm telling you, people's attention span is so low right now, like, under 10 seconds, somebody has to be able to come to your profile and be like, Yes, I need to follow this person or No, it's not really for me right now. But if they come to your profile, and they have to do any brain work, if they have to expend any brain calories in order to figure out what it is that you do, they're not gonna stick around. Seriously, it amazes me because I work with some pretty big creators. And sometimes they don't have this. So we tweak this, and then immediately their account blows up because they've been getting all these profile visits, but nobody sticking around. And now that people know who they are and what they do. They're like, Oh, of course, I'm gonna stick around and follow. That's how we start to build a big community on Instagram.

I love it. And it's it seems like such a simple tweak to, but one that can make a really, really big impact. And I love how you gave the like, that's almost like a quick little audit that you can do. It was pulling up those insights that Nicole just touched on, what do you consider posting consistently?

So that's a great question. And there's so much noise if you follow any like big Instagram gurus, experts, they're on shock about consistency on Instagram. So what the heck is consistency, figuring out a schedule that works for you, your life, your business, and one that is not going to overwhelm you. So for me, in my stage of life, I have two little boys. They're not I only can work for a few hours a day. And then in the afternoons I spend with them. So for me, I have been able to do one reel a day and then adding carousels. Some people can't and that's totally fine. If you can commit to doing three posts a week, whether that be a real a carousel, that's a great place to start. I really do feel like if you start out too strong, and you're like, Okay, I'm going to post every single day, I'm gonna post one real one carousel, whatever it is every single day. And then in two weeks, you're like, Okay, I can't keep up with this. I'm really burnt out and then you kind of fall off the bandwagon and you could potentially fall off the bandwagon for a month. I know because it's happened to me. And then I come back and I'm like, Okay, I haven't been on here for three months now. I need to get that. But if you have that schedule, so after I fell off the bandwagon for a few months, I came back and I did three posts a week, I got my business got completely booked out. And like that's all you don't need any more than that. If your goal is to grow your Instagram account as fast as possible, you do need to post more. Yeah, that's just Yeah, that's what you need to do. But if your goal is to get a few more clients and still like show your face three posts a week is perfect. And it's not just consistency with like the amount of posts that you're doing, but consistency in what you're talking about your brand voice like not copying other people like consistency in being authentic to yourself to an authenticity on Instagram is also a buzzword so yeah Hate, like what we talked about before, right? Like, if you're not like a goofy, silly person don't try to be right. Yeah, exactly.

Perfect. And Okay, a couple follow up questions when so you said for your profile, you have your name, what you do? And then what was the second thing you said for the like, who you serve, like how you help people? Yes.

Originally, like, originally, I was, I would say, like three years ago for Instagram bios, everybody said, to have your eye help statement on your Instagram bio, you can do that. And that's fine. But more so give people a reason why they should follow you. So for me it for instance, it says like, it has my name has what I do. And then my first line is confidently posted on Instagram. So I'm telling you what you're gonna get by following me on this page. So let's say like for podcasting for educators, the first line of your bio could be grow your podcast with ease, something like that, that's gonna be like, Yes, I that's exactly what I need. And then after that, you can give them even more reasons why they should follow you a link to a freebie, or like, let's say like, you've been featured in like a big publication, you can do that. You can say, my podcast has a million downloads, you can add that for a little bit of like trust building, things like that. But that first line, it's like, why should somebody stay and follow you? Yes, I

like that. And I like how you I feel like you're really good at keeping that line like concise but very clear and engaging at the same time, which takes a little bit of thought to, to kind of like wrap up everything you do in one sentence. Now, okay, for your pinned posts, do you recommend? And this this might be like a kind of varies person to person? But are there certain things that should be in those pin posts? Like, should you have like one about a freebie one about you? Or does it kind of depend?

That's a great question. So I'm going to give you my favorite like three series. And this is what I love to do for my clients, I do have one client that it's a little different. So we'll touch on that to the first pinned post, I love for it to be a start here. So people used to do this in their highlights, and it was a start here to like, take them through kind of what their page is about. I love having it as a pinned post. And it's not going to like be a high engaging post, it's not going to be a highlight post. You can even hide your likes, if you're embarrassed about the amount of likes that you're gonna get on it. But it's important. So for the first person that like somebody that comes to your profile for the first time, they are going to be like, Oh, start here perfect. And they're going to be able to go through and see what your page is about. So literally, I love to have a picture of you, it's going to have big letters start here. And then it's a carousel post and a carousel posts as a multi picture post. And then the second picture is going to say a little bit about you why you started your business. And then it's going to say, here's what you can expect to find on my page, swipe to the next slide. And then you can talk about all of the things that you talk about on your page, why somebody should follow you, then if you have a free resource, then the next slide can be about your free resource, then your paid offers. Like if you're looking for more information, I do have this paid offer as well. And then at the end, I usually like to say I'm so happy you're here. I would love to get to know you better, please feel free to comment or DM me, and we can connect further. So that first start here post kind of encompasses all of it.

I love that that's so smart. You can like get the most bang for your buck in there. And I will say I definitely do like when I stumble upon somebody who's new, like maybe I find somebody through a real and I go to their profile. If they have any kind of posts like that. I do always look at that first because it does give you really good information. It's just like, it's almost like as you were describing it, it's almost like you're welcome sequence in your email when somebody signs up for a freebie you're introducing yourself, you're letting them know what to expect. So that makes perfect sense. Exactly.

And then like people can easily tell Okay, is this page for me? Is this patient not for me? They're not confused, right? So for the second pin post one of my clients we like to do a we have her freebie offer her freebie does really really well. So we have her freebie offer like front and center as one of her pinned posts. So it gives like a little bit of information and then it automatically says grab my freebie. So it gives people a quick win too. So when they get to their page, you have the Start Here you have oh, she has this amazing free offer. Of course I want to download this to get your email address. Then for that third pin posts, I like to do like your highest performing post real carousel, but not just one that's like a trendy silly one. One that is your best performing post that offers value to your audience. So something that they can maybe take action on and immediately see results from Yeah, so that way they're they see all of these things and they're like, Oh, she's giving me all of this as soon as I pop on her page Of course, I'm following her. Yes. So that's my sequence that I really like if you have your freebie in your first pinned post and your second pin post can be another great value.

I love that. That's so perfect. I'm gonna I have some tweaks that I want to make on my profile that I'm already like, thinking about and for your clients do you usually use like if you're featuring that freebie, freebie? Do you usually use many chat as a way to deliver it?

It depends on the client. Okay, most of my I have I have four main clients right now. Three of them, like many chat, one. Yeah, she she doesn't want to she feels like it's inauthentic. And that's fine, like, whatever is best for you. But if you have a lot of followers, and you know, you're going to be getting a lot of DMS questions about this. You don't want to be physically responding to 100 COMM ads, and then DMing them with your freebie. So many chat is fantastic. In order for you to just like and then the person gets the freebie right away to Yeah. And then they don't have to wait an hour until you're back on your phone. And it's so

that it's so funny because I recently sometimes I use many chat, and sometimes I don't. And I have had that same thought of like, Does this feel like inauthentic to people, but then I also think this is what people are used to now they're used to commenting and getting it right away. So when I haven't used it, I'm like, Oh my gosh, I feel like I have to it's been 20 minutes this person commented and I need to send it to them.

And then it puts undue pressure on you. Yeah. Oh, well, now I need to be on my phone. 24/7 getting away from Yes, yes. Want to be on Instagram 24/7. Yeah, we want to grow our presence. But we don't want to spend all day there.

Yeah, for sure. So I mean, I am definitely in the camp of like that. That just seems like such a great tool to take advantage of. So don't feel guilty using it.

I highly recommend it. Yeah. And I use the free version. Yeah, same. So it works well for DM automation. So you can say like DM me this code word. So if anyone is thinking many chat, like, oh, another subscription, I need to have a free version. And then eventually, once you have so many Instagram followers that you can't keep up with it, then you can pay for that. Yeah.

And you'll be selling so it covers the cost of the of the membership or whatever it's called. Yeah, limit. Okay, let's get into a little bit of podcasting and Instagram and how they work together. We talked a little bit about this at the beginning, but there definitely is, I don't know frustration is the right word. But I think there's a lot of confusion around like, okay, how can I actually talk about my podcast episodes in a way that people are interested in? On Instagram and I have talked a lot on this podcast before about what has worked for me. And personally, what has worked best for me is doing, like a carousel or reel that just takes a little snippet from the episode, not like an audio clip, but an actual like teaching point or an engagement question from the episode, just pulling like one piece from that episode, and making that an Instagram post and then kind of leading with that. So you're like leading with that value. And then at the end of the caption, or the last slide on the carousel, or whatever kind of post you're doing, then you can mention that like, if they want to learn more, if they want to hear more, they can check out the podcast episode. That's what's worked for me. I'd love to know, like, what you've seen work and what are some things that we should be considering as podcasters?

That's actually my favorite tip. So you're doing everything correct. Okay. So what I always recommend is you take like, some type of teaching point, and you make a single post or carousel about it, you can even do what I really like to do. And what has worked well for my clients is they literally take the phone and they do it's kind of like a story like they do a face talking real simply talking, Hey, I just I just recorded this podcast episode, we talked about this, this and this, here's something that you can get from it. Somebody that does this really well is Mel Robbins. If you look at Mel Robbins Instagram page, she will just simply like get on her phone and talk to you and tell you like something that happened to her and then say, oh, yeah, by the way, we talked about it on my podcast, like so nonchalant, so casual. So like she's talking to her bestie on her phone. And that's like, what I recommend to most people is that you literally just like get on your phone and you talk like you're talking to your bestie if you're doing that face talking type of real Yeah, if you're not the type of person that likes reels and you're more carousel single graphic posts, that's totally fine. But you are going to need to do a little bit more work than just like throwing up new episode. Here's the episode and link to it, which is annoying for some people and it does take some time. But once you get into the groove of it or once you teach your VA how to do it, it can be really easy and it's a really streamlined process. So I would say take your top 123 Tips from an episode, make a single image or graphic carousel out of it and then like you said that last line is Hey, head to mind. profile. If you want to listen to the entire episode, we talk about this in way more detail. Yeah, so that is, that's exactly what I recommend. But that that addition of the face talking reel where you're literally just like, riffing on a topic that you were just talking about on your podcast, those have done really, really well. So if you want to give it a try, I do highly recommend it. Yeah,

no, that's a great tip. And I'll link to Mel's Instagram. So you can see those examples. And I would imagine that like when she does that, it's a very in the moment, like right after she's done recording, most

likely. Yeah, no, sometimes like, it looks like she's like still in bed like your hair's like she's She doesn't care. And that's what I love about her. Yeah, like training with body a little bit of Mel, same here same

my same I know that's it's a hard, hard barrier to get across for sure. And you can even I mean, as you were talking about that example. I have also done just like some, like if you're out on a walk, video, yourself taking a walk and those tips that you would have put in a carousel, put on a reel and put some audio behind it. Right,

exactly. And that's why I so on my old account, I was doing mostly Paracels and single graphic posts, because that's what I liked doing. I was what I was comfortable doing, because reels came out pretty recently and Instagram lifetime. Yeah. So I was used to that. I liked it. But it takes a lot of time to do a carousel and a real Yeah. So in this new phase of I started a new Instagram account, and I've been posting mostly reels because they take way less time. Yeah, for me. You're not does not You're not sitting there in camera designing. Exactly. And they perform really well. Yeah. So if you're not afraid to like, try out reels and like put your face in front of it. Give it a go. Yeah,

I think you're doing amazing. You guys have to you have to go follow Nicole, because she did. How long ago? Was it that you just started this new account? Like the end of October? Yeah. And you've just felt like you've been so good. I've just like showing up showing, you know, personal life business life. You've been so consistent, and it's working like it's working. I'm seeing your follower account go up and people buying your stuff. And it's just been really cool to see. So

that's the other thing too is like, I get students and clients like, well, I have less than 1000 followers, I shouldn't be selling anything until I have at least like 1000 or 5000 followers like No, no, I literally, I made five sales yesterday. And I have less than 650 followers. Yeah, you literally just have to be so and that's okay, that's another thing it's gonna like, send me on a tangent. You have to be so obsessed with your offer. You have to like make an offer that you're like, I want this. Yeah, like, make sure your offer is so good. You set it at a price point that you're like, this is a no brainer. I need this product. And like I don't even have to think twice about it. Talk about it. Like you're so obsessed about it. And then if you actually believe it, your audience will see that too. And that's how you're going to build trust, build sales, get people on your email list, like I talked about my freebie. Like it's $1,000.

Yeah, yes. And that you're so right, it works alongside with consistency, like, making sure like I noticed, like I said earlier I am. So up and down with Instagram, I was telling Nicole before we got on here that that's one of my goals this year is to be more consistent, because I have all the content in the world, like between my podcast episodes and my other content, like I'm not lacking in that it's just a matter of figuring out a schedule and being consistent. But I noticed every time that I actually am consistently talking about an offer, across multiple days, and not just once and then forgetting about it until the next month, it works. It really does work. And so many people. So many of you who are listening are TPT sellers, and you've got those low ticket resources that are $2 $3. And if you can really amp those up on your Instagram, I mean, so many of you have such a huge following. And if you can be consistent with that it can pay off big time.

Oh my gosh. And I was actually on a strategy call yesterday with one of my clients. And one thing that we talked about, and she's like, I feel like I'm being too repetitive. I feel like I'm annoying my audience. And if you're feeling the same way, let me tell you you're not Yeah, at all. One of my favorite people to follow, she sells digital products. And what she does, she literally talks about the same five digital products every single day, every day, and I never get tired of it. Yeah. Because she's also it's not just that she's also showing like her personal life. So like, yeah, if it's something that I've already bought from her, I can swipe through like, I don't find it annoying at all. The only person you're annoying is yourself. The only person that sees all of your content is yourself. Yes, talk about your content. And I'm gonna give you guys another tip. So every day and your stories, I do recommend trying to get on your stories daily if you can. If you can't, that's fine. Three times a week is good, but I Every time that you get on your stories in the morning, share what you're going to do for the day share something that usually do in the morning, you're going on a walk, share that with your audience, like invite them into your world. In the middle of the day sharing product, it's like share a link, or say DM me for more information, you want people to book a call for a service, go ahead and say, book a free call here. And look, we can talk about it more. And then at the end of the day, share something personal again, and do that every single time you get on your stories, you are going to see your freebies take off your sales take off, I'm telling you, you're not annoying anybody.

Yes. And if you feel like you're being annoying, you're probably like at the sweet spot of where you need to be. And I mean, like you're saying stories can be especially can just be so casual. And so in the moment, it's not something that you have to go and create graphics for every time you get on your stories, it can just be in the moment. And I'm so glad that you brought up stories, because I want to talk a little bit about that. Because I've seen you talk a lot about Instagram stories and like how you can spice your Instagram stories up, especially when you're doing things like, you know, if you have a post on your feed, and then you share it to your stories like how can you make it? How can you put it up there in a way that makes people want to go and check it out.

I love that. It's so fun. So you've seen it, you've seen these creators and they they just have this post and they throw it up on their stories and give no context behind it. And they're like, Okay,

I just did this yesterday.

And that and the important part is some people are saying, Stop sharing your posts to your stories. I don't agree with that. Yeah, I think you need to because Instagram was only showing 20% of your followers, your content. So let's say you do this really amazing post, and it only shows it to 20% of your followers. Most of your followers don't see it, and they probably want to write. So I do think that sharing it to your stories is important. But what I would love to see more of is people doing it is in like a fun and exciting way. So after this, if you want to head to my Instagram, it's a whole series, it's called spice up your stories, parts one through 10 I think I have right now. But what you can do is I love to like take a screenshot of your whole Instagram feed, and then put that on your story. And then add your like, share your story, this is gonna be confusing, share your posts to the story. And like kind of added on top. So it looks like it's your feed. But then you have this like one that's bigger than all the other ones. And then people and then you can say like, click here, like new posts, like look at this. And it's a fun and visually exciting thing. Another thing that I love doing besides that is you get on your stories. And you say, Hey, have you heard about what I do today? Oh, are you looking for more things to post on Instagram? Do you need more ideas for what you can post on Instagram today? And then you can put a poll? Yes or no. That's what this is what I did this morning. And then after that you can do Well lucky for you just made it What a coincidence. The seven things that you can like seven posts that you can do this week for your Instagram. And then that leads into that. And then you can share the real them. So it's really, it's not just about like putting it up there. It's about giving a little bit of context. And I have some clients that are like I know, I never know what to talk about on stories. Like what do I do? I say, look at the post I just made for you like look at the post, you just post on an Instagram and talk about it on your stories riff a little bit more and go into depth. You can literally say the same exact thing that's in the caption just in like talk like talking to somebody. And then say For more information, like check out this post and then link to the post. Yeah, I feel like that was a little confusing. No,

it wasn't confusing. And I have a visual of what you were describing. Because I've seen your reels. Like Nicole said, we'll link will link her Instagram, but she has this great series and you do such a good job of like screen recording what you're doing. So you can actually see how to do it because No, you didn't. No, I totally get exactly what you're saying. So those are really good tips. I've actually done that. Like if I ever do have an audiogram. Or maybe like sometimes I'll do some slides that cover, you know, topics that I talked about in a recent podcast episode. And I'll put that in my stories. But first I'll do something like ask some sort of engagement question. And that kind of like leads into an if feels better? Because like you said, if you just kind of plop these things up with no context. It's just kind of like, what, where did this come from? It's

all about adding context. And the same thing like like I said, In the beginning of the day, share what you do in the middle of the day, share your product, don't just share your product, I shouldn't I should have given more context to that. So giving information about your product like is 2020 flight for me is 2020 for you your you want to grow on Instagram, yes or no. I have this amazing free resource, the Instagram growth tool like here's the link to it and then give the link and then talk more about why some should get it and then they can go back and grab it via that link. So it's all about giving context and not just saying, hey, buy stuff. Yeah, hey, get my freebie. Why? Why? Why do I want to give you my email address? Yeah, I already have 10,000 emails. I don't need any more. It gives me a good reason. Like, you have to sell your freebies too. For sure.

Yeah. 100% you it's tough to get people's email addresses these days, everybody, everybody knows what's up now, with the email addresses, I know they're about to join your email list if they sign up. Okay, awesome. I feel like we've touched on a lot of different things, you've given us a lot of great tips about making a really engaging profile that's going to hook people in keep them around giving context in your stories, different types of posts that we can create. Do you have any other tips that that you want to leave us with as we kind of like wrap up that people should keep in mind

this year, especially because we're talking mostly about podcasters. Here, I did want to give you guys a really easy real idea that you can use I love it. So what I would love for you to do and I want all podcasters to try this out is set up a tripod or find a good spot on your desk where you record your podcast with your phone and record your entire podcast episode on your phone. It sounds annoying. But what you're going to do after that is you're going to pick a 32nd clip of you talking like other face talking, and you don't have to be looking at your camera you can be looking at at your computer and use that and try it out as a real Yes, see how it does. But this way, you're not creating 18,000 different pieces of content, you already have that piece Yeah. And then just make sure it's like a really spicy, punchy like section of it. And then in the caption, add a little bit more and then say checkout checkout more here. But that has done really, really well in the past. So I would say give it a go. Yes,

I love it. I love I love it. And I think that that's something that all of us can try. You don't have to be super camera ready. Like Nicole said, you don't even have to be looking at the camera, it could be like that side view. I've seen a lot of people do those videos. And now I'm wondering why we didn't set up our camera for this episode we'll create will create a reel together when this episode comes out.

Besides that, just I really want everybody that's listening to rethink Instagram. And I know like, especially if you've had resistance towards Instagram in the past, like, give it another shot. I think Instagram is one of the best ways to connect with people. But I feel like in the past few years, that connection has been lost. So try as hard as you can to connect with your audience in your stories talk like you're talking to your bestie on FaceTime. Don't say like, Hey, I heard I heard everyone on here talking about say, I heard you wanted to know, like talk like you're talking to your bestie on your stories, give contacts, talk about your personal journey and talk about your clients journey. Oh, and something else I just talked to about with one of my clients was seriously like, if you're struggling with something in business, if you want to connect with your audience talk about that struggle. People are like, no, no, like, I need to like talk like I have everything figured out all the time. And you don't so if you like and that's when my Instagram account blew up is when I talked about having six clients and making $1,000 a month and being burnt out and being stressed. And I was like, there's like, why would I talk about this on my Instagram, but I was like, I'm gonna try it out. After that. I just want I got all my clients like it's weird, but people want they simply want to connect with somebody. Yes. And we're all craving that connection after the past few years. So share your story, share your success if you are very successful, but you've had that story in the past, share your past story and just allow people into your world.

Yes, such good advice. And it is so true. We need that connection. I was scrolling the other day, and I came across this coach. And I'm very hesitant when it comes to coaches because I just feel like there's a lot of fluff out there. But she had this really great post where she was super vulnerable and talking about like this huge offer that she had put out there in 2023 and how it flopped and was just like very honest. And I was like wow, I really actually appreciate that and appreciate like seeing that behind the scenes and not just putting on your best face and sharing all of your wins but also sharing things that you've struggled with. So that's great advice. Yeah,

and here's the 2024 I hope everybody is able to see a big presence on Instagram.

Yes, and even like the boring things that seem boring to you throughout your day like what you what you like to drink during the day like do you like Diet Coke, okay, there's gonna be somebody in your audience who's like, oh my god, I can't go a day without diet coke like all these little details. Just

one and you can edit this out if I say I go food shopping this Oh my god. Yes. It's something that I said. And I said it on my Instagram stories and I was like, that's what I'm doing today. I'm going food shopping. I have 20 people DM me like food shop. Who the heck says Bucha? I was like, I don't know. I do. So then I had to know. Yeah. Am I the only person in the entire world of shopping? I put up a poll. I said, Okay, apparently this is a thing. And I need to know who says food shopping and who says grocery shopping? And it's people in New Jersey and New York, saying food shopping which I have no idea. Because I'm from New Jersey originally. Yes. And people from it was like England and Australia, say food shopping. Oh, do that. Well, apparently, according to my poll, which had like not a ton of votes, but yeah. And then the rest of the US was like grocery shopping and you're an idiot for calling.

God is so funny. I replied to that story. Because my mom is from Jersey and one of my good friends who lives in my neighborhood is from Jersey and she's always like, I gotta go food shopping. And I'm like, What are you talking about? That is so funny. I had all of you are listening. I feel like all of us probably have like one scenario in our head that we can think of that we put on our stories that were just like, I don't know, nobody's gonna care about this. And then you come back to your Instagram and you have like 20 DMS, from people responding to you. Mine was Craig, the movie Ace Ventura. Okay, I say Ventura. And he says Ventura. And it's one of these things that we're like constantly debating about and that was something that I had put on my stories, and I got like a huge response from I think, yeah, because what do you say? I feel like I

kind of go back and forth. I don't know. I feel like it's a hard it's a hard thing to say. Yeah. So like you I just like saying things until somebody knows what I'm talking about. Yeah. Ace Ventura Ventura.

You say Ventura? Oh, my gosh, I think interesting. I'm so glad Craig's not here because it would be so happy to hear you say that. Oh, my gosh. So there's another action step that you can take today. start posting about your little mundane things throughout the day, because people probably will be interested in them. And

I did a I redid like, something in my office like I put up like silly wallpaper in my office, and I love your wallpaper. Everyone loved it. Like, like, seriously, no matter what you're doing in your day, I asked like Starbucks or Dunkin that was that was like how to bake or you Dunkin Dunkin but everyone was pissed. That's again, cuz you're from Jersey.

Jersey is all about the Dunkin. Yeah. Oh my gosh, so funny. Well, Nicole, thank you so much for coming over to my house and doing this episode with me. We'll have to do a follow up for sure. Can you let us know where people can find you online after listening? Definitely.

So I would love to make new friends on Instagram. I love like making new friends and talking to you. And seriously if you have questions just DM me so it's I have to think about this because I have a new account now is Insta dot Amplified is my is my new handle. You can follow my old one too. It's Nicole Isla Jia, which is insane. But I don't I'm not as active on that anymore as I was. And if you're interested in doing an Instagram funnel for yourself as well, I do have a low ticket offer that runs you through exactly how to create an Instagram funnel for yourself. It's what I've used. Sarah has the program. It's what my client is what I use for my clients. It's the exact step by step process that I use. So you can create your own Instagram funnel for yourself.

And it's only $47. So you guys need to go and check that out. Awesome. Thank you so much. We will put all of those links in the show notes. And hopefully we'll have you back on here soon.

That would be so fun. Thank you so much.

Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. To keep this conversation going connect with me on Instagram at podcasting for educators. I'm always looking for an excuse to talk about podcasting. If you're looking for support and launching, managing or growing your podcast, check out my online course the podcasting for educators prep school at podcasting for educators.com/prep school. I'll see you here next time.