Crank Up Your Social Media Marketing Success with Shannon McKinstrie

Hey there. Welcome back to the Crank It Up podcast. Listen. Have I got an episode for you as we continue in our work smarter, not harder series. Today, you’re going to meet my friend Shannon who is a social media expert.

Shannon lives in North Carolina. She’s a mom to two and has been recording videos and doing social media long before social media was social media, and she is an expert in Instagram and in really helping us hone in on our story and communicate that story to the world so that we can make a greater impact.

We can serve who we wanna serve, and we can use social media to make a difference.

Shannon, welcome to the Crank It Up podcast. I’m so excited to have you here as part of our work smarter, not harder, kicking off 2024, New Year, and you and I have worked a little bit together. I have been a big fan of what you’re putting out into the world for a while.

And this episode I know is gonna provide so much value to the primarily female entrepreneurs who are here. They know they need to use social media. That’s your specialty, and yet it just seems so much, so overwhelming, or it’s like the last thing they get to.

And what you do is make it so simple and so easy and so clear, and I love it so much because that’s my mantra. Keep it simple. So, I’m just excited to have you here. Welcome.

I would love for you to know that you’ve been a social media manager, but let’s just kinda start at the beginning. You know, I’m a Disney fan, so your origin story is always important. Kinda tell us what brought you here? What made you fall in love with social media?

Shannon’s Evolution of Social Media

Shannon [00:02:11]:
Yeah. So, honestly, I’ve had a camcorder in my hand since I was, like, eight, and that was when they were the big hefty, like, 50 pound camcorders. I would beg my dad to let me know, torment the family and walk around and record everything.

So it was kind of in my blood to document. I’ve always loved documenting life and, really, wasn’t in front of the camera, just documenting everything. Like, all my friends from college are like, we would have no pictures if it wasn’t for Shannon.

We wouldn’t have any pictures because back then, it was the, you know, click click disposal cameras. You have to go to Walmart, get it developed.

I’m clearly in my forties. So, you know, it’s been kind of part of who I am. And then I just got into TV production in high school, was taking TV production classes, wanted to direct and produce, blah blah blah.

Went into the news world and just realized it wasn’t me, it was overnights. It was toxic and chaotic, and I was just like, what do I do now?

This was my dream to work in news and be in the control room, and then that’s when social media started kind of becoming a thing, MySpace, Facebook, and they would honestly keep me company when I was working those long hours and living in Atlanta away from my family, and I, fell in love with it.

And I was like, what a cool way to, like, keep in touch with people. And then it went to more business. And I was like, wait.

The Power of Social Media Marketing

This is what I’m supposed to do. This marries my love of writing, video, and storytelling. And so I got into social media marketing because I saw that all these business owners were trying to get into social media and had no idea what they were doing.

They were posting really boring stuff, and I was like, you guys, this isn’t Google. This isn’t, you know, a blog. This is I mean, blogs are personal too, but, you know, I saw how much people were struggling.

So I started my Instagram account, started sharing free tips, and people started hiring me. And I was like, what’s happening? And then now here we are.

Julie [00:04:02]:
So if we could just touch on MySpace for a moment because I too was on Myspace. I mean, that’s where it started, MySpace. And then it was like, wait. What is this Facebook thing? Is this what we’re doing? Like, are we moving to Facebook? Like, what’s happening over here?

And I think what’s so interesting about social media, you, of course, have seen it all. Are all the rules and structure and guidelines and such that we’ve evolved through when I first started my online business, I mean, it was like, you better post on Facebook, like, five times a day. And that was the minimum.

Like, five times a day. I’m like, what? What am I posting five times a day? And you look back at the pictures that you posted, they were heinous. Oh, yeah. The picture that I posted on Instagram, like, is my first picture…

And just thinking of how far we’ve come from then to now, you know, when you started, were you mostly on Facebook? Where did you start? I mean, my love is Instagram, and I know that you love where where’d you start?

Shannon [00:05:01]:
Facebook and LinkedIn. LinkedIn is where I start getting most of my clients actually, because they were business owners and were over there. Like, what am I doing? So I found LinkedIn to be really successful for me.

I posted on my personal Facebook, but no one cared. Like, because they my family and friends are like, what are you what are you talking about? So I was like, okay. Facebook’s never been a thing.

I don’t don’t get a lot of joy from it. I like it personally to share pictures of my kids. So once Instagram started going more, you know, from fun to people marketing themselves,

I was like, okay. This is my golden platform. I know a lot of people miss the chronological feed. I’m like, do you? Because that was when you had to post five times a day. So that’s mine, where now your content circulates for a week.

If it’s performing well, it’s gonna circulate for months, and it will keep working for you. So, that’s why I love it because I was like, you know, if we just focus on really good content, getting to know our audience, engage.
Instagram is a social media platform driven by community

Instagram is a totally different beast than TikTok and everything else, but it’s really a social platform that’s driven by community, and that’s why I love it.

It’s just such a community platform. TikTok, not so much. It’s more of a search engine.

Facebook, it’s more for friends and family. And then Instagram is just kinda networking and getting to know people.

Julie [00:06:22]:
That’s the first time I’ve ever heard it described like that, and that’s so beautiful because I really do feel like there is community on Instagram of people that you find your like minded people over on Instagram.

So let’s talk about the person who, you probably know, I know, the person who’s like, okay. I’ve got a business. I know I need to use social media. And let’s focus on Instagram because that’s your passion.

Julie [00:06:51]:
That’s my passion. I love… My playground is Instagram too. I love it so much. This person, we’ll call her Sally. She’s a female business owner. She’s like, I know I need to use social media, but I just don’t know how.

Let’s start at the beginning before we get into more tactical stuff. Where would someone be? How do you just start? What are the first steps to starting your Instagram account, or even if you’ve had one, but it hasn’t been as vibrant as you might like.

What do you do?

Effective Social Media Marketing Strategies

1- Market Research

Shannon [00:07:20]:
Right. I think the best thing to do is market research, which you and I have talked about. You know, it’s like really, I think a lot of people go and they are thinking I think the old days of marketing, you just threw stuff up, you know, the whole spaghetti at the wall, see what hits, what clicks, but it’s not that way because we already know what’s working.

So your competitors already know what’s working. So what I usually try to do is what I tell people is messaging first, social second.

Because you’re going to wear yourself out on social throwing until something clicks. But guess what? You can’t duplicate what clicked that first time. Again, awesome times.

So what you need to do is timeless marketing strategies. I think everyone focuses so hard on the tactics and the gurusque type things.

And I’m like, you guys worked, like 200 years ago, and marketing still works now. You know? It’s connection and making people feel seen and heard and Seeing, you know, that their desires are met by you.

2 – Get really clear on your messaging

So what you have to do is basically nail your messaging. You have to get really clear, and that usually takes not someone like me. I am a social media strategist.

I take people once they’ve gone through the branding and defining their target market and their niche. And then I’m like, alright. Give me that. I can help you out. Right? So a lot of people I think missed that first step.

And luckily, since my background is marketing, I didn’t have to go into that first step. I did just start balls to the wall just posting.

It worked because I knew my people. I knew what they were struggling with. What I tell people all the time is, like, let’s say you’re a fitness instructor. Right? Obviously. You know, I even had it yesterday on a reel.

Someone was trying to come up with a hook with, like, a hook I gave them, and they were like, oh, okay. You wanna, was it? It was like something about… shoot. Oh, improve your posture and blah blah.

Shannon [00:09:09]:
I was like, why do they wanna improve their posture? Like, I don’t wake up and go, I need to improve my posture. Right? And it’s like, you gotta get down to why. Right. It’s not that they wanna lose, they wanna look better in their clothes.

3 – Client testimonials are a gold mine of content

They wanna walk into a party and feel like they can be in a picture and not analyze it. Right? You gotta get down to the nitty gritty of your people, and that takes interviewing people.

It takes looking at client testimonials on yourself. So many times, we’ll say, my bio sucks, and I’ll go right to their website and grab words from someone’s testimonial that they gave them. Like, there you go. It was all there.

Because your people are telling you why they hired you. And every time I do a court that’s why you ask for testimonials.

Know why people hired you or worked with you rather than so and so over there. So you need to know what makes you different, but also why you are the person you know, and we’re not for everybody. That’s fine for certain people.

And that’s why I go through a very rigorous process when I’m working with someone because I was like, I just wanna make sure we’re a good fit because Just like no restaurant is gonna be everyone’s favorite. You know?

So the biggest thing is market research. I can’t stress that enough, and everyone skips are that part because they’re just hungry.

3 Instagram Posts To Make Sure You Have Pinned

Shannon [00:10:20]:
They just wanna start, and that’s fine.

But the first thing I would do is, especially if you have a baby account or you’re starting over, I always tell people that a pinned post needs to kinda mimic a website.

1. Who you are should be the first post. What are your core values? What do you believe in?
2. And then second, usually offerings, like, talk about how you help, maybe a client story.
3. And then third, I usually say something that they can connect on.

Maybe it’s something funny. Maybe it’s something, again, a pep talk, a reminder. Right?

But when they go to your Instagram, the first thing they see is,

Okay. Here’s what she is. This is where she lives. Her deal. That’s her spiel.
Second, okay. She actually knows what she’s doing. She has, you know, client stories.
And third, she gets me. Right? And that’s what they need to see.

So first things first, make sure you’ve pinned those three posts. Make sure they’re really, really powerful, and make sure you’re talking to your ideal people.

That’s a really long I mean, again, I know no one wants to hear it because that means it’s work. If you don’t wanna do the work, hire a brand. They will do it all for you. They’ll do the interviews for you. They’ll come up with your tagline for you.

They’ll tell you what you need to say to get people to buy.

Julie [00:11:32]:
Right. That is gold right there because to your point, I think that most people don’t wanna just sit down for a moment with a pen and a note bingo. Okay.

Shannon [00:11:47]:
I like to also tell people, one of my friends is in the restaurant industry, and they’re killing it because they’re so specific about where they open a restaurant. So much research to make sure the clientele is there.

I’m like, if they popped up somewhere else, no one would go. It’s like you gotta do that part if you want people to buy like, it’s so much easier to do that part in the beginning than to start and then try to pick up the pace.

Julie [00:12:13]:
And can you talk a little bit and please dismantle the myth that, when we do find that person that we’re talking to where we do have that messaging, we do find some clarity on it that, you know, it’s a prevalent thought. Well, if I get so specific, then I’m missing out on so many people.

So could you dismantle that for a moment? I’m gonna put my dog in the room while we’re talking about that.

👩‍💻 In a world of endless content, standing out is essential.

Discrediting The Myth That Being Specific Means Missing Out On Potential Clients

Shannon [00:12:40]:
I love it. Well, yeah. I mean, I think, like, especially with, one of the I don’t I always joke. I’m like, I don’t have a niche. What I solve is my niche. I work with plumbers, restaurants, coffee shops, coaches, boutiques, and products.

I work with everybody, because I know what I do is help people get growth on social media. Right? I’m a content strategist.

That’s social media strategist and content strategist. That’s my thing. So I’ve never narrowed down on a niche. Right? So when I’m trying to call up my people, I just say business owners, and that’s okay. Yes. But it’s still a niche. It’s not a niche for everyone.

And I have people say, oh, well, I just wanna grow because I’m a personal brand. Like, oh, you probably need to follow an influencer person. I don’t specialize in influencers. So I still have a niche.

So I don’t want people to think, like, they have to only serve underwater basket weavers to have a niche. Like, it doesn’t have to be that crazy. You could say women over 30. That’s a ton of people.

You could say busy moms. You could say, busy working professionals.

One of my clients, like, realized that most of the people were like, I don’t know what to take to work for lunch, and I’m trying to lose weight. So she’s like, oh, my people are busy professionals. They came to her, and she’s like, okay. I have a niche now.

So something you can just kinda put it up as women. Just just something that kind of eliminates at least a few sectors of people because you don’t want everyone buying it.

If they don’t like it, that serves you no purpose. Right? I always tell people, I don’t want people to just join my programs or buy my courses. If they didn’t like it or they didn’t finish it, I don’t want their money. Right? So you wanna be very specific about who it’s for and who it’s not.

In your bio, you wanna make sure you say who you help, if it is just a gender or if it’s, you know, maybe people that are at a certain part in their life, empty nesters. Like, what is but, yeah, if you’re not it’s so funny.

I think people are so scared to niche down because they make money when it’s completely the opposite. But you don’t have to niche down to just 41 year olds in a 5 mile radius. Like, it’s okay.

Julie [00:14:59]:
It’s so interesting too. I have a good friend who has built an incredible business serving people who want to go to Native American powwows. Okay. Talk about a niche. He just hit 1,000,000 followers on Facebook.

Shannon [00:15:19]:
Because they felt unseen. There was a gap.

Julie [00:15:22]:
Yes. So when you get nervous about niching down, just so you know, there are 1,000,000 people out there who want information on Native American powwows, and he’s got, oh, maybe a 150,000 on Instagram, who want information on Native American powwows.

So we have to really deconstruct that idea that getting a little more specific is going to hinder us. It’s actually gonna help us talk to the people that we wanna talk to.

And to your point about putting it in your bio so that people know, remembering that our bio is not a dating profile. I see that a lot, Tito. Dog lover. Yeah. I don’t care. You know, that’s not why I’m coming to you.

Shannon [00:16:01]:
Right. I tell people if you really wanna stress that you’re a dog lover, but you have nothing to do with dogs, put that in your pinned post. Hey. If it’s a picture of you and your dog, and you’re saying, hi. I’m so and so. I live in Los Angeles. I do this. That’s where you put that.

Yes. They’ll see it. They will see it. If you really want them to know you love them they will see it.

Julie [00:16:20]:
That’s right. So tell me how you personally stay up to date on all the social media trends so that you can translate that to your clients and to people that are following you.

Shannon [00:16:33]:
I mean, to be honest, I’m obsessed. Like, this is my thing, this is my thing. Everyone has their thing.

Like, I don’t enjoy reading. Ain’t that terrible? I but, I mean, I read you know? Obviously, I’ll read a marketing book, but I’m not a, oh, let me go to the bookstore and get a fiction novel. I’m not trying to think of other hobbies. So that’s my turn. I hate saying that because, you know, I don’t treat it like a hobby at all.

But I love it. My brain works in a way that I love to dissect why marketing, why a reel went viral, why a carousel went viral, why a story got someone 20 sales.

Uncover strategies for dissecting viral content, staying on top of trends, and leveraging Instagram to build a thriving community for your business.

I dissect It’s my it’s what I geek out over. I’ve always always loved it. So it’s what I typically do. Obviously, throughout the week, if I see something that I like that would be great for my author client or that would be great for my real estate client. I’ll save it.

I have little collections all in my and you guys probably have so many great ideas sitting in your saves too. And I’ll kinda dissect it. Obviously, I do know, we don’t copy people, but you can learn a lot just by kinda looking at what grabs your attention. Right. But always look at the comments.

This is where I figure out why it’s working. Because sometimes the comments are actually horrible. And I’m like, oh, that went viral for the wrong reason. Right? We’ve been wanting to, right?

Because sometimes people are like, oh, my thing went viral, or no. So and so things went viral. I’m like, oh my gosh. She’s getting eaten alive in the comments. Like, let’s not do that.

The Importance of Engaging With Others Through Comments and Direct Messaging

I’d be aware of that, but always look at the comments. Another thing is I like to look at the comments. You know, the good comments, I’m like, why did this resonate? And my favorite thing, Julie, is when I see someone go and, actually, one of my clients this morning goes, look at the comment I got from the reel I gave her to do, and it goes, “not me finding an account I didn’t know I needed”. Right? And that’s everything because in one reel, it told that person, you all this person.

I just love it. So that’s how I come up with my ideas. It’s just a lot of observing. It’s a lot of dissecting. And then pivoting and tweaking it into my clients’ messaging.

Julie [00:18:44]:
And what you have been talking about a lot is that the key metric on Instagram right now is engagements.

Shannon [00:18:51]:
That’s it. So engagements are a lot of things. Right? A lot of things. They’re likes, comments, saves, shares, but watch time, especially if you’re focusing on reels, you want to dive into the insights on each reel and look at the watch time.

If your reel is 90 seconds and they’re only watching 8 seconds, we’ve got a problem. If it is 8 sec 8 seconds and they’re watching 8 seconds, winner winner chicken dinner. Right? Yeah.

It’s sweet. People are watching it the whole way through. They show it to more people. All the algorithm cares about is keeping people on the app.

So the longer your content, if they’re saving it, they’re sharing it, they’re commenting on it, that Instagram goes, oh, they’re really liking Julie’s stuff – show it to more people.

And what I love to say is, every time I share a funny meme or anything with my friends and family, I give that person a huge boost because the Instagram algorithm loves that. They make money when there is content on the app that keeps people on the app.

So if you really wanna get on the algorithm side, it’s not about, you know, hiding keywords and all it’s just creating content that resonates. That makes people go, holy crap. I gotta make that recipe tonight. Oh my gosh. My girlfriend needs to hear this message.

[00:20:00]:
Oh my gosh. My husband and I would love this place. What are those things? And we’re kinda going away from you know, and you and I have talked about this a lot more than, you know, 5 ways to it’s like just gonna be a thing they can take and run with. This product helped me get to sleep faster. Yeah.

This hack I learned from so and so, and it’s changed my life. This mantra is what I’ve been doing for 10 years, and it’s helped me blah blah blah. We want your personal experiences.

We want your personal hot takes. Fresh take. Everyone’s like, oh, not another hot take. I’m like, I need a fresh take.

You, not like, oh, you saw something controversial and you wanna regurgitate it. Like, what did you find, what did your client mean, even my reel yesterday that I shared is going crazy because I said, this reel helped seven of my clients blah blah blah. You know?

It’s not just saying something out of our issues. Right? You wanna share and it’s okay. And this is another thing, Julie, I think, especially your people might relate to too. I think we’re scared to give everything away.

But I’m telling you, I’ve been giving every tip of mine away for free for 10 minutes. All it’s done because they know if I’m giving that away, what’s it like to work with them personally?

Julie [00:21:11]:
Which is exactly what I thought, Which is exactly what I am now. I can’t say yours. I mean, it’s exactly right. So you do yes. You just proved your point. And, also, your reel that you posted yesterday about who I actually am, I absolutely made that real this morning. I used that this morning.

You were like, and she got x amount of followers. I’m like, yes. I’m absolutely doing that tomorrow morning because I think we also, as women, have to get over this. This is a whole another subtopic, but we have to get over this idea that we’re supposed to know everything. I know nothing but this. Nothing. I know.

Overcome The Fear of Asking For Help and Expert Advice

I’m not a social media expert, so why would I not lean on advice and thoughts from someone who is as you said, you’re obsessed with this. You know? It’s like, I would hope that someone would see that I’m obsessed with health and wellness, and so when they’re walking that path that they would come to me because it’s what I’ve been doing for 22 years.

I don’t cut my own hair. I go to someone who specializes in that. So I think we as women have to get over the fact that we’re just supposed, especially social media, which for a lot of us, unless you’re my daughter’s age, we didn’t grow up with this. This we’re not native users of this. This is a thing we’ve come into.

So it’s constantly changing. And if you are an entrepreneur, you may be using social media now very differently than you were last year, two years ago, five years ago, and it’s changed.

So we need to just get over the fact that we think we’re supposed to know it all and understand that when we lean into people who do, I mean, the minute you post something, you’re like, and this is what I think you should do. I’m like, and then I take my heart. Like, yeah, this is what I am doing right now.

Shannon [00:22:56]:
I love it. Well, no. It’s so funny to say that because even, like, watching you, it’s like, when I watch you and when other women watch you, they’re like, we want what Julie has. Right?

She’s up. She’s excited for the day, and that’s not my expertise. Right? And then when people see me, they’re like, wow. It seems so natural for her. I want that.

And that’s what you’re doing because we all fall short in many places in life. So we go to the experts. Just like you said, I wouldn’t try to cut my own hair. I wouldn’t try to make myself see. What should I make with these ingredients? Like Right. So tell me what to do.

Shannon [00:23:27]:
And just like someone tell me what to do. So that’s why I got there, like, Here’s what to do. And that’s what all of you guys are doing.

Here’s what to do, but tell them why to do it. And that’s where I think especially over COVID, people were just telling people what to do and didn’t have to say why because we were bored. So we’re like, sure

Julie [00:23:42]:
We all knew why. Because we’re, like, about to poke our eyeballs out.

Shannon [00:23:46]:
I was like, oh, yeah. Look. I’ll do that. Why? Why did it impact you, your clients, your kids? Like, tell the freaking story. And that’s what’s been missing so long, and that’s where people are gonna stand out in 2024 because it’s like, why? We’ve called our regards up because now everyone’s a business owner.

Everyone’s a true pro. Why do I wanna buy this thing? Why do I wanna follow this tip? Why should I listen to you? Why?

That’s what you gotta get good at. And that’s why, again, messaging comes so key, and you gotta know what they need to hear.

And that’s true to you, of course.

Julie [00:24:18]:
Because your lived experience should not be discounted. I think that’s another piece that women don’t trust. You know, we don’t trust that we know.

And sometimes when stuff is very organic or natural to you, you assume everybody else knows it. And they don’t know it. They’re busy. They don’t know it.

Shannon [00:25:54]:
We have so much stuff going on in our brains right now. Tell me again. What was that recipe you said? What was that move you told me to do? What app do you like? We save it, and we go on with our day. And then we’ll ask you two weeks later.

Julie [00:26:11]:
Yeah. Same thing. Yes. And that is a piece that I’ve had to get over myself as well, which is so interesting because I came from the group fitness world where I would give the same cues every time I taught. Every time.

Because there’d be someone new in my class, But also we forget, and I gotta cue you how to do your squat every single time.

And I never really thought twice about that, but we come to social media, you’re like, oh my God. I said that same thing three months ago, they’ll probably remember, and I can’t say it again.

Are you high? They don’t remember what you said yesterday. I don’t remember what I said yesterday.

Shannon [00:26:43]:
Exactly. And it’s funny you say it because I go to Pilates and, like, I’ll forget even how to put the little thing on the thing down. I’m like, where’s the… ? Like, she has to tell me every time. So we have to remember that. Like, baby steps. Just because we’re adults doesn’t mean we’re smart.

Julie [00:27:01]:
Say that again, please. That should be T-shirts. It’s okay.

Shannon [00:27:05]:
We don’t all have to be the smartest. You know? We’re all smart at something. But you know?

Julie [00:27:10]:
Yeah. So what metrics so, again, per person kind of growing their social media, growing their Instagram, and they’re starting to get a little more clear in their messaging, and they’ve cleared up or cleaned up their bio, they’ve cleaned up their I get a little, I call it truth love, not tough love.

I get a little truth love sometimes with some other people because I’m like, listen. Are we using social media for business? And if so, then we need to clean up what is on there. You know?

It’s not that we’re not just posting random pictures anymore. Like, you’re not you’re not selling your dog. You’re not selling your dog. Maybe those things aren’t on your feet anymore.

Julie [00:27:50]:
So we’re starting to get cleaned up. We’re starting to have some clarity here. We’re messaging. What metrics should we be looking at to see if any of this is working?

Use Your Instagram Insights To See What’s Working and What Isn’t

Shannon [00:27:59]:
I love that. If you just go to your insights, make sure you do have at least a professional account or a creator account so you get your insights.

Julie [00:28:06]:
Also, not private. Let me say that again very loudly into my microphone. Not private.

Shannon [00:28:12]:
And if you don’t wanna show kids, start a new account. I think it’s so fun to start a new account. Like, don’t be scared to start from 0.

Julie [00:28:20]:
Yeah. Also, you don’t have to show your kids. There’s also that. I mean, I don’t know where we got that strange notion that we have to do certain things. If you do if you’re not comfortable showing your children, which is totally fine, just don’t you’re not selling your children, actually.

So you don’t actually need to show them. I mean, people for a very long time wondered if my husband existed because they never saw him.

I’m like, he exists, but also he just doesn’t wanna be on social media, and that’s I can build a 7-figure business without my husband being on social media.

Shannon [00:28:49]:
Well and that’s the thing. And guess how many people relate to that? That should be a reel of yours coming up. Like, me trying to get my husband to be in a reel like, whenever there’s those funny audios and be like, okay, and be like, just kidding.

People always joke with my husband when he’s in one. They’re like, how do you get your husband to be in one? He’s a goofball, and he doesn’t mind. But most of my clients’ husbands are like.

That’s more relatable. Yeah. So, yeah, metric, make sure you’re just looking at. Okay. So basically, what Instagram wants to see is engagement.

Now this metric has changed a bit. You can go if you just go to Google and search later.com, follower count engagement rate, something like that. You’ll find a whole article on it.

The significance of engagements is relative to the number of followers you have

But, basically, the more followers you have, your average engagement rate actually declines because it’s just numbers. But if you have under 10,000 followers, you should be getting about I gotta check because 2024 is probably different. But in the previous years, it’s been about 4 to 5% engagement is good.

That means If you put a post up and you’ve got, like, a 1000 followers, you want at least 3 to 4 oh, sorry. 4 to 5% of those followers translate to likes. So you want at least I don’t do math.

40 or something. I don’t know. You want that.If you’re only getting five likes and you have 1,000 followers, we’ve got a problem. Instagram’s thinking, they’re not connecting with…

One that could be deadweight followers, so make sure you get rid of those too. That’s for a whole nother topic. But the more followers you have, that number goes down.

So, like, right now, I think, for me, I think Instagram would be happy if I have a 2% engagement so whenever I tell people this, they’re like, oh my gosh, I’m actually doing better than I thought. I’m like, yeah you are. So when I get, 10% engagement on something, I’m like, woo hoo.

And that, you know, that does well. That’s always my goal is 10,000 because I’m an overachiever when it comes to this.

As long as you’re getting, like, 2 to 3 to 4% engagement, you know Instagram’s saying, okay, they’ve got an engaged audience.

That’s all they care about is your audience.

So the overall engagement rate of your account is good to look at.

There is something called Phlanx.

You type your handle in, and it will spit out a number. So if you’re around 1%, if you’re at 1000000 followers and 1%, that’s actually pretty normal.

But the more followers, again, it’s harder to get in, you might get into new audiences, but your own, it’s a little different. Anyway, long story short, you just wanna tweak.

You revamp some things and figure it out. But, when it comes to the same applies for reels. If your reel goes out to 10,000 people they’re not only your followers. Right?

There is probably more than just your following. You again wanna make sure that If you’re getting 10,000 views, you want at least 3 to 5% of those to be likes.

Because I’ve had so many people go, oh my gosh, Shannon. It went so well. And then I look, and I’m like, oh, but there’s, like, 10 likes and you got, you know, 5,000 views, we should get more than that. So that’s just a general thing to look at.

But, again, it’s very normal to see low numbers until you have your strategy in place, it doesn’t mean you need to post more. It doesn’t mean you need to, like, do anything crazy or transition. It just probably means the messaging isn’t landing.

And that’s a simple fix. It really is once you know your people.

Shannon [00:32:21]:
A lot of it is don’t be afraid to look at your competitors. You know? So I want someone to see and go and every time I see her, I was like, there’s Julie. There’s Julie. I know it’s you. And same thing with people like me, they’re like, oh, I knew it was you before I saw your face.

So you don’t need to copy, but, you know, look at what words people are using. And a lot of fitness people right now, they know that the buzzword right now is protein.

They’re saying protein. Here’s what we’re doing. We’re making these macro rules, and, like, that grabs people. They’re like, oh, instead of going, an easy recipe for lunch, you wanna make sure you’re using words, and it’s usually literally a tweak like that.

Julie [00:33:10]:
And also that word, someone might hear that and go, oh my gosh. Protein feels so overused. Okay. But how many millions or billions of users are on Instagram on the daily? I mean, overused by who in terms of how 3,000,000,000 users? You know?

Shannon [00:33:28]:
But that’s the problem is, like, seeing especially right now, I am seeing a lot of recipes because I started searching for a protein.

So it’s based on the signals you’re sending. Don’t think like, oh, everyone’s seeing this reel. They’re not. It’s just you’re seeing what Instagram thinks you want to see. If you think your people want to see protein meals, you better be making some protein 100 percent.

Curate Your Social Media Feed To See Desired Content

Julie [00:34:12]:
Stop complaining about how social media is negative. Do you know what I see on my feed? I see a lot of Disney. Yes. I see a lot of Disney. Yep. I see a lot of fitness and health and wellness, and I see a lot of beagles.

So this is what I see because that’s what I choose to see. And, of course, you follow other accounts for society and cultural and world news and things like that, but that’s also very selective.

And my feed is not filled with negativity. My feed yesterday to your point that you think, you know, everyone’s saying it. You shouldn’t say it. Yesterday in the real world, Disney released some sort of promo about free dining.

Every Disney influencer that I follow was talking about how they could care less if everybody else is talking about it. They are also talking about this new promo that Disney released.

So if your people, to your point, wanna hear about protein, freaking talk about protein no matter how much.

“If you really wanna get on the algorithm side, it’s not about, you know, hiding keywords and all, it’s just creating content that resonates.” — Shannon

Shannon [00:35:08]:
Well and, you know, I think it’s the best thing that everyone needs to know. Like, you need to ask, what did your person wake up in need to hear today, see today, do they have a pantry full of stuff they don’t know what to cook with?

Did they skip the snooze… did they miss their workout because they were too tired? What is it they need to see? And that’s what you’ve got to talk about.

And, of course, you still get to talk about your own experiences with that. I think a lot of people think, oh, it feels so disconnected because I don’t I’m not allowed to talk about myself anymore. Yes. You are.

But there seems to be some value with it. Meaning, oh, this is the breakfast I do. This is what I do. This is what my client does. This is what I did before I lost 50 lbs.
Share Your Story on Instagram and Be Personable

Because they wanna hear it from someone who actually knows what they’re talking about and that’s storytelling. It’s huge. I could talk. I mean, it’s always been a storytelling app, Instagram.

Even LinkedIn. If you log in to LinkedIn, People are all talking about their own experiences, and that’s what we miss.

Julie [00:36:01]:
That’s the connecting thread. And it’s interesting because, you know, I talk so much about morning routines and habits and stuff. And you would think, again, to tell them what they wanna hear.

You think people would be like, I’m really tired of your morning routines. I’m like, I don’t care if you’re tired of hearing about more routines. You need one, and you don’t have one.

Shannon [00:36:22]:
Prior to my tips, I’ve told it all. There’s more things I’ve left uncovered. But I know someone missed Wednesday’…. Someone missed my story.

They’re not sick of it. And if they are, though, like, you know what? I already knew this. Let me share it with a friend.

I do that all the time. I’ll say, hey, if you found this helpful, share with a friend who will help find it helpful too. And then always because I think it makes people go, oh, I she’s right. I know this, but my friend Sarah doesn’t.

Julie [00:36:48]:
Okay. So let’s wrap up by talking a little bit about community because, you know, as you said earlier, Instagram is really a platform for community. So if you are in any kind of online business whatsoever, if you’re an entrepreneur, you want to have a community of engaged people.

How are you using Instagram, the platform, to build a community?

Shannon [00:37:12]:
Engaging. So this is what, again, people don’t wanna hear. They don’t wanna do the work. But it’s the same with fitness people’s people. Right? They don’t wanna hear you gotta work out to do it. You’ve been here on my butt.

Julie [00:37:23]:
I just wanna watch the workout. I don’t know what I actually do.

Shannon [00:37:25]:
I don’t wanna do it. You can do it on your butt. You can sit there. I always shout my jeopardy hour. The kids are bathed. The food’s away sometimes. And then I just sit there and I catch up on DMs. I comment on other people’s stuff.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten someone in my DMs going, oh my gosh. I saw your comment on so and so’s. I’m so happy to have found you. If you are struggling to grow and you’re like, I don’t know what to post.

Oh, that’s what you do while you’re doing all this other stuff. I have clients who barely post. They post, like, three times a week, and they still grow because they comment. Oh, okay. Comment on local businesses that they think they’re people are on.

So you better be commenting on their content because you’re someone who could go to someone’s house or could do a virtual call. So you should be saying, oh my gosh. I love that bin. I also love the blah blah blah. Like, you’re not poaching. You’re just joining And people are like, oh my gosh. You’re in Connecticut, I am too.

There you go. So that’s the best way to build a community, from scratch. That’s how I started. I joined Instagram way before reels, and there was no you had it was, like, really hard to get in front of new people, so I would just comment on everyone’s stuff until no one could ignore me and find me.

I was living in the DC area at the time where I’m from, and I just wanted to work with realtors because I knew they were struggling really badly on social media back then.

And I would comment on all their stuff. I would comment on the Coffee shops, on the hair salons, on the yoga studios. I was like, where else are the realtors going? And then they found me, and then my bio would say what I do, and they yeah.

So that’s how I grew in the beginning. And because there weren’t, it was really hard to get. That’s why I’m like, people complain about it now.

Julie [00:39:32]:
Well, I think and I think that there’s some real value in understanding the platform. You know, I love Instagram too because I love video.

Overcoming the Fear of Video Content Creation: “Part of building a community is you have to get over your fear a little bit of talking to the camera. You know? The only way you get better is by doing the thing.”
— Julie

Okay. First of all, not all 100 people are gonna see your content. And secondly, so what if they do and it’s not the best video that you ever the only way you get better is by doing the thing.

And in terms of such a beautiful platform for video, but that’s where you can build that community too.

Shannon [00:40:10]:
Yes. And I know a lot of people don’t wanna show their face. I’m like, well, I mean, there’s lots of faceless accounts that do it, voice over. But images and carousels still do really well. It’s funny.

One of my clients who is macro, coach, her carousels do better than anything else. Interesting. Her audience is a little bit older.

And she thinks they can’t like it, it’s they wanna stop, scroll yeah. Slow down. So it’s funny. But what she’ll do is when the carousel does well, then she’ll flip it into a reel.

Then that way it gets to other people who might like a reel better. So I tell people all the time, like they’re like, oh, our carousel is better. I’m like, do you know there are accounts that only share carousels?

It is because their audience likes carousels. I prefer writing, but I analyze and over-think my writing.

I don’t know what comes out of my mouth. So for me, I can create a reel in around five minutes. I can’t create a caption in five minutes. So it’s up to you. You know? But I know nutritionists that put up, like, you know, here’s what I eat in a day, and it’s a picture. It goes bananas.

I saw one nutritionist, I love the fall, that she put, like, at the top. No prep, 30 grams of protein, like, grab and go, and it was like rotisserie chicken.

I was like, so smart. And we have 3,000 I mean, It’s still going, and I was like, I bet everyone is saving that bad boy.

[00:41:29]:
So, it just depends on your audience, and sometimes the topic makes more sense for an image or a carousel. So don’t be afraid but if you are afraid to talk to the camera, you just gotta do it.

And, I tell everyone, start in the car with their sunglasses on. That’s what I tell everyone. And everyone’s like, that’s all really good. I’m like, yeah. Because you’re not worried about where you’re looking, and then the response is huge. People are like, oh, so good to see your face.

Like, we wanna see your face.

Julie [00:41:51]:
That’s genius.

Shannon [00:41:54]:
Or walking out of the gym. Like, you have sunglasses on, cup of coffee. You don’t have to you know? Yeah. That’s how you feel comfortable.

Julie [00:42:00]:
Yeah. That’s so good. Shannon, where can people find you, and where can people work with you?

Shannon [00:42:07]:
I’m on Instagram a lot.

I’m also on LinkedIn, TikTok, threads, Face, not really Facebook, but mainly on Instagram is the best way to get in touch with me.

Everything is in my bio on Instagram. I have memberships.

I have… the Reels Lab…If you feel like you have done all the brand stuff. You know your people. You’re already doing well. You’re just like, gosh.

Darn it. I don’t wanna think. Reels Lab. If you’re just getting started and you’re like, Shannon, I don’t even know what’s happening in my bio, Social Squad Society.

You can join right now and start getting all the trainees. We also bring in expert guests, so we had a chatGPT person last month.

We had a TikTok person a few months ago. Anything that, like, work me and my business partner aren’t aren’t experts on, we bring in guests. And again, the Reels Lab is just a content drop every week.

You take it, run with it. And then I offer audits too. Those aren’t a quick turnaround though. So if you want instant access, I would do Reelz Lab or Society.

Julie [00:43:12]:
Well, as a current client, I’m loving the information. I love it. It’s just so again, to your point, like, this is what we do on our content. This is what you have created for us to use as well.

Just take that decision fatigue off our plates and create content that serves people and makes a difference. Isn’t that what we really wanna do?

Shannon [00:43:31]:
It’s all we wanna do. And I love that your people wanna do that too because that’s the main thing. You know? It’s like, how can I serve, how can I be of service to others, and Yeah? It’s by pushing posts.

Julie [00:43:41]:
Yeah. We’re gonna do it. We are gonna go live, and we’re gonna do a video. We’re gonna do all the things 2024. We’re gonna do all of it.

Julie [00:43:48]:
This has been so great. Thank you so much.

Shannon [00:43:50]:
Thank you.

Meet Shannon

Social Media Mentor, Trainer, + Speaker

I help you grow on Instagram and get BIG results with simple & doable strategies.

As the poster child for oat-milk lattes, pinot grigio, and long strolls down the aisles of Target, you could describe me as a little bit basic—but there’s nothing basic about the way I simplify social media strategies specifically for high-achieving business owners looking for a return on their social media investment.

My unique approach rejects the idea that you simply need someone to take over the tasks. Instead, I equip you with training, strategy, data points, and encouragement to master one of the most critical ways to sustain and grow your brand.

When I’m not nerding out over marketing strategies, you can find me at home in North Carolina being a mom and carpool driver who unashamedly sings along to 90’s hip hop—or on a date night with a salt-rimmed margarita in hand, connecting with my husband over chips & queso.