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Every once in awhile I like to flip the format here and let YOU ask ME the questions. This episode is another Goal Digger Coaching Session and I’m kind of giddy to talk about something we haven’t spent a lot of time exploring on the show: Instagram Stories, Videos, Livestreams and more.
We posted in the Goal Digger Insiders Facebook Group looking for a student who wanted to workshop some ideas and strategies for Instagram stories and videos. Jaime Fenwick jumped at the chance. She’s a student of mine already in the Instagram Lab, Pinterest Lab, and List to Launch, but today I’m taking on her questions, and a few of yours, all about Instagram Stories and video.
So if you’ve been wondering about IGTV and why I haven’t really leaned into that platform yet, or you’re curious about when and how frequently to post, and my elements for a strong Instagram Live, this is your episode.
Why I Don’t Use IGTV
When I first saw that Jaime wanted to talk about IGTV, I almost hesitated and wanted to change my mind! Because here’s the thing, I’m not leveraging IGTV and my answer for why isn’t really strategic.
I’ve said before on the show that I want to get better at video. When I’m feeling camera-ready, I’m great, but the moments I feel camera-ready are far and few between. I prefer to hole up in my spare closet in a stained sweatshirt and bike shorts, hit record on my mic, and show up that way.
My advice is always to show up on the platforms that make the most sense for you and your brand. I know video would be great for my business (and it’s on my radar for 2020) but right now, it’s not something that seems easy or exciting to me.
So my answer sounds like a lot of excuses, but at the heart of it, I’m just giving myself grace (and giving you permission) to show up in ways that ARE easy and exciting.
Benefits of IGTV
Social Media Examiner (big fan of Michael Stelzner) released new research about IGTV at the end of September with some insight as to what kind of businesses could actually benefit from IGTV.
If your business has an element that is visually appealing — food, jewelry, fitness equipment and classes, or clothing, IGTV works best with those striking visuals. If your audience is mostly under 40, they’re more likely to watch your long form videos on Instagram. And a dedicated and engaged Instagram following is also more likely to follow your content off their feed and onto the IGTV panel.
Earlier this year Instagram introduced video previews so now IGTV videos pop up as your audience is scrolling, and when the preview is over, they’re served a button to watch more. Since this feature was added earlier this year, full video views have increased 300%.
And, links in video descriptions are CLICKABLE. That’s a game changer, especially if you don’t have 10K followers and don’t have access to the swipe up feature in your stories. Link your viewers direct to your site, to affiliate links, or anything else.
Other Ways to Show Up with Video on Instagram
When I’m thinking about where to spend my time on the Instagram platform, I don’t spend it on Instagram Live. The live videos on Instagram only stick around for 24 hours and so if there’s an option to use Instagram Live or Facebook Live, I would go the Facebook route every time.
My favorite way to show up on video via Instagram is Stories. I challenge myself to share one minute, just 60 seconds of my day in that format. I used to put the same pressure on myself to show up polished and almost ready to perform, but I realized that you prefer seeing the real life, behind the scenes, I didn’t brush my hair for this version of me.
Jaime shared a few of her Instagram Live strategize during our conversation as well as how she uses IGTV like a blog when she doesn’t have time to write out an entire post. I loved learning from her, too, as I answered her questions so press play for the full episode.
Best Practices for Going Live
My first piece of advice for Jaime (and you!) when it comes to going live on any platform is to build that energy from the very start by telling people when and where you’re going live so they can plan on it. When a ton of people sign on to your livestream as soon as it starts Facebook will actually serve it up to more people.
If you want to feature two people on your Facebook Livestream, use Zoom. I recently did this with Amy Porterfield and loved getting to hop on with her from across state lines and do an interview style livestream.
And if you want to get people from Instagram onto your Facebook Live, do a quick screen recording of the live and share it on your Instagram Stories. Add a swipe up (if you have that feature) or tell them where to find you and increase your views that way.
Content Planning
I know the overwhelm that can come from planning out content across so many different platforms in so many different formats. My advice for planning your content calendar is similar to my reason for not using IGTV right now. Figure out which platform and format you can use the best and focus on that.
That said, we do have an aggressive strategy on my team for planning content on the Goal Digger Podcast Instagram account. We plan out at least a month at a time, everything from the photos on the grid to the Stories we’ll share and the captions for all it. It takes nearly a full day to strategize that piece but then I get to forget about it for a while.
This level of planning is an extreme example of how we use batch work to get strategic in my business, but you can break it down. Plan one week of content using a tool like PLANN and get comfortable with the batch work flow.
How to Post During Launch
Jaime had a great question about balancing social media posts during a big launch. Whether you’re releasing your first digital product or you’re about to unveil a massive full scope course on a new topic, I have a few thoughts on balancing the noise during an important launch.
The strategy we use for my launches anchors mostly on Instagram Stories. About a week before we go live with a training, I’ll post about it exclusively in Instagram stories. As we get closer to the actual event, like a webinar, I’ll post in my feed usually the day before. We’ve learned that people will take action closer to the event if it requires their time.
As we get closer to the offer ending I will go more heavy hitting with a livestream either on Instagram or Facebook because it’s used to answer questions. Answering questions in a live format helps people get off the fence. I’ve found that if you reverse this strategy it actually hurts you because there’s so much information and people don’t know the order of importance.
More from this Episode
There’s so much more to share in this coaching session with my student, Jaime Fenwick. We talked about converting followers to customers and why I get a little frustrated with the focus on engagement versus engaging the right people. I also shared more about my “breadcrumbs” concept and why it’s an important strategy for sharing your business. And Jaime asks: What do I think every creative entrepreneur needs right now? Press play on the episode right now.
