Sometimes what we STOP doing is as important as what we are doing. One thing about social media is that it’s always changing. I LOVE that about this space—it’s what keeps it interesting for me. But I know for you it means it can often feel like the wild west and a free-for-all. Trying to keep up with what to do and not do can feel like a full-time job (cough, cough).
That’s why you have me, though, right?! To help make sense of it all so you can just focus on what matters for YOUR business.
With that in mind, I put together 4 things you should STOP doing on Instagram, plus what you should do instead. Take a look and let me know what you think. If you have any questions, you know I’m here for you!
stop only doing trends. instead…prioritize original content
Trends are fun, but they aren’t a strategy. Seeing and hearing the same trend can get old and won’t help you stand out. And the more people that continue to embrace short form video, the short life-span trends will have.
If you want to convert and get results, original content is where your focus should be.
Trends can still be part of your content strategy to show your personality, but don’t focus ONLY on trends. And when you do opt for a trend, try to find a way to put your own spin on it.
stop sharing testimonial graphics as social proof. instead….share your clients’ stories
Talk about how your product or service helped your client. What were they looking for and what was the result? When you share their journey from your perspective, it has a couple benefits.
- You don’t have to wait for your client to post an official review or testimonial.
- You get to control the narrative more and highlight the things you want potential clients and customers to know about working with or buying from you.
Storytelling has always worked well on social media. But now it matters more than ever.
Storytelling is relatable, humanizes your brand, and lets your audience FEEL something. When you make them FEEL, they are more likely to remember you, and relate to you.
Don’t just tell stories for the sake of it. Think about stories that have a moral or lesson that your audience needs to hear. Or an outcome they are hoping for. Letting them see themselves in your story will help them see themselves as your customer.
stop only using hashtags for reach. instead…use them as keywords to categorize your content and account
You probably know that the goal of hashtags is to help get your content seen by more of the right people. Reach is only one part of that.
Yes, hashtags help with reach and discoverability by helping your content show up in search results. But hashtags can also help your account popularity and categorization by helping your posts show up as suggested posts on other peoples’ feeds.
Do that by using hashtags from three categories
- Your industry
- Your content
- Your audience
This strategy helps signal to instagram what your post is about and who it would be most appealing to.
stop focusing so much on educational content. instead…focus on connection building and entertaining content
Social media becoming more and more about connection and entertainment.
Educational content is still important and valuable, but it can be argued that entertaining content and relatable, connection building content is even more important.
If you want people to remember you, you have to make them FEEL something. Educational content doesn’t make people FEEL anything. It helps build trust and authority, which an important compliment to connection.
The reason entertaining content feels so hard is because we put a lot of pressure on ourselves when we think we need to entertain our audience. 🤡
But it’s not about putting on a show or being a comedian (although if that’s your thing, that is definitely entertaining).
It’s about making your audience feel seen and heard. It’s about creating content they relate to and content they want to share with others. Anything controversial or polarizing is always entertaining as well.
There’s no denying that social media is where a lot of people are turning for their entertainment. Instead of fighting it, take advantage of it and use it in a way that feels right to you.
Which of these surprised you the most?