Wanna know the TRUE secret behind a successful biz?
Relationships.
But there’s been this buzz going around lately in the online biz space. About how relationships are becoming a bit too one-sided.
Like it’s all: pitch pitch pitch instead of value value value.
Relationships are what drive business. Afterall, people want to work with those they know, like, and trust.
And if you’re just in it for the pitch? Well, it becomes pretty obvious.
Do you know people IRL like this? Where every conversation somehow becomes something about them?
When you lead with the pitch instead of the value, it’s the online equivalent to that.
So how DO you offer values, build relationships online, AND grow your biz?
You put your community first.
Like, you gotta put yourself in their shoes.
Think of questions like:
- What challenges or unresolved needs do they have?
- How can I help with that?
- What’s their desired outcome?
These questions will help you come up with the content you post on social media… because you’re leading with value.
I mean, it’s kinda like how you treat your bestie, right?
You probably know your bestie pretty well.
You know what she likes, what she can’t stand, what her challenges are, and how you can support her as her friend.
And you tailor your approach, communication, and actions with her highest and best good in mind.
If she’s stuck on something, she’ll come to you because she knows, likes, and trusts you. Your advice and guidance is important because you’ve shown up consistently.
You have a balanced, healthy relationship – where you both give and take relatively equally.
It’s literally the same thing online – yep, even if you haven’t met your online besties IRL.
That’s why relationships are the #1 biz-building secret weapon for social media… and for everything in life actually.
Now obviously, there’s only one of you so it can be hard to have hundreds of thousands of besties online… and give them your total attention and focus.
That’s where a “marketing funnel” comes in. It’s a simple way to give your best ONE TIME… and let technology help manage the “showing up consistently” part in a scalable way.
Let’s talk about how this works on social – specifically Instagram.
How To Build Healthy Business Relationships On Instagram
Step 1: Create engaging content
So you’re probably really good at the standard posting on IG, right?
Like, you know how to upload a photo, maybe apply some filters, and add a caption…
...but did you know that posting consistently on IG isn’t enough for biz building?
See, there’s a little thing called an “algorithm” on Instagram and it’s kinda like a watchdog for your besties.
If you create content that your online pals like and respond to (via comments, saves, and shares), the algorithm thinks “Hey, this is some good shiz. Her friends like it… let’s show it to more of them.”
Did I just hear you gasp?
You may have picked up that what I just said means that your content isn’t being displayed to your entire follower list the minute you post it.
Yep, this is true.
Especially the bigger your follower list gets.
So how do you work with the algorithm to ensure your amazing content makes it to your followers feeds?
You know what the algorithm likes. Which can be tricky because it changes.
For example, right now Instagram values comments (between followers, not just you and your followers), saves, and shares.
Which means that when you create a post, you gotta have this in mind.
Instead of dropping some amazeballs content and asking your peeps to “like” it, you need to approach engagement with comment, share, and save in mind.
And one more thing… I can virtually guarantee that if you “pitch” to a cold audience over and over again without adding value, you’re gonna hear a lot more than crickets.
You’ll be hearing the thundering sound of “unfollow” from oodles of followers.
Step 2: Mix up your approach
Do you stick with just ONE kind of posting? Like only doing feed posts?
If you’re not using things like:
- Stories...
- Reels...
- Highlights…
- Lives...
- IGTV...
- Strategic hashtags...
- Carousels (multiple images in one feed post)...
...You’re literally leaving money on the table.
Why?
- Because of the algorithm – it likes variety and has different “rules” for different features inside IG.
- You’re not being discovered as much as you could be.
- You’re limiting your ability for your content to be saved and shared.
- People consume social media differently.
You gotta meet people where they’re at and show up consistently.
And that’s before you add value, and THEN guide them down the relationship road with you.
It’s because they’re all about user-submitted content and community. Maybe once a month will they post to their feed – and they now have almost 1 million followers. From leveraging Stories!
Their audience is mostly Gen Z and millennials… with plenty of Gen Xers in there too.
And younger audiences tend to read Stories first. #facts
So they know their online besties very well. And serve up content in a way their besties love and want to receive.
When you post a Story, your followers can reply to you directly. It’s a 1:1 relationship-building in your DMs.
And often, Stories get shared. People don’t tend to share feed posts as often as Stories.
So if you wanna expand your reach and create relationships on IG, you gotta get in on Stories.
As well as Reels, IGTV, Lives, and the other strategic aspects of Instagram many biz owners don’t use consistently.
When you show up consistently and your followers engage with you across multiple channels, they’re more willing to buy into what you’re offering when it’s the right time to pitch.
Step 3: Share confidently
In my community, we often talk about social media as a primary marketing channel for building your biz.
I love taking polls. A recently one I did was:
How many of you post at least once a week on social media?
Something like 80% of people raised their hands.
Then I asked: How many of you do Stories?
The answer was about half of that.
I went down the list…
- Do you go Live?
- Do you use Reels?
- Do you use Highlights?
And so on. Until…
I’d say the average response was about 5%.
So why do biz owners not use everything IG has to offer?
Lack of confidence – stemming from lack of know-how.
It’s a basic human trait to want to be GOOD at something. Especially when that something is public.
Thankfully, lack of know-how is easily solved.
And once you know how to do something, you’ll have the confidence to do it consistently…
Which, as we just talked about, is biz-building magic.
So, besties, if you wanna master Instagram for your biz – and learn in a safe, welcoming space where there are no silly questions…
PLUS the hands-on practical aspects of using all of IG’s features.
So you can confidently know how to post valuable content your community loves – AND build long-term, healthy, and fruitful relationships for your biz.
Inside this workshop, you’re *literally* going to be looking over my shoulder to see exactly how to:
- Create entertaining, educational, and informative Posts.
- Make (& share) Stories.
- Create engaging Reels.
- Go “Live” with compelling live videos.
- “Tag” Instagram accounts to build connections.
- Use Highlights, hashtags, and captions strategically.
By the end of this workshop, you’ll have the tactical know-how to expand your content on Instagram – immediately.
Once you have these basics on lock, you’ll be ready to confidently step into a biz-building social strategy that attracts, engages, and converts your ideal customers online.
The two LIVE workshop dates are:
- Tuesday, July 6 from 10:30am - 12:30pm MDT / 12:30-2:30pm ET
- Wednesday, July 7 from 10:30am - 12:30pm MDT / 12:30-2:30pm ET
There will be NO replays of this workshop… so if you wanna learn how to master Instagram for a super profitable biz, you gotta show up live.
Can’t wait to see ya there!
XO,
Hayley