I am excited to talk about Instagram stories with you guys today. And not just any old Instagram stories, the type of Instagram stories that you should be producing when you are in a launch or a promotional period. Whether you are launching an open and closed cart type of an offer, or you are alternating between multiple offers that you kind of sell on evergreen and on repeat, this can be used ideally within a two to three week period. There are lots of different ways to sell, but what I’m going to share with you today is perfect for that intensive period of time where you’re really trying to bring in those sales, heat up those warm leads, and really push them over the edge from interested, to buyer.
Here’s the bottom line: If you are utilizing Instagram but you’re not utilizing Instagram stories, you are missing out on 75% of where you could be bringing in your profit. Your stories are how you nurture them after creating engaging reels and posts. Your stories are where you can get into the nitty gritty with your audience. It’s where you build trust in a deeper way. So let’s dive in!
#1. Educational content
Let’s start with an example: If you are selling a content repurposing package, then you might start with a small educational video series in your stories. This doesn’t have to be 10 slides or super in depth. In fact, I’d recommend actually keeping it shorter, because you don’t want people to fall off before you get to the call to action. You need to talk about a topic that supports what you’re selling, so you can easily transition into the “sell” or the call to action. You might give a really juicy marketing tip, where we’re not educating so that they can do it themselves, but we are educating so that they understand our knowledge base. They understand our authority on the topic, and they become more and more confident that we know what we are doing. At the end of that educational piece, you want to then wrap it up with a call to action.
#2. A story about a client
If you do have a client, and hopefully I’m talking to somebody that does have a client, you’re going to talk about a conversation you had with that client. Think about when a client maybe came to you and they were struggling and you were able to help them. What was the problem and how did you help them? It’s such a powerful way to position your offers, position you as an authority, and build that trust. And then of course the conclusion is “if you want similar results, if you are in the same place that this client was when they came to me, I can help you”.
#3 Screenshot of a testimonial or a win
It can be a traditional testimonial, or it can be a “win” from a client. It can be an email, it can be a Voxer message, it can be a DM. You get to be creative here because we’re going to give context, and not just dump the testimonial with no explanation. It’s really vital that you do so because it’s not just about the testimonial or the win. The more context that you can give, the more people can really see themselves in that scenario. You’re helping people understand how it could be possible for them as well, because people tend to be very skeptical.
#4. Behind the scenes of the offer.
In this scenario, we are offering a sneak peek of the deliverables of your offer. It could be the dashboard of your course portal, it could be a spreadsheet that’s only available to clients, or some other exclusive look at the BTS of your service; it doesn’t even need to be necessarily a screenshot of something. It could be you working at your computer and you’re working hard on finishing the pricing calculator that you give every client who joins X, Y, and Z. This is about just finding ways to share that behind the scenes because that is going to build trust.
#5. Inspire your clients to take action
Anytime you can inspire and motivate them to take action, do it, even if it’s not directly tied to your offer and even if you’re not ending it in a call to action. Let’s just say you know that your ideal client needs to feel empowered to make a sizable investment, you’re going to create something that just makes them stop and be like, “dang, that was good”. For example, if I’m trying to reach the person that is scared to invest, but they know they need to make a change, it might be the words over a photo of me that says, “nothing changes if nothing changes. Let today be the day that you make the move that can change everything”. You are trying to speak to that one person that is just not quite sure if it’s for them or they’re doubting themselves. This is about calming fear and building them up in this period of time where they have to make a decision on investing.
#6. Share relatable content that supports the offer.
This can be funny, relatable content. These can be memes. These can be inspirational posts or reels from other people, but it’s just a different way of delivering your message. It might be coming from somebody else or it’s coming from a different source as a repost, and then you’re able to put some context on it and relate it to your brand or offers.
#7. Interactive content that creates some connection.
Interactive content is created to start conversations and support what you are selling. We always want to make sure that this is strategic. We’re not just starting conversations for the sake of engagement. “What is your favorite ice cream?” might create a little conversation, but it might not be with the right person. The questions that you are asking have to be intentional. If they are going to vote on your poll, chances are, there’s a possibility that they could be a really good ideal client for this offer. This is where these little details matter. And when you’re in a launch, interactive content is really, really effective.
#8. Face to camera promotion.
You cannot forget to get on camera in your stories and say, here’s the offer, here’s what it is, here’s who it’s for, here’s the transformation, and here’s how you buy. This is about being concise and clear. This is not a time for you to get super fancy and clever, it’s a straightforward approach. You are telling them with confidence and excitement what you have and why it’s for them.
#9. Personal stories.
This is the key to keeping people engaged during a two to three week promotional period. You will have ideal clients in your audience, who are not ready to buy from you. But we don’t want them to fall off. We don’t want them to stop listening to us because we still want them to hear the message. The more they hear the message, or they know we do and how we can help them, the more likely they will be to buy later. So we need those personal stories in between. It breaks up the “sales posts” and it humanizes you. It’s not all about selling. This is really, really vital for Instagram stories and to really help Instagram stories work for you. So do not forget those personal stories.
#10. Video testimonials
If you have clients that are willing to give you video testimonials, it’s always great to be able to throw in a video testimonial once in a while. This is a simple video of your client speaking to your audience and telling them how awesome you are, how awesome the services and the transformation and experience has been for them.
As we wrap up, I wanna remind you, Grow Business and Marketing Academy is currently enrolling. We have some great new options now, so I want you to go check those out. We’ve got VIP options and we’ve got group only options. So if you’ve been eyeing GROW and maybe you didn’t need all the support that was currently there or you want way MORE support, I think I’ve reached this perfect combination of these two different options for you. So I hope you’ll check us out if you’re new. If you’re not new and you’re curious about those different options, check it out too!
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