Lesson One

I am so happy to be having our FIRST LESSON together in the INSTANTBOSS CLUB, I have had this idea for quite some time now but I am finally putting it together and it feels so surreal! Thank you so much for joining me on this journey! I want to let you know that I am always open to suggestions on how to make the club a better experience for everyone! This is my heart, soul and passion and I wanted to say thank you for turning my dreams into a reality!

So let's get started, I hope that you have gone through the basic lessons and know how Instagram works, most of you are Instagram pro's but we don't want to leave anyone behind!This month's lesson will be:

The power of Instagram, and how to use it for your business

Whether you just downloaded Instagram an hour ago, or you have been with Instagram since they launched the app, there are ALWAYS new things to learn! I can not stress to you enough how important it is to stay active on Instagram and posting content is the NUMBER ONE way to do this. Without regularly posting, people will not remember you, so when you do randomly decide to post they will most likely un-follow you mainly because they forgot why they followed you in the first place!There are MANY things to know when posting to Instagram, and a lot of ways to make it simple with apps. Today I will be sharing with you my TOP TIPS for posting on Instagram and STAYING ENGAGED without spending your whole day working on it!

What to Post on Instagram

There is a science to posting pictures on Instagram, whether you are a blogger, boutique, business coach, fitness coach or even if it's just your personal page there is always a strategy for posting.Did you know, a pictures with lighter blue hues tend to receive more likes? Did you also know there is a way to edit all your picture to add a tint of blue inside the Instagram app? If you haven’t watched my Introduction to Instagram Video you may want to check it out to see how this works!Did you also know, pictures with human faces tend to receive more likes and comments? Stats are great and all but no matter what the stats say, there is a reason your followers are following YOU and not someone else.In order to find out what kind of content you need to be pushing to your following, you need to dive down deep and figure out WHY they are following you in the first place. What makes you different? If you are a product based business it is probably because they like your products, if you are a fashion blogger maybe they like your style, that's great, but what is going to make you stand out among your competition?There will always be other businesses with similar products, or similar bloggers that have your same style. So let’s get down to the nitty gritty and find a solution, shall we?In order to figure these things out we must ask ourselves a few questions.So I want you to sit down and get a piece of paper and pen to write these questions down... no really do it, NOW.

For Product Based

1. What is my top selling item, and why?
2. Can I find more similar products to that item?
3. What pictures can I post that are similar to this product? (example: is it a floral top? Can you post pictures of flowers promoting a sale you are having? Or maybe that tells you, your target market is girly, so posting some girly quotes will bring in more engagement on your posts)
4. What makes me stand out above my competition? (example: this could be something like... you giving a percentage of your sale to charity)
5. What incentive are you giving your followers for following you? These days people only want to follow you if you are giving them something, so what are you giving them? (example: maybe you randomly pick on of your followers a week to win a giftcard from your store, or you have flash sales every Tuesday at 2 pm, etc...)

For Service Based

1. What does my service provide?
2. Is my service coming across in my posts? (do my followers understand what my service does?)
3. What makes my service better than my competitors?
4. What is my most liked post? How can I make similar posts?
5. What am I giving my followers? I can't stress this enough, YOU HAVE TO GIVE YOUR FOLLOWERS A REASON TO FOLLOW YOU. (example: you could give your followers a free printable each monday, or have a question and answer session once a week, etc...)

For Bloggers

1. What type of blogger am I?
2. Can you tell I am a _____ blogger by looking at my feed?
3. What is my most liked/commented picture? Why?
4. How can I replicate my most liked/comment picture?
5. What are my competitors posting?
6. Am I giving value to my followers?

Call to Action

Make sure to have a call to action in EVERY post!A call to action gives your follower a reason to comment or a reason to click your link.Please do not just write “link in bio” instead try something like “see that link in our bio? Yea, you should totally click it and get your FREE guide to online marketing” or “want to own this item? All you have to do is click the link in our bio to buy!”When writing your call to action make sure you are thinking of your followers when posting. Make sure you are giving them a reason to click, comment, like, etc. Even if you are posting a funny quote or picture make sure to leave a caption such as “Tag your bestfriend and let them know they are beautiful” “Tag someone who needs some cheering up.” etc.Because when people start tagging, you start getting more followers and guess what comes with follows, SALES! What is the reason to even post something if it does not bring results to your page?Don’t be scared to ask questions. when I first started my boutique I remember asking a question in one of my posts and NO ONE RESPONDED, I felt stupid and almost wanted to just delete my post but I didn’t and guess what? A week later when my Instagram started seeing more activity, people started commenting on that exact post! Let me say, I was excited.

Recommendations for Pictures

As our brains love visual content, we need to give our followers something visually appealing. Later in our lesson I will give you some tips on taking pictures. If you don’t even want to try to take your own, or you simply just don’t have time. Go grab some in the Pre-Made Graphics section of the InstaBoss Club. If you want to make something more personal to your brand I would recommend checking out some stock photography you can use in Canva.I love Creative Market. If you don’t already know about this website your wallet might be a little mad I suggested it, because it can get super addicting! They have everything you need from stock photography, fonts, Icons, you name it they have it. If you don’t want to pay per picture you might check out my link for the membership site Haute Chocolate it’s $30 a month but they have some super cute pictures, most of which I have used in this course you are seeing today!As Creative Market and Haute Chocolate are great for bloggers, or those that just need pictures to fill their feeds. For those of you who own your own physical products but you don’t feel comfortable taking your own pictures, let me recommend my friend Candace Elenez (cannezdesigns@gmail.com) She works with entrepreneurs wanting flat-lays, so her pricing is not overwhelming!

How it Works

You ship her your products. She takes pictures of your products based on your preference of style. She ships you back your items and you have pictures to use for you Instagram/Newsletters/Website/etc. That easy!If you are looking for a model, I love @tasha.smedley.cruz she puts on the clothes you send her and models them while a professional photographer takes the photos. Using Tasha is an investment but she does an amazing job and is worth every penny!Posting to Instagram isn’t just about a pretty picture though, you also need to have an engaging caption! Do not just state what your product is but use emojis. (fun fact: did you know you can hashtag emoji’s now?) If you are selling products make sure to state how soft the item is or something tangible to help them visualize using it. If you sell a service explain to them how it will make them feel, give them the emotion they will have when using your service.Another great way to get pictures for your Instagram is to reach out to bloggers and collaborate! The InstaBoss Club makes it so easy for you to reach out to fellow bloggers and see if they would be open to promoting your product!

Recommended Apps to use for Instagram

I have a whole video section explaining each of these apps more in depth, check it out back at the InstaBoss Hacks section!Bazaart: This is an app I use to crop out pictures and put them on a white background basically an easier way to photoshop an item!Vidlab: This an an awesome app that allows you to make videos with text and musical background effects! Easy to use and makes your feed look super professional.Layout: This app is made for Instagram (No, literally, it’s made for Instagram) and it makes it super easy to put your pictures into a collage. This works great for my physical products like a T-shirt with an open back. I can now add a front and back picture, side by side with ease.Wordswag: I can not say enough about this app, it has saved my life on many occasions. This app allows you to use your own background and add in your own text, really good for making Loop giveaway graphics, Discount offers, Announcements, you name it. This is also the app that makes it super easy to create a watermark.Facetune: Facetune is good for those of you who like to post pictures of your selfies, it allows you to brighten your teeth, smooth any wrinkles, brighten your eyes, you name it! Just please, don’t go overboard, there is a fine line between a quick fix and a whole new face. I have also used this for flatlays to blur out the background so my product stands out.Spreesy: This is the app I use to sell my products via Instagram, but I do post directly from this app which we will get into later in Lesson 5, go ahead and download it now so you are ready to use it when needed.Schedugram: This isn’t an app on your phone but something you need to go purchase via the web right now, this allows you to schedule your Instagram posts and it does all the work of posting for you. I will say this website says its safe to use via IG but I use it lightly because I have heard others say it restricts Instagrams API, I am not 100% on this so use at your own risk. I personally only use this when I am going out of town for Vacation.Picmonkey: This is a great website for creating graphics and its free! There are so many great tutorials out there for using picmonkey on youtube! I used picmonkey to create some of the graphics in this email! I added text onto the pictures I got from Haute Chocolate!Canva: Another great website for creating graphics. This one specifically gives you templates you can use for different types of social media! It is also free but there are paid perks!

Instagram’s New Algorithm Change

Instagram just recently rolled out with their new algorithm and everyone is freaking out! But you see, what's great about the new Instagram Algorithm change is that they now are putting the accounts you interact with the most at the top of your feed to see.So as business owners we need to be pushing our followers to comment and like our posts now more than ever. Because when they engage with our posts, our posts get moved higher and higher to the top of their feed. So when they open their Instagram app, your post is one of the first things you see.That should be some MAJOR encouragement to get your booty in action to start putting out some rich content!

Homework and Worksheets

So what steps can we put into place, TODAY?

1. Figure out WHY people are following you.
2. Download this worksheet to figure out your Target Market.
3. Write down 10 ideas of what you can be posting to get more engagement on Instagram.
4. Try out some of the pre-made graphics inside the club! Just download one and post it to your Instagram page!
5. Next thing you need to learn is hashtags! When you feel like you have really understood what your followers want to see from you, move on to Lesson Two, “The Art of Hashtags.”