610 - Authentically growing your Instagram with Instagram Coach Britt Worthington

Welcome to the Next Level Life podcast with Christine Corcoran. This podcast is made for the powerhouse business women who are ready to ignite their fullest potential. This is where we will dive deep into mindset breakthroughs and sprinkle in some kick up the butt motivation so you can scale your business with confidence and clarity. Whether you're craving more income, impact or inspiration, this podcast will be your ultimate resource for all things next level. Listen in as we have authentic conversations with game changing female entrepreneurs as we reveal the secrets on what it takes to rise and thrive. So go ahead, ignite your inner fire and let's get you taking massive aligned action. Are you ready to elevate? Let's go. Well, I'm excited to welcome my beautiful guest Brit onto the podcast today. After seeing her speak at the Golden Brands conference recently, I reached out and asked her whether she'd love to share all her wisdom and all her goodness on the podcast and she agreed. So thank you so much for joining me today, Brit.

You're welcome. I'm excited to be here.

So excited. So I actually want to start in a, in a place of tell us a little bit about your background and what you do and who you help because I know that I've heard you speak about being an accidental entrepreneur. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Well, I mean, I guess everyone's definition of what an accidental entrepreneur might be could be different. But my series of events started during COVID I did like sort of accidentally fall into running a business.

So.

So taking a few steps back, I actually trained my entire life to be a dancer. I was that kid that you went to school with that never went to any of the social parties or outings I always had. Dance in the afternoon, in the studio, every afternoon, evening. My parents, God bless them, pay a lot of money, spent a lot of time and energy on that. And it was really like, it was my world. It was all I knew. It was the ultimate goal. I did go through high school and I loved school. I actually ended up getting into law, into university. But the idea was, and I think it was just at that time there wasn't a lot of like, you know how we have the Internet now we all know everything. So I wasn't super around the actual career opportunity in dance, but I knew that's what I wanted to do. Like, I, I kind of know how I got through it. Just like not knowing what the job is, I'm like, that's what I'm gonna do. But anyway, my parents still like you apply to university. And I did. I got in and we basically had a conversation saying, you can defer for one year, dance full time and train as a professional, see what happens. Because that kind of the year between being 17 and 18, so you can't really get a job till you're 18 anyway, see what happens if that doesn't work out. You can keep dancing, but you can start university. So that was always sort of the plan. And fortunately enough for me, I did get through my 12 months of dance training and it was about to, like, resign my contract to go into the second year of the program, whilst then I would be balancing university at the same time, I actually got offered my first professional contract with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. And that's like the ultimate dream come true for really any Australian performer especially, we're quite limited with opportunity. So to be able to go and travel and perform and get paid for. I mean, I would have gone for free, but to get paid to dance was a dream come true. I ended up doing that for about five years and yeah, it was the dream job, dream gig, loved it. Was planning on continuing to do it for a little bit longer, but then of course, COVID 19 hit in 2020 and the last place you want to be during a pandemic is on a cruise ship. So there's a whole story to that. I won't go into too much detail, but it was pretty much like, you're going home, pack your bags. At the first meeting we had with them, it was like, we'll see you in 30 days once this blows over. We'll see you in 30 days. 30 days turn into, you know, three months, three months turned into six months, and then there was just all of this confusion. And being a performer, there's not a lot of other work you can do easily. Like that's not really bartending or working in some type of other entertainment space. And of course, during the pandemic, all of that was closed, so I couldn't get a job. That would have been someone would have hired me for. Despite being able to fake my way pretty much into anything, I just couldn't even get an interview. So luckily my parents were very kind enough to give me the very VIP role of being their admin chick in their business, which was a tutoring business, which they had physical locations, but they also tutored students online, so their business was booming. So admin turned into, can you post some things on Facebook for us? Can you figure out our Instagram account? And I just really, I guess I had time on my side. And I just learned anything and everything I could about social media and marketing. And I ended up being. Basically, their business was a franchise. They had three franchise locations that they owned. But I ended up being like the social media manager for almost all of Southeast Queensland franchises. So all of the different locations. And I was kind of like, I just found myself like, how did I get here? What is going on? I was sort of doing it informally, like just as a freelancer. And I realized I'm actually kind of okay at this. But I don't think posting about tutoring and school education is my calling. I think I want to go create my own business, create my own brand and start to attract some businesses that I personally shop at or work with, whatever it is. And it kind of just organically like, it was just like a. One of those situations where you just figure out as the problem comes to you, it's like, oh, this person wants this. I'm like, okay, this person wants this. Okay, I'll figure it out. And I just. It just turned into a business. And I also fell in love with creating my own brand through all of that as well.

Yeah. Awesome. Awesome. Oh my God. Thank you so much for sharing all of that. What a journey. And I didn't realize it was literally the cutoff at Covid that that caused that. That literally catalyst that impacted then the whole change of your. Then starting your business. Wow. And I love that. Well, that you shared that you worked on cruise ships, because as I shared with you last week, I worked on cruise ships for a few years as well in my 20s. And I actually found like, I learned so much about running a business by working on chips. I'd love to know what do you think that you took away from working on chips that you now apply in?

I mean, I agree with you. There is so much that you learn, the people you connect with, the places obviously that you travel to and go opens your eyes up. And I think for me, because cruise ships are. It's a corporation, so it's. There's a very clear corporate company hierarchy in the way that works. And as a dancer, that is not something that we really are used to because it's dancing, it's creative, it's art. So moving into the structure of working for a cruise line company, you do start to realize there are managerial positions, there's places to be able to scale the ladder, to grow. Even just as an example, within every cast, there's the dance captain. And then from there, because of all production is like a sure site Operation as well. There's opportunities to go into casting, into production coordination. So I think it was realizing about building my skill set and what skills I could learn. So I would shadow the dance captain and learn about what roles and responsibilities they had. A lot of that was involving meeting with other departments. And I know this isn't really like running your own business, but I suppose just leadership and expanding your skill set and knowledge and really learning from others. Like 18 year old me wouldn't have ever thought that that was all possible. I mean, even 18 year old me wasn't even sure that getting a job on a ship was possible. Yeah, I think it opened up my mind to different opportunity and even now I stepped away from cruising and dancing, but I actually now work with part of the casting team still. So that connection has come full circle and it just does go to show like building your personal brand, who you are, all of those skills, experiences and, and who. What you uniquely bring to the table is really important no matter what role you're in. Yeah.

Do you think it also helped you like, become much more adaptive to change? Like, I feel like it's one of those things that we always had to be adapting. We always had to figure out the next step. Like, you know, I think there's always this phase of like with ships, like you're in this. I don't even know. It's so hard to describe it to people who've never experienced it before, but it's almost like this fishbowl that is you're living in a completely different world and there's this high expectation of performance on a whole new, on a whole level. Not just like performing dance, but performing for guests and performing the level of customer service. Like there's so much that goes into it and I feel like I didn't realize everything that I learned back then until I started my business that I was like, oh, I took this away. Or like one of the big things for me was when you're in guest areas, you're on like you are available for guests and so you must be in uniform, you must be, you know, looking good and you must also serve. So whether you are working or not. Because we're allowed in guest areas, luckily not all of us are, but some of us are allowed in guest areas. And it caused you to like really serve at a high level. Did you find that as well?

Oh my gosh, that's such a good point. Yeah. The. I think you go onto the ship assuming like, well, I just, I'm just a dancer. I Just work in the spa. I'm just a waiter. Whatever your role is. And there's so many different roles and departments, but as you mentioned, you really, we are really are there to serve the guest and enhance the guest experience no matter what. And I remember I would be walking around minding my own business in my uniform with my name tag, all dressed up, but, you know, going to see one of the shows myself again, fortunate enough to be able to have that privilege on board. And, you know, a guest would stop you and they'd say, hi, I'm in stateroom 10992. My toilet's not flushing. And you'd be like, I look like the person that can help you. But you are wearing the name tag. You are seen as someone, your crew, I mean, obviously. And like, even reflecting on it, it makes sense someone would go up to someone with a name tag. But, you know, I was wearing like smart casual with high heels and I was in a, I was at a show and you had to be like, oh, sir, thank you so much for letting me know. Either allow me to escort you to guest services, or they would have phones around the ship and there would be a number you would call. You would have to facilitate the, you know, waste management person and call. And like, you know, again, my job was a dancer, but like, again, it came back to guest experience. And they really did hold all of us to such a high expectation. And it challenges you sometimes because you're like, well, that's not my job. That's not my job. But end of the day, we're there for the, the guest experience and delivering that for them.

Yeah, totally. And I feel like that just honestly helps you in your own business to be really considerate of that as well. Like when you're presenting or you're running a program or you're showing up online, I honestly do think, like, how am I presenting myself and how does that reflect for my ideal client? Right. And I think that that, that definitely plays into it. There's so much more. But anyway, let's, let's move on. Let's come, let's come to Instagram. Let's talk all things Instagram. So what is it that you love about Instagram that helped you or got you to actually niche in this area? Because, I mean, marketing on a general social media platforms, there's so much to work through. But, like, you very much focus on Instagram.

Yeah, I think for me it was the app I personally felt just the most intuitive, intuitively attracted to. I was using it already for personal use. So I felt quite familiar with it. And I suppose that can sometimes allow for an easy transition when you do start a business. So, like, if, if. If another platform is your go to, you're already on LinkedIn in your corporate role, or you love TikTok, like, lean into what skill set knowledge you already have, and then I would just build on it and experiment and play. And what I love about Instagram is it's got so much diversity within the app. So, you know, even you're just talking about content types like this, carousels, real stories, lives, and people can get overwhelmed by that. But I see it as all these different ways that we can deliver our message and get in front of our audience, you know, and then you can just build up these people in your inbox, and they're literally your dream clients that you could message. I could go and message 30 people, 50 people, 100 people right now if I wanted to. And I just wanted to sit there and message all of them. And I think we forget how far we've come with. I mean, sounds silly, but with technology and what, you know, business owners 30, 40, 50 years ago had to do to get customers through the door just to have conversations with customers, and now we have that in our back pocket. Can be, you know, can go the wrong way sometimes, but trying to see it as exciting opportunities and tools that we can use is the mindset I like to move forward with. And that's why I get really excited about Instagram in particular.

Love it, love it. I love Instagram as well. And I'm so passionate about that connection piece as well. So I love that you're like, I just can message my beautiful dream clients. That's amazing. But you're right, it does have the kind of the flip side of it, because it's like, you know, the old days was like, put some money in a newspaper and be seen or, like, you know, do a billboard ad and things like that. Like, I love the fact that we don't have to pay for Instagram. Like, that's great. But then there's also people that are like, oh, my God, the things that we have to do now to be seen, right? Like, do I have to dance on reels for me to stand out? Like, there's so many things that I think people have this, you know, hesitation towards, but I'd love to hear from you, like, from what you hear from people. What do you. What do you think is, like, the biggest myth or the biggest thing, that block that keeps people from actually utilizing Instagram?

Well, I mean, there's a lot, I think individually, everyone has their own either backstory or experiences that might be preventing them from feeling like they can show up in a way that feels exciting for them. Usually the people that we see excelling or being able to leverage their content in the app really well are more naturally extra extroverted. People are people that find content creation quite a natural, intuitive thing. So it can be hard to be like, well, I don't fit that box, I'm not going to do it. But it's not that we all came out of the womb and some of us have this natural, God given talent for content and some of us don't. It's actually a skill you can practice. And when you're in the beginning, when you don't have maybe the audience that you maybe one day want to have, it's the best time to experiment and actually figure out what feels good for you to create. Because I find that when people really lean into the content formats that they find more flowing. Not to say every post will come out in 30 seconds and be perfect, but the, the methods that you find more flow and, and I guess are in your genius zone. Your audience will actually recognize that. So for me, like, and I get it, not everyone wants to dance on reels. For me, dancing on reels made too much sense. I was like, I got to do this. And I'm not one to tell you that you need to go and dance on reels, but use, like, whatever skills you have. You might be an amazing writer, you might be an amazing conversationalist. So if you're a writer, lean into carousels. If you're a conversationalist, can you set up like a really, you know, great strategy around Instagram, live collaborations and not just being like, I'm going to go live next week and not actually doing it, but treating that like a piece of content and, yeah, experimenting. But then when you do find what feels good, leaning all the way into it and trying to not see it as this. Like, I have to either fit into this mold or I have to do this in a super professional way. Ultimately, it is still Instagram and content, and people do want to connect with the real human. You can have the professional side and the more, you know, put together elements, but as well letting loose in a way that, again, feels on brand and in alignment for you. You're going to actually be able to connect with people a lot faster than trying to hold up this facade and be like, I'm actually really fun. Once you Pay me and be like, I don't know that until you show me on Instagram.

So true. And so that's like, literally speaking into the authenticity piece, right? And I feel like that's really what's standing out this year. The people who are really leaning into the level of authenticity. But I love that you gave people such permission there to, like, you don't have to do the things that don't feel good because it's going to look so inauthentic anyway. Like, dancing on reels if you feel super freaking awkward. Because I even, like, I remember when I first started promoting my business online, one of my best friends, she is such a good writer. Like, she's so incredible in the way that she articulates things. And her captions would be, like, so long. And me, I couldn't even get, like, three sentences out. Like, I was like, my captions are so bad. But it's in the evolution of my business that I have challenged myself to find new ways to communicate. And for me, talking is absolutely the perfect thing for me. So getting on stories, creating reels where I'm talking to the camera, like, that is my level of authenticity. And I feel like. And. But she writes all the time, and she engages people so beautifully with her words. And so I love that you've just shared that, because it is like, figure out what your thing is and just go with that and go all in with that. And I even had a recent lesson around that as well, where I was kind of being, like, paying attention to the way someone else was doing this again, the comparison piece. And I was like, oh, I could possibly do it that way. I've not been doing it that way for a lot forever. Maybe I could try that. And I started trying this strategy, and I was like, this is just not working for me. Like, it's not resonating with people. It's. I'm not getting very good engagement with it. And so then I just went back to doing my videos, and I'm like, that's better. I think you've got to. If you do the inauthentic stuff, like, I think there's an element of, like, finding and testing new things. Like you said, like, experimenting and not just giving into the fear of, like, oh, that's different, or I have to change in order to do that, but still, like, allowing yourself to find something that does feel good. So, because I love how you talk about that, like, let's make it fun. Like, it doesn't have to be this arborist, like, horrendous. Thing when I. When it comes to my marketing your business.

Yeah, well, it's. I mean, maybe if you're a numbers person, you might love numbers, but to me, like, I don't want to put Instagram and bookkeeping in the same category. You know, it should be in whatever way it feels right and good to you. It should be the part that you look forward to because it's the part we get to, like I said in the beginning, converse with the people that we started our business for. Yes, sometimes it feels like you're talking to a brick wall, and sometimes it feels like, are they even looking at that? But I promise you, it's building on it every step of the way and people are paying attention. And even if they don't read all the way to the end of the caption or they just, they don't swipe all the way through the carousel, just that again, that visibility around you and you're continuing to show up, it will start to snowball over time. And yes, you know, experiment, see what is working. People out there, the people that are naturally able to create that content with ease and be like, okay, I don't think I'm going to be able to learn that, you know, tick tock routine, or I don't think I'm going to be able to put together these, you know, incredibly detailed vlogs and all this stuff, but what can I learn from that and adapt it? And I'm going to give it a go and if it doesn't work as you said, you just, you go back and you figure it out and there's no silver bullet, like, you will never. Even for myself, and I love content and I find it comes to me naturally. There's always something like, oh, that's strange. That's completely stopped working. Oh, my, you know, saves on my carousel is completely tanked. Oh, my views on reels on this particular style that I used to do all the time completely dropped. It's not me. It's not that no one wants to listen to me. No one cares, but you just have to be a little bit flexible with how you deliver your message. Your messaging always is going to stay pretty consistent, but it's being flexible with how you deliver it.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely agree. And that's, it's one of those things that just, things constantly are changing, like, constantly changing. And I feel like Instagram just consistently changes. And I know, like, everyone bags on about the, the algorithm. I don't even pay attention to that conversation, to be honest. It's not even. I don't even want to know about the algorithm. But like, what are you finding? Like what do you have you notice over this year that's changed and what do you feel like is working now? That wasn't actually or used to be working now, but isn't it. Sorry, it used to be working before, but then now isn't. You know what I meant.

Yeah, honestly, it does change and everyone's very quick to blame the algorithm and I get it. Like it is frustrating it these ranking systems and formulas. We don't have control over that. What we do have control over is what we post and how often we post it. So I don't remember what my point was going to be aside from that. Oh yeah, a lot of the algorithm is actually not just like Instagram sitting there or meta sitting there. Like hahaha. I'm going to make sure that this changes this week just to surprise everyone. A lot of it actually has to do with us and the way that we are using the app as a collective human race. So yes, that means that the cycles are trending around faster and faster and faster and faster. And what was trending and topical last week is probably shifted. So it's not about keeping up with every single thing, but being like, okay, I feel like this is something I could. You know, someone was talking about it at the conference last week, it was just Rufus and she spoke about newsjacking and how it's such a simple way to leverage something that's already hot and topical and like jack onto it and, and jump onto that trend and be able to leverage and ride out the wave that it's going on doesn't mean you have to do that every single week on every single topical thing. If you tried to do that, it would be exhausting. But seeing how you can leverage it and leaving a little bit of flexibility, I think in your schedule, in your content schedule is important for that. But as far as what I've seen the shift in, particularly this year, we've definitely reduced the esthetics and perfectly polished content. The thing is, when you Compare it to TikTok content, I don't think we're at the TikTok level where it can be messy and really raw and really chaotic, like unhinged is the word. Instagram still has this element of cohesiveness and, and to to some extent esthetic ness and that aspirational style content. But you know, being able to create carousels directly in the Instagram app, not having to use Canva if you don't want to. Creating B roll content that is not super in your face and out there and requires a full scale production to put together that is still working really well. So it's almost like we're leaning into this era of like lo fi content, which I like to call it. I don't know if that's really an official term, but that's actually what's working right now. And if you lean into that and you still try to keep in mind your visual identity and who you want to be portrayed as and, and what you want to put out there, but leaning into the way people, again, it's all about that delivery. So slight tweaks, just how you make that real or you write the copy in that carousel can really be the difference between being like on trend and not being on trend.

Yeah. And I, I heard you say earlier, like there's elements of it you feel that comes natural to you. But I also want to challenge that a little bit because I feel like there's got to be something that you've had to like train yourself to look for or train yourself to do to develop that level, level of natural ability. Right. Like it's. I saw like on your stories recently, I was on you, some of your reels recently, like in your trip up to Queensland for the event, there was so much B roll content. You created a little one that you in the back of an Uber and then one at the pool, like all these little things. And sometimes like I feel like for me I've had to like train myself to take video content consistently because without that B roll content you've got nothing to use. Right. But I love how like, is there something that you've had to do where you've had to like feel like you've trained yourself to do that for it to become a natural thing?

Yeah, I, I don't think like whipping out my phone was something to like, to feel myself was something I was doing even as like a performer I was whenever like we were in port on like on the cruise so we would get off and be able to enjoy the place. I was always like the, the slack one with Instagram. And like, personally I wasn't great at it. I would forget. I always had like one friend that was great at the photos. But can you take a photo of me now once you've done yours? And I wasn't super actually into it that way, but as I transitioned into business it was being like, okay, I need to like kind of find the pockets of time where I can get Content, and I can make this work. So it was kind of training myself to identify those pockets of time and leverage, like, the smallest opportunities, like, when I would be obviously working from home. Like, I'm wearing slippers right now. This isn't my, like, content vibe that I. That I personally want to, like, share. I mean, I will share, like, bts, but as far as, like, B roll content, I'd rather, like, spend two minutes before I head out to brunch on a Saturday morning capturing, like, the outfit, like, doing, like, the. Just the quick little video instead of, like, maybe blocking out two hours every single week or month or whatever it is for you to sort of make that more of, like, production. And I still do block out time to capture B roll in bulk, but I think it's just like being, I guess, training yourself to see those little pockets of opportunity and be like, oh, I'm just gonna pop up my camera and do this and. And also not feel shy about it. I mean, it's still sometimes a little bit awkward. Not gonna lie, doing it at the hotel pool. But my bat, you know, I had, like, my. My handbag sort of sitting on the edge of the pool, and my camera was tucked up beneath it. Like, I didn't whip out a tripod. It wasn't getting out the softbox and the ring light. So it's just kind of practicing those little. Again, it's like lo fi content. How can you capture things in a very casual, easy way?

Yeah, I find it super awkward. Like, honestly, it's one of those things. Like, on my last trip to the States, I was like, I'm going to get more video content. Like, that's my intention. And I had to, like, one with one of the girls that I met at the event. She, like, one of the same things. So I was like, let's get together and actually create a whole bunch of content an hour before the event. Because we'd made the effort to actually dress up for the event and everything. And that B roll content has, like, lasted me since maybe. But even, like, the thought of whipping the camera out walking through the airport, I was like, this is. I would forget or I look like shit. So I'm like, I'm not even going to bother. Like, it's so funny how. But we love watching that stuff. We love watching what people are doing and getting involved in people's lives. And I think that, you know, you just got to make the effort. And I love that you were like, okay, cool just before brunch and, like, really intentionally thinking about those pockets of time. But I really want to talk to you about planning because I feel like it's one of the biggest things when it comes to content. Everyone's like, oh my God, I've got a plan. And it always takes people so long. So I'd love to hear your takes on like, what are some of the things that you're doing now in order to prepare, in order for you to think about the way that you're going to get out consistent content. Because even at the Golden Brands conference, I heard one, one woman sharing how she spent 18 hours creating one reel. And I was like, oh my God, I would have given up after one hour. Like, you serious? But like, yeah, crazy how. But I think there' always a learning curve at the beginning. When you're learning anything, anything new, it's going to always take longer to begin with. And some reels take me a little bit longer to edit and put together for sure. But I'd love to hear from you, like, what are some of the things that you do now to plan your content?

So I'm naturally like, I don't do well with batching my content if I. And maybe it was because I spent so long as a social media manager, I was planning everyone else's content and then we'll get around to mine and I'll be like, this is the last thing I want to do. And I was pretty. I kind of got into a bad habit of just figuring something out very last minute. And again, I was spending so much time in Instagram land, so I was able to pull something out pretty quickly. It was when I transitioned into having my course and my program and I was like, okay, I can't just like make something up every single day and hope that this program sells. I really needed more thought out strategy and that's why I ultimately really started leaning into launches because they just gave me such clarity on what do I need to be posting and like when and how often and what do they need to know? How am I going to deliver that message? What is the ultimate goal that I ultimately want to reach? And that really helped to guide my years. So I'm able to sort of map out my the next 12 months, plot out the launches and then reverse engineer basically my content. And in between those launch periods, I might be like, oh, you know, I'm going to have some time off or I'm going to spend this time to test out, you know, a new lead magnet and I'm going to make three different lead magnets and every Single week, I want to try a different one and like, you know, having some experimentation time in there as well. Time to just post random content, whatever it is. But it always gave me that structure for when I was working towards those goals. But I couldn't sit there and I still can't to this day. I, I can't sit there and create a full month's worth of content in one go and be happy with it. Even if I forced myself, I know ultimately I would change things was I would come up with a better way to share that idea. Like, oh, I want to rephrase that hook. Oh, I want to use this trending audio instead. I want to swap it. So when I would, whenever I would try to batch all of my content in one go. And I mean like the visual component, the caption, have everything set in stone as if you're, I was doing social media management content, I would spend all this time redoing it. So what I do and my process now is to, I do have those like kind of six month or 12 month, like overarching plans, but at the top of every month I will go and create a full like bird's eye view of the full content Runway in order to whatever that goal might be. It might not be that I'm launching that month, but what content is needing to be going out in order to eventually reach that goal? It's just a bird's eye view. Like I'm not married to any of these ideas, but again it's plotting out all of those content pillars and themes that need to be shared and then I start to sort of flesh them out from there. So I'll probably spend like two hours or so on this for the month and then it's at the top of every week where I'm actually going in and then fully finessing those ideas and being like, okay, this trending, like trending audio is happening right now. I think I'm going to use this to deliver this, this, this idea that I put there. And that way for me it feels a little bit more fresh. It feels more, I guess, topical and in the moment. And I am someone that I see it all as a conversation. So if I'm, you know, I made the post four weeks ago, like, is that something I really want to be talking about? And that also gives me that level of excitement because I'm like, oh, I made this and like I can't wait to share it. Like it's still in alignment 100 with my strategy, but it's feeling fresh. It's exciting. And I think my audience can also tell when something's really coming from my brain. Maybe not that day, but, you know, within the last few days, they can feel that freshness. Otherwise it can start to feel a bit stale, dare I say it?

True. Like, I have like so many drafts of reels I've created and some of them where I've just gone, okay, I don't really know what message I'm going to put to this, but it's a trending audio. So I'm going to create the. Just create the video and let it sit there and then I'll come back with and add the caption, add the text or whatever for it to have whatever message I want to get across. But sometimes I'll go back and look at that and go, what was my idea? Like, why did I even record that? Delete it. Like, it's so funny. You're so right. Like, that freshness that really does speak and bring through your content. So, yeah, I love that you shared that. When it comes to engagement, I would love to get on the engagement train. So is there certain things that you're doing whenever you think about, like, once you created your piece of content, when you think about, like, how am I going to improve or level the engagement up for this type of post? What is your thought process with that and what can we learn from that from you in regards to how you're utilizing Instagram?

Yeah, I mean, engagement, something I. I'm sure everyone struggles with. And again, it comes back to the way we're all using Instagram. And the first thing I always do to check myself and I always encourage other people to do this, is ask yourself, how much are you commenting on things? So next time I complain, I'm like, oh, a few little less comments from there before. But how much am I really commenting just out of the blue? Like not intentional, like just finding myself commenting on something and it's because I just naturally just consuming more and more and I might like save it for later or send it to my, you know, personal account. And that's kind of how I engage with things. For me to comment on something, it does kind of sometimes require a lot. So it's just I'm able to sort of see it from that perspective of like actually like a user seeing my content. So I try not to get too bogged down by trying to figure out how can I get more comments, how can I try to really strategically think about this and analyze it? Because I think you can spend that time on Other things, the way I've been able to sort of continue to bring in that engagement is letting loose on some content that maybe doesn't fit the strategy in the perfect little puzzle and isn't the perfect little formula of the information my audience needs to know, but it's something fun and can cultivate that fun conversation. And getting the engagement on those posts will ensure that Instagram shows my more important content to my audience. Maybe it's not the content that gets the comments and the engagement, but I know that they're seeing it and that content is the most important in order for me to make more sales or get a booking, for example. But as far as engagement, I think you can't any longer is put off manychat. You get the best of both worlds. You're able to get signups, get dms, whatever it is, whatever automations you have set up, but you're also getting that engagement. Yes, it's not heartfelt, you know, organic engagement where they're sending a lovely comment or something like that, but it's training the algorithm to say, hey, people are valuing this content, they're commenting on it to trigger this automation. And again, the more engagement we can get on content like that, the more Instagram will show those critical pieces of content to our audience and we really need them to see it.

Yeah, love that, love that. And I feel like I really haven't dived into many chat enough for it to really figure out how to utilize it really effectively. But I am finding what I'm noticing, and I'd love to hear your take on this is I'm seeing some people like just utilize it and from a business perspective we can tell that it's many chats. You're like, oh, reply this word and going to get a response. Right? Like we know that that's many chat. And then I've had other people actually share like hey, put this comment below and my little bot will actually respond back to you with all the details. So they're actually telling people that it's not them. What's your take on that? What do you think works? Or what do you think would people really responding well to?

I see the point of trying to say this is a bot, but I do think most people are pretty around it by now. I mean I know that a lot of people aren't aware of it, but I, I would guess in a B2B space especially most people would be quite aware that it's likely going to be an automation, especially if it lands in your. Inbox in like less than a second. So I'm not someone who feels that it's necessary to do that. But what I do caution people of doing is like creating these spiderwebs of automation where it just, it starts feeling a little bit like, okay, I just wanted to get the lead magnet. I'm good. And I personally believe it's, it's having the harmony of automation for efficiency both for you and, and your client, but then being able to follow up and personalize. Like again, these are your leads and you don't want to just send them down a rabbit hole of like all these random polls and links and they just keep clicking and clicking and clicking and you don't really ever then get to say, hey, actually I thought of this other thing that might help you out because I just popped over to your profile and I noticed something and it's not that every single person needs to have that time and attention, but I do think it's worth just still having that human element and not leaving it all up to automation. Because I've been in that situation where I tap through something and then it's like it just keeps going and going, going. It's a reminder. It's like, did you open it yet? I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I have some of those, I have follow ups and there are some more complex than others, but some I just keep really simple. Like it's literally just the, the automation to send the message. You don't need to go super crazy fancy with it. I think that's where it starts to get a little bit like, okay, this is not feeling.

Yeah. And how, how often would you say that you're utilizing that?

I will use that. I'll use it quite a lot during my launches. So when I'm having like a masterclass or a workshop, I will get that for registrations because that's so powerful to get people to sign up to the masterclass through that because then I have those DMS in my inbox and I can go back and follow up manually. I mean I could obviously set up automations to trigger things. I don't know, I'm just not, I'm not super techie and I don't love to spend so much time setting that up. You might be someone who loves that, so that's fine if you're that person. But for me I'm like, yeah, I just want the efficiency of the initial one and I would love to still work to follow up. So for like masterclass, opt ins for freebies again. It's getting that also that engagement on those pieces of content which are generally more the promotional stuff which helps it to push through the algorithm as well. And then my like, you know, when I am in launch mode cart open if I have like a behind the scenes portal tour, like they can get that easily. But it's not like every single post and it's not, I don't use it for just random engagement. So I'm typically really using it as like a conversion tool, not just like to get unnecessary comments and send random messages to people.

Yeah. Cool. And I'd love to hear your take on going viral. What's your take on going viral? Should we even focus on it? Is it something that we should just think about once every now and then? Like what's your thoughts thoughts?

I, I mean I get it. It's, it's gonna scratch that little itch. It's gonna feel, you're gonna finally feel all your, you know, blood, sweat and tears. Pays off. I've experienced it. It's nice to get some pieces of content that is enjoyed and appreciated by lots of people. It's. I, I would never, I can't lie to anyone and say that it doesn't, it's not exciting because it is and it can. When it happened to me, and I think this is the case of what happens to a lot of people. I actually didn't have the business operations to be able to facilitate what was happening. So I was at that point I didn't have a coaching program or any type of like, yeah, coaching program. I was only doing like done for you services. So when you get like 50 inquiries and you're currently a one person team, I was like, well, I can't even make the most of this. I don't even have like. So all of it was kind of. But nothing, not that, not that I was actively pursuing going viral, but it did happen. So I think it's actually thinking about, okay, what do you actually want this to happen for your business? Is it going viral? Because it's really going to help you to get more leads on your email list. But all those people on your email list ultimately not being the right fit and unsubscribing one week later, again, we're sort of back to square one. So really thinking about okay, what it is that like what do I want this month? Is it three more clients? Is it to book out my services, whatever it is and what do I need to do? How many people do I need to get in front of? How many conversations Do I need to have really more, like, tangible goals that you're actually in more control of? Like, you're in control of how much you post. When you post conversations, you have all of those things, how and when you show up. But we're not in control of how we. And when we go viral, unfortunately. So it's just something you can't tangibly plan for.

Yeah, Love that. Love that. Is there anything else that you feel like you would love people to be conscious of when it comes to Instagram that you feel like you'd like to just squash that myth or just dispel that rumor? Like, what do you hate people talking about that just kind of grinds your gears and you're just like, oh, my God, I wish they thought about it in this way instead.

Yeah, I think it's getting really down on it, especially when you're starting out or, you know, you're trying something new and it's not working. And there's just. There's the whole, like, the movement of, like, all you need is Wi Fi and Canva and you can make a million dollars and it's just not the reality. Again, like, coming back to. I think I have a lot of. Of probably as a performer, like, integrity is really important, and I just think we're not. You're not put on the earth to make a million dollars. I don't think that's true of anyone. I think we are here to obviously live out our purpose and potentially help others, whatever that might look like for you. So it's being just genuine with your ambitions and goals on Instagram and, you know, committing to them and. And being, you know, like, fearless about it, setting big goals, going after them, but like, not throwing in the towel when, you know, after. After two or three months, it hasn't worked out for you yet. Like, it is never even for the people that seem to have it easy. It is never anything overnight. And even for the people that do seem to have this ease with content and Instagram and engagement, all of those things. You don't know what else is going on behind the scenes. You don't know the ad spend that's currently happening behind that. You don't know their expenses with team to be able to manage those huge programs. Like, there's so much we don't know. It's so easy to get caught up in what it all looks like. I'm guilty of it too. Sometimes you just totally forget what's going on behind the scenes, but it doesn't always tell the full story. So you know, there's kind of two points there. Being fearless in your goals and dreams and really working hard towards them, but also being realistic and mindful and not trying to burn yourself out on something that's just like, just not sustainable at all.

100 totally agree with you. I feel like some people, it's just that whole rhetoric online that just gets constantly talked about is like yeah, you can go viral and then you can make a million dollars or you can be hitting 100k launch next week. Like it's just honestly a crock of whatever. So yeah, I completely agree with you. Little like short kind of fire answers here. What would you if, if someone was to ask you like what should I be doing on Instagram this week to be noticed and sent out from the crowd? What's one thing that I you would suggest they do?

Collaborations.

Love it.

If I can only say one thing.

Yeah, collaborations. Love it. And what's your Is there any other little Instagram hacks that you're utilizing for.

Engagement at the moment on stories recently? I mean it's not a strategy by any means, but I have been taking a little bit more note of like my story views. I have a lot of trouble, trouble getting them up and they seem to be shown to my really immediate circle of people who engage with my content and I struggle to get it out to not newer people. Obviously stories are shown to your audience, but maybe people who haven't been engaging with my content. So I've just been experimenting trying to let my stories expire before posting new ones, which isn't always possible. Like I, I'm not out there telling someone to not post until everything expires. But testing that out using the add yours sticker has been a great way to boost story views. I guess that would really be considered like a classic Instagram hack because it's not anything like science based or proven. But it's just been helping me to sort of reignite my story views. It's just, I mean something I've been playing around with.

Anything else you we should stop doing?

Look, there's, there's always things we, we can stop doing. I think it's, it's stop overthinking and just and get it out there. And I, I am a quality over quantity person that is ultimately the team I side on. But I think people are getting a little bit stuck on, on getting things out there and finding out and finding out why it's not going to work or why it is going to work and then actually doing something with that information. So if you post it and it flops, it's like it's not throwing the towel. It's like, okay, the idea was kind of good. Let's just take the idea and deliver it differently. Or let's take this and shake it up, or let's take this and try it again in a new way. It's like the same with anything in marketing, Facebook ads or email. You have to constantly iterate. So just, just doing that constantly, honestly, it never stops.

Totally, totally. I'd love for you to share with us how we can work with you. What's, what's your programs? What have you got going on at the moment?

So currently my membership Conquer Club is open and that is a like tools and resources based membership to give you all of the things you sort of need. The first steps, piece of the puzzle in terms of getting your content out there. So we have weekly trending audio reports. Those are incredibly detailed. Literally the step by step on how to put your reels together with different examples of what hooks you can use, how they can fit into your strategy if it's more sales focused or visibility focused. And also monthly content plans. So it's broken down into carousels, static posts, all of the different formats and as well broken into the different stages of your content strategy. If you think of your strategy, your organic content like a funnel, in the same way maybe you do with paid ads. We also. What else do we do? Oh my gosh. My blank. Oh, templates. So all of those tools actually correspond to canva templates that we send out every single month. And we have quite a range of women in that membership. Some of them are also working in social media. So it's a great tool for them to have either for themselves or their clients. We also have a lot of coaches, health experts, beauty specialists, coaches and trainers in that world as well. And we also get together once a month to plan our content. So if you want that accountability to show up and plan your content, basically following that, that method that I shared previously, that's also part of the membership. So it's a great way to just to show up in a space with others and tick it off your list. Hold yourself accountable, but also get all of the tools and resources to make it a whole lot easier.

Love it. Amazing. I'll make sure I grab the link from you so I can pop it in the show notes. And you also have a podcast and can you share with us where we can come hang out with you online?

I do. It's called the one woman show. And it's all about, I guess, my journey through my own eyes of running a business with a basically small team. I am a team of one. I do have some contractors that help me out and a lot of it is to do with my marketing and, you know, Instagram advice as well. But I like to share what I'm working on, what's not working for me, what is working for me. And talking to a lot of other female entrepreneurs as well about their journey and story as well.

Amazing. And we can come follow you on Instagram at the social Britify.

Yes, that's me.

Amazing. Britt, thank you so much for joining us today. I appreciate you sharing all the ins and outs and all your beautiful story, even right back to ships. So thank you so much for being a part of the podcast today.

You're welcome. We'll have to do another episode about cruise ship stories.

It's a.

It's a whole series there.

Oh my God. I don't know if people are ready for that.

I don't think so either.

What happens on ships stays on ships. Thank you for listening. And if you found any value out of this episode episode, make sure you hit the follow button so you get access to the episodes as soon as they are live. And make sure you come hang out with me on Instagram. You can find me at Christine Corcoran Underscore Coach. Have an incredible week.