$10K months using IG Stories

In three years, my bridal business generated half a million dollars without a team doing weddings without me. A majority of those sales came from me. Utilizing and prioritizing the power of Instagram stories. Now, when it comes to your Instagram content, this is the marketing funnel that I actually like to follow. So yes, class is now in session. Please raise your hand if you have any questions. Go grab that notebook, go grab that pen and let's get into it. All right, so the marketing funnel that I like to use for Instagram content is what, when you're looking at your reels, this is your top of funnel content. So this is your awareness content. This is AKA how new brides are finding you. Then we're going to go down the funnel and that's going to be your feed post, AKA carousels, which if you don't know, a carousel is a post where you slide through and it can have photos as well as videos. And this can also be single static feed posts. Anything that's on your feed is more in the consideration stage, AKA content that is more likely to take them from just being a viewer, somebody who's viewing your content, to somebody who is following you and more interested in you. Then when you go down the marketing funnel, that's going to be your conversion content, which is your Instagram stories. So this is conversion content, AKA if they're on your stories, they are now a follower of yours, AKA they're like really interested in you, my friend. And then the absolute hottest lead is going to be a DM. So somebody is DMing you. They are hot lead section and the lowest part of the funnel. So this is them saying, I'm really interested in your services. I think being you would be a vibe. Let's work together. Now that we understand how to use your Instagram content in a marketing funnel, let me ask you about your Instagram stories. So we're going to play a little game. I want you to put your hand up. If you're driving. Please don't do this. Put your hand up and I want you to put a finger down. If you can remember the last time that you posted on your Instagram stories. So was it the last 24 hours? Put a finger down. Was it the last 48 hours? Put a finger down. Was it the last 72 hours? Has it been longer than a week? When was the last time that you actually posted on your Instagram stories? When was the last time you promoted your services on Instagram stories and you talked about your services in a way that's going to Be like a bride wants to book with me after she views this piece of content. If it's been more than 24 hours, I'm so glad you're here because here's what we're going to stop doing when it comes to your Instagram story strategy. The biggest thing that I see with students that I teach inside of my programs when it comes to Instagram stories is they're just overthinking it. And yes, I am guilty as well. Please grab the cuffs, take me to jail. Because I overthink absolutely every single story that I post. However, I still post it. If you're someone like me who overthinks your Instagram stories, here's what I want you to do instead. I want you to live in the moment. I want you to think of your stories as if you're taking me along your day with you. So instead of thinking, it needs to be absolutely perfect, like my feed, it only lives there for 24 hours, so you have to remember that it's not there permanently unless you take it from your story and you put it over on a highlight. Then it will be there for a longer shelf life. However, the shelf life is only 24 hours. It's going to recycle you. You can delete it if you absolutely hate it, but what we're not going to do is overthink it and spiral into our thoughts where we just don't post at all. So instead, think of it as moments. So what are some moments throughout your day that you're like, you know what? I want to share this with my future brides that maybe are following me, or I want to share this with my followers or something that you would put in a group chat with your family. In my group chats, we'll put things like if we're on vacation or we're going out to dinner or. Or things like that. So what would you put in a group chat with friends? You can think of it like that way. And here's how I like to break it down. I like to break it down into three moments that I like to share throughout my day. Now, if you have pets, I want to see your pets. I want to see your cat. I want to see your dogs. I want to see everything that they're doing. I love to post my dogs over on my Instagram stories, and that's one of the key moments throughout my day that is only consistent, but it's consistent with variety. So my dogs are always doing weird, different things. So I always make sure that I Post them. Another thing that is a consistent consistent with me throughout my days is I typically take a gym break. So I will always make sure that I'm posting my gym break. My other fitness girlies and I'm always typically drinking an Alani now because I'm an Alani new girl. And the other moment that you're typically doing weekly is you're working, so why not share that? So break your day up into moments and we're gonna stop overthinking it, my friend. Alright, so speaking of you posting stories when you're working, what we're not gonna do is treat our Instagram stories as we're only posting when we're working. So. So I fell into this trap, but it was actually one of the easiest ways for me to get comfortable to posting stories. So I would only post when I worked and I would never post anything about my personal life. However, the biggest thing with Instagram stories is it's people that are following you. So it's the number one way to build a deeper connection to grow that know like and trust factor inside of marketing that you can do by just posting connection content, AKA your personal life. So I was just saying where you can post those moments by posting your dogs. If you're going out to dinner, if you're going to the gym. These are all things that are going to take your guys who may be following you from feeling like they know you, feeling like they're your friend because that's how you're treating your Instagram stories. So somebody's following you. That's likely the kind of content that's going to build a stronger connection faster. So I want you to avoid only posting when you're working and start introducing those moments throughout the day that you can share with potential brides who are following you to to grow that deeper connection. When I started doing this, I would have brides in my inbox and in my inquiry forum saying that they loved watching my stories daily and it was something that built that connection. So that way when they were in my inbox, they did feel like they knew me. So when it comes to the content that you are posting inside your stories, I don't want you to limit yourself to only posting photos. Make sure that you're using all the different formats. So make sure you're posting videos and little clips throughout the day or make sure you're posting photos with picture in picture or you're using the stickers. Don't forget that we have such short attention span. So you want to make sure you are keeping your viewers who are watching your stories engaged. So something that I learned is with our short attention spans and every single year I feel like it gets shorter. My attention span is that of a goldfish. What was I saying? I'll just get it. But when you're watching somebody's stories, are you more likely answer me this. Are you more likely if you see 20 plus dots at the top to swipe past it, or are you somebody who's actually going to tap through and watch all those? Personally, I'm not going to tap through and watch all of those unless it's somebody that I am so tapped into. But nine times out of 10, your bride is just swiping past that. So don't overload the stories. I would stick to about at least minimum, three stories a day and go to about 10 max. And so switching up that format by posting photos, videos, using the stickers, using the polls, using the question box, and getting your audience, followers and the brides in there engaging in your stories is not only going to keep their attention span to watch through your stories, but it's also how the algorithm works with inside of Instagram stories. So this is how the algorithm works inside of Instagram stories to make sure that your little bubble goes to the top of the line. So prioritize it based off of the interactions that you have with your followers. So this doesn't limit it to just interactions that they're having within your stories itself, such as doing the little heart leg or tapping in on a poll or answering a question. So it also looks at all the interactions that you have with that user, such as DM conversations, if they're commenting on your post, if they're sharing or saving your post. So all the interactions that you have with a user, the more interactions that you have with a specific follower, the more likely your Instagram story bubble is going to pop all the way to the top of their Instagram Instagram story feed. Again, this is proving more to the fact that this is your number one way to start building that conversion content inside of your Instagram strategy by prioritizing those Instagram stories because you're getting that interaction. It's not just them swiping through their feed and seeing your post, they're actually interacting with it and showing a sign of interest. Another thing I don't want you to do is just avoid posting stories at all. So I understand how it can be overwhelming. However, let me give you a perspective shift. So I want you to imagine you're on an online dating Profile, maybe you're looking for a hot guy, you're looking for a hot girl. First thing you want to do is pull them up on socials and stalk them out, obviously, because what you want to do is you want to double down and make sure that A, they're not a creep and two, that they are who they say they are and you want to build connection with them faster. So the easiest way that you're going to do this is you're going to pull them up on Instagram, you're going to see if they have any stories. And you want to go beyond just a photo, just like a flat photo. You want to hear their voice, you want to see what they act like in person. You want to see if there's any videos of them with friends. You want to see that true human connection of them in a video of them speaking. What is their personality like? I don't want to go and spend an hour with this person who I'm not sure if we're going to vibe or not. So before you even hop on a phone call and waste your time with this person, you're like, let me tap into their Instagram stories. Let me see if they have any videos. What is their life like? Are they going out to places? Do we have anything in common when I'm watching their stories? And this is all going through your mind as you're going through Instagram stories. This is the same with your bride. They are tapping in to get to know you on a deeper level, to get to know, hey, this person. I'm going to sign a contract with them, I'm going to pay thousands of dollars with them, and I'm not going to see them for about six months. That's a little jump scare. That's a little giving stranger danger. They want to see what you're like in person. They want to hear your voice, they want to see your face, they want to see what it's like when you're showing up on a wedding day. Give them that behind the scenes. And again, the easiest way you can do that is through your Instagram stories by showing up so you can eliminate stranger danger vibes. So that is exactly why I don't want you to avoid going on your Instagram story. Because one of the biggest and easiest ways to stand out on social media, to stand out in your local market, is to put your personality first and you can put that on your stories. So we're eliminating stranger danger, we're giving more personality, and that's what brides want. These days. So it's a huge opportunity missed if you are avoiding your stories. I get it. Posting on Instagram stories can feel so overwhelming at first, especially if you're somebody who's not posting right now. And maybe you want to have a little bit more strategy to actually start promoting your services. But you're like Marissa, actual brain freeze. I have zero clue what to say. I got you covered. I created an entire free guide of store stories that book your services. And inside this guide, I give you three story prompts that you can actually use to promote your services. Except it's not sleazy. I promise you it's not. We're giving CEO energy, we're not giving car salesman. And I also go through an audit and do some design elements that you want to avoid using inside of your Instagram stories as well as relatable stories that you can post so you can start posting your personal life without overthinking it to death. It's linked down below for you and it's 100%. Here's something I notice inside of my Instagram strategy that actually makes my views go down. So I don't want you to do that either. So something that'll make your views go down, AKA people aren't watching all the way through to see your entire stories is if you are constantly reposting every single thing that you are tagged in. If you are a bridal hairstylist, bridal makeup artist, photographers and other vendors are tagging you inside different things, specifically when they're posting on their stories, which we love that. Thank you so much for tagging me. Thank you so much. However, we know photographers will sometimes tag you in photos that were not even our bride's, not even in like the flowers. Thank you for the tag. But my hairstyle and my makeup look is not. It's not in there. So you don't need to repost every single photo. And even if they repost and are on their stories and they're posting photos of your bride, I would keep it down to 2 to 3. So don't go more than that. Or if people are tagging you in different things, you don't need to repost their 20 stories to yours because it'll make your views actually go down. Now, if you are somebody who is new to stories and I know that I want to start posting my work, I know that I want to start posting when I am working, but you're like, don't have the time. I'm working. I don't have the time to take the photos in the videos today we're going to make the time. So when you're making the time to just take simple little clips, but you're like, all right, I don't have time to actually put posted to my stories in that moment. That is okay. Here is my strategy of what I do that kept me consistent, posting all my stories every single weekend when I was working. Because this is the easiest way to make it a routine. So you take your photos, you take your videos, of course, of your lovely bride and now you go to get in your car. So when you're in your car, if you're anything like me, raise your hand if you're like me, when you get to your car, decompress. I want to be in silence. I need to decompress for a good 10 to 15 minutes before I even start this drive home, this hour and a half ride home, before I walk into my house, I need to sit in my car, collect my thoughts and eat my Chick Fil a while. I'm doing that. What I'm typically doing is I am going through and I'm looking at the photos and the videos that I took from that day and I'm posting them on my stories. So it's a way for me to decompress. It's a way for me to look back at the day, but it's also a way for me to stay consistent. So take that 10 to 15 minutes, edit some of your photos. If you need any photography edits or anything about how to edit a reel together, like a seven second reel of content that you film that day, I go over that inside of my membership, it's called Bridal Hair Society, where I walk you through entire photo and video editing of exactly how I do it. So that's linked down below for you. But take that 10 to 15 minutes, edit some photos, edit some reels together. And trust me, this will become a routine and a standard that you do every single time. Now, when it comes to actually talking about your services, promoting your bridal hair, your bridal makeup services, if you're somebody who's never actively gone on stories and thought to promote your services, your packages or anything in that sales type of way, here's exactly some ways that you can start doing that asap. Here are some things that I recommend to ease your way into it. So the first thing I want you to understand two things when it comes to selling your services on Instagram stories. Number one, the day that you got your tax ID number for your business, the day that you went into business. The day that you started doing weddings, you became a saleswoman or a salesman. You are now in sales, and sales is quite literally the lifeblood of your business. Without it, you wouldn't have a business. Sales is when you have a client paying you money for your services. So we quite literally need to actively be doing that within our business. Because without sales, you don't have a business. You have a hobby. Now maybe you get caught up in the mindset like I did in the beginning, which is like, I don't want to do sales. I don't want to ask people to pay me for things. But we already are. And there's an art to it where you don't have to be the used car salesman, the person who's like, book now. So number two is, I want you to understand that storytelling is actually the easiest way to sell your services without selling your services. So minus that, like cold DM ick. Because, no, I don't want you going in people's DMS and being like, hey, girl, do you need a bridal makeup artist? Do people actually do that? Please tell me they don't. Next thing I want you to know about easing your way into starting to promote your services on Instagram. Promoting your services doesn't always mean that needs to be a hard sell. It can be a soft sell. So here's what I mean. So, for example, if you're on your stories and you're like, my 2024 books are open now, but book now with a link that is what we call a hard sell versus something that's more of a soft sell. So you're not directly asking for the sale would be something like sharing a testimonial of one of your brides. And going deeper into that testimonial about how you got that client, the transformation that they have in the photo and the testimonial that they left you, what this is doing is it's bringing awareness to your services, is bringing awareness to your brides that you help service. It's bringing awareness to the problems that you help solve. And. And it's also bringing awareness to your expert status of sharing a testimonial without needing to say book. Now, I need you to listen up to this one. I need you to turn your volume up. I need you to dial in. I need you to be in this moment with me. I need you to understand when you are easing yourself into selling your services, talking about promoting your books and talking about promoting your packages on your Instagram stories. I need you to Understand? To drill this in your mind and you are not being annoying. You are not annoying anyone. You're not annoying them if you're talking about it. You're not annoying them if you talk about it every single day. So let me ask you, if you're Sabrina Carpenter fan number one, raise your hand. Hello, me too. When she came out with espresso. When she came out with please, please, please. Did you get annoyed every time you heard it on the radio? I didn't. I wanted to hear it more. They play that song 6,000 times, 10,000 times a day in order to get the awareness out about her new alb out. That is a soft promoting sell. That is what they call a pre launch strategy. The average person is seeing 6,000 to 10,000 ads a day. How is somebody going to remember what you said on your Instagram stories if they only hear it one time? Marketing is saying the same thing 100 times because we don't retain it on the first time. When was the last time that you saw something, you saw an ad, you clicked on it and you bought it immediately? It's highly unlikely that you did unless you already had previous awareness about that specific product or service. It's the same thing with your brides. They need to hear about exactly how you help them, the transformation that you're giving them hundreds of times before they want to take action with you. So the best way to do that, to show up daily, is on your Instagram stories. You're not annoying them by talking about how you help them and about the services that you offer. Again, I totally get that Instagram stories can feel so intimidating and overwhelming. So don't forget that I have an entire free guide of stories that book linked down below where I'll walk you through three prompts that you can use today, story ideas that you can use to relate to your brides, as well as design tips that you can start using today. And again, that's linked down below. So I'll see you guys in the next video. Bye.