I Cracked the Instagram Algorithm to Sell MORE (Without Being Salesy)

I think we can all agree that there is a sentiment these days that influencers are selling too much on their social media, that a lot of creators just post something because they have a brand deal for that post. Now, how do we sell on social media without being too salesy and without upsetting our subscribers? I even noticed that Instagram algorithms punish you for posting links and stories. When I post a set of stories without any links, I can get 100,000 views or 120,000 views per story. But if I end my stories with a link, suddenly my reach falls to 20 or 30,000. Basically, platforms want users to follow certain behaviors, like staying in their feed or interacting with a post, but not leaving the platform by clicking an external link. So in this video, we're going to talk about selling through social media without being too salesy and without upsetting the algorithms. Here are five ways that I've implemented on my social media accounts and I will tell you how they work. Number one, and I think you've seen this trend on Instagram. It's the new way to sell. And this way is called DM me + keyword. So, for example, I have recently posted several reels on how I fly business class for almost three because I'm collecting miles. And normally when I post something like this, people follow up with a lot of questions like what are the cars that you recommend? Where can I get them? How do I collect miles? So I decided to create a post for them with where not only I explain what I do, but also give them a list of cards that they can get in order to start collecting miles. But instead of linking to the website, ask them to DM me the word flight. And basically what happens? People start following the behavior that the algorithm encourages. They start interacting with your reel, they start DMing you with a keyword. And I've had several conversations with social media people and they told that the algorithm actually likes when people are active and when they're commenting. So this mechanic not only helps you with sales, but it also increases your reach because people are commenting and they're interacting. So as a result, people interact with my reel, they DM me keyword, and then in dms, I send them the link. They apply for credit cards and I get commission for that. Now, the second thing is you kind of have to always be selling without actually selling by basically showing the process. Showing people behind the scenes will actually make them interested in your product. So for example, I recently showed how I interacted with a certain AI feature to prepare for my content. And several Days later I actually placed an ad for that feature because it was a brand deal. But the thing is, it was genuine because people saw me using it, people saw me being excited about it. The same with my product. If I'm launching a course, if I'm launching something, or maybe preparing an event, I would actually show people behind the scenes, like, hey, here is me working with our developers, or here is me thinking about this, this and that. So it's always about really authentic and advertising and selling things that are part of your life and it will become much easier for you to create content around that and people will trust you more and you won't sound too salesy when you actually start selling. Now remember, to make this entire strategy effective, you need to have an execution plan. That's where templates come in handy. I just came across the social media strategy template from HubSpot. It's made for you to lay down all the groundwork to craft a social strategy and that not only engages but also sells. You can use this plan both for your content and your sales strategy in a way that's authentic to you. This free template is over 12 pages long and if you want it, I'll make sure to drop a link in the Description below. Number 3 Always share results of your work. If somebody posts a story thinking of the product, you just have to repost. But if no one's sharing the stories, by sharing reviews of your products, you can encourage that social engagement. For for example, we have certain highlights where we just screenshot reviews from our customers and we have a special hashtag. So what we do, we actually screenshot reviews from our customers and create highlights. So anytime people are interested in our product, they can go and read user testimonials. And also when you share those in your story, that shows that you care about users feedback. And we always see that if I share something like oh, somebody reviewed my workbook or somebody reviewed my course, other people start following up with stories because they also want to be featured on my profile. And we do that all the time for all my products. Number four. I'm going to talk about a new feature Instagram just released. It's available on one of my Instagram profiles, it's not available on the other one. So please check if it's available for you. But I think it's really effective. From what I see, you can't really measure the effectiveness of it. But basically the feature is called Notes. And whenever you post a note, first of all, people see it right away when they open their DMs so you get prioritized by the algorithm. And the way I've been using it is actually sharing my location. So for example, I went to the Cannes Film Festival and I shared that I'm in Cannes and people started DMing me. Oh my God, you're also here. Let's meet up. And this is how I find creators to collab. This is how I find business partners to meet up with. And meeting people in person is the best thing ever. So I personally use those notes to mark my location. Because if you even if people are subscribed, it doesn't necessarily mean that they see my reels, that they see my stories. But this feature bumps me up. The algorithm basically helps me to reach more of my subscribers. So I always use it whenever I'm traveling. And there are other use cases how you can use it. I see people notifying that they just posted a new reel, or they created a new product, or they just post, see stories, etc. And number five, as basic as it sounds, always engage with your audience. If you are a larger creator and are getting more DMs, it's actually worth hiring someone to go through your DMs because first of all, they're going to be liking posts, they're going to be resharing stories, and they're going to be replying to people who are providing useful feedback. So for example, if I'm advertising a product and somebody has a problem with it, I will always get back to the company and screenshot a message and say like, hey, this user is actually struggling with downloading something. Please check. And again, don't forget that for every strategy you need an execution plan. You need templates on how to reply to dm. You need a set of instructions to make it work. So follow the link in the description and get the social media strategy template for free. And of course, please share in comments below if you've tried strategies on Instagram or other social media that work for you in terms of sales. And of course, if you have any tips to share or you've tried several other strategies, please feel free to share them in the comments below. See you soon. Bye. Sat.