It’s not instagram, it’s you
As a rule of thumb, I try to never make anyone cry.
Especially strangers.
But, last week in the airport, I did exactly that.
I KNOW, I’m evil.
Don’t tell anyone, okay?
The conversation went something like this…
Stranger: I was eavesdropping on your call and overheard what you said about positioning your brand. You just changed my life by pointing out how I’ve been trying to grow my side hustle all wrong by depending solely on Instagram. Thank you!
Me, giggling awkwardly: Happy I could help! It’s not Instagram, honey, it’s you.
Then she started crying.
Through the sobs, I learned how tired she was from always worrying about what she should be posting and how hard it’s been sticking with it when the algorithm hides her posts from her fans and she’s not seeing sales roll in.
Before I could stop myself—she was a stranger, after all—the tough lover in me kicked in and I said:
It’s not the algorithm’s, or even Instagram’s, fault that no one likes your content or wants to buy anything from you, friend.
* Cue the screeching record as everything moving in the airport came to a halt. *
You see, her success as an entrepreneur has nothing to do with Instagram.
Or the algorithm.
Or how pretty her feed looks.
Or her hashtags or whatever other hot tip today’s “gurus” are touting.
And neither does yours.
Nope. Not at all.
Instead, your success on Instagram—and literally everywhere else—is determined by how you make people feel about your brand.
It’s all about how you position it, what you say about it, or how you say it.
If you put all your eggs in the Instagram basket and believe that the algorithm is out to get you hiding your content away from being discovered by new people, then you'll end up taking actions that create that outcome.
You won't engage consistently and intentionally to expand your reach.
You won’t focus on the key messages and language that drives content your ideal customers want to engage with.
If you believe that no one will see your content or engage with what you post, then you'll end up taking actions that create that result.
You won't create the high-quality content that you need to generate the engagement that you want. Or that will make sales happen.
What you believe about Instagram and other social platforms actually says a lot about how you feel about your business.
And whether or not your business will succeed.
Do you spend no time or care at all and just slap something up there in hopes people will purchase from you?
Or do you interact and genuinely engage with a sense of a community to try and create an amazing customer experience—even if it doesn’t directly lead to a sale—when you post?
Regardless of your answer, the actions you take directly create the experience you, and anyone who comes in contact with your brand, will have on Instagram.
The results you want from Instagram—more clients and customers, more leads and sign-ups, more sales of your course or online program, more traffic to your brick and mortar and more—are RIGHT THERE waiting for you.
You just need to know how to communicate to them.
And if you read all of that and you're still not buyin' it... well, I don’t know how else to break it to you than this: It’s not the algorithm's fault no one likes your content. But it is yours for doing absolutely nothing about it.
