How To Use Instagram As A SUSTAINABLE Marketing Tool
MASSIVELY reduce the time you’re spending on Instagram ~ whilst still using it as a marketing tool
A year ago I deleted Instagram from my phone, and stopped using it as a marketing tool in my business ~ for a WHOLE 8-months…
[and side-note] I made more profit in my business than I ever had before. Go figure!
We’ve fallen for this story that Instagram is the BEST place to be doing marketing.
Once upon a time, maybe that was true… now though? It’s really not. Even the Instagram experts are saying so.
The Instagram gravy train is OVER. Dunzo!
But here you are, with an eye-watering screen time putting in more and more hours into Instagram for less and less reach.
So, in this post (or watch the video below) I’m sharing HOW you can make Instagram a SUSTAINABLE marketign channel. Tune in/ keep reading to hear:
🙅🏻♀️ What happened to my sales when I DELETED Instagram and stopped using it as a marketing channel for 8 months
🧘 How you can use Instagram as a marketing tool WITHOUT relying on it for sales & WITHOUT the app on your phone
⏳ 7 ways to MASSIVELY reduce the time you’re spending on Instagram ~ whilst still using it as a marketing tool
Instagram was one of the BIG reasons behind my marketing burnout. I’d hit a wall. I couldn’t force myself to do one more post, one more story.
I hated how it was making me feel, and I hated how it was taking me away from living in the moment…
Instead of WOW, what a beautiful sunset, it was QUICK I need to get a photo ~ because this could get some good *engagement*.
And I was sick of how uncreative it all felt. Reels upon reels with the same sounds over and over again.
I mean, I could really go on about why I decided to break up with Instagram when I hit burnout.
But the short version is… I deleted Instagram from my phone and went COLD TURKEY. I didn’t post there for the best part of 8-months.
And WOW… the levels of self-trust, intuitive wisdom, focus and clarity that I got back as a result.
**PHEW** What a game-changer!
Over those months I put the old version of my business in the bin, and built JB 2.0…
Because the old version revolved around spending hours on social media, making it my everything even though spending time there made me feel *crap* and relying on a platform I had NO control over - to drive my sales.
And instead I created a much more sustainable business, fuelled by Freedom Friendly Marketing.
12-months on (yes it took 12-months) I started to actually feel excited to start posting on Instagram again.
And I knew it was a good place to reach my ideal audience because they’re just like 2021 me - spending hours on Instagram as their main marketing channel and source of sales.
But I knew I never wanted to go back to the intensive marketing I was doing on Instagram in the past.
So I set myself some Instagram boundaries so I could use it at arms length ~ WITHOUT my sales taking a hit.
Here’s how I use Instagram as a SUSTAINABLE marketing channel
I don’t have the app on my phone
Deleting Instagram from my phone was a total game changer.
I suddenly trusted myself more and felt waaaay more dialled into my intuition.
Without a million different voices in my head I found it so much easier to stay in my lane and do what was right for ME - rather than comparing myself to what others were doing and feeling I *SHOULD* do it too.
I also got HOURS of my life back. No mindless scrolling, no running on a social media hamster wheel.
I discovered a whole new feeling of zen.
I have boundaries around the kind of content I post
I now REFUSE to make content that lasts less than 24 hours (other than when I’m launching).
You won’t see me in my stories every day, sharing my to-do list or chatting about my morning - simply because the return on invested life minutes isn’t enough.
I’ve also stopped creating reels.
Because sure a 7-second reel might sound like it takes a couple of minutes to create but lemmie tell ya, that’s not the case for me. It can take me an hour to record, edit, write the caption and share a reel.
That’s a lot of investment for something that lasts a couple of days at best.
To create something that’s actually of *value* takes longer than a few minutes - and I want my feed to be valuable NOT full of meaningless quotes and throw-away videos.
So, I’m focussing my energy into the quality over quantity approach - repurposing my blog posts and emails into carousels that are packed with value.
So let me ask you a question… how long does it take for you to create a post, write the caption, post it, engage etc? If you’re not sure, set a timer the next time to create and post something to Instagram - it takes longer than you think.
I post from desktop
Sharing carousels and keeping my stories and reels to a minimum (/zero) means I can post my content on desktop - through the meta business suite.
This means I don’t need to have Instagram on my phone, where it’s a MASSIVE distraction.
I post and ghost - sorry not sorry
Sure, everyone says that you need to hang around 4 hours afterwards after you post in the name of ‘engagement’ ~ but seriously, I’ve got shit to do!
AND, sorry to be cynical, but I think this is just another classic way that we end up working for social media, rather than having social media work for us.
Because they want us spending our life minutes there. That way they make more money from ad revenue!
I do DMs and engagement on desktop
When I do engage on Instagram, I do it via desktop.
I respond to DMs, scroll my feed and engage (when I genuinely feel called to) on desktop.
Desktop Insta is somehow SOOO much less addictive than the app. I’ve massively reduced my time spend on Instagram by doing it this way.
A whole new way to post stories & go live
Occasionally I do post a story or go live.
In fact LIVE is one of my favourite ways to create content for instagram because it’s done in a matter of minutes. No faffing around with editing!
To do this, I have a process of…
Download the app ➡️ post story/ live ➡️ delete the app
I have a more efficient, sustainable workflow
Rather than creating social media content from scratch (that’s the social-centric way to do content).
I create my Instagram posts by repurposing blog posts and emails I’ve already written…
… which BTDUBZ drives traffic fo’ FREE, on REPEAT … ahem… unlike IG!
Doing it that way means I can create instagram posts and captions in minutes off the back of my evergreen content.
I have a SUSTAINABLE, Freedom Friendly Marketing system
The biggest thing that has helped me step back from Instagram… without my sales bombing is having a Freedom Friendly Marketing system in place.
My sustainable marketing strategy means I don’t have to rely on social media… which means because I don’t HAVE to be there… I’m only there when I feel inspired
… and that is a game changer when it comes to instagram marketing.
My Freedom friendly marketing system consists of…
My sales funnel that drives sales and enquiries on autopilot
My website (which I think of as my business home on the internet - NOT Instagram) - working for me as an audience building sales driving machine.
And my ‘DISCOVER’ marketing ~ creating evergreen marketing content that helps me get in front of new people and grow my audience.
The majority of my marketing time is spent on ‘DISCOVER’ marketing (NOT Instagram) ~ getting in front of new people, building my audience, and getting them over to my website.
Once people are on my website - my marketing is all automated. They flow through my content, onto my mailing list and through my sales funnel - to become a new client.
BTW if you want to know HOW to set this up for yourself… watch my free masterclass Automate Your Marketing.
I measure the marketing stats that matter
Let me ask you this… What return on investment (AKA your time) do you think Instagram is driving for you?
I like to collect my marketing numbers at the end of every month - so I know exactly what’s working … and what’s NOT.
And I’m not talking about getting sucked into Instagram insights… I’m talking about digging into Google analytics, Google search console, my sales numbers, how my sales funnel is working.
These are the REAL marketing metrics we should all be looking at.
Because SPOILER ALERT… likes and comments don’t pay the bills!
~~~
And all of that 👆means I spend A LOT less time on Instagram WITHOUT my sales taking a hit.
Want to make social media optional in your business, and find a much more SUSTAINABLE marketing approach?
You need to automate your marketing - pronto! Good news is, I’ve got a free masterclass that can help you do exactly that! Sign up below.
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