Why You Want to Use the New Instagram Features

Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:05]:
I am your host, Shannon McKinstrie. Welcome to Good Content, the podcast where I remove the never ending content creation, guesswork and overwhelm so that you can actually enjoy being on social media again and growing your business with what has always worked. Good content. In case you missed it, Instagram just debuted an awesome new feature. We're going to talk about it because it's been helping me get a lot of reach. And I know everyone's talking about engagement being down, so we're going to talk about that today. We're also going to talk about what reels are bringing in the most followers for me, because I know a lot of you, not just engagement is down, but also just any engagement that you get or any non follower reach you get is not converting new followers as much. Now, first, I do want to say I also think it's just we're a little more pickier about who we follow these days because we're on so many apps.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:54]:
We I used to follow anyone, be like, oh, that's a cute post, follow, like, now it's like I know people- because I do it right. I observe how I use the app, I ask other people how they use the app. But if I see a post I like, I don't just hit follow. I go to their profile, I look at their pinned posts, I watch their stories, I look at their bio, all before I actually follow the person. And I typically dm them too. So just know if you're not converting non-followers to followers, there's a number of things- you got to make sure your bio is optimized so they know what's in it for them. You got to make sure you've got some pinned posts that will make people care about your content and know that this is an account for them. I always like to say your bio is your front door signage, if you will.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:31]:
Your grid is your storefront. It's the windows. They look in to see what the vibe is like, see what's inside, what's in it for them. And then of course, stories are that open door. It's like, oh, someone's there. I can actually reply and dm them. So I do want to just say that good content obviously is number one. But also, when people land on your page, you want to make sure they're right away
Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:50]:
Like, where has this account been all my life? Right? Okay. So with that said, I just want to say, what is converting the most right now for me from non followers? Converting to new followers are my talk to camera reels way more than even, like, I have repurposed a few reels of mine a few months ago that did really well and brought in a ton of new followers. They brought in, like, half the amount as they normally do. So trust me, it could just be user behavior. It could be that wherever you are in the world right now, where I am, it's back to school season. People are busy. And I'm telling you right now, maybe this is just me, I don't want to learn anything right now.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:23]:
The only content I'm really absorbing and saving and sharing and obsessing over is, like, something funny. And that's about it, because I'm tapped out, right? My youngest is still home with me until September 9. I'm not back in, like, business mode for a few more weeks. So anything that has to do with business or elevating my anything, I'm like, I don't care. Show me something funny while I scroll at night. Right? Okay. So with that said, two things that are bringing in a lot of engagement for me right now is one, the new feature Instagram just rolled out, which is the new text overlay feature, meaning when you are adding in single image or multiple images, aka a carousel post, a carousel post is simply those posts that you see with photos that you can scroll through. I know they're launching up to 20.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:01]:
I still only have up to ten. These things roll out. They take time. So you might not have this, but if you do use it, this is the thing I was talking about, this new feature and how they. You can now add text to your images and your carousels from Instagram. So you don't have to use Canva, you don't do stories, type a bunch of stuff, save it to your camera, roll, and then make it a post anymore. It's so easy. I've heard from some people, it's glitchy for them,
Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:23]:
I've had no problem. My clients have had no problem. But again, every time they roll something out, it can be a bit funky. Just have patience. But here's the deal. When Instagram launches something new, they want you to hop on it. Same with TikTok, same with any platform, right? They're like, no, use this because we created this, because we want you guys to create more content like this. Like, they're basically saying, hey, guys, this is what we want, and this is what your audience wants.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:44]:
So as soon as this feature dropped, I started using it, and it's way more, I mean, I would say almost like three times more of the engagement I normally get on my carousels which I used to create in Canva. I have a theory about this. We want content that's on a specific platform to look native to that platform. Meaning when I go on LinkedIn, I don't want to look at content that looks like it's from TikTok. When I go into TikTok, I don't want it to have Instagram fonts on it. I, as a user, and I've done a lot of research on this, and people agree it's, it's just, it's like if you walk into, I don't know, your favorite store, and all of a sudden it looks like another store, you're like, wait, I thought this was Target.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:22]:
No, it's, you know, Walmart, right? We always joke about, there's the Target people, the Walmart people. It's almost that. It's like, wait, where am I? Again, there's a lot of psychology. I'm not going to bore you with all that, but just know, when Instagram rolls out a new feature, hop on it. They love early adapters. And number two, the reason this is working so well is because it looks like Instagram, and we're familiar with that and comfortable with it. So we don't log into these apps to feel like, what are we looking at? What's happening. We are on these apps to feel comfortable and to see content we want to see and that we're interested in, period.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:51]:
So these carousel posts, and you can go to my feed. I've done a bunch of them. Well, not a bunch. I've done at least three, but I have more in the works. I start with a hook and as people swipe through, watch time increases. As you know, that's all the algorithm cares about, is engagement, watch time, people staying on the app.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:08]:
It's how they make their money. Right? We're feeding the beast. Sorry. It is what it is. But also, do you want to go outside and wave down cars and hope and pray that they stop and buy your stuff? No. So we got to know what we got to do. But also, I love these apps. I don't look at them as that, but we do have to think about that.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:24]:
I look at it as a place to connect, and I'm just trying my best to get the right content out that people want to see so that we are able to connect. Anyway, with all that said, got a ton of reach on the carousels I've done with this feature. What I did is I grabbed a bunch of photos, put them in the order I want. I have a whole tutorial on my instagram. Go check it out. Of how to do these, you can just take a screenshot of whatever and just make the background white. Do whatever you want to do. It can look like a graphic.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:48]:
It can be images. I preferably have been going, and I know me, again, as someone who's consuming this content as well, like, when it's pictures with text. So what I did is I took a bunch of selfies, some of me smiling, some of me going, no. Like, with my thumb down. But it did really well. So the first slide for one of them was the two that I did that were educational. When I did more of a storytelling. Got over 2000 saves, like, craziness.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:09]:
It said, stop cross posting your content and what to do instead with a bunch of fingers pointing to be like, swipe. Here's the deal, guys. The longer someone watches your reel, the more that watch time is up. Instagram goes, dang, people are looking at it. They're interested. We'll show it to more people. Okay? As someone swipes through your carousel, that is increasing watch time. That's Instagram going, dang
Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:30]:
They went all the way to the end. Keep them interested. So how do you do that? So I had a lot of people when I announced this new feature, go wait. It didn't do much for me. Well, was the hook enticing? Was it compelling? Was it interesting? Did it build curiosity? If not, then that's the problem. You got to make sure that first and second one are interesting enough so that they keep going. So what I like to say, for a carousel, your first slide is just your quintessential hook. Stop doing this.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:54]:
Do this instead. Five things to da da da da. But again, why do they care? This goes back to all the podcast episodes I have about specificity and hooks. Why do they care? Again, if you're a travel advisor or a travel blogger and you're saying five best places in the Caribbean to go, why do they care? Is it for people with toddlers? Is it for honeymooners who want a private villa? Why do they care? I was actually talking to a friend this morning about how, like, if I was planning a trip, that's why this is, like, top of my mind. If I was planning a trip right now, I know what Instagram would be feeding me. If I was starting to search, like, Caribbean this or whatever, it would be feeding me any content about the Caribbean that has to do with places to take your kids, because that's my priority of finding a trip. Now, if my dad, right or someone else was searching on Instagram and digging around to find cool places. The algorithm would be feeding him very different travel content.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:44]:
It'd probably be places that are really off the grid and cheap and adventurous. Right? So, again, why do they care? They don't just want a cool place to go. They want a cool place to go that's perfect for x. Same with whether or not it's, like, recipes, right? The algorithm, if I'm looking for around for recipes, it's going to feed me recipes that are easy. Under 20 minutes, less than five ingredients, one pan, whatever it is, right? Toddler approved. Now, someone else who might be really good at cooking might have a little more complicated recipes in, you know, coming to them. So you got to make them care. That hook has to be so good.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:21]:
For me, I use the classic, like, stop doing this because I know why people are doing and why it's not working. And I say, here's what you do instead. That is the hook. Why do they care? Not just five places to travel. Not just five organization hacks. Not just five of the best plants. For who? For people who kill plants. For people who live in a hotter climate. Right? Why? Why do they care? Make that hook so specific.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:48]:
If that hook is specific, they're going to swipe. Next slide. Do not give them the whole enchilada yet. Tease them. So I put think about it about cross posting. I said, LinkedIn is how you show up at the company happy hour. Facebook is how you show up to the family reunion. Instagram is how you show up to lunch with friends.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:04]:
TikTok is how you show up for an unhinged night with your besties, threads, and X is the group chat you hope doesn't get exposed. Blah, blah, blah. Then I go into, here's what to do. So it's almost like back to essay writing. The title of your essay, the intro, and then the good stuff. Okay, so that's what your carousel needs to do. Now. I am going to say, obviously, in The Reels Lab, all we do is create reels.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:26]:
I'm so excited because I've had so many people in there, just their content going nuts and viral. I'm gonna be like, flip it, and I'm gonna be teaching them. So with these, all you have to do is go find a post that the caption did really good or the reel did really good, and just repurpose it into one of these and just take a bunch of photos or just take screenshots of a white background and type it out. They're doing really well, okay. With that said, the other thing that's doing really well, again, it's my talk to camera reels. Does that mean stop doing trending audios and clever hooks? No, it just means I think this is what people are really loving right now, for whatever reason. So when I talk to the camera again, I have all sorts of hooks on my instagram for viral talk to camera hooks. For starters, what I like to do for my talk to camera reels is I keep it very conversational.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:07]:
I like to call it, like, an eavesdropping hook. It's almost like you heard me midway in the middle of a conversation, my friend. Like, well, what I think is that's how you start your talk to camera. They're like, well, what? What is she even talking about? It's interesting. Right? Again, psychology won't bore you with all that. But other ones I have for you are, I can't be the only one who feels that, blah, blah, blah, everything about this blank makes me blank. Or, you know, this. This is one of my favorites.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:33]:
And actually, someone used this hook the other day for talks camera and went viral. So read it. It says, this blank will change your mind about blank. So this move will change your mind about fitness. I don't know. You know, I'm not a fitness girly. So, again, think about what your people are looking for. If, you know they're looking for, like, they actually hate exercise and you're a fitness guru, talk to that.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:55]:
Say, the move that will change your mind about going to the gym. The one machine that will change your mind about going to the gym. What are the objections your people have? That's a really good one. So, again, talk to camera, because, again, I think trust has kind of been a struggle for a lot of people, because there's lots of faceless accounts, there's lots of people copying content. Everything started to look the same, and everyone's like, can someone just talk to me like a normal human being? And then these carousels are a nice pattern interruption, and they look native to the platform, and people really like them. So real quick, I know I went over. I know I went long, this one. But I will say what I want you to do today is go to your explore page, and I really want you to see just how much the algorithm knows.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:11:30]:
You look at this toddler. And again, pictures. It's almost like we're going back in time. And every time I tell people you're struggling, go back to basics. We just want a simple tip, something to make us laugh, right? So, obviously, the algorithm knows I have a toddler, so my explore page has lots of toddler recipes. Okay, am I actively searching for toddler recipes? No, but it knows I want to see it. It also knows I love fall. It also knows I have a sensitive tummy, so I like funny humor about that.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:11:56]:
Right, so there's lots of that. It knows I love tequila and margaritas. There's lots of that. Do not think that your content cannot end up here. You just got to know what's in your person's feed and how to make your content pop and your hook pop. Okay, here we go. So I'm not a Costco person. I get stressed out in Costco.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:12:14]:
But guess what? This person's real is actually going to make me want to go to Costco because I like to keep clean stuff in our house, especially because we go out to eat so much. I'm like, as much as I can keep in my house. That's healthy. Whatever. His hook talks to camera, and he's in Costco. Says clean hidden gems at Costco. So again, specific doesn't have to mean long, but you got to ask people, why do they care? Why would my content. Okay, so he's at Costco.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:12:36]:
I don't shop at Costco, but I'm still interested in that reel because he put the words clean, and that is a trigger in my brain that goes, oh, I'm interested. So, you guys, when it comes to your hooks, when it comes to your carousels and you talk to cameras and you're trending audios, how can you get specific? That's it for this week. I just really encourage you to jump on that new feature and just know that if you're really struggling to get new followers from your content, lean on those two, because that's what's working really well for me. And next week, we're going to go in even more on, like, what's working. And I'm going to make a whole list of reels for you guys to check out to help you out because it will officially be everyone's back in school. Labor Day is done. We're getting back to work.
Shannon McKinstrie [00:13:10]:
I love you, friend. Have a wonderful week.