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We're wrapping up the why even bother series by tackling the beast that is Instagram. Trust me after this, you're definitely going to want to be posting there. So teacher authors, go ahead and reheat that cup of coffee, because I'm your host, Cassandra Foster. And we're about to get schooled in socials. All right, welcome back to schooled in socials Anna, this is the last episode in the why even bother series. And we are tackling today, Instagram, which happens to be my favorite social media platform. And it also has a ton of potential for teacher authors. And I know Instagram can kind of be intimidating. And it's definitely one of the hardest social media platforms to convince people to post on, especially teacher authors. But today we're really going to dive in to all of its benefits and why you should bother posting they're the first thing that really makes Instagram a spot where you want to be posting is its popularity. Instagrams popularity has been growing over the last few years. In fact, it is second only in social media platforms to Facebook. But just to give you a little bit of context, their Facebook came out in 2006. And Instagram did not come out until four years later in 2010. But Instagram has been growing by leaps and bounds. When we're talking about sheer numbers. Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms with over 1 billion active users each month. You heard that right, 1 billion with a B. And according to HubSpot 90% of those Instagram users follow at least one business. So people are coming to Instagram to buy to purchase. And the best part about Instagrams rising popularity is that it's actually becoming more and more like a search engine. People can now easily search the platform using keywords instead of just hashtags or account handles like they could not that long ago. So with that in mind 83% of users are actually searching Instagram, and have discovered a new product or service on the platform. Again, that's according to HubSpot. So this means that with over 1 million will be active users on Instagram each month, there's no doubt that teachers are searching for help and answers and resources within the app. So it's so important that they can find you there. And once those users find you within the app. Instagram is set up for such a personalized experience with multiple options for posting and interacting, which can really help you build a community and convert your community members. So Instagram kind of offers a unique opportunity to post different content types. So you can posts static posts, carousel posts, reels, lives stories, and though that can definitely feel overwhelming at first, it's truly one of Instagram superpowers. Think of it like this. As teachers, we know that everyone learns differently, and everyone has preferred methods for learning new information. We plan for this in our lessons, and we make sure to provide information in a variety of ways for our students to best benefit from them. It's the same principle with Instagrams multiple different posting features. If you use the majority of posting features, your audience is able to consume your content, however best serves them. For some people, they want to scroll reels all day, other people like swiping through carousels and reading content. Other people might like the quick hits of info that they can get in stories. So by posting on Instagram, you can effectively market to all of those people. And you're able to repurpose and repeat information without it feeling like it's copy and pasted because you can change the type of post you're using, which is also very important, because in this day and age Ah, people need to see things a lot before they act on them. Now besides just posting types, Instagram also personalizes how people can interact with your content. So they can like they can comment they can share, they can see, they can answer polls, they can send you DMS, they can tag you, oh my gosh, there are so many ways for people to interact with you and your content. And that more personalized experience offers more ways for you to interact with your audience and them to interact with you, and create the connections and build that know like and trust that you need to convert your audience members to purchasers of your resources. It also allows you to gain some really important insights into what kind of content your audience is enjoying, and finding helpful. So you can make more content like that in the long run, and convert more of your audience members, to people who go to your store to buy your resources. There is so much pressure this time of the year to buy more stuff from Black Friday sales to Christmas ads. But I don't want you to buy more stuff, I want you to get the right things you need to uplevel your business in this season. So that's why I've opened up my mini Social Media Console schedule for the next three months. So that we can make resources that are going to get stuck in your downloads and courses that are going to go immediately to your desktop graveyard, like thing of the past. Instead, you're going to get my brain and your business for a focus 30 minutes, so that you can make sure you have a solid plan moving forward. And you know what your social media will help you reach your business goals. This is not a one size fits all solution. Instead, you're going to get targeted advice that is focused on you and your business. And for Black Friday. And until these spots sell out, you're going to be able to get it for $47, which is the lowest price point these mini consults have ever been. We're talking transformational advice that will make your social media work harder for you. For less than a night out. This isn't stuff, it's the thing, you need to get clarity and move forward with your social media marketing, you can grab your discounted spot right now in the show notes. But hurry, because once these spots that I've opened up for the next few months are gone, this price point will be gone too. I can't wait to make 2020 for the year that your social media marketing helps you reach all of your big business goals.
Alright, the final reason why I think you definitely should bother posting on Instagram is its ability to organize your content, which is kind of lost on some other social media platforms, or some other social media platforms have started to offer some of these, but they're kind of late to the game, Instagram definitely headed this idea of organizing your content. So with features like highlights and guides, people don't have to endlessly scroll through your posts to find what they need. And we know how precious that teachers time is. So a platform that allows them to easily find what they want from you, the creator is probably such a win in their book, I know it is in mine. So for highlights, they show up right under your bio on your account page. And they're used for archiving stories into different categories. You could create a highlight for your freebies and lead magnets about your teaching background about different topics that you teach on so that people can watch through them as soon as they get to your page. Guides allow you to group posts together into common topics. So you could put all of your posts about, let's say marine science into one guide. So if a teacher is looking for those types of resources, or info, they click on that guide and get a bunch of posts about exactly what they need. And easy access is the name of the game when it comes to social media. Seriously, our attention spans are continuing to dwindle as more and more technology enters our lives. So the fact that Instagram allows you to present your most important content easily for your audience members to consume is a huge win. It increases the chances that they're going to act on your content and be doing things like heading to your blog or your shop and making a purchase Instagrams rise and popularity and built in for you Gers make it a go to platform for the teacher community. And in my opinion, it makes it so worth posting there to help market your teacher author business. If current trends continue, we'll see more and more people using Instagram, like a search engine to find what they need. And you're going to want to be part of those results. Plus, with such posting variety and personalized ways to engage, you're going to be able to connect with almost all of your potential audience members and customers. Finally, Organization is key and Instagram is on top of it. People want to get information easily. And Instagram has provided us with features to make that happen and increase our conversion. In conclusion, can it be a lot of work? Yes, I'm not going to lie to you. It can. There's a lot to learn and a lot that can be done. But is it worth it? Yes, it is definitely worth it. And you can find a strategy that is sustainable and manageable for you to take advantage of all those people who are coming to Instagram, and especially all those teachers who are coming to Instagram to look for help and resources. Now, if your head is still spinning a little bit when it comes to using Instagram for your teacher, author business, that's okay. It can be a big undertaking. But if you're ready to jump in and get a clear plan and hit the ground running marketing on Instagram, I'd love to help you with a mini Social Media Console session. You can find all the details and grab a spot on my calendar by heading to the show description. Alright, cool coffee friends. Thanks so much for listening. If you're loving getting schooled in socials, make sure to subscribe so you don't miss an episode. Also, I would love it if you left a review so that other teacher authors like you can start getting schooled in socials too. All right, I'll see you in the next episode.