When it comes to content marketing, Facebook is dying, YouTube is oversaturated, and Twitter… well, it was a joke from day one (as a platform for business leads).
So what are you left with? The answer is hidden in one of Facebook’s best business decisions ever. When they purchased Instagram (IG) for a mere $1 billion, they ensured their domination for several more years.
We are going through the Golden Age of Instagram. For the next 12 months (maybe longer), your content marketing strategy needs to be focused on this medium. When you dominate IG—and leverage all of that content on other sites as well—you will get great results. Picture it like throwing a ROCK in a pond… everything ripples out.
A look inside the game-changing Instagram sales system
The IG system that I teach is a game-changer. Here’s a brief overview:
- Main feed => Daily purposeful, high value, shareable posts. NO garbage here; this is your storefront!
- Stories => This is the NEW “daily email.” Jab, jab, jab, jab, jab, right hook. Create killer content that allows you to make a clear, concise, and strong CTA (call to action).
- Follow my 7-day schedule to enter the conversation in the prospect’s mind, and then implement the 6-frame IG “daily email” story sequence to sell.
- IG DMs => Where the magic happens. This is where Vince de Monte and I are able to sell high-priced seminars ($5,000) without even getting on the phone with prospects.
- Repurpose content =>Take your IG main feed content and post to FB and LinkedIn. Yes, LinkedIn—it’s underrated, even in the fitness space. More on this soon.
- IG TV => What goes on YouTube goes here and vice-versa. Add one high-quality video per week.
Use Instagram as business media—not social media
One word of warning: Instagram is like every other social media platform in that people are often chasing the wrong results and tracking the wrong numbers.
Recently, a client said to me, “I’m getting a solid response from my podcast.” That was right after they admitted to having a slow sales week and being stressed out with the company’s financial situation.
Listen, you can’t take likes, loves, shares, positive feedback, kind words, or a “solid response” to the bank and deposit it in your account. You only take $$$ from sales, and when you use my IG system, then the sales will come rolling in.
I made that same mistake at first, too, focusing on fan feedback across all of my channels. But I quickly shifted my mindset; instead of looking at Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube as social platforms, I looked at them as “business media.”
My IG feed, FB page, and YouTube channel are now each like a station in the FOX broadcasting family. Rupert Murdoch owns FOX, FOX News, and Sports1, all feeding each other.
And because I use business media, I look at my social media pages as tools for empire-building—not idle conversation. I don’t use social media to keep track of my cousins, to get in political debates, or waste my time keeping up with the daily drama in any industry. I’ve got—and you’ve got—much better things to do.
With my IG Story Selling System, I focus on the following:
- The number of direct messages (DMs) sent to me about my workshops
- The number of DM conversations that lead to a sales call
- The number of sales calls that lead to a sale
- The number of DMs that convert directly to a sale without the phone call
My time, energy, and effort go into growing each of these every day. I test and track the messages that “hit,” the specific calls-to-action that generate more inquiries, and the amount of money our company earns.
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate every like, love, and share. I encourage comments and respond to as many as I can as quickly as I can, but only with the sole purpose of building my business.
Be consistent—it’s the secret to IG sales success
This is a daily process. I don’t let up. And a sale is just as likely to come in on a Saturday night as it is on a Monday morning. Instagram is open for business 24/7, just like how FOX News is reporting around the clock.
In fact, Instagram can work even better when you incorporate it on your holidays or work travel. Earlier this summer, I went on a 10-day trip to Africa that included a South African safari, a short visit to Cape Town, and then two days at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. After that it was on to Europe to explore Croatia, Montenegro, Lithuania, and London, England.
Of course I “Instagrammed” my trip and followed my daily story selling system schedule, and as a result ETR had our best month financially in the last two years. Why? It was because my journey served as a dramatic demonstration of proof that my system works. I was living the good life all around the world while making money, getting more customers, and doing it all from my iPhone.
Sell your fantasy life. Connect it back to your service or product. You are living a fantasy life. The product that you’re selling is the reason that you have the life that you have.
Save time and automate your Instagram campaigns—while still being authentic
Now I know what you might be thinking. “But Craig, I don’t want to turn into an anti-social phone addict.”
Good, I don’t want that for you either! My IG Story Selling approach doesn’t mean you need to be tied to your phone. Instead, when planned properly, you can prepare your content in advance, post many things automatically, and block time to batch reply to all of your new leads.
The only downside is that you’ll likely get far more qualified leads than you can handle. Fortunately, the boost in sales will allow you to add a team member to serve your new clients—all while still generating more profits in your business.
As a side benefit, the IG story selling method is natural. Your prospects will love the opportunity to glimpse into your life, and my simple formula will show you how to attract customers without feeling like you are forcing a sale.
In the past, I made a lot of money using a similar approach with email marketing. But I’m sure you’ll agree that email marketing today is too intrusive, too aggressive, and less effective. The good news is that we can take the best of what works and transfer it over to Instagram, as you’ll learn in the Story Selling System.
How to get started selling with the Social Story Selling System
Here’s what you need to do next.
First, focus on your offer. Choose one of your best converting programs or services. Stick to higher-priced programs that are best sold through IG DMs. Ignore the $10 offers that seem like a good idea for the Swipe-Up feature. In most cases, they just don’t work as well as a $300 course or $5,000 workshop.
Second, focus on your Instagram account. Follow the exact plan outlined above, giving daily value and then creating a strong call-to-action.
Third, consistently promote the same offer for several days in a row. Don’t bounce around from one offer to the next. Think of each week of IG stories the same way you would an email marketing promo. You wouldn’t run a 5-day launch for Product A and then promote Product B on day 3, would you? Of course not. Don’t get shiny object syndrome in your Story Selling. Stay the course. Make maximum sales by coming at the same offer from different angles every day, and then move on to a different offer next week.
Most of all, keep your content simple. Make a video each day that enters the conversation going on in the prospect’s mind. Add value. Finish with a clear call-to-action. It’s as close as it comes to selling face-to-face, and that’s why IG is the ultimate business media game changer.
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Looking for more guidance and next steps? Take a dive into my Social Story Selling System video course—which I’m running at a discount! Click here to learn more.