Today we’ve got an Instagram Q&A for you! All of the questions we’re discussing today came from you guys. We grabbed these from our Stephanie Kase Education Instagram account on one of the days we asked what you want to learn about. Most came from there – a few from my personal account (you can follow that one here). Make sure you’re following along on Instagram so you can help provide questions then next time we do one of these! There were some really great questions about Instagram so let’s get into them!

What are your go to story ideas if you don’t have anything to post?

Okay, so I’ve totally been there. You wake up and there’s not a lot going on and then you realize at the end of the day that you didn’t share anything. So, one of my go-to ideas is actually a Q & A box. I’ve started to do this weekly on Wednesdays. It’s been a great way to not only interact with my audience but also fill up my content calendar with ideas that you’re asking about. You can make this a themed Q & A or just do an open one. Either way, it’s a nice engagement boost and chance to connect. We also recently did a video about Instagram story ideas for a week, so check that out here for more ideas!

Any tips to start a brand new page with zero followers?

This is a fun one! So, I actually started the Stephanie Kase education account a few months ago – so I have some recent firsthand knowledge as well as some tips that I’d do if I was starting from scratch. First, I’d recommend posting consistently. I have to give Maggie a big shout out for helping us grow our Stephanie Kase education account here quick. She’s been putting together a lot of the posts and content that go up over there. Beyond posting regularly, niche down. Make sure it’s very obvious what you do. I know I say this a lot, but I can’t stress it enough! Next, make sure you’re posting consistently. This will look different in various seasons of life, but be consistent in a way that works for you. Obviously Reels will help but it’s not realistic to say you’ll post 3 Reels a day! If you want to grow fast, though, definitely put your energy into Instagram Reels.

What are your thoughts on posting Reels v. photos?

This goes off of what I was just saying – putting an emphasis on your Reels can help you grow more. In our Reels Mini Course, we actually talk a lot about the various types of content for Instagram and creating a posting schedule for your business or brand that will work for you. The main thing to think about is your personal capacity, season of life, and your Instagram goals. When you’re new to Instagram, you probably want a lot of growth and more followers. Reels matter then. But, if you’ve got an established audience, it may be more about engaging with them in other ways. People tend to forget that once you’ve grown your audience, you still need to engage and nurture them! If that’s your goal, you’re probably going to post more stories, photo posts, and things of that nature.

Keep your season of life in perspective too. You might be in a place where making a ton of Reels or stories is possible. Or you’re not. Either way is okay. Give yourself grace, no matter what any educator or Instagram guru tells you.

How do you get more people to see your posts? I feel like no one is seeing them these days!

If you feel like no one is seeing your posts, I would think about a few things. One: views are not everything. Right? We want to make sure people are seeing our content, of course. But, just chasing views of the sake of views isn’t beneficial. You need people to actually care and want to engage with you – and eventually turn into customers. Second: think about working with the algorithm. What does Instagram want you to be doing right now? The bottom line is they want to keep users on their app. The longer people stay on your content and in their app, the more likely it is that Instagram will push your content out further. The CEO of Instagram has told us repeatedly that YouTube and Tik Tok are their biggest competitors. The fact that two video related apps are Instagram’s competitors tells you what kind of content Instagram wants you to create. If your goal is to be seen by more people, you need to prioritize video like Instagram is.

Another thing to review is your analytics. Determine what kind of content is performing best for your account. Once you know what works, you can create more of that on your account. Check out one of our recent videos about that here. It’s something I do weekly and monthly – it truly helps inform my content. In fact, it helped me decide to break my personal Instagram and Stephanie Kase Education into two accounts.

How do you know whether or not to create two accounts or put everything you do on one?

I’m guessing this question came in because of our recent break into two accounts. Honestly, the answer to this question is definitely different for everyone. For a long time, I was a fan of just one brand Instagram. I never wanted two separate accounts to run. I always looked at what I did as half business and half personal with some smaller content categories. But, as my brand has evolved organically, the second account made more sense. I found myself sharing a lot about motherhood, twin life, and our family. I got to the point where I felt like my audiences were just two separate groups that couldn’t be served by one single account. There’s certainly overlap between my audiences but I wanted to be able to show up and serve each really well. We have a lot of business content going out – blogs, videos, tips, and that kind of thing – so it made sense to have a place to share only that. The account has just changed. I’ve also come to realize I do want to also grow a motherhood brand, so being able to have our “family brand” account separate has made sense. That’s kind of my thought process on splitting accounts.

Which apps are you using to create Reels?

I create most of my Reels in the Instagram app. I like to keep things nice and easy! This is especially true if it’s a lip sync or similar type video. It just makes the whole process simple. If I’m using photos to put into a Reel, I’ll edit all of that in inShot. It’s a free app or you can pay $35 for lifetime access. It’s a super easy software to use and I love it!

How do you reach more local people when using Instagram?

There’s a few ways to approach this. First, definitely look for locally based hashtags to use. This is one of the only situations I’d recommend actually putting hashtags on your post. Next, make sure your location is super obvious in your Instagram bio. You can also make sure you work hard to share local content as much as possible. If I was at a wedding as a photographer, I tagged the other vendors. I checked out their hashtags and used some of them. Don’t forget location tags, too!

I’m consistent with posting but I can’t grow my audience or engagement. Help!

Let me start with this: just posting consistently doesn’t mean you’re going to grow. I know that can be frustrating, but you need to be mindful of WHAT you’re posting and sharing. Go back to your analytics like we discussed earlier and find out what is working. If you do that and nothing else seems to be working, pause and give yourself the space to experiment. Get creative and see what works best for your audience. Try something new. Maybe that means a new type of Reel or different content than before.

I also want to encourage you that slow growth is STILL growth.

How do you make connections and find your people on Instagram?

We’ve talked a lot about finding your niche and speaking to your people. Literally speaking using their words, their language, and focusing on how to reach them is really important. Beyond speaking TO them, you need to make sure you’re addressing what matters to them. Are you touching on their pain points and how you can help? Are you incorporating those concerns and language into your Reels? When I say “find your people”, I don’t mean you have to literally look for them. Just try to speak to your target audience clearly with every post.

To build connections, take the time to actually interact with people. Follow their content, answer their questions, send messages. All of that is genuine engagement so you can make a new connection.

Want to help pick our next topic?

Thank you to everyone who sent in questions! I had a lot of fun going through them all and talking about how to make Instagram work for you! Don’t forget to follow along on Instagram so that you can ask questions and help decide what else we’re going to talk about on the podcast!

Other Reels Resources 

I also offer a free one-hour Instagram Reels class if you want more help with how to grow your reach, followers, and customers with Reels in 2 hours a month! You can sign up for that HERE. And, if you have questions or want some extra support, I’ve got a FREE Reels Growth Facebook Community that you can join. I absolutely love getting to chat with everyone and help them work through their questions about Reels!

Wondering what to make for your next Reel? Free quiz to find out what type of reel idea you should make next! 

If you’re listening and you have ideas about what to talk about next, please send in your requests! I really do want to know what you want to hear about in future episodes. Email me at [email protected] with your questions!! I can’t wait to hear from you! Don’t forget to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, too. We appreciate all of the support and love!