For this week’s podcast episode, we’re doing something that has been highly requested: interviewing two of our students! These two students are sharing what’s helping them to grow on Instagram RIGHT NOW. I’m excited to have this honest conversation with Shelly and Jenna about being students in The Instagram Growth Course, our brand-new online course. So, if you want to learn all my strategies for growing on Instagram, then make sure to check that out. I also want to remind you to tune into the full episode on the podcast – we’ve highlighted a few questions below, but you don’t want to miss any of this!

Shelly: Twin Mom Guide

Instagram | Website | Free Twin Breastfeeding Guide

We’re going to chat with Shelly first. She’s a wife, busy homeschool mom to twin boys and a little girl, and is a registered nurse, as well as a board-certified lactation consultant. Shelly has been working as an RN in maternal child health for three years supporting breastfeeding families. As a first-time mom wanting to breastfeed twins, Shelly was disappointed at the lack of resources for twin moms wanting to breastfeed and even more disappointed about how unsupported she was in her decision to breastfeed twins by doctors, nurses, even lactation consultants. Shelly took her experience as a registered nurse working with breastfeeding families and our personal experiences of breastfeeding twin mom and combined those passions and to create the resources she wanted and needed as a new twin mom at Twin Mom Guide.

Can you tell us where your brand is right now on Instagram?

I would say I’m new-ish. I’ve been using Instagram for almost two and a half years, but it was super part time for the first year. And a little less part-time in the last year. The first year was definitely about fun and it being a hobby. Then in the second year, I began a private practice specializing in twin breastfeeding and created an online twin breastfeeding course. So now, I’ve been using Instagram more strategically.

What are your current goals on Instagram, especially as someone who has a digital course and is a service-based business?

Yeah, so my primary goal with Instagram is just to find my community and serve them well. I feel like so many moms use Instagram so it’s such a great place to connect with fellow twin moms and expecting twin moms. I want to ust to show up and serve them well and be that person for them. My goal is to use Instagram to work smarter and not harder because I don’t have time to work hard.

Yeah, definitely. And yes, I feel like it’s once you become a mom to you realize you have to think about where you’re putting your energy to make an impact. So then with those goals in mind, what has been working well for you lately to grow on Instagram?

It’s actually really funny that we’re chatting about this because it’s in the last month or so we’ve had a lot of stuff come up in our family that was really unexpected. So I’ve had to really take a step back. Instagram has been super low on my priority list. But I’ve still been growing, which is cool. In the last month, I’ve I think have been posting just once a week, maybe twice, like not much at all. But what’s been working has been number one, has been to review my analytics. I’ve always been good at looking at what works well and what doesn’t. I know which types of posts will help gain new followers and which won’t have the most engagement but are maybe appreciated by my audience. So, I’ve been using a combination of those things to make sure that even though I’m not showing up often, I’m showing up in a way that still helps my community.

I’m also super fortunate to be able to collaborate with other twin accounts which is nice. That always brings new followers, too, because we’re in the same niche.

I would love to ask to you: how has The Instagram Growth Course helped you?

So, I want to share this with you because I told Stephanie this originally. I’ve been on Instagram for 2.5 years. I’ve been in other Instagram memberships and at least one other Instagram course. So, I was a little burnt out at the beginning and decided this course would be my last hurrah to see if I could get more passionate for Instagram. And I was BLOWN AWAY.

Even from the most basic lessons, I was taking notes like a mad woman. There’s so much wonderful insight as someone who has a service-based business with digital courses. I honestly can’t say enough good things and have a long list of stuff I’m working to implement now. I realized there was so much more I could have in place to give myself time off and also see my sales increase.

Jenna: Christian Millennial Therapist

Instagram | Facebook | Website

Now, I want to chat with Jenna of Christian Millenial Therapist. Jenna is a licensed mental health counselor and licensed marriage/family therapist in Florida. Her mission is to bridge the gap between Christianity and psychology for millennials. She owns a virtual private practice and is in the process of watching her own podcast as well as ebooks and eCourses so she can reach more than just one person at a time in the chair during a therapy session. She has a God given assignment and training and therapeutic conversations to make adulting easier for Christian millennials.

Can you tell us where your brand is right now on Instagram?

I’m in such an interesting place with Instagram right now because I’ve only been back on the app for about 4-5 months now. Before that, I was off Instagram since 2019. The last time I was on the app, Reels didn’t exist! The last time I was on social media, I was involved in an MLM, so multi level marketing teams, but I wasn’t necessarily using Instagram for Business. At that point, I was more using Facebook. So I’m coming back to Instagram after about a three to four year break. And now trying to sort of reintroduce myself and use it for business and learn how to make reels has been fun. So that’s where I’m at.

What are your current goals on Instagram?

Absolutely trying to grow my following is my current goal on Instagram, but also really using it as a place to share my other resources. What I would say my specific and really unique goal on on Instagram right now is ultimately I want to transition my business from being a therapist to really being a speaker and an author. I’m really hoping that Instagram can make a possibility and a reality for me to have people to share the things that I’m writing.

I love that and I think you can absolutely do that!! With those goals in mind, what has been working well for you lately to grow on Instagram?

What I see working for me is what I call the behind the scenes successes. By that I mean I’ve been creating a personal brand, narrowing down my niche market, and know that I’m speaking to the right people about things that matter to them. Coming back to Instagram, I didn’t know if I should start a new account or not – but Instagram Growth helped with that. Because I had built a personal brand, it didn’t matter which products I was selling or promoting. Most of my followers are already millennial women, so I decided to revive my old account.

I’ve been able to really engage those people, through Stories particularly. I think my Story engagement is at about 10%. The average is around 5-6%, so the training has helped me to discern what to share from my personal life that connects with my brand.

Yeah, oh, my goodness, I love all of that so much, because I think it’s so easy for us to get caught up in vanity metrics a lot when we’re trying to grow on Instagram! How has The Instagram Growth Course helped you?

Oh, my gosh, I mean, everything I have really said and more. I think what was also really amazing about it was my husband did the course with me. And my husband has never even had Instagram before. So, he was really watching it with like brand new eyes. We both learned so much from it. He really wanted to know how he could help me. In the course, you talk about focusing on what only you can do. So he actually got on your YouTube channel and watched how to make Reels so he could help me.

If there’s one thing that you could tell someone who’s considering joining, what would you tell them?

Any question you possibly have about how to use Instagram to run your business will be answered in this course. It’s start to finish for you – covering how to start an account and what to do when you go viral! The detail is really impressive. If you’re considering it, just do it because there’s so much to learn and apply to your own content.

Thank you to Shelly and Jenna for sharing their stories with us! If you’re interested in joining us in The Instagram Growth Course, grab it today! You’ll learn all of my strategies for seeing a real growth on the platform, including gaining loyal followers, monetizing your Instagram and increasing engagement, posting consistently and creating content with ease. After April 7^th, use the code “podcast” for 15% off a full-price purchase of The Instagram Growth Course!