How to actually enjoy Instagram and stop stressing about it as a beauty pro
Okay, friends. Today I’m really letting you in on something I usually hold pretty close to my chest.
If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ve probably heard me talk about how Instagram is not my favourite. I have had a love-hate relationship with this platform up until now.
But as a marketing coach, this is kind of a big no-no. By not talking about how Instagram can help your business, I’m sort of doing you dirty, unintentionally.
It took some real digging into my soul - honestly! Like, who knew that a social media platform could hold so much power over anyone, right?
In the past, I’d tried to really get into the spirit of Instagram - sharing images of myself, my life, my business, and fun little tidbits as they happen. But every time I posted, I felt this pressure to do better. If my post didn’t get much attention, I felt genuinely embarrassed. Maybe I needed to post different things? Post at different times? Expand my audience?
I mean, sure, it was all of that.
But at the heart of the problem is the negative beliefs I held about what my flopping posts meant about me and my business.
I know I’m not alone in this. This is the lion’s share of what’s “wrong” with social media.
So I decided to deal with it.
Today, I’m sharing with you 8 really important “reframes” I did in my mind to help me enjoy Instagram again. My hope is that, like me, you’ll be able to shed your shame about posting on Instagram, and just enjoy this platform for what it is: a great tool to share your beauty business with the world and connect with your community!
Reframe #1: One “bad” post on Instagram doesn’t mean they all are.
It’s hard to deal with when a post you’ve put a lot of effort into flops. In the past, I’d kind of take it personally! Like, “what’s wrong with my post? Why isn’t anyone liking it? Is it a bad post?!”
Real talk here:
Yep. It might be. But hear me out - that’s okay! You can learn from it, and make a better post in the future. Or you could try something totally different for your next post. The funny thing about Instagram is unless you’re consistently way off base with what your audience wants to see, your next post might just be wildly popular. And they’ll have completely forgotten about your last “bad” post - because they genuinely don’t care that it wasn’t so great. Play the game, reap the rewards. Don’t let your last post get you down. Just try again.
Reframe #2: The law of averages says that half of your posts will be well-received, and half of them will be not-so-popular. And that’s perfectly normal!
A simple and effective way to stop being so tough on yourself is to remember that you’re entirely normal if sometimes your posts do great, and sometimes they are barely seen. Don’t be so quick to judge yourself if you’re having an “off” Instagram week. The law of averages says that next week’s posts might be total firestarters! Hang in there and keep going.
Reframe #3: Nobody cares how many followers and engagement you have.
I’ll be the first to admit that my follower count has had me hitting Downvote on my self-esteem in the past. I have about 6,000 followers while a lot of my peers in the marketing space have hundreds of thousands more. I had to really reframe this for myself: it’s not a big deal. And if someone judges you for the amount of followers you have, they’re not a big deal. Most people really don’t care. Some of the highest quality posts I’ve ever seen were from people with 600 followers. It’s all relative, and it doesn’t say anything about the quality of your posts, or your business.
Which leads me to my next big point…
Reframe #4: Instagram success doesn’t mean business success!
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve seen some of the coolest, most inspired content from brands and businesses with teeny tiny followings...and they’re killing it in the business game.
In the same way, some of the biggest brands out there are paying copywriters hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to produce ads and content on Instagram to their millions of followers, while their business suffers in the real world - because they’re making practical business mistakes.
Instagram is just pixels on a screen. The real story of a business is always behind closed doors. The number of followers is just a number.
Now let’s shine the mirror at you. Your follower count is not an indication of your success. Don’t ever forget it!
Reframe #5: Instagram is a tool. Use it - but do not let it use you.
I used to have a big Instagram problem. My problem was that I hated Instagram. It made me feel yucky. I felt guilt over my small following and my lack of engagement and my unpopular posts.
But a big part of why entrepreneurs are such cool cats is that when we identify a problem, we do something about it.
So instead of being afraid, I started using it more and tackling the fear. And look at that - just like magic, changing my mind about it helped a lot.
Maybe you have the opposite problem. Maybe you’ve been spending a bit too much time scrolling through timelines (2020 dread scrolling, anyone?) when you should be working on building your business. Alright, you see the problem, now you deal with it.
Instagram is a great way to market your business. It’s also a fantastic time killer. Don’t let it kill your time, or make you feel weak or less-than. Use it when you want to promote your business. Don’t use it for any other purpose. Put a time limit on yourself when you’re on the app. Schedule posts ahead of time, and then don’t obsess about them. Give them an hour or two to percolate. Move on to something else.
Reframe #6: You don’t have to spend a lot of time on Instagram if you don’t like it.
Maybe you’re more like me, and really don’t like spending a lot of time on Insta, for whatever reason. Hey, welcome to the club! I have good news for you, new club members:
If you don’t like Instagram, you don’t have to spend any extra time there to build your business. You can find other tools to make the most of your marketing and engaging with your community. No big deal. And now you know you’re not alone...I’m right there with you!
Reframe #7: There are plenty other great platforms you can use to advertise your business besides Instagram.
Instagram is a classic winner for beauty business marketing - but it’s not the only way, or even the best way anymore! A new place for sharing your business seems to open up every week around here!
Recently I’ve been jumping on Clubhouse on Sunday evenings to take part in panel discussions about beauty business marketing - and I love it! It’s got all the aspects I adore about being in marketing: inspiration from others, a great networking tool, a sense of community, and some really brilliant ideas being shared.
This is just one way to build your business. Facebook, Pinterest, Google Ads, Clubhouse...there’s lots of life beyond Instagram. Try out something new this week! You won’t regret it.
Reframe #8: Even if you have a teeny tiny following right now, you have the opportunity to introduce yourself to thousands of new people very quickly.
Throughout the years of running my business, I’ve tried lots of things to market myself. But something I keep coming back to time and time again because it works like magic is using Facebook and Instagram ads to bring in new audiences. With just a small amount of money spent, I’m able to target thousands of unique views very quickly. It works so well that I developed a course to teach other salon and spa owners the power of FB and Insta ads, and their success stories are jaw-dropping.
My student Rebecca was just beginning her beauty business journey, and decided to take the leap and invest in my course. Utilizing what I taught her and spending just £5 a day on Facebook ads, 244 new clients discovered her as their new favourite esthetician. She made £13,420 in revenue from one single ad. This is no joke. This is the power of Facebook and Instagram ads done properly!
Rebecca is just one of my students who has had this kind of success. It’s been such a huge joy to share this game-changing advertising method with hundreds of students.
I’m super excited to announce that the newest iteration of my course is now open! The waitlist is filling up fast, so be sure to grab your spot here. This is something you don’t want to miss out on. Each of my students have replicated successes like Rebecca’s by learning the magic behind Facebook and Instagram ads.
Share your beautiful self with your community today - your audience is waiting to hear from you!
Xo,
Stephanie
