101: Turn Instagram Followers Into Paying Clients in 2026 (Part 3)
Getting views does not guarantee sales. I see this every single day. In 2026, trust matters more than ever. In this episode, I break down what actually turns followers into paying clients. I explain the trust recession. I show you the difference between attention and connection. I teach you the three specific areas where depth drives real revenue.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
00:00 – Why attention and sales are two different things
01:20 – Why most content does not connect to a real sales funnel
04:37 – What the trust recession is and how it changes buying behavior
05:36 – Why hype, urgency, and discounts are losing power
07:01 – Why proof and clarity beat promises
08:57 – Why people buy people, not products
09:25 – How little time you have to capture attention
11:15 – Why attention is rented and depth is owned
11:42 – The three areas where depth actually drives sales
12:10 – Why captions convert warm audiences
13:08 – Why carousels are a hidden growth and conversion tool
14:33 – The carousel data most creators are ignoring
15:29 – How to structure carousels for authority and leads
17:17 – Why consistency of perspective builds trust
19:57 – Why your customer journey must be clear
20:48 – How Elizabeth uses content to drive podcast growth
23:09 – How to choose the right call to action for each post
24:27 – Why DM automation is the real conversion engine
24:56 – How ManyChat turns content into leads on autopilot
26:46 – How to use DM automation in feed posts and stories
A Truth You Need to Hear:
“Attention gets you seen. Trust gets you paid.” — Elizabeth Marberry
Resources Mentioned:
Hot Reels Full Program Details
Free Close Sales in Your Sleep, DM Automation Guide:
Get your First month FREE of ManyChat Pro.
Learn the CRIT framework that takes you into the top 1% of AI users
S3 Ep101 Transcript: Turn Instagram Followers Into Paying Clients in 2026 (Part 3)
00:00
You've landed on part three of our Instagram marketing trends and predictions for 2026 series. Today we're getting to the heart of what every business owner really wants to know. How do I actually turn my Instagram followers into paying clients? We're diving into the trust recession that's happening right now, why attention and sales can be two completely different things and the three specific areas where you need to add depth.
00:27
to actually convert followers into paying clients. This is what actually drives sales on Instagram in 2026. Are you ready? Let's do it.
00:41
Welcome to Strut It, a podcast about creating bold visibility on social media with zero apologies. I'm Elizabeth Marberry, your host and Instagram marketing coach. I help small business owners get seen on Instagram and monetize their offers so they can make more money doing their sole lead work. If you're tired of spinning your wheels on Instagram and you're seeking simple, proven Instagram marketing strategies that actually work, you're in the right place.
01:10
Let's dive in.
01:20
Welcome back to the show. I'm so excited to talk about how your Instagram content actually drives leads and sales for your business. This is really my specialty because I know that there are a lot of Instagram growth coaches out there that are teaching how to hook and how to refine your messaging and all of that. But I still see a huge disconnect in the Instagram marketing space when it comes to educating business owners, creators.
01:48
entrepreneurs, like we all know we should be posting content. We need to refine our content and get it better, know, scroll stopping and all of that. But I find that there's still a huge disconnect for so many business owners and creatives as to, okay, I'm doing all the things, but I don't really understand how this content leads into my sales funnel. And that is such an important piece because if you're listening to this podcast, I would guarantee that
02:18
Well, sure, do we want more followers? Of course. Do we want more visibility? Yes, of course. People can't buy from us if they don't know we exist. So that is very important to use Instagram as top of funnel. You're not here to just be an influencer. You're not here to just have followers for the sake of having followers. You want those highly qualified followers who are actually interested in your product or service, right? And not only that,
02:45
You want your content to do the heavy lifting for you and drive more leads and sales without spending a dime on paid ads. I'm so happy you have joined me today for this episode because I could talk about this for hours. I promise I'm going to keep this as short and sweet as I can, but this is my jam. So I'm super thrilled. Thanks for being here with me. So if you've been following along our Instagram marketing trends series in part one, we talked about why Instagram feels different.
03:12
and why that's actually creating opportunity when leveraged correctly. In part two, we covered how to stand out without burning out by really focusing on storytelling, showing your face, adding that human element. We talked about how to build more of a sustainable schedule for yourself so you can keep showing up consistently on Instagram. And we talked about AI, and I taught you.
03:40
Jeff Woods framework, the CRIT framework, C-R-I-T, a game changer when it comes to leveraging AI in your strategy in 2026. So if you missed part one and two, definitely go back and check those out. Today, I wanna address something I hear constantly from my clients and my community, and that is this, Elizabeth, my content is getting views, people are engaging, but I'm not seeing sales. What am I doing wrong?
04:07
If you've ever had a reel do really well, maybe get thousands of views, tons of likes, maybe even a bunch of shares, but it led to zero leads in sales or zero new clients or zero meaningful business conversations, this episode is for you because what I've learned after working with hundreds of entrepreneurs is attention and that scroll stopping content piece is only one step in the process of turning followers into paying clients.
04:37
Before we dive into what actually drives sales, I need to address something that's fundamentally changed about how people buy in 2026. We are in a trust recession right now. Here's what the data is showing us. People are more cautious with their money than they've been in years. But here's what's interesting. People are still spending money. In fact, there's more money circulating now than ever before.
05:06
The difference is that people are no longer making impulse purchases based on hype or urgency. They're not reading one well-written ad or email and immediately pulling out their credit card. I mean, are there exceptions to the rule? Of course, always. There's always exceptions. And yet trust has become the biggest predictor of whether someone buys from you or not. Not urgency, not hype, not discounts.
05:36
This is where a lot of modern marketing is falling apart right now. And I see so many entrepreneurs trying to get sales by offering more discounts or more bonuses or more stuff, but that's not what people want. Buyers are looking for easier decisions that save them time and offer clear value without extra effort. They want to feel safe about their purchases.
06:05
They want to know who they're purchasing from. They want to know your brand mission and values and do your values as a brand align with their values. So let me give you an example of what this looks like in practice and think about it in two different sales approaches that you might see. These are just made up examples, but my hope is that it will help you to kind of see what is resonant for you, like what makes sense for you.
06:32
in terms of the messaging of how I'm approaching the sale and you can kind of see what is landing. Approach number one would be something like, this will change your life in 30 days. No experience required, guaranteed results. Approach two would be, here's exactly who this program is for. Here's how it works. Here's how long it realistically takes.
07:01
And here are real client results to prove it. Which one of those approaches feels more trustworthy? The second approach, right? The first one is selling hope and hype and kind of sounds too good to be true, right? The second one is selling a clear path to transformation and it's leveraging social proof. It's never been more important to share.
07:27
client or customer testimonials, people raving about your product, people raving about what it's like to work with you or their actual results, because hearing other people's stories is definitely going to help boost that trust factor and increase your sales. And what's interesting about the trust recession is, of course, this is happening because we're in a very volatile political climate here in the United States, and there's so much going on around the world. That's a huge part of it.
07:57
But this shift is also happening because of AI. When people can't tell if content was created or written by a human or a machine, authenticity becomes more valuable, not less valuable. One of my clients, he owns a kombucha company, and he did a reel recently. I've been really encouraging him to do more storytelling, because people buy people, not products or services.
08:27
And he did this really beautiful reel and he's showing like behind the scenes of how, you know, his kombucha is made and the canning process and all of these things. And he's telling the story of how he bootstrapped his company and how he's not taking a salary right now and he's all in on his business. And that is so compelling and that reel did so well for him. It performed way better than his typical content. And it's because of this piece, right? It's because that
08:57
People want to buy from other humans, right? And that's where your vulnerability can actually be one of your greatest strengths on social media. Now, when it comes to driving leads in sales, I wanna talk about attention versus connection, okay? So there's a difference between getting attention and building relationships and deeper connections because
09:25
This is kind of where most creators get stuck. So according to the MetraCool study that I referenced in part one that analyzed over 39 million posts for more than one million accounts is you have less than four seconds. And that window keeps getting smaller and smaller depending on what study you're reading. But this one says you have less than four seconds to capture someone's attention before they swipe to the next piece of content.
09:55
So that is from a study that was done in 2025. I would argue you have two seconds to capture someone's attention. So yes, less than four seconds, more like two seconds. So this is why we talk so much about capturing attention, right? That attention is the new currency. And this is why hooks on your wheels and hooks on the first slide of your carousel.
10:18
That's why they matter so much, right? Is that you want to become masterful at capturing attention. And we spend a ton of time on this skill in Hot Reels, my 12 month Instagram content lab, which is my high touch group coaching program. We work on those first two seconds of your video to ensure that you are capturing attention and that you're going to retain it too, right? Because if you don't have that skill,
10:46
your content's gonna die, right? And it's just gonna do nothing for your business. It's definitely not gonna get you leads and sales. But here's what I see happening. Creators, business owners get so focused on the hook and on stopping the scroll, they forget what comes after. Like they create content that grabs attention but doesn't do anything with it. So attention is rented, not owned.
11:15
Right, you get someone's attention for a few seconds, maybe a few minutes if you're really good, but then what? If your content is just designed strictly to just get more views, you're essentially renting space in someone's brain for a moment and then giving it back, right? You're not building anything lasting. So what does build lasting connection? The kind that leads to more sales is depth.
11:42
consistency and value, like real value. Your depth builds authority. Depth is what converts casual viewers into paying clients. So let me break this down into three areas where depth really matters. And are there more than three areas on Instagram? Yes, but for the sake of keeping it short and sweet, we're gonna cover three things. First, your captions. Now,
12:10
I know everyone says captions don't matter a ton on reels, but here's what I've observed with my most successful clients. They use captions as leadership opportunities or places to go much deeper with whatever the content it is that they're posting. So it's true. I teach this, most people won't read your caption, but the people who do, that is your warm to hot audience. Those are people who are actually interested in your product or service.
12:39
So don't leave them hanging. Your caption is where you get to expand on the idea you introduced in your reel. It's where you can share your perspective or tell more nuance of a story or provide more context or offer a different angle. So think of your reel as the appetizer. Like, I'm so hungry, I need the appetizer, mm, I'm grabbing it. But your caption is the main course. It is the meat, right? And the reel gets people to the table.
13:08
but the caption is what satisfies them and opens the door for conversion. The second area where depth really matters is carousels. So carousels are having a hot moment on Instagram right now, and I predict that they will continue to do really well in 2026. So if you are not yet testing, experimenting, playing with carousels, this is your sign, go do it.
13:35
the Metricool study that I'm referencing throughout this series that analyzed over 39 million posts from more than 1 million accounts. They pulled this really interesting stat about carousels and that is that carousels get an average of 30,000 impressions per post compared to 10,000 for single images. So quick hack, if you are a person listening to this who only posts single images,
14:04
Let's stop doing that and just start posting multiple images. Okay, a carousel is simply multiple images. Now I'm gonna give you another bonus tip here. Make sure you add music because when you add music to a carousel, it can now be shown on the Reels tab. Okay, now let's get back into the data. Carousels also got 794 interactions per carousel compared to 234 for a single image.
14:33
But here's the real kicker, okay? Here's the thing you gotta be excited about. Carousels are the least used format on Instagram with people posting an average of only 1.13 carousels a week. So like one carousel a week, right? This means that carousels are such a powerful but underutilized format. So the reason why I wanted to bring this in is not only because I want you to know what kind of content to be posting, which is definitely reals.
15:01
and definitely carousels, but carousels are a really unique opportunity to go deeper with your content, right? What we're talking about here. You can tell a complete story or you can teach a really specific strategy or tip or share multiple perspectives on one topic with a carousel. So carousels really are where you get to show your expertise and not just hint at it.
15:29
They're where you can really provide that value that people can screenshot, save, come back to. And if you use a really simple formula, like your first slide has a hook, like telling people essentially what the carousel is gonna be about, or it's the beginning of the story you're gonna tell, then you go through and...
15:51
Then on the very last slide, the rest of the slides are you delivering on the promise of the hook, whatever you said. Okay, so this example is actually I'm pulling it from a reel done by Social Cap Official, is their handle, but he has an awesome hook on his reel, which is so fantastic. And I want to use this as an example because you could use a hook like this on a reel or in a carousel. Three absurdly cheap ways to make your child absurdly wealthy.
16:21
Right? So if that was your first slide of your carousel, then the rest of your carousel would be like number one. And then you would say the first way, number two, number three. And then the last slide is a call to action. Like comment this keyword and I'll send you my guide so you'll know exactly how to make your kid a millionaire by the time they're 18. I don't know. I just made that up. But you can see how a carousel is a really beautiful way to position and serve your audience.
16:50
own your authority and also not only capture the visibility because like I said carousels with music can now be shown on the Reels feed, but with a strategic call to action, you can actually drive leads into whatever your sales funnel is. So this is your sign if you have not yet played with carousels, go do it. The third area where depth really matters on Instagram is consistency of perspective.
17:17
So this one ties back to what we talked about in episode two about having a clear brand mission, value system, community. When someone discovers your content, they don't just want to know what you do, they wanna know how you think, how you approach things, right? Do you have a consistent perspective on your industry? Or are you still just kind of like playing it safe and small and saying what everyone else in your industry is saying?
17:44
Do you approach problems in a unique way? Do you have frameworks, methodologies, or philosophies that guide your work? I mean, think about the nuance of that question, right? Like, my husband, this past year, he launched his own coffee company. I was so proud of him. It's called Duality Coffee, and it's a fresh.
18:05
Roast to Order Company, it's whole beans, and he sources beans directly from farmers, and he is so passionate. And every bag that he roasts, he puts so much heart and care into. Like it's small batch, he is so invested. He has developed really his own framework of sourcing the beans, of roasting in and of itself is so nuanced.
18:32
There's different ways to approach it and he has really refined it to become his own unique thing, like his own unique flavor profiles and all of these things, right? And so he could talk about that in his content. And by the way, that sounded like a really great commercial for my husband's coffee company. I wasn't planning on that, but if you are a coffee drinker, you definitely need to go to dualitycoffee.com and check out my husband's coffee company because I will tell you, I know I'm biased.
19:01
but it is the best coffee truly I've ever had in my life. So definitely go check it out. We'll link it in the show notes here. Shameless plug for the hubs, dualitycoffee.com, D-U-A-L-I-T-Y-C-O-F-F-E-E.com. We're definitely still in startup mode with the company, but he's gotten so much incredible feedback and people are loving it. So check it out if you're a coffee drinker. But in using that example, what comes to my mind to remind you is that sometimes
19:30
the things that you do in your business that you don't think are a big deal because you just do them, are those things that make the most interesting content. So put yourself out there, play with storytelling and carousels are really great way of doing that. Reels are a great way of doing that. But really, the people who are willing to share their perspective are the people who are going to win in 2026 on Instagram. When it comes to driving leads and sales,
19:57
this piece is one of the most important pieces. And that is you need to be really clear on your customer journey. I'm gonna give you a couple examples from my business and then you can think about for your business, what is that customer journey for you? Another way of thinking about this is, okay, you created the most compelling piece of content, I'm binging all your stuff, I followed you, it's all working.
20:23
Now I want your product or service, what do I do next? Okay, that's how you can think about your customer journey. For example, in my coaching business, like my personal brand here, I have several different goals and intentions for my Instagram content. One of my goals is to drive more listeners to this podcast. This podcast is my long form piece of content that really...
20:48
builds authority for me and it's a platform for me to go deeper, so much deeper than I could in like a 15 second reel on Instagram, right? So I definitely want my prospects to check out my podcast. That is part of my lead and sales funnel because a lot of people who listen to my podcast week after week, month after month end up hiring me, okay? So that's part of my sales funnel. Another goal I have for my Instagram content,
21:16
is I want my content to help me grow my email list because Instagram followers are not mine. I want to drive as many people as I can into a sphere that I own, that I have ownership over and control over, right? Because Instagram could go down tomorrow. So one of my goals is to grow my email list and I do that by using freebies, okay? So free guides that solve a specific pain point.
21:42
and people want to grab it in exchange for that guide that is actually very helpful to them, they give me their name and email, right? So that's one part of my sales funnel because I do make a lot of sales through my email list. Another goal is inviting my hottest prospects to book a complimentary Instagram breakthrough call with me because if you want to work with me in my private container or sometimes when people are considering hot reels, they want to hop on a quick
22:11
call with me, you have to apply to ensure that, you know, I'm maximizing both of our time, making sure it's a good fit and that we're aligned on expectations before the call. And I just love learning more about you, your business, your vision, your goals, what you're struggling with so I can maximize our time on the call. So I use my Instagram content, my feed content and my Instagram stories to invite people in to apply for a complimentary call with me. So my call is part of my sales funnel.
22:41
So those are three different examples of funnels that I have built out on Instagram. When you're clear on your goal, your intention for your content, you can actually measure the results. I can't tell you how many people are like, oh, well, it's not driving leads or sales, but they don't even know what they want the content to do for them. And I say, well, how are you gonna measure the results if you don't even know what you were trying to do with that piece of content? Does that make sense? So this piece of really deciding like,
23:09
what do you want the content to do for you is such a critical piece. Now, once you have figured that out, this is where it actually gets to be very simple and it's using intentional calls to action and DM automation. A call to action is critical, right? Like so many creators either have no call to action at all or they have the same call to action on every single post and neither approach is really strategic.
23:35
I'm gonna give you some examples of effective calls to action. So if your content is really educational, maybe your CTA would be save this post for later or share this with blank who needs to hear it. Like share this with another mom who needs to hear it, right? If your content is community building, maybe your CTA is what's your experience with this? Share in the comments below. So that would be an example of.
24:02
a post where the goal is really just to get people into conversation and build a connection. If your content is designed to generate leads and sales for your business, your CTA might be comment guide and I will send you my free resource, right? Because you know that in your business, okay, once they get on my email list, they move into my funnel, then I invite them into the sale, right?
24:27
So the key is matching your CTA with the purpose of your content. You're guiding people to take that next logical step and not just asking them to do something random, okay? So your CTA gives your content a job. And the key to tie all of this together in this episode is DM automation. If you're not yet leveraging DM automation, I don't know what you're doing because as a busy business owner who is not a full-time content creator,
24:56
DM automation is truly why I feel motivated to keep sharing up on Instagram because I know my content is gonna keep working for me even when I log off of Instagram and go hang out with my kids for the weekend, okay? So direct message automation. I use ManyChat and I have a gift for you, my beloved listener. If you have not yet started leveraging ManyChat in your strategy this year,
25:21
I have a guide that I put together for you. So the first step is to go over to Instagram, make sure you're following me already at Elizabeth Marberry, M-A-R-B-E-R-R-Y, DM me the keyword leads, L-E-A-D-S. When you do this, my robot assistant, AKA DM automation, will send you a message with this guide. Now in this guide, I walk you through exactly how to set up DM automation to drive more leads and sales.
25:51
for your business and I gift you a month of ManyChat Pro totally free. So ManyChat is totally what I recommend. It's what I use in both my businesses. I recommend it to all my clients. It's a meta business partner. So approved by meta, which is really important. It is set up in the most intuitive way. You don't need any prior tech experience. You can set up your first automation in less than 30 minutes. And I've done complete episodes on DM automation. I've also brought in
26:19
guests who have spoken on DM automation. So if you want to geek out on this strategy, definitely go back and check out some past episodes. We can link some of those down in the show notes. But essentially when I am using a CTA that is more conversion focused, like wanting to someone to grab my guide or apply for a sales call or listen to the podcast, I leverage DM automation. So they comment a key word on my post and
26:46
when they do that, they get exactly the resource they're looking for in their direct messages. And this strategy is a game changer. I also leverage this not only in my feed content, but in my Instagram stories. This episode wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention that you need to be making sales in your Instagram stories, meaning that talking about what you do, inviting people in, and asking people to reply using a specific keyword so you can take them into the next step in your sales funnel.
27:15
I know that was a lot, but make sure you grab that guide because I walk you through exactly how to do this, how to set it up. And I was speaking at a conference in November in Florida and someone came up to me and they're like, okay, like how expensive is DM automation? Like they thought it was going to be hundreds of dollars a month. It starts at $15 a month. To me, it's a no brainer investment if you are wanting to really use Instagram as a growth tool in your business this year. So definitely DM made the keyword leads on Instagram.
27:45
and I will send it over to you or you can check the show notes. We always drop all the goods down there. I hope you got so much out of today's episode on really how to leverage Instagram to drive more leads and sales for your business in 2026. If you love today's episode, do me a solid and share it with a business colleague or friend who is also trying to figure out how to use Instagram in their business. I so appreciate you sharing the show with others.
28:12
rated and reviewed the show on Apple Podcasts. I would be so grateful. That helps me and my team and it helps our podcast get in front of more brilliant people like yourself. And if you haven't yet connected with me on Instagram, please send me a direct message. Tell me you listen to the podcast. Tell me what your biggest takeaways are. I truly, truly love hearing from my listeners and I respond to each and every DM. So test me on that, but I do my best to respond to each and every person.
28:41
And I am a sucker for voice memos. If you like sending voice memos, I am down for that. So send me a message. Tell me what you're loving about the podcast. Tell me what your biggest takeaway is because I don't want you to just listen to this. I want you to go and do, I want you to go and implement. Success goes to implementers. And next week, we are going to be going over your complete 2026 strategy for sustainable Instagram growth. I can't wait. Make sure you subscribe and follow the show so you don't miss it.
29:11
and I can't wait to strut it with you next week. Thank you for listening to Strut It. If you're ready to start leveraging Instagram to grow your business, then you're gonna wanna grab my free Monetize Your IG Guide, where you'll learn seven simple and proven ways to finally make money on Instagram. You can grab your guide at elizabethmarberry.com slash freebies. That's elizabethmarberry.com.
29:40
If you got some incredible value from today's episode, be sure to leave a review and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. And I cannot wait to start it with you again next week.
