67: Grow and Sell on IG—Without Posting Daily with Shannon McKinstrie

Trying to “keep up” on Instagram can feel exhausting. But what if you didn’t need to post daily to grow? What if there were a way to turn your content into real connections and real sales, without being chained to your phone?

I’m joined by Shannon McKinstrie, founder of Boutique Social and co-host of the Good Content podcast. Shannon is a social media strategist who helps small business owners build strong, profitable content funnels that start with Instagram.

We talk about:

• The myth of daily posting (and what works instead)

• Why “just post more” is not a real strategy

• How Shannon uses Instagram Stories to build trust and sell

• The reason you’re stuck creating from scratch every week, and how to fix it

• What Shannon’s content system looks like behind the scenes

This episode is packed with strategy, validation, and so many mic-drop moments. You’re going to feel so seen and deeply supported.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

[00:00] Why the old rules of Instagram don’t work anymore
[04:18] Shannon’s story of burnout—and what had to change
[09:42] The myth of “posting every day” for growth
[13:37] What content Shannon focuses on instead
[19:50] Why Instagram Stories are still your best sales tool
[27:12] What makes a funnel work
[36:05] Shannon’s tips for getting on camera without the cringe
[41:14] One mindset shift that will change how you create content

Key Takeaways:

1. You don’t need to post daily to grow. You need clarity and consistency.

2. Instagram Stories are where trust is built and sales are made.

3. A real funnel starts with content, but it doesn’t end there.

4. You’re not “behind.” You just need a better system.

5. Your content should work for you, not wear you out.

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

Connect with Shannon on Instagram

Join Shannon’s Reels Lab

Sign up for ManyChat here and get 100% off your first month of Pro.

A Truth You Need to Hear:

“People say, ‘Post every day.’ But that’s not a strategy. A strategy is knowing why you’re posting, what you’re offering, and how to move people from just watching to actually buying.”

S3 Ep67 Transcript: Grow and Sell on IG—Without Posting Daily with Shannon McKinstrie

00:00

If you've been feeling overwhelmed about Instagram and all the different mixed messages about how to grow and actually drive leads and sales for your business, you are in for a treat. Today, I'm bringing on Shannon McKinstrie. She is a social media marketing pro with over 270,000 followers on Instagram. She's built an incredible community and business online. And I love her because of her

00:26

seriously refreshing approach to content and wanting to help you make social media fun, simple, and effective. Today we dug into how to build an Instagram sales funnel that actually works, what to focus on so you don't have to spend hours every day creating content, and how to use Instagram stories to sell without feeling cringy or pushy. This episode is gold and I cannot wait for you to dive in. Let's do it.

00:56

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 led 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.

01:25

Let's dive in.

01:35

Welcome back to the show. I am so thrilled that you had joined us today because I have brought on the most epic guest ever. She is someone I have been wanting to bring on the show for such a long time. And we originally met through an Instagram Live with our mutual colleague, Juan Galan, who I have.

02:01

brought on the podcast many times actually now, a couple times talking about AI and tragedy. But after doing an Instagram live together, I knew I had to get this brilliant woman on the show. Her approach is so aligned with my philosophy and what I teach all of you and really cutting through the noise and making your content actually work and drive leads and sales for your business. So let me roll out the.

02:30

Harbit and introduce you to Shannon McKinstrie. Yay. Thank you. You're so sweet. Thank you. I'm so pumped. Yeah. So Shannon is a social media mentor and strategist on a mission to eliminate the never ending content creation guesswork and overwhelm. Can you relate? She helps business owners

02:56

enjoy promoting their business and engaging with their audience on social media without their burnout. Shannon, welcome to the show. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Yeah, I'm super pumped. Okay, so before we dive into all things strategy and all of that, if someone doesn't know you or your story, can you just give us a, you know, intro into who is a Shannon and how did you become this social media

03:24

queen and expert that you are today. Well, thank you. I'm blushing. I don't know. It sounds cheesy, but it's been in my blood. guess not to be a business owner, because I never thought that would happen. But the second my dad let me hold the camcorder in the 80s, I was hooked. And I was the annoying sister, cousin, friend who just shoved the camera in everyone's faces. And literally, like, the room I'm in, there's just boxes over here of videotapes that I still need to get digitized. But I just documented everything since I was a little girl.

03:52

And then once I went into high school, I did TV production classes and I would just sit in an edit bay for hours after school, like nerd out. I loved it. So video has always been my thing. I went into CNN, that whole world, not in front of the camera, very much behind the scenes. Like I do not want to be in front of any cameras. And then that world just like a lot of dream jobs that you think are your dream job just spits you out and you're like exhausted, overwhelmed and making $0 and just like, this is not it. This is not my legacy, I guess. So I left the...

04:20

broadcasting news world in early 2000s, like 2007. And I was like, what am I gonna do with my life? What am I gonna do with my life? And that's right around when social media started going from personal to business. And I was already very active on social media because it merged my love of everything, of copywriting, video editing, know, all that stuff. So long story short, I was like, can I make this a career? But still it was like, no, no one was gonna pay back in, this is like 2010. But by 2013, had my daughter and I was like just trying to figure out a way to stay home with her and then.

04:48

That was around the time that people started being like, whoa, social media isn't just for big brands, like it's also for us. So I saw an opportunity, I start my own social media marketing business, because it really merged everything I'm obsessed with, everything. And I love writing captions. I was always the friend that my friends would be like, what should my caption be? I was always the friend that at end of a long night would upload the Facebook album and put all the captions on every photo. All the details. Yeah, so long story short.

05:15

It's what I studied, but it didn't exist yet. So it's just kind of cool that it all came together the way it has. And I'm just obsessed with all things marketing and especially social media. Yeah. Oh my gosh. That is so cool that you were able to transfer those skills that you identified at such a young age and then find this other extension of those skills. it's like, cause it's so clear in watching your content that

05:43

you love what you do. I've heard you talk about this and I talk about this too. It's like, if you're not like fully energetically aligned with your content and you're not super excited, it does come through. They're gonna feel it. Yeah, you can feel it. And so with your content, it's so clear that you're so passionate about this work and it makes sense with your copywriting background because you are so

06:04

fantastic, like you're so known for the incredible hooks and all the generosity that you give on Instagram with all of your copy. I mean, if you think about it, what is a hook? It's copy, right? Well, it's so funny because when I was at CNN, I ran fonts and graphics in the control room. So I was joking like it was my job and I would, you know, catch typos if I saw a typo. Like I wasn't the one writing them. I was just studying them all the time. So it's kind of funny how all these things in life just kind of morphed into this. How my

06:30

brain works today, guess. Yeah. And I think this context of you being really like an OG in the social media marketing space of like, just it's good for everyone to remember how when Instagram was first launched, it's not like we were having these conversations about let's build a personal brand on Instagram or let's promote our products and services on Instagram. Like that wasn't even a It wasn't even called content. It was just called picture.

07:00

It's called just post your, yeah, post. Yeah, that's it. was like end of story. Amazing. I love that. Okay. So one of the things I adore about you is you are on a mission and this is by the way, my interpretation of consuming your content. So you can be like, girl, you got it wrong. Okay. But one of the things I love about you is it's clear that you get frustrated when your clients or you're getting a lot of DMs from your followers saying like,

07:30

Well, I'm confused, Shannon, because you said this, but then this coach says this, and this Instagram guru says this. And I know one of the things I see you do a lot is you're just like, can we cut through the BS and can we simplify it? So our goal, my beloved listener, in this episode is I want you to walk away from today's show feeling like I can breathe, I can make Instagram simple and effective.

07:59

and really cut through the noise because I know there's so many mixed messages. And of course, there's more than one way to grow on Instagram. There's more than one way to make a sale and all those things. We acknowledge that, but I also really resonate with that feeling of frustration. And so I wanted to kick off with what is a piece of Instagram advice that you wish people would stop taking, you know, like consuming or like, what is one of those things that's out there that you're just like, oh my gosh,

08:28

please stop listening to this lie. It's not true. Yeah, I mean, there's so many. know, I mean, you can share more than one. I know, it's so frustrating. I think the biggest one would be you have to post daily because I even now see people being like, you don't have to, but then people are still confused. So I think during COVID, there was a big push, quantity over quality, because everyone was kind of trying to figure it out. So a lot of gurus take on that was like, well, just keep creating until you figure it out. And I was just like,

08:57

No, and again, that might work for some people. Some people, this just comes natural. There's a lot of people out there that have grown to millions of followers. And if you ask them if they ever hired a coach, they'll tell you no. They just knew what to do. But then there's a lot of people that are literally going the quantity versus quality route. I've heard horrible stories, like people landing in the hospital because of anxiety, craziness. that's why I was like, no, I get upset because it's like affecting people's lives. So.

09:22

What I tell people, and it's funny, is I actually just recently started posting almost daily. I still take one day off, but some days I'm on a roll and I'll post two. It's because I want to. Yeah. But for years, I could only do three or four. For years. Because I was managing 20 other accounts for other people. was doing, now I have more free time. So of course I'm posting more. That's because I can. But I grew to over 100,000 followers only posting four times a week. So I just want people to know that's possible.

09:51

Reels will last for months if they're good and getting traction. So it just goes to show you, if you want to post three times a day, do it. But if all three of those posts aren't doing well, then you probably need to dial back. If you keep cranking stuff out and it's not working, it's just better to figure out what's working and do three to four a week. And of those, like good quality. There's people I see posting once a week, and they have more followers than I do, because that one piece of content is

10:20

and they know their people. And again, it's just, that's the biggest one, I think, because that's where you get burned out, because you're thinking you have to do every day, and then you do every day for 30 days and you disappear. But again, it's like, if you want to post every day, go for it. A lot of people will be like, well, I like posting daily. I'm like, good, then post. Like, there's no rule. It's just, I don't like when people make it a rule is the only thing. I love this so much because one of the things I teach and talk about is

10:49

sustainable growth and sustainable marketing strategies. Yes. And I see that all the time too with clients and people messaging me and they're so burned out and they're like, Elizabeth, I hate Instagram. I hate it. like they have this like- wonder. Yeah. And I'm like, I would hate it too. You know, I'm like, okay, tell me what you're doing. And they're like, well, on Monday, I have to post a carousel about this topic. On Tuesday, I'm doing a reel. On Thursday, I'm doing this.

11:15

I have to do stories on this. Like they tell me their whole week plan and my mind is like melting and exploding and I'm confused and I feel dead inside and I'm like, no wonder you hate Instagram. Like literally built your worst nightmare, but it's so sad because they're like, well, someone told me to do it this way. And I'm like, no, you don't have to do it that way. And because, you know, for, be successful on Instagram, you do need to show up consistently. Like we talk about that, right? But.

11:44

What is consistently? You just said for one creator, a consistent presence could be one really epic reel a week. know, it doesn't have to be like one specific little box. Exactly. I love that. So in terms of if someone's listening and they're already feeling relieved because they're like, oh my gosh, I think I could commit to posting four posts a week. Knowing that we're talking to business owners, know, people wanting to drive leads and sales.

12:12

If they were like, okay, Shannon, like give me more guidance on these four posts. Should they be real? Should they be carousels? Like any thoughts on the type of post? Yes, I love this question so much. So it's so funny because right now I'm sure you've seen it too. Everyone's like carousels are what's winning right now. And I'm like, okay, so I always joke carousels for me do weaker than my reels. I'm better at reels and my audience.

12:40

even though a lot of them love carousels, my carousels just don't go viral. I see people in my field whose carousels go viral. It depends on your audience, it depends on your messaging, and I think my content comes off better when I just talk to the camera. So for me, that works best. So I do more reels. Lately I've been doing one or two carousels a week, but that's only because I'm literally repurposing old ones, because I obsess over carousels, because I'm not a graphic designer. They take a ton of time. Don't they? So I'm like, okay, for me,

13:10

Carousels aren't as worth my time, because they don't reach more people than my reels do. My reels reach more people. And reels take me five minutes. So again, it comes down to what's better for you, what your audience likes. And even photo dumps still work, right? Like, I think a lot of people, you know, forget, I'm like, no, if you are local blogger or a real estate agent or whatever, you probably have pretty photos. I don't really have pretty photos to show. I'm at home all day. Right.

13:35

outside world and what you're doing and documenting of your life is pretty. Like you could still do photo dumps too. That's considered a carousel in a way. So if you want, like I usually aim for at least mainly reels and one carousel a week. Or sometimes I'll do a photo dump if I'm like at an event or something like that. I'll just do a fun little dump of them all. But yeah, it just comes down and I hate that because I know people hate to hear it depends, but it does. And that's honestly the answer to everything in social media. It depends. What if you love carousels and they...

14:04

for you, then put more of an emphasis. But what I do is when a reel does well, I'll flip it to a carousel. I'll literally take like maybe the caption of that reel and make it into a carousel and vice versa. that way, if you're like, which one should I do? Maybe if you had a carousel do really well months ago or one that didn't, maybe it would do better as a reel. That's what I do. So if I have one that didn't do as well, I try it again in a different format. And honestly, sometimes it does better because I think it's just...

14:32

the context, it's, I'm sure it's so many factors. Yeah. Well, and I think what I'm hearing you say is like a couple of things I want to reflect back to you. One is you're reflecting on your own creative process and what is most easeful and aligned for you. Yes. So you love making videos. It's easy for you. It's quick because obviously you've done, she's got lots of reps you guys. So she can out a reel real quick, right? Yep.

15:00

Exactly. if you're listening and you're new to Reel, it might take you some time. Let's just say if you're new to any of this, it's going to take you time. But if you consistently show up over time, all of these are skills you can learn. It will get easier. It will take less time. It will be more effective, all of those things. But first and foremost, pay attention to what you enjoy creating. I'm the exact same as you. I love the video. I love bringing my brand to life so it pops off the page. I'm a former.

15:29

So I'm like, reels are my stage, you know? Like, I love it. Well, like, performing is in your blood, right? And a lot of people are just terrified. So I'm like, well, if you're terrified, don't, you know, baby steps. Yeah, exactly. I definitely want to get into that with you, because I know a lot of our people are listening, we're like, I do want to get on camera, but I'm scared. We'll address that for sure. But the other piece that Shannon said that I just want to reflect back to the audience really lands this.

15:55

is that you said that essentially what you do is you look at what's performing well. Right. This seems obvious, but as business owners and, you know, we're juggling so many different balls wearing different hats. Yeah. This is where I think people are like, I'm on the content hamster wheel is there constantly creating, but they're never pausing to actually look at the data and see what is resonating. So Shannon, like you just dropped that so clearly. It's like.

16:22

she is looking at, this worked really well. How can I repurpose this idea, this concept, this teaching topic clearly resonate with my people into another format? So it's very imperative that as creators for our business, as marketers, that we are like little detectives and we're just like, okay, what worked and like, why did it work? Right? Yes. And it's actually great for in reference to the myths too that we hear like,

16:52

How do you use the app, right? There's so much we can learn just by our own behaviors. So when a real stops me in my tracks, or I have to run into my husband's office and show him, because I'm laughing so hard or it's so genius, why? I will usually save it in a collections folder that I'll go back to and dissect it. But also when people are like hashtags are that I'm like, well, I still use in the search and everyone and people are like, I do too. I'm like, then what are you talking about here, right? Or if they're like, oh, well.

17:19

you know, I need to do this. Well, how are you using it? Like you're probably not doing that. You don't see people doing what you're being told. So why are you following suit? Right. So yeah, I think a lot of it is just if we observe what we're engaging with, what grabs our attention, what we enjoy consuming and how we use it. I use it. I will literally go in the search bar to search where we want to go when we're going to Disney world leaders this year. We're using it to search now too. So what are you searching for? And again, what's grabbing your attention and how are you just

17:48

Consuming content, right? Yeah, I love that because that's almost like a little cookie crumb Like if you follow those crumbs, it'll guide you to oh wow Like I love consuming this really sarcastic funny humor that this like super corporate CEO does Okay, I'm a CEO of my business. How can I incorporate that or is that my personality? Maybe it's not you know, but just like kind of getting

18:13

curious about what you enjoy and why you enjoy it, and then seeing how you could potentially reverse engineer it for your brand. Yep. I love that because again, it's like self-awareness, right? So if you see something that you think is funny, but you're like, oh, but that's so not me, then you don't have to do it. But if you see something that they are doing, you're like, actually, I have the same humor as them, then that's permission to do it too. Yes. There was a friend of mine who's a real estate agent, and we were talking about his Instagram, and he's just like,

18:38

Elizabeth, I hate when I see real estate agents do this and he was just in this dark hole about it. And I was like, dude, you don't have to do any of that. Uh-uh. That's not your brand. You could do something totally different. Yes. That is the fun of Instagram. That's the beauty of it is like, did a post a long time ago. I'm going to butcher it, but I said something like, create what you wish there was more of, right? You know, with us, I'm like, gosh, I wish more people knew this or I wish someone would say, say it. Wow. That's really good. Then say it because.

19:08

someone needs to hear. And that's why I get so passionate about the things I share, because I'm like, I wish people would. So I'm like, actually, well, let's use that as fuel for our own content. Yeah. Yeah. Oh my gosh. I absolutely love that. So let's transition into like leads and sales. OK, because we've been talking about we're posting, we're finding our content type we like to post or what resonates with our audience. We have a general idea of a posting cadence that we're going to.

19:35

go for and we're going to discover what feels consistent for us as brands. But Shannon, I want to drive leads and sales. Like what are a couple things that they need to focus on to actually drive the metrics of not just like follower and reach and engagement? And I know you can connect those dots for us, but actually drive leads and sales, like make money. Right. And I mean, that's why we're here. We make some money.

20:02

Right. And I know most people probably don't want to hear it, but email. Oh yeah. You got to start building your email list. But what I find is, I think where a lot of people get frustrated is they're like, no one's leaving the trigger word for many chat, right? If you set up a many chat, they're like, oh, well no one wants it. I'm like, well, is it $5,000? And most likely people aren't going to drop coaching. Like, if you wouldn't want a link in your DMs for that price, and you would need more kind of like,

20:30

nurturing and talking, then probably not the things I have people commenting. That's why I use Money Chat to drive sales with my free stuff. Podcasts, freebies, also my guide. have a category, your Instagram guide, it's $37. I sell that thing like hotcakes because most people are pretty willing to spend, you know, that price in the DMs. Like, hey guys, comment this for my guide and they go and they get it right done and done. For my Reels lab, which is $297 a month, that's usually not...

20:59

it doesn't really convert off a post typically. Yeah. That requires a little more handholding. So for that, stories. So I use my feed and my, like, whether it's a carousel or real, and I'm trying to convert off that. It's usually to go into my sales funnel through an email so that then they get several emails to kind of work them into and trust me to spend more than 50 bucks, right? Yes. If it's a guide, like they're going to buy it. Or if it's like,

21:26

a really cool thing off Amazon. Like that's not about you. Right, I always say it's really easy to sell products that you like. Right, like through affiliate links and things like that. I get what tripod is that? People buy it in a second, right? Our stuff, we gotta kind of hold their hand a little bit more. So you gotta think about that. So, no, that's not to say I have clients who sell courses in the hundreds and literally they'll have a real go viral. Someone made $10,000 off one reel. So it.

21:53

But again, it's a very niche topic. It's a very hot course that she knows her people. So don't let me deter you. I'm just saying, if you're struggling and you don't have a course that's super niche, that's going to sell like hotcakes. Okay. So with that said, I then go to stories and what I'll do with stories, if I'm talking again, a guide, I usually only need one story, one link sticker. They click it, they buy it, they move on with their life. It's a little digital download, right? But if it's Reels Lab or my audit, which is in the thousands,

22:23

I do probably four or five stories in a row talking about it. And I treat those four or five stories almost like an email sequence, right? Right, we all have our little lanes. This is not my lane, but the sales sequence I have, I believe the first one is just like an intro of what it is, why I created it. The second is like FAQs about it. The third is testimonials, the fourth email, right? They all kind of have this, each email has a purpose. So my stories kind of go like that. Like I'll get on stories, talk about.

22:50

Oh my gosh, you guys, I just had this huge win in the reals lab. Let's talk about it. A second one. I'll talk about the person's thing. The third one, I'll talk the bells and whistles. The fourth story. I'll then show maybe one more social proof or just kind of have a come to Jesus with them. And then that leads to sales. If I do one story about the reals lab and it's 297, they're like not convinced. So again, and our guards are up. We are being sold to, we are consuming more. It's like, come on, we can't blame them. We can only blame ourselves. And you and I know the old.

23:20

marketing rule is seven, it's now like 77. So that means they have to see it 77-ish times. That's not science, but that's why stories are so great. So they see it on your feed, they see it on your stories, they see it in your email, and then they're like, okay, I'm in. So don't be hard on yourself. It's funny, even though I'm a marketing nerd, I'm not the data marketing nerd. Like I love data, but I honestly can't say this for sure because I don't really know, but I get a lot of sales on my emails and I get more sales off my stories than posts. Wow. Yes.

23:48

But again, it just depends. I think products post easy, because you can see the I'm the product. So it's a little harder to sell this talking head that's just that they're going to watch five seconds of and go away. So long story short, don't be hard on yourself. I think everyone has felt it lately. You've to get that money shot going. You've got to get those email funnels going and you have to use stories and do not be afraid to talk about it for more than one story. I know.

24:17

One story a day is a great tactic for a lot of people to get views up. But when you're launching or you're trying to sell, one story is not going to cut it. Yeah. I love that you said that. And Shannon is such a great example of this. I've learned so much from you about how to leverage Instagram stories. Because honestly, for so long, I really didn't understand how they connected to my sales funnel in that way. And a few years ago, I literally would just like

24:45

you know, reels were my focus. That's definitely how I grew and built my audience. And then I would just share like my reel to my story with like a sticker or something like that. And I remember actually Juan, our good friend, we were connecting about something and I was sharing like a struggle with him and he was just like, what about your story strategy? And I was just like, I'm like, what story strategy? Like, what are we talking about here? Yeah, like, I don't know what you're talking about. So then I went down this rabbit hole. And I will tell you,

25:15

you've put in all these reps. Obviously you're an expert in your space and you're leading by example. So if you guys are like, what the heck is she talking about with her story? Go watch her stories. Do it every day. mean, almost every day I'll do, like today for the Rails Lab, I did two or three in a row at least. I'm like, one story isn't going to cut it. So if you're curious, I'm typically talking Rails Lab and doing several because again, it's not a cheap product. Yeah, no, absolutely. And like I have a clarifying question about

25:44

the story strategy in terms of a link sticker because I had learned and been taught and you can tell me if this is wrong. Well, I guess two parts of this. One is I was concerned about using a link sticker because I was told, that's going to send people off of Instagram, off of the platform, and the algorithm's not gonna like that, so it's gonna be shown to less people and

26:13

I haven't tested it enough with my brands. It sounds like with you, you're like, Elizabeth, I don't care what you say, like I make sales. So at the end of the day, hello, follow the sales. Like that was my understanding about it. Essentially lessen conversions when you use a link sticker. So what I started using, and I'm really curious your thoughts on this, cause I noticed that you don't do this. And I'm like, why doesn't she do this? So I then I ask you, I also use many chat, which by the way, if anyone's listening and you're like, what the heck is many chat?

26:41

I will link it in the show notes. I've done multiple episodes on like exactly how to set it up, how it works. It is a total game changer for automating all of your leads and sales on Instagram. No matter the size of your audience, if you know how to do, be strategic in your content, have a clear call to action, have a clear sales funnel, like Shannon just mapped out, you can totally leverage it. Now, if you don't have those pieces in place, it might not be worth your investment at this moment. But anyway, so in my story, and I still do this,

27:11

I'll say like, I'll talk about my podcast, for example, and then I'll have a text pop-up that just says, reply episode to the story and I'll DM you the link to listen. But I noticed that you don't typically do that, you just include a link sticker. So can you talk me through how this works? Yeah. Look at this morning, and now I just remember, like, actually, I think I only did one Reels lab pitch, but it was because today's podcast drop day. So that's kind of my main goal on Tuesdays. Let's see. So let's see how many clicks.

27:41

So I did the link sticker for the podcast and yeah, I'll usually do like here's the YouTube one and here's actually they're about the same the real slab and the I thought maybe one would be way more than the other. But yeah, so usually if it's like a freebie a podcast, I get way more clicks than the actual real slab sticker. I just think it's out of pure laziness for me.

28:04

I was like, is that like I knew you were gonna go there. You're like girl. This is like I can't set up a DM automation Just here's your link moving on I do and I mean we have I think we have it set up I just like don't do it for me. I like to click the link. Oh It's like what you were saying earlier about how you like to consume Okay, this is interesting because I'm the opposite like I generally don't click links if they DM me I might miss well plus me I'll I might miss it and I'll forget about it, but especially when it's something I want like a

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cute piece of jewelry or something, I'm like, I just want to click it right away. You just go for it. Yeah, that makes sense. I think podcasts makes more sense and I should test it because usually they don't want to listen to podcasts right away. They just want to hold it in the e-mails. But again, mine is mainly out of pure laziness. But I will say I get a ton of clicks on it. And it's because I just try to make it as exciting as possible to click. yeah, I basically ask myself, like, would I want to just click and go right to the podcast? I'm like, yeah, sure. Because, you know, they're quick little bite size.

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But then what I do now also on podcast days, which I need to do it now is, you know, the little status symbol we can put in our profile pictures now. I'll say like new episode of good content is in stories. So then when they go to my stories, they go through my stories to find the link and then they go click it. So that's another thing I've been doing. I love that. Yeah. Again, I bet if you ask 50 people, half would say they hate the link sticker and half would say they love the link sticker. it's kind of goes back to what we started with. Even do both, like click the link or DM me.

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And I know people love, I see even a lot of influencers doing that. They'll say, comment shop or click the link in my bio. Cause some people might be like, I don't want your DM. You know what, this is inspiring me to do a test on this for my brand and do it like a month of link sticker. So where do you see the clicks? Is that in your story analytics? Yep. So you scroll up and then you tap the little graph. if you wait at the bottom, show how many link clicks you got. But like I said, I,

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do fine when it's a quick thing they can purchase, right? But a lot of us, I said it's like something they want to do later. So that's where I think it's smart to do the, hey, DM me. But again, mine is just pure laziness. And I'm just like, here's the link. Instagram doesn't want us leaving the app, but I do not see my stories like drastically decline with a link sticker. And you know what? This is my coach brain in watching your content is you've also like trained your audience of this is how I show up in stories.

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And so they see your link. Like it's just part of how you show up. It's part of like your call to action. It just is how you do it. And so over time, obviously you've worked really hard to build your audience. And that's the other thing to kind of keep in mind, my beloved listener, as you're, you know, consuming this episode is you do also have to have those hot prospects in your audience, you know, to get the clicks, right? And that's where the content needs to be really strategic. Yeah.

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Again, it's sustainable for you, Shannon. It's not that you're lazy. You create a lot of content. You're putting so much out there. You have a podcast, your Instagram, your LinkedIn. You are doing so much. You're a mama. You have two kids. You have a huge business. Like, if you need to just put your link sticker in there, you're going to do that, girl. I was talking to you about it the other day, but I love that you said you have real estate clients because I told realtors, if they want to get more clicks, realtors, you're not selling something people want all the time. Right. We can't buy houses every day. Wouldn't that be cool? I mean.

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It's like a once in a lifetime thing for a lot of us, right? So think of cool, exciting developments in your neighborhood. Like maybe there's an awesome new shopping center coming or like some crumble cookies finally coming to your town. I don't know. If there's a cool article in the local blog about it, you can put that in stories and go click here. I guarantee you will get so many clicks on your link. Cause again, it's like, they probably just want to go click. So like things like that think about, cause I know a lot of people are like, Oh, I'm not selling something all the time. I don't know what's

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put in a link sticker or what. Or again, like you said, say DM me for the link to it and then you can follow up with them next day. like, how excited are you? Isn't that cool? So it doesn't always need to have to be your link. And I guarantee if it's not your link, you'll get even more clicks. They know you're not making money off them. It's like, here's a cool news article. They're going to click it. Yes. And this is like sales psychology. They're like, I see a link sticker. I click it, which sounds so like demeaning.

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But I'm telling you with marketing, you have to tell people what to do, right? Like that's why we talk about calls to action. Oh, you know, like I want more followers and I'm like, well, you don't ever say follow, you know, my handle for X, and Z. So if you want more, you need to ask for it, right? Like you have to be explicit. What my client was just saying the other day, she's like, I really struggle with stories. And I'm like, I love that you said that because I said it to her and I didn't even realize I've done this.

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I was like, I think I've trained my audience for what to expect every day. Like I have a certain cadence. So like you said, if you get them used to, you're going to share cool stuff I want to check out and actually click it, then they're going to know to click it. But if you keep sharing stuff that you're selling and not telling the story of why you sold it or the, it's making me want to think I want to do like a whole story's course. I like, know, I know. Yeah, you totally should. It's like such Arizona genius and along the

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lines, one of the things that I talk about a lot and I know you do too is like, people buy other people, right? They're not buying products or services. They want to connect. Hello social media and social, right? And so that is why it's powerful when you show your face on your reel or you hop into your story and you show your messy bedroom or whatever you're comfortable showing, right? And so I guess my question to you is,

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If someone does want to become more visible for their brand, whether they're the CEO, the owner, an employee, like whatever their role is, what are some beginning steps? Cause like you and I, we can show up on camera, right? But for those people who are just like, oh my God, I want to do this Elizabeth, but every time I do it, I just like feel like I'm in a barf and I hate it and I just go delete it. And then I just, don't know, I don't even know where to begin. Any tips that.

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I think what I always tell people, and it sounds silly, it's like, I even noticed this back in the day before reels, right? My clients would be like, oh, oh my gosh, and like flat lay images were all the thing. It was crazy. Even if they just added their hand into the photo, like it was a mug, but like if they, it would get more engagement. If it was a computer, if you put your hand in it, you get more engagement. Cause they're like, okay, this isn't a stock photo. This is their computer, their office, their whatever. So what I started telling people was stories. If you're scared,

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Okay, let's say the first thing you do every morning is go to Orange Theory. That's your thing, right? You start with your feet walking and then you pan up, tilt up and show Orange Theory and be like, good morning, six, you know, whatever. Just first things first, at least show something you're doing. And that's my first story every day. And it's typically the Today Show in the background, my computer, sometimes my daughter's toys and a lukewarm cup of coffee. And I just show them whatever I'm working on. like checking on any of Reels Lab students or reading an article from this or that.

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It's pretty much the same first story every day. And it's just the first thing I'm doing for the day. And that way I'm just kind of greeting my audience and saying, hey guys, like, and I'll usually include a poll and say, you know, how's your day going? I'll make it fun. Like already dominating, considerate crush or like I need more coffee, check back in later. I'll try to make it kind of silly, right? Or like if it's Thursday, I'm like, it Friday yet? Like I try to make it engaging. So that's what I would do. Cause even if you're the CEO at your team.

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Maybe you guys switch throughout the week and you guys all, but like, just want to see what you're doing. And I want to know that you're letting me into your world. And if you don't want to show, you can still show your POV. It's your mug, your hand, maybe you're a sales coach and obviously they want to see luxury from you. Show that sick car of yours. I mean, my business partner, Emily, starts her stories every day with her breakfast. And I think it's been like five years, the same breakfast every morning and no one gets sick of it. They were all watching your little reality show. Again, it's familiarity. So that's what I would say.

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Start with your feet, start with your hand. And then my other tip is, and this is like an old school tip that I've shared, be in your car, because you know no one can bother you. And if someone sees you, they'll think you're on FaceTime, so they won't think anything. And have the phone, and you can have your sunglasses on. Because I actually have a lot of people get nervous about where they're looking. And I even have friends my age, you elder, millennial, they're like, I still don't know where to look. Like, it's that little green dot.

36:25

But it's so funny. So like, that's another thing that helped my friend Brenna actually get comfortable. Now she's on stories all the time. So show me at least one thing behind the scenes of your day every day. The rest could be a post, again, a blog post, on the news you saw, something relevant, a post from someone else, your own reel, but at least something that is human. That's just an easy way to do it in the morning. And then that way, if you forget the rest of the day, well, at least you greeted them hello.

36:50

Yeah, I love that. That is so simple and I think it's a great first step. Or your dog, right? Walking with your dog. People love a dog. Yes. Oh my God. People love animals, but they go crazy for them. They do. Oh my gosh, Shannon. I have so many more questions for you. I am wondering, do you think at some point I could bring you back for part two of our discussion? Yes, I would love that. Okay. Absolutely. That would be amazing. I want to close with

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Where can people find you? Where can they get all of your goodies? Where should we send them? Yeah, probably definitely Instagram. I'm on there a lot, obviously. It's just Shannon McKinstry. I'm on many other platforms, but that's where I'm most active. And then my website is also shannonmckinstry.com. And then I have a podcast called Good Content. So that is mini tiny little bite size because that's all I have for with my two kids at home.

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But I like you said, just share what I see working every week. So you can kind of take a quick, just get a quick little win every week. So brilliant. Your podcast is gold. Definitely go follow her show. It's called Good Content. Definitely give her a follow on Instagram, stalk her stories, learn from her. Shannon, thank you so much for being here. And I cannot wait to invite you back for part two of this discussion, because I feel like we were just getting into the goods. I know.

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I know it was so good in our live back then. We got to do another one of those too. You're just a gem and I just really appreciate you inviting me. You're so welcome. That is a wrap, my beloved listener. Thank you for being here. I hope you got so much value out of my conversation with Shannon. Please know that this gets to feel simple, strategic and aligned for you and your heart and your soul. You are a human, not just a business owner.

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and we are here to really support you and your sole purpose in showing up so boldly online so you can drive more leads and sales and really live the life that you desire. So just thank you so much for your time. I'm sending you so much love and I cannot 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 guides.

39:14

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 ElizabethMarbury.com slash freebies to get my monetize your IG guide. If you got some incredible value from today's episode, be sure to leave a review and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.

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and I cannot wait to start it with you again next week.