89: Instagram Strategies for Podcasting with Andréa Jones

Written By Britany Felix
 
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Of all the social media platforms, I use Instagram to promote this podcast more than any other. So, I especially excited to record this episode with Andréa Jones and she did not disappoint.

Andréa is fiercely committed to helping businesses and podcasters build profitable online communities through simple social media solutions.

She's the host of the Savvy Social Podcast and the creator of the Savvy Social School; a digital platform designed to teach its 100+ members (predominantly small business owners) how to implement organic social media strategies. She has also been named one of Social Report's top marketers to follow.

As you’ll hear in the episode, Andréa and I have known of each other for a while and have met in a few very quick passings at various podcasting conferences, but this was our first chance to have a real conversation and I was thrilled to find out she’s every bit as lovely and skilled as she appears online.

In this episode, Andréa shares what types of content are performing well on Instagram at the moment, the main thing she sees people on Instagram get wrong that is hurting their engagement and the growth of their show, the one quick and easy action she recommends you take as soon as you finish this episode that will help you in the long-term to grow your podcast audience (and maybe even your client base), her thoughts sending an automatic DM after someone follows you, why you should be encouraging your audience to save your posts, and more!

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Transcript

Welcome to podcasting for coaches. I'm Britany Felix and I'm a podcast launch consultant who specializes in helping coaches and consultants utilize the power of podcasting as a way to build brand awareness and generate new leads for their business. I realize not every new coach or consultant can afford to hire someone to help launch their show. So I created this podcast as a way to guide you through the process of launching and utilizing your very own podcast to help you grow your business and reach a new audience of adoring followers and potential clients. If you're ready to get your voice and podcast out into the world, head over to podcasting for coaches.com to learn more. Welcome to Episode 89 of podcasting for coaches. Today, we are wrapping up our social media series with Andrea Jones. And as the title suggests, we are obviously talking about Instagram. Andrea is fiercely committed to helping businesses and podcasters build profitable online communities through simple Social Media Solutions. She's the host of the savvy social podcast, creator of the savvy social School, which is a digital platform designed to teach its 100 plus members, predominantly small business owners how to implement organic social media strategies. And she was named one of social reports top marketers to follow Andrea and I jam packed a lot into this episode. So some of the things that we touch on are what types of content are performing well on Instagram at the moment, the main thing that she sees podcasters and really anybody on Instagram get wrong with their social media posts that is hurting their engagement and the growth of their show. The one quick and easy action she recommends you take as soon as you finish this episode that will help you in the long term to grow your podcast audience, and maybe even your client base. her thoughts on sending automatic DMS after somebody follows you, and why you should be encouraging your audience to save your hosts. All of the links for Andrea including her website, her school that she mentions, and the free PDF guide social media for podcasters roadmap can be found by going to podcasting for coaches.com. Click on the podcast tab in the main menu and go to episode number 89. All right, we've got a lot to cover today. So let's go ahead and jump right on in with Andrea Jones. Andrea, thank you so much for being on the show. I am so so excited to talk to you. We've kind of met in passing at various conferences, but there are always literally 1000s of people around. It's chaotic. You're usually in the middle of getting bombarded after giving an awesome presentation. So we haven't really had a chance to chat one on one like this. So thank you so much for being here.

 

02:49

Thank you so much for having me. I had the same iPad, the same experience, I keep seeing your face pop up. And I remember going to the last conference, which was pod fast. And I saw a bit of your talk there. And so yeah, it's kind of like we've been passing each other so bad that we're we're chatting

 

03:07

completely agree. Well, we have a lot to jam pack here in a short amount of time. And as evident by the title of this episode, we're going to be talking about Instagram strategies for podcasters. But one thing that you and I had kind of talked about beforehand was that a lot of these same strategies can apply to Twitter and Facebook, correct?

 

03:26

Yes, absolutely.

 

03:28

Okay, awesome. So one thing I'm curious about, what anytime I talked to any expert, because we all have those things that we see people do in our industry, and we cringe every time because we know that they're ineffective, we know that they're outdated. What are some of those types of things that you're seeing people do on Instagram that if you could just set the record straight right now and tell people like this is a waste of your time? What would that be?

 

03:54

Yes, the one thing that people kind of get stuck in a rut with on Instagram, especially, is posting without being social. Okay. So oftentimes, especially as podcasters, we put a lot of energy into creating our thing, our podcast episodes, and we just put them up on social media. And then we're like, why aren't people engaging with these posts? And I think oftentimes, it's because we're using social media as more of a billboard and statum when it really is, which is a social network. So that's one of the things that I kind of cringe when I hear podcasts or say that because oftentimes the solution is you've got to be engaging to get engagement. And so people kind of kind of look at that and they go, man, I you know, I wish this would be different and like it can be you just have to do different things. So yeah, that's kind of the thing that I cringe a little bit at,

 

04:47

right? And so for somebody who, like me, is terrible with social media, and all they do is just kind of like put up the same episode description and all the places they don't really like customize it or tailor it or strive for that engagement. What are some common Quick things they can do to kind of help, right that ship a little bit.

 

05:03

Yeah. So when you're talking about your podcast on social media, the easiest thing to do sometimes is to get really excited about and say, This is the podcast episode. This is what it's about, go listen to it. But it's shifted, that has been really powerful for a lot of my clients and students lately is to talk about the feeling that people will have as they're listening to your episode. And this works, whether you have an interview style podcast, whether you, you know, just teach or educate, or even if you have something that's a bit more storytelling, you want to tap into the feeling. So how will they feel they feel relieved that they learned something new? Will they feel excited to go on a journey and hear someone's conversation. So think about that feeling. And if you can put that into your post, I will actually really help convert those people who aren't subscribers into subscribers and regular listeners, because you're showing them what it will look like to have your podcast as a part of their regular day.

 

06:02

I love that, especially because for someone like me, I'm pretty analytical. And I do well with like, tell me the facts. And then I'll know if this is going to be like a useful use of my time or an efficient use of my time. So that tends to be how I write as well. But I know that I definitely am not, you know, everyone's not like me in that sense. So that makes absolute sense of tapping into those feelings. Because, yeah, I mean, anytime you you want to engage with anything, it's not usually this like scientific article that's like listing out a bunch of facts. It's the thing that really kind of gets you emotionally charged, good or bad. Either way it spurs engagement. But it's because of those emotions that causes you to want to actually like respond.

 

06:43

Yeah, absolutely. And I think sometimes too, we write our posts, with the assumption that people know what our podcast is what it's about. And so when you're tapping into that feeling, talk as if you're talking to someone who's never heard of your show before. Because oftentimes, if we're posting on social media, yes, we're reminding our current subscribers go listen to a new episode. But what we really want is new people to go listen to our episode. Yeah, that's what we really want. We want to grow our audience, if you've got to write every single post about your show is if someone had never heard of you before. Yes. So if you can really tap into that, that is also very helpful. I mean, if they're a current listener, it almost doesn't even matter what you say, in your posts, right? You're like, Oh, yeah, I'm gonna go listen to that. So really tune into that listener who's never heard of you before. And that will really help with like the conversion of getting new listeners.

 

07:38

I absolutely love that. Because I have to remind my own clients of that, that the whole goal, basically, of doing this podcast, at least for my clients are obviously other goals. But for my clients, it's to grow their business is to bring in new leads to grow their audience grow their following. So the point is to have new people listening with every single episode. And I think that they forget that a lot of times, and they keep talking to the same people, the same people, they don't reintroduce themselves. They don't really share any personal things. And I have a new client who actually she has a really bad habit of being like, Well, you've heard me mentioned this on the show several times before, and then she'll just like gloss over whatever it is. I'm like, well, but the whole point is that there are new people listening to this who haven't ever heard you talk about it on the show before. So it's a little embarrassing to say, I never really made the connection of doing that with social media also. But that makes complete sense.

 

08:29

Yep, yep. And I think even to just mentioning that it is a podcast, because there's so many things you said, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel, or maybe they think it's a Facebook Live show or something else. So really just kind of over explaining it. And I know you're writing it, you're gonna think this feels kind of silly. I don't know if I need to over explain it this much. But it is drastically changed that level of intention for someone looking at that post to actually go and do the things that you're asking them to do.

 

09:00

Yeah, absolutely. So that's a huge one that I try and like talk to my audience about I have an actual, like, whole entire episode of this podcast for like, why you need to educate your audience, because there are still so many people who even if you tell them at the podcast, they don't really know what that means, or they hear the word subscribe, and they think they have to pay for it. So yeah, I think working in those educational components is really key. Absolutely. So what are you seeing on Instagram in terms of like the type of posts that work? Getting into kind of the more like technical aspects, like, do stories perform better do carousel posts perform better do videos like What about audiograms? Those kinds of like technical types of posts? does it vary based on the audience? Or are you kind of seeing some generalized performances across the board with different types?

 

09:48

Yes. So before I get into that, I do want to note that deciding what works depends on your goal with the post. And so sometimes, you know when we're posting our podcast episodes, For instance, we wonder why isn't getting engagement, when in reality, we're asking our people to do something else, we're asking them to go listen to the podcast. So they're probably not also going to like and comment on the post. So take a look at the metrics of that post specifically to measure if it's working. So as far as promoting the podcast goes, What's working right now is actually video content, oddly enough. So if you can create a video of you, the host, inviting folks to go listen to the podcast, that's what's working the best right now on Instagram, both in the feed and in stories.

 

10:38

So not necessarily like a clip of a video interview, but actually like a video of you the host inviting them to listen.

 

10:44

Yeah, so clips work as well, especially if it's interview based. If you can give them a sample of what the episode is about, specifically, if it's a video not, I'm not talking an audiogram, but an actual video. That's what's working the best right now. audiogram still work, but they're not as strong as they used to be. I think people are getting a little bit used to seeing them in the feet. So having a video there is working the best right now, specifically, again, if you're the host, and you can say, here's my latest episode, this is why you should listen to it again, tapping into the feeling of what they'll get what they'll experience in the episode, those tend to be the most highly converting. But some other types of posts are working really well right now as well. As far as engagement goes, one of them being a poll type post. So polling your audience, okay, asking them if they're A, B, C, or D, because it kind of relates to two different types of people. There's a person who's like, Oh, yeah, I'm a B, I'm gonna write that in the comments. But then there's that other person who's like, I'm none of these. And I want the whole world to know. And I love those people. Right. And so that's working really well for engagement right now, honestly, all Instagram wants is people spending time on the platform and looking at your posts. So that's why videos work best. That's why carousel posts are working right now. So any way that you can get someone to linger on your post, just look at it longer than the posts around it, is feeding the algorithm and giving it what it wants, which is people paying attention to your content.

 

12:21

Awesome, I can definitely say so kind of before, pre COVID, and pre everything that's been happening, where things just kind of all went out the window, at least for me temporarily. Before that I implemented some changes and the types of content I was sharing. And one of the ones that I introduced was a carousel post, where I take some bullet points, basically, and turn them into like educational points in this carousel post. So whatever episode I released on Friday, the following Monday, it's like, you know, five ways to do this, blah, blah, blah, like relating to that episode. So like, I kind of like teach in those things. And I will say that the engagement on those is like significantly higher than anything else that I do, including stories like it is at least like three to four times as high. So

 

13:08

yeah, the carousels are working great because of that attention. And then also, we're finding that people are actually saving the carousel posts, especially if they're educational. And Instagram really likes it if someone saves your posts for later.

 

13:24

That's where I'm a little bit confused as to what even the saving thing is. That's something I haven't really played around with. But because I see like the little like bookmark symbol, is that something we should be like striving to encourage? Or is it just kind of like a fun little feature?

 

13:39

Yes, absolutely strive to encourage, especially if you're teaching something in the post, okay, we've been testing this out with some of our clients with some pretty good results. But it kind of works best if you're teaching something, so give them a reason to save the post. But it really helps because Instagram is like a signal to Instagram that this is important. Also, sharing your post to stories has a similar effect. So you almost want to have a content piece that's shareable or saleable. So what's working right now is like impact statements, something that sets you apart from some other people. Or if you're teaching something, one of my clients is a food blogger. She interviews a lot of food folks on her show. And we post recipes in between the episode promotions that do really well on Instagram because everyone's saving them. So you've got to think a little bit outside of the box about how people can save and then don't be afraid to ask people to save this post for later so they can come back to it.

 

14:41

Yeah, that's something I don't think I would have ever occurred to me in these educational posts because they are pretty technical. Like one of the ones that has performed. The best is I literally do a carousel post of like all the requirements that you have to meet in order to get your podcast artwork approved by Apple. So I mean, it's technical. It's like the actual specifications for like the dimensions that The image needs to be like, what format it needs to be in, like all of these technical things. And I don't expect somebody to just remember and that did get saved quite a bit. And there were a lot of people engaging on that. But I didn't ask them to save. And that would have been a perfect one where I could have explained, oh, this would be a great post to save, come back to later when you're at this step in the process. And I can really see that working well, for the people listening to this right now. Because I mean, we're all coaches, and consultants, we all have things we can teach people. So I think just working in that little language of saving this post, no, to come back to later,

 

15:31

is a good idea. Absolutely. And what I would encourage you to do Brittany is go back to that post and share it to your stories again, okay, and maybe kind of bring it back a little bit, because Instagram also likes posts that are engaged with that aren't recent. So you could do that by sharing it to your stories and encouraging people. Hey, you know, if you're just starting on your podcasting journey, this is a really great resource, you can say if, and that also can help kind of boost your kind of notoriety within Instagram itself.

 

16:01

Okay, that's really good to know, I don't think I realized that you even could do. I am so terrible with Instagram, which is why I am bringing on experts for all social media platforms for this series, because you do not want advice from me on this. So if somebody is listening to this, and they know that their Instagram game isn't quite where it should be. And they want like something quick and actionable to do today, like what is a quick and dirty main thing that they can turn off this episode and go do right now that they will likely see a little bit of results from especially if they're consistent with it?

 

16:36

Yes, so one of the things that's working really well, right now on Instagram is responding to Instagram stories. So I challenge you today, to go to someone you admire, or someone you've always wanted to have as a guest on your show, or just maybe even a fan of your show and send them a direct message in response to a story that they've recently posted. It's a really great strategy for starting conversations. And also, the algorithm loves it. So if you can jumpstart the conversation by responding to their stories, that's usually a really good place to start.

 

17:10

Okay, and I'm assuming by responding, it's not just like, sending like a little emoji reaction, but like actually giving them a real, you know, either like compliment or a question or some kind of actual, like, genuine feedback, as opposed to like, just a quick emoji, right?

 

17:24

Yeah, though, I have found the emoji can be great for starting conversation sometimes. Okay. And for my introverts out there, some of you may be panicking, a little bit about starting conversations, emojis a good place to start. But absolutely compliments are like the best way to jumpstart conversations, especially if it's another podcaster. If you really want to kind of build a relationship with someone, that's a really great way to do it.

 

17:49

Yeah, I know, just felt like from my experience, I hate small talk, like I just can't do it. And all feels just like so disingenuous to me. And so like, when I get these people, like, randomly messaged me on Instagram, especially when we've never really interacted like, and it's just like, the most generic thing like, Oh, it's so great to connect with you today. Like, how long have you been doing what you're doing? And I'm just like, Oh, do I really have to respond to this? So I think if you can make it a genuine reaction where somebody is like, Oh, my God, they really took the time. Like, they actually watch this, it meant something to them. They're asking me like a genuine, non generic question. I think that really goes a long way. Because I know, I'm not the only person to feel that way.

 

18:30

Absolutely. And this is a long term strategy, which is where the where the magic happens, this isn't like one time blasting out everybody with the same message, you really want to kind of get to know people, you know, and that's how relationship building happens. And just kind of keep in mind that social media is social first. So it's a little bit different than like a billboard ad or an ad spot of any kind. So just go with that mindset into it. And I think that that will really help you kind of determine what actions you should take on the platform.

 

19:04

So two final questions. One is, what are your thoughts on the automatic DMS after you follow somebody? Because that happens all the time. And I know that if somebody does that, like it almost makes me guaranteed to not interact with their with their stuff. So from the backend side of things, is that a strategy that actually really works? should people be doing that? What should they keep in mind? Just kind of what are your thoughts on all of that?

 

19:29

No, those people are ruining it for the rest of us. Oh, thank God. I don't like that. So what happens is, somebody takes the advice too far networking, and they go, I'm gonna do this automatically, and just blast everybody. It doesn't work. And sometimes some of the strategies that I talked about, like, you know, responding to DMS, you can get caught up in like somebody's thinking that you're an automation when you're not. Right. So personalization is key. But I do like a DM strategy. I did this for a few months last year that worked really well until I ran out of steam. But one of the things that worked well was actually sending a video or a voice message to people who just recently followed and personalizing it, make sure I say their name, maybe check out their profile and say, Hey, I saw you had a podcast, I have a podcast, I'm really looking forward to like getting to know you on Instagram. It's like an introduction to the idea of being connected. And personalizing it is key. I hate those automatic direct messages.

 

20:29

I'm so happy to hear. And I do completely agree. I absolutely love that voice feature on Instagram. Like I use it constantly. And it does seem like whenever I respond with my voice to somebody, because and I'm sure you get this too I get a lot of people who I don't really know, but they see that I am a podcast expert. And so they asked me questions, you know, they send me a DM Hey, what about this and like, I don't want to type it out anyways. So I just like record it real quick in a voice message. And that seems to go over so well. If people are so appreciative that I took the time to like record a message for them when honestly, that takes less time than typing it all out?

 

21:03

Oh, yes. And especially as podcasters we all like rapping more than writing. So that's why we're here. Yeah,

 

21:10

that's why we are not bloggers. Okay, so for the final. So for the final question, what services you offer? Because I know you have several because everything you do is amazing. What services do you offer that can help be coaching consultant listening to this show right now? With their podcast?

 

21:29

Yeah, so my premium service is a done for you social media service where my team and I will completely take over your social media so that you don't have to worry about it. Most of my clients are like, I don't want to log into Instagram. So that's where we come in. But on the more affordable side, we also teach you how to do this. So some of the strategies we talked about today, like how to write those captions for your podcast or, you know, what should the designs look like and things like that we offer in the savvy social school as well. But a really good place to start would be to download the podcasting roadmap. It's kind of an outline of how podcasters can approach a social media strategy without being completely overwhelmed. The link is online, Dre allday.com slash

 

22:16

roadmap. Perfect. And we'll have that mission as well. Links to everything. Awesome. Well, Andrea, thank you so so much for being here. I know that everyone listening to this is going to have a lot to think about and work on their social media feeds, because this has been fantastic. And if you are not already following Andrea, on Instagram, or any of her platforms, definitely do so and check out her podcast as well. Because everything that we talked about here today, like tenfold over on that show, so so so much goodness. So check out the show notes for links to everything. Thank you so much, Andrea.

 

22:53

Thanks, Britany for having me.

 

22:57

And that wraps up my interview with Andrea Jones. I hope that that was very informative for you and inspired you to go make some changes on your Instagram account. I know it definitely did for me. And before I wrap up this episode, I do want to invite you to join the waitlist for my upcoming group podcast launch program. So if you have been considering launching a podcast for a while now, but the process just seems overwhelming. You're not quite sure what you even need to be doing or where to start. You just want somebody to hold your hand and guide you through every single step of the process and tell you exactly what needs to be done. So that you can focus on the more creative aspects. This program is for you. The doors will be opening on September 1, but anyone on my waitlist will actually get exclusive access a full week early. Now there are only going to be at most 10 spots, I may even actually lower that. So if you want to ensure that you grab one of the few spots available, get on that waitlist to get the early access. Again the link will be in the show notes for this episode podcasting for coaches. com click on the podcast tab in the main menu and go to episode number 89. Or if you just want to go to my website, it is a banner right at the top of the page get can't miss it. Now if you've already launched your podcast, but you know that your audience could really benefit from starting a podcast of their own and having someone to guide them through the process. You can absolutely become an affiliate for this program. So definitely reach out to me You can go to podcasting for coaches calm and click on the Contact Form right there in the main menu and let me know that you want to be an affiliate or you can of course email me Britany BR it ANY at podcasting for coaches.com thank you so much for listening and I will see you back here next week. Have a fantastic week. And that wraps up another episode of podcasting for coaches. If you'd like to connect with me further, you can do so on Instagram at podcasting for coaches. If you know it's time to finally get serious about starting your podcast, go to podcasting for coaches calm and click on the work with me tab in the main menu to learn more about my one on one launch consultation packages or my self paced online course. And I look forward to seeing the podcasts that you create and put out into the world.

 
Britany Felix
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