32. The ONE Thing Holding Back Your Instagram Sales (and How to Fix It)
Are you struggling to get sales from your Instagram content? It might be because you’re focusing too much on promotional content and not enough on attracting your ideal clients! I’m breaking down the key differences between promotional content and attraction content, and why finding the right balance is the secret sauce to growing your audience and landing your dream clients.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
[00:25] Understanding Promotional Content vs. Attraction Content:
Discover why too much promotional content can make your feed look like a spammy sales pitch and turn off potential clients.
[04:15] What is Promotional Content?
Promotional content is when you're directly selling your products or services—think Canva slides showcasing your offers or reels listing your products. While this is important, it shouldn't be your main focus.
[05:37] What is Attraction Content?
Attraction content is all about serving your audience by providing value. It’s designed to build trust and establish you as an authority in your niche. Think helpful tips, behind-the-scenes peeks, or solving small problems for your followers.
[09:25] Why Attraction Content Works:
Learn how shifting your focus from "me, me, me" to "you, you, you" builds a relationship and trust with your audience. When people feel seen and supported, they’re more likely to engage with and share your content.
3 Steps to Shift from Promotional to Attraction Content:
Give Before You Take:
[10:50] Start with value-packed content that solves a problem or answers a question for your dream client. For example, if you're a fitness coach, share simple workout routines they can do at home instead of just promoting your programs.
Tell Stories, Don’t Just Sell Products:
[12:39] Share the "why" behind your offers. If you’re a jewelry maker, take your followers behind the scenes of your creative process. Create an emotional connection instead of just listing products for sale.
Hook Them from the Start:
[13:06] You only have a few seconds to capture attention. Focus on compelling hooks in your content that speak directly to your ideal client’s pain points or desires. The more specific you are, the better!
PS: I’m excited to announce that I’m opening up three spots for private mentorship! If you’re interested in working with me 1:1, apply for a free Instagram breakthrough session where we’ll talk about your business, your goals, and how I can support you in fast-tracking your success.
Links mentioned in this episode…
Apply for a complimentary IG breakthrough call! - or DM me the word APPLY on Instagram and you’ll get the link.
REELS FOR BUSINESS 3 DAY WORKSHOP REPLAY: If you missed my recent live workshop on creating Instagram Reels, don’t worry! You can still get access to the replay. REGISTER HERE AND WE’LL EMAIL YOU THE REPLAY FROM ALL 3 DAYS!,
Want to dive deeper into using AI for marketing? Check out my four-part mini-series and my interview with AI coach Juan Galan, one of the most popular episodes to date!
JOIN HOT REELS: The 12-Month Instagram Content Lab
An intimate, strategy-packed mentorship for established business owners ready to create killer content that stops the scroll, grows your following and attracts your dreamboat clients (even if you have no idea what to post and feel like you’re always throwing spaghetti at the wall!)
FREE guide to Monetize Your IG: Seven Simple and Proven Ways to Finally Make Money on Instagram
Apply for your FREE Instagram Breakthrough Call with Elizabeth
Quote
12:12 - Tell stories, don't sell products.
TRANSCRIPT
S3 Ep32 - The ONE Thing Holding Back Your Instagram Sales (and How to Fix It)
00:00
Today we're diving into one of the biggest questions I get asked about Instagram content for businesses and brands, and that is how do you balance giving value to your audience versus selling and promoting your paid offers, products or services? If you've been frustrated with your lackluster results on your business account, it's probably because you're making this common error.
00:25
which is focusing too heavily on promotional content. So today we're gonna break down the key differences between promotional content and attraction content and why mastering this balance is the secret sauce to growing your audience and landing those dream clients. Trust me, you don't wanna miss it. Let's go.
00:47
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.
01:16
Let's dive in.
01:25
Welcome back to Strut It, where we talk all things visibility, Instagram growth, and creating content that not only stops the scroll, but brings your dream clients and customers into your world. I'm Elizabeth Marbury, and today we're gonna be diving into something that trips up a lot of business owners. In fact, it's one of the most common mistakes that I see businesses make on Instagram, and that is,
01:53
promotional content versus attraction content. So I'm excited to get into that with you today. But first, I wanna quickly celebrate that every week I get an email with the amount of downloads this podcast gets, and I'm thrilled to report that we are growing exponentially right now. So I just wanna thank you, my beloved listener, for being here, for taking the time to invest in yourself, in your business.
02:21
And it tells me that you're really finding value in this podcast. It's supporting you as you go on to social media to market your business. And if you love the podcast, I have a huge favor to ask. One, double check that you've subscribed to the show. I can't tell you how many times people are telling me they love the podcast and they're not actually subscribed. So please make sure you are subscribed. You're following the show. That really helps us with the podcast.
02:51
algorithm gods to get in front of more incredible, ambitious business owners like yourself. Secondly, if you could take 60 seconds to rate and review the show, I cannot tell you personally just how much these reviews make my day. They light me up and they really help to inform me in terms of future podcast content as well, what you're loving, what you wanna see on the podcast. I read each and every one of those. So thank you in advance.
03:20
for doing that and of course that also helps us with the podcast algorithm. So it really helps to ensure that we can continue to show up for you each week. Lastly, please share this podcast today with a business colleague or friend who you know is also trying to figure out the puzzle that is Instagram marketing. I'm so appreciative of your ongoing support and I promise to continue to show up for you and serve.
03:46
every week so Instagram can feel easy and effective while also being the most fun part of your marketing. Okay, let's get into promotional content versus attraction content. So what is promotional content? This is content where you're outright selling your offers. So I see a lot of this when I see people post canvas slides that show their classes or their workshops or their courses.
04:15
or maybe a reel that just showcases a list of products that are for sale, or really any kind of content where I see it and it's just straight asking for the sale, it's kind of like a spammy commercial. When you watch it or you're reading it, it just feels very salesy. Now, don't get me wrong, promotional content isn't bad. It has its place, but if that's...
04:41
all your posting, you're missing a huge opportunity to build trust and a relationship with your audience. Because too much promotion can feel like a sales pitch that no one asked for. And spoiler alert, people are more likely to scroll right past it. So if your content for your business has been very ineffective recently, this might be the cause. I invite you to do a little audit of your feed.
05:10
and see how heavy you have been focusing all of your attention on that kind of promotional content. So what is attraction content? This is the magic sauce of social media marketing, and it truly is one of the hardest learning curves that I see with my clients, with my private clients, my group clients. This is the piece that takes a whole different mindset shift.
05:37
So attraction content is designed to provide real value to your ideal clients. It's not about selling, it's about serving. Let me say that one more time. It's not about selling, it's about serving. So I'm gonna give you a couple really specific examples of attraction style content that still is an effective part of converting a follower into a paying client.
06:07
but it's less like in your face, like by my product or service. So in my dance studio, my brick and mortar studio, we sell wedding dance lesson packages. And these packages are designed to help you to design your unique and memorable first dance. You can feel totally confident dancing in the spotlight in front of all your friends and family, even if right now you have two left feet. So we sell packages.
06:34
of private dance lessons. And we do that in our brick and mortar studio and we also have an online studio. So promotional content would be if I were to showcase a picture or a video of clients dancing and I said, book your well-worthy total dance package now, 10 lessons to boost your confidence and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, right? That is promotional content. Now that does not work on Instagram.
07:03
Instead, what we do is we might post a reel showing a simple first dance entrance idea they can use right now. So we're solving a small problem for them in the reel. They can watch that first dance entrance, they can save it, they could practice it with their partner, they could even do it, right? And in doing that and solving that small problem, we're positioning ourselves as the experts and authority on wedding.
07:33
dancing. And that truly is what I mean by giving value. Value could be entertaining them. Value could be educating them or inspiring them, motivating them. I did an episode before about the components of viral reels and I taught you the three E's. So those three E's are entertain me, make me laugh, share relatable content so I know that you see me, that you get me.
08:02
as your ideal client. The second piece is emotional content. Can you help me to feel something? Can you motivate me? Can you inspire me? And the third piece of content is educational content. Can you teach me something new? You are the expert. I have the problem. You have the solution. Can you give me a breadcrumb to help me solve a small problem today? And in doing so,
08:27
and showing up every single day, you are establishing yourself as an authority in your space. You can think about sharing a behind the scenes process of your service or your product. You can offer tips or strategies that solve a specific problem that your audience is facing. You can answer common questions that your ideal client prospects have. If you own a business and you're taking sales calls, I can guarantee you that
08:56
you get asked the same 20 questions every week. So use all of that, turn that into content. Creating reels that teach something that someone can go implement right away will give that person a quick win and further establish you as an authority in your niche. This type of attraction content makes people stop, engage and share, and most importantly, trust you. So when they see you as someone who provides value without asking for anything in return,
09:25
they're naturally more inclined to check out your offers later. So let me get into a little bit more as to why attraction content really builds your relationship and trust with your audience. It really works because it shifts your focus from me, me, me, here's what I sell, here's what I do, here's a list of my products and services, here's my upcoming workshop, here's my teacher training, here's this link to enroll.
09:54
to you, you, you. Here's what you need. Here's how I can help you. So you're speaking directly to the challenges and the struggles of your audience. And you're also speaking into what do they desire? What do they want? And guess what? People love to share helpful content. On Instagram, you want to create that content that people are going to want to engage with because
10:22
If they share your content, if they like it, if they comment, if they save, then that tells the algorithm, oh my gosh, this is a really solid piece of content. I'm gonna show it to more of the people that don't already follow Elizabeth, right? So it's a great way to get your product or service in your business in front of more people. So here's how you can shift your strategy from promotional focused content to attraction content.
10:50
I have three simple things you can start doing today. One is give before you take. Start with value packed content that solves a problem or answers a burning question of your dreamboat client. For example, if you're an online fitness trainer, you could post reels talking all about your fitness packages and offerings and how they're structured and what you do.
11:17
Or you could post content that shows simple workout routines that your clients can follow at home right now. And I'm sure you can feel into the difference between those two different pieces of content. And this is what I mean about learning how to play the game of Instagram. If you're gonna play on this free platform, you've gotta learn how to play the game. And I also just love this because you wanna be of value. You wanna connect with those people.
11:46
You wanna help them today. Now, if I want to completely get in the best shape of my life, am I gonna do that by watching your 15 30 second reels on Instagram? No, I'm gonna fall in love with you. I'm gonna love the way that you teach. I'm gonna feel into how good I feel after I do the workout you recommended. And then I'm gonna go click on your profile and I'm gonna go see what offerings you have. That's how it works.
12:12
The second thing you can do to start today to shift into attraction content is to tell stories, don't sell products. So you can think about what is the why behind your offer? For example, let's say you're a jewelry maker. What you can do is you can take your followers behind the scenes of your creative process, show them how you handcraft each piece.
12:39
And that can create that emotional connection, which is far more powerful than a canvas slide that just lists your new product and saying coming soon, right? Again, you wanna think about how can you activate your people and really tell stories. Stories work way better than that straight up salesy promotional content.
13:06
The third way to shift your strategy from promotional to attraction content is you must hook them from the start. So attraction content needs to grab attention fast. We live in an attention economy. You need to, as a business owner, an entrepreneur who is leveraging Instagram to grow your business, you need to become masterful at hooks and capturing attention within the first three seconds. So you wanna think about what would make your ideal client stop scrolling.
13:35
And how you do that is the target market research piece. You're calling out their struggles, you're painting the desire, and you're using really specific language to a very specific niche. So all of your reels, for example, have to have really compelling either text on screen hooks or a visual hook, meaning the video is so visually appealing that I just can't stop looking at it. And again, the more specific you can be, the better. So I'm gonna use an example in my niche.
14:03
So if I'm working with small business hunters who are struggling to grow on Instagram and I started my video with, I can help you grow on Instagram. Hi, I'm Elizabeth and I do this, right? That's that me focused promotional content. Versus if I start my video with, here's why your canvas slides aren't converting to sales. Do you hear how much more specific that is and how it's going to help my ideal client with the exact problem that they're experiencing?
14:32
Now I know you might be thinking, Elizabeth, does this mean I should never post about my offers? Okay, of course not, but the key is balance. And I want you to think about your Instagram account like a conversation. Remember clients come from conversations. You wouldn't meet someone new and immediately try to sell them something, right? You get to know them first. You would build a relationship. You would support them. You would listen to them. You would...
15:00
Give them your thoughts, your feedback, you'd help them, you'd support them, and then you would introduce your offer. Now, last week I taught you my exact multi six-figure sales funnel, and I want you to go back and listen to that because in that episode, I share with you exactly how I take this attraction style content and use it to drive leads and sales. But the short of it is, is I create a value-based
15:29
piece of content, very strategically. I have a clear call to action, so they know exactly how I want them to interact with that content. And many times in my businesses, I'm driving them to a freebie or a lead magnet that will solve another problem of theirs to get them onto my email list. Or maybe I'm driving them into my podcast community.
15:53
So you have to really think about like, what is your customer journey? What is your sales funnel? And if you're a little bit confused about that, just go back to last week's episode. There's no gatekeeping. I break it all down step by step. But you can think about sticking to an 80-20 rule where 80% of your content is really that attraction content. The stuff that serves, engages, builds relationships, and then the other 20% is promoting. And when I say promoting, I mean,
16:22
like a paid offer with those freebies, I'm pretty much always promoting my freebies. I'm always building my community because remember you don't own your Instagram followers. You do need to feel really clear on how you're gonna get these people off of Instagram and into a sphere that you own. And even when you are promoting, like doing a hard promotion, there are ways to do it in which it is much more effective, like telling a story.
16:52
telling a client transformation story or a testimonial of one of your customers and explaining the why behind your offer, the why behind your products or service so you can really get into the feelings. So that's a whole nother skillset of how do we even do that promotional content in a way that is effective. Because the old school way of, I'm just gonna create a Canva graphic with my offers on it does not work anymore in 2024 or beyond with social media marketing.
17:21
So to recap, promotional content is all about pushing your offers, but attraction content is what builds relationships, trust, and long-term engagement. And when you have that relationship, selling becomes so much easier because people already see you as a resource, an expert, an authority they can trust. If you're scratching your head right now, trying to understand how to create
17:48
this attraction style content that will convert for your brand or business, that I want to invite you into a free Instagram breakthrough call with me. In these calls, I will learn about your business, about your visions and goals, and give you your next few action steps. And then if I am the right mentor for you, I may invite you into one of my private or group Instagram mentoring containers.
18:17
And if I can't help you, I will point you to another resource. So to get one of these free Instagram breakthrough calls, you must fill out an application. So you can go to Elizabeth Marberry, M-A-R-B-E-R-R-Y.com slash application to apply, or you can just DM me on Instagram, make sure you're already following me so I see your message come through and you can DM me the word apply, A-P-P-L-Y.
18:46
and my gorgeous robot assistant will send you over my application. When you fill that out, it'll take you about five minutes and it really helps me to maximize our time in our session together. I do only have two spots left for private mentorship this quarter. So if you know that you are ready to take your Instagram marketing to the next level and actually...
19:12
have your content work for you in your sleep to drive leads and boost sales. I would love to hop on Zoom and connect with you and see how I can help you to get there faster with more ease and confidence. Thank you for listening today. If you want more tips on creating content that connects and converts, be sure to hit that subscribe button and tune in next week. As always, keep showing up, keep creating, and keep strutting your stuff on Instagram.
19:42
I'll see 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 going to want to 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.. 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.