39. 10x Your Instagram Story Views to Attract More Dreamboat Clients
Are you frustrated by low Instagram story views? Wondering how to make the most of your stories to boost engagement and drive results? You’re in the right place. I’m sharing a game-changing strategy that can multiply your Instagram story views by 10x—yes, really! Whether you’re gearing up for holiday promotions or simply want to build deeper connections with your audience, this tip will transform how you use stories.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
[00:00] The Power of Instagram Stories: Why stories are your secret weapon for building relationships with your most loyal followers.
[04:15] Why Letting Your Stories Go Blank Works: A simple trick to reset Instagram’s algorithm and get more people viewing your content.
[07:22] Step-by-Step Strategy to 10x Story Views: Practical steps for implementing this strategy, including tips on timing and using DM automation.
[11:38] Stories vs. Reels: How stories nurture your audience while reels bring in new followers.
[14:20] Algorithm Insights: What Instagram looks for when prioritizing whose stories to show and how you can leverage this for growth.
[17:35] Real-Life Results: Examples of how this strategy brought new leads to my email list and skyrocketed engagement.
Key Takeaways:
Pause to Reset: Let your stories go blank for 24-48 hours. This resets Instagram’s algorithm and ensures your next story gets more visibility.
Start Strong: Post one engaging story after the pause with a clear hook and a keyword-based call-to-action (CTA).
DM Automation for Engagement: Use tools like ManyChat to boost interaction and drive traffic to your lead magnets or offers.
Build Connections: Stories are about nurturing your audience—share behind-the-scenes content and let your followers feel like they’re part of your inner circle.
Quick Tip:
DM me the word "chat" on Instagram to see DM automation in action and grab a free trial of MiniChat, the tool I rely on for automated responses that convert!
Links mentioned in this episode:
Try ManyChat for FREE with my LINK
Apply for a complimentary IG breakthrough call! - or DM me the word APPLY on Instagram and you’ll get the link.
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
"Pause your stories for a day or two, and watch your views soar when you come back. It’s like giving your audience a reason to miss you—then showing up with exactly what they want to see."
S3 Ep39 Transcript: 10x Your Instagram Story Views to Attract More Dreamboat Clients
00:00
If you know me, you know I am a huge fan of Instagram reels. I always suggest that you focus most of your energy in creating reels, especially if you are wanting to grow your audience, nurture your relationship with your followers, and drive leads. But today we are gonna switch gears and focus on Instagram stories. I'm gonna be sharing a simple yet practical strategy that can help you 10x your story views, giving your followers and biggest fans a chance to.
00:29
really connect with your brand. So whether you're trying to grow your email list, boost your promotion for the holidays or beyond, or simply just get more eyeballs on your content, this tip is a game changer. Let's do it.
00:44
Welcome to Struttit, a podcast about creating bold visibility on social media with zero apologies. I'm Elizabeth Marbury, your host and Instagram marketing coach. I help small business owners get seen on Instagram and monetize their offers so they can make more money doing their sole lead work. If you're tired of spinning your wheels on Instagram and you're seeking simple, proven Instagram marketing strategies that actually work, you're in the right place.
01:13
Let's dive in.
01:20
Welcome back to the show. I'm Elizabeth Marberry. I'm so happy that you are taking this time to invest in learning a new skill so your Instagram content can really work for you to drive more leads and sales in your business. I'm super excited to get into this really quick tip for leveraging Instagram stories today because the stories algorithm has changed quite a bit in the last year. And this is a new strategy, new tip that wasn't even relevant a year ago. So,
01:49
I applaud you for joining me today, making sure that you're most up to date on how to leverage this platform. And before I share, I have a quick win that I wanna share with you. And this is never underestimate the power of your efforts on social media. So of course we show up on social media for our business because we want to sell more of our products and services. We want to build a community.
02:17
We want to build relationships with our ideal customers and all of that, and that's wonderful. And what I want to remind you of is that this tool, social media and specifically Instagram, is a platform that can do even more for you and your business. And I'll give you a couple examples. A year ago, I got a phone call from ITV asking if they could interview me about my wedding dance business on This Morning, which is the biggest morning show
02:46
the UK with millions and millions of viewers. And not only did they wanna interview me so I could talk about my business on live TV, they wanted to fly me to the UK and pay me for the interview. Like it was a pinch me moment of, wait a second, am I getting paid to promote my business in front of millions of people? Like what is actually happening? And the coolest part about the story is they found me on Instagram. Now fast forward to today.
03:14
Just yesterday, I got a direct message from a world famous athlete. This woman is an Olympian, recent gold medalist, and I'm not going to disclose who this is yet, but long story short, she's getting married in December and she said, hey, I'm wondering if you could help me with my first dance. And of course we reached out right away and said, absolutely, we'd love to work with you.
03:41
So that is going down in December for our business. But how did this celebrity find us? She found us through our Instagram content. And so I share this with you because you never know what can happen when you really go all in on your Instagram. When you're showing up consistently, week after week, putting in the work, you will be amazed at the opportunities that will land in your lap.
04:10
And it's no mistake, right? It is no mistake that these things are happening. We've put in the time. I actually got a notification that we're only 60 reels away from hitting the 1000 real mark, okay? That's right, I've posted almost 1000 reels. So keep that in mind too, if you're new, it takes time, but I really want to highlight.
04:35
the power of this platform. You can not underestimate this powerful free tool that you're holding in the palm of your hand right now. So I hope this inspires you to kind of get ramped up and really boost and focus in on your Instagram strategy. And side note, if you feel like you have been posting content consistently, but you still feel like you're throwing spaghetti at the wall, hoping it'll stick and feeling frustrated at your lackluster results.
05:03
the fastest, most effective way that I can support you is through my private mentorship. So if you're interested in getting my eyes on your business so I can really customize a content strategy for you, your next step is to apply for a complimentary Instagram breakthrough call. You'll go to elizabethmarbury.com slash application. That's elizabethmarbury.com slash application.
05:31
You'll fill out an application so I can just learn more about your business, where you're at now, and what your big, bold goals are, so I can really maximize our time together. And then in our session, I'll help you identify your next three action steps, and if I'm the right person to support you and be your mentor, I may invite you into one of my programs. You can also DM me on Instagram right now,
05:58
P-P-L-Y, DM me the word apply. You can also get the application that way. I cannot wait to connect with you. Okay, so let's get into the Instagram story strategy that it's perfect timing for you to learn this. I'm recording this right before the holiday season. So definitely leverage this strategy if you're doing any sort of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday.
06:25
holiday deals or really anytime you're looking to promote your offers. And this simple Instagram story strategy can really 10x your views. So if you post Instagram stories regularly, you know that as you post stories throughout the day, your first story has the most viewers.
06:50
And then as you keep going throughout the day, the views go lower and lower and lower, okay? So in the past, like I wanna say a year to two years ago, we were taught that you have to have your stories going all the time. Like I remember telling my clients that, like you always want something going in your story at all times and that no longer works. They changed up the Instagram story algorithm.
07:18
And just a reminder, every piece of content, every different place on Instagram has a different algorithm. So Instagram Reels has a different algorithm than Instagram Stories. So I don't know exactly when this happened, but they changed up how the algorithm works in Instagram Stories. And so now there's this really simple tip that you can do, and you'll be amazed at how well this works. Now, full disclosure, I learned this tip
07:47
I believe originally from Brock Johnson. He is amazing, he is a leader in the Instagram marketing space. Definitely go follow him if you haven't already. I love his work. And I've also seen this tip shared throughout Instagram with all the different creators and influencers and marketers that I'm connected with. And I personally have tested this tip in both of my businesses and I know it works. So I'm happy to share this with you directly today. So here's the strategy.
08:17
The key to boosting your story views on Instagram is to let your story go blank for 24 to 48 hours. It sounds a bit strange, right? But here's why it works. When you let your story go blank for a day or two, Instagram actually resets how it shows your stories to your followers. So when you come back and you post a story, it has a much higher chance of reaching a wider audience.
08:43
So here's how you can take full advantage of this trick and I'm gonna walk you through just step by step. It's really simple how you can do this. So after you take a break, so you took 24 to 48 hours off of posting to your stories, you're going to post one story. And this could be an image, it could be a video, it could be just like a simple text post, don't overthink it, but it's just one story.
09:11
So I did this yesterday and I'll give you an example. I showed a picture of myself and then the text on the screen said, from my organic content, I've added over 5,000 hot prospects to my email list. This resulted in an 84% increase in revenue within 12 months. Most of these leads rolled in while I was off my phone and working in my zone of genius or enjoying time with my family.
09:41
Free mini guide, close sales in your sleep with Instagram DM automation. I'll walk you through the exact steps I used to get these results and share with you my favorite tool that you can totally try for free. DM me leads and I'll send it over. So that's a lot of text to have on an image, but what people will do is they will hold their thumb down on the story.
10:09
they can read all of your texts. So you can see in that one slide, I took you on a journey. I shared with you my results, how I did it, and a free resource so you can learn how to do it as well. So you're gonna post a single story. Now, step two is what I did. You're gonna use a keyword call to action. If you're kind of like, wait, why am I using a keyword? Why am I using DM automation? I want you to go back and listen to last week's episode
10:38
all about exactly how to get DM automation set up for your business. But on that story, you're gonna invite your followers to reply with a specific keyword. So this could be yes or info or whatever works for your brand, whatever it is that you're offering them. This keyword will trigger the DM automation, the direct message automation, which starts a conversation with them in their inbox, right, in their DMs.
11:08
Not only does this action boost engagement, but it also increases the story's visibility. So that means that Instagram is gonna show it to more and more people that are interested in what you are sharing. So that is part of why your views are going to go up. So step one, you're letting your story go blank for 24 to 48 hours, and then you're gonna strategically post one story.
11:34
driving people to a lead magnet or maybe an offer or whatever your goal is. Maybe you're just trying to build a community driving post, whatever your goal is. Just think through one goal for that one story. Step two, you're gonna use that keyword call to action so that will activate your DM automation and boost engagement. Step three, watch your views soar. So after this pause, you'll see your views 10X.
12:01
because Instagram is now showing the story to more of your followers. This is the perfect opportunity to drive traffic to your freebie, your Black Friday deal, any other offer you wanna highlight. So that is the strategy. It's very simple, it's very easy. I want you to test it out this week and see how it does for you. Now let's quickly talk about where stories fit into your Instagram strategy overall because I usually talk a lot about reels.
12:30
So I just wanna highlight the difference of reels versus stories. Reels are a fantastic way to reach new followers. So they're designed to help you grow your audience and pull in those people who haven't heard of you yet. Can a reel nurture your current followers? Absolutely, and it should. It should definitely drive relationship and connection with those people who are already binging your content and are already your biggest fans.
12:58
And absolutely you can drive conversions with reels as well. But stories are different. So this is where your biggest fans, the people who already follow you are hanging out. It's like your inner circle of people. They're watching your everyday moments or any behind the scenes content you share in your stories. And they're already really invested in your journey. So I always tell people,
13:23
be really strategic about your feed posts, like what goes on your main feed in terms of really, you know, establishing yourself as an expert in your field, but your stories, you can go wild. You can share whatever you feel comfortable sharing because that's where you're gonna really drive that connection and community with your people. So in your stories, you can totally share, like I said, behind the scenes content. You can let your followers know what's happening in your business.
13:50
People love seeing the behind the scenes, the messy parts of your business, your messy warehouse where you're getting all of the shipment delivered and you're so excited about it or whatever it is, they feel like, oh my gosh, they're in your inner circle and people love, love, love that. So it's a great place to nurture those connections and really build a community around your brand. So again, if you're wanting to grow your following, you're probably not gonna do it through stories.
14:18
You'll do that through reels, but stories are a fantastic way to nurture and convert your current audience and followers. Now, in prepping for this episode, I did a little research on what Instagram actually tells us about how they rank stories. So this is directly from Metta. So what they do is they look at a person's viewing history. So Instagram prioritizes stories from accounts you watch often because
14:46
Remember, Instagram makes money by you staying on the app, you consuming information, right? So essentially the algorithm's job is to curate the information that they present on your screen. So if someone regularly views your stories, they're more likely to see your new content. Now, they also look at engagement history. If your followers often engage with your stories by replying to them or liking them,
15:13
Instagram sees them as more interested and will continue to show them your stories. So let's say I'm watching John's stories, I love his stories, I'm liking them, I'm replying to them, I'm commenting, then the next time I log into Instagram, I'm gonna see John's story toward the front of that list. Next, they look at closeness. Instagram also considers how close you are to your followers.
15:39
So if you have a relationship beyond just being internet friends, they know the algorithm's kind of creepy. It knows if you're going back and forth and having conversations with people in the DMs, that is gonna tell the algorithm, okay, Elizabeth likes talking to Greg. So when I go on Instagram, if Greg does a post, I'm gonna see his content because the algorithm knows that we are connected and I'm most likely gonna be interested in his content.
16:05
So these elements influence which stories you see at the top of your feed. And by using a keyword call to action, you are gonna tap into all these factors, right? Of boosting the engagement history, enhancing the closeness, because more of your people are gonna see it, and this is a great way to give people a free gift or invite them into the next step where you can provide a solution to their problem.
16:32
and it increases your views for future stories. So if you're looking for a way to get more eyes on your content and build a stronger connection with your audience, give this blank story strategy a try. The best part is it's simple. It requires minimal effort. The one I posted yesterday took me less than five minutes and it totally 10x my views. And I got some new people on my email list from that one story. And it really can yield massive results.
17:01
If you found value in today's episode, take a pause and make sure that you have subscribed to the show. That really helps us in the podcast algorithm. Please, please, please take a second and rate and review the show. I read every single review and it delights me and it keeps me going. It keeps me wanting to show up and serve and give you this high value information every single week. And lastly,
17:28
If you love this episode, share it with a business bestie, a colleague, someone who is also wanting to learn and understand how Instagram works and how they can use this free tool to grow their business. Don't forget to DM me the word apply, A-P-P-L-Y, and you and I can connect and explore if private mentorship is the right next step for your business growth. Or you can go to Eliz
17:57
slash application that's elizabethmarberry m a r b e r r y dot com slash application and i cannot wait to meet you and chat with you it's my absolute favorite thing to serve i was born to do this work and i would love love love to support you and accomplishing your big bold dreams thank you so much for being here and i can't wait to strut it with you next week
18:24
Thank you for listening to Strut It. If you're ready to start leveraging Instagram to grow your business, then you're gonna wanna grab my free Monetize Your IG Guide, where you'll learn seven simple and proven ways to finally make money on Instagram.
18:40
You can grab your guide at elizabethmarberry.com slash freebies. That's elizabethmarberry.com slash freebies to get my monetize your IG guide. If you've 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.