46. The Exact Instagram Strategy That Landed Me in People Magazine (And How You Can Use It Too)
We’re starting the year with a bang, and I’m here to inspire you with a powerful personal story about how an Instagram DM helped me land one of my biggest PR moments yet—being featured in People Magazine! 🎉
This episode is about dreaming big and making bold moves in your business. I’m breaking down the 3 strategies I swear by to stay consistent, refine my content, and attract the right followers who turn into clients. Whether you’re just starting out or ready to scale, this is the energy we’re bringing into the new year.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
[00:00] Welcome to 2025! Why it’s time to go big on social media this year.
[02:14] A vulnerable personal story: How slowing down saved me at the end of 2024.
[05:25] A step-by-step breakdown of how a People Magazine feature stemmed from an Instagram DM.
[13:19] The 3 pillars of Instagram success
[19:22] Bold energy for 2025: Permission to be unapologetic, take action, and dream big.
Key Takeaways:
Consistency is the foundation of Instagram success—stick with it even when it feels slow.
Refining your strategy based on data and engagement will help you create content that resonates.
Clarity in your messaging attracts the right audience—high-value followers who convert into clients.
Dream big, refine as you go, and trust that your efforts are planting seeds for growth.
Links mentioned in this episode:
How Instagram brought in a dream PR moment: A wedding dance lesson for Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Horan leads to a People Magazine feature.
The Wedding Dance Coach That Went Viral On TikTok! | This Morning UK feature with Elizabeth Marberry
Follow Wedding Dance Coach on Instagram
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
“Your bold vision for your business is totally possible. The key is to show up consistently, refine your approach, and own your brilliance unapologetically.”
S3 Ep46 Transcript: The Exact Instagram Strategy That Landed Me in People Magazine (And How You Can Use It Too)
00:00
Welcome to 2025. I'm going to kick off our year together by sharing a really powerful story. I hope it will inspire you to imagine what could be possible for yourself, your business, and your life when you truly decide to go all in on your social media marketing efforts in 2025. My goal today is that you'll walk away feeling so fired up about your business, about creating content on Instagram,
00:29
and building the business of your dreams using this incredible free tool that we have at our fingertips—that is Instagram. I'm super pumped. Let's do it.
00:41
Welcome to Strut It, a podcast about creating bold visibility on social media with zero apologies. I'm Elizabeth Marberry, your host and Instagram marketing coach. I help small business owners get seen on Instagram and monetize their offers so they can make more money doing their soul-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.
01:10
Let's dive in.
01:20
Welcome back to the show, and happy new year! I'm so thrilled that you have joined me again today. We are keeping the party going into 2025. I'm Elizabeth Marberry, your host with the mostest, and every week I show up sharing with you exactly what is working and what is not working on Instagram so you can use this tool to grow your brand visibility and attract more of your dreamboat clients. Thank you for taking the time to be here
01:48
and listen in today. I want to start by sharing a personal story. I feel very vulnerable in sharing this with you. Before I went to record this episode and I was prepping for it, I saw this message in a newsletter I got, and it said, "The most impactful leaders share not just their wins, but their struggles. By embracing vulnerability, they forge deeper connections with their teams and audiences."
02:14
And if you've been listening to this podcast, you know that I've talked about this: when you're creating content for your business on Instagram or social media, you don't need to be perfectly polished. In fact, what people want is the raw, real you. They want the behind-the-scenes. They want to get to know you. People buy people. They don't buy products or services.
02:34
So vulnerability, at the end of the day, builds trust, and I'm going to be vulnerable with you right now and share a personal story. Earlier this week, right before New Year's, I found myself in the emergency room after three days of relentless dizziness and extreme lethargy. I could not even get out of bed, and it was terrifying. If you know me, if you've been following me and listening to this podcast, you know that I am extremely high-energy.
03:04
Go, go, go—it was scary. It was scary to be in my body and to feel so disconnected from it. I would get dizzy if I'd stand up or turn. Thankfully, after an EKG and MRI, they ran all the tests on me. My heart and brain were totally fine. I was diagnosed with a very specific type of vertigo and neuritis, which is essentially inflammation around the nerve in my ear.
03:31
I am on the mend thanks to a combination of several different factors. I had a great physical therapist help me out, but the experience was a huge wake-up call. It reminded me of the need to slow down and listen to my body because the body keeps score, right? The body will stop you. If you don't listen to it, it will eventually catch up to you. And I kind of feel like that happened to me.
03:58
As I am walking into 2025, I am really in that space of reflection—of how I can set up my life, my business, my family, my schedule, and everything in a way that can really support me. Because of course, we all take our health for granted until something like this happens. So this practice of slowing down is something I'm really leaning into as I ease into 2025.
04:27
I want to remind you that last week on the show, I shared a powerful exercise—three simple questions to prepare your business for 2025. If you missed it, definitely go back and listen to it. It's a great episode in terms of helping you take stock of where you've been, what worked, what didn't work, and where you want to be. If you feel like, "Oh my gosh, kids were home for winter break, I haven’t even had a chance to reflect," I feel you—life happens.
04:57
So definitely go back. That episode is only 17 minutes. It will give you an opportunity to slow down and reflect. Reflection is truly such a powerful tool as a business owner and just as a person, right? It's so important. I do this exercise every year, and it really helps me align with what matters most. I hope it does the same for you.
05:25
Speaking of alignment, I want to share a story about how staying consistent on Instagram and social media, and true to my mission, created one of the most incredible PR opportunities my business has ever had. In November, a crazy thing happened. I was sitting on the couch with my husband watching TV at night, and I went on my Instagram because, you know, that's what we do. I looked at my Wedding Dance Coach business page because, as you know—or maybe you don’t if you just found the show—
05:55
I own two different businesses. I own a brick-and-mortar dance studio in Denver, Colorado, called Wedding Dance Coach. We are heading into our 15th year in business. I also have an online business, which is my Instagram marketing strategy coaching business. The particular Instagram I was looking at was for my dance studio. So keep it straight here, okay? I was looking at Wedding Dance Coach, and here's a little pro tip in the story.
06:23
I went and looked in my request folder because, of course, I always check my DMs. What happens in the DMs? Sales happen in the DMs. Conversations lead to conversions. Conversations lead to clients. If you decide to show up on Instagram, you absolutely need to be checking your DMs at least once a day. It’s like your email—you need to make sure you’re available.
06:47
But if you don’t follow the person and they’re following you and messaging you, a lot of times that message will go into your request folder. That’s just a little extra pro tip—make sure you’re checking that request folder at least once a day. So I’m sitting on the couch with my husband, I check my request folder, and I received a DM from none other than Lindsey Horan. If you don’t know who she is, she’s the captain of the US Women’s National Soccer Team
07:16
and a recent Olympic gold medalist. At first, I thought, “Okay, wait, this has to be a fake account. This can’t be real.” But it was really her. I went to her account, I checked things out, and Lindsey reached out to us because she was planning her wedding and needed help with her first dance—and that’s what we do. So we went back and forth in the DMs, we got her set up. She’s living and training in France right now, her fiancé is in San Diego,
07:46
and they’re getting married here in Denver, Colorado. They had a very short time window where we could work with them. But of course, we made it work. I got to go into the studio with my head instructor, Melissa. Melissa led the lesson, and I was like the paparazzi assistant. Of course, I was geeking out and so excited to have an Olympic athlete in my studio. How cool is that? They were such a lovely couple, and they totally rocked their first dance.
08:14
Now, why am I telling you this story? This opportunity led to one of the most incredible PR opportunities I’ve ever had. So Lindsey not only has a huge audience—of course, she’s a world-famous athlete. She has over 400,000 followers on Instagram and agreed to tag us and collaborate with us in her wedding content. Right there, that exposed my business to her audience, which is incredible. But
08:41
after we were done with the lesson, Lindsey told me, “Oh, and by the way, our wedding is going to be featured in People Magazine, and we’re going to give your business a shout-out.” I seriously almost fell over. I was like, “Wait, what? Is this really happening? This is so incredible.” A couple of days ago, Wedding Dance Coach was featured in People Magazine in the feature on Lindsey and Tyler’s wedding.
09:09
I will be sure to link it in the show notes if you want to go stalk it and check it out. If you go to our Instagram, you can see videos and photos from that People Magazine feature. But you guys, this came from my Instagram, okay? They found us through Instagram. You don’t even have to believe me because, guess what? I asked them, so listen in really quick.
09:36
Tyler, how did you guys find us?
"I did some searching on Instagram. We were home for a few days and getting married here in Denver. And so I came across the handle and sent it to Lindsey to reach out."
And I did the dirty work.
"Yay. What did you like about our Instagram?"
"Easy to find. I think the handle coincides with what you guys do, so I think that makes it very simple to do a quick search. And obviously, it helps that you guys are Denver local as well.
10:00
But it also looked very exciting from videos and pictures that we saw, so we were very intrigued."
"Yes. And we needed help."
10:30
So, I want you to just take a pause and think about that for a minute. This is our ideal client, right? An engaged couple who needs help with their first dance. Did they go to Google to search? No, they didn’t. They went to Instagram to search. They found my company, and Tyler specifically said he found my company because our handle, meaning @weddingdancecoach, was so clear as to search engine optimization and exactly what we do.
10:59
And he said it was very clear from our profile. You can tell when you come to our profile within five to seven seconds exactly where we’re located. They were looking for a dance instructor, a dance studio in Denver, Colorado, and they could tell that’s where we were located. All of those decisions were made within the first five seconds. Then Lindsey was able to get a feel for our studio, see what our lessons are like, and think, “That looks so fun. I think we could actually do this. We could pull this off. We’re not dancers, but okay, let’s do it. Let’s reach out to them.”
11:27
I share this story with you because I hope it inspires you. Four years ago, when I really started to go all in on my company’s social media marketing efforts, I would have never dreamed that the ROI would get me a People Magazine feature. Right? Like, that is not even something that I had in my brain. And if you’ve listened to this podcast, I’ve also told the story where I landed an international live TV interview on This Morning, which is the largest UK morning show.
11:53
Okay, it’s like Good Morning America, except in the UK, and it’s massive. Everyone in the UK loves it. I have so many UK friends who said, “Everyone watches This Morning. It’s amazing.” So, I got to do that live interview. By the way, I got paid to do the interview, and I was paid to talk about my business. They found us on Instagram.
12:22
I share these stories with you because maybe you don’t care about being in People Magazine or whatever it is, but I guarantee that you do have a bold vision for your life. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here, right? Social media is a huge opportunity, and the opportunity honestly just continues to grow as it becomes a way that people are searching for their products and services.
12:52
If you’re here, it’s because you sell a product or service, right? That’s why you’re listening to this podcast. You want to grow your business, make more money, serve more of your ideal clients, and build a business that you love—one that you want to jump out of bed for. That’s why we’re all here. And people are on these platforms researching their vendors, literally searching for what they’re looking for.
13:19
So, your content needs to be very strategic in how it’s presented so that you get the conversion. Because if Tyler was searching and it wasn’t clear where I was located, he would have just quickly moved on to someone else. Or if I hadn’t posted in the last six months, they might think, “Well, is this studio even still open? What’s going on?”
13:46
I want to highlight three things that I prioritize in my Instagram marketing strategy, and I want you to take this in, do a quick audit of your strategy, and try to implement some of this into your 2025 marketing efforts.
13:46
The first thing is consistency. For years, I have been showing up regularly with content that speaks directly to my target audience. Even on the days when engagement felt low, I kept at it. If you look at our Instagram, you see 50,000 followers. You go to our TikTok, you see 40,000 followers from my dance studio business. You might think, “Oh my gosh, that’s so great for them. Of course, they want to keep showing up.”
14:12
But let me tell you, there have been so many moments on this roller-coaster ride where our engagement was in the toilet. It felt like nothing was working, and I just had to keep going. I cannot emphasize this enough—if you want to win on social media, you absolutely need to be consistent.
14:40
Now, is there a magic number? I don’t know you, your business, or your life circumstances. So, no, there’s no magic number. But you need to decide, stick with it, and stick with it for at least three to six months. So many people give up too quickly. Consistency is very important.
15:08
If that’s something you struggle with, I highly recommend investing in a marketing mentor—whether that’s myself or someone else—because when you work with a marketing mentor, we can help you break through those struggles. We’ll help you get clear on creating a sustainable workflow so you can stop overthinking your content and start showing up for your ideal audience.
15:37
The second piece I prioritize in my Instagram strategy is refinement. My strategy is always evolving. It’s not like I plan it out the first week of January and do the exact same thing for the next six to twelve months. No. I analyze what works, and I adjust what doesn’t.
16:07
Over time, this has helped me create content that resonates deeply with my audience because I’m studying everything and staying curious. I’m not overanalyzing—I’m just staying curious. For example, I’ll think, “Huh, this is interesting. This particular piece of content got 10,000 views, and this one only got 2,000 views. What’s the difference between the two?”
16:34
I’m always tweaking, experimenting, testing, and improving. Every reel I post is a chance to learn something new about my audience. To grow on social media, you have to be flexible. If you’re going to get frustrated every time something changes, this isn’t for you. You have to imagine social media as a game. You’re playing the game, swerving left, swerving right, making adjustments, and constantly refining and improving your strategy as you learn by doing.
17:02
The third and final piece I want to share with you is clarity. I know exactly who I’m talking to in my content for Wedding Dance Coach. I’m talking to nervous, non-dancing couples who want to feel confident on their wedding day in the spotlight. That clarity doesn’t just attract followers; it attracts the right followers.
17:32
I call these right followers “high-value followers.” High-value followers are your ideal client prospects. Lindsay didn’t reach out to me because I had a million followers or because I was a famous dance teacher or had one viral video. She reached out because my content was exactly what she was looking for. It made her feel seen, heard, and understood. It inspired her to say, “We can do this!”
18:02
That’s the power of intentional messaging. As we step into the new year, I encourage you to reflect on your own strategy. Are you showing up consistently? Are you refining your approach? Are you clear about who you’re speaking to and how you’re serving them?
18:29
This year, I have so many incredible episodes planned for you. Next week, I’m coming back with a series on Instagram marketing trends for 2025. If you haven’t already subscribed to the show, make sure you do. I also have some top leaders in the social media marketing space coming on the podcast to share their wisdom with you so you can learn and grow this year.
18:54
Before we close, I want to share something that really resonated with my audience online recently. It’s a reel I posted that’s currently going viral. It’s a call to arms for 2025 and the energy I’m pulling into my business this year. I hope it inspires you to dream bigger and go bolder this year.
19:22
Strutting into 2025 with bold, zero-f*cks-given energy. Ready to be seen and serve my people. Who’s with me? The year we stop apologizing for being too much and allow our voices to be heard. The year you stop hiding your brilliance and finally allow yourself to be seen.
19:52
The year you take action every day, alongside your fear or doubts, trusting that your big vision for your business and life is totally possible for you. The year you protect your energy and who you choose to spend time with, knowing you are worthy of people who bring out the best in you.
20:22
The year you stop procrastinating and start doing—imperfectly—every single day. The year you ask for more. The year you ask for what you want. The year you make your desires known. The year you live boldly and unapologetically while serving at your highest level.
20:50
This is our 2025. Who’s with me? Thank you so much for listening to this episode of Strut It. Thank you for being in my community. I’m so grateful for you. And I cannot wait to see you back here next week.
21:10
If you’re ready to start leveraging Instagram to grow your business, then you’re gonna 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/freebies.
21:30
If you got incredible value from today’s episode, be sure to leave a review and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. I cannot wait to strut it with you again next week!