Quality over quantity on Instagram with Kara Cahill

NOTE: This podcast was transcribed by a free AI transcription tool called Otter. Please forgive any typos or errors. Melissa Guller 0:00 Instagram is a key social media channel for many podcast hosts. But is your strategy making an impact, or just costing you time and energy? In this episode, I’m joined by Instagram Sales Strategies Kara Cahill to talk about maximizing your efforts on Instagram without getting totally bogged down posting every day. Because – spoiler alert – neither of us believes you have to post daily to get the most out of Instagram. And we’re here to help you stay engaged without burning out. First, Kara will share a few simple, effective strategies she recently used to promote her new podcast release, including some things you can do right now even if your podcast isn’t live yet. Second, we’ll get into the regular routines of Instagram, including creative ways to promote your episodes, how to use Reels vs. Stories vs. the feed, and the big question, how often should I be posting? And finally, Kara will share a few tips to help you continue building your podcast audience by creating shareable content on Instagram. We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s say hello. Melissa Guller 1:24 Welcome to the Wit & Wire podcast, where we help podcast hosts climb the charts, turn a profit, and make an impact. I’m your host, Melissa Guller, and in each episode, we share simple tips and creative strategies to help you create a binge-worthy podcast that listeners love. Melissa Guller 1:38 Kara is an Instagram Sales Strategist specializing in helping online entrepreneurs set up simple sales funnels that allow them to make more sales without getting burnt-out from content creation. She’s also the host of The Virtual Visionary Podcast, a podcast for online entrepreneurs who want to create their dream business that allows them to work from anywhere doing what they love. Kara, a very warm virtual welcome to the podcast! Kara Cahill 1:58 Thank you so much for having me. I’m so excited to be here. Melissa Guller 2:01 Yeah, Instagram is such a hot topic in podcast world. And I’m sure we’ll have a ton of strategies to cover. But first, I’m excited to learn a little bit more about you. So can you tell us more about your own business story and how you got started? Kara Cahill 2:14 Yeah, absolutely. So I just started a couple years ago, I was actually working my nine to five job as a wedding planner and bridal stylist. So that required a lot of long weekends. And a lot of bridezillas, a lot of burnout, I’ll play that. So basically, I was like, Okay, I know, I don’t want to do this forever. And I love traveling, I need to find a way to be able to work online and be able to travel. So that is how I really dove into the social media world, I became a social media manager. And from there, I just really transitioned into falling in love with Instagram strategy and how online businesses could create more sales and more people could start online businesses and work from anywhere and travel, using Instagram. And that is how I found my footing. And that’s how I started my business. And that then transformed into the launch of my online course where I now teach online business owners to set up the simple sales funnels so that they don’t have to get burnt out from the Instagram strategies that are sometimes really time consuming. And they’re able to make more of that passive income online. Melissa Guller 3:30 Amazing. Well, I know at least for me, Instagram has been such a powerful part of my business strategy. But like you said, it does take, I think a lot of time and energy and depending on how people are spending their time right now hopefully we can offer some time saving or stress saving strategies. Now I know a lot of podcasters are considering using Instagram as part of their core marketing strategy, or maybe they are already using it. But do you think that there are particular people who Instagram is a better fit for or maybe some podcasters, who Instagram is not a fit for because I don’t want to assume it should be a default for everyone. Kara Cahill 4:05 As an any like marketing strategy, I think you have to enjoy being on the platform. Because if you don’t enjoy it, you’re not going to want to hang out on the platform. Some people might like Instagram, they might like Pinterest, they might like Facebook. However, Instagram is really powerful for people where their audience is already hanging out on Instagram. So just even having a very simple strategy to just show up and connect with those people. That’s really powerful. Melissa Guller 4:32 I think that’s a great point. And I know too for me, I doubled down on Instagram right from the start and I decided I wasn’t going to try to be on every single social media platform because that felt just so overwhelming to me. It felt like all I would ever be doing was social media. So I do hope that people consider not just oh the takeaway of this episode is I have to be on Instagram but rather is Instagram right for me. And if yes, here are some really great strategies that I can try. Kara Cahill 4:55 Yep, absolutely. Like you said that is the quickest way to lead to burnout is if you are Trying to be on every platform. So you already have your podcast, that’s its own platform in itself too. And then you just kind of want that one other supplemental social media platform to just kind of grow that community and kind of promote your podcast and all the amazing episodes. Melissa Guller 5:15 That segues nicely into another question. I’m curious to hear your thoughts on because we have our podcast, we have our Instagram, social media presence. And I wonder where do you see Instagram fitting in to most podcasters funnels? Like without getting to marketing? I’m really wondering, where do you think people will find you first? Do they find you on Instagram? And then they start tuning into your podcast? Is it the other way around? Or do you think it’s a mix? Kara Cahill 5:41 I’m just thinking about my own experience with finding podcasts and discovering them. I think if I’m looking for a podcast on a certain topic, I will search on like a podcast platform like apple, I’ll type in a keyword and I’ll find a podcast. If I really connect with that person, I then go and follow them on Instagram. And then I usually connect with them in their communities that they offer and then likely end up on their email list and then in their sales funnel. But I’ve also discovered people just seeing their podcast episodes promoted and saying, Oh my gosh, that’s like the perfect thing I needed to hear today. And then I go and I tune in and I follow their entire podcast and subscribe that way. So I really do think it’s a mix. And I think that’s why it’s important to kind of be thinking about both that way you can capture both of those audiences. Melissa Guller 6:30 While sad. Now, another essential question I get asked often before we dive into some strategies is around handles. So do you think that podcasters should be creating separate handles for their show? Or do you think they should be keeping everything under one umbrella? Kara Cahill 6:45 That is such a good question. And it’s something that I have just been playing around with with my own podcasts? And I think the answer for me personally really came down to do I have the capacity to be creating content for two platforms. And for me, the answer was no. So I did not have the bandwidth to be managing two different Instagram accounts. However, if you have a small team, or if you are really quickly creating content, then that might be a really good strategy, because then you can create a strong community and very specific content that is all related to your podcast on that podcast account. However, for me, my podcast content is also very linked to my business content. So it all really blends together. And it also just helps me create that content for my main Instagram profile anyways, so it really made sense for me to just keep everything on one. However, like I said, there’s no harm in testing, if you feel like you can keep up with those two accounts. Melissa Guller 7:43 I think that was a good litmus test you offered, if you would be creating such similar content for both accounts, maybe that’s a sign that really one account could be the right way to go. But if somebody else maybe has like a personal Instagram account, and they’re wondering about adding a second one, then it could make sense. Or if you have a business, and maybe the podcast is slightly different, like the audience of the content could be slightly different. It could work. But I like that it doesn’t have to be a definite yes, that you don’t have to create two accounts. Because the capacity i think is a huge, huge factor do Kara Cahill 8:13 Oh, yeah, no, I think that’s such a good point. Melissa Guller 8:16 So as you were recording your new podcast, I know that you actually started talking about it on Instagram, long before your launch day. So can you tell us a little bit more about your own pre launch strategy and how you started engaging with listeners early on? Kara Cahill 8:31 Yeah, absolutely. So I always went back and forth. I was like, should I create this podcast? Did I not? And then I finally just started asking my audience and seeing is this something that you all would want to hear about? And I just started posting some Instagram stories? And I would create polls? And I would say, Would you be interested in a podcast about this or that, and I would have two separate questions. And then you can kind of just get people thinking about the fact that you might be starting a podcast so that they’re like, Oh, this would be interesting. And then once I kind of decided on where I wanted to take the topics and where I wanted the podcast to go just by chatting and engaging with my audience, then I started asking them really slim questions, which started getting them really engaged. So I started pulling them as I was in the creation process. So as I was deciding on a name for my podcast, I said, Does anyone have names I’m really terrible at naming. And I would ask people that and then I would say, Do you like this name or that name? And then people just started getting used to hearing these different ideas. And then when it came to the cover art, like this was really fun, because I am not a designer. So I love just getting feedback. And I started just pulling people and saying, Do you like this cover art? What do you think about these colors and even the podcast music, the intro music like you can really have a lot of fun with it and just start getting people really bought in and feel like they’re a part of this creation process with you. So that when you finally do watch it, they’re like, Oh my goodness, it’s so fun to have seen this whole process play out and really come together. Melissa Guller 10:07 That is so fun, because then they’re really in it with you, you know, they’re in the virtual room as you’re getting everything together. I’m curious, did their votes go the way that you thought that they would? Or were you surprised by some of their votes and their opinions, Kara Cahill 10:21 I feel like they were the way that I anticipated because it was really kind of black and white. Like it was like some of the cover art I knew was not. And then I was like, once I decided on the one I kind of liked the best. And that was obviously the one I put the most work into. Hopefully that paid off. That makes sense. Melissa Guller 10:39 Now, were there any other kind of pre launch strategies that you think our podcasters could use? Closer to the actual launch date? So let’s say my podcast is coming out in a couple weeks now, it’s no longer hypothetical. This is a real exciting thing. How do you think they can utilize Instagram to really hype up their launch? For me, Kara Cahill 10:57 I had like a batch of episodes that were ready for when I did launch, so I could kind of talk about those different episodes. Those were the ones that I was asking people for feedback, I posted an Instagram story. And I just had the question. I said, What would you like to you’re on the podcast, and I got some questions. And those were the ones that I ended up recording in that batch. And those episodes have been the ones that have been the most listened to. So you can tell that people are really those are the ones that people are engaging with. Those are the ones that people want to hear and want to see. And then also just doing like some fun, promo posts or just talking about like, here’s my podcast and just watch, make sure you go give it a listen, doing some fun audio gram posting about it and stories getting like face to camera and saying my podcast launch today guys, go tag me some really fun things like that, so that you can start getting that engagement right off the bat. Melissa Guller 11:52 And what is your opinion on running something like a giveaway. Kara Cahill 11:56 So I personally did a giveaway. And it did not go as expected. And so I thought that there would be a lot more engagement. However, I noticed that I got a lot of plays. So all backups, the giveaway that I did was going to just be like a free resource if someone left a review. And while I didn’t get a lot of reviews, I did get a lot of listen just because I was promoting the podcast in a different way. So it’s definitely something to test. For me personally, it didn’t work out the way that I anticipate it. But there can definitely be different ways to do giveaways and things like that, that I have seen really work for other podcasters as well. Melissa Guller 12:36 Yeah, this is actually very validating for me, because I was trying really hard not to ask that as a leading question. But I have not had that much success. With giveaways. I’ve done things like I’ve given away a $500 credit in design. And I have had one person enter out of a pretty large email and Instagram audience. And I was like, do we not like free money? What is going on? Yeah, part of me wonders if maybe we’re all skeptical, like we’re too smart for the free stuff. And maybe we kind of raise our eyebrows and say like, I don’t know about that. But I didn’t have a lot of luck with a giveaway either, even though I’ve seen it work so well for other hosts. So I do think that you keep mentioning testing and how important that is. And just because a strategy works for you doesn’t mean it will work for everyone. And just because it didn’t work for you doesn’t mean everyone should never ever do it. But it is nice to hear that not all strategies work even for the pros like you. Kara Cahill 13:26 Like you said, it’s really just testing. And also, if you do try a strategy, and it doesn’t go your way also don’t like attach a lot of meaning to that and don’t think oh my gosh, I tried this giveaway. And it was a complete failure. And my podcast is a failure. Don’t go down that mindset, rabbit hole and really to say like, Okay, this is one strategy. There’s 100 other strategies to try. But yeah, just keep going. And if something doesn’t go as planned, remember, it was just a test and you’re just testing out different things in your business. Melissa Guller 13:55 I love that. All right, let’s dive into the standard promotion routine around promoting our podcasts on Instagram. So maybe before we get into some of the creative ways that you’re recommending, what do you think most podcasters are currently doing? Kara Cahill 14:10 What I think a lot of podcasters are doing as they are releasing probably a new episode every week. And they are maybe just posting one post on their Instagram feed and saying new episode go listen. And then just doing it more of like a billboard promotion where it’s just kind of like, here it is, and then hoping that people are going to be interested enough to go back to the podcast. But I think with Instagram, you have to be a little bit more creative to get people to actually take that action. Melissa Guller 14:42 I agree. And I think when I scroll through my feed and admittedly I follow mostly podcasters. So my feet is a walking billboard. But it does kind of blurred together when it’s all just announcements of episodes to listen to. So I’m really excited to hear about some of your ideas. So what are some more creative ways maybe that our podcasters can promote their episodes on Instagram. Kara Cahill 15:04 Yeah, absolutely. So instead of just doing like that simple post, like new episode like, Episode 20. And just doing like the title, I think is really fun is I’ve seen a lot more people starting to do this. But I think that it is really interesting. And that’s creating the audio grants where the little snippet of the episode, and of course, you’d want to find probably like the juiciest details, of course of that episode to really get people excited. And just creating that piece of audio grammar, and it does something that’s a little bit more engaging than that very static image. And it’s giving people that snippet, they’re able to hear like what is actually being said. So that is one way. And then another thing that’s really fun too, is quote. So if there’s a really awesome quote from the episode, what you can do is you can create a little quote card for Instagram. And that is also something that the algorithm really favors because people on Instagram tend to like to share quotes. And they like to share those very shareable, very saleable types of content. So when that posts get shared, and they get saved, then that is going to increase your reach on Instagram, and more and more people are going to be like, wow, that was really great. Head back to your profile, and then see you have a podcast and really buy into you and your content there. Melissa Guller 16:27 I noticed you mentioned the word saveable and also shareable. And something I was recently learning about Instagram in 2021, is that it’s not that likes don’t matter, but things like having your posts saved and shared with other people. Those are things that are really important, because it tells Instagram, that your content is valuable to people. Kara Cahill 16:44 Yeah, absolutely. So that is really a trend that content creators and instagramers are really moving towards. If you think about it, you want your content to be seen by more people, that is kind of the goal of Instagram is you want to expand your reach, you want to connect with new audiences. And the best way to do that is to get it shared. So think about types of content that you share on your own Instagram account. Usually, for me, it’s like that really inspirational piece, or it’s something that is really funny, or it’s something that I really connect with. And that’s like quotes do really well, because most people can relate to a quote, and they’re like, Oh, my gosh, I have to share this with everybody. So that’s why that quote is going to get shared. And then it’s going to signal to the algorithm, wow, this piece of content is doing really well. It’s going to continue to expand that reach on that piece of content. So definitely get more bang for your buck. Melissa Guller 17:36 I love that. And I think when we talk about the quote, we’re thinking of the graphic, but what are some of the ways that maybe you would offer advice about the caption part of the post. Kara Cahill 17:46 So what you could do there is you could even give like a little like a tidbit. So you could just say like, in this episode, we’re covering like the three best ways to blank, but you’re not going to give all of the details, they have to listen to the actual podcast, they are giving them like, ooh, now I really bought in, I really want to know more about this. And then they’re going to have to close that interest loop by listening to the podcast. Melissa Guller 18:12 Something that I’ve noticed, at least for my own Instagram account is that the posts that do well are valuable on their own. Like we were talking about the billboard posts before. And I think maybe a problem with that is that on its own, it’s not valuable. Like there’s not a quote, there’s not a tip. And I think if for each post, you can imagine like what’s even the tiny takeaway somebody is getting from this, at least for me, that’s how I’ve been able to create more content that seems to resonate with more people Kara Cahill 18:39 constantly. And also like if he gave away one of the really juicy tips, and then you left the other two, and you said tune in for the other two. And something like that, where you’re just really building that like excitement. They’re like, Oh my gosh, now there’s no way I can’t listen to this episode, because I’ve already gotten value from this one Instagram post. I can’t imagine how valuable the entire podcast is. That’s a really great way to do it. Melissa Guller 19:01 Well, I love your tip, because instead of saying how can I share three tips on Instagram, which could perhaps do really well on Instagram, but not lead to listeners, by only sharing one, I think that’s a really great way to bridge the gap between somebody only engaging with you on Instagram. And in this case them actually tuning into the full episode. So I really love that idea. Were there other maybe types of content or tips that you had for just regular ongoing promotion on Instagram? Kara Cahill 19:30 Yeah, so one other thing too, that I think that is really valuable is when you as the podcaster creates the call to action on the podcast to be for people to screenshot them listening to the podcast and share that to their Instagram stories and tag you. And this is really amazing for a couple of reasons. Number one, when they are sharing that episode with their audience, you are now getting in front of this person’s entire audience with your podcast and they’re like oh, this person is recommended. It basically, they’re saying this is so incredible. Now I’m going to want to listen. So you’re really expanding your reach reaching new audiences. And you’re also getting like a shout out and a recommendation. But what happens is when that person tags you and their Instagram stories, it instantly creates a DM thread with them, so that you are able to then send them a DM, follow up with them say, Oh, my gosh, thank you so much for listening. I would love to hear your feedback. Did you have any questions about the episode, and then that is going to build so much connection with that listener, you were building a community and you’re really able to reach people on a whole new level. So now you’ve gone from like the podcaster, that like is just kind of the voice in their ear. And now you’re someone that’s in their inbox actually connecting with that, and that is so powerful. Melissa Guller 20:49 That’s an amazing tip. And what I’m gonna try for future episodes, but actually, I think we could just try it right here. So if you are tuning in, and you’re enjoying this episode, tag me @witandwire and Kara @kara_cahill, and let us know that you’re tuning in, let us know what your favorite tip is, from this episode. I know, we would both love to hear from you. Melissa Guller 21:03 Now, up next, I want to ask about maybe one of my biggest questions, which is, what is the difference between the feed stories now we have reels, there’s so many different types of content now on Instagram. So how can we use each of them more what’s really the difference between those different post types, Kara Cahill 21:23 The feed is where you’re able to reach new audiences. Like I said, that’s where people are going to be sharing. When you get a lot of share or phase, you’re going to reach people in the hashtag. That’s where people are going to discover you. So you want to think of that as like this very cohesive, very on brand, very strategic piece of content, then what you want to think about your stories is that community building aspect, because the people that are watching your stories are most likely going to be people that are already following you. So you want this content to kind of be in some of that like behind the scenes. So if you’re about to record a podcast, take a quick story of yourself saying, Hey, guys, I’m recording this podcast today, it’s going to be about X, Y, and Z can’t wait to share it with you. So that again, you’re building that connection, you’re letting people know what’s coming so that they can get excited. And then if anyone does share the episode, you can then reshare it. And then that really just builds that trust, it lets people know that people are tuning in and that they should be tuning in. And then also just growing that entire community. So really, stories is where that community is taking place. And really that connection building. And then Instagram grid is more of that reaching new audiences. Melissa Guller 22:38 And how do reels fit in? Because I know I’ve been dragging my feet on trying it out, even though I’m really excited to but I honestly don’t really know where to begin, Kara Cahill 22:47 I am kind of the same way I’m not gonna lie. So if anyone else who’s dragging their feet, I’m right there with them. I have not really explore rails as much as other people have. But I know that they are having incredible success as far as views. Because I know that Instagram is favoring reels in the algorithm. So something that you could do is just kind of take a very quick sneak peek of like you’re recording the podcast, the episode and just kind of like give like three little details on the screen. And then that could be your real, really just very short creative ideas. And don’t let real like take over your life. If you’re like oh my goodness, like this is just too much. I can’t do all three the grid real skin stories, focus to where you are really strong. But if you’re really creative and love being on video reels is a really great place to start. Melissa Guller 23:36 I plan to at least try one of them. So by the time this episode comes out, hopefully people can check out my Instagram and see that I’ve done one real hold myself accountable. Kara Cahill 23:44 That’s awesome. Melissa Guller 23:45 Another place we haven’t talked about yet is highlights. I think I know for me, this is an underutilized area of my profile. But what strategies can podcasters use in their highlights to really encourage more listeners to engage with their podcasts or to get to know them? Kara Cahill 24:00 Yes, highlights are absolutely amazing. And like you said, I really think that they are being underutilized. And I think that they are such valuable real estate for your Instagram account. So as far as your podcast, what you could do is you could have an entire highlight that is dedicated to your podcast. And I would definitely start with the first slide being something like what your podcast about what value people are going to get from listening to your podcast and kind of just like the backstory so that people are interested and intrigued. And then what you can start to do is you can start saving all of your podcast, Instagram stories to that highlights so that as people are scrolling through, they can start kind of seeing like a catalogue of all of your episodes. And then of course making sure that there is a call to action or any way that they know how to listen to your podcast because a lot of people might not know how to actually find your podcast. So if you were on Apple, if you’re on Spotify, if the link in your bio goes to your podcasts, let them know how they can actually access your podcast and your highlights. Melissa Guller 25:05 Speaking of the link, in your bio, do you have any maybe do’s or don’ts for how to utilize that real estate? Kara Cahill 25:11 Yeah, absolutely. So I think there’s this constant debate, I have it with myself to have if the link in your bio should be just right to your podcast, or to your website or something, whatever it is, but I think what you have to really be very clear on is what you want your overall Instagram strategy to be. So if you want people going to your website to listen to your podcast, I would put that there. If you want people to have to join your email list and then enter a funnel, then I would put that link in your bio, there are other options. And you can do something like a link tree, or you can do a website that has like multiple, it’s like a landing page with multiple links. And I think that could be really great. If you have an offer that you’re trying to sell, and you have your podcast too. The thing to keep in mind with multiple links is you don’t want too many. Because when you start having like 100 links, that’s when people start like really dropping off, and you’re not very clear and strategic with that marketing plan. So really think about maybe like two or three very specific links that all have a call to action, and that are all very clear and what you intend for people to do. Melissa Guller 26:26 I think that’s a good overall marketing tip, no matter if it’s Instagram, or even the outro of a podcast episode. If you give people a laundry list of things to do, none of them will ever get done. So getting that kind of clarity on what are the most important. Maybe it’s two or three things that you want your Instagram followers to do, or that you want your podcast listeners to do. That’ll help you get more outcomes, which might seem maybe counterintuitive. You would think maybe Oh, if I give them tons of options, then surely I’ll capture everyone. But really, it’ll probably just cause confusion, and maybe no action at all. Kara Cahill 26:57 Yep, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to someone’s link tree and there’s so many links, I have nowhere to begin, and then I just click back. So you don’t want that to happen. So less is more in this case. Melissa Guller 27:09 Totally agree. Speaking of less is more. The question I’m asked all the time is how often do I need to post to Instagram? I’m sure you get asked this all the time. And it’s really with the hidden play of like, Oh, God, please care. I tell me I don’t have to post every single day. So maybe I buried the lede a little bit there. But how often do you think people really do need to be posting to different parts of Instagram? Kara Cahill 27:32 That’s a good question. And one that I get asked all the time, too, because so many people have heard, I don’t know where we heard it. But when we all started our Instagram accounts, we all heard you have to be posting every day, sometimes multiple times a day if you want your content to get discovered. And then what happens is we try to start creating this content every day. And that’s quickly leads to burnout. And we just realized, we can’t be on this content creation hamster wheel anymore, and then they give up on Instagram completely. So that’s what we want to avoid. So I am here to tell you that quality over quantity is what matters, especially now with Instagram and the way that the algorithm works. So if you are creating content every single day, and it is those really fluffy posts, those billboard posts that get like zero engagement, no one’s commenting on them, no one’s sharing them, no one’s saving them. Even though you posted it didn’t do anything for you, or your business or your podcast, it kind of just fell flat. And if you compare that with if you are posting maybe two or three pieces of incredibly high value content per week, that are getting a lot of engagement that are getting shared and getting saved and people are commenting and dming you because this was such an incredible piece of content, that content is going to do far more for your business, even if it’s just two or three times a week versus seven or 10 times a week, if you’re trying to keep up with all of that content. And if you were able to be consistent with it and just do those two or three consistently, your account is going to naturally grow. Melissa Guller 29:03 I love that I think quality over quantity is so important. And I think too about how chaotic my online world is and how many people are trying to yell at me every day from all their different accounts. And I feel like I don’t need daily updates from everyone, you know, like I would rather have one really amazing post every so often. And to me that’s so much more valuable. So I would like to believe that Instagram is favoring, the way that a human would want to be treated and the kind of quality that you would want to get versus just kind of the constant flow of too much information. Kara Cahill 29:36 Exactly. And you have to think that is kind of Instagram school. Their goal is to have this really amazing user experience. They want people to stay on their platform, and they want people to enjoy their time on the platform. So they are going to favor content that their users enjoy. So if you think about it from Instagrams perspective, it really does make a lot of sense. Melissa Guller 29:56 Yeah, and we’ve talked about the content we should be putting out there. But I know you’ve also mentioned the appeal of posting to stories to open up DMS and the fact that you use stories to build community. So can you talk a little bit more about that? Because I do think that Instagram is not just, of course a place to put our content. It’s also a place to build relationships. Kara Cahill 30:15 Think about what Instagram stories you follow. That’s what I really like to always start with, what is the content that I enjoy consuming? Do I enjoy consuming the content that is just super random? I don’t really connect with it. It’s just kind of like, here’s my offer. Here’s my podcast episode. And it’s just like those updates? Or do I like kind of getting to know the person behind the podcast? Do I like hearing like, what they’re up to in their day? Do I like seeing maybe their workspace? Like, what’s that chaotic life behind maybe the podcast that I can connect with. And I’m like, Oh, my gosh, that person is so much more relatable, as I see them like eating a sandwich right before their podcast. And that’s something that I would do. And it’s like, okay, now that is my person. That’s the person I want to listen to. It doesn’t have to be everything in your life. But maybe think about that one step outside of your podcast, or that one step outside of your business that people can relate to, and start sharing those little snippets. Because it’s so funny. I’ll think that I’m creating this amazing story. And it’s like super high value, and no one will DM me. But then I’ll post like, where I went grocery shopping, if I go to Trader Joe’s, and I’ll get like 10 DMS from people saying, Oh my gosh, I love Trader Joe’s, oh my gosh, did you try this and it’s like, okay, like, that’s so random. But that’s the thing that people connect with you on. And that’s how you can really start building that connection. And it’s so funny, you’re like, this is gonna be related to my podcast or my business. But that’s the thing that people want to see. And that’s kind of the great difference between the grid and the stories is grid is where you can be very professional, very businessy, or very all on brand for your podcast. And then you have your stories where it’s a little bit more of that connection, and like behind the scenes stuff Melissa Guller 32:01 is definitely encouraging me to try out stories a little bit more. I know, I always kind of feel like I have nothing to say, which is maybe ironic for a podcaster. But you know, the behind the scenes of podcasting isn’t like this visually gorgeous thing. Because I think a lot of Instagram is like travel or puppies. And I love both of those things are painting are beautiful visual arts, and podcasting. Wonderful as it is is not like a beautiful visual art. So sometimes I do feel a little bit stuck on what to try. But I love these tips about just showing off, you know, the behind the scenes of what’s going on. because like you said, it’s so relatable. And I think people do enjoy a good peek behind the curtain and seeing the real humans who are behind their favorite shows. Kara Cahill 32:43 Yeah, absolutely. Because I feel like sometimes we put our favorite podcasters on this pedestal that they have this polished podcast and everything is just so perfect. But then it’s interesting to see like what happened right before they hit play, or right after they hit play. And that’s the stuff that I really enjoy seeing. So maybe just thinking about what do you enjoy watching and your stories? and think, why did I do that. And then these are starting to create your own versions of that. A great tip. Melissa Guller 33:09 Now the last strategy I wanted to cover is actually around how to encourage our guests or maybe partners to help promote on Instagram. So what are some of the ways that if you have a guest on your podcast? How can you help them promote your episode? Kara Cahill 33:24 Do I think the biggest tip is just to be very organized. And I think making it super easy for your guests to share it because I know if someone just says hey, share this episode, I wouldn’t really know where to start, it would just take a lot more time on my part. So if I want someone to share my podcast, I want to make sure that I give them all the tools that they need to make it super simple. So just thinking about making sure that you are providing your guests with graphics for their feed. If you create an audiogram, make sure that you have the audiogram and both feed version and Instagram Stories version. So wherever they’re deciding to share it, make it super compatible and easy for them. And also giving them like the actual swipe copy and the actual text and captions for everything so that they don’t have to sit there racking their brain of like, what should I be sharing, even giving them like a custom set of hashtags that you know, do really well for your show, too, might be really helpful. So basically, just making sure that they have everything that you need, so that they can just plug and play and it doesn’t take a lot of brain calories to actually be sharing your show. Melissa Guller 34:34 And I found too that even when I posted stories and I tagged somebody else, the odds of them just re sharing that story are so high because it’s such a low effort for them. So just the overall theme is make it so easy for somebody else to do it instead of putting the burden of creation on their shoulders. Before we go What’s up next for you in 2021 that you’re excited about? Kara Cahill 34:54 Yeah, so my big thing this year was that I just launched my podcast. So if you are And online entrepreneur, you can tune into the virtual visionary podcast that has been really exciting for me. And of course just continuing to share my course and get more people creating their Instagram sales funnels. Melissa Guller 35:15 Amazing and if listeners want to keep in touch where can they find you on Instagram? Kara Cahill 35:19 Yeah, you guys can come connect with me over on Instagram @kara_cahill. Melissa Guller 35:24 If you’re interested in learning more about Instagram strategies for podcasters and online business owners, Kara has an amazing free masterclass called “How to make more sales on Instagram without posting everyday.” Kara will share her simple blueprint that will turn your Instagram into a sales machine. And it doesn’t require a large audience or a ton of content. To save your spot, visit witandwire.com/kara, k-a-r-a. Or find a link in the show notes. Melissa Guller 36:02 Thank you so much for joining us this week! I did hold true to my word and I’ve released multiple reels since we recorded this episode. I’m actually enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. So check them out on my Instagram account @witandwire. And if you’re interested in a future podcast episode on Reels, DM me with something like, “I want to learn about reels!” to help me gauge interest. And don’t forget to take a screenshot while you’re tuning in and share it to Instagram. So take a quick screenshot right now however you’re listening and then share it as a story and tag us @witandwire and @kara_cahill and let us know what your top takeaway was from today’s episode. Lastly, if you’d like to see Quick Links to everything referenced in today’s episode, including the tools I personally use to run Wit & Wire Instagram account, visit witandwire.com/31 for the complete show notes. Thank you again for joining me, Melissa Guller, In this episode of the Wit & Wire podcast. I’ll see you next time!