Instagram Engagement Tips

There's a very underrated tone your brand / social media can take that I've found great success with: giving people a reason to root for you. Over the last 5-10 years, we've seen so many brands push social good to great success, both because it's core to their brand & because it does well on social! Think Patagonia, Ben & Jerry's, TOMS, Bombas, Chobani, Lululemon. As consumers, we don't just like these brands—we WANT THEM TO SUCCEED because we love the mission they're on! And listen, I know as a social media manager, director of social, or even head of marketing, you can't just change the core DNA of your company—but no matter your brand, you can shift your content strategy to always answer the question "does this make people root for us?" Here's a bunch of ways to build some brand love & encourage that fandom: 1. Showcasing how your product changed someone's life 2. Showing vulnerability if your brand makes a mistake 3. Unnecessary generosity, giving away product to people in need 4. Highlighting the underdogs who use your product 5. Focusing on the emotional benefits of your brand 6. Showing gratitude to your customers 7. Offering customers the chance to participate + contribute to your brand (you'll notice the big hack here is to highlight people and how your brand made their life better). I've doubled down on this thinking as a content creator. You mostly know me as a ~thought leader~, or maybe a hot take guy (which I've always hated, tbh, I share my thoughts, but never as devil's advocate or to stir the pot, I legitimately think our industry has a longggg way to go). And I think it's important that in this space, I'm very honest & offer expert thinking—that's what I built my newsletter + LinkedIn + Twitter through. And that's not changing here, but is significantly changed my approach to my second content creator life. I've shared bits here of my basketball endeavor as How To Hoop Forever. In 2 years, I've grown to 150,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok as people watch me as a "36-year-old washed-up ex-college player trying to get it back." My big tonal rules for that account are: - north star: I wanna help everyone keep playing the game we love - tone: "I'm just happy to be here!" - approach to me + opponents/characters: the only person I ever embarrass will be myself, and any hoopers I play against will only be spoken highly of Because it's insane that I'm now playing some pro basketball at 36 years old, my audience there roots for me to succeed! I'm constantly thankful for them, genuinely can't believe what that world's brought me, and make sure everyone who encounters How To Hoop Forever knows there's a more wholesome way to approach basketball outside the toxicity of the culture. So ask yourself if you're giving people a reason to root for your brand. What can you do this month that'll make customers go "wow, that's super cool they did that."

❓ from my DMs last night! "One of the ways to reach an audience is through communities. Do you have any best practices around engaging in communities as a brand without being smarmy and getting blacklisted :)?" I ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ this question and wish more people asked it. There is so much business to be had if "community-ing" is done right. Here are 5 tips to maximize your success. 🤝 The key to community success for the business is to give, give, give.  How? Answer questions, participate, join events, and be visible.  Actively show how you give away your knowledge and expertise.  If someone asks for a call, take it.  Say hello to people in the welcome channel.  ❌ NEVER direct sell; don't go to people's DMs and pitch; you'll get caught, which ruins your reputation. I don't care if they asked directly about your company, don't pitch them. 💡 If someone asks for thoughts or product recommendations similar to yours, you can write in the thread.  "Hi name, transparently, I work for X, but I'm always happy to share my knowledge (be a resource) about XYZ.  Here are some things to consider or evaluate as you look at solutions, etc. Open to a call to chat more if you'd like."  🔑 You're adding value without an expectation, which earns trust. You're also gaining reach because many other community members will see this. 🔥 Now, when someone is looking for a product or service like yours, they will remember your domain expertise, your willingness to help, and will be more likely to reach out. 💣 Ask me how many companies I know that source considerable business from active community participation! What did I miss? #communitysuccess #community #socialselling #saas

How I grew my followers from 3k to 27k in 12 months. There are no shortcuts. You must put the work in. Show up EVERY day, whether you are posting or not. Engagement on others’ post is the single most important thing you can do. Even more important than engaging in your own posts. Your engagement on other posts is what brings them to your posts. If you want to bring people back to your content. You must engage with their comments on your posts. When publishing a post, have something to say. Something someone will want to read. Put time and thought into your posts. Your post should accomplish at least one of the following: ✅ Be entertaining ✅ Be informative ✅ Be educational If you can get a post that does two or even all three, you’ve got a homerun. I spend roughly 30 minutes per post drafting, editing and publishing. Another 30 plus minutes engaging in the comments. Share something you are knowledgeable about. Something you are passionate about or others will find interesting. Talk about your goals, incredible memories, or things you are proud of. Share amazing experiences you’ve had or places you’ve gone. It is an extremely supportive community. They won’t bite. When you post, work it, to help it circulate wider. Write engaging comments back on your audience’s comments. Leave insightful comments. Not one- or two-word thanks. Further the conversation, don’t check the box. Do it for the right reasons with the right attitude and approach. Expect little and be pleasantly surprised when you get traction.  

They say grab peoples attention, I’d rather grab their trust and connection, so I can… Be relatable, then deliver value and impact. Why’s your goal to hook someone so bad? We aren’t fish, we are human beings. Try connecting with someone. As people move towards short videos, short form content, and short attention spans, I’ll just stay old fashioned. I’m old school, I like to talk and share. Ask my wife, she’ll vouch for that.😂 So here’s a post that breaks all the rules. Long text and long a video. No fancy arrows. No special lights or microphones. No AI. Just an off the cuff and unscripted post about why you shouldn’t be only trying to grad attention. To those few that’ll read the whole thing and watch the entire video. Enjoy y’all. ____________________________________ In today’s fast paced digital world, it seems like the ultimate goal is more viral content, reactions, and shares. But it really isn’t. This just focusing on a fleeting moment. The goal has been and will always be to capture trust, connection, relatability, and build lasting meaningful relationships. So, why’s it better to invest that to grab? 1. Long term over short term engagement - Trust and genuine connection are more likely to have people return, support, or even advocate for you and your brand. 2. Mental health and societal impact - Constantly chasing attention leads to a culture of comparison and dissatisfaction, but meaningful connection fosters a more supportive and empathetic community. 3. Authenticity and relatability - People are bombarded by more endless content than ever before, being genuine helps your message resonate deeper. 4. Depth and Width - Deeper relationships build mutual respect and understanding that can’t be achieved with superficial interaction. Ok, so how do I invest instead of grab? 1. Listen and adapt 2. Invest in your audience 3. Be consistent and transparent 4. Provide value beyond the transaction 5. (Bonus): Celebrate community success ____________________________________ Don’t be a flash in the pan that just grabs attention and follows the latest trends. Return to the old ways… - Use handwritten notes - Embrace face to face meetings - Make those personalized phone calls Show your willingness to invest time and effort into every individual connections. Stand out with genuine care and interest, foster a sense of appreciation and loyalty. ____________________________________ Ultimately, humans seek deep connection. You can’t hook or grab that with attention. You need to speak to the heart and soul. Find your way deep into their minds. Build trust on common ground. Relationships > attention. Doing this starts by being your very best self, I can help y’all with that part. TL;DR - Not this time.✌️ PS Are y’all truly connecting? 📌DM me “Thrive”, I can help you ♻️Found this helpful, repost for others

I get asked everyday.. “Alex, how can I scale my paid community?” Easy But before we just send a lot of traffic to it We must have the proper systems and funnels in place Now what does that consist of exactly? For one, you should have a video welcoming everyone and explaining what your community is all about Include a CTA to your offer Also have text that goes with it guiding members through your community (where to look first, channels, pdfs, etc) THIS SHOULD BE THE FIRST THING PEOPLE SEE Why? So they don’t get lost and confused Make the process for them super simple Now, make sure you personally message each member that joins This could also be a VA/appointment setter from your account But this personalizes the experience for each member by being able to directly communicate with you This way you are also able to sell them Now what happens when they do subscribe to your paid community ALSO have a video and onboard each member to prevent cold feet/auto cancels Now that we have the basics of the setup down Let’s dive right into scaling 🚀 There’s different ways to grow your community What is the best way? Definitely with a personal brand. PERSONAL BRAND: • 30+ comments a day • at least 1 thread a week • 1 auto dm a week • video break downs • reels/tik tok w giveaway/auto dm • YT long form & short form • Etc Become an authority in your niche. You should be getting results in whatever niche you’re in already This will make it easier to capture attention and convert members PAID ADS: • IG Dms sales funnel • VSL with a bunch of social proof, emotional connections, and clear CTA • You can split test to see what’s working for you whether it’s straight to the paid community or to the free one AFFILIATES: • have a separate community for affiliates • make sure they follow KPI’s • you can pay them a flat rate and then transition them to % • funnel all the members who can’t afford your paid community to your affiliate community • have them repurpose your content/create their own for virality There’s more ways like collabs, webinars, etc but get these 3 down first I hope you found this valuable :) P.s We have built and scaled over 100 communities and generated more than $8,000,000 in sales If you have any questions about building and scaling your community, just shoot me a DM :)

Last week, I shared a bit about a series we've launched at Mvnifest, and the feedback was fantastic. TLDR: I’m back on my feet, literally and figuratively, after a skiing mishap earlier this spring. Being a Founder/CEO, wife, and mom, it was a massive disruption. For years, I've been wanting to capture the wisdom and experiences of my network of founder-friends, mentors, and consumer goods experts. I kept telling myself, "We'll get to it later," until now. I’m super excited to share this week's conversation with Siffat Haider,  CEO and Co-Founder of Arrae, a natural supplement brand that's taken the internet by storm. Our conversation focuses most deeply on the power of community. We talk about the importance and opportunity of community building and how to do it authentically, and acknowledge that for this one, there just aren’t shortcuts. It’s gotta be real to be real. Siff and I dive into so many aspects of her business, and there are so many amazing nuggets from our conversation, but she highlights the importance of the following: 1️⃣ Humanizing your brand: How to treat your brand as a living, breathing entity and operate your social media and marketing efforts from the voice of an individual.  2️⃣ Personal connection at scale: Consider surprising and delightful types of engagement, like handwritten notes, Polaroids, or personal messages. These can become a cornerstone of community, allowing you to start small and building to a conversation over time. 3️⃣ A balanced budget: Allocate a portion of your marketing budget to community-building efforts, just as you would for influencer marketing or other strategies. Balancing paid partnerships with community engagement is key. 4️⃣ Loyalty Programs (the Rolls Royce of them): Siff encourages founders to consider implementing a loyalty program—if it aligns with your business model. For high-subscription businesses, a well-designed loyalty program can strengthen customer relationships. We talk through how to design a performant loyalty program, including unique incentives that truly show appreciation to your customers. 5️⃣ Creative Engagement: It’s a competitive market, and to stand out, brands need to think differently. Hosting events, workshops, walks, or other activities to engage with your community are a way to bring digital communities together in a physical context. 6️⃣ The Power in Team Involvement: Siff underscores how to involve your entire team in community-building efforts to foster a close-knit relationship between your brand and your customers, and to help spread the weight of the authentic connection throughout your team. The conversation is packed with actionable insights and real-world experiences that founders in consumer goods NEED to hear. 🚀  Check out the full conversation on Substack and let me know if you have any thoughts below. 💬 https://lnkd.in/gcw9B3Qd #CommunityBuilding #CPGBrands #BehindtheBrand #Arrae #SiffHaider

Nike, Coke, and Apple all have die-hard, loyal fans. Their secret? → Sell a lifestyle your customers can identify with. I realize that approach doesn't align with my values with personal branding. Many influencers base their entire business on selling an aspirational lifestyle: → Luxurious hotels → Expensive luxury cars → Private jets I find this unethical. So how do I approach personal branding in an authentic way? Here's my strategy: I spend 6 hours in deep work, creating valuable content that genuinely helps my audience. Then 2 hours on unstructured tasks like engagement and admin. In the remaining time, I: → Write (blogs, essays, anything to share my true thoughts) → Read (to constantly learn and expand my knowledge) → Walk a ton (to clear my mind and stay grounded) → Listen to podcasts (to gain diverse perspectives) → Meet entrepreneurs (to exchange insights and ideas) You might ask, "How can I build an ethical personal brand too?" Here's how: 1. Prioritize value: Focus on creating content that provides real value and solves problems for your audience, not just portraying an elite lifestyle. 2. Be authentic: Share your genuine journey, struggles, and all. Ditch the facade of perfection. 3. Embrace balance: Don't just glorify work. Highlight other fulfilling aspects of life too. 4. Never stop learning: Constantly educate yourself through books, podcasts, conversations. Growth is imperative. 5. Build real connections: Engage with your community, exchange ideas, and add value to others' lives. Are you ready to do the hard work and inspire through authenticity? The choice is yours.

I've helped grow a brand from 0 to 18k followers in 4 months, while mine is at less than 3k. Do I care? No. What most people don't realise is that an engaged community is an engaged community, regardless of how many followers you have. ✍️ Create great content 😇 Give, give and give more 🗣 Engage with your community And you'll create something special. I've worked on personal brands that have less than 1,000 followers that are doing amazing (clients coming out of their ears). While, I've seen "personal brands" with 10,000+ followers struggle to receive one comment on their posts. Followers are not the key metric and having them doesn't mean that you have a community. If you actually want an engaged community to help you with your business, work, grow your network, find new friends...etc. Do this: 👉🏽 Provide infinite value 👉🏽 Engage with your community 👉🏽 Share content around your values, skills, knowledge 👉🏽 Take time to get to know the people that show up for you and your brand AND... Don't attach your value to other people's metrics. 🧡

Remember, social media is not a marathon or a sprint. There's no finish line (unless you delete your account 😂) It's a continuous effort, and one of the biggest mistakes I see is posting attention-grabbing content just to attract new followers. You will never grow a loyal audience by ignoring your current community (who are already supporting you) just to hit a follower count goal. (Not to say you shouldn't have the goal of increasing your followers– you just need to go about it in the right way) Say you want to gain 20,000 new followers. Take the number out of it for a second and ask yourself, "What do I really want?" To inspire them? To educate them? To introduce them to a product or service? To provide them with tactical tips they can add to their strategy? When your content focus becomes what you can do for them, the loyal followers will come (probably faster), and you'll be better off for it! Loads of followers look good on paper, but if they're not actively engaging with your content and brand– what's the point? We've got to play the long game, and I'm a firm believer in the community-focused approach. Long-term engagement > short-term growth #Community #SocialStrategy #ValueDrivenContent