I didn't post on Instagram for a month. Here's what happened.
Have you ever run an A/B test on your website, email subject line or sales script? You know, the idea of offering two (or more) options to your audience and seeing which one resonates?
I first started running these about 12 years ago and have done, literally, thousands since. In many instances you change one variable, such as the colour of call-to-action buttons on a homepage, and look for any correlating increase or decrease in conversion (or whatever the metric is that you’re measuring).
Earlier this year I began experimenting with the marketing channels I use in my business. One of the biggest for me is Instagram. Using Google Analytics, I can map a direct journey between people discovering me on IG, signing up to this email (from the IG bio) and then contacting me to work with them or speak at their events (on average after 7 weeks of these Sunday emails). When I track conversion in my online store, traffic from IG has a higher than average conversion rate. I knew IG was a key channel for me, but like many small biz owners, I had got a little complacent with the ‘gram doing much of the same much of the time. I found myself posting on the grid without really stopping to check if that element of the IG platform had any real impact on my business objectives or made any difference to the connections I was forming.
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2020 will be a huge year in my biz. I wanted to take a step back this year and understand what was working in terms of my marketing and where I should be dedicating my time. In my marketing course and workshops I regularly discuss the need to test & tweak, and I walk that talk in my own biz too.
In the last 18 months I have been experimenting more on IG, using various platform features — from polls & stickers in stories and voicemails in DMs, through to different filters on video, changes to my highlights content and variations of grid content types. I really wanted to test what my audience was interested in and which content activated them to connect with me. We can get so used to doing something as it’s “what we have always done” without testing to see if it’s working the same way it has in the past.
As a result of all of these experiments, I have witnessed an increase in overall engagement on IG for @mydailybusinesscoach, fewer followers dropping off, fewer bots and spam comments (yay!), higher engagement on stories and far, far more DMs. I would say 75% of my time on IG these says is spent in DMs (which includes convos with my awesome coaching clients). In the last six months my IG DMs have been not only a connection tool, but a conversion one, as people have dropped in to ask me more info about my courses, eBook and 1:1 coaching then bought these online shortly after our IG DM chats.
But just like an A/B test on a homepage design when you tweak too many variables at once, it’s hard to trace which levers had the greatest impact. I had tested various things on IG but I wanted to understand even more about my audience & how I could connect with them on this platform. Specifically, did posting on the grid have any impact anymore or was I doing it purely out of habit? Remember , IG Stories launched more than three years ago (I know, where did that time go?) and IGTV 18 months ago, and since then SOOOOOO many changes have been made to the IG grid from switching up the order posts are shown through to the removal of likes. Was the IG grid still important to my audience? If I had to split my time would it better to dedicate 20% to the grid and 80% to stories, IGTV & DMs? I had ideas, but no concrete stats.
Between 25 November and 21 December 2019 I didn’t post anything on the grid. I still spent time on the 'gram, but I wasn't filling up my grid daily or even weekly. Instead, the time I spent on IG was about building genuine 1:1 connections with people through DMs, IG stories & comments.
Now if you have ever worked with me, heard me speak or attended my workshops you’ll know I preach that consistency is key. What’s more, my biz name includes the word “daily”. To not post on the grid on the regular at first felt a bit #awks. But, if you have ever heard me talk, you’ll also know I preach about keeping it real and never adding to the noise just because you think you should be.
So what did a month off the grid on the ‘gram teach me?
The algorithm isn’t out to get you. I had just as much engagement in my Stories as I ever have. My audience didn’t massively drop off nor did the views on my stories by not posting on the grid. That said, in terms of new followers, I attracted about half of what I would normally in a given month.
I found myself posting more spontaneously to IG stories as it wasn’t about grid pics that were scheduled (I tend to schedule (not autoschedule) about 75% of grid posts).
No one notices if you’re gone #HarshButTrue. We are bombarded with social posts! If I stopped sending this email for a month I suspect I’d have hundreds of people writing to ask me why. Not one of my 7000+ followers on IG messaged me to ask “Where are you?”
I found myself missing the writing aspect of grid captions. I am a writer and my captions tend to be long. Using video and voicemail pushed me to tell stories & get things across orally (which is obvs what I do when coaching, speaking gigs or teaching in workshops, but not something I’d been doing enough of on IG)
One of my key values is education and I did feel at times during the past month, that I was letting people down by not offering tips and inspo regularly via grid posts. I also found that I'd record a 'lesson' or tip and it would take up 10+ stories, which I didn't like (and they took FOREVER to upload) so in the future I'll be more succinct in my stories and make sure to use the stock standard 5x IG stories template (which I first learned about from Jasmine Starr): setup x1 (context) + share x3 (lesson) + CTA x1 (call to action).
As you would expect, my reach overall for the month dropped by about 30%. That said, sales generated from IG (mainly via DMs) increased 37% compared to previous months.This could have been higher due to the time of year and so this would be something I'd need to test again at another time.
I didn’t post as often as I could have done on IG Stories (nor in line with my content plan), especially videos with me in them. I found myself making excuses i.e. it wasn't quiet enough to record, I wasn't alone (#HeyBaby) or I didn't feel good (I still have some work to do on just showing up - greasy hair & all).
A month off the grid was a reminder to use the IG platform in line with the way the company wants you to use it. IG has spoken openly about their algorithm utilising three key metrics - interest (how much you'll care), timeliness (when you're online) & relationships (who you're engaging with) - to show your content to others. Increasing my 1:1 connections via DMs helped my content get seen by the people I was already engaging with (think interest and relationships), further strengthening those bonds and keeping me front of mind.
I had two IGTV posts to do this month and didn't complete either of them. This is something I'd like to do weekly in 2020, so I'll be making a bigger effort to lock those in, plan them and schedule time to record.
The insights I gained in the DMs and the data from the stories I did post have enabled me to understand what my audience connects with and in 2020 I will be creating more of that to serve them. I had way more fun this past month with some of the best "convos" happening in my DMs and making new IG friends with people I feel I could actually go to dinner with. I felt more connected and enjoyed the platform more.
Now , I don’t suggest everyone stop posting on the grid for a month. When I was starting to build my brand, posting on the grid on the regular (ie daily) was absolutely key to growing brand awareness and attracting inquiries. It also forced me to show up and test which content resonated most with my audience. Likewise, if your biz is retail/product based, taking a month off could be massively damaging to your sales (especially during this peak gifting season). Grid posts that include carousel or video, or generate debate through questions, can do wonders for your overall engagement so don’t write them off completely.
That said , if you have been on the gram a while and have found yourself feeling like things are a little stale, don’t be afraid to test & experiment with it in the same way you would with your website and email. Social media may seem rule-driven but in reality, we make up many of the rules. Try new things, use more GIFS, add music, add more video, do some IG takeovers with likeminded friends. Mix it up. Don’t let the fear of what might happen stop you from utilising these platforms to truly understand who your audience is and what they most need. For me, that meant dedicating the time I’d usually spend posting on the grid to chatting with people in my DMs, showing up on Stories as well as finding content I genuinely connected with and reaching out via DMs to let the creators of it know.
For many of us, social media platforms like IG are the most customer-facing marketing channels we have: don’t become a passive user. Decide what you want to know and get from a platform like IG then test and experiment until you have the information you’re seeking. I knew that IG was a key channel for me, and now I know how to utilise it even more.
I will be back posting regularly on the grid soon , but I will also continue to utilise all of the other elements of Instagram to ensure it’s a platform that I can keeping learning from as well as a space where I can genuinely connect with my audience - past, present & potential.
Phew! This was a LONG one. I hope my experimental month has given you some food for thought.