Can we talk about Instagram for a bit? So, I'm willing to bet you've got an Instagram account for promoting and marketing your small business. And I'm also willing to bet you spend a lot of time scroll, scroll, scrolling through your feed, every single day… hoping, praying that a prospective client will "like" your post, comment on your photo and (GASP!)reach out to you and put their money on the table to buy your products or services!!?!

So, umm… can I just ask: is that (actually) happening?!

No shame, if it ain't, my friend. If you wish you could gain a bit more traction with Instagram, then this episode is specifically for you.

My guest, Alice Benham, is a UK Digital Marketing coach who's making big waves on Instagram with her refreshing 'real life' approach to how she uses this platform for her business.

What you'll notice if you flip to her 'Gram (@Alice_Benham), everything is beautiful… It's cohesive, refined but still feels real and authentic.

I mean, REALLY. How does she get it to look so nice!!?!Does she have a massive team? A huge marketing budget? A professional photographer boyfriend? Okay, well, the first two aren't the case… she's actually a 1-woman company!

Today, she's sharing her insider secrets as she simplifies the "New Rules of Instagram + InstaStories."

In this episode, you will learn:

• What she believes is working right now on this platform
• The exact apps and equipment that she uses to shoot the videos and photos in her InstaStories and for her IG grid
• What she learned about personal branding and the responsibility we have as content creators to honesty when she ran an airbrushing experiment over the summer
• What things she posts on her business Instagram account and what things she keeps private
• Her predictions for how digital marketing is evolving on Instagram and where it's headed next
• Why elements of storytelling is everything when posting to Instagram

The most important thing that perked my ears up in our conversation is this… friends, don't get sucked into the numbers game on Instagram. You'll see people who have inflated follower numbers (10, 20, 50k followers, wow!) but very little engagement on their posts.

Your number of followers mean nothing in business. But instead, your number of engaged fans who you're making TRUE connection with via DM (aka. direct messages) and who are actually converting from being a lurker to being a buyer, is what really,actually counts.

So, don't get discouraged by your numbers. Throw that vanity plate out the window. And focus on who keeps showing up and start conversations with them.

Let's #DoTheThing.

Show notes available with all LINKS mentioned here: https://thesimplifiers.com/podcast/033-alice-benham/