The Social Focus

In this episode we are chatting about how to run a successful giveaway on Instagram. 

But not just the how to’s. We also chat about why you should do a giveaway, the many things to consider and of course, the rules and guidelines.

Here are three reasons why you should run a giveaway and when you would add it to your social media strategies. Because let’s face it, it’s not necessarily because you want to give something away for free. You are also hoping, in your generosity, to grow and possibly gain new customers.

Reason #1 - Growth. You want to grow your following and get more reach.

Reason #2 - Thanking your community for hitting a number of followings, or for a big launch being successful.

Reason #3 - Engagement. Ultimately wanting to shift the algorithm to favour your account for a little while by creating lots of buzz and engagement on one certain post.

We dug up some recent stats around accounts that run Giveaways and contests. These are big numbers. 

 - IG accounts that hold contests grow 70% faster then ones that do not.

 - Giveaways tend to get 64x more comments, and 3.5x more likes then other posts. 

Here’s why those stats are so important:

Followers see your post

They like comment and tag a friend

More people see it, engage, and tag

The algorithm reveals the post to more accounts

Those accounts see it, engage and tag

MAGIC!

What are some things to consider?

Should you do a Solo or Collaborated giveaway?

 What would be the reason behind the giveaway?

Let’s dive into these very important Steps BEFORE you run that giveaway. This can massively change your results.

Step 1

Choose a prize your AVATAR would benefit from or love!

And also consider how they could possibly become ongoing customers.

Step 2

Choose the ways they can enter to win

Follow your account

Like this post

Tag a friend in the comments

Each tag counts as an additional entry to win

Extra Entry’s are also beneficial

Share in Stories

Sign up for our newsletter

Step 3

Set a date you will pick the winner

Mark this in the post

Step 4

How will you choose the Winner?

1. Name generator like Commentpicker.com or Woobox.com

2. Write them out old school style and put them in a bowl or hat

3. Create a video while you’re choosing

4. Create an excel spreadsheet and use Random number picker

Okay, so now that you’re super pumped about this amazing Giveaway, let’s get into the sexy part. Rules and Guidelines. YEEHAW!!!!

Currently in February 2021, you should Always add in 

“This Giveaway and promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with Instagram”

Please stay up to date with Instagram requirements. Check out Instagrams website to see what their current guidelines are to date.

Head on over to our bio @thesocial.focus download our latest freebie!

Have a question for us? Check us out on Instagram @thesocial.focus 

@angela.s.doyon and @natcaronphoto and send us a DM! 

We are thrilled to use Buzzsprout to host our Podcast! They have made it easy and seamless (plus their customer service is by far one of the best!)

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

We can’t believe we’re sharing this today.

It’s so freaking exciting, you’ll fall off your chair…

This is THE episode that you do NOT want to miss….

Did we get your attention? Great - because that is EXACTLY what we’re chatting about on today’s episode - creating a caption or a hook that captures your audience attention!

We know that Instagram is a visual platform and the images you share need to stand out, they need to be relevant and have a good enough image to really capture your audiences attention. But what comes next? 

It’s that first line of your caption and it is one of the most important pieces of crafting a great post. 

So how do you craft something so enticing that makes your audience want to continue reading? Today we’re going to break it down into five ways to create that hook!

#1 - The Secret. 

Some examples would be:

“I can’t believe I’m sharing this…” or “you won’t believe what I’m about to share” or straight up, “can you keep a secret?”

The secret is all about the intrigue. You want your audience to wonder - hmmm…. I’m curious - what is she talking about? 

#2 - The Resource

This is where your hook really focuses on education your audience. This is where you’ll share something of value, a tool or resource that your audience can take action on right away. For example, : here are FIVE things you need to know in order to… dot dot dot.” Or, “I’m spilling the beans…” or even “Want to know how I got to / or made / or grew dot dot dot…” 

#3  - The Personal.

This is a great opportunity to connect with your audience. Let them get to know you better. An example of personal hooks would be something like, 

 “Not too many people know this about me…” or  “I’m kind of embarrassed to share this” or even “two of these are true and one of these are false” - where you can share a few fun facts and ask your audience which is false. This is a fun way to build engagement and can be carries over into your stories using polls. 

#4 - The Expert.

This is similar to the resource, but is a great opportunity to assert yourself as the expert in your field. Your hook could be something like, “what if I told you that I could help you with________blank______ right now!?” For example, “what if I told you there’s an easier way to for more engagement on Instagram?” Followed by proven facts or education that can help your audience. 

#5  - The Pride.

What do we mean by pride?  Here are some examples of hooks;

“I can’t begin to tell you how much this meant to me (dot dot dot)”

Or

“Want to know what made my day? Keep reading…”

Or

“Never ever did I think THIS could happen (dot dot dot)”

To summarize, crafting a great hook is the best way to entice your audience to stay a while and engage. We hope that these five hooks have been helpful for you!

If you’re looking for additional hook suggestions, head on over to our bio @thesocial.focus download our free guide - Instagram Hooks for Biz

Have a question for us? Check us out on Instagram @thesocial.focus
@angela.s.doyon and @natcaronphoto and send us a DM! 

We are thrilled to use Buzzsprout to host our Podcast! They have made it easy and seamless (plus their customer service is by far one of the best!)

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

In today's episode, it's just me, Nat running solo and talking about where to find inspiration for your social media posts.

Overwhelm and burn out is real! This is because we often overthink everything, right?

And that includes social media! More likely then not, you’ve heard yourself say one of these before.

“what the heck am I going to post about today?”

“no one even wants to read what I have to say...”

“lately my posts have been falling flat...”

When we say this to ourselves, sure, maybe its a tad correct. But usually we’re just feeling drained. And guess what? We need to feel creative, and creativity doesn’t come to us when we’re drained.

In fact many of you are trying to create very last minute because “Oh my gosh, I haven’t posted this week”. Well I’m about to make a very strong statement, (so please don’t write me hate mail).

You Don’t Have To Post Every Day!!!

Okay okay, you do if you want to grow. But if you’re just posting for posting sake, it’s not going to move the needle anyway right? So give yourself a little break. And after you have decided to cut yourself some slack, and you’ve taken a deep breath, I want you to think about what time of day you feel the happiest, energetic, and most creative. 

Where to find some inspiration for these posts.

The first place we find inspiration is in posts we have saved. Start getting into the habit of doing this. If you haven’t started saving posts, it’s really easy.  Now, keep in mind, this is for Inspiration. Not copying. Many people go to a lot of work creating their posts. So don’t be a copy cat. In fact, you could even mention them in your post to say thank you for the great idea.

Second place we find inspiration is on Pinterest. You can pretty much type in any word, or How To…. and something will come up. Looking over someone’s blog is such a great place to find inspiration of a wonderful post. 

The third place we find inspiration is in Pop Culture. Pop culture is our friend when we’re absolutely stuck. It could be a classic or current TV show, a new favourite song, or even some new challenge on TikTok.

If something big is happening, you can use this to your advantage, by connecting with your audience when you have common ground, and offering a little entertainment. These kinds of posts start conversations you probably never thought you’d have. 

The fourth place we find inspiration is on a long drive or in nature. Have you ever noticed this? When you’re alone, or in a quiet place, how often the best ideas pop into your head. It’s really important to keep track of these incredible thoughts. But not to run home and start typing away. Stay in nature. Stay where the inspiration is flowing through you. 

The fifth and last place we find inspiration is from other individuals we look up to. Not necessarily from your industry. In fact, I’d suggest it not be from your industry. But rather someone or something that you admire. 

If you’re looking for additional hook suggestions, head on over to our bio @thesocial.focus download our latest freebie!

Have a question for us? Check us out on Instagram @thesocial.focus 

@angela.s.doyon and @natcaronphoto and send us a DM! 

We are thrilled to use Buzzsprout to host our Podcast! They have made it easy and seamless (plus their customer service is by far one of the best!)

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

In this episode, we are joined by TWO incredible guests. They're smart, funny, incredibly handsome and two of the biggest hearted men. Yes, today we welcome our husbands to the show. 

We wanted to chat with Brent (Nat's husband) and Mike (Ang's husband) to hear their perspective on what it's like being married to a business owner and entrepreneur. And oh boy, did these gents deliver. It was an insightful conversation where we chat about boundaries, balancing work and family life and how being (and feeling) supported can make a big difference in success.

Some of the questions we tackle are;

When you first began your relationship she was already years into her business. Were you drawn to this in a partner or did you find it complicated your relationship?

When she decided to take that leap of faith into her own business years ago, what was your first thought?

What was one thing you realized she needed the most from you that showed your support?

What’s the hardest part about being in a marriage with a business owner?

But of course, this is Instagram for Business and we get their perspective on using IG for business prospecting, user habits and how they each use the platform differently.

And spoiler alert - some of the biggest takeaways in this episode are Mike's insightful suggestions for building solid relationships in business and Brent's incredible insight on SEO and how to drive more traffic to your website.

A big thank you to Mike and Brent for joining us. We just know you'll fall in love with them as much as we have.


Have a question for us? Be sure to check us out on Instagram @thesocial.focus (pssst there's usually a freebie waiting for you!)

Have a question for us? Check us out on Instagram @thesocial.focus
@angela.s.doyon and @natcaronphoto and send us a DM! 

On Pinterest we are: 

@thesocialfocus2020 

www.thesocialfocus.co

We love and use Buzzsprout to host Instagram for Business Podcast and they have made it easy and seamless (plus their customer service is by far one of the best!)

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

We're celebrating! We have officially spent an entire year dedicated to delivering  weekly episodes and cannot believe how fast the year went by!

In this week’s episode, we’re sharing what we learned from our first year in podcasting; including - 

1. How podcasting has made a positive impact on our business - and how it can for you too

2. Four things we wish we had known when getting started 

3. The main equipment and software you need to get started

and

4. How we created our own style and brand on our own podcast. 

Podcasting is a fantastic way to increase your audience and reach. It can also help you gain new followers on social media platforms, let your audience get to know you better and is the perfect platform to promote your offerings and promotions.  One of the things we love best is the opportunity to invite guest experts on to the show!

Here are a few things we wish we had known before getting started:

- Register ahead of the planned start date  with Apple Podcast

- Episode notes for recordings are key! It helps keep the episode on track and to the point

- Batching is a lifesaver…. When we first got started we didn’t batch as many episode. Now our recording sessions include at least 3-4 so we can get them organized, edited and scheduled. 

- Keep the average episode to under 30 minutes - this is great for the listener and also great for us in terms of recordings, editing, writing show notes, etc. 

We also share some of our favourite equipment and software including:

- A good mic

- Zoom to record our episodes and interviews

- A hosting platform - we use Buzzsprout and they have made it easy and seamless (plus their customer service is by far one of the best!)

If you're considering starting a podcast for your business, this is the episode for you!

Have a question for us? Be sure to check us out on Instagram @thesocial.focus (pssst there's usually a freebie waiting for you!)

Have a question for us? Check us out on Instagram @thesocial.focus
@angela.s.doyon and @natcaronphoto and send us a DM! 

On Pinterest we are: 

@thesocialfocus2020 

www.thesocialfocus.co 


This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Call us crazy - but seriously - we’re not here to tell you that you need 10,000 followers on Instagram. Yes, 10K looks really good and you get the added bonus of the swipe up feature in Instagram stories - but for many businesses, 10K could actually hurt you. In today’s episode we’re sharing why…

To start - we’re not saying that 10,000 is a BAD thing, so let’s get that out of the way. But if you have 10,000 followers who are NOT sharing, saving, commenting, dm’ing you and…(drumroll) BUYING your products or services… then what’s the point? This is why buying followers or participating in follow/unfollow tactics never serve you in the long run. Think of it this way - the more followers you have; the harder you need to work to have your ACTUAL customers or potential customers see your content.

What we want to focus on are more valuable techniques to grow your business on Instagram. In today’s episode we are going to share five things we want you to focus on (instead of the 10K mark). Let’s get started:

1. Create content that your audience will want to share - perhaps it is your favourite quote or a funny meme. It could be a promotion of giveaway. Do you ever share other accounts content in your stories? What makes you do so? Start thinking about how you could create your own unique content that gets shared

2. Create content that your audience will save - this is one of the best strategies you can implement right now. Instagram favours shares and saves and it will help to increase your engagement. Creating a post or even a carousel that educates your audience is a great place to start. Check out some of our education pieces @thesocial.focus to see what we mean.

3. Be mindful of who is following you. If an account follows you, we encourage you to visit their profile and check them out (they may be a great connection and or potential customer). If they are your ideal audience or avatar (for more on that tune into episode 51 where we go in depth about your ideal avatar) - but if they are, reach out! This is a great opportunity to introduce yourself. Comment on some of their posts or better yet, send them a dm! 

4. This is really part two of number three - because if a new follower appears to not be anywhere related to your ideal avatar… you may want to remove them as a follower. Or - if it looks like a bot - it probably is a bot. And having followers or fake accounts following you will not serve you well at all.

5. We’ve said it before and we will say it again - engage. We recently ran a 5 Day Grow Your Engagement Challenge and oh boy did it deliver! We had such great feedback because when you lean into engaging with the right audience, you’ll start to reap the benefits of organic growth. 

To summarize - 10,000 followers does not necessarily mean money in the bank. If you’re using Instagram for you business - you’ll be better off serving 900, 500 or even 300 engaged followers that ACTUALLY buy you products and services. Let’s leave the vanity metrics in 2020.

Don’t miss out where we open up the questions in the chat box!! Have a question for us? Be sure to check us out on Instagram @thesocial.focus 

Have a question for us? Check us out on Instagram @thesocial.focus @angela.s.doyon and @natcaronphoto and send us a DM! 

On Pinterest we are: 

@thesocialfocus2020 

www.thesocialfocus.co 

In today’s solo episode, I (Ang) am getting a bit personal while I share a few things that I wish someone had told me when I first started my entrepreneurial journey. And if that’s where you’re at right now; this episode is for you!

To start - let me be clear - I have zero regrets. It was all great learnings. But in today’s episode I want to share with you the five things I wish I had known when just getting started with my business. 

You don’t have to have a degree in what you want to pursue - in fact when was the last time somebody asked to see that piece of paper? I caused myself a lot of stress, feeling of unworthiness because like many of you - we are raised to believe that in order to be successful we have to be a part of an education system from kindergarten, to middle school to university , etc.

Stop caring what other people will think

Seriously. We all know that everybody has an opinion but we need to remind ourselves that the ones who are truly rooting for us will cheer us on at every stage of our journey. 

And it is important to remember that you’re not going o be everybody’s cup of tea and in most cases- your friends, family, neighbours colleagues may not understand what it is that you’re building and that’s OK.  But don’t let negative comments, or their confusion halt you on your path.

Done is better than perfect

It’s amazing how much time can be spent obsessing over things until they are perfect. I feel like I spent wayyyyy too much time on the little things - where nobody was paying the much attention to. I could have let go on a few things and really focused on what was needed and.a priority. 

Stop trying to be everything to everyone

Seriously - I had so many opportunities where I should have said, “no” but like many, I didn’t feel that I was in a position to turn away dollars. However, I can see now that if I had niched down and really focused on who it was that I wanted to serve, I could have propelled my business faster. We’ve said it so many times, “if you are talking to everyone, you are talking to no one.”

Do not undervalue your time and services. 

Oh man - ever feel icky when sending a quote or an invoice? Or have you ever changes your pricing because you just assumed that there’s no way your client would pay that much? Or have you ever invested more time than what it was worth because you wanted to impress? Yeah - been there, done that. I wish my fairy godmother came striking down with her wand and slapped me across the backside and said, “do not ever undervalue your skills, talents and time.” I hope this resonates with you, or I’ll show up with my magic wand at your house! 

Where are you at in your journey? I’d love to hear if any of these were helpful!

Check us out on Instagram @thesocial.focus 

Have a question for us? Check us out on Instagram @thesocial.focus @angela.s.doyon and @natcaronphoto and send us a DM! 

On Pinterest we are: 

@thesocialfocus2020 

www.thesocialfocus.co 

In today’s episode we are chatting with Peggy Re James. Peggy is a Marketing Coach for done for you service providers and rising coaches and course creators. She is passionate about helping entrepreneurs scale their businesses by giving them both the foundation they need, as well as proven marketing strategies to help propel them quickly to a full-time income. Her favourite part about being a Coach is watching women own their superpowers, push past fear and change their futures. When she’s not working, you can find her wrangling her three little girls or reading a self-development book.

We absolutely loved her suggestions on how to, “outsource your life.” Seriously, talk about levelling up and sharing strategies that help you business move forward!

So how do you know if you are ready to outsource and bring on some help?

Peggy gives it to us straight… “When you’re about to pull your hair out” or are at 70% capacity. When you get to a part when you are unable to move your business forward - that could mean it is also time. “If you’re unable to do the money making activities…and you’re always in the client work and back end, you can’t grow your business.”

Is Social Media important in growing this type of career? Is an email list just as important?

She says that it depends on your goals. Do you want a brand? Do you want to replace income? Do you want to build an empire? If you want to be in demand and build authority, it’s imperative to be active on social. And boy, you should see how active Peggy is on social. Her reels are incredibly entertaining and educational and it is obvious Peggy knows exactly who she is speaking to. 

What are the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make when trying to find new customers? 

You’ve heard us say it and we were thrilled to hear Peggy share our adamants - “talking to EVERYONE.”  Trying to talk to everyone and having no clarity in the message. It’s that fear and feeling of not wanting,“to leave any money on the table.” However, and you’ve heard us say it, developing your niche is incredibly important to move the needle in your business.

What are your Top 3 go to Instagram tools you teach your community?

So what does the woman who outsources everything love? Well, her content manager, of course! That is full on levelling up friends! But we love that she shares some of her other favourite tools (and we loves these too) such as Canva, InShot and Snapseed. 

To connect with Peggy Re James, you can find her online at www.peggyrejames.com or on Instagram at @peggyrejames

Have a question for us? Be sure to check us out on Instagram @thesocial.focus 

Have a question for us? Check us out on Instagram @thesocial.focus
@angela.s.doyon and @natcaronphoto and send us a DM! 

On Pinterest we are: 

@thesocialfocus2020 

www.thesocialfocus.co 

Looking for more engagement on Instagram? In today's episode we're chatting about the importance of engagement and are sharing 7 Photos To Post For to get More Engagement!

What do babies, puppies and Kylie Jenner have in common?... You can be sure that if you post an image of any one of these that it is sure to get a ton of engagement!

To start, we want to remind you that engagement is not  about getting more 'likes'.  Likes do not prove that something is good, helpful or even useful.

In fact we now live in a world that popularity is perceived as being good.

What we are always trying to communicate is how important it is to provide great content for your followers. Not simply pretty photos.

We do however know that these are the posts that are becoming part of the 2020/2021 trends on Instagram. And that these will also help your business grow.

So here we go. These are the top 5 Photos that can generate engagement:

1.User Generated Images

2. Show off your team

3. Your Pets…. we know, it’s kind of obvious, but dog owners feel connected to dog owners. Same with cat owners…. horse owners…. hedgehog….

4. Flatlays that shows off your products, your tools, favourite books, what your morning looks like, etc.

5. Selfies

6. Inspirational Quotes - created in Canva, but also a great photo you took of a quote on a wall, or in a book, etc.

7. Behind The Scenes

AND be sure to tune in for the BONUS suggestion! Seriously.... it's gold!

Don’t miss out where we open up the questions in the chat box!! Have a question for us? Be sure to check us out on Instagram @thesocial.focus 

Have a question for us? Check us out on Instagram @thesocial.focus @angela.s.doyon and @natcaronphoto and send us a DM! 

On Pinterest we are: 

@thesocialfocus2020 

www.thesocialfocus.co 

The Doors are OFFICIALLY OPEN to Join Instagram for Business - our online signature course and community!

If you’ve ever wondered what our community Q&A Coaching calls are all about? This is your sneak peal inside! In December 2020, we hosted a live Q&A publicly for anyone to join! Registrants were able to submit their questions ahead of time (much like our members do) and we tackled their questions LIVE! It’s a raw, un-cut and fast paced episode that we know you’ll gain so much Instagram information from! What’s even better is at the end of our Q&A we opened up the chat box and tackled more questions right on the spot!

If you’ve every asked yourself any of the following questions, you’ll want to tune in to the full episode.

How often should I be posting on Instagram? We go into details on this but we always love to focus on creating GREAT content! 

What are some great apps to enhance photos and videos? If you’ve noticed the new features on Instagram, you’ll see that video is becoming more predominant and is something we highly recommend you dive into!

What are some good hashtags to use on Reels for photographers? We share some helpful tips that will help anyone using Instagram for Business. The hashtag struggle is real and we share some helpful suggestions to rev up your hashtag strategy. 

How can I get more followers and get more clients? Alas! The biggest question we get of all and you may be shocked by our answer. First off - we truly believe that more followers do not necessarily translate to more clients and thus more money in the bank.

What are your top three strategies for organic growth and engagement? What we loved about this question is that they included the word organic. Organic growth is still possible and can work wonders!

Should my Instagram posts be the same as my stories? Or should I be posting in stories more? We refer back to a previous episode (episode 33) on our podcast where we explain that Instagram Stories is like your reality show. To answer this question, we provide some great tips and techniques to maximize your Instagram Story strategy. 

What are your thoughts on the follow / unfollow method? Boy do we have strong feelings on this method. To sum up, neither of us our fans of this “method” and you’ll hear why at the 35:00 minute mark. 

What advice would you give someone who is just starting out? This is a great question and we loved sharing some techniques around goal setting, Instagram strategy, theme development and relationship building. 

How do you create Reels? Reels can be 15 or 30 seconds and are a great way to connect with your audience. We share some suggestions on how to get started with your first Reels. 

Don’t miss out where we open up the questions in the chat box!! Have a question for us? Be sure to check us out on Instagram @thesocial.focus 

Have a question for us? Check us out on Instagram @thesocial.focus @angela.s.doyon and @natcaronphoto and send us a DM! 

On Pinterest we are: 

@thesocialfocus2020 

www.thesocialfocus.co 

Promo Music License: 

For Rainbows: 

Rainbows by Kevin MacLeod 

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4261-rainbows 

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/