How to Use Reels Throughout Customer Journey

Thank you, Angela, for having me, I am so excited to talk about this topic, it's gonna be so good.
I'm so excited. And I know what you're thinking, guys. Now listen, if you don't love video, you need to be listening to this more than people who are already doing, okay, like you, if you own a business, you're not going to be able to run from it. Because there's been so many changes. And depending on when you watch or listen to this video is just going to become more and more prominent in the marketing space. And so it's really important that you educate yourself on these things. But before we jump off and start and start talking about social media, and Instagram, and reels and videos, I don't know about you or any but this shouldn't exist
about business. Me, neither. Can you
tell us where you started a little bit about your journey of how have you gotten to where you are? Because you're really Insta reals gal and an expert. So but what's gotten you there?
Yeah, so I'm actually a wedding planner in Orlando, Florida, I own a wedding consulting company, there's a team of six of us. And that started 14 years ago. So I sound like a dinosaur. But Instagram didn't even exist when we started our business. And so, you know, I have to say, I have to be super honest, if anybody out there is listening, and you're like, I just can't get behind Instagram. Neither could I, for years, we did not have a social presence. And then we started one for blush, which is my planning company, but I was like, I'm never getting on Instagram, you know, I'll share some pictures of my kids on Facebook. But that's it, I'm not doing this whole social media thing. And then you start to realize you can't fight it. You know, as a business owner, you have to take advantage of the platforms that are there for you. And when I started my business, I don't know about you, Angela. But we used to spend about $20,000 a year in paid advertising, because there wasn't another option you had to pay to put your, you know, ad in a magazine and online and all these things. And now business owners just simply don't have to do that they have no barrier to entry, no middleman between them and the consumer. And that's what social media is. So once I started realizing that it was really not until the fall of 2019, and I started my own account, and that was because I really wanted to start teaching other wedding pros how to build a business like we had built and to be able to really kind of get out of the day to day, you know, get some freedom in your life, avoid the burnout. And my husband was like, you've got to get on Instagram. You can't keep avoiding it. So you guys, depending on when you're listening to this, I mean two years I've had an Instagram account, okay, so it has not been long. And the first time I even showed my face on video, I sweat through my shirt I threw up when we got off. I did a live video I literally walked in the bathroom and threw up it was so crazy. But I knew I had to do it. You know? So when people say Oh, I don't do video just because it's not my thing. Like I'm not that comfortable with it. And I'm like, I mean you got to get comfortable with it. I'm sorry, but that is the way the world's going short form video isn't just reels and Instagram. It's tick tock, which we all know. But it's also Pinterest has video pins. Now that trend way higher than regular pins. YouTube has shorts. I mean, every single platform is creating short form video, so I can't hide from it anymore. So I made myself learn it. And the reason I've kind of become I guess in our industry in the wedding industry I've become kind of known as the real person to go to is because I teach it in a way That's like, Listen, you have 100 Other things to do, we don't want you spending an hour making a reel, that's not a good return on your investment. You need to be able to make them in five minutes, stick your camera, put your face up, make a cute reel, use a trending audio, and let's move on with life. So that's really what I teach is how to incorporate it into your business in a way that's going to give you a super high return for the time that you invest in it. Yeah, and,
you know, there's that saying, I say it all the time, get comfortable being uncomfortable, yes. And there are some people that I know and accounts that we have where they put it on other people. So for example, a friend of mine owns a marketing company. She doesn't live video, but her clientele is very different. It's not service space. It's like toilet paper, Sharman and McDonald's. Right. So I mean, okay, but they need marketing too. And so she has an employee take over for a week. And she has a really big team. And so once she cycles through, you've almost made it through, well over six to eight weeks, of, of people just sharing, like insights about their job, what they're working on their dogs, their kids, you know, they're able to share whatever they want. But it also opens everybody up to being exposed. You know, it's like, don't feel like you just have to do it yourself. Like there are there's so many groups, friend groups, there's so many groups out there that have people who are terrified of video psychologically, just terrified of it. And guess what, though, like, when you stay in your comfort zone, you're not going to grow? Yeah. And so you've like you said, You've got to just just do it. Yeah. Now, it's like, I literally like some of our customer like, but you just do it all the time on like, a start out like that, but me and my phone have a conversation multiple times a day. Oh, yeah. You know, it's just like, I'm used to it now. It's just like starting anything new. It's a little nerve wracking. But there's definitely strategy. And there's, there's definitely a more productive way to do it. And what I would encourage any buddy listening or watching if you scroll, and you're not creating content, like you're in violation of like your time, yeah, like, I will set a timer and I do like to scroll on tick tock, but and I do like reels, but no more than 30 minutes, like after 30 minutes. Like I literally set a timer on my Apple watch. And when it buzzes, it's like, if I'm not going to spend the next 30 minutes creating the content, then I need to move on to something else. Because the whole fun like if it can be so freaking fun. And so I know, we're all so busy. And you guys always hear me like GST GST, going to GST shit that you don't like doing. But what are some ways that people can make time to fix something else? And because it's just another thing? It really is. It's like, how do we focus our time? Well,
people do. Yeah, I mean, I think that this is such a great question. Because everyone says that they're like, ah, no more stuff. But here's the thing. I don't know how many people in the audience can resonate with this, but I bet you, there's gonna be a lot of hands going up that, you know, you sit down at your computer, and you create content for your social media, because someone told you, you have to be present on Instagram. So you spend maybe an hour or two hours a week, or you pay a social media company to develop these static graphic posts, right, that are so boring, and I don't get me wrong, I do them to like, they're necessary. But the return is so little. And it when you start to use reels, I think the reason that people love them, once they start it, there's, you know, it's they've got to get started. It's addicting, because it works. So all of a sudden, you make a reel, and you see that there's, you know, 800 views, which isn't even that many for real, but I don't know anybody who's got 800 views on their story on a normal day, you know, unless you have tons and tons of followers. So you can have 1000 followers and have 10,000 views on a reel and get tons of followers or not. So, you know, I think what's most important is for us to first reframe our mindset is that, you know, for so long it's been, I've got to create content, and it has to have the perfect caption, it has to have the perfect branding in it, my grid has to look awesome. And those days are really going away. And a lot of that reason, too, is because reels, except for big brands, like McDonald's and things like that reels really can't be called in. You know, if you have a social media team, they can create their batching a month ago for things that are going you know, you don't even you created stuff six weeks ago for what's going on today, right? But reels aren't like that you have to show up. So it kind of has to be you it makes it more personal. And so that's really the biggest reason why I'm like get out of your own way. You know, reframe your mindset to say, well, if I'm going to spend an hour doing grid posts, maybe instead of that maybe I'll spend a half an hour doing grid posts And I spend 30 minutes doing reels, you know, try one a week, the biggest thing is that when you start trying it, there's two things I would say, one, be consistent. So don't post one. And then never post again, or post one and you only got 200 views. So then you're like, defeated, you know, don't do that post consistently. So if it's going to be one week, post once a week, for eight weeks, give it a good go give it a shot. Because once the algorithm starts picking up that you're posting, you're gonna start to see the return on it, people will follow you, you know, that's, that's really what you're wanting from it. And so give it give it a strong go. But just reframe that mindset. That's really what I want you guys to think about.
Yeah, that is, I mean, you said it best a few minutes ago, like marketing in the ads are, which, you know, when I was in events, we I mean, we're in a small town, while Nashville has grown, it is still a good Oh, boy, country town, up here. And so luckily with us, just through word of mouth, but when I started building sales funnels, and when I started doing things, like online courses, and writing books and doing more service based products, you're 100%, right? You have to run ads, and you have to do money. Yeah, yeah, to get people into your pipeline. And so with social media, which we always have to remember, it was meant to be social, it wasn't meant for a bunch of fake bot, to, like, put a bunch of shit out there, which, you know, we all try to do it. But it's a way to give people a little bit, however much you let them you know, inside to your life. And I remember when Facebook Live first came out, and I had a brand strategist and manager I was working with and he's like, now on all your events and weddings, you've got to put it on the timeline to a Facebook Live. And then you know, when stories came out, and I'm like, you've got to be effing kidding me. I don't even have time to pee right now. You want me to pull out a camera and a baby Osmo and like, walk around? I'm like, You're, you're crazy. Yeah. And he's like, No, you're crazy. You don't understand. If you don't, someone else in your industry will do it. They will become the thought leader because they're exposing themselves and you who've had who has 20 years of experience, not sharing that or giving little tidbits and nuggets. Like those are the people that are winning, they may not have experience that you have, but they're exposing themselves. And so I thought about I'm like, Oh, shit, okay, we're gonna build it into the timeline. And so but I started to hire more people to like, help me execute. Yeah. And then we started to grow our intern team as well. So we could teach them while we're doing videos. So you know, it's like Wash, rinse, repeat your stuff. And then with Instagram, stories, I never gotten to Snapchat, but he's like, You got to do this story thing. I'm like, I'm only seeing it once. And if this shit disappears, that's not productive. He's like, you're missing the point. That's the point is so low. I'm like, What the hell is that fear of missing out. And I'm like, Oh, I don't have that. I don't give a shit. And he's like, but Angela, think about it. He's like, if there's something that you really love, you want to be in the know about certain things. And if it's going to disappear, and you only have 24 hours to get in on it, like, don't you want in on it? If it's something that you really care about? Like if Apple is releasing a new phone or a new product? Don't you want to be the first to know about it? I'm like,
Okay, you're right. Yes, I do. It's just
important, like, and so having a different strategy, because Instagram specifically, there's like 10 different ways. But did you see the post is probably maybe two or so months ago, where one of their leadership, I don't know if he's the CEO or CEO. He's like, we're not going to prioritize photos anymore. Hmm. Yeah.
Yeah. And that's a thing. I mean, guys, Instagram came right out and said it, we've known this since they rolled out real, like, let's be real, all the accounts were being prioritized that we're doing real consistently. But now, they came out and finally said it, they just came right out and said it. And to be honest, you know, I also kind of think, as you were talking, I was thinking, Yes, this is so true, you know, you want to only put your effort where you're getting the most return on your on your time. And so, you know, I think that we forget about that, too. We think, Oh, there's another social media thing. So now I have to spread myself even more thin, but it's like, think about that for a second. If, if grid posts aren't working for you anymore, if they're not converting, then I this is my personal opinion. But I tell all of my students, I'm like, listen, I would rather you do three reels a week and stop posting on your grid, and see if it makes it different. I know it's gonna make a difference. So I wouldn't tell you to do it, but, but just see what the return is because you could spend less than the time it takes you to make those grid posts to do rails and you're gonna get such a bigger return. So it's really, really important for you to always be evaluating, you know, when we used to pay for advertising or when we used to, but you know, when that was a big a big big, you always had to also check your return on investment then and that was a return on your money. But this is a return on your time. And that's just as important, if not more important, this time can't be renewed, right? So we really need to consider that is what is your return. So if you're spending all this time doing things that aren't working, stop doing them, just keep doing them. So you're not really adding something else to your plate, see what's not working and see if you can replace that time with this with reels.
So this goes into something really important is to actually a make sure you have the right account, and that you're actually looking at your analytics. So can you speak a little bit to that?
Yeah. So this is super interesting, because people get incredibly frustrated that we still don't have real insights a year later, we have baby insights, I would call them and not even all accounts out of them. But you know, we can at least see things like how many saves it had, how many shares it had. And we all know saves and shares are like the golden nuggets of Instagram, if you can get somebody to save or share your post. So you can see that on your insights, which is really helpful. But what I look for is I look for engagement. So you can go right into your normal insights. And you can see what your engagement is over, you know, period of time. So if I post a reel, I'll check maybe 48 hours later and see what my total engagement is, or my accounts reached. And then a really easy one is just to look at your follower count. And I also this is something that's really, really important. I look at the followers, who were the new followers, because here's the thing, you guys, this is also something that I get insane about, we don't want to create viral reels it that's not the goal. Now for some companies, like if you were creating maybe a clothing line, or you had a product that anyone could have a viral reel is great. But if you create a viral reel and you get 100 new followers, you're like, Yeah, this is awesome. Well, if they're just a bunch of Yahoo's that have nothing to do with your business, that's not actually helpful, it's going to tank your engagement. So you really want to concentrate on making content that's going to draw in your ideal customer. And so when you start looking through those followers that come and follow you, it's a little more manual, because you have to look at them. But make sure like, for me, I'm a I'm a business coach now for wedding professionals. So when I go through my new followers on my account, I'm constantly looking to make sure all of them are event professionals. I don't delete people that aren't necessarily, but I'm also looking for bots and things like that, because I want to know, hey, that piece of content really did not land the way I wanted it to, like I made a real this summer about one of my teenagers. And it was goofy and silly. It had nothing to do with business. It went completely viral, which was fun to watch. But I got like 300 followers that were random, like so random, I was getting messages. And I was like, This is not what I I don't want to keep creating content like this, you know, it's fun once in a while. But ultimately, what you're trying to do is use your reels as a funnel, to create sales, which is really what all of your social media should be doing is it should be strategic, and it should be creating dollars in your pocket. So we don't do it for fun. And for views. We do it to get the right eyes on our product
or our service. Well, exactly. And you also have to take a step back and like you said, look and see like what is your product or your service, which is service is still a product, you guys. It's like if you do like you said have a clothing line, or a new water bottle or a new coffee mugs, like something that everybody can use. going viral is great because you can reach those potential people who are going to buy and maybe gift and buy for other people. But the biggest thing I see too is even on some of the viral videos is there's no call to action. Oh my god. So I'm like who? Who is helping these people? Yeah. And they don't know what they don't know sometimes. And like, sometimes I'm actually like, there was a bra that I saw. And I'm like, actually, and I was like looking at the person like is this an ad is this? I'm like, Where can I find it? And so I DM the the the girl? And she was like, oh, that's on you know, this website? I'm like, Oh, well, in the future. Consider putting that out there. And and before you put it out there, make sure you have an affiliate with them. And then your affiliate link, like my gosh, yeah. Yeah, I mean, it's like, that's the thing now. So it's like there are some companies. We're like the brand deals that you hear of that will partner with people but the ones that we see, like the return on investment that do really well are within like your brand niche of where you have a target audience I'd rather have 100 people that are engaged, that are taking the tips are actually doing something you know that a million people like you said who are doing nothing? Yeah, and it really can I had something similar happened to me where you You know, people are like you don't have kids and like, but I have a lot of nieces and nephews, and I'm very involved in their lives and so on our story, like, we'll do fun stuff, and I'll do some rails with them. And then I have all these freakin teenagers following me who have no money to spend. And like is not my target audience at all right? And I mean, maybe in a few years, I can hire some of them to like, help do content posts, but you know, who knows, but and then it's like, I'm not going to follow them back. I'm not going to engage with them. And so then it's like, they'll eventually unfollow and then things start going down, your numbers going down, it's not a bad thing. Like, like you're saying, it is making sure you have the right people. And also to I want to say, it doesn't always have to be like, we have a team member that goes in every single day, they do exactly what you're saying. They look and see who's followed. If it makes sense, we'll follow back, we will message them. Ask them, how are they GST? How are they making an impact? Like start a conversation? Yes. And if you're not going to do that, then you're not following the breadcrumbs. Someone followed you because they liked what you said. So that's, that's really considered. Like, yes. Leaving that there. Yeah. Do you have any tips for that?
Oh, my gosh, yes, I really want. I kind of want you guys to picture a funnel This is so I love teaching this because it's like, if you can really picture a funnel, you know, for a coach, we typically are using, like ads for, you know, top of funnel. But if you guys this is free. Okay, so this is free advertising reels go out to people that are not following you already. Well, I mean, your followers see it too. But it's the only way organically, that you can have new eyes looking at your material. So you have to think about it as like, it's the very tip top of your funnel. So if you can get the right eyes on that real so you're using hashtags that makes sense for your industry, you're creating content that's either educating that perfect person that you want to see, or you're entertaining them, like you're, you're kind of making them feel an emotion, that's like, yeah, I feel like that, too. So you want to make sure that you're kind of getting the right eyes on it, then that's where your grid posts can come in handy, right? So if you can get them to watch one of your reels, and then go, oh, my gosh, I kind of like this girl, like she's kind of fun. And so then they come to your profile. Now, what's your profile? Say? Immediately, they're gonna take two seconds to view your profile, you've got a tiny little bio, do they? Can they resonate with it? Or do you provide what they're looking for? Or do they just think this is great content, right. So you have to have a great profile. And then you want to feed them a little bit more meat with your grid posts. So if you can still do grid posts, great, or more reels, you just want to make sure there's more content there for them to chew on. And then the idea is that those calls to action. So I'm in the wedding industry. So for us, I like to have our calls to action be go to our blog, go to our blog, go to our blog, because my I want to get them to go to my website, because if I can get them to my website, then I can get they get to know more about who we are. And I can get them to book a console. So when I'm making reels, I'm like reel, to feed to blog post to console, like, that's exactly how we're trying to move them through the funnel. And that's how we come up with our content as well. So, you know, if I make a blog about five things to pack for your photographer on wedding day, I'm going to make at least two reels about that same topic with different, you know, audio, do it a little bit fun each time. But that's what you're doing is you're really just trying to keep these people like moving through the funnel, moving through the funnel, moving through the funnel and educating them. So the ideal situation is that you just make them top of funnel and then just keep going all the way to your website booking console. And then from there, it's on you, you got to close them, but we got them that far with your social media. But another thing too, like Angela was talking about not having a call to action, like gosh, you guys, this is by far the number one mistake that people make on all their social media not just reels. But sometimes we think about reels is like, Oh, it's just supposed to be fun and entertaining. Yes, it is supposed to be entertaining. But it's also supposed to move them through that funnel. So on your text on your reel, it's great if you can say Pete the caption or see below or see why and the caption or whatever, get them to open the caption and then tell them what to do. What do you want them to do? Do you want them to go to the link in your bio? Do you want them to DM you? Do you want them to double tap? Do you want them to share with a friend like there's a million things you can have them do? Especially if you make an educational one, saying share with a friend this will be helpful for you know, share with somebody you love or for us we say share with an engaged friend because a lot of people seeing our stuff aren't necessarily engaged but they know people who are and so that's a really great idea too is share with an engaged friend so always be thinking what do you want them to do from it and it could be as simple as double tap. That's easy, you know? So yeah, always have a call to action strong call to action. Yeah, and
like that. I mean the point is is like ticket people to connect with you. Yeah. Like, you know, we've had some classes that Well, I don't want to be salesy and I don't. I'm like the why, why?
Why are you doing it? What I know. And you know, I say that it's so funny, Angela, you said that I posted a reel right before we got on this recording. And it's probably one of the more ballsy reels that I've posted, because I don't like to boast a lot. But I'm pitching my coaching. And so I'm like, I've got to let people know, like, do you want the same lifestyle? Do you want what I've built. So it's hard to put yourself out there. But here's what you have to remember, you are not a salesperson, you are a solution finder. Somebody out there is thinking like, this is what I had to tell myself, I literally had to have a pep talk with myself before I roasted it. I said, you know, there are wedding professionals out there that were you five years ago that are like, I'm burnt out, I'm overwhelmed, I'm fried, I'm tired. And I don't know if I can keep doing this. And you now have the solution to their problem. Like you know how to do it, you've been there, you've built that. And so to me, it was like I noticed I'm not selling somebody anything, I'm providing them a solution to the problem that they have. And so when you don't do that, you could be you know, missing out on an opportunity to help someone. So if you kind of reframe that mindset to I think it helps a lot to be able to say, hey, I can help you. And no matter what you're selling, you know, if you sell a widget, somebody needs a widget, you know, so whatever, make it the best dang widget they've ever seen and keep going.
Yeah, that's so important. Just the mindset of like telling yourself like, I'm not being a salesperson, you saw it, like you said, you solve a problem. Yeah. And someone out there has the problem that you've had. And you know, especially in the wedding industry, I think of a couple years ago, a plane a big planner in Nashville. It took her life, because there was so much stress and so much expectation that Pinterest had brought on and, and it's like, just so overwhelming. And a lot of people in the industry like, we're creatives, we're not running. I mean, I didn't sign up to do this to run a business and build an empire. Like, you know, you kind of have to learn those things the hard way. But guess who helped me know that freaking coaches? Yeah, that's right. That's exactly right. And if they didn't, if you didn't have a coach, like I literally say all the time, like there are some men coaches I've had, who had nothing to do with this industry, they literally probably saved my life, like I would stroke out, I would not know how to take care of myself. So you know, you're depriving someone from that knowledge that you have. And so thinking of it that way that you could potentially save a life and I'm being serious, like, Yeah, I know, I'm sarcastic. And I'm like, I like to have fun and be funny, but like, I'm dead serious, like, you, you whatever problem you're solving, or your widget could end up saving someone's life, like you never know. So don't hold back or be embarrassed. The times we're at where I will say that. We've had some people I'm like, Are you not confident you're in product? Is that why you're you don't want to post? Like, if you've helped one person, then you know, you have something? Yes. So why not have
impact? You can make an impact on somebody. Yeah. And yeah, you guys, I think it's really important too, that you, you know, with reels or with really any kind of video, it's a different way to connect to your buyer, you know, they can feel who you are as a person. And that's a big deal. Because, you know, I, in our industry, I teach really almost an identical curriculum to another wedding Pro, who is actually a really good friend of mine. But we're the most opposite human beings that existed on planet Earth. And so it's important that it's not just what you teach, but it's also you, you know, so video gives you the ability to kind of connect with somebody even audio, you can hear our voices to hear you kind of hear who we are or personality, written word does not give you that ability. And I was telling Angela before the shows, like I love real so much because I'm a super, I'm a very, very conservative buttoned up person. In business. I'm not really that way in life that much, but I'm fairly goofy and reals kind of gives me the opportunity to be more goofy than I normally would on like stories or in a written post. I can kind of get a little more kitschy or like say, you should not be doing this Period End of conversation on a real where I wouldn't necessarily use the charged words. And so I think that they're a really fun way of letting people into who you are as well as a business owner. So do you think it's a bad? You know what I don't it's so funny that so many people have asked this i And here's the thing, even if it is this, this is my typical answer was you know, when it first came out, even if it is ride the freaking wave, you know, like, clubhouse I jumped on the club How to Train early. I rode that wave for six months. And while I'm really not involved a lot over there anymore, because I feel like the wave has definitely died down, and I'm a big return on my time kind of person. It changed my business. I was over there. Every single day I invested in people, I met new people, it connected me with speaking opportunities I would have never had before new students that are coming to find me all because of an app that blew up and went crazy. And so who cares if it's a fad, right, right, ride the wave as long as it gives you a return. And then when it stops giving your return move on. It's kind of like, honestly, it's like paid advertising. I mean, a lot of us are, you know, did like magazine, and just the old fashioned paid advertising. And now it's like, it's not giving you the return it did 10 years ago, you know, or even five years ago, for that matter. So you should always be evaluating that. And so that's kind of my answer to that is, I don't really care if it's a fad. For now. I'm writing it. Yeah, I don't care.
And if you're having fun doing it, like once you get come, or you can get comfortable doing things on video, like it really is, like, have fun with it. And listen, the more people that see you, you're gonna have rude as trolls, like my God, that means you've actually kind of made it. So don't take it personal. Like always from a psychology angle. I'm like, I'll pray for them. Because clearly I caught their attention. But clearly, they're unhappy. And so it makes them feel more powerful to say something negative, or come at me. But don't keep the good knowledge that you have a way because you're afraid of what people are going to think. Because the right person will show up, like if you're consistent. So the big question everybody wants to know is how do you freakin make money doing this?
You really can, I mean, and it really is all about that funnel mentality. Because, you know, what you're trying to do is get those people the right eyes on the right product at the right time. Like that's marketing one on one, right, so you're trying to get the right eyes on your reel, you're trying to move them through the funnel. And what I always like to say to so for blush, which is our planning company, you know, it is a little bit different than me as a coach, you know, we have to use different strategies. For blush, we closed a lot of business in our DMS, because a lot of our call to actions will be you know, DMS, if you're interested or share with an engaged friend will engage friend is like oh my gosh, my bridesmaid sent me this, and I love it. And I'm so interested in you guys, you know, how you turn it into sales is we also have to understand that the world buys differently. So, you know, I was just talking to a student yesterday who said, I refuse to answer leads in my DMs. And I was like, I've literally built a pillar of my business on teaching people how to sell in their DMS, like you're killing me. And she was like, you know, it just messes up my workflow. And I'm like, tough, because the thing is, is that, yes, we love our workflows, and we love our automations and I get it, I get it, it's frustrating to have people in your DMS. But there's no barrier between you and that person, when they're in your DMS, it's just you and them, they're hot, they're ready to buy. So if you can say DMS For more information, or DMS, if you you know, want to know more whatever it is, if you can get them into your DMS, oh my gosh, you've got a hot lead right there. A lot of our clients are also buying from their phones. So you have to consider that there's a lot of mobile activity going on. And so if you email them, it's actually a long email, you may have a harder time like people don't respond to emails as quickly as they do their DMS, you know, they might not be answering emails at midnight, but they're on their Instagram, so you can DM them back and forth. So those are things I really want you to think about. The other thing too is that always be strategic. And that that really just goes for all of your social media. And we kind of touched on this earlier. But you just should not be posting anything that doesn't move them through your funnel. And so I always tell people to think about it like this, you should only be posting reels that either educate, inspire, or evoke emotion, and educates really the easiest one, and I'll give you guys a tip. So when I'm out and about doing whatever, I'm working with a client for coaching or at a wedding, I will keep a note in my phone. And it just says tips for content. And it's if I am working with a student and they say something that I'm like, Oh my gosh, if one more student says this, I write that down and I make a reel out of it. You know, it's like what do you want people to know that you wish tons of people could know. And so whatever you make or whatever you do, keep a note in your phone you trust me, you'll have content ideas for days if you just write things down throughout your day, but when you sit down to make content, you know, it's like that blank screen of death. And you're just like, I don't know what to write about. Well, of course you don't get keep a note in your phone and so that will help you a lot. So that's how I tell people to make money from reels as be open to DMS be open to other ways of doing business. But no matter what the right eyes on the right content at the right time, the right product, like that's what you're trying to do. So be strategic and what you're making reels about.
Amen. And I was one of those girls few years ago, where I'm like, if it can't go into our automation phone, I even had a pop back. In fact, I think on Facebook, we still do have a pop back. Yeah, that says like, you know, due to the level of how communication, like if you need something immediate, like, please email us. Yeah. And but I had to reframe my mindset. And instead of trying to change the buying pattern of the person, do I mean, just hiring someone that could monitor those every single day? Five days? A week? No, seven days? Yeah. But it also depends on who your target. Because I know when we were planning a lot of weddings, our target audience was online Friday, Saturday and Sunday, because they're planning their wedding. But yeah, that's our busiest time when we're executing events. So I had to hire someone I didn't have to, but I chose to hire someone who would answer the stuff on Pinterest and engage with people and make sure that they were like, you know, we have a whole pre qualification thing now. And then once you get them as a client, you know, then you can get them into your process. But it's like meet people where they are just, I mean, where they are,
it really can't be more true. And I know that people cringe when they hear it, because they're just like, No brandy, please don't make me do this. And I'm like, you know, here's the thing, think about your own buying habits. If you see something you like on Instagram, and you DM the person and they write you right back or, you know, they meet you right back there in your DMS and they have the conversation with you right there. How likely are you to choose them you are because they're having a conversation, it's more personal email, you're not sending the PDFs, and, you know, some long history of your company. And so it's it's just a really warm lead, typically, and so not taking them advantage, you know, not taking advantage of that as is. It's a poor choice, but I'm with you, Angela, I did I did the same thing. I told our team I'm like, oh, no, no, no, if they don't come through our email, if they don't come through our lead form, forget it. I'm not doing it. And yeah, so there's that
gotta change.
You got to change, you got to change. Yeah. So
you have a toolkit that you have put together for our listeners, or for anybody that needs help, if you can tell us a little bit more about that.
Yeah, so I did create the real traffic toolkit. And it is, it's such a fun course I love it, it's really fun to just like, I'm pretty goofy in it to be honest. And I only wanted to do it in one take. So there's a lot of craziness in it. But it's just a step by step, you can see my screen the whole time, so you can see exactly what I'm doing. I say it's like reels for Dummies, it's literally like open your phone, touch the Instagram, you know, it helps you to know exactly how to make real how to put time to text on it on how to batch reels. And then there's also 150 content ideas in there, so that you can never run out of ideas. So there's tons and tons and tons of ideas to get you started. And it's it's just a lot of fun. It makes reels. Super easy. So yeah, so you can grab the over at offers that Brandy guard.com.
I love it. And we'll put it in the show notes too. So if you're driving or biking or working out, because I know that we all multitask or listening or watching podcasts. I know I do. Then we'll put in the show notes to make it easy for you guys to connect. So I'm assuming your favorite platform if they want to connect directly with you is Instagram. You're How did you get that?
How did you get it Angela? Yeah, I am on all the platforms at brandy gar, but Instagram. I'm super committed to my DMs. I love being in there. And if you have any questions about what we talked about, or you're just like, hey, I'm stuck. I'm not sure how to do this. I love answering questions. So don't hesitate. Just jump over to Instagram, DM me, I promise you'll get a response pretty quickly.
Awesome. This was so so helpful. And again, if you're listening or watching, and you just don't want to give it a try. I hope that you walked away today knowing how important this is moving forward. So brandy, thank you so much for your time today.
Thank you for having me, Angela. This
is great. And if you're listening or watching, be sure to tune in next week to another episode of business unveiled. Bye. Bye. That's it for this week's episode of business unveiled. Now that you have all the tools that you need to conquer the world and GSD get shit done. Would you share this with your friends and fellow business leaders? One thing that would really really help us and help new listeners is for you to rate the show and leave a comment and Apple podcast, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you tune in and listen to business unveiled. You can check out the show notes At Angela proffitt.com/podcast and link up with us on social media so you can share your biggest insights. And I want to know your aha moments. Until next week, remember the profitable shifts and structures you're creating in your business, help you be more present in your life. So get out there and GSD