Is it still worth being on Instagram?

"There’s still one steady, consistent factor that predicts how fast somebody is going to grow on Instagram. How much they actually enjoy it"

I got my lips ‘blushed’ a few weeks ago. In case you’ve never heard of it, it’s a cosmetic procedure; a kind of semi-permanent tattoo designed to add colour and definition to your lip shape. As Natalie, the artist who did my procedure, snapped those all-important client pictures at the end of my session, we got to talking about her social media accounts.
I’d found her, of course, via Instagram.

Natalie told me how she’d trained and started her business just 2 years previously and had grown over 30 thousand followers since. All of her business is coming via Instagram; she often finds herself working 7 days a week. She spoke of friends and competitors who had been in the game longer but still were not seeing the same success, both on Instagram and in bookings.

Can you guess what the difference was?

I knew right away, even before I started looking at them. Because despite all of the changes on Instagram; despite the new content priorities and the sprawling user base and the ever-changing algorithmic demands, there’s one steady, consistent factor that predicts how fast somebody is going to grow.

How much they actually enjoy using it.

---

I don’t mean that like some airy-fairy, hand-wavey Pollyanna nonsense. I mean, if you don’t enjoy doing something you’re unlikely to be very good at it. You’re probably not going to spend your free moments dreaming up new and creative ways to experiment with it. You’re definitely not going to go the extra mile.

---

The recipe for Instagram success is the same as it’s ever been: interesting content that makes people stop and look and a consistent, persistent approach. Instagram really hasn’t changed all that much at the heart of it all. The biggest difference now versus 2 or 3 years ago is in us. Our relationship with it has changed, and our expectations too, as a result.

In my Insta Retreat class (starting next week! Last chance to join!), we have weekly live calls where we review our accounts as a group. It’s a great way to content-brainstorm; I share my insights on any gaps and missed opportunities, and so does everyone else. “I need to see what you look like” or “I’d love some suggestions for XYZ”. It builds a brilliant 360 view.

Here’s roughly what I’d offer as a content plan to a permanent makeup artist:

- Client ‘before’ and ‘afters’, showing a range of procedures, styles, clients and results

- Examples of the healing process and differences along the way to reassure customers about what to expect

- Educational graphics and videos showing the science of the craft, how the process actually works, the anatomy of the lips etc showcasing your knowledge and expertise

- Live (or timelapse recordings) of procedures, to answer all of their worries upfront

-Pictures or videos of pigment mixing and matching to different lipsticks, household items, etc. Maybe a ‘colour match challenge’ where you try and blend a perfect match to something random once a week.

-Step-by-step explainers of your process and tools

-Mini video testimonials with returning clients answering common customer questions - how painful was it, how has it healed, how much do you love it, etc.

-Behind-the-scenes Stories of you setting up for the day, clearing up, getting ready to go out, etc

-Posts about the artist’s own beauty routine, makeup preferences, selfies, social activities etc - so we feel we know and trust her and can see she understands more than just lips.

It’s nothing groundbreaking and it’s certainly not an all-encompassing or essential list, but in all the cases I found of slow-growing accounts in a similar area, they were still working their way to consistently doing just the very first point.

Just showing their work with regularity. Never mind everything else!

And that’s not intended to denigrate their efforts; I could see they were putting the work in, that they were truly slogging it out. But I could tell they were there because they ‘had’ to be; almost like it was under duress.

If you’re struggling on Instagram I’m willing to bet you’re feeling a similar way.

---

But the truth is, you don’t have to be there. The option of not being on Instagram is entirely available to you; of just doing without. Like paying our taxes or going to prison, we all get to choose which of the options we like best. The dentist, or tooth decay? Let the dog out at bedtime, or risk stepping barefoot in something unpleasant at 6am?

---

If you’re using Instagram for your business then it’s because you are choosing to. Because you want to be there, in front of the 500 million daily users in that free little app. And because you’ve decided that you like the alternatives - other platforms, less visibility, the opportunity cost of stepping out of the arena - less than that.

If you’re choosing it, you need to own that choice. Be all-in, like Natalie: posting new content daily (or as often as you really can), experimenting with different formats, constantly snapping pictures and video clips and looking for new ways to show what you do. Don’t see it as a burden or a problem to solve. Instagram is an opportunity. Imagine trying to market your business before, when the internet didn’t even exist!

And if you’re choosing not to be on there right now, have your own back with that too! I’m currently on an Instagram break from my main account (I may or may not have additional nerdy fandom accounts. I mean, what? I don’t even know what you’re talking about… 👀) and I miss it a lot, but I know my magic works best when it’s focussed and purposeful. Intentionality. Knowing it’s all up to me.

I know it can be hard to feel this way when the comment crickets are chirping and the growth becomes painfully slow. If that’s your Instagram experience I encourage you to go and fill your feed with Natalies. Find the people who are full of fresh belief and enthusiasm and watch how they’re growing like the wildflowers at my French house. Notice the stories your brain has been telling you about what’s still possible (or not) for small businesses on Instagram. And observe how many others are still putting in the time and the effort, but not the same love or enthusiasm they maybe once did.

As I was leaving, my fabulous new lips slightly swollen and sore, Natalie said something that really summed it all up;

”My friends ask for help but when I tell them to make content, they say they’re too busy. They say they don’t have time in between procedures to be doing all that.”
She gestures to the workstation - scattered with pigment-stained tissues and lidocaine gel.
“I don’t understand how you can be too busy, though. It’s for your business!”

Are you making time for Instagram?
What’s the energy you’re showing up with when you open the app?

PS - Want to build your own joyful, bespoke strategy for Instagram success? Join me in my super-supportive, best-selling Instagram class, The Insta Retreat!