Social media manager secrets - the Instagram hacks the pros don't want you to know

Shhh… 🤫 I have a secret to tell you. There are so many lessons and hacks I have learned over the years while being a Social Media Manager, and I am now realizing how much I would have benefited from knowing all of these “secrets” from the very beginning. But alas, I have learned and developed my social media management skills over time and today, I want to share with you all of the secrets so that you can apply them to your own Instagram and business starting today!

Escape the imposter syndrome umbrella.

Per a Harvard Review article published earlier this year, “Imposter syndrome is loosely defined as doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud. It disproportionately affects high-achieving people, who find it difficult to accept their accomplishments.” Can I tell you a little secret, I experience imposter syndrome all the time - even now, being the founder and CEO of a successful business, having over 100k on YouTube, and building a community of over 24k on Instagram - even with all of that - I still doubt myself all the time. Here is what I recommend …

Don’t pretend to know everything. It’s an impossible task - but that doesn’t mean you’re not an expert. Where were you a year ago, do you know more now than you did then? Well, then you probably know more than those who are still where you were a year ago - so remember, that is who you’re directing your content to. Just keep investing in yourself and your business by reading, taking courses, enrolling in workshops, etc. Maybe you want to take a content planning workshop like we just had last week (which by the way you can purchase the evergreen version on our website, creatorlymedia.com) or maybe you want to take a graphic design course, so you can freshen up your skills and provide even better content to your audience.

Be in the know.

The social media world is ever-changing, so it’s important to be aware of all of the new features, updates, and algorithm changes that happen over time. There are a few ways you can make sure you are always aware.

Join newsletters.

You can join the newsletters of social media platforms or the various tools you use for your business. For example, YouTube has a partner update newsletter where the YouTube team will send out updates and optimization tips via email. Just make sure you have the email notifications setting turned to “general product updates” in your YouTube profile settings. Another great newsletter to join would be Later - we use Later to schedule content for our clients - it’s also where I schedule my personal content and Creatorly Media content as well. Later offers way more than just a way to scheduled content - they also offer a newsletter that is trusted by over 1 million Instagram marketers. The Later newsletter will keep you updated on trends, tips, and tricks twice a week. Another great way to keep up to date is by …

Following Instagram Accounts.

You can use this same method, but instead of joining newsletters - you are just following their accounts on Instagram. If you are using Notion to plan your content - like I do - you can follow Notion on Instagram, so that you are the first to know when a new update is released or again, following Later on Instagram is a great way to know when they posted a new blog or maybe you’ll find some helpful Instagram tips in their reels or feed posts.

You can just brainstorm a list of all of the social media platforms and tools you use for your business (or might post helpful content) and make sure to check out their newsletters and Instagram accounts. You can also follow us on Instagram for some occasional updates, tips, hacks, and more.

Quality over Quantity.

It’s important to post with a purpose, don’t just post to post - because you promised yourself you would post 5 days a week. Posting frequently can give you more chances to be seen, but the more engagement you get on one post, Instagram is more likely to show more of your posts to your followers. And that's going to do a lot more for your business than posting every day.

Per an article done by Talking Influence,“paid partnerships often receive a higher level of engagement as the creator has a larger budget to put into their content, meaning content is more creative and their community engages with it more.” So imagine if you took the extra time on one post, making sure it’s highly products and creative, versus spending that same time on 5 posts?

Don’t be afraid to change things up.

We all have heard the phrase, “don’t fix what’s not broken” - but it’s not always about fixing, it’s about changing or adding to your current strategy. This is why your analytics are so important. Here is a good example: we were reviewing the analytics of one of our clients this last month. We had posted two different quote graphics. The information and topic on the quote graphics were equally inspiring and helpful, but the designs were completely different. One of these designs had an engagement rate of 1.107%, whereas the other post had an engagement rate of 3.514%. The design with the higher engagement rate was more unique and stood out a lot more, so we decided to do away with the other style and focus on this more unique style with the higher engagement rate and it paid off.

Now, don’t forget about the basics. Yes, it’s important to pay attention to the analytics and make changes to your strategy where needed - but that doesn’t mean that you should remove what’s working. Have you ever heard of “getting scissor happy”? This is when you’re cutting something and get a little carried away - don’t get to scissor happy when making changes to your strategy.

Repurpose, repurpose, repurpose.

Yes, I have talked about repurposing before and you might be thinking - this isn’t a secret, people talk about this all the time - but it’s the “HOW you can repurpose” tea that I am spilling today. We have already talked about how you can repurpose content over multiple platforms - we actually have an entire podcast about this called, “The secret to saving time with your content strategy - across ALL platforms!” But how can you repurpose content solely throughout your Instagram account? Here’s the secret …

Find one strong topic … and create multiple different post formats on that same topic. Is your mind blown with how simple that is? 🤯 We have actually been using this strategy with one of our clients - we will come up with a strong topic, do extensive research on that topic, and then create multiple formats of content - maybe a carousel, quote graphic, and reel - all using the same research. You can spread this out all within the same month or two. You might worry that you are showing the same content to the same people - but that’s not always the case. Here’s why!

Timeliness

Per a talk from Instagram’s Thomas Dimson, the Instagram algorithm re-orders only the new posts between your current visit and your last visit. For example, if you scroll through your Instagram timeline at 11 pm and then check it again at 9 am the next morning, Instagram would only sort the posts created in between your check-ins.

This means that your followers are very likely to miss your posts and so really, you’re just providing them multiple opportunities to see your valuable content.

Digestible

No, I am not talking about the food you had for breakfast this morning - I am referring to content. People prefer to digest content in different ways - some prefer reading, others prefer images, and a lot of people prefer videos. By creating the same content topic in multiple formats - you’re feeding all of these different types of people.

Automate & Create Systems for EVERYTHING you can!

This is something I am still working on in my own business. Automation and systems reduce time, effort, cost, and manual errors. Here are a few ways you can start automating your business and Instagram.

Schedule

Schedule everything. Like I mentioned previously, we use Later to schedule all of our Instagram content. You can also use Later to schedule your Facebook posts, Tweets, Pinterest Pins, TikToks, and more. If you have a YouTube channel, you can schedule videos. If you have a blog, you can schedule your blog posts. If you can schedule it - do it.

Templates

Have you noticed you use the same system over and over again? Create a template for it. If you are using any product management system, like Notion, Asana, or Trello - you can create templates for all of the processes you do each week or month - so you don’t have to recreate the wheel each time. You can also create on-brand Canva templates for your own Instagram posts. Do you send the same email over and over again to clients, brands, etc. Template it.

Appointments

Are you offering discovery calls for potential clients or maybe you are meeting with brands to discuss potential collaborations - instead of going back and forth with your availability - you can send them one link where they can book a time with you even while you are asleep. You set the days and times you are available - once someone books, that day/time will disappear, so you will never double book. We use Dubsado for this - but you can even do this directly through Squarespace now and a lot of other platforms offer these services as well.

The bottom line is … well, that the bottom line is important.

Your Instagram is a business, and so you have to remember to treat it like one. First of all, what is the bottom line? Per Investopedia, “the term "bottom line" is commonly used in reference to any actions that may increase or decrease net earnings or a company's overall profit.” Wow, that sounded a bit stuffy, huh? There are a few things you can do to make sure you’re keeping profits high and expenses low.

Weekly Bookkeeping

Do you have some sort of bookkeeping platform? Quickbooks is an easy-to-use platform that can help you track your transactions. Doing this weekly helps make sure you’re keeping things accurate, no more scratching your head on what a charge was for - because it would have happened recently.

Monthly Tools & Service Audit

What tools and services are you using for your business? Later, Canva, Dollar Eighty, Vidyard, Liinks, maybe more? I would take the time each month and make sure you’re doing an audit - which really just means deciding if you truly need this tool or service - or if you (and your Instagram) could live without it.

Monthly Financial Goals

What is the amount you need to keep profits high? Once you have that amount set, you can make an itemized list of what you need to do to reach that goal. Do you need to land a brand deal or two, do you need to hit a certain amount in affiliate marketing, or do you need to book a few new clients - make your list and push hard to achieve all of those goals each month.

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The biggest secret of all is that you have to treat your Instagram like a business. If you are building your Instagram with the purpose of growing an online business, treating it like a business will set you apart from the rest. I hope these tips help open your eyes to how to not only grow your Instagram - but grow your business.