Staying Top of Mind with Instagram Stories

Without stories, I would not have the business or the community I have today, I truly believe that. For years I've been using Instagram stories as a way to bond with my community, not just as a tool for selling or boosting engagement, but as a real connection, sharing what’s happening throughout my day, what I’m doing, where I’m going, what I’m watching. I want that connection for you too, so I’m sharing my own experiences, like how a single Instagram Story led me to my new favorite restaurant, and simple ways to invite your community into your world, building a trusted, engaged community while keeping your audience hooked, because we want to see more than just tips and tricks, we want to get to know who you are and connect with you on a personal level.   

In this episode we’ll be covering:

• Sharing personal, everyday moments in Stories to create deeper human connections and boost engagement.
• Recommending businesses and products in Stories to stay top of mind and create word-of-mouth referrals.
• Balancing business promotion with personal content to make your social media presence relatable and enjoyable.
• Leveraging Stories in a way that works for you to overcome burnout and reignite your passion for content creation.
• Using Instagram Stories as a space to get comfortable on camera.

Recommended episodes:

• Episode 040: Build More Connections with Everyday Moments
• Episode 058: Embrace the Content Creator Mindset
• Episode 062: Why You Don’t Need Fancy Content to Stand Out
• Episode 050: Stories Work! Here’s how to make them work for YOU
• Episode 072: Creator Style Content is for Everyone, Even You

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Transcript

Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:00]:
I am your host, Shannon McKinstrie. Welcome to Good Content, the podcast where I remove the never ending content creation, guesswork and overwhelm so that you can actually enjoy being on social media again and growing your business with what has always worked. Good Content. We're talking stories today because let me tell you, without stories, I would not have the business, the community, the speaking engagements, nothing. I truly, truly believe that and know that, like, deep down, I know that because for years I've been using Instagram stories as a way to bond with my audience. So not just like, oh, let me. Let me make sure I sell something today.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:47]:
Let me make sure. No, it's literally like, hey, I'm here. Here's what I'm watching. Here's what I'm doing. Here's where I'm going. Here's what my family and I are doing. And people love it. Now, I know a lot of people love the sharing the one story a day because, yes, it does give you more views, right? That's just because it doesn't mean the rest of your stories suck.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:04]:
It literally means, like, don't you want to give people more chances to bond with you? And again, it all comes down to your goals. It comes down to your mental health, comes down to how much you can show up on these apps without burning out and try to make sense of it. All right? So when I think of stories, I tend to teach it this way, right? I tell people, first story of the day. Just greet your audience. Even if it's your face, if it's your morning view, if it's your feet on a run, if it's you opening the door to your coffee shop, whatever it is, like, just say, hey, guys. Happy, Whatever. I know people are like, don't get on stories and go, hey, guys, do what you do, whatever you want to do, gosh darn it, it's your account. And stories are rarely where I feel like you can lean into.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:44]:
Like, no, it's my channel too. Like, I'm here. My feed is, like, obviously heavy. Like, this is what I. My audience desperately needs from me. Stories are where they go to get. Like, it's like they've come into your house for a cup of tea, okay? Like, it's like, this is where we get to know each other on a human level. Even if it's a retailer, even if it's a big box store.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:04]:
I mean, my gosh, I always joke, like, the Chick Fil A's. Most Chick Fil A's have their own Instagram and Most of their reels even introduces stuff. But like in stories you'll see, it's usually just the day to day and that's what we want to see. So with that said, I just want to give a fun story. I was just in the Outer Banks over the weekend. We recently built a house there. I've been going there for 42 years, like since I was born. It's like literally my home, like deep down in my heart.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:27]:
So a couple summers ago, we started getting our family photos done by Casey. Casey Powell. She's incredible. Okay. I found her on Instagram, so first let's start there. She was always using the right hashtag. She had Outer Banks in her bio. And that is how I found her.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:41]:
I literally searched Outer Banks. I need to search Outer Banks photographer. And her photos popped right up. And she does weddings, families, whatever. So I was like, boom. So again, fun little fact there. Found her on Instagram, not Google. Okay.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:54]:
So remember, in your bio, have your location. Even if your location doesn't necessarily matter, have it there. Mine's in mine. I work with people literally all the way to Australia. People like to know where you're at. All right, number. That's little side note. So ever since she became our family photographer, I obviously follow her on Instagram.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:13]:
And she lives in the Outer Banks. So even though I've been going to the outer banks for 42 years, there's a lot I don't know. Cause I'm not there yet year round. So a few weeks ago, she's at dinner and she puts on her Instagram story, the food. And I'm like, excuse me, where is this? What is happening? That looks amazing. What is this magical place? And you know, she had tagged them and stuff and she and I looked at their Instagram and she wrote me in the dm, she was like, oh my gosh, it's called SaltBox. I'm telling you, Shannon, she's like, best food on the island, hands down. I'm like, have I never known about this place? It's been there over a decade.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:40]:
I'm like, what? Like what am I doing with my life? So first things for top of mind. Okay, that was still top of mind. A month later, we're driving to the Outer Banks Thursday night. We're all starving. It's like 7:30 at night. I have my husband go, I wrote it down. Casey mentioned this place. I went to my notes, my phone, I'd saved it as Outer Banks, like Casey or something and popped right up and it said Saltbox.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:01]:
So we Went to Saltbox, got seated right away. I mean, it's just so, you know, if you're ever in the Outer Banks, it's like reservations inside, like, book in advance. But they had a patio that we were able to set. When I tell you, this meal actually kind of changed my life. The food was unreal. I say this to say, right? The waitress, amazing. Like, the nicest human ever. The owner came out, eventually introduced himself, said hello, gave us his whole life story.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:26]:
It was awesome. You could tell everyone in there truly loved to be there. The people who work there love to be there. It was everything. So just for fun, before this episode, I was like, this all started with one single Instagram story, right? And from someone else who doesn't even go, doesn't work there. This came from Casey. This is why Instagram stories are so powerful. Not just because you're like, hi, this is what I do.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:50]:
This is what I'm doing. You might mention a place that you've gone, that you vacation, a podcast, you listen to, a book you're obsessed with, that that person ends up goes and buying or going to or visiting. Who are they gonna think of? You? You now live rent free in your head, and it had nothing to do with your own freaking business. And I think so many of us get caught up in, like, I gotta sell, I gotta get followers. Or how about you just tell us what you're doing, what you're up to, and what you love. We love to bond with you guys over the most mundane where you're eating. What are you watching? What are you listening to? What luggage did you just find that you're obsessed with? And what trip are you going on? We will buy it, and we will think of you. It's crazy.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:32]:
And even though Kasey takes the best photos and she's such a kind soul, love her. But her stories are interesting to me because she's not just talking about her business. She's showing me cool things that are now going to enrich my life. Like this place, Saltbox, that is now my favorite restaurant. And they now have more customers because now I'm also spouting off about it on this podcast and on stories. Because I'm like, you guys have to go here. Nicest humans, amazing food, blah, blah, blah. One single story is where all this trickles down.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:00]:
Okay? So I say this to say, do not only focus on Instagram stories as a place to push your products and services, push things you love beyond that, because that is where we bond with you. I'm going to Take advice from a friend. Okay? I walk by my neighbor's lawn and it's perfect. I want their landscaper. I used to say this to my network marketers too. Like the Rodan and Fields girlies, the beauty counter peeps. They'd be like, their freaking feeds would just look like a website of products. And I'm like, no, what's the makeup bag you're using? And yeah, what's on your eyelids? Because your eyes are popping today.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:33]:
Talk about things you love outside your business, and you will actually fall in love with Instagram again. Leaning on Stories is an incredible way to fall back in love with social media and Instagram especially, obviously, because it's where you kind of get to just bond on a human level and talk about things. And I'm telling you, when I'm sharing tips on Instagram in Stories, people are watching going, uh huh, okay. Anyway, they're taking it in, but they don't really DM back. If I put the banana syrup creamer I just discovered. Not creamer, syrup I just discovered. And I showed how I made it, and the girls helped me make it. Oh my God, do you know how many DMS I got about that? And then I just put up a funny photo of Chloe at the beach and I said, hey, guys, help me caption this.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:10]:
Whoever gives me the best caption gets 50 bucks flooded. I want to make my stories fun. I want my account to be fun, not just Instagram tips. Because, let's be real. I think a lot of people think, oh, Shannon, it's so easy to grow for you to grow on Instagram because you share Instagram tips. I'm like, actually, it's not. This isn't necessarily fun to everyone. And yeah, if I shared nothing but hacks and like, secret little things and clickbait, I'd probably grow a lot faster.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:33]:
I share Instagram tips that have genuinely helped me, that make me love Instagram. And that's why I continue to show up and will continue to show up because I enjoy. I actually enjoy being on social media. I really, really enjoy bonding with you guys on Stories. And because of Instagram Stories, while we were also in the Outer Banks, this brewery called Swellza. So this woman named Julia comes up to me, goes, oh, my gosh, I just saw your husband downstairs and said to my, wait, is Shannon here? So she came upstairs, found me, was like, oh, I follow you. Thank you for all the tips, blah, blah, blah. And I cracked up because I was like, the reason she knows what Ryan looks like is cause Ryan's in my stories.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:07]:
He's not on my feed a lot. So, again, my people bond with me on stories and that is how I have been able to build a trusted community. I always say to myself, you know, there's a lot of people out there that share what I share. And I love a lot, a lot of the people who share what I share. You know, Instagram tips and stuff like that. Like, I love me some marketers, but I know the ones I would miss if all of a sudden they stop posting and it's because I know them. It's not just because they share good Instagram tips. Do you know what I mean? So if you own a bakery, you are a karate coach, you are a plumber, you are a corporation that does tech stuff.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:41]:
If you disappeared from social media and all you share is tips that I could find on Google not to be mean, if you stop posting, I wouldn't miss ya. Do you know what I mean? And this is not me again. I hate saying, but I'm never being harsh with y'. All. I'm being for real because I've been in this game for over 10 years and I've seen so many, many people stop posting and burnout because they're doing exactly what everyone else is doing. We don't need another whatever is out there. We need you. I want to see you in stories this week sharing more than just business.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:09]:
Of course, do business. This is what I usually tell my people. Start your day with a story just greeting, like I said earlier. What are you up to? What's your view? Whatever. Second story, let's, let's make sure we're, you know, moving the needle. Share something that maybe was in the last story that you just shared. Like this morning, for instance, I shared my first story was my coffee cup in the Reels Lab and saying, hey, spending my morning checking with students on the reels lab. Let's make it a great day.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:31]:
And then of course, in the link, I put a link sticker like, hey, if you're interested in joining here, right? So right away, I try to show the behind the scenes in my life or my morning and also try to get them to purchase or at least in my funnel. Then as the day goes on, I really just like, share whatever. Like, here's the park my daughters and I went to. Here's a funny thing that just happened at the grocery store. Here's the show I just discovered. Oh, my God, have you guys seen it? So many DMS about we were liars. When I finished, we were liars and my brain broke. Everyone was like, oh, my God.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:59]:
I mean, I don't think I've ever gotten so many dms. So with that said, Instagram Stories, if you can only post twice a week, I want to see you in Instagram Stories at least six days a week. Maybe take one day off, let it reset because again, your. Your views do jump. That's a little hack for you. But at the end of the day, I just wanted to share this podcast to show how powerful just one simple story can be to bond with people and then also, like, stay top of mind. Because again, while Casey is doesn't own Saltbox, every time I go, I'm going to think of Casey and obviously I'm going to keep hiring Kasey for photos until she tells us to go away because she's just so talented. With that said, there's a lot of ways to build a community around your brand and actually bond with them.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:38]:
And stories are an incredible way to do it. And stories are also a really good way to start getting comfortable on camera. So with that said, please, I beg you, if you're struggling or maybe you just need a break from posting, use stories to just have some fun and let people into your world and watch your sales and follower count grow. I know stories aren't meant to get followers, but let me tell you something. I have gotten new followers off of my stories. I see it in the insights. I can see it. Someone will land on my account.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:11:05]:
Look at my content, look at my stories. DM me new follower. Sometimes stories is like the last little base we go to decide, man, this is a home run. I need to follow this person. Love you, friend. Talk to you next week.