This Instagram Story Strategy Became My Biggest Sales Funnel

Instagram Stories have become my biggest sales funnel to date, even rivaling my email list, and I’m going to walk you through my proven strategy that works for both launches and daily content. This strategy includes how I start my day, incorporating interactive elements like stickers and sliders, with a mix of both business and personal content to keep followers engaged. I’ll break down how I structure stories like a sales page from introducing offers to sharing testimonials and we’ll also touch on real life marketing brilliance that leans on nostalgia and relatability to build trust and boost conversions. 

In this episode we’ll be covering:

• How Instagram Stories became my most powerful sales funnel for business growth.
• My step by step Instagram Stories strategy for launching high-ticket offers.
• Mixing personal life and business in Stories to encourage audience interactions.
• Using Instagram insights to analyze which Stories get the most engagement.
• Increasing Story conversions with link stickers, sliders and ManyChat.

Recommended episodes:

• Episode 62: Why You Don’t Need Fancy Content to Stand Out
• Episode 72: Creator Style Content is for Everyone, Even You
• Episode 73: Staying Top of Mind with Instagram Stories
• Episode 95: Building Real Community with Stories and Shared Moments
• Episode 109: The Human Side of Content That Sells

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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. Wow. All I can say is wow. I just got back from Vegas last night. If you're watching on YouTube.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:28]:
That's all I really have to say. For the reason I have these eye patches, we had to get up. Oh my gosh. So we were at the No Doubt concert at the Sphere on Saturday night and then our flight was at 7:00am so yeah, if you do the math, it was rough. Yesterday was a long day. But we got home and we had a layover. Like a three hour layover. Oh, you know how Vegas will just do you in.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:00:48]:
Two nights in Vegas is all I needed. It was so much fun. And what's funny is I couldn't wait. I plan on making this podcast I about Instagram stories and how they've truly become my biggest sales funnel. Meaning, yes, I have email, yes, I have Pinterest, I have obviously Instagram, TikTok, et cetera, LinkedIn. What I convert most on, even email. Email. Yes, email is huge.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:09]:
My emails have helped me build this business and it helps me convert big time. But the biggest sales funnel of all time is my Instagram stories. I one day did like a Reels Lab sale, which I think I've only done once in the past over two years because it's already priced very fairly when you look at like all that's included. Right? So when I do a sale, it's very rare. Very like just because I heard from some people that are just like, life is tough. I'm like, you know what, let's do a quick flash sale. I did it only on stories. I did it nowhere else.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:37]:
I did not publicize this on emails on a post. Nothing. Just Instagram stories. And I made over $10,000 in one day. Crazy. So I can tell you right now stories. If you're ignoring them, you're missing out on a lot of sales. Because stories.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:01:49]:
Stories are where your most hot, warm leads are because that means they're invested enough to look beyond your grid. They are wanting to see behind the scenes. And I thought it'd be funny. I mean, I was already had these on and I was gonna like do the rest of my makeup after, but I was like, no, you know what, let's record the podcast like this because this is what stories look like. They're supposed to be off the cuff. They're not supposed to be perfectly curated. So like the fancy graphics, whatever. Of course we love our aesthetic pictures and our stories too.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:19]:
But what I mean is when we are watching someone's story, we're hoping to get a glimpse behind the scenes what your day is looking like. Maybe something funny that you just noted that has nothing to do with your business. Okay, so I'm excited to talk about this today because over the weekend, I didn't share anything business related. Nothing. I simply shared us in Vegas, having the time of our lives. I was with my best friend and her husband. And my husband and her husband have become really, really good friends as well over the years. And everyone was here for it.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:02:50]:
Have you ever seen the reel? It says something along the lines of like, excuse me, if you're on vacation, I'm on vacation with you and you need to share everything in your story. Something like that. I'm like, yes. Especially when people are on trips, we love to follow along. We're like, we're sitting at home, most of us, and we're like, oh, where's she going? What's she doing? What is he eating? Where's that thing at? We love it. So honestly, over the weekends, I rarely talk business. I will throw one thing in usually that will convert. Whether you know, more listeners of the podcast, a sale of my guide, whatever it is.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:03:23]:
But when I first started selling high ticket offers, meaning things over like a thousand dollars email converted decent stories, I would get on there and I would start, I want you to think of your stories. If you're trying to launch something or you really need a fast cash injection, think about a website. A sales website at the top is like a introducing, this is what it is and who it's for. If you keep scrolling down a sales page, the next is a bunch of testimonials. Typically, okay, right? There's no absolutes, right? But usually testimonials then scroll down bells and whistles and then kind of a come to Jesus moment. Like, I'm gonna level with you, da da da da. You need this because, right, so it's 1, 2, 3, 4. So when I'm in hardcore launch mode or something, that's how I do my stories.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:06]:
To get more sales, I will start with, all right, guys, I'll maybe show them a quick glimpse of what it looks like behind the scenes, right? Open up the course, open up the membership, show them. Next story is testimonials. Or I'll just tell a story of a client or a customer. If it's something new that you don't have. Testimonials, that's fine too. You can share a question you once answered or a testimonial from back in the day of how someone felt supported or how your product helped and be like, just like when we launched our whatever candle eight months ago. Or just like when we first did this. Da da da da.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:36]:
I was at an event, I talked about this. That's when I had this aha moment. And it's kind of like the why behind you created it. So when I give the testimonials, I literally make sure people know, like, this is why I did it. Third, that's where I talk about the bells and whistles. I'm like, oh, so you want to know what's included? Da da da. And then fourth, you know, I dropped the link, the price and the level with you. Like, look, I know this is an investment.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:04:57]:
I've been scared too. If you have questions, please DM me. Or here's the FAQ, the link to the FAQs, because I've already the link sticker to purchase. So I'll sometimes say, you know, go here, scroll down, go to the FAQs. And I reassure them, like, I don't want you buying this if it's not for you. DM me, drop your questions here, that sort of thing. So when I'm hardcore launching, that's my stories strategy. So whether it's a product, a service, an event, same thing will go.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:20]:
Now, my daily strategy is simply this. And if you go to my stories from today, I'm recording this on Monday. So if you look, you'll still see if you're listening to this on Tuesday morning, you will see the story I just shared. And it's me with the eye patches on. And I just show my camera and I'm like, hey, about to record today's podcast. That's how I start every single day. Hey, this is what I'm up to. Maybe it's, hey, busy day with the kids.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:05:47]:
I might not be on here much, but I hope you guys have the most fantastic day. And I usually try to include a sticker or a slider, which I did today to get people interacting so they feel invited in. And then I'm like, this is a handshake. This is a hug. This is a come on. It's come on into my world. And I used to do for all my OGs that have been around for a while, I used to do a crush the day list every morning. And I would literally put and people loved it, right? So now I just do it in a different way, where I either talk to the camera or I just say, like, one quick thing.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:14]:
I'm doing, et cetera. But I used to make it fun. Like, zoom calls, reheating my coffee, right? Like, I would make it kind of silly folding laundry and probably not putting it away. And then like, you know, watching the Bachelor or something like that, I would make it kind of fun. So that way, what happens, guys, is when you mix in business and personal things that you're already into, shows you're watching, things you're eating, we feel comfortable to weigh in. For me, a lot of the content I share, not everyone's trying to weigh in. They might be like, wow, that's really interesting. I'm going to maybe try that strategy later.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:43]:
But it's not for them to be like, ooh, ooh, ooh, right? People who sell, like, jewelry, coffee, stuff like that. I'm like, that's easy. We're going to be like, that's so pretty. Oh, my gosh. Da, da, da. That's so cute. Oh, I want this. They're tagging their friends.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:06:54]:
I want it. Let's go to brunch here, right? For me, I am the product, right? My brain is the product. So I have to kind of get really creative and make sure I'm also infusing things about my personality into my content. Or, of course, it will sound like every other person out there, you know, And I try my best not to because, like, I always love to say, like, no one needs another Johnny or whatever. They. Right. We don't want to follow a bunch, like, in my industry, Instagram experts. We don't want to follow a bunch of all the same ones.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:21]:
Or maybe you do. I don't know. I just want to always make sure you guys know it's my content before you even see my name. Right? That's my goal as a marketer. So anyway, getting off topic. So let's go back so daily. I will start with that. And if you go look, it's there.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:34]:
And I literally. It's just. And I put some music in the background. I didn't even talk. I just, like, gave a thumbs up and I just said what I'm doing, actually, I'll read it out loud. And I put it to no Doubt. Of course, since I'm still in major no Doubt mode from the concert, I put happiest of Mondays to you, friend. About to record tomorrow's podcast just like this.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:07:49]:
Because these post Vegas eyes are Unwell. This episode is gonna be fire, though, all about my story strategy and how it's become my biggest sales funnel to date. Dropping tomorrow. And then I put the slider with the hands, like praise hands. Now what that does is it starts, you know, creates a little itch so that everyone's excited for the next podcast episode to drop. But it also, if people miss my stories over the weekend, they know I just got back from Vegas and it always leads to DMS. So my next one also my next story. So 1, 2.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:16]:
And we're gonna get to the third in a moment. The second story, I always share every day, like I said, except for the weekends or when I'm on trips, I throw this strategy out the window and I literally document. I literally use stories as a vlog, and if you're not using stories as a vlog, you're literally missing out. And I'll get there in a second. So I then said, I also spent the morning catching up inside the Reels Lab. I have a picture of the Reels Lab. With it open, you can see them, you know, responding back to students questions. And I just showed what it looked like.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:08:40]:
So that's that behind the scenes that people crave because they can't see it until they're in it. And then I put a link to purchase. So the second story every day is something that will hopefully convert again. It'll. Tomorrow my first one will be whatever. Good morning. Here's what I'm up to. The second story tomorrow morning, if you want to look at my stories, it's the day this podcast will drop.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:00]:
It is going to convert to the podcast. So that second story is always like to generate conversion to podcasts to my email, my freebie, my masterclass, or the Reels Lab. Okay. And then the rest of it will just simply be the rest of my day, whether it's, oh, I just had a great dm. Let me. Let me tell you guys what they said, and here's what I told them. Or it'll be, here I am at ballet with Chloe. Or it'll be something funny of us cooking dinner or making dinner and, you know, us dancing in the kitchen.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:09:31]:
I literally use it to vlog my day, talk about funny things I've noticed, share other content that I find relatable. Something funny that I'm like, oh, my gosh, this is so me. I'll usually say something like, and in today's I feel seen news. And it's like a funny meme. I usually end my day with like, hey, Guys, here's what we're watching. Has anyone else checked it out? And again, it gives people a moment to connect with me. So let me tell you, at no Doubt, we were staying in the Venetian. It was like this one package deal by this company called Vibee and highly recommend V I B E E.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:01]:
It was a flawless execution. And I. Everywhere I went, I was like, marketing brilliance. Marketing brilliance. Marketing brilliance. They had this thing called the no Doubt experience. You walk in, they have photo ops everywhere. So they already know all these thousands of people going to the show are going to tag them, put it on their stories.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:16]:
Free marketing for them, right? They had a replica of the garage no Doubt used to practice in in the early 90s. They had the Sunday morning movie set for you to sit and mimic, and they had Adrian Young, the drummer's drum set. You guys, it was unreal. And everyone that works at that showroom is like, this is the best. This is better than the Backstreet Boys one they had. It's. But they're like, this is iconic. Like, the stuff, the memorabilia they pulled out was absolutely insane.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:10:45]:
And they had a merch shop. And my husband asked, he goes, what's the average that people spend at this shop every day? And the person goes, oh, we already did the math. It's $485 a person. It was. I also always love to say, us millennials, we've been through a lot. We know life is short, and we're like, we're going to the concert, we're spending the money, we're. We're opening credit card. But it was just.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:11:07]:
It was amazing. And you know what it made me think of? When we were in this no Doubt experience, I was like, I'm in their Instagram story. You feel like you're part of their story. You feel like you're part of their life. And we have all been rooting for them and loving them, you know, the fans, for over 30 years. So we're seeing 30 years of our life. Because we are. We see ourselves in their story, right? We listen to Gwen for the breakup songs.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:11:30]:
The guy fans, you know, attached to Tony and the guys, and Gwen, too. And that's what was so cool. There were, you know, all ages at this concert. It was crazy. But what I want to say about that is it was so cool being in that experience of, like, this is marketing brilliance. It was nostalgia, it was comfort, it was familiarity. And that's what your stories can do. Yes.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:11:48]:
Reels are important. Yes. Carousels. Yes. Your permanent stuff on the grid is important. Stories are where we get to know you and trust you. And that's why when you sell on stories goes through the roof. And obviously whenever you get a happy DM from someone like, oh, I just tried the thing or my order just came, whatever, make sure you're putting that in stories.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:12:05]:
That's huge. And you can make a little highlight about client feedback, testimonials, happy DMs and make a testimony and make a highlight. So they're all there. Okay, so before I go, because that's basically your assignment today, try those and yes, use the link sticker. I know people are like, oh, people dip out after the link sticker. The people who want to purchase will click the link sticker. Okay, stop listening to the nonsense. Yes, I'm sure when people start getting sold too, they might leave your stories.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:12:29]:
The ones who want your products and services will not. So if you're here to change your life and your family's life and make some money on top of building a community, then yeah, use the link sticker. You don't have to do it every day. You can also another thing I like to do, guys, if I'm using a reel to convert like maybe I'm saying like comment, whatever, whatever below with a manychat which if you don't know, manychat is that service where you can have your audience comment a certain trigger word in the comments section and they'll get a link to purchase. So you could even say if you don't want to use the link sticker and stories, you could say just shared a new reel or a new post, go check it out for and tell them why. Make you know they got you gotta get that itch. And then they'll go to it and you can convert on there. But either way, use stories to get them to the content.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:13:16]:
Always use a link sticker. You can also use manychat to have them DM you a word and it'll go there too. So those are some other options. So I thought before we end this episode I would go to look at my the stories that brought the most engagement in the past 30 days to show you what I mean. Now to do this I go to Insights and then I go to content you shared and then where it says all you tap all and go to stories and it's going to pull the most engaged content from the past 30 days. And I'm going to sort by because views. Sure. But I want to sort by interactions.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:13:49]:
There's story reactions and then there's replies. Let's do replies. So of course, the last 30 days was involved this weekend's no doubt. But also my speaking at Social Media Marketing World. The most replies is when I fell and hurt my arm. After that is me walking onto the stage. And after that is my husband on the airplane. You see it all here.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:14:09]:
And then the next is my husband cheering for me. And all behind the scenes of me checking into the hotel, walking to the hotel. And then, of course, it's no doubt. So let's try one more content, you shared stories. Let's do one more metric. But note all of those were behind the scenes of traveling, for work and for Vegas. We love following along each other's journeys. So any journey you're on, buckle up, you're gonna get DMs like crazy.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:14:36]:
Let's do. I like looking at the back button because that shows that they actually went back a story to watch it again, and that shows a lot. That means they were that invested, they wanna go back and see it again. Okay, here we go. So they're actually what's funny, the back button. It's a story of me showing my computer, the YouTube of the podcast and a link. So that's really cool. The next one is when Ryan and I were cracking up on the couch about something.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:15:03]:
The next one is my luggage when I arrived in Cali. Another one is me being relieved to be home and just soaking it in. And then the next one, me and my best friend at the pool in Vegas showing our VIP passes. So the biggest takeaway for me is. Yeah, and two of them have links. Okay, two have links for them to go. One is for the podcast. The other is the Reels lab because it has a testimonial.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:15:23]:
And then. So, yeah, so even ones with links stickers get. People want to go back and look. So there you go. Really good thing for you guys to do is test things out, see what you know, start sharing behind the scenes and then use the content you share. Use the insights to see what's getting the most replies, reactions, views. All right, I love you guys. I'll talk to you next week.

Shannon McKinstrie [00:15:41]:
Crush it in stories. Crush it on the grid. Y' all got this.