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While social media is still a young concept, it has become a powerful vehicle to support brands for people and businesses everywhere. In this episode of the Unbottleneck Podcast, Steve Wiideman is joined by social media extraordinaire, Chelsea Peitz, for an insightful conversation about how to build a powerful brand through technology.
About Our Guest: Chelsea Peitz
Chelsea Peitz teaches people to use the camera on their smartphones to build a powerful personal brand. A wearer of many hats, she is the National Director of Social Sales at Fidelity National Financial, host of the Voice of Social Sales Podcast, and an expert in the real estate business with 21 years of experience. She is not only fascinated with the functionalities of social media, but she is passionate about teaching others to use social media to build a human brand.
Sponsored by Ryte
Chelsea Peitz Website
Chelsea Peitz LinkedIn
Chelsea on Instagram
Featured in this episode:
- Shaping Human Behavior with Social Media
- Telling a Story & Your Personal Brand
- The Power of Instagram Reels
- How to Get More Followers on Instagram
- Instagram Best Practices
Social Media: Shaping Human Behavior
There are so many social media platforms to choose from – Instagram, Snapchat, Tik Tok, Clubhouse, Linkedin, and many more!
Being on one platform can be overwhelming in itself, let alone five. However, there is no set formula for how you choose to use them. Maybe you use Instagram stories to share more personal content and then use Linkedin to share your insight within your niche. Maybe you use Clubhouse for audio discussion and then use Youtube for all your video content.
Whatever you focus on expands! You can ultimately do what makes sense to you, your goals and overall brand.
Personal Branding: Tell a Story
We all have a brand. We all have a superpower – something we’re good at that has the potential to impact people.
The key to building your personal brand is to tell a story that will allow your personality to take center stage. People desire to make a human connection by taking a peek into your world. This can prove credibility by establishing trust.
The great thing about personal branding is that you can tailor your content around what you want people to know about you. However, you must be clear about your superpower and how you can help or impact people.
The Power of Instagram Reels
If you’re not hip to Instagram’s new “Reels” feature yet, you could be missing out on a great opportunity to grow your online brand. Instagram released this new feature less than a year ago and it has been boosting engagement for so many. This feature is a replica of Tik Tok’s short form video content which generally requires a higher level of editing. This micro-video content is between 15 to 30 seconds and gives you full creative control to let your personality shine.
Here are some popular ways you can use reels:
- Introduce yourself or your business
- Show behind the scenes footage of your business and its processes
- Share tips and tricks
- Create how-to videos
- Join the latest video trend
You can use this feature in the way that is most comfortable for you in order to get the most out of it!
How to Get More Followers on Instagram
The most pressing question that Instagram users ask is, “How can I get more followers?” The best approach to gaining followers is to not focus on gaining followers in large numbers. Rather than focusing on gaining thousands of followers, focus instead on connecting with people within your niche. The best engagement that you will receive is from those who are actually interested in your content.
The first step to gaining more followers is to adjust your expectations. The truth is, you will not gain a million followers overnight. It may take years of consistency to attract loyal and engaging followers, but you must be willing to show up and remain consistent to see these results.
Other best practices to increase your followers include:
- Using Hashtags – Hashtags are not just trendy, but they are a great way to make your content searchable. They help Instagram sort and serve your content to users who are searching for it. You can easily attract followers by tailoring your hashtags to reach your desired audience.
- Being a Superfan – It’s okay to be a super fan of other people! The point of social media is to be social. Therefore, you’re going to have to give engagement to get engagement. Get comfortable with liking, commenting and reposting content from other influencers in your niche. This is a great way to connect and create familiarity with others.
- Instagram Reels – While this feature is still very new to Instagram, it can give your profile an exponential boost! As discussed earlier, Reels are a replica of Tik Tok’s short-form videos which are taking the internet by storm. When you post a reel, your content gets boosted in five different places. Who doesn’t love a good boost?!
Having 10,000+ followers is awesome! However, it is the engagement that really counts.
Instagram Best Practice
The best practice to navigate Instagram is to utilize all the features! There may be some that you gravitate more towards, however, it’s a great chance to put content in multiple places to see how it performs.
- Instagram Reels – Short-form video
- IGTV – Long-form video
- Stories – Behind the scenes content
- Carousel Posts – Multiple posts in one; provides more opportunity to get seen with one post
As you get more comfortable with Instagram’s features, you can tailor your content based on your follower’s behaviors and interests.
Keep up with the best social media, brand building and digital marketing strategies. Follow Steve on LinkedIn!
