Laryssa Wirstiuk 0:00
Ready to break free from algorithms, vanity PR, and money-sucking ads? My name’s Laryssa Wirstiuk, and I’ve learned in 7 years of jewelry marketing that content is the crown jewel. My agency Joy Joya takes a holistic approach, leading with laser-focused storytelling, impactful content creation, and strategic content distribution. This method has worked for the solopreneur as well as the multi-million-dollar company, and now I’m sharing these systems and tactics with you. Here’s to standing out in the Sea of Sparkle.

Welcome to Episode #284. In today’s episode, I’m diving into the current best practices for Instagram content. What formats are hitting the mark? What kind of results can you realistically expect from your social media efforts? I’ve recently completed over a dozen social media audits, pouring over the data from various brands, so feel free to ask me anything in the YouTube comments or by DMing me on Instagram @joyjoyamarketing. My deep dive has revealed a crucial insight: there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy that guarantees success for every brand. Each one has its unique aspects. Understanding your analytics is key to making informed decisions. But is posting on Instagram all there is to it? Stay tuned to discover more.

But before we get to the solid gold, I’d like to take a moment to remind you that this podcast has both audio and video – so you can either listen on your favorite podcast platform or watch on YouTube by searching “Joy Joya”. You can support the podcast for free by taking the time not only to subscribe but also to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.

Okay, let’s get into today’s episode, my Sparklers! This one’s all about Instagram’s surfaces (the various content types like carousels, Reels, Stories, etc.), what I’ve seen work best for all my clients that I’ve audited over the past few weeks, what you can hope to expect when it comes to results, and how to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to Instagram and other social media platforms. Instagram’s forever a hot topic among my listeners, so I’m excited to dive right into it. Also, do you have questions? Leave a comment right on YouTube or feel free to DM me on Instagram @joyjoyamarketing.

So let’s first talk about the surfaces Single photo post: the OG IG surface Carousel: up to 10 photos/videos Reel: all video Story: 24-hour content that can be either photo or story, not on your main feed unless you choose to feature it as a Story highlight Instagram Live Reels, introduced in 2020, often receive the most attention and excitement, primarily because they represent one of Instagram’s newest features and offer direct competition to TikTok. However, many jewelry business owners find Reels challenging and less intuitive compared to other features on the platform. The pressure to be creative, including the possibility of appearing on camera, adds to their frustration. Other factors, such as selecting the right audio, timing video clips accurately, and trying to keep up with trending Reels, can make creating Reels seem like a daunting task. Moreover, when Reels were first launched, many Instagram experts heavily promoted their use, suggesting that they could significantly boost overall engagement. Also, let’s talk about Instagram Live and WHY aren’t more jewelry brands using it? I see so few capitalizing on this surface. It’s such an amazing way to show an authentic side of your brand, do more in-depth storytelling, and have a consistent time when you show up for your audience. Instagram Live elevates your content to the top of your followers’ Stories feeds. Additionally, followers receive alerts informing them whenever you start a live broadcast. It really only needs to be like 15 minutes once a week but show a product or collection that you’re really excited about. It doesn’t have to be salesy, just a chance to connect – and then you can reuse that content for your profile as well. So in auditing over a dozen jewelry brands, including doing a deep-dive breakdown of all their post data, what have I seen? Reels aren’t the end-all-be-all, but nearly every brand should be posting more, until we can get to the point that the data proves otherwise.

What do I mean by that, and what’s working? Here’s the key point about analyzing data: if you’re not making fair comparisons, your conclusions might not be reliable. What does this mean? Consider a brand that mainly shares single photo posts and carousels, with just one Reel among their content over the last 90 days. Their performance might seem decent, but without significant data on Reels, how can we tell if they’re missing out on a potential opportunity? Without enough information on Reels, it’s challenging to determine whether embracing them could enhance their results. Imagine two brands that have evenly distributed their content across carousels, single photo posts, and Reels in the last 90 days. This scenario allows for a direct comparison. By examining the average reach and total engagement for each type of content, we can identify which format offers the best return on investment. Importantly, success doesn’t always come from Reels. For example, a brand I audited today saw double the engagement and gained new followers from carousel posts. Meanwhile, another brand I reviewed a week ago experienced significantly higher engagement from Reels. My advice to each brand is to lean into what’s working while not completely neglecting other types of content, as Instagram encourages the use of its full range of features. Moreover, if your time for creating content is limited, prioritize the formats that yield the best results. This approach will be more beneficial over time. From there, you can even look at individual posts and Reels that have higher-than-average performance and try to figure out what worked about that content, so you can attempt to replicate it more in the future. To gain deep insights into your social media performance, it’s crucial to analyze your activities over an extended period, such as 90 days of consistent posting. Short-term observations, like daily metrics, can be misleading due to their focus on superficial indicators. My preferred method for gathering this data is through Meta Business Suite. Here’s how: log in at business.facebook.com, click on “Insights” in the left-hand menu, and then find “Content” in the submenu, identifiable by a spreadsheet icon. Clicking on this will present an option to “Export Data” at the top. You can then select your desired timeframe and export data for your posts and Stories in CSV format. This method simplifies the process of sorting and filtering your data, allowing you to identify patterns and observe trends more easily.

The thing is there’s no one type of content that works, like for example I can’t say “a shot of your jewelry on model” is the way to go. I’m honestly often super surprised by what performs well for clients because it doesn’t follow any cookie-cutter template. It’s more about what’s working well for you and your audience, so you have to know that to be able to replicate it. When it comes to Stories, we look at metrics like “Replies” because we want to open that portal to your DMs. If you can get someone to reply to your Story, then you potentially have a chance to start a conversation with them. Reach is also a great metric for Stories because it helps you see how far you’re getting in reaching your audience as well as others. What to expect with results Many clients focus heavily on likes and comments, yet the trend on Instagram shows a decline in user engagement with content. Nowadays, Instagram users tend to interact with the platform more passively compared to the past. This shift requires a reevaluation of what constitutes “good results” in social media metrics. The rise of TikTok, which functions more as an entertainment platform than traditional social media, along with the increased emphasis on video content on Instagram, illustrates a significant change. Gone are the days when social media was primarily about active engagement and interaction among users, as seen in Instagram’s early days in 2010. Today, the approach is more about consuming content rather than interacting with it. So realistically, if you’re not giving followers and other users a real reason to engage with your content, they may not think to do so. So give them a real reason to like, comment, save, or share. The other thing that many jewelry business owners don’t think of is the way that Instagram integrates with your other digital marketing efforts and other metrics outside of Instagram that could be considered: for example, website traffic. Is Instagram actually driving traffic to your website? Are you using Instagram as a springboard to get new email subscribers, and how well have you been able to grow your email list? These are things to keep in mind as well, off the platform. How to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to Instagram and other social media platforms We only have so many hours in a day to post on Instagram and make the most of it and other social media platforms, so how can you best spend that time? Make sure you’re utilizing all of Instagram’s surfaces equally if you’re not already And then once you have enough data to make conclusions about what’s working for you, leaning into that more without fully abandoning the other efforts Give people a reason to like and comment Align your social media content with all your other marketing, like what you’re promoting on your website and on email marketing Use Instagram as a springboard to get people to sign up for your email marketing Show up regularly in Stories and use the heck out of the Link Sticker feature to drive traffic Don’t neglect other social media profiles; if you have semi-decent engagement on Facebook, spend a little extra time to post separately to that platform, including links to your website If you don’t maintain your Pinterest profile, this is non-negotiable for jewelry businesses in my opinion. I used to recommend it on a case-by-case basis, but now in my opinion it’s a must-have. I’ve seen it drive loads of traffic, and the effort you put into Pinterest now pays off over time, since it’s a visual search engine where your content always remains relevant. If you feel lazy about Pinterest, just use the same content you’re posting on Instagram and modify it to work as a pin. It’s the biggest missed opportunity I see in social media these days. Show up and Go Live every once in a while, even if it’s just once per week for 15 minutes; connect authentically with your audience. So what questions do you have about Instagram for your jewelry brand? Let me know in a comment on YouTube or DM me on Instagram. I’d love to chat about it!

Okay, let’s get into the GOLD MINE. Welcome to another edition of THE GOLD MINE – a segment where I get personal and share insights on entrepreneurship, mindset, success, growth, and all things business. THE GOLD MINE allows me to share topics and insights close to my heart. In this week’s GOLD MINE, I want to talk about this common misconception that there’s “one answer” to everything. I think a lot of people come to starting a business with the hope that there’s one specific formula to follow or like one secret sauce that will make their Instagram work or their email marketing work. Unfortunately, there are a lot of unscrupulous “consultants” out there who sell budding business owners on this dream, like “Sign up for this course, and I’ll tell you the ONE THING that will make you successful.” Or “Only I know the secret, and you have to pay X amount of money to figure it out.” I mean, I get the appeal. Having a business is hard. If you really stick with it for many years, you’ll probably find it’s one of the hardest things you’ll choose to do in your life. There are so many ups and downs, and there’s so much uncertainty. So believing that there’s just one answer to make it all easy is – a literal dream. But it just…doesn’t exist.

Almost every day, I have to take care in how I communicate that because so many questions come up from my clients, and many times there’s no easy answer, or I have to play a devil’s advocate, or I have to give a more nuanced or partial answer because we still need work to do in order to discover the real answer. Or sometimes the truth is there is no answer, and, “Who the heck knows?”. I find myself even getting down on myself because I hope I don’t come across as negative, or I’m not delivering the advice in the way the client would ideally want to hear. But then really so much of life is like that, even in medicine which has so much research and science behind it, doctors very often have to tell patients things they don’t want to hear or give them inconclusive answers that require more explanation and/or more doctor visits or visits to specialists. Pretty much no doctor’s visit ends with a magic pill that’s like “take me” and all your complaints and problems go away immediately and forever. The same is true for business, and we can either accept that sooner or spend a lot of time, money, and frustration accepting that later. Accepting sooner than there’s no one magical answer means you can get down into it and do the work it takes to uncover the journey which will eventually lead you to clarity. Thinking there is one magical answer or that someone outside yourself knows more than you do about your own business is going to lead you to potentially spend a lot of money on a person promising you the world or just wasting time and energy on feeling upset and confused when you could be on the path forward. There’s just no one, one-size-fits-all magical answer. It doesn’t exist. You can take that knowledge and feel sad and disappointed about it. Or you can take that knowledge and feel super excited about it. Personally, I choose to feel excited about that, not just for myself but also for my clients because we’re on an adventure together, and we’re in it to let the business evolve into something amazing that we could not have planned but that we only discover by moving forward every day with dedication, clarity, openness, commitment, acceptance, and a positive, realistic mindset.

Did you have any questions about today’s episode? You can always email me Laryssa at laryssa@joyjoya.com. If you loved this podcast, please share it with a friend who’d appreciate it. And don’t forget to subscribe as well as leave a review on Apple Podcasts. If you’re completely new to digital marketing, then you’ll want to purchase and read a copy of my book JEWELRY MARKETING JOY. Visit joyjoya.com/book for more information.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai