Let’s be honest.
There’s a lot of frustration from online business owners right now about what the heck is going on with Instagram.
- Story views mysteriously dropped by 50% around January
- It seems “harder and harder” to get the same amount of likes, comments, shares as before.
- It seems like we’re screaming into a void… and we have to keep screaming (even though it does absolutely nothing to help us).
I can coach myself on my own mindset about this shit (and I have), but to be honest — it got to a point last week where I was absolutely exhausted.
I’ve also talked to a lot of other coaches and online biz owners in the space, and this feeling is shared. The general idea is that it seems to take MORE pushing, selling, talking, to get the same amount of sales or applications or clients or students.
Consumers are holding their cash tight to their chest right now, hesitant to invest.
I hope it gives you comfort to know that it isn’t just YOU – You didn’t break some algorithm rule, you aren’t missing something, your business isn’t broken or crashing. It’s a season. There will always be spring and there will always be winter, too.
Two things that have kept me going:
One, reminding myself that “it’s always darkest before the dawn.” Last year, my lowest revenue month was directly before my highest. Actually, if you look at the moment my business boomed, the 3 months before that were… crickets. Lowest numbers I had all year.
Two, posting whatever the fuck I want on Instagram, whenever the fuck I want to.
If you’ve been hanging around here for a while, you know that I’m a batching queen. Typically, I go all in for a few days, batch a MONTH worth of content, and then coast. I’m strategic in what my feed looks like, I caption it all in advance, bla bla bla…
I’ve let go of all of that.
The thing that originally helped me grow on that little app was being my fullest, most authentic, true life self. Sharing my thoughts. Writing my feelings and insights. Giving people a sneak peek into the life of another random human on this big crazy planet.
I tell my Syllabus to Sold students all the time – if content creation is sucking out your lifeblood, you need to do something else.
So I’m following my own advice. When I get inspired in the shower, I get out and make it into a reel. When I read a client check-in and feel a rant swell up in my chest, I make that shit into a swipe post on the spot. I post my morning coffee and my random thoughts and the cute shit my dog does.
And for the past few days, Instagram has been FUN again.
I don’t think I realized when it left, but I’m sure as hell glad it’s back.
So if you’re in the mind-spiral of analytics, doing a monkey dance to get those extra bookmarks… I invite you to put DOWN the engagement spreadsheet DOWN for a while.
Let your feed look ugly.
Follow what your heart wants to say.
Be yourself, and share that with the masses — for fun, and because it feels good.
And see what happens.
