Can You Still Grow on Instagram in 2020 with Chalene Johnson: The YouTube Power Hour Podcast 223
“Today, in fact, the influencers who tend to have the greatest impact are micro-influencers: people who have a small tribe where they have an intimate, emotional connection.”
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Chalene Johnson is a lifestyle and business expert, motivational speaker, and podcast host. She and Bret, her husband of over twenty years, are the founders of the SmartLife movement. Today, with her husband, Chalene runs a fun-loving, collaborative team focused on helping others live a healthier, more simplified life through their online academies, membership sites, and live, sold-out seminars. Chalene, with the help of top dietitians, doctors, researchers and experts, founded the 131 Method – a nutritional coaching program that’s turning the diet industry upside down. She is a New York Times best-selling author, and was named one of the “Top 50 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch” by the Huffington Post.
This episode is a little different than most YTPH interviews because in this episode, Chalene Johnson and I are talking about all things instagram. From brand deals and affiliate marketing, to content tips and aesthetic, this episode is jam-packed with everything you need to know as an influencer (or aspiring influencer) to maximize how you use instagram in 2020. Believe it or not, whether you have less than 10,000 followers or way more, everyone has an influence. Yes, everyone! People will automatically trust you if they see you as a friend, and that’s why instagram is SO important.
“My life isn’t an aesthetic. It’s real and it’s messy. We can be so overly curated, so perfect in a way that we’re trying to be relatable that it’s hateable.”
Key Interview Takeaways
- Brand partnerships and relationships: from the side of the business owner, influencer marketing is where you need to be, but you need to be intentional about which influencers you reach out to to work with. What type of relationship do they have with their audience? Are they actually using your product? Does your product align with their audience? Look at your insights – who is tagging you? Follow them, become their fan, and have REAL conversations with them, not regurgitated copy and paste messages. From the side of the influencer: what products do you already use and love? What brands are you familiar with? What products do you embrace? That’s where the real work is.
- Authenticity. Your life isn’t an aesthetic. Be authentic and don’t worry about whether what you post is in your “aesthetic” or not. As you are scrolling through your own feed, pay attention to what immediately strikes you as clearly inauthentic, and make a mental note not to do the same thing just because someone else is. Save the things that instantly strike you as REAL and relatable. Pay attention to what sparks your love interest because it feels so real.
- Self promotion. There is a delicate balance between serving your audience and selling. Share what you have to offer, but not so much that it kills your stories or completely turns people off to you. Post collages, rather than multiple story slides. Ask yourself if it’s serving your audience, or serving you. Position yourself in a way that gives value to people, even if you are selling them something. There is a way to sell, but also serve.
- The best ways to interact with your audience: Instagram is already SO saturated, but when someone logs on, instagram shows them who they interact with the most. You HAVE to interact with your followers. Have conversations rather than monologues: ask questions, take polls, use CTAs. Encourage people to like, TELL people to comment below, and thank people when they tag you in something. Always post on your story before you post on your page (if people watch your stories, your post will show up faster for them on their feed). Go live as often as you can. The longer you can keep people on your page, the more instagram pushes YOUR content to the front. Take advantage of all of instagram’s tools: IGtv, dms, stories, hashtags, etc.
Mentioned in the episode:
Apps:
Connect with Chalene
Chalene Johnson’s Podcast: Build Your Tribe
Resources
Add your name to the Zero to Influence YouTube Bootcamp waitlist so you are notified when space becomes available!
Watch my replay of my FREE Zero to 100k Subscribers Masterclass
FREE GUIDES:
Creating Content During Crisis: How to Create Impactful Content During COVID-19 Pandemic
Getting Started on YouTube: YouTube Niche Workbook
How to get onto PR lists and receive a TON of free product even if you have a small following: PR List
YOUTUBE OPTIMIZATION PLUG-IN I RECOMMEND
TubeBuddy [Use the code ErikasBuddy to get 20% off]
MY FAVORITE BUSINESS TOOLS
Course Creation: Looking to create a course? Kajabi is the BEST platform hands down. I use this for my course after extensive research on all the other platforms.
Live Calls and Interviews: I use Ecamm for my podcast interviews, both audio and for YouTube that you see here on YouTube. It makes it super easy to share my screen and create the split-screen with my guest. I’m not super techie and this software is really easy to use!
Webinars and Live calls: I use Zoom.us for my group coaching calls in my private membership group for female YouTube creators. It’s also the software I use to record my Road to 100k YouTube Subscribers Masterclass!
THE BEST YOUTUBE/PODCASTING EQUIPMENT
After interviewing HUNDREDS of successful YouTube creators, these are the pieces of equipment that hands down get mentioned time and time again. You can’t go wrong with anything on this list!
- 4k Camera: Great for starting out and vlogging
- Lens: This lens is recommended highly by many of my podcast guests, it gives the blurry “YouTuber” background look.
- Audio: If you want to upgrade your set-up, audio should be one of the first investments (after a good camera). This microphone is unanimously the favorite amongst my podcast guests.
- Podcast/Voiceover Microphone: If you are looking for a great microphone for a podcast or video voiceover, this is it! This is the one that you see in all of my videos and the one I’ve recorded my podcast on for years.
- Webcam: For my interviews, that you see in my videos, this is the webcam that I use. Super inexpensive and easy to set up!
- Inexpensive Lighting Kit: Need to pick up some lights but don’t want to spend a ton? This is a great set that will get you started and help improve the look of your videos.
- Ring light: Looking for that beauty look? Invest in a ring light! This is an inexpensive light that does that trick!
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**Disclaimers: all opinions are my own, sponsors are acknowledged. Links in the description are typically affiliate links that let you help support the podcast at no extra cost.
