This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Aristotle once posed the question that philosophers have been debating ever since. If you post a selfie on Instagram and no one likes it, does it make a sound? Does it change your life? Does it help you sell more e-commerce products? It's actually three questions.
Aristotle never posed any of them, but in these more modern times, this is a real scenario. Posting photos on platforms like Instagram that very few people actually see, even if you have a good following. And that's the frustrating thing, right? Like you've built up some followers, you're posting stuff that you think they might like, but they don't like it, or at least they don't click the like button. Maybe because Instagram and other social networks like to play an active role in what your followers actually see.
So it's kind of a heavy hand. And one side hustling listener who calls in today finds this discouraging. In fact, it's not just this one listener. A lot of people find it discouraging. Can anything be done?
That's what we're gonna talk about in this episode. No one's seeing my Instagram posts. You'll hear the detailed question and my answer in just 30 seconds. [Music]
Hi there, this is Scarlett. Thanks for the show and for all your help.
Here's my question. I'm struggling with Instagram and I'm not sure what to do. I have a good size network there, but most of my posts aren't being shown to most of my followers. The only posts that get more than 50 likes are selfies. And I don't want my business to consist entirely of photos of me, you know?
It feels discouraging. Like why should I even bother? Is there anything I can do besides pay Instagram for advertising? I know that's probably what they want me to do, but that would change the whole process for me. And of course it would cost money that I don't wanna spend.
What do you think about this problem? [Music]
All right, so thanks so much for the question. I know this is on a lot of people's minds, especially those who are trying to build a following on Instagram and maybe convert that following into e-commerce sales or, you know, some other business conversion goal. So I'm gonna tell you a few things, but there is an important caveat that foreshadows all of it, foreshadows and underlines it. The caveat is it may not matter all that much.
Okay, so I'm gonna give you some tips about some things you can do, but, you know, the reality is that, as I said in the introduction, Instagram and some other platforms, they do play this, you know, heavy-handed role in what people see, right? And I think most people know that by now. It's just reality. So most of the tips, you know, just kind of take them with a grain of salt because you might be able to fix this a little bit or have some correction to it, but ultimately you're going up against something that's larger than all of us, okay? That said, there could be a few reasons why your posts are not getting much visibility, even with your followers.
So make sure you are engaging with your followers. Interaction can help increase the visibility of your posts. So when you like and comment on their posts, they're more likely to see your posts in their feed. You also wanna make sure you're using Instagram stories, not just posts. Those, you know, appear at the top of somebody's feeds.
They can be a great way to get more visibility for your content. Definitely do that. You wanna make sure you are posting at optimal times. So the timing of your posts can also impact their visibility. Be sure to experiment with posting at different times of the day to see when your posts perform best.
Also use hashtags, not just random hashtags, by the way, relevant hashtags. You know, I think it's good to just use a few of them. Some people are like, "Here's 27 hashtags." But, you know, a few might be helpful. And then last but not least, let's just be clear here, high quality content, all right? Like make sure that you're actually posting something that really is interesting and engaging to your audience.
And there might be a slight disconnect, you know, between what you think is interesting and engaging to your audience and what actually is. So, you know, pay attention to that. I mean, ultimately, if you're really posting high quality content, something that they're really interested in, they are going to have more engagement. So, you know, maybe there's a reason for some of those selfie posts. Yes, you don't want your whole business to be selfie posts, but I don't know that you should cut them out altogether.
So that's what I think about that. Good luck out there. Of course, you know, if you do feel discouraged, like just remember there's a lot more than Instagram. Okay, maybe that's another kind of final, you know, tip or at least closing words here is, if it's not working there, why not try something different? You know, just a thought.
All right, listeners, if you've got a question, sidehustleschool.com/questions. I'm excited this year to roll out lots of listener projects. Let me know what you're working on. We can share it with the community. And of course, I'll be here again tomorrow.
I hope you'll join me. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
