6 Simple Steps to Sell on Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are really where a lot of the magic happens on Instagram. (It also happens to be one of my favorite ways to show up for my audience!)
Video content is something that people really gravitate towards. It makes us feel like we’re connecting 1-1 with someone in real time.
The magic of Stories also makes them ideal as a place to sell.
This post will share the six steps for doing just that in a way your audience will love and will land you more clients.
Let’s Review the Basics of Selling: The 80/20 Rule
80% of the time you’re putting out other content, and 20% of the time, you’re selling.
People want to see all sorts of stuff from you; they want to learn from you, and they want to see the behind the scenes. They definitely don't want to be pitched constantly, so you want to keep the 80/20 rule top of mind
Because you’re only selling 20% of the time, you want it to be really effective.
Our Hypothetical Case Study
Let’s say you’re a social media strategist, and you’re going to be opening up your group program soon.
Hopefully you already know who’s the best fit for that group program. You have a program for entrepreneurs in their first year of business who feel very overwhelmed by being on social media. They want to build a strong social presence because they know that by doing it correctly, they will get more business organically. Your six-week group program will help them figure out how to do it.
STEP 1: Speak to your target audience/ideal client
When you hop into your Stories, you can just start recording and speak directly to them. So in this example, you would say,
“Hey, I want to talk to you if you’re an entrepreneur in your first year, and social media feels overwhelming and complicated. If you want to get super comfortable about utilizing different social media platforms to organically grow your business so that you can make more money, then keep watching.”
Now, this doesn't mean that all of those people who don’t feel called in are going to stop watching. Human beings are nosy, so some people will watch all the way through anyways because they're curious about what you're up to.
But this lets them off the hook if that's not for them, and they want to skip ahead to somebody else's story.
It’s also painting a picture of how it feels to be your ideal client before they start working with you.
STEP 2: Tell them how you’re going to solve their problem
As humans, we want to know: what’s in it for me? And then we think, okay, but will it work for me?
Now that you’ve pointed out who you’re speaking to and what they’re struggling with, you want to point out how your group program is the perfect solution to their problem.
This is where you describe your offer and what it will do for them – it’s the “after” picture.
In our example, you could say that you’re opening the doors for one week only to your signature program. And in that program, they will:
Learn how to put out content that they are excited about that their followers will find really valuable
How to convert them into paying clients or customers.
What they will be able to do = the benefits of your program.
STEP 3: Share social proof
Before you dive into the features, you’re still focusing on benefits. You want to show them how the method that they will learn in your program has benefited other people.
This doesn’t have to be super formal because Instagram Stories is a pretty casual, chill, behind-the-scenes place to hang out.
You could do a quick case study of a past client, or even just a picture of somebody with a quote from them.
For example, you could say:
“This is Jenny, a past student who took my program. When she started, she was just randomly posting whenever she felt inspired. She was getting a lot of followers, but they weren’t engaged, and was constantly stressing about bots, and that no one was commenting or DMing her. But in just six weeks together, she was able to triple her follower count. Now she knows exactly what to post about each day, her engagement has increased by 200%, and she booked three new clients over the course of the six weeks.”
Now, it doesn't have to be as detailed as that, but you want to show people what’s possible with your offer.
STEP 4: Bullet Point the Features
Simple. Straightforward.
In our case study, the bullet points would look like this:
a six-week program
includes a mini-course
and you have weekly check-in calls where group members get their questions answered through live coaching.
This is the best place to include the cost of your offer as well because as we’re about to see – people who are using a certain platform like to stay on that platform.
STEP 5: The Call to Action
Make it easy.
If you're already in the Stories part of the Instagram platform, it is so much easier to click the little DM box at the very bottom, right as you're watching that story.
If they have to close their Stories, go back to your profile, click the link in your bio, and do more steps from there... It's just more steps. And anytime you add more steps, you run the risk of people falling off.
So while you can have a link to your offer in your bio, you also want to say, “Hey, DM me, and I will send you the link directly.”
Maybe they aren’t ready to buy but if they’re intrigued, then this is a prime place to invite them to get their questions answered.
And if they DM you now, when your cart is closing you can reach back out and ask if they’re still interested!
STEP 6: Follow Up!
Don’t let them forget.
Sometimes you think a potential client is ghosting you, but it’s more likely that forgetfulness is the culprit. You know that they were interested since they asked you for the link in your DMs.
Don’t assume that just because they didn't enroll, they didn’t want what you offered – they may have totally forgotten.
Just think about how you use Instagram Stories. How many times have you thought, “I’ll go back to that later,” and just never, ever did? How many times have you been watching a Story and seen something really interesting… but you didn’t stop because you were in the Stories-watching-zone?
See? Totally fine to follow up!
This also allows you to grow a relationship with the person, so even if they don't join for this round, or they aren't the right fit for this program, they might buy from you next round, or when you offer something different.
Quick Recap of Selling in Instagram Stories
Stick to 80/20 principle: 80% content and 20% selling.
And when it’s time to sell on Instagram Stories:
Call out who you’re speaking to, so people can self-select if they want to keep watching or not. Also touch on some pain points that they’re feeling right now.
Tell them how you are going to solve their problem, and paint the “after” picture.
Share social proof that your program works.
Name the features and logistics
Call To Action: “DM me!”
Follow Up!
If you try this message, shoot me a DM on Instagram! I would love to hear about your wins and talk more about this strategy!
