Lessons

Lesson Info

Define the Beginning of your Launch

So if you're unsure of how to kick off your launch, we're going to go over that. We're going to talk about the algorithm and, yes, it changed again, so we'll go into some details of, ideas of how to beat the algorithm, cause then it's giving you guys all this #InstaHashtag, and no, that's not a hashtag to be using. It's just a word. Making a point. And then if you want to make the most out of your limited time with your visual content, because the truth is that the one thing I hear over and over again is that people don't have the time to go all in and do it, because it really does require time. But if you make the commitment, like I said earlier, and you show up consistently and you are going all in, you will make the time because you will get those results that you're after. And here's what I'm going to cover: How you can make the most of your first launch impression, because it's all about your first impression and the strategies for working with (not against) the Instagram algorith...

m and how you can better execute your branding aesthetics. All right, and by the end of this session, you are going to know how to plan and share your launch images in your Instagram feed to ensure maximum engagement and create opportunities to build relationships with your followers. And the magic is in those relationships and how you build them. It's not how many likes you get, the relationship is how you take those likes and turn them into real relationships and build that community. Okay, because if you want to grow your business, the truth is, you guys, your message and your feed need to be clear, concise, and that other "C" word, consistent. Okay? So let's define the beginning of your launch, and believe it or not, the next step in your launch is not posting your visual content. The next step is defining what it actually means. So, to plan the visual content, the descriptions, the hashtags, and the engagement strategies, so that you'll better understand how you want to execute your launch from the very beginning to the end. So, all four of these things are very important. The content, your descriptions that we talked about earlier, your hashtags, and engagement strategies. So, before you even push post, you need to define what your campaign will look like, and how it's actually going to support your launch goals. Because the truth is you never get a second chance at a first impression. Right? So let's go back to my favorite Instagram account, thedrybar, and talk about remember I showed you Hello Michigan? Well, Helloooo Hoboken. And Indianapolis, summer of 2018. If you're gonna follow any Instagram account to get inspiration, let me just tell you this is the account to follow because even the graphics for each location that they're launching are done in a different style that represents the location where they're opening. Right? And they often have that hair dryer, the buttercup it's called, in their images, or it's their branded yellow. Okay? So, another example and I am so grateful that Sunski actually sent sunglasses for all of you guys in audience. I feel like Vanna White right now. (chuckling, whistling in the audience) And we'll definitely get a photo. Yeah, I reached out to Tom. His mom is actually in one of my coaching groups and she's like, "Do you know my son? He's got this really interesting account. It's actually successful." And I clicked it and I'm like, "Oh my God, so successful. I need to use him as an example, and I want some sunglasses." So she gave me his email, I got in touch with Tom, and I'm like, "Hey, Tom, what do you think about sending some sunglasses and we can actually talk about that." So, the cool thing about Sunski, you guys, let's just stop for a second. The box. The box is so awesome. And it's so different. And the branding. Remember we talked about being consistent? And it's just different than any other pair of sunglasses. And they are so light and really like awesome. I had a pair on this morning when I came over here, and I'm like, "Okay, I might have to keep three of these pairs." (audience laughter) But anyway, let's talk about them as an account. So, they did the prelaunch. We talked about that in the last section there where their pre-launch is with the dog. Okay? The dog is wearing the sunglasses. My dog would keep them on probably for two seconds, but that's probably what happened here too. But, woof, we have a tail-wagging surprise coming your way tomorrow, get ready! I'm interested. What is it? You know, the dog's wearing sunglasses. See how clever this pre-launch is? And then they're in a launch. And I talked to Tom extensively about his brand and they are a lifestyle brand, so what you look at when you're in their feed are adventurous pictures of nature and skiing and hiking and biking and so the sunglasses have this appeal to that audience. So, we're talking about who are they trying to attract. So, I love even this photo, I notice every detail, I don't know if you guys can see the anchors on his shirt, but the anchors are on his shirt, the ocean's behind him, he's looking away, and on Instagram, the truth is the photos that get a lot of good engagement are not when you're looking straight at the camera, but you're kinda looking away, so they've got that going on both ways, right? And then swooning over our new sunnies! We are stoked to announce that we just launched our spring shades, the Singlefins, Moragas, and Navarros. Head over to Sunski shop to check them out. Right? And so they just subtly are telling you that they're launching. Now the next few photos are product shots as well. They supported this campaign with stories. I'm gonna actually show you some more visuals from them later, but this was such a great launch and really excited to now know about this brand, because his mother is one of my coaching clients, and she's like, "Got this little, my son has this little business." I'm like, "Oh, this is great." So he's been doing really well with this brand and has anyone in the audience ever heard of this brand before now? You have? I have. I actually have a brand partnership coming up with them in a few weeks. How exciting! Which is so ironic, yeah. That's so great. And I've tried their sunglasses before. They're really good. They're so light! That's the first thing. That's the first thing I said when I picked them up, it's like they're so light. So that's like another little signature thing about them. So, I'm so glad that you have already experienced them. That's so cool. It just shows you that the world of Instagram is so small. It's just interconnected. Exactly. So you're smiling, I'm sharing that as an example. That's great. Okay, and then I'm back to my daughter. How can a mother not go back to their daughter? Especially if they're doing it right and you guys can all learn. So, Lila is on the left and Alexis is on the right, and they have this I showed you earlier, Blissful Supper in San Diego, when they are launching their supper, heavy graphics, they show the menu, They talk about what they're gonna be. Sometimes they talk about what the menu's gonna be. They always give the date and the time, and they just launched that way. Like the pre-launch to the actual event. And they share a lot of behind the scenes, like what they're prepping and doing before. Yes, they're in their 20s. Like 22, I don't know how old Alexis is, but she's right there with her. Very young. I love that anyone with a business idea can launch on Instagram. It does not matter how old you are. You can just start an idea, test the idea, and yesterday her call to me was, "Mom, do you know any lawyers? I want to get an LLC." So you can definitely turn your passion and idea into a business. So this is a great example of the pre-launch and the launch. Does anyone know the brand Billy? This is a great, yeah, so this is an awesome account. So, this is Casey Neistat's wife and the brand is Billy. And she came out like, notice I want you to stop with this, like I talked about, having something on your shirt earlier. Well, her head is halfway in and out, so you're like curious about this, right? Billy almost, almost, almost ready to drop. Sign up for first notice. All she was trying to do was get sign-ups. Email sign-ups. Cause the gold's in the email. If you have a list, you can email the list, you can let them know that you're selling something, that you're launching something, you can stay in touch with your audience. You always want to take people off of social media and bring them back to your list, your website, and build your business, right? It's a marketing tool. So, I love that that was her first post. And then she's really funny, you guys, and she does great stories. So, Billy, when Casey Neistat comes to help for a photoshoot, like just a little, like Casey has such a huge following, so @mentioning him, @mentioning the photographer, helps a little bit with the awareness around the business, the brand. 61,000 likes on that photo. (laughs) It helps that her husband's Casey, but she's doing an awesome job, right? Okay, so this is a quick little recap of what you need to focus on. So, your first post really sets the tone for the rest of your launch. You want to make that first post really count. So, my first post when I did that social sit that I showed you guys earlier was my arm coming out with my pink arm tight on, holding the mic. That was it. Like, I wanted you to know that I was doing a live show and the mic was part of the branding for that show. And every time I show up on Facebook live with the show, that mic is in my hand. So think about the branding, the consistency, bring it across everything, and being very intentional. And then you want to consider how you're going to use your design elements, like a pop of color, to create consistent content, and it should be clear that the launch posts are all related. So, I wanna go back to arm tights for a second, because if you guys, when you go and look at Spanx and you scroll back to September of you will see that that is when she launched it, and you can watch the launch unfold now that you guys have more information about what it is to do a launch well. And that in my mind is like the best example because they integrated video and they had humor, and they had graphics, and they had Sarah in it, and it was just, it all was connected in some way. It just felt cohesive, and part of something that I wanted to be a part of, and that's the goal. You want your community members to be a part of your launch. Okay? And you also want to think about strategies, of how each post contributes to your overall launch goals from your very first post to building that hype, and throughout the whole launch.