EPISODE 56 OF THE MARKETING SOLUTIONS PODCAST: $1.80 INSTAGRAM STRATEGY   

Sonya McIntyre-Reid:

There is a technique, Gary V bangs on and on about, called the $1.80 Instagram strategy. Now, it's gained a lot of traction over the last three years, but I just think when it comes to your marketing, you need to be spending your time effectively. There are better ways to do it. So let me take you through what I would recommend instead.

                Welcome to the Boom Your Biz podcast, a podcast for the movers, the shakers, and even bigger action-takers in business. I'm your host Sonya McIntyre-Reid. And each week I'll be exploring the question of what really makes businesses and organizations thrive? I'm on a mission to educate, empower, and inspire business owners, and myself along the way.

                Three years ago, Gary Vaynerchuk, or Gary V, started talking about an Instagram strategy he calls the $1.80 Instagram strategy. Here's the thing. Social media changes so quickly, but I still see Gary V and others talking about this, but I actually think it's a bit of a waste of a time. We only have so many hours in the day, right? So why not focus on something that will give you far more impact?

                Let me take you through what this strategy is, first. Now, this following information is from Gary V's website. Gary writes, "The truth is, the way to win on social media is to actually be social. The number of Instagram followers you have means nothing if you can't build a community of like-minded people who care and engage, the only real way to do this from scratch, is become part of the conversation." And I completely agree with this.

                This is taking the idea of social media being social and human, something that's so often overlooked. He goes on to say that whether it goes down in the DM or you are actively searching the top nine posts in every hashtag on Instagram or Twitter, you need to participate and engage with people who have the same interests as you.

                Again, I agree with this, you cannot just post or preschedule content and let it roll out across the month without actively engaging with your audience. So here's the actual technique he's referring to with the $1.80 strategy.

                He means leaving your two cents on the top of the nine trending Instagram posts for 10 different hashtags that are relevant to your brand or business every single day. By the end, you haven't just left your two cents, but a full $1.80 of thoughts online in the specific category, niche or industry you want to be a part of.

                Breaking this down further, step number one is to find the top 10 hashtags relating to a niche. On each of those hashtags, scroll to the top nine posts, click on each post, identify the account, read their bio, look at their profile. Basically just do some research, and make sure you're making an informed comment.

                So this is where you then go and choose a post and engage, and leave your two cents. If you see someone in the comments who has a question and you know how to respond, answer. If you love the post, and admire the aesthetics, say so. If you have thoughts about the quote or the copy in their posts, reply. If they image reminds you of another content creator tag them. If you think a friend would benefit from seeing it, share it with them. Comment, like, engage, respond, and share. These are the simple and easy ways that you can leave your two cents.

                Realistically, this shouldn't take more than two minutes per post. You don't have to write a book, or say something profound. You just have to engage and interact. That is what it means to be social, but please, please, please be authentic to yourself, and the person on that post.

We all know what a spam comment looks like. And if you really want to connect, send a DM to the creator. Mention the post and why you like it. Respond to their story and say something valuable.

Ask if you can help, collaborate, and promote. Now, go and do that on the eight other posts in that hashtag, and then for the other nine hashtags, and their top nine posts too.

                Right. Sounds like a shot in the dark kind of method, right? I don't love this, because it's time-consuming. It's not hyper-targeted. And the chances of the person you've engaged with ever doing business with you is slim.

                Also, you're likely to end up with a whole lot of followers and relationships built with competing businesses. Chances are, your ideal client isn't actually using your industry hashtags. Here are some other methods you're better off spending your time on.

                Number one, make a dream 100 list of clients or collaborators. Go and follow these accounts, and their founders on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and wherever else they're active. Regularly do the $1.80 method on these specific, targeted accounts.

                Number two, join Facebook groups and be useful. For example, I'm currently seeing a lot of success getting leads in business owner's Facebook groups. They often ask questions about digital marketing, and I respond without pitching. I'm helpful and valuable. And nine times out of 10, they submit an inquiry on the website. Boom. Attraction marketing at its finest.

                Number three, LinkedIn is a great market to use this $1.80 technique. I wouldn't do it off hashtags, but rather focus on that dream 100 list, build your network with potential clients, and start engaging with whatever pops up on your feed that they're posting. There's a certain virality that can happen on LinkedIn. And it's a market I'm really looking at diving deep into this year. I think as well, if you have a niche in your business, then you can actually go and target those customers specifically on LinkedIn and connect with them. So when it comes down to the $1.80 technique, it isn't terrible. The principle is good, but there are much better ways to execute it in 2021.