With Lindsay Huelse, Rafa Parra, and Sam Higginson
Making Connections Worth Your Time
Lindsay recommends using your power hour or designated business time to utilize these Instagram tools. She emphasizes the importance of being intentional about your time, especially with Instagram, because it can be a time suck.
The three main goals on Instagram are to:
- Connect
- Provide Value
- Invite people to become a customer, host, or rep.
So, What Are Instagram Collections?
When scrolling through Instagram, an icon on the right side below each post looks like a little bookmark. This is the collection icon, and you can click it to save that post in a collection folder. Take note that:
- Collection folders are private, so no one can see what you’ve named them or which posts you have saved.
- You can find your saved collections in your profile. Just go to your profile, click the three lines on the top right corner, and click ‘saved’ to see all of your collection folders.
Organize Your Collections for Better Connections
The purpose of collection folders is to categorize your connections to come back to later during your power hour. Here are the five collection folders you should make to keep the levels of connection organized. Name your collections:
- ‘Connections’ – Add people you want to reach out to and possibly work with.
- ‘Host Need to Invite’ – For the people, you’ve connected with and now want to invite to host a party with you.
- ‘Invited to Host’ – Add the people you’ve invited to host already and the ones that will be hosting with you. These are people you’ve already asked.
- ‘Need to invite to the business’ – Add the people that hosted a party with you, expressed interest in the business, or connected with them about opportunities.
- ‘Invited to opportunity’ – Lastly, these are the people you’ve extended an invitation to and are waiting for the next move with them.
*Watch the video for a visual guide. Lindsay shows you how to create, find, and organize all of your collections.
How Should I Connect People With Instagram?
A great way to start connecting with people is by scrolling through those who have already followed you. Look for people with current stories and go engage with their stories. Send them hearts or comment on how amazing their trip looked.
Remember to follow everyone that you connect with!
Send a Voice Message to Make Your Connections Personal
When you are in the ‘asking to host’ or ‘reaching out for opportunity’ stages, it is a perfect time to send a voice message. A voice message is personal, relatable, unique, and genuine, so you’re more likely to have a positive response.
Lindsay mentions that it’s important to reference the connection you’ve made with them and thought they would love X opportunity or someone they know would be interested.
Host Example – “Hey, I know that you love activewear and being outdoors. I have this service that can get you free and fun activewear. If you or someone you know would be interested, let me know! I’d love to share more info with you.”
Opportunity Example – “Hey, I know you love activewear as much as I do! I actually have a rep call on Tuesday that I’d love to have you join. Should I send over the details?”
Structure Your Power Hour and Optimize Your Time
The last tip is to use your time wisely. You can connect and message with the people you have saved and categorized when you have time. During your power hour each day, take 30 of the minutes and break it up like this:
- 10 minutes connecting
- 10 minutes invite to host
- 10 minutes invite to opportunity
The easier, faster, and more effective this form of connecting will become the more you do it. You’ve got this!
Join us each Monday at 1 pm MST for our weekly series of trainings with industry expert Sam Higginson.