How to Make Money While You Sleep.
Are you a business owner struggling to do it all? Do you have enough time in the day to get everything done and live the life that you want to live? Humor me for a moment and imagine that you could make money in your sleep... What would your day-to-day life look like? What would you have more time to do? Would you have more time with your kids? More time for yourself? More money to pay off debt? The possibilities are endless.
My secret to making money while I sleep: I am intentional and consistent with my social media. I know some of you just rolled your eyes. Sorry ladies, but it’s the truth. It’s crucial and here’s why: you can create and publish content for your Instagram that is interactive with your audience at any time of day, whether you are there or not. More than 500 million people are using Instagram DAILY, buying from people and brands they know, like, and trust. If you continue to show up on your social media with the intent to sell your products and services, it will happen.
Here are 3 ways to engage with your customers via Instagram while you catch some Zzz’s or watch Tiger King…whatever.
Instagram Stories
If you don’t utilize Instagram Stories, you are missing the biggest opportunity there is for your audience to get to interact with you on a regular basis. You can show off who you are and what your brand is about EVERY SINGLE DAY and, because they disappear every 24 hours, your audience will keep coming back for more. Stories have features like polls, quizzes, and questionnaires so your audience feels like they are a contribution to you and your brand. You can even hashtag and geotag your Stories so your ideal clients can find you! Unlike a static post that stays on your page forever, Stories normally have a more unpolished behind the scenes vibe that lets your audience get to know you. Since they can be viewed at any time of day, you’re there for that customer, even when you’re not.
Highlight Reels
Now that you know the importance of Stories, let’s talk about why you would want to invest your time into something that disappears after 24 hours? Instagram wants you to use this feature so they’ve given you a place to save these Stories to your page. They will live forever. These Highlight Reels are prime real estate for your business so you really want to be strategic and selective about what you include. These Highlight Reels allow customers that come to your page the chance to get to know you better and what you’re all about. I love a good food pic but if your business doesn’t pertain to food, health, wellness, or photography, you should not have a “food” Highlight Reel. Take your potential customers on a journey. Maybe you have a Reel that talks about a service you offer and the next Reel is filled with testimonials beaming about that service. Pro-tip: Have a reel of free stuff that offers value for your audience. You want to highlight anything that will draw in your ideal client and keep them on your page.
IGTV
This area is perfect for repurposing all of your content that you’ve created on any platform. You can take any post you’ve ever written and “host” that content like it’s something new. The coolest thing about IGTV is that they now have a Series feature which is basically like a binge worthy, Netflix-type platform but for Insta. It separates all your content so that your audience can click on the Series they want to watch and it will automatically play episode after episode like a playlist, or streaming service, though I don’t think it ever rudely interrupts to see if you’re still watching… (yes, Netflix, we’re staying-at-home, of course we’re still watching). It allows you to be super organized with your content so it is super easy for your people to binge YOU. They can even subscribe to your IGTV to get notifications when you upload new videos.
Before I wrap this up, I will leave you with this: at the end of the day, before your head hits the pillow, you want to make sure that you’re always connecting your content, giving your audience somewhere to go next. Stories, Highlight Reels, and IGTV are the 3 Instagram tools I recommend to make money while you sleep but don’t forget to link to your other platforms too. If you have a blog, post a link within the content that can drive them somewhere else: a YouTube tutorial, another blog post, or a freebie you’ve created. The point is to keep your audience inside your content for as long as possible. Give them enough opportunity to go down the rabbit hole. The more time someone spends indulging in your delicious content tailored just for them, the more likely they are to buy.
If you’re looking to dive deeper into some additional Instagram techniques, check out my Freebie: 05 Ways to Get Noticed on Instagram!
