Stepping Away from Instagram and into Strategic Simplicity
The year is quickly coming to a close (too quick some might say…) and as we enter Samhain season we’re invited to slow down, reflect and prepare as the new year creeps closer. If you want to be locked-in and ready to go when January 1 comes knocking, you need to be starting that energetic shift now in Q4.
My first step? Letting shit goooooo.
And the first thing I’ve released is marketing my business on Instagram.
It’s been a long, good(ish) run but marketing on IG in 2025 isn’t a priority for me. Leaving the platform, however, hasn’t been a hasty choice and for most of 2024 I was swaying on this decision. I finally came to terms with leaving once I realized that my departure is just an authentic reflection of what truly serves my business and works with my energy.
So let’s get into the why behind me stepping away and talk a little about what my marketing strategy is going forward.
Goodbye Content Spiral
A BIG reason for my exit is due to short-form content. Y’all I am not vibing with it.
Creating a 90 second reel or a carousel post where everything needs to be short, sweet, engaging AND convert… yeah, trying to get my brain to work within these parameters felt like a constant battle.
Because I like to yap. I like to be long form. My mercury is in Libra after all. Short and Sweet? Never gonna be me, that’s just a Sabrina Carpenter album.
I don’t want to be punchy in 10 seconds or less. I don’t want to search for trending audios. I don’t want to take b-roll of my everyday life. I don’t want to write personal captions. I don’t want to spend hours trying to create the perfect graphic or search for the right photo to use. I DON’T WANT TO.
And I know this isn’t, like, a massive world-altering decision but having an Instagram presence as a business owner almost feels like a non-negotiable. “If you’re not selling on insta, wtf are you doing?” “You’re missing out.”
I gotta ask though…
What the fuck am I missing out on?
The bottom line is, Instagram is not a lead generator for my business. I don’t think I’ve ever made a cold sale from a follower, the few that I have made all came from people who’ve met me off the app and then used my link in bio to get to my website. My IG account even disappoints as a pathway to my Facebook community or my blog, the funnel isn’t really funneling.
There are a couple reasons why I think this is, but the most obvious relates to my followers themselves. My audience is largely connections from my local area. As much as I love to see what’s going on in their business, they aren’t the people I want to sell to. And since I don’t enjoy creating content for the site anyway, I’m also not interested in posting educational or thought-leader content that they might like.
So where does that leave me?
Luckily, there are a handful of other platforms that support the type of long-form, lead generating content I want to make. My blog (which I often promote on Pinterest), email list and Facebook community both are places where I can yap away, talk to my people and feel good about it.
I’m also thinking about extending my reach to Youtube, which was built to support long form expression, and LinkedIn to connect me with a new buyer persona I’m targeting for 2025.
While it’s ‘so long’ to Instagram for now, I’m not turning my back on the app completely… Maybe one day I’ll feel like showing up there again. I still think there’s value in connecting with your audience in a visually driven way, but it’s just not the way I want market my business. And honestly? It feels really good to officially remove this from my marketing funnel.
