How to Use Reels, Stories, and Carousels to Grow Your Business on Instagram w/Corey Walker

Tired of creating Instagram content that feels like a full-time job with zero ROI? Let’s fix that.

In this episode, I’m joined by Corey Walker, co-author of Instagram for Dummies and Instagram for Business for Dummies - and she’s here to break down exactly what works right now on Instagram (and what you can stop wasting time on).

Whether you’re frustrated by reels, overwhelmed by algorithm shifts, or stuck in the “I should be doing more” spiral, Corey’s no-fluff advice will help you simplify, strategize, and actually see results - without dancing, pointing, or trying to reinvent the wheel every week.

Inside this conversation, you’ll learn:

• How to use Instagram as a full funnel: from visibility to connection to conversion
• The role of Reels, feed posts, Stories, and Lives (and how to stop overthinking each one)
• What carousels and drip campaigns have in common - and why they convert
• Why showing your face on camera (even awkwardly) beats perfect production every time
• The easiest way to batch content using questions you already get asked all the time

This is your permission to stop chasing trends and start using Instagram in a way that supports your business goals and your sanity.

Links & References:

• Want more ways to increase your visibility?  Join us at the next PWR Virtual Speed Networking Event!
• For faster business growth through networking, strategy and accountability, check out the  Powerful Women Rising Business Growth Community!
• Connect with Corey in Instagram @coreycwalker or check out her website: themarketingspecialist.com

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Instagram Marketing
• 3:35 What's Working on Instagram Now
• 8:53 Simple Approaches to Creating Reels
• 13:55 The Truth About Going Viral
• 18:27 Instagram as a Networking Tool
• 22:58 Using Instagram as a Business Funnel

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:02

Hello, Corey, Welcome to the podcast. Thanks for having me. Yeah, so excited to talk to you about Instagram. I have such a love-hate with Instagram so I'm happy. It's understandable I'm sure it's not the first time you've heard that.

Speaker 2: 0:16

No, and I actually agree with you.

Speaker 1: 0:18

But I'm excited to talk to you today about how we can use it, maybe more effectively, maybe we can increase the love ratio. So tell everybody, before we dive in, a little bit about you and about what you do.

Speaker 2: 0:32

Sure. Well, my name is Kori Walker. I am the co-author of Instagram for Dummies and Instagram for Business for Dummies, and I'm also a digital agency owner in the Sacramento area, so I help a lot of service-based professionals with their social media and email marketing. I really enjoy being in that space and helping some of the people that are, you know, just sole prop or have a small business. I really like talking to those people and helping elevate their business and their own personal growth, so that's what I do.

Speaker 1: 1:16

That's awesome. I love that because you know so many of us, especially in service based businesses. It's like we get into. I always tell the story of when I started my first business. I was a dating relationship coach and I really had no idea. I had small business for dummies and I read it on my back porch but it did not prepare me at all for all of the things and I thought like I really kind of just thought I was going to show up and say, hey, I'm a coach who needs coaching and like all the people were going to line up and throw their money at me and it was going to be amazing. So, uh, we're really glad that people like you exist to help us with some of the other things that are essential to growing a business, but not really what. We got into business because we wanted to do so Well yeah, and it's gotten.

Speaker 2: 2:04

You know I've. I actually this July was my 20th anniversary with this business and it's obviously changed quite a bit and just the more and more tech that gets layered on and on. I work with a lot of entrepreneurs that are, you know, 50 and up, and it's getting harder sometimes for them to manage all these different you know. I mean, it gets hard for me and I'm like in this stuff every day because it changes all the time. And now, with AI on top of it, it's like this whole new world. So, yeah, it's a lot of people think, oh, I'm going to be, you know, a dentist and I'm just going to work on people's teeth. But it's like, no, you have to know marketing, you have to market your practice, all of that and it's a lot more than they originally bargained for and can be really the downfall of their business if they don't know what they're doing in that area or get some good help.

Speaker 1: 3:06

Yeah, absolutely so. There's a lot of directions we could go in this. There's so many different aspects of Instagram that we could talk about. You mentioned AI. I love the thought. You know there's so many different platforms, there's so many different approaches that people can take. So today we're going to take just a very like high level look at Instagram, but maybe we'll invite you back. I feel like you could do like a five part series that would be amazing.

Speaker 1: 3:33

So let's just talk Instagram in general. What are you seeing right now in terms of business, entrepreneurship, what's working? What mistakes we're making? What do we need to know about what's happening in Instagram right now?

Speaker 2: 3:45

Sure, well, you know they keep adding more and more things, but one thing that I have seen consistently work well is reels. So the Instagram algorithm really favors that. People like seeing your face. So if you can do a reel where you're, you know, talking to your audience, that always does really well. Even a selfie, you know, when you're not even talking about anything too deep, just slapping a selfie every once in a while, and that works surprisingly well, better than you know a five page carousel with all these graphics. You know a five page carousel with all these graphics. So, yeah, really showing up, showing your face, doing reels, if you can incorporate some humor into your reels or if humor doesn't really fit with your business, just hitting that, that niche and really giving valuable information so that you can show yourself as the expert in that field. I work with somebody right now and he's a commercial real estate broker, but he specializes in 1031 exchanges, which is like a very specific thing, and so all of his content is very honed in on that, because there's not a lot of people talking about that online, and so he's just making all these reels, putting them on Instagram, tiktok, linkedin, all these different places. So bottom line reels are going to be one of your good go-tos. It's also getting to be more and more pay to play. So expect to, especially if you have a new account, expect to spend a little money to either do some ads or even just boost some of your posts to get a little bit more traction, because there's just so much content out there it's it's getting harder and harder to be seen if you don't give it a little, you know, kick. So that's something.

Speaker 2: 5:54

And then carousels do also work. Well, that one I suggest for people when they're like, oh, I can't do you know reels every day, and I completely understand that. Like, oh, I can't do you know reels every day, and I completely understand that. Um, carousels, I would say, is probably second in line under reels, and if your viewers or listeners don't aren't familiar with carousels, it's the one where it's up to 20 cards basically in one post. Um, so you'll see people, do you know my? My top five tips for X, y and Z? And then maybe they put a tip on each card.

Speaker 2: 6:30

The reason those work there's there's two big reasons. The first reason is every time someone taps to that next card, that is telling Instagram that that person kind of likes you and the algorithm. So that's a positive experience and they're hoping that you go, you know, all the way to the end. So that's going to boost that up in the algorithm. The second thing is that if someone's scrolling through and they see that first card and then say an hour later they're scrolling again, it's automatically going to serve them the second card. So that's kind of cool because they're not just seeing the first one. It's almost like I kind of liken it to a drip campaign. So it's like they, just as long as they're kind of keep scrolling and your content's coming up, they're going to see the next one in line. So I really like that scrolling and your content's coming up, they're going to see the next one in line, so I really like that, yeah, so those are.

Speaker 2: 7:27

Those are probably three of my top tips for Instagram.

Speaker 1: 7:31

Yeah, that's good. I didn't realize that. About carousels, I mean, I've heard people say that they you should make them, and they work well, but I didn't know exactly why, so that's awesome. I want to go back to something that you said about reels, because I think a lot of times, like I'm one of those people that I am resistant to making a reel because I feel like it's going to be so much work Right, like I need to learn the dance and then I need to like pick the right song, and then I need to add like graphics, or I need to like have a little like funny caption that pops up or like whatever, right. And so I love what you said about like you can just turn on your camera and talk to people and that also is effective. Can you talk a little bit more about that, especially for people who feel like overwhelmed and we want to overcomplicate it?

Speaker 2: 8:17

Yeah, sure. So you know, one thing that I have people do sometimes is just write down or even use chat GPT to help you generate this. But think of whatever in your industry are the top. You know 20 questions you get frequently and you can do something as simple as sitting and batching this out, sitting in front of the camera, and maybe have a text overlay that says you know what's your best baking tip for making croissants I don't know whatever it is and then that can almost be like a silent person asking the question and then you can say, well, my best tips are blah, blah, blah. But yeah, if you just come up with some questions, use a little text overlay, just talk to that. You could sit there and knock out 20 of them, just put them on Dropbox. Or if you have something like I use later as a scheduler a lot of people have schedulers Now you could just pop them all in your scheduler and even pop them in without captions. Yet Just get that done and then go in later and put on captions.

Speaker 2: 9:29

But yeah, I mean I fall into the same trap. I get like, oh, I'm doing it. And when I get on a roll which I have not been on a roll lately. But when I get on a roll I kind of like, oh okay, oh okay, I'm gonna do this. And then I get excited and more ideas come to me. So if you can just get over that hump of getting into the the role of it, it makes it a lot easier. But there's there's other ways that I like people to do things as well, like I have people that'll just maybe record something in their office, like they're working at their computer, and just maybe you do it as a fast. You know a speed thing where you're just have it there all day and it's just recording you and then you just do, you know, maybe a quote or maybe some kind of tip or something, just as a text overlay. And yeah, it doesn't have to be hard, it can be really easy, and using ChatGPT to generate some of those ideas makes it even easier.

Speaker 1: 10:37

Yeah, is there any kind of tech that you recommend if we are going to start doing reels or we want to up our reels game Like? Is there any specific software? Do we need a ring light? Do we need a microphone, or do we just pick up our phone and start doing it?

Speaker 2: 10:52

I mean, you can just pick up your phone and start doing it. Instagram now has their own standalone app called edits, and that's kind of their answer to CapCut called edits, and that's kind of their answer to CapCut Um, if you're familiar with CapCut um, and so that's an easy one, and it has a lot more features than just your regular Instagram. Um, you know they're all of their editing in reels, um. The thing I like about it, too, is you can export it with sound, with all that stuff, and it doesn't have the Instagram logo on it, so you can put it on TikTok or YouTube shorts, wherever you want. Um, but so you can do that without anything.

Speaker 2: 11:35

What I do recommend um, I have a little thing. I just have it right here. This is just a tiny little mic. Um, I think I got this on Amazon for maybe 13 bucks. It can um just pop into your phone and then you can put this little clip, like you know, right on your shirt. So that's an easy one.

Speaker 2: 11:56

This one's called pop voice, so, um, and literally I think it was like 13 bucks. And then I have um a ring light, and I think this was maybe 20 bucks on Amazon, so you don't need, you know, this high def camera and special all that stuff. And if you don't, if you want to get started right away and haven't bought anything on Amazon for a light, just sit, like I always sit in front of the window Anyway, I've got a window right in front of me and that provides lots of natural light or go outside. That's an easy way to do it for free. So I'm all about like, doing things as cheaply as possible, because I have to pay for so many different, you know, subscriptions to things. So if I can have someone do something like and it still looks good, then I'm all for it, yeah, and making it as simple as possible, too.

Speaker 1: 12:54

I think that's going to make us more likely to do it than if we are still trying to make it overly complicated, yeah. So I think one of the things that people I was going to say screw up, that's not a very nice thing to say One of the things that people think a lot when it comes to Instagram or any social media really is that in order to be successful or to get traction, we have to have something that goes viral. And I have a good friend who's a parenting coach and she had a couple reels that went like crazy viral in the beginning of her business, and I think I actually had her on the podcast real early on when I first started and she was talking about that and how, like, what she thought was going to happen versus what actually happened were not the same thing. So can you tell us, like, do we want to go viral? Is it a good thing? Is it like not that big of a deal, but like cool if it happens, or what's your take on that?

Speaker 2: 13:55

I mean, usually if you go viral, it's not, it's it's not anything to do with your business. What I find most people go viral for is like they posted a picture, or I mean a video, where they, you know, were in their backyard and tripped over their dogs. You know, something like totally stupid, like that will go viral. It's not usually the thing that's going to move the needle on your business. So I had I have a client that has a nail salon and I posted this reel for him. It was actually a repost of someone else's reel that I just added some stuff to. So that's something you can do too is do like a remix. So I did that and it didn't. I mean, I won't say it went viral, but it got. You know, his usual posts got maybe a thousand views. This one got like 10,000 views, but and it got lots of likes, but it was from people like all over the place.

Speaker 2: 14:52

Now he's got a nail salon that's local. You know you don't do online nail salons, you have to be physically present. So I mean, yeah, it was cool, cause he got hundreds of likes that where he usually doesn't get that many, cause it's all very local. Um, so that was fun, but it didn't. It wasn't like people were pouring into his business and so the whole viral thing. Typically, unless you have some global brand, like up your target or something like that it's it's not going to do what you think it's going to do. And especially since I work with service based businesses and many of them are, you know they're locally based a restaurant, a day spa, things like that. It doesn't help them at all. It's just a fun thing to say like, oh, I got a million views, but it didn't sell them anything more Right, and there's no benefit with Instagram, like they don't go.

Speaker 1: 15:48

Oh, look at this person's creating really great stuff. We should show their stuff to everybody.

Speaker 2: 15:53

Well, if you have a one-off, then it's not going to really do anything, but if you consistently start doing things that go viral, then, yeah, they're going to start showing it to more people. So in that case, um, that might happen, but I find most times the things that go viral are totally random and it's not a repeatable thing. It's just like, oh what, why did that happen? I don't know, right.

Speaker 1: 16:20

Yeah, I don't know if you're on threads much, but there was a weird thing that happened a couple of weeks ago on threads with hash browns, and hash browns became a trending topic, and I don't even really remember how it happened. I read the story somewhere but like everyone was talking about hash browns and I posted on there and I was like I have been trying for months and months and months to like get some traction on this platform and all hash Browns had to do was just exist, exactly.

Speaker 2: 16:48

And that's. That's exactly what I'm talking about is like the weird, most random thing you know go viral and it doesn't do anything for anybody. It's just this fun thing and and I think a lot of virality is is more comedy or or something that's really like heartfelt and people really feel something, but a lot of times it is something just really funny and silly that people identify with.

Speaker 1: 17:18

Yeah yeah, I get much better results when I post videos of my foster kittens than I do anything business related.

Speaker 2: 17:28

Which is tough because, yeah, you're like I want to promote my business and I want to talk about my business, but I know if I put my kittens up here, I'm going to get like 10 times as many.

Speaker 1: 17:39

Right, right, maybe I need to combine the two and make like virtual networking with kittens and then everyone will show up.

Speaker 2: 17:46

Yeah, like they have goat yoga, you know, right, yeah.

Speaker 1: 17:49

Hey, this is brilliant, Thank you. So I want to ask you another question about networking in particular, because one of the things that I talk about a lot with networking is that it really can happen anywhere that you have the opportunity to create a connection with another person, so it doesn't necessarily only happen at networking events or networking meetings. You can network on social media, you can network on a podcast, you can network anywhere if you're focusing on that like genuine connection, relationship building piece. So what suggestions do you have for how we can do that with Instagram?

Speaker 2: 18:27

like Facebook does. They do have the broadcast channel, which I haven't enacted really much with my clients because a lot of them have enough trouble just getting regular content out there, let alone this other content to a special group of people. But if somebody did want to do something more group-like, I would probably tell them to do a broadcast channel and have people follow the channel and then that's kind of your community within Instagram. Okay.

Speaker 1: 19:06

And what about like? Is there any value in? I know Threads is really big on engagement, like engaging with people in the comments and responding to other people's comments. Is that kind of the same on Instagram too?

Speaker 2: 19:19

Yeah, I mean Threads is a little bit different of a beast. I think you know it was built to combat X Twitter, and so I think people I think people often are more businessy even on Instagram than they are on Threads. I think people often are more businessy even on Instagram than they are on threads. I think people like to be on threads because they like to just chat about anything and that's what people like about it. So, yeah, I find they're a little bit different. Like if I post, I have one of my clients, the spa, and I'll cross post directly on threads some of the stuff that I put on Instagram and it just like no one cares because it's more, you know, graphic based and it's a little bit salesy, whereas Instagram it'll get more traction because people are like looking to kind of buy something. They're used to that there, but on threads they're like just just put a funny comment out there, ask me something about the sandwich I ate today. You know what?

Speaker 1: 20:23

I mean, we just want to talk about hash browns. Leave us alone.

Speaker 2: 20:26

Yeah, exactly, it's a little different.

Speaker 1: 20:27

So, yeah, I will say, though, being on threads consistently has gotten me more followers on Instagram than probably anything else I have tried, which is crazy because, like, I never have the thought on threads like, oh, I should go follow this person on Instagram, but people do it a lot, so that's good.

Speaker 2: 20:47

That's been a benefit. I know I kind of I go back and forth with threads and sometimes I'm more active on it and then sometimes I abandon it.

Speaker 1: 21:04

Yeah, same. Okay, so I know I was actually reading one of your carousel posts before I came on here, and one of the things that you were talking about was some of the common mistakes that entrepreneurs make when it comes to Instagram, and we've talked about several of them prioritizing, going viral over like giving actual value, prioritizing creating relationships. And then the last one that you mentioned was spreading yourself too thin. So I'm assuming I know what you mean by that, but tell us just in case.

Speaker 2: 21:38

I find that a lot of business owners start with awesome intentions and they are like I'm going to post every day and I'm going to post you know, 10 reels a month and all this stuff, and they don't really understand what it takes to do that. And so they think, oh, it's going to be so easy. And a lot of times they think they can just take five minutes out of their day and just do one of those, and that doesn't. It might happen for two weeks and then it's like so most people, if they want to be really effective and posting all the time, they need some help.

Speaker 2: 22:14

Now, whether it's from you know someone like me that does a full strategy, or maybe you just need a virtual assistant where you say you know, these are the 10 things I want to talk about this week. Help me to maybe schedule those things, or maybe you can help me with a few graphics. But yeah, a lot of times people think it's going to be so easy. Or they do do it one month and they get it all organized, and then it's like, oh, this is hard, I don't really feel like doing this anymore. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 22:46

Yeah, they're like me and you on threads. We get really into it. And then we're like, yeah, I don't want to do this anymore. Yeah, exactly, those are really good tips. So is there anything that we haven't touched on? I mean, I know there's a lot we haven't covered, but anything that you're thinking like okay, if you're a business owner and you're on Instagram right now, this is what you need to know.

Speaker 2: 23:04

Yeah. So one thing I talk about a lot and people always are like, oh, I, like that's a nice idea is using Instagram like a funnel, and so the top of your funnel is going to be your reels, because if you can do some you know 30 second reels that just get people's eyeballs, get their attention. One thing about Instagram is it will show your reels to people outside of your following, so so that's a really great way to get new people to look at stuff. So have something you know really catchy that grabs their eye, that gets them wanting to know more about you, and then, um, those people will hopefully go to your profile. So your regular feed needs to have, um, just more information about you, your services or your product, so they can get a lot more in depth about who you are and what you do. And then you can switch over to doing some stories every day, and those should be a little bit more personal so that people can see the person behind the brand. So you, um, you know some people aren't comfortable with, like, showing their kids at all, but other people, you know they might say, oh, I'm at my daughter's soccer game this weekend and, you know, just showing like.

Speaker 2: 24:27

You are human. You either have a family or you have a dog or you take care of your mom. You know whatever Um they show that side of it and you can mix in. You know whatever Um the show that side of it and you can mix in. You know your business posts too. And then finally, um, you could do a broadcast channel if you have the bandwidth for that. If not, um, the end piece I would say, if you want the full spectrum, is to do um, maybe a live once a month and talk to those people and maybe do like a Q and a. If you have some kind of um you know product that you want to demonstrate, you could demonstrate it. And then you've got people live on with you. They can ask you questions. You can answer them right there same time. Um, so that's a great kind of ending sales pitch area on on those lives.

Speaker 1: 25:19

So, yeah, that's a great idea. Okay, now I have a lot of ideas.

Speaker 1: 25:23

I'm like I gotta go create my Instagram strategy. I was really. I was doing so great with Instagram for a while and then I kind of was like I'll just leave my three pinned posts here and call it good. And I, I've been posting a little more recently, but definitely not consistent. I we hear it all the time and yet we always need to be reminded that consistency and constancy are not the same things. So I don't know why we do this. We're like I'm going to post 10 times a day, every day, and then we're like oh, I didn't do it, now I'm done.

Speaker 1: 25:57

How about just like once a week.

Speaker 2: 25:58

Because I do so much, content for everybody else that. But at the end of the day and they're paying me. So I'm like okay, I'm going to do it because you're paying me. But then, when it comes to mine, I'm like oh, I'm so tired, I don't want to do anymore, and no one's paying me to do it. So yeah.

Speaker 1: 26:14

I know, I feel you Okay, so we definitely need to get Instagram for dummies the business edition so I will put the link for that in the show notes. I'm excited to get that too. I think it's going to be super helpful. What are some other ways that people can contact you or learn more about what you do? Obviously, they can follow you on Instagram, but what's the best way for them to learn about your work as well what you do?

Speaker 2: 26:36

Obviously, they can follow you on Instagram but what's the best way for them to learn about your work as well? Sure, so my website is themarketingspecialistcom, and that is really my agency website, so it talks about all the different services that I offer. You know, along with social media, I'm a MailChimp partner, so I do all sorts of email marketing campaigns as well. Partner, so I do all sorts of email marketing campaigns as well. So, yeah, the marketing specialist. And then on Instagram, I'm at Hori C Walker. So those are the places. And then the Instagram for Business for Dummies is available on Amazon.

Speaker 1: 27:11

Awesome. I will link to all those things in the show notes so people can check them out, and I appreciate you so much coming and chatting with us and giving some tips and getting me excited about Instagram again. Yay, thank you so much. Thanks for having me.