010: Amanda Bucci | Tripling Your Instagram Followers

Amanda Bucci is a lifestyle entrepreneur and social media influencer with over half a million Instagram followers and 200,000 YouTube subscribers. Through her posts, podcast, and coaching, she helps others develop their minds, hearts, online businesses, and health.

We’re going to learn how Amanda transitioned from educator to influencer, building a social media following through the perfect combination of consistency, transparency, education, and authenticity (the “secret sauce” to her success).

 

In This Conversation We Cover:

[5:15] How Amanda became who she is today [15:00] When Amanda realized she could do more (and what she did to make it happen) [21:15] Tactical strategies for Instagram [33:10] The 5% rule for crafting your CTA on social media [35:00] Being “you” all the time when you’re constantly being recorded [41:40] Using #hashtags as supplements on Instagram [47:10] Amanda’s technology & processes [54:00] Leveraging outsourcing to scale [57:10] How living in front of the camera affects Amanda’s life [1:00:00] Behind-the-scenes look at the process of getting a sponsor [1:03:00] Amanda’s focus in 2018 [1:05:00] Amanda’s mentors [1:07:00] The biggest challenge that Amanda faced in 2017 (and how she overcame it) [1:14:30] How Amanda is maximizing her play hard time

 

Amanda’s Instagram Tactics & the “Turkey Sandwich” Post

Before Amanda posts something to Instagram or YouTube, she asks herself a few questions…

How is this going to help my ideal client? “If it’s not adding value to anybody, it’s not worth posting.” How are you translating your authentic personality (i.e. who your best friends know you as) to social media? “Is it You As Fuck? It has to scream you, and it has to scream your niche.”

On Instagram, “captions are everything,” and a good post is like a Turkey Sandwich:

Your bread is your hook. The first sentence of your caption has to make them excited about reading the rest of your caption. The next piece is the cheese. Why do people want to read this? Add flavor to the story or message behind the caption. “If you can get people to say ‘Me too,’ that’s the best because then they’re going to keep reading.” The turkey is the meat of the post. Maybe a relatable story, or anything else your reader can get invested in. The other slice of bread is your call to action. If you don’t have any CTA in your post, you’re losing out on potential engagement. “Asking questions is probably the best way to get engagement on your post… a question that excites people to answer.”

Every CTA can’t be a hard sell for your products. Amanda follows the 5% rule:

5% of the time you can do a hard sell for your product (ideal for product launches) 20% of the time you can ask them to sign up for or download something for free 75% should be free value for your audience, using questions (or your preferred technique) to build engagement

 

Amanda’s Top 3 Editing Apps:

Instagram! Not necessarily the default filters, but you have a lot of options to create your own. Facetune for editing images. PicFrame to create side-by-side images

 

Being “You” Online

Being on camera, or on mic, is hard, even when you do it all the time. You have to be the most energetic, excited version of yourself, without being inauthentic.

When you have to record or perform online, but you don’t feel like your highest self, that means it’s time for self-care.

This may be meditating, journaling, or talking to somebody – anything that will help you relax and get in the zone.

The more you share online, the more your confidence will build and the easier this process will become. And it’s okay to start small and build up a foundational audience, even using a private account (that’s what Amanda did)!

 

Social Media & Sponsors

Social media influencers offer a great opportunity for brands to advertise directly to a very niche audience. But the sponsors that you represent will also have a direct impact on the way other people perceive your brand.

For that reason, it’s important that any sponsors align with your brand and add value to your audience.

Plus, you should be excited and passionate about working with them! Amanda likes to reach out to brands that appeal to her.

When reaching out to a current sponsor, she said: “Hi, I’ve been using your products for a few months now and I love them. I would be really interested in potentially applying to be one of your sponsored athletes. Let me know if there’s a process that I can go through in order to apply.”

You don’t want to show up entitled, assuming your audience will get you the job. Instead, focus on how you can help the sponsor, not how they can help you.

 

Resources:

Learn more at amandabucci.com Connect with Amanda: Instagram | Twitter | YouTube Listen to Bucci Radio