How a break refreshed my Instagram marketing strategy

I quiet quit Instagram recently. It was during my maternity leave, which I had originally planned to pre-schedule content for. But then I didn’t want to. Blame the hormones or the major life event, but things changed. 🙃 I had a handful of posts ready that I didn’t post. I cancelled my paid Later plan that I’ve had for years, so those posts wouldn’t go out automatically either. I needed a break from everything. I showed up on stories fairly consistently at first, but soon took a break from that too. Real talk: I was tired and knew that I needed to overhaul my entire marketing plan, including my Instagram strategy, if it was going to be sustainable long term as a mama of 2 now.

So that’s what I did. In this post, I’m going to share what inspired my Instagram break (both personal and strategic reasons). Also what happened during the break, and what my refreshed Instagram strategy is going to look like for the remainder of 2024.

My 2024 Marketing Strategy

Previously, I shared a look at my 2024 marketing strategy. Overall, the goal is to focus on long-form, long-term, and low-lift content. Aka, things that feel easy for me. Also things that feel impactful, and sometimes a classic Instagram strategy can feel like feeding the social media monster… He’s always hungry, never satisfied, and never really thanks you for making him a home cooked meal.

So my Instagram strategy naturally sits lower in the priority list than other channels. You can read more about my 2024 marketing strategy here.

Quiet quitting Instagram

I mentioned that my break first started pre-maternity leave. After going hard on the app for a while, my energy drained as the baby bump grew. In general, I was rethinking my business efforts and what I wanted this next season to look like. My baby was born, and I took a few days off before posting about this arrival. Then we got busy. I was more focused on learning how to be a mom to 2 boys than what to post that day. And the next thing you know, it’s been weeks and all I’ve posted are mom related things I feel like sharing. Most published while nap or milk trapped on my couch.

The only real strategic thing about the above time was that the messaging of what I did post aligned, of course. I typically nail my messaging… Words are kind of my thing. 💁‍♀️ But I created and posted everything on the fly for a while, if I posted at all.

Yes, it may have taken me an entire day to make each post because of all the stopping and starting between momming. But still very much “on the fly” posting.

The post and ghost Instagram strategy

Next came the ghosting. I started ghosting Instagram a lot. It just didn’t feel like a place I wanted to hang out anymore. While in previous years, I genuinely felt a sense of community and belonging when I logged onto the app—all my internet biz besties are here—the vibes have been different lately. Maybe you’ve sensed it too?

For me, I think it was partially that I find a hard time taking business advice from those who haven’t experienced the season of early motherhood that I’m currently in. Peak motherhood, maybe? I’m changing diapers and timing feed schedules, trying to fit activities around naptimes, and catch a few minutes for myself in between. Reading someone talk on Instagram about their 5 hacks to be the most productive just doesn’t align.

So I had posts in my Later queue and caption ideas ready to pull from, but I let them sit. And I didn’t hang out on the app like I used to. We all know that posting and ghosting doesn’t work by now, but I kept doing it.

Social media in general has become a kind of black hole with everyone just trying to shout louder than the next person, and I needed a break. So I took one.

My strategy before my Instagram break

Keeping up with the social media monster helped me grow my business in the early days. Years ago, I committed to posting on Instagram every day for an entire year. That worked. My business grew to 6-figures and beyond. My Instagram gained a few thousand followers. It felt fun and easy… Just how I like it.

In more recent times, my Instagram strategy included both organic content to drive traffic and build community, along with paid meta ads to reach new audiences. If you look at a typical recommended Instagram strategy (like what Later shares here is working for this year), I checked the boxes.

• Community focused
• Content categories
• Leverage new features
• Etc. Etc. Etc.

But that kind of (near) daily strategy doesn’t work in my current season of life. Momming 2 littles and running a business that supports clients still means something has to give. I didn’t have time to show up with original, fresh content every day. I didn’t have time to show behind the scenes or start conversations. It was a challenge to get a usable photo or video, especially in the earlier days of postpartum.

The thing that I’ve noticed about most online business recommendations in general is these tried and true strategies or hacks or words of wisdom aren’t conducive of running a business while raising littles. Instagram was the first to go, and it felt good to release that to-do on my list. Overall, this break felt way more aligned with my schedule and the time I had to dedicate to work.

It was a way to create space for myself. Intentional space that I craved.

I ditched my Instagram strategy pre-launch

One of my biggest launches post maternity leave was for my mastermind, and I decided to ditch my Instagram strategy pre-launch for this. That’s supposed to be a major risk in the online business world. You can’t take a break from social during a launch or pre-launch... That’s not allowed. Everything will burn down if you take a break.

The good news: Things didn’t burn down. I still made sales. There’s still an intimate cohort inside and I love seeing this community thrive. All without posting about it on Instagram.

Why I took a break from my Instagram strategy

I’ve already gone over the personal reasons why I took a break from my Instagram strategy this year, but there’s more that should be noted.

First, people are too passive on social media lately. You may have noticed that data like views are high, but engagement is low. People are watching, scrolling, but not really paying attention. Maybe the doom scroll has caught all of us? I hope that’s not the case, but there is a trend towards passive consumption versus engaged community.

With that in mind, then it makes sense when you think about your funnel: If Instagram is a passive place to scroll, you need to catch attention. You need to stop the scroll. Versus those who actively search something in Google or YouTube—they’re looking for answers. They’re warm. They want help.

At the time of taking a break from my Instagram strategy, it was more impactful for me to dedicate time and resources to those who were problem aware, and searching for solutions. This is where I could shine. So this is part of what led to my decision to return to long-form, SEO focused content. That’s what I felt would pay off the most with my now even more limited time juggling my business with life as a mom of 2 littles 2 and under.

My Instagram strategy has changed

For years, I treated Instagram like a micro blog or a public journal. This worked really well for me to grow my account and my business. I was able to authentically connect with others.

But is journal blogging dead? I don’t think so. My best performing content is often the pieces where I share vulnerably. The challenge now is how to maximize both that authentic connection and the current algorithms: What works well? But what also feels like me?

Clearly, video content is what comes to mind first. But I’ve also noticed a trend towards text-only graphics, carousel roundups or photo dumps, and stagnant images making a comeback. All things I’m 1000% here for because I love some variety in the storytelling.

My Instagram strategy going forward

I’ve been thinking about what I want for my business, brand, and therefore my Instagram profile going forward. Something that I feel like has been missing from my personal brand for a while is the truly authentic personal aspect.

I’ve been strategic versus open.

I put myself in boxes (again) despite knowing that doesn’t feel good and definitely doesn’t work.

I’ve minimized big parts of my life because it may not look aligned.

I’ve focused heavier on marketing messages versus what I actually want to say. And while yes, there’s a careful balance to this… I think I unknowingly tipped things too far for my taste.

All things I tell my clients not to do. 💀

I want people to look forward to reading my posts. I don’t want to just add to the noise or post for consistency.

So going forward, you might see more motherhood and home content on the feed. Things like bread. I bake almost daily, as you can see in Instagram Stories. But those baked goods deserve a more permanent representation too.

And plants. I’ve been dedicating time to my plants again and just started my new garden out back at our new home.

Maybe more vlogs over on YouTube. While I like teaching, sometimes the babies don’t allow time during daylight hours to record a planned video, so we vlog.

Also probably long captions, micro-blog style. With more often showing up on the blog or my emails (go sign up for those too). Yet still giving myself permission to post a 1 liner as it fits.

Basically sh*t I’m interested in with the goal of connecting more genuinely. Maybe I’ll even hang out here a little longer instead of the now typical post and ghost? No guarantees on that though. 🙃

Returning to Instagram, here’s what my new strategy is…

Since first outlining this blog post and deciding to take a break from my Instagram marketing strategy, I’ve returned to the platform. Refreshed, realigned, and reinvigorated to foster that connection I’ve felt has been missing.

My first post back that felt very much like the real me got 15.7K views. Way more than I get on a typical post, so I’m taking this as a sign that I’m on the right track.

So here’s a quick snapshot of my refreshed Instagram strategy that I plan to continue with through the remainder of the year:

• Use a variety of content formats to tell authentic stories again. Not just Reels, not just posts. Variety is the spice of life. 🌶️
• Resolve the balance between connection pieces and sales CTAs. I’m not afraid to sell my stuff online, but I’m focused on audience growth versus pushing specific offers right now.
• Try to share something meaningful 2-3 x a week, but don’t sweat it if I need to take a break. My long-form channels are the first priority, so it’s okay if another break happens.

The biggest change will be creating with the goal of creating again. Because cheers to posting what we feel like instead of what we “should” do.

Anyways, I hope this inspires you to show up as you want to instead of how you think you should. Feels relieving. ✌️

Realign your business with your life

In general, the goal of sharing the behind the scenes of my business and marketing strategies with you is to show you that it’s possible to align your business with your life. You have the power to take a step back and say “this isn’t really working for me.” Then make the necessary changes. You can build a business that supports your dream life. Overcome overwhelm. Stop hustling so much. Finally stop feeling like you and time are at odds.

If you want to get started on this today, check out The 6-Figure Schedule. It gives you a peek at how I run my business while momming, and what’s possible for you too.