Greatest Instagram Hits of 2023

I’m not qualified to give you social media advice.

My personal instagram account collects dust. I occasionally let friends and family know I am, in fact, alive. I was high for like a week after learning how to hold down the colors on Instagram stories and select a different shade of pink. Somewhere a Gen Z-er is making fun of me to her friends and they’re all wearing baggy jeans and Sambas. It’s the circle of life.

So what I’m about to do is actually…….. give you social media advice.

Before you run for the hills, let me explain.

The running joke in the group chat is that social media matters… and it also doesn’t.

It’s literally just a reel…

AND some of our best clients found The Salesgirls from just a reel.

It’s so silly and 30 seconds long… but how else can I get my message out to the masses this quickly? It’s 2024.

It matters and it doesn’t.

So each year-end, we run a cute little report that shows what the top performing content from our Instagram was.

I started to see some themes among the top performers.*

*Top performing is determined by overall engagement. Likes, comments, shares, the whole bit. Best all around would be their superlative if this was senior year.

This advice is absolutely unsolicited. I must be becoming my mother because that did not stop me.

I broke it down into 3 overarching content types and gave you an example of each. Let’s ride.

#3. WHO SAYS SO BESIDES YOU

It’s like when you ask your son to clean his room 15 times and the cool aunt asks him once and it’s spotless. Repost a reel or video of someone who IS NOT YOU, saying something that supports the message you bring every day. The new face on your audience’s feed is a smart play to get their attention. Think of it as a little shock to the system.

#2. DO THIS, NOT THAT

If I’m ever having an off day and just need a little Instagram attention and 300 shares to get back on track, I’m dusting off an old Do This, Not That reel. What makes them so powerful? Demonstrating contrast. Showing mistakes people might be making AND showing them how they could do better instead. If there’s a way to incorporate contrast demonstrations in your industry, figure out how.

#1. B-ROLL + BELIEFS = $$$$

If you have a fork in your hand - record it. Don’t ask me why. I’ve just seen what I needed to see. The best performing content by far this year was casually filmed b-roll with text over the screen. Pro tip: reels tended to do even better when the belief was potentially controversial. For instance, money and motherhood have been known to stir our audience up. Be willing to be polarizing as long as you have a conviction and can back it up.

Do with this information what you will.

It matters… and it doesn’t.

Xo, The Salesgirls

The results are in from yesterday’s great musical debate and I’m proud to announce that I agree with everyone and am still totally baffled by it all.