Latest / Wedding Pros who are ready to grow - with Becca Pountney / Instagram Reels - How to make the most of them! With Brandee Gaar

Transcript

Instagram Reels - How to make the most of them! With Brandee Gaar · Wedding Pros who are ready to grow - with Becca Pountney

• 0:00
  Brandee: It's addictive because all of a sudden you start seeing new followers,
• 0:04
  you start getting engagement on your reels, you get all these views, right?
• 0:08
  And reels are being shown to new people.
• 0:10
  And that's what we want is to always be bringing in new eyes to our platform.
• 0:14
  And Oh, Becca, that makes me so happy to hear you say, because I
• 0:18
  love that you just told them like how simple it really, really can be
• 0:22
  and how valuable they really are.
• 0:25
  Becca: I am Becca Pountney, wedding business marketing expert,
• 0:30
  speaker and blogger, and you are listening to The Wedding Pros
• 0:32
  who are Ready to Grow podcast.
• 0:35
  I'm here to share with you actionable tips, strategies, and real life
• 0:38
  examples to help you take your wedding business to the next level.
• 0:42
  If you are an ambitious wedding business owner that wants to take your passion
• 0:45
  and use it to build a profitable, sustainable business doing what you
• 0:49
  love, then you're in the right place.
• 0:51
  Let's get going with today's episode.
• 0:55
  Today I'm speaking with Brandee Gaar, based in Florida.
• 0:58
  Brandy works with creative business owners to help them scale their businesses while
• 1:02
  maintaining their work-life balance as a wedding and event planner herself.
• 1:05
  She really knows our industry well, and I'm thrilled to
• 1:07
  have her on the podcast today.
• 1:09
  Brandy, welcome.
• 1:10
  Brandee: Thank you so much for having me, Becca.
• 1:13
  This is gonna be so fun.
• 1:14
  I love talking about.
• 1:16
  Becca: It's an absolute pleasure.
• 1:17
  I'm excited to get into reels, but first of all, we need to talk about something.
• 1:21
  You live in Florida and I've heard you live really close to Disney World.
• 1:27
  . Brandee: Yes.
• 1:27
  Like minutes from Disney.
• 1:29
  So we can see the fireworks from our front yard and yep, we drive
• 1:34
  by them every night, every day.
• 1:37
  Becca: It absolutely blows my mind because here in the UK we absolutely love
• 1:41
  Disney and we have to pay thousands and thousands and thousands of pounds to go
• 1:45
  see those fireworks and you literally see them every night out your window.
• 1:48
  Brandee: It's so funny too because especially if we're like, you know,
• 1:51
  driving home from dinner, even the girls' school, you know, at night, they're
• 1:56
  literally right in front of our face and we talk about it sometimes we're
• 2:00
  we're like, Gosh, this is so like we take this so for granted, you know,
• 2:04
  because especially if we do go to the park, which is pretty rare for us, but
• 2:07
  if we do go to the park, we are kind of giggling, like who on earth would
• 2:12
  stay here and watch these fireworks?
• 2:14
  Like they're amazing.
• 2:15
  But I guess cuz we see them every night, we're like, hmm.
• 2:19
  It's not that big a deal.
• 2:20
  But it totally is.
• 2:21
  I will say it, it's ruined like any other firework show for our kids, if we.
• 2:26
  Literally anywhere.
• 2:28
  And there's like 4th of July or New Year's Eve fireworks.
• 2:30
  They're like, these are lame.
• 2:32
  And I'm like, yes, cuz you guys see Disney is every night
• 2:36
  . Becca: I just think that's so incredible that you see them every
• 2:38
  night, but it's totally normal to you.
• 2:40
  Okay, so enough chatting about Disney.
• 2:42
  Let's get into weddings and before we start talking more about reels,
• 2:45
  I wanna understand your own journey.
• 2:47
  First of all, how did you end up working in the wedding industry in the first.
• 2:52
  Brandee: Yeah, so I actually, you know, had such an amazing opportunity.
• 2:55
  I've always wanted to plan events since I was a little girl.
• 2:58
  I've always known that, and I had an incredible opportunity to open
• 3:02
  a really prestigious hotel here in Orlando, which was so cool to be part
• 3:06
  of, like an opening team of a hotel.
• 3:08
  Not a lot of people get the opportunity, and it was incredible.
• 3:11
  And I was there for seven years as a corporate event planner.
• 3:14
  And it was just the most amazing company to work for.
• 3:17
  They were phenomenal.
• 3:18
  I loved my job.
• 3:19
  I never thought I would leave, honestly, and I, I really hadn't planned on
• 3:22
  being an entrepreneur, but, After we had our first daughter, we have three
• 3:27
  daughters now, but after we had our first daughter, you know, I started
• 3:30
  to realize how difficult the corporate event planner life is on a family.
• 3:35
  I would sometimes go a week without seeing my daughter awake.
• 3:38
  And you know, if you have a show in house, you're like, you're there.
• 3:41
  And so, Our company was incredible about, you know, taking time off
• 3:45
  after, but it just wasn't the same.
• 3:47
  And I was like, I do not want to live this kind of lifestyle for
• 3:49
  the rest of my life with her.
• 3:50
  And so I decided to branch out on my own.
• 3:53
  And to be honest, I hadn't ever planned weddings.
• 3:55
  Like I'd kind of dabbled here and there for friends and I'd planned my own,
• 3:59
  but I really thought I was going to do corporate event planning, but, To
• 4:03
  be honest, I was 26 and like all of my friends were getting married and all of
• 4:06
  their friends were getting married and it just seemed like lowest hanging fruit
• 4:09
  just seemed a lot easier to do weddings.
• 4:11
  And so that's what we did.
• 4:13
  We opened blush in 2007, so it's been almost 16 years, which is insane and
• 4:18
  amazing and you know, it's been, it's honestly been, Such an incredible journey.
• 4:23
  Like we went hard from the very beginning.
• 4:26
  We, you know, really worked to build our company up quickly.
• 4:29
  We had a team really, since year one, we've always had associate planners and
• 4:34
  team members, and I think right around the eight year mark for me, maybe six
• 4:40
  to eight years was when it got really, really difficult and we started to.
• 4:45
  Literally everything I ever said I wanted from my business.
• 4:48
  We had, like, we were being referred by almost everyone in town.
• 4:52
  We had such a great reputation.
• 4:53
  We had a big team, tons of weddings, and it was amazing.
• 4:57
  However, we hadn't really built our company for scale.
• 5:02
  And so the challenge I started to feel was that every single thing
• 5:05
  that happened in my business, I had a hand in literally everything.
• 5:09
  And so it always felt like if I even just closed my eyes for a
• 5:13
  second, all the balls would fall.
• 5:15
  Like there was always a hundred balls to be juggled and I
• 5:17
  couldn't turn away for a second.
• 5:19
  And I started to think like, I can't do this forever.
• 5:21
  I felt so burnt out.
• 5:23
  What, what I started to realize is I hadn't built my business well
• 5:27
  in terms of like, I, I was, became a bottleneck for my business.
• 5:30
  And so I really dug into learning how to build a business, like a really
• 5:34
  healthy business, how to become the c e o, how to manage my team.
• 5:38
  And so now that's what I teach.
• 5:39
  And I always think it's so funny because that wasn't my plan.
• 5:42
  That wasn't like, oh, I'm gonna teach this one day.
• 5:44
  Like that was never my plan.
• 5:46
  But they say your mess becomes your message.
• 5:48
  And honestly, that was the hardest.
• 5:50
  Of building my business was learning how to become the CEO and now I really enjoy
• 5:55
  teaching other wedding professionals like how to build a business that doesn't
• 5:58
  require their everyday oversight, but still pays them a full-time salary and
• 6:03
  that they really feel fulfilled from.
• 6:05
  And so, yeah.
• 6:06
  I love it.
• 6:07
  Becca: You've been on quite the journey really, haven't you, from being
• 6:09
  employed to taking the leap to being self-employed and then to getting to
• 6:12
  that success of realizing you need to take a step back to where you are now.
• 6:16
  When you look back over those years, what do you think about when you think
• 6:20
  about all those things that you've.
• 6:23
  Brandee: I love it.
• 6:24
  I really genuinely think that we've had a really charmed business story.
• 6:29
  I don't think that that's because of luck, though.
• 6:31
  You know, like my favorite podcast is how I built this with Guy Raz.
• 6:35
  I love it.
• 6:36
  I've listened to every single episode and he always asks people at the end,
• 6:39
  you know, do you think your success is because of hard work or luck?
• 6:42
  And I really think it's a, a mixture of both, obviously.
• 6:45
  I definitely think that there was factors at play that helped
• 6:47
  me to have what I have now.
• 6:50
  Honestly, there was a lot of tears.
• 6:52
  Like a lot, there's, I can't even tell you how many times I would sit on
• 6:55
  my living room floor crying and just say like, I can't do this anymore.
• 6:59
  I wanna burn it all to the ground.
• 7:00
  Like I, I, it doesn't come easily to anyone, I don't think, you
• 7:04
  know, I think that there's always like, Potholes in the road.
• 7:07
  And to be honest, around that eight year mark is, I, I wanted to give it all away.
• 7:10
  Like, I was like, burn it to the ground.
• 7:12
  Like, I don't wanna do this anymore.
• 7:14
  I'm going back to work for someone else.
• 7:16
  And you know, thankfully I have an incredible husband who believes in
• 7:19
  me more than I believe in myself.
• 7:20
  And he would push me, you know, to say, no, we can be, we can do this better.
• 7:24
  We just have to rethink it.
• 7:25
  We have to find somebody to help us.
• 7:27
  And so, yeah.
• 7:29
  I.
• 7:30
  I think it's pretty incredible.
• 7:31
  I love now getting to help people to see what I learned so
• 7:36
  much earlier in their journey.
• 7:37
  Like I tell my students all the time, like, I'm saving you years, , years of,
• 7:42
  of heartache because I can help you to avoid some of the roadblocks that I had.
• 7:46
  Yeah, so it's pretty exciting.
• 7:48
  I love teaching now though.
• 7:49
  It's my favorite thing.
• 7:50
  Becca: Yes, and you're very good at it.
• 7:51
  And that is why you are here on the podcast today.
• 7:54
  Now, I know one of the things that you love to talk about and one of
• 7:57
  the things that you do really well in your own business is Instagram reels.
• 8:01
  So talk to me about reels.
• 8:02
  Why do you think they're important for people in the wedding industry
• 8:05
  to be looking at and using?
• 8:07
  Brandee: So, you know, it's interesting reels and really all short form video,
• 8:11
  but reels specifically, you know, I say get the juice while its on sale.
• 8:15
  I mean, will reels always be, you know, this phenomenon that
• 8:20
  can fill your sales funnel?
• 8:22
  Probably not.
• 8:23
  But they are now and they are for the foreseeable future.
• 8:26
  And one of the cool things for the wedding industry is that we know
• 8:30
  without a shadow of a doubt, that our clients are on Instagram and Pinterest.
• 8:33
  Like that's where they hang out.
• 8:34
  That's where they're shopping, you know, wedding wire's.
• 8:37
  Latest report said that 82% and climbing of all engaged couples
• 8:42
  research their vendors on social media before they ever make a purchase.
• 8:46
  And that's a massive amount.
• 8:48
  So, Instagram is favoring reels.
• 8:50
  They are at battle with TikTok, and so they are favoring reels on their
• 8:55
  platform, and so it's a really great way to get in front of more engaged couples.
• 9:01
  One of the other cool things is that in the wedding industry, again, we
• 9:05
  have such a cool feature is when someone gets engaged, one of the very
• 9:09
  first things they do is change their.
• 9:12
  Online . So they change it on Facebook and they go and tell
• 9:16
  everyone that they're now engaged.
• 9:17
  Well, Facebook and Instagram are owned by the same company, and so
• 9:21
  it makes it really, really easy for Instagram to know who to put
• 9:24
  your content in front of, because.
• 9:26
  They tell us that they're engaged, so it, it makes it really, really cool.
• 9:31
  And because Instagram's favoring reels, your content is gonna
• 9:35
  get pushed out to more engaged couples when you're making reels.
• 9:39
  The other piece of that too is that, now, I dunno if you guys have noticed
• 9:42
  this, so reels have been around for about two years now, and now every
• 9:46
  single platform, not just a few, every single social media platform
• 9:50
  now has short form video incorporated.
• 9:53
  TikTok, obviously, but Facebook Pinterest instagram, YouTube,
• 9:58
  LinkedIn, all have short form video.
• 10:00
  So if you can master reels, it really translates to all these other platforms,
• 10:06
  and it is the way we're going to start marketing to people and the future.
• 10:10
  So understanding it.
• 10:12
  Using it while Instagram's giving you that extra juice anyway, is really
• 10:15
  gonna be to your benefit in the future for marketing your business.
• 10:18
  Becca: So really, it's the best way to get in front of people that aren't
• 10:21
  already following you, is that right?
• 10:22
  Brandee: Yeah, and that's the thing too, I think a lot of people don't
• 10:24
  understand is that when you post on Instagram, Less than 10% of your
• 10:29
  followers will see your content.
• 10:31
  Instagram's told us that themselves.
• 10:33
  So when you make this beautiful feed post, you've spent an hour creating
• 10:36
  in Canva, or you do your stories or whatever, less than 10% of your
• 10:40
  followers are seeing that content.
• 10:42
  And that's the people who are actually following you with reels.
• 10:46
  They use a different algorithm.
• 10:47
  They're actually, that algorithm is.
• 10:49
  Seeking out people who will want to watch it.
• 10:53
  And so the reels algorithm is going and searching for people and
• 10:57
  bringing new eyes to your platform.
• 10:59
  So I always consider reels as kind of like top of funnel.
• 11:02
  You know, it's it's brand new eyes that don't really know you yet, and
• 11:06
  they want to learn more about you.
• 11:08
  They like your reels, they like your content, so they're
• 11:11
  gonna come to your profile.
• 11:12
  Then the idea is to get them to click through to your website, obviously
• 11:14
  book a console, and then to book.
• 11:16
  Becca: Okay, so there's gonna be people listening who totally
• 11:19
  resonate with what you're saying.
• 11:20
  They can see that reels are the future.
• 11:22
  They can see that it's important in their business, but they're scared and they
• 11:27
  don't really know how to get started.
• 11:29
  So, have you got any tips for people about how they can just get started,
• 11:33
  how they can make their first reel, what they should be making it about?
• 11:36
  Brandee: Absolutely.
• 11:37
  Okay.
• 11:37
  So the easiest way to get started, especially.
• 11:41
  In the beginning, I think it's scary to show your face.
• 11:44
  I'll push you . If you come into my, my space of the web, I'm gonna push
• 11:49
  you and say I love your reels, but I haven't seen your face on one yet.
• 11:53
  But to start, I do totally understand that showing your face on video is scary.
• 11:59
  And as wedding professionals, you know, it's great to be able to show our.
• 12:03
  So what I would encourage you to do is to use a template.
• 12:07
  Reels has templates now.
• 12:08
  It's kind of a new feature.
• 12:09
  It's been around for about eight months as of this recording.
• 12:12
  And you can use a template and you can literally grab content.
• 12:16
  Right out of your phone.
• 12:18
  Or you can use the photographer's professional images.
• 12:21
  A lot of them will send like a favorites, right?
• 12:23
  A favorites folder to all the vendors.
• 12:26
  You can use those and you can literally use someone else's template and
• 12:30
  then you can just add your own media to it and it will make you a reel.
• 12:34
  Instagram will make you a reel that you can post of your own content.
• 12:38
  So if you're thinking about using a template, I actually keep
• 12:42
  one at the top of my Instagram.
• 12:44
  So if you go over to Brandee Gaar on Instagram, the only wedding photo that
• 12:49
  you'll see on my entire feed as a coach.
• 12:51
  Is actually a template for other wedding pros to use if you click on it.
• 12:57
  And then on the bottom left you'll see, use this as a template.
• 13:01
  If you literally click there, it'll tell you, add your own media, and
• 13:04
  then it will make that same reel for you, but with your own content.
• 13:08
  So I think this is a really easy way.
• 13:10
  I love teaching people to use a template because what you can see, It takes you two
• 13:15
  minutes to make it, and then you're gonna see how much juice you get from that reel.
• 13:20
  It's, it's honestly incredible.
• 13:22
  When you post a reel, you're like, wait a second, I just got 400 views in an hour.
• 13:27
  You know?
• 13:27
  And you're like, what's happening?
• 13:28
  And so you start to really realize the power of the reel's algorithm.
• 13:32
  Becca: So it doesn't need to be complicated.
• 13:33
  It can be as simple as just sharing footage or images from a wedding you've
• 13:38
  recently worked at and using a template.
• 13:40
  Brandee: Yeah, and I think the template's the easiest way because
• 13:43
  you know, a lot of times, I, I tell people all the time, listen, reels
• 13:47
  can be as simple as literally grab your phone and then when you see maybe
• 13:51
  like the bride and groom do a first.
• 13:53
  Capture it on your phone and then make that into a seven second reel.
• 13:57
  But I think a lot of people as wedding pros, you know,
• 13:59
  we're so cautious of our grid.
• 14:01
  Like we get nervous that, oh, but I don't want iPhone footage or,
• 14:04
  you know, phone footage on my grid.
• 14:07
  Listen, reels are really meant to be more real.
• 14:10
  And so it's definitely okay to use phone footage, but I, I think the template
• 14:14
  makes it a little bit easier for people to baby step into because you can
• 14:18
  use more professional images with it.
• 14:20
  But guys, there's so many.
• 14:23
  You can make quick reels that don't ever even show your face.
• 14:27
  I think for like, let's say a florist, I love seeing behind the scenes of
• 14:32
  like a florist making a bouquet, right?
• 14:35
  Or processing flowers.
• 14:36
  You get all your flowers in, you've gotta process them.
• 14:39
  Or let's say a dj.
• 14:41
  Packing up all their equipment for wedding day.
• 14:44
  Like people love to see what you actually do behind the scenes
• 14:48
  cuz they see you at the wedding.
• 14:50
  You know, there's one DJ here, she always does reels of like, they're
• 14:53
  getting ready to go on site because there's so much that goes into it.
• 14:57
  You know, they've gotta have equipment, backup equipment, and then they've
• 14:59
  got to pack the truck and setting up.
• 15:01
  And it's really, it's very, very interesting for people to get
• 15:04
  to see what you're doing and what equipment you're bringing.
• 15:07
  So those are simple reels that don't even show your.
• 15:10
  Becca: Loads of great ideas in there for people to get started with.
• 15:13
  Now, the other question that people ask me quite regularly when it comes to this
• 15:17
  kind of thing is, how do I make sure that what I'm doing actually converts to sales?
• 15:22
  So I'm not just spending all of my time making content and making beautiful
• 15:25
  things for Instagram when I'm actually trying to run a business and make sales.
• 15:29
  So do you think reels can lead to sales?
• 15:31
  Do wedding couples look at reels and then buy, like how does
• 15:35
  the whole process integrate?
• 15:36
  Brandee: Yeah, that's such a great question, Becca.
• 15:39
  You know, I will tell you guys, it's funny that I teach on Instagram now
• 15:42
  because two years ago I didn't even have a personal Instagram and I had always
• 15:47
  outsourced blushes, social media, blushes, my planning company to someone else.
• 15:51
  I've never done my own social media prior to two years ago, cuz I hated
• 15:55
  Instagram for that exact same reason.
• 15:57
  It would be like, you know, you'd listen to an Instagram guru or an influencer
• 16:01
  come teach about Instagram and they.
• 16:04
  Tell you all these rules and hashtags and how many words and what time to post.
• 16:08
  And I was like, wow, I have a business to run.
• 16:10
  Like I do not have time for this.
• 16:12
  And so what I started to really think about two years ago as I started to
• 16:17
  see the market change, where it was like, listen, Paid publications are
• 16:21
  really not where it's at anymore.
• 16:23
  Like I want to be able to connect in real time with potential buyers
• 16:27
  right there on Instagram, right?
• 16:29
  And so I wanted to learn it myself.
• 16:32
  What I started to realize is that you have to have a strategy.
• 16:36
  It's not just a pretty place to post pictures and videos.
• 16:40
  If you don't have a strategy, you can post until you're purple.
• 16:44
  It's not gonna work.
• 16:45
  Like it's not gonna turn into sales.
• 16:46
  And as a business owner, I'm not trying to go viral.
• 16:49
  I'm not trying to make content that's gonna go viral.
• 16:51
  I really want to make content that turns into dollars.
• 16:55
  Right?
• 16:55
  And so what I want you to think about again, is kind of going
• 16:58
  back to that funnel analogy.
• 17:01
  I want you to think about if reels are top of funnel, how are you moving them
• 17:05
  through the funnel to become a buyer?
• 17:08
  Well, what I encourage you to do is I want you to make a piece of anchor content.
• 17:13
  So what does that look like?
• 17:14
  So that might be a blog on your website.
• 17:17
  I would say it should always be a blog on your website.
• 17:20
  Let me rephrase that.
• 17:21
  So you are gonna create a blog.
• 17:23
  Let's say that you create a blog that.
• 17:25
  You know, we're here in engagement season, so let's say it's what are the first three
• 17:29
  things you should do once you're engaged?
• 17:31
  Right now?
• 17:32
  Literally any kind of wedding pro can write a blog like this,
• 17:35
  and it's a, it's a very searched thing during engagement season.
• 17:38
  So first three things you should do once you're engaged, now you're gonna write
• 17:42
  that blog, you're gonna keep it simple, and then you're gonna make at least,
• 17:46
  Two reels about that exact same topic.
• 17:49
  One of them could be you literally talk to camera like you do on your stories,
• 17:54
  but you're gonna do it as a reel.
• 17:55
  And it would be, oh, you're engaged.
• 17:57
  So exciting.
• 17:58
  Here's the first three things you need to do.
• 17:59
  And you're literally just gonna name them.
• 18:01
  And then you're gonna say, go read our blog for more information.
• 18:05
  Right?
• 18:05
  Or more about this topic.
• 18:07
  And then you're.
• 18:08
  Another reel that might be like some different pictures of your couples,
• 18:12
  and you can say, you're engaged.
• 18:14
  Now what do you do?
• 18:15
  Here's the first three things that you should do, right?
• 18:17
  So two totally different kinds of reels, but you want to make sure that
• 18:20
  both of them in the caption has a call to action to go click the link
• 18:25
  in your bio to read more on your blog.
• 18:27
  Once you can get them to your blog, now you've got them right there.
• 18:31
  It's like having somebody at your front doorstep.
• 18:33
  All you have to do is bring them in because what you wanna do on your
• 18:37
  blog is you wanna make sure you say things like, if you're ready to, if
• 18:40
  you need help from a wedding planner or you're ready to book your dj,
• 18:44
  Click here to book a consult with us.
• 18:45
  You wanna make sure that's at the bottom of your blog, but you're really
• 18:49
  moving them through your funnel.
• 18:50
  The whole point of reels isn't to just show them pretty things, it's to become
• 18:55
  an expert, to show them how amazing you are at their work and to fill
• 18:59
  a pain point that they have, right?
• 19:01
  So you're wanting, they have a pain point, you've got the solution, and so you really
• 19:06
  want to make sure that your call to action is always, always, always to learn more.
• 19:11
  On your website, and that should be a blog.
• 19:13
  That's a great way to get them to your blog.
• 19:15
  So you don't wanna just have the strategy of like, post,
• 19:19
  no, that's not all we wanna do.
• 19:20
  We wanna post with strategy to move them to your website.
• 19:23
  Does that make sense?
• 19:24
  Becca: Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
• 19:25
  And I think it's really excellent advice because if you're posting, just because
• 19:29
  you're trying to post so many times a week and you're not thinking about why
• 19:32
  you're posting or what you're trying to get people to do next, what is the point?
• 19:35
  So I think that's a really, really great way to look at it.
• 19:38
  So how often then, I know it's the obvious question, but how often
• 19:42
  should be people be making reels?
• 19:45
  Brandee: Yeah, so my answer is always at a minimum of twice a week.
• 19:50
  And I know that sounds kind of like a lot, but if you're already creating content for
• 19:55
  Instagram, which I'm sure that you are.
• 19:57
  You can actually make reels way faster than you can make grid posts.
• 20:01
  Once you get the hang of it, it, it actually goes really, really quickly.
• 20:05
  I only teach wedding pros how to make reels that you can
• 20:08
  make in five minutes or less.
• 20:10
  I don't think that, you know, spending an hour on one reel is giving you the
• 20:14
  return on investment that it should.
• 20:16
  So I always want you to spend only five minutes making a reel now of.
• 20:21
  In the beginning, you're trying to kind of learn how the buttons work and things
• 20:24
  like that, so it might take you a few extra minutes, but once you get the hang
• 20:27
  of it, you're going to really be able to make five minute reels, and so I would
• 20:32
  love to see you make at least two a week.
• 20:35
  I would love to see it as you get better at it to make about three to four.
• 20:39
  And honestly, I would tell you.
• 20:41
  That you could replace your grid posts with reels.
• 20:44
  Now, if you love making grid posts, if you love making feed posts, that's fine.
• 20:48
  You're welcome to keep them.
• 20:50
  But once you start getting the hang of reels, you'll see how much faster
• 20:53
  that they are to make, and you can put them on your feet as well.
• 20:57
  And they're gonna get so much more interaction than
• 21:01
  those feed posts ever will.
• 21:03
  And so you'll start to see that and you'll become addicted pretty quickly.
• 21:06
  So two at a minimum, but three to four is
• 21:09
  Becca: ideal.
• 21:10
  I've got a question off of the back of something you just said to do with
• 21:13
  putting them on the grid post and replacing your grid posts with reels.
• 21:17
  So one question that I had from one of my members recently was if they make a
• 21:21
  reel, And they share it to their grid.
• 21:23
  Can they just use one of their beautiful photos as the cover image so that
• 21:28
  they keep that protected beautiful grid that they all want to keep?
• 21:32
  Brandee: 100%.
• 21:33
  That's a great question, Becca.
• 21:35
  And if you guys wanna see this in real time, I will tell you exactly how I do it.
• 21:39
  So on my coaching page, which is Brandee Gaar on Instagram, you'll see
• 21:44
  that I rarely use a cover on my reels.
• 21:46
  I l I tend to be very, very, Real and authentic over there, and I'm a little
• 21:52
  bit of a goofball, so I don't care what my grid looks like that much , and
• 21:55
  so I don't use covers that often.
• 21:57
  However, on blush, so we're at blush, B B G, on Instagram, you
• 22:03
  can go over and see the blush.
• 22:05
  Instagram we.
• 22:06
  Always put a cover.
• 22:08
  Like always put a cover because same, right?
• 22:11
  We're wedding professionals.
• 22:12
  We are tend to be a little bit more buttoned up over there.
• 22:15
  We cater to a luxury client and I do have to care what the
• 22:18
  aesthetic of my grid is over there.
• 22:20
  So what we do is I would tell you to do two different things.
• 22:23
  If you're posting a real wedding or something about your work,
• 22:28
  then I would use a professional.
• 22:30
  From that wedding, or even use, like let's say you do the example
• 22:35
  of you packing up your DJ and you're packing up for wedding day.
• 22:38
  I might put a professional image of you, like rocking out the dance floor as the
• 22:43
  cover or something like that, right?
• 22:45
  So that you've got a really great aesthetically pleasing cover.
• 22:48
  But if you're doing an educational reel, which I think you should
• 22:51
  do at least, at least once a week because it poses you as an expert.
• 22:55
  So an educational reel, meaning you're teaching engaged couples something, right.
• 23:00
  Then I would make the cover.
• 23:02
  Something pretty and on brand, but I would make it in Canva and I would say what
• 23:07
  question you're answering or what pain point you're answering on that cover.
• 23:11
  Because when people come to your profile to binge more of your reels,
• 23:15
  like they see one, they come and they wanna binge more of them.
• 23:18
  You want them to see what topics you're covering and so that they can quickly
• 23:23
  binge the ones that they wanna see.
• 23:24
  Right?
• 23:24
  And so that, that's really important, is to make sure if
• 23:27
  you're answering a question, that you make a cover that tells.
• 23:31
  What you're talking about in that reel.
• 23:32
  Becca: Love that loads and loads of helpful tips in there.
• 23:34
  Now I'm gonna let the listeners into a bit of a secret brandy, because I wanna
• 23:38
  share something with you that you may or may not have noticed from my world.
• 23:42
  So for those people listening, this is actually the second time
• 23:45
  that we've had this conversation.
• 23:47
  So a couple of weeks ago, me and Brandee did this podcast recording.
• 23:50
  It was a great conversation, all about reels and some, for some
• 23:53
  reason, the technology fail.
• 23:55
  And it didn't record, which is why we're back again now.
• 23:58
  Now in that conversation, I was very honest with Brandy and I said, I
• 24:02
  don't do reels very much, and I know I need to be doing them more, and I
• 24:05
  feel like it's just too much effort.
• 24:07
  Well, since we had that conversation a few weeks ago, I think I've
• 24:11
  actually made seven new reels myself.
• 24:15
  Yeah, I've made 70 reels and they have reached thousands.
• 24:19
  Of people.
• 24:20
  So this works and it isn't as complicated as it needed to be.
• 24:24
  And all I am doing on my reels is I'm going, I'm hitting
• 24:27
  record, I'm giving one tip.
• 24:29
  There's no background music, there's no dancing, there's no nothing.
• 24:32
  It's just me talking with some captions and a cover with the, with the question
• 24:36
  on it, and people are loving it.
• 24:39
  So Brandy, thank you and to everyone else.
• 24:42
  Listen to what she's teaching you today and realize it
• 24:45
  doesn't have to be that hard.
• 24:46
  It really is simple and it really is addictive and it does get you the results.
• 24:50
  Brandee: It's addictive because all of a sudden you start seeing new followers,
• 24:54
  you start getting engagement on your wheels, you get all these views, right?
• 24:58
  And I love what you just said, Becca, because it's so funny.
• 25:01
  People will say to me, but why can't I just do a story if I'm just gonna
• 25:05
  sit down and talk to the camera?
• 25:06
  Why can't I just do that as a story?
• 25:08
  That is what I want you to think about.
• 25:09
  I want you to think about it as it's as simple as doing a story,
• 25:13
  but remember, stories only get shown to a percentage of your followers.
• 25:18
  People already have to be following you to watch your stories.
• 25:21
  Reels are being shown to new people, and that's what we want is to always
• 25:25
  be bringing in new I star platforms.
• 25:27
  So think about it like it's as simple as doing a.
• 25:30
  You're gonna make it as a real, and Oh, Becca, that makes me so happy to hear you
• 25:34
  say, because I love that you just told them like how simple it really, really
• 25:39
  can be and how valuable they really are.
• 25:43
  Becca: Yeah.
• 25:43
  And how many people they reach like, Honestly, I was actually joking with
• 25:47
  some friends because we went out to this Girls shopping evening the other
• 25:50
  night to buy some gifts and a couple of them were like, we keep seeing your
• 25:53
  face and we keep seeing your reels.
• 25:55
  And I was like, I know.
• 25:56
  And they, they said, do many people watch them?
• 25:58
  I was like, well, sometimes they reach 3000 people.
• 26:01
  I was like, imagine if I was saying that on a stage to 3000 people.
• 26:06
  And they're like, it just blew their mind and it blows my mind.
• 26:09
  And actually, yeah, it's the way to reach people and my stories never.
• 26:14
  3000 people, right?
• 26:15
  Brandee: Please, no mine either.
• 26:17
  No.
• 26:17
  I mean, I, I'm lucky if I get, you know, two or 300 views on my stories, which is
• 26:22
  crazy cuz I have, what, 4,600 followers And I, I get excited when I get 300
• 26:26
  views on a story, which is ridiculous.
• 26:28
  And so this is something I do wanna encourage you guys.
• 26:31
  A lot of times you'll hear people say like, oh, I got 3000 views
• 26:34
  on a reel, 4,000 views on a reel.
• 26:36
  It's okay if a reel only hits 5, 6, 700 views as well.
• 26:40
  Because listen, I promise you, there's not a single feed post or story post you've
• 26:45
  ever made that have seen that many views.
• 26:47
  And so even when a reel does, Not great.
• 26:50
  Right?
• 26:50
  Under a thousand views.
• 26:51
  I have tons of reels that get under a thousand views.
• 26:54
  I don't care.
• 26:54
  I keep making them.
• 26:55
  I actually just had a client the other day tell me that they found us through reels.
• 27:00
  They literally were like, we saw your reels, and you kept coming
• 27:04
  back up and kept coming back up.
• 27:05
  So then we started following you, and then we were like, we love this girl.
• 27:08
  And so we booked you and I.
• 27:10
  You're kidding me?
• 27:11
  Like I need you to say that on video for me,
• 27:14
  . Becca: Yeah, it really does work.
• 27:16
  And that's interesting as well, talking about views because it
• 27:19
  does feel like it's a bit random.
• 27:21
  That is one of my learnings from the last few weeks, is that sometimes I
• 27:24
  can give a tip and it can reach 2000 people, and then the next day I'll
• 27:27
  give a tip and it reaches 200 people and it doesn't seem to be a reason why
• 27:32
  Brandee: you know, I would agree with you, and I'd love to tell you,
• 27:35
  oh, Becca, if you do it this way and you say it this time and you post it
• 27:38
  this time, it'll totally take off.
• 27:40
  But if you even watch some of the Instagram influencers, I, I follow a lot
• 27:44
  of influencers so that I can take what they're telling people, kind of understand
• 27:48
  it, use it, and then bring it back to the wedding market in a way that works for us.
• 27:52
  And it's so funny, everybody's kind of like, Instagram is a total guessing game
• 27:56
  at this point because they're trying so hard to figure out how to battle TikTok.
• 28:02
  You know, they're not TikTok, they're Instagram, and so it changes when
• 28:06
  I tell you it changes daily, like no one ever knows what's going on.
• 28:11
  And so what I would tell you is don't get caught up in the views.
• 28:15
  Don't get caught up in all of the insights post consistently.
• 28:20
  Just post consistently.
• 28:21
  If you can do twice a week and you consistently post,
• 28:24
  I promise you I've seen it.
• 28:26
  I've had hundreds of students go use my real traffic toolkit.
• 28:30
  Dozens and dozens of students in my accelerator that this works for.
• 28:34
  I'm telling you guys, consistency trumps any algorithm any day.
• 28:38
  So consistently post, keep showing up, hit the pain points of your engaged couples.
• 28:43
  You know what they're asking, right?
• 28:45
  You know what they're asking you talk to them all the time.
• 28:47
  Um, Just hit their pain points post consistently.
• 28:50
  I promise you, you will see a return in your business.
• 28:54
  Yes.
• 28:54
  Becca: And if I can do it, then you can do it as well.
• 28:57
  Now, one of the things I've had to get over with my own reels, and I know this
• 29:01
  is something that people are gonna be struggling with too, is that feeling
• 29:04
  of perfectionism, having to make it perfect and therefore never, ever posting
• 29:09
  anything because it's not perfect.
• 29:10
  Like any tips on how to kind of get over.
• 29:13
  Brandee: You know?
• 29:14
  Yes.
• 29:15
  Honestly, the only way I can tell you to get over it is you just have to start
• 29:19
  doing it because you know it's funny, I.
• 29:22
  Beg people to go back to the beginning of my Instagram and see my reels because
• 29:26
  they were so, so cringey and so cringey because I was so uncomfortable on camera
• 29:33
  and no, people do not believe me now.
• 29:35
  And I get it.
• 29:36
  Like I see people that are, you know, doing something I wanna be able to do, and
• 29:39
  they're like, it wasn't always this way.
• 29:40
  I'm like, sure it wasn't.
• 29:41
  But I genuinely would hyperventilate, like I threw up the first time I did a live,
• 29:47
  I, I was very nervous to be on camera.
• 29:49
  But I knew I had to do it.
• 29:52
  And so it's kind of like, you know, your business finances, right?
• 29:56
  Like most of us get into the industry because we're great at planning
• 29:59
  or being a DJ or whatever it is.
• 30:01
  And then you realize, oh, junk.
• 30:02
  Like I have to actually know how to do taxes.
• 30:05
  And business finance, you have to learn it cuz you don't have a choice, right?
• 30:08
  You're running a business.
• 30:09
  It's the same thing with reels.
• 30:11
  You, you just have to do it.
• 30:13
  The more you do it, the better you will get at it.
• 30:17
  Kinda like Becca said when you said your friends were like, oh, I keep seeing you.
• 30:21
  Honestly, I think that was probably the most uncomfortable part of my journey
• 30:24
  when I started showing up on reels.
• 30:26
  My friends would be like, oh, I saw this reel.
• 30:29
  I was like, Ugh.
• 30:31
  And so I would freak out and be like, oh, I don't wanna do it, but you know what?
• 30:34
  I'm reaching my ideal clients and I know I am.
• 30:37
  And so you just have to do.
• 30:39
  It will be awful at first.
• 30:41
  You will feel ridiculous.
• 30:42
  You will feel ridiculous.
• 30:43
  Post it anyway.
• 30:44
  Post it anyway.
• 30:46
  And you will keep getting better and you'll get addicted to the numbers.
• 30:49
  You will.
• 30:50
  Yeah.
• 30:50
  Becca: And it is embarrassing when your friends say, Hey, I saw you on the reels,
• 30:54
  but you just, it's so embarrassing.
• 30:55
  So let it go.
• 30:56
  Let it go.
• 30:57
  And actually, here's another funny story my granddad said to.
• 31:01
  I just keep wondering what on earth you're talking about.
• 31:04
  I was like, don't worry, granddad is not for you.
• 31:07
  Brandee: isn't that so funny?
• 31:07
  And that's the thing is you have to understand like
• 31:10
  they're not your ideal client.
• 31:12
  But yes, my father-in-law said the same thing.
• 31:14
  He was like, I saw you like dancing with a bottle of champagne
• 31:18
  or something the other day.
• 31:20
  And I was like, oh my gosh, this is so embarrassing.
• 31:22
  But I knew that it was reaching the right people and he's just not the right person.
• 31:27
  And so you kinda have to let that.
• 31:29
  You're going to get that you guys, but it's okay.
• 31:32
  Just keep doing it because it is going to give you the return.
• 31:36
  I promise you.
• 31:37
  I wish I could shake people sometimes, like wedding pros and be like,
• 31:39
  please do this for your business.
• 31:42
  Please do it.
• 31:43
  Here's the really cool part, once you start mastering it, I kind of
• 31:46
  talked about this in the beginning.
• 31:48
  Every major platform has short form video.
• 31:50
  Now, you can literally take that same video, put it on TikTok, put
• 31:54
  it on YouTube shorts, put it on Facebook, put it on Pinterest.
• 31:58
  That's, that's a different level.
• 31:59
  I'm not gonna tell you to do that in the beginning, but it makes, you are
• 32:02
  now covering every platform and you're getting this juice from every platform.
• 32:06
  It's crazy what you can do with short form videos, so don't miss this train.
• 32:10
  Becca: Yeah.
• 32:11
  And actually for every one embarrassing person saying something, there's
• 32:15
  hundreds of others who are watching it and actually being helped by it.
• 32:18
  Your ideal, your ideal client are loving it.
• 32:20
  And people have said to me, oh, that tip today was really helpful.
• 32:23
  That really transformed my thinking that really helped me today.
• 32:26
  And it's those voices you need to listen to, not the ones telling you.
• 32:30
  What an earth are you doing on Instagram?
• 32:32
  Brandee: That's exactly right.
• 32:33
  Becca: I love, I love it.
• 32:34
  Now, Brandy, I want to, encourage the listeners to do
• 32:38
  a bit of being active, right?
• 32:40
  And to go out and make their first reel or their next reel.
• 32:43
  So we've talked about templates.
• 32:45
  Is there another kind of reel that we can challenge them?
• 32:47
  Give this one a go this week and then show us what you achieve.
• 32:50
  Brandee: Yes, I would love to challenge your listeners.
• 32:52
  So I want them to do basically what you just talked about, Becca.
• 32:57
  Like I just want you to go to good lighting.
• 33:00
  Okay?
• 33:00
  So you don't need a ring light, you don't need any fancy equipment.
• 33:03
  You just need your phone and a window on a, on a sunny day, and you make sure
• 33:08
  that the light is hitting your face.
• 33:09
  You want good lighting, you don't wanna be in a dark room,
• 33:12
  and I want you to just give.
• 33:14
  Tip, we are in engagement season, you guys.
• 33:16
  So this should be really easy.
• 33:18
  Okay?
• 33:18
  So like, give one tip on the first thing you need to do when you're engaged, or,
• 33:24
  a great one too, would be like questions to ask your dj, your florist, your
• 33:28
  planner, right before you book them.
• 33:30
  That's a really easy one.
• 33:31
  Here's three questions to ask before you book your dj, right?
• 33:35
  Whatever you are.
• 33:36
  And then you can say, you can check out our website for more information
• 33:39
  about what we do or whatever, right?
• 33:41
  I just want you to do a talking.
• 33:44
  No more than 15 seconds.
• 33:45
  Okay, so I'm gonna challenge you to keep it at 15 seconds.
• 33:48
  Reels allows you to do all the way up to 90 seconds, but talking head
• 33:51
  videos don't need to be that long.
• 33:53
  So 15 seconds.
• 33:54
  Give us one tip and just straight to camera.
• 33:57
  And if you tag me, I'm at Brandee Gaar and Becca, do you
• 34:01
  want them to tag you as well?
• 34:02
  Yeah, tag me as well.
• 34:04
  Yes, and then I'll share it.
• 34:06
  I'd love to share it so that you can get even more juice.
• 34:08
  And I'd love to, to share and just say, you know, this is a
• 34:11
  great tip from such and such a company, so please go make a reel.
• 34:15
  I'm telling you, you will love it once you do it the first time.
• 34:18
  Becca: Yes, and if you are sat listening to this now and thinking already, oh,
• 34:22
  I'd love to do that, but I don't think that's for me, then I wanna challenge you.
• 34:25
  Take a step out of your comfort zone, give it a try, and do tag us
• 34:28
  so that we can see it, because we would both love to celebrate you
• 34:31
  and say, yes, you did a good job.
• 34:33
  Keep it going.
• 34:34
  That's right.
• 34:35
  Brandee you have given us so many great tips on reels.
• 34:38
  I, for one, am sold.
• 34:40
  As I said, I've been working on it since we spoke last and I'm
• 34:43
  definitely gonna keep on doing that.
• 34:44
  Before we finish the conversation though, I.
• 34:47
  End with the same question on my podcast, which is this.
• 34:51
  What's the one thing you wish you'd known sooner in your own business?
• 34:54
  Brandee: I think it just goes back to my kind of origin story, which
• 34:57
  is I wish I would've understood how to build a business, like
• 35:02
  a business from the beginning.
• 35:04
  You know, like I wish I would've understood just.
• 35:07
  How to build a business strategically right from the beginning.
• 35:10
  So I could have saved myself a lot of heartache, but you
• 35:12
  know, I live and learn, right?
• 35:14
  So I, I definitely feel like that's something I wish I would've known sooner
• 35:17
  was your business needs to be able to operate without you being involved.
• 35:22
  In it on a daily basis.
• 35:24
  Becca: Yeah, a hundred percent.
• 35:25
  Brandee, it's been such a pleasure to talk to you.
• 35:27
  Hopefully all the text work this time and everyone's gonna be able
• 35:30
  to hear this marvelous episode.
• 35:32
  Now, I'll make sure that I share your Instagram links in the show notes, but if
• 35:36
  people wanna learn more about reels or.
• 35:38
  Have some more help.
• 35:39
  Is there anywhere specifically where they should be going?
• 35:41
  Brandee: Yes, absolutely.
• 35:42
  If you head over to brandeegaar.com/reels, you can actually grab a freebie
• 35:48
  that I have for you guys.
• 35:49
  It's a hundred reels ideas for Wedding Pros, so it's
• 35:53
  specifically for wedding pros.
• 35:55
  You can go through the entire document, it'll help you get
• 35:58
  your creative juices flowing.
• 35:59
  There's also some tips in there on making great reels, and so I'd
• 36:03
  love for you guys to go grab that.
• 36:04
  It's totally free.
• 36:05
  Just brandeegaar.com/reels.
• 36:07
  Becca: Amazing.
• 36:08
  Everyone go download that resource.
• 36:10
  It's gonna be so helpful for you, and that's gonna help you
• 36:12
  decide on what reels to make.
• 36:14
  And don't forget to tag us in them.
• 36:16
  Brandy, thank you for your time and when those fireworks
• 36:18
  go off tonight, think of me.
• 36:20
  Brandee: I don't.
• 36:20
  I definitely will
• 36:22
  Becca: take care and we'll seek soon.
• 36:23
  Brandee: Thanks Becca.
• 36:24
  Becca: I absolutely love that conversation with Brandy.
• 36:27
  If you are not yet making reels consistently, take
• 36:29
  her advice and go get them.
• 36:32
  I'll be back next week.
• 36:33
  I'll see you then.