Happy Wednesday! I hope your week is off to a great start and you aren’t too caught up in all the TikTok drama. Yes, it’s important to keep an eye on, but life/work must go on!

Here’s the latest on what’s happening with TikTok from USA Today. I shared my thoughts on the whole situation in last week’s newsletter. While it’s confusing, frustrating and even scary for creators who make a living on TikTok, I still hold out hope that the ban won’t actually happen.

But enough about TikTok for now. I suspect next week’s newsletter will be a big update on what happens, so we’ll save any more conversation on it until then.

This week I’m talking about Instagram and one under-utilized tool that can help you boost engagement AND gain key insight into your audience/market.

Let's be honest: we've all been there, mindlessly tapping through Instagram Stories when suddenly—bam!—a poll catches our eye, and before we know it, we're voting on whether pineapple belongs on pizza (to be clear, it doesn’t… fight me). But here's the thing: those seemingly simple yes-or-no questions are actually social media gold, and if you're not using them in your Instagram strategy, you're missing out on some serious engagement opportunities.

Think of Instagram polls as the digital equivalent of raising hands in a crowded room—except nobody has to worry about being the only one with their arm up. They're the perfect low-effort, high-impact way to get your audience involved. And let me tell you, people absolutely love sharing their opinions, especially when it only takes a single tap.

But it's not just about collecting random votes. When you use polls strategically, you're essentially having a conversation with your entire audience at once. Imagine hosting a focus group with thousands of participants, all while wearing your pajamas—that's the power of Instagram polls.

Creating an effective poll is like crafting the perfect tweet—it needs to be snappy, engaging, and impossible to ignore. Here's where many people go wrong: they overthink it. You don't need to ask profound questions about the meaning of life (though that could be interesting). Sometimes the simplest polls get the best engagement:

The key is making your polls feel less like a survey and more like a conversation with a friend. Add some personality! Instead of "Do you like this product?" try "Is this product giving main character energy or what?"

Let's break down some poll ideas by niche, shall we?

For food bloggers: Instead of just asking "Spicy or mild?" get specific and fun with it: "Can you handle the heat, or are you more of a 'please don't hurt me' kind of eater?"

For fitness coaches: Rather than the basic "Cardio or weights?" try "Quick poll: Are you Team 'Running is Life' or Team 'I Only Run When Chased'?"

For e-commerce: Instead of "Which product should we restock?" make it exciting: "Emergency restock needed! Should we bring back the sold-out sparkly phone cases or the rainbow laptop stands first?"

Here's where the magic happens. Once you've got people voting, you've got a goldmine of content possibilities. Did 70% of your audience choose spicy food? Time to break out that nuclear-level hot sauce recipe (with appropriate warnings, of course). Did everyone vote for morning workouts? Create a "Rise and Grind" series that speaks to your early bird audience.

Want to take your poll game to the next level? Here's a pro tip that most people miss: use polls as storytelling devices. Create a series of interconnected polls that tell a story throughout the day. Start with "Should I try this new coffee shop?" and end with "Should I order a second cup?" Your audience becomes invested in the journey, not just the individual questions.

Keep an eye on your Story analytics—they're telling you more than just numbers. If your "Would you wear this?" polls are getting twice the engagement of your "Would you eat this?" polls, well... maybe it's time to pivot from food blogging to fashion influencing (kidding, mostly).

Instagram polls are like the Swiss Army knife of social media tools—versatile, effective, and somehow still underutilized by many creators. They're not just engagement boosters; they're community builders, market research tools, and content inspiration generators all rolled into one tappable package.

So next time you're crafting your Stories, remember: a well-placed poll could be the difference between crickets and conversations. And isn't conversation what social media is all about? (That's a rhetorical question—no poll needed.)

Remember to have fun with it. After all, if you're not enjoying creating your polls, your audience probably won't enjoy answering them.

Remember when seeing your favorite social media personality rave about a product felt like getting a hot tip from a trusted friend? Those days seem about as distant as MySpace and dial-up internet. Today's social media landscape looks more like a never-ending infomercial, with every scroll revealing another perfectly posed product placement or suspiciously enthusiastic endorsement.

Welcome to the age of influencer fatigue, where that "authentic" review of yet another charcoal face mask might just be the last straw that sends us all into a collective eye-roll.

Let's be honest: we've all become human-sized ad blockers, mentally filtering out content faster than you can say "swipe up to shop." It's not that we don't want recommendations – we do! But when every other post is tagged with #ad or #sponsored, even the most charismatic influencers start to sound like used car salespeople at a Black Friday event.

What's particularly fascinating (and by fascinating, I mean concerning) is watching different influencers push identical products with eerily similar enthusiasm. "This changed my life!" they all exclaim, somehow using the same exact phrases about everything from vitamin gummies to vacuum cleaners. It's like watching a game of marketing telephone where authenticity got lost somewhere between the brief and the Instagram story.

Here's where things get interesting: while mega-influencers with their perfect feeds and professional lighting are seeing engagement drop, creators showing their unfiltered, messy lives are thriving. That food blogger who sometimes burns dinner? The parent influencer who occasionally loses it over their kids' mess? They're the ones building genuine connections.

Think about it: when was the last time you felt genuinely moved by a perfectly curated feed? Now compare that to how you felt watching someone share their honest struggles with work-life balance or their hilariously failed attempt at a viral recipe.

The erosion of trust hasn't happened overnight. It's been a slow drip of revelations: undisclosed partnerships, photoshopped results, and products that didn't quite live up to the hype. Remember that infamous detox tea scandal? Or the luxury festival that turned into Lord of the Flies with influencers? Each incident has been another crack in the foundation of influencer marketing.

If there's a silver lining to this influence-pocalypse, it's the rise of micro-influencers. These smaller creators, often experts in specific niches, are proving that when it comes to influence, bigger isn't always better. Their engagement rates often dwarf those of their more famous counterparts, probably because it's easier to trust someone who feels like a neighbor rather than a celebrity.

For brands and creators alike, the writing is on the perfectly filtered wall: change or become irrelevant. The future of influence isn't about more content – it's about better content. Think long-term partnerships that feel genuine, stories that resonate beyond the "buy now" button, and content that adds value beyond just pushing products.

Some industry watchers are already predicting a return to brand-driven storytelling, arguing that the era of individual influencers might be waning. But perhaps what we're really seeing is an evolution rather than an extinction. The influencers who survive this shift will be those who remember why people followed them in the first place: for their authentic voices, not their ability to sell.

The influencer bubble hasn't burst, but it's definitely springing some leaks. As consumers become more sophisticated and skeptical, the path forward isn't about influencing harder – it's about influencing smarter. Maybe it's time for everyone – brands, creators, and platforms – to take a deep breath and remember that the best influence doesn't feel like influence at all.

What do you think? Are you experiencing influencer fatigue? Has your trust in social media recommendations changed over the past few years? Reply to this email to let me know your thoughts!

Wondering how you’re doing on the social media front? We’ve got you covered! We’re offering you a FREE social media audit of all your profiles!

We’ll take a deep dive into your accounts, looking at your profile setup and how your posts are doing. We’ll then provide you expert feedback and recommendations to help take your accounts to the next level.

Interested? Get in touch today!