A Simple Guide To The Instagram Sales 'Funnel'...

In the last few years, Instagram has really changed how brands and businesses (of any size) can connect with their audiences. Having an understanding of the new 'funnel' or ideal customer journey can help you guide people to your work... if it's the right fit for them.

This post explains how to use reels, posts and stories to create an authentic funnel that feels good for both you and your community. I'll explain how the funnel works and what kind of content to put in each format (reel, post, story).

I've also got a short video overview here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLStfehqVbX/

Understanding the Instagram 'Sales Funnel'

The Instagram sales funnel for business will guide people through four steps: awareness, consideration, conversion, and retention. To do this, we need different types of content, and you'll have heard me talk about Growth, Nurture and Sales content in these posts.

The funnel or process can be loosely seen like this:

Reels = Awareness (New Followers) = Growth Content

Posts = Consideration (Existing Community) = Nurture Content

Stories = Conversion (Warmest Contacts) = Sales Content

Awareness is the first stage, where people discover you. Reels are the best way to reach new people as reels under 3 minutes (correct at time of writing, June 2025) will potentially be pushed out to non-followers.

However, this depends on how the first few people seeing it (your followers) react and engage. If they like it, the algorithm sees the content as valuable and tries showing it to more people. It's as simple as that.

Nurturing Your Community Relationships

As users become aware of your brand, they move into the consideration stage. Engagement (likes, comments and shares) here will really make a difference to how many more people are shown your content.

This stage can really be supported by 'Nurture' posts - places where you really add value without asking for anything in return (except perhaps an opinion, an opportunity for people to feel heard!)

Ideas for posts can be found in this blog post I wrote recently: Ideas for Engaging Instagram Posts in 2025

On the whole, these grid posts (single image and carousel) are not for sales, they're for 'value-add'.

The exception is when you have a really good offer for someone (this turns sales into more of a value-add). For example, I recently posted a 25% off code for my community to buy tickets to an event I'm speaking at. To be honest, this was as much an info post (telling people about the event) as sales, because I'm a speaker rather than the organiser. This meant there was no 'pushy' energy behind it. I also think it's genuinely a great offer that lots of my ideal clients would enjoy.

When I do post sales content, I always try and phrase it as information rather than a request.

Stories for Sales

Because I work with service-based businesses, 95% of the time our sales call-to-actions are booking links or direct messaging to organise a call or appointment. (If you have an online product shop, this might look a bit different.)

The place to put these links is in your STORIES. (As well as having a clear link in your bio...)

Stories are for your warmest, most engaged people who are likely to be repeat clients. They may also be people who recommend you to others... either way, this is where you make your offers and service details really clear and easy to access (including dates and pricing). USE THE LINK!

(If you don't know what I'm talking about... Instagram Stories have an option to add a 'Sticker' link with a URL that takes people off the app and onto your website of choice. So, this is where I would put my booking page or service details page etc.)

I also use my stories to share new blog posts, which isn't sales but is a value-add that transfers my warmest contacts to my website. They get a longer-form content with high value and I have more people exploring my website (good for SEO and bookings).

Stories for Engagement

I also use stories to show the informal 'behind the scenes' kind of content (mostly dogs and beaches in my case...) This allows a personal touch and also encourages engagement.

The 'Question' or 'Poll' sticker is also great here as it cues your community to engage. Instagram also loves it when you use their little tools...

Because of this, my stories are a balance of very informal (not at all sales) content, and relaxed sales links that feel more like sending a link to a friend. Genuinely helpful because they might want to visit it and find out more...

Use Direct Messages

Stories are also a wonderful gateway into direct messaging. When appropriate, it can be useful to get in touch with people who have shown an interest in an event or service and ask them if they need any more info, or whether you can help them to make their decision.

I struggled to feel brave enough to do this in the past because I was worried it would seem to 'salesy', but a useful reframe with my coach helped me get through that. More about that here.

The Funnel is Helpful!

If the idea of a sales funnel seems icky and manipulative, try thinking of it as a breadcrumb trail or helpful signposting for your ideal clients and customers.

It's only 'too much' or unhelpful if you are bombarding people or making them feel pushed or hassled. If you are simply creating an easy path for them to follow rather than a confusing maze, you are genuinely doing them a favour and they will be grateful for it.

Reminder:

Reels = Awareness (New Followers) = Growth Content

Posts = Consideration (Existing Community) = Nurture Content

Stories = Conversion (Warmest Contacts) = Sales Content

If you'd like to chat more about this ethical marketing ethos, get in touch!

hello@strengthinfeathers.com or Instagram message: @strength_in_feathers

Hope this helps,

Emily xx