Instagram made a MAJOR reveal via founder Adam Mosseri on June 30: “We are no longer just a photo-sharing app.” Instagram has grown so much from its launch in 2010, adding on Video, Stories, IGTV, Lives, Shopping, and now Reels and Guides. There are so many facets to this app, which is why it’s my number one recommended marketing tool for race car drivers and teams.

Here I’ll be sharing some of my favorite ways to use these unique Instagram features to stand out from the other drag racers on the platform. Let me know in the comments which feature is your favorite these days!

Instagram Reels and IGTV

They said it: Instagram is becoming a video-focused platform to compete with YouTube and TikTok. So if you want to grow, you’re going to have to level up (or simply start) your video game.

Reels are an easy and effective way to get discovered by brand-new fans and potential sponsors. Use them to entertain and educate your audience and the cold audience (people that don’t know you) that will find you for the first time on the Reels Discover Feed.

Then, take that same piece of content you condensed into a Reel and expand it into a full IGTV! If that Reel got a lot of interest and comments and questions, you know that a deep-dive of the topic in an IGTV will be great to keep your audience interested. 

I suggest going live at least once a month to say hi to your fans and answer some questions with them. As you know, I go live once a week alternating between Facebook and Instagram. While I was driving, I would answer any racing questions that the fans commented with, but now I have turned my lives into mini-trainings. I create an outline before-hand of what I want to talk about so that way I have structure and I’m not rambling.

Feel free to put up a post letting your audience know you plan to go live this week and have them prepare questions for you to answer in the video! Lives get lots of engagement and will boost your ranking with the algorithm.

Instagram Stories and Highlights

Stories continue to reign supreme as a connection tool with cold and warm audiences on Instagram. Use Stories to show off your personality and do some behind-the-scenes content to bring your brand to life, especially when you’re at a race. Face-to-camera shots and chats about how it’s going in the pits are always a winner, and don’t you forget to use those engagement tactics! 

Save those Stories that are worth more than 24-hours by adding them to your Highlights. If you’re like me, you check out an account’s Highlights before ever hitting that follow button. Give your fans and sponsors exactly what they’re looking for with well curated and maintained Highlights. Show off the brands you love (aka sponsors), upcoming and past races, and any get-to-know-you information you want new people to have right off the bat.

Use highlights to show more of your personality to relate better with a cold audience and share the little things that make you stand out from the competition. I suggest having one highlight for each of your content categories. Always try to keep an open mind when you review your highlights, the people watching them for the first time have no idea who you are, so does the highlight follow a storyline or is it random 15 second clips that you pieced together that don’t make any sense?

Your Bio

Such valuable Instagram real estate, so often under-used! Your bio has got to catch and hold the attention of your target audience. Include things like:

• Your biggest accomplishment
• Any race/location/track/series you’re tied to
• Your sponsor and/or your team
• A CTA link to your website

That website spot (aka link in bio) is so important!! Feature your website about me page, the latest interview, your YouTube channel, your email newsletter signup, check out your merchandise for sale, or anything else you want people to go see. Have multiple links always in action? A LinkTree might be great for you.

Guides

Guides are the most underrated tool on Instagram right now. They came out basically at the same time as Reels so they didn’t get much time in the spotlight, but they are so helpful and powerful for your brand! 

Think of them as a collection of posts, like a blog category or topic header. You can gather so much relevant information for your potential followers.

Use these to categorize your posts by race events based on location or by topics like different tires you run or track surfaces. The more specific you get with your guides and the posts you include, the longer someone will stay on your profile.

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Instagram continues to be the King of the social media marketing game for drag racers. If you’re ready to level up your social media in order to get more fans and sponsors, your next step is to come hang with me at my FREE live workshop! Join me on July 26 or 27 to hear all about the power and benefits of social media as a way to make the money you dream of as a drag racer. See you there!