Behind the Feed with Rosemary Watson: Instagram, Success & Business

I am very excited to be talking with Rosemary Watson. This woman is a powerhouse. Continue reading to hear about her passion for Instagram, photography and helping small businesses nail it online.

Hi Rosemary! First and foremost, can you tell us about yourself and your business so we can get to know you?

Hello there! I’m Rosemary Watson, a mother of 6 and a work from home wife who helps business owners to stop trying to do all the things, and just focus on what THEY are good at.

I have all sorts of solutions for my client’s problems, from one on one services, to styled stock photography and courses to help them take shortcuts to more success.

I can only imagine how filled your days must be. Can you talk us through a typical day in the life of Rosemary Watson? (i.e. do you sleep?)

My days are rarely the same- and no, I don’t really sleep a whole lo I haven’t slept a full 8 hours in like a decade, and I’ve used that to my advantage. The middle of the night is when I can actually get the most focused work done.

I spend my early mornings helping my husband get most of our kids out the door to school, and then I usually sit down to do focused work around 8 am. I really don’t have set times I stop working- I just do all the things I need to do in between tasks or while I’m doing other things. It’s definitely not for everyone, but it works for me and my family at this point in our lives. My kids know that they can come sit on my lap while I’m typing up emails or doing a live broadcast, as long as they are quiet. Everyone has really adjusted to this merged lifestyle, and because I work so hard constantly- it’s easier for me to dedicate a couple of hours seeing Beauty and the Beast with my mom and sisters, or take my kids to the pool. The people in my life need attention, just like my work does- it’s just a matter of constantly gauging where I need to focus on that specific day or week.

I’ve actually just lately really embraced Gary Vaynerchuck’s idea of Documenting for content, and I’ve really focused my Instagram Stories content on showing what my day to day life looks like. There’s a lot of clients and meetings, and projects, but there’s also a lot of kids and cooking, and other things I love too. The thing is, I am head over heels in love with what I do, so it’s really easy for me to blur those lines.

To me you are a true boss lady. I think we all want to know: What is your biggest time management advice to get sh*t done?

My biggest time management advice for people would be to start finding those little bits of wasted time you have throughout your day and make them work for you. People ALWAYS tell me they don’t have time for stuff- but you can listen to podcasts or audiobooks while you’re at the gym, driving, cleaning your house, folding laundry, doing yard work. You can stay up an hour later, or get up an hour earlie You can watch only ONE episode of The Walking Dead instead of four, and then go back to work. You can pick one day of the week and make it a working meal. You don’t have to become a robot, but if you just dedicated one Lunch hour per week, you may have learned how to use photoshop after just one month of practice through lunches.

Let’s talk about your Instagram journey. How long have you been on Instagram and what made you decide to stick to this platform?

I’ve been on Instagram for about 5 years now, but I wasn’t using it intentionally until March 2016. I had gathered about 4,000 followers in those first 4 years just through being a photographer and being on Rhonna Farrer (of the app Rhonna Designs) Design Team but didn’t post with any consistency, rhyme, or reason. Finally a year ago, I knew I wanted to grow my brand on Instagram and that I was going to dedicate some serious effort towards making it the best I possibly could. Within 7 months I had grown to 10K followers, and I just passed the 13K mark, so I grew over 9K in a year. I chose this platform because my business is visual, and this platform was the natural match to it. I wanted to promote my Stock Brand Subscription, and being able to curate images and share some photos of myself mixed in with the stock images and have it be super cohesive.

You are very passionate about helping business besties nail their Instagram game (I love you for that). Why do you think Instagram is a must-have for a small business?

I actually think that Instagram is only good, if that’s where your Ideal Client is. If you are a business and you are trying to sell to 15-25 year olds, you’ll probably get more traction on Snapchat. If you are trying to market to 55-65 year olds, you should focus your efforts on Facebook. But if your ideal client is anywhere from 25-45, then Instagram should be your core platform. It’s not a hard and fast rule, just the age ranges, but I think the most important thing is to know WHO you are trying to sell to, and WHERE their attention is. I know for a fact my clients are spending a LOT of their day on Instagram, and I know that because I ask them. I follow them on as many social channels as I can, and I gauge where I can post the most effective content. If your clients are on Instagram, then go all in.

I know you have put together Instagram courses. And let me tell you right now: I don’t trust many people giving Instagram tips. I’ve seen your live videos. I can honestly say that I would recommend you any day. Can you tell people what approach you take for your courses and what they can expect?

How sweet of you to say! Yes, my Instagram courses are different in the way that (much like CreativeLive’s format) they are all offered for free real time. The Instagram Intensive is a 10 day live broadcast series with worksheets and other resources, and we just hosted a 5 Day Challenge about creating content that is now a part of the paid course. I offer it free first, because I want you to know what you’re going to get and know that while you can get tremendous value if you watch every single live broadcast for free, most people need more time, or more support, or just want to be able to go back to the information. My course is lifetime access, so no matter how much new content is added to it you’ll never pay again if you’ve bought and I have more Live Series and 5 Day Challenges going even more in depth.

I also have a free Facebook Group, The Instagram Collaborative that I constantly do live broadcasts in and share new resources, so that would be a great place to start if you’re new to me and my approach to Instagram.

If you could give one piece of advice to a business owner looking to grow their Instagram, what would it be?

CONNECTION. This is something that 99% of people forge No matter how beautiful your feed is, if you are not reaching out to people and making an effort to forge authentic relationships with people, you will not grow as quickly as you could. The whole point of social media is to be SOCIAL, and business owners try and treat platforms like billboards instead of like cocktail parties. If you want people to like and comment on your posts, then YOU have to actually go out and like and comment on other people’s posts. Make that engagement real, authentic, and memorable- and most importantly consistent and you will be amazed at how much of an effect that has on getting you closer to your goals.

How has Preview app helped you? And what would you say to someone who isn’t using it yet?

I LOVE the Preview App and the fact that it lays your images out so visually. I’ve had sooooooo many people in my Facebook Group thank me profusely for turning them on to the Preview App so they can start thinking about their Instagram feed like the magazine layout I teach in my 5 Day Challenge, Perfecting Your Instagram 9 Grid. I also love the fact that there are filters built in, so people don’t have to go hunting through multiple apps when they are creating their content. To someone who isn’t using it yet, I’d say that because there are so many choices of tools to use to help you manage your Instagram posts, I’d start with the one that is free to use and try out all the features. Once they try it they’ll fall in love.

Thank you Rosemary for letting us behind your feed and sharing your precious tips! You can find Rosemary on Instagram, her website and sign up to her Styled Photos Subscription for a perfectly polished brand online.

Leave a comment below if you feel inspired and motivated.

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Behind the Feed with Rosemary Watson: Talking Instagram, Success and Business