Hi, it’s me, talking about The Real Housewives franchise again.

Feel free to skip this one if you think I’m being ‘all uncool’ but I ‘made it nice’, and want to ‘mention it all’ when it comes to what the franchise indirectly taught me about Instagram marketing.

(OK no more housewives quotes I promise!)

1. Tease your content

Like many reality TV shows the editing is nothing short of iconic, and can make moments that were only slightly crazy completely over the top and dramatic. It’s the ‘next time on the Real Housewives of New York’ or whichever franchise you’re watching that keeps you going.

Yes it’s 1am, you’ve been in the same spot on the sofa since 4pm and your eyelids are drooping, but you just cannot miss the next episode that they’ve been teasing all season.

How to use it: tease your upcoming YouTube video, blog post, newsletter or even Instagram post on your stories. Is there a clip of your longer video you can put on Reels to whet people’s appetite, can you tease the headline of your next blog post or give a sneak peak behind the scenes on a shoot you’ll be putting out next month? Keep people engaged with little morsels of the action coming up.

If you create long form video content hook your followers in within the first 3 seconds and if it’s good enough they’ll watch the whole video just to see the resolution of that moment you set up.

2. Plug your website

I saw a viral meme where a mother was saying her child was walking around the house saying ‘for more on the Real Housewives of Atlanta go to bravotv.com.’ And if you’ve ever watched an episode of any Real Housewives franchise you’ll know that line appears at the end of every episode.

How often do you plug your website? Do your followers even know you have one? Where can people find out more information about what you offer? On every episode, of every franchise across 74 seasons (I counted) that line is read at the end – you can at least add a call to action to your captions.

And sure, maybe loads of people don’t actually go to the website, but I know if I was ever unsure of where to find more information or wondering who produced the show, I’d know.

3. Stick to your niche

They go to dinner, go to lunch, go on vacation, go shopping, go to parties, go to therapy, argue, fight, make up, have a reunion and do it all again next season.

It’s not rocket science, it’s not hard, but it works. And so once you’ve found a niche that works for you – keep giving your audience what they want and be consistent. Some of the characters change, the storylines vary from season to season but the basic premise is there.

I hope this helped you! If you want to learn more about Instagram marketing and how to grow your personal brand on the platform, download my 14 day step-by-step personal branding course.