Podcast Summary: Good Content with Shannon McKinstrie

Episode: "Your Next Powerful Piece of Content is Already on Your Phone"

Host: Shannon McKinstrie
Date: September 30, 2025

Episode Overview

In this energetic and practical solo episode, Shannon McKinstrie shares insights fresh from presenting at the Happy Adventures conference at Disney, focusing on how the most compelling content is likely already sitting on your phone's camera roll. Shannon breaks down actionable strategies for using everyday footage—especially B roll—to create social media content that resonates deeply with target audiences. She stresses the immense power of identifiers, calling out specifics that make followers feel seen, and offers tips drawn from her own work and real examples to level up your content game now.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Your Next Great Content Piece is Already on Your Phone

Timestamps: 00:30–01:10

Shannon reflects on her hotel room after speaking at a conference and gets straight to her central message:

"Their next really powerful piece of content is probably already on their phone." (00:30)
She describes observing countless powerful video moments at Disney in just 24 hours.

2. The Power and Simplicity of B Roll

Timestamps: 01:11–03:20

Explains B roll as video clips where no one is directly speaking to the camera—background footage that adds context and atmosphere.
Acknowledges that her own B roll often feels "boring" (herself working at a computer, etc.), but when paired with the right text or copy, it becomes the star of the reel:

"The text is the star of the reel." (02:16)
For visually stunning businesses (like travel or restaurants):

"If that video is gorgeous, you guys don't even need any text on the video." (02:25)

3. Making Your Audience Feel Seen: Identifiers & Calling People Out

Timestamps: 03:21–08:00

Calls out the importance of using words and phrases that make your audience feel personally addressed and understood.
She shares real hook formulas:
- “If you are a 2026 groom or getting married to one…” (04:10)
- “If you want your bedroom to look fuzzy like mine…” (04:29)
- “If you don’t want to be broke in your 30s…” (04:35)
Shannon credits the viral nature of these hooks to their power in helping people identify themselves and feel part of a community:

"Do you know how powerful that is that she gave her people an identifier, a place to be right away? They're like, I belong here. This is the person for me." (06:46)
Recommends using ChatGPT to research and clarify what your audience calls themselves, using DMs, testimonials, and even competitors' language.

4. Concrete Examples: Niching Down Works

Timestamps: 08:01–11:30

Shares the story of a travel agent who went viral with:

"Welcome to the side of Instagram where we celebrate middle travelers." (06:12)
- Sparked comments like: "Oh my gosh, I never knew there was a name for who I am." (06:33)
Talks about working with a nutritionist client, Katie, who shifted from generic snack posts to "couch snacks," making content far more relatable:

"Do you know how boring that is? ...So she and I work together... we came up with couch snacks, because how relatable is that?" (08:39)

5. The Importance of Community and Hyperlocal Content

Timestamps: 11:31–13:20

Highlights how social media builds communities around brands and identities faster than other media.
Hyperlocal content works:

"I see content all the time from creators in Raleigh Durham area because the algorithm knows I attach myself to that area." (09:54)
Brands with wide appeal still benefit from personality and a sense of community (example: Scrub Daddy).

6. Call Outs & Practical Scripts for Any Niche

Timestamps: 13:21–17:30

Gives industry-specific hooks:
- Travel agents: "2026 bride who wants relaxation but your husband wants adventure—here's where you're going." (13:59)
- Yoga studios: Call out if your community is mostly beginners or hardcore yogis.
Advocates for using language that highlights situations and frustrations, not just demographics:

"When I say identifier... it means situations they find themselves in, frustrations they have, and calling those out." (15:18)

7. Action Steps & Wrap-Up

Timestamps: 17:31–End

Encourages listeners to:
- Document everything as B roll
- Use those clips paired with audience-identifying hooks and relevant captions
- Regularly review audience language via DMs, testimonials, and prompts from tools like ChatGPT
Leaves listeners with motivating advice to "create amazing content that makes your people feel something and see you for who you are and how amazing you are." (End)

Notable Quotes & Moments

“We are creating experiences. When we can see ourselves in those experiences… that’s when content works.” (01:58)
“Once you know what to call your people and what words, phrases that they attach to, you're going to double, quadruple your views, your reach, your engagement, your followers, your sales—everything.” (07:48)
“I love to help my clients do—you create a space where they are like, you have created part of my identity.” (10:56)
“You can turn [silly videos] into really high performing reels by simply calling out your person so they feel seen and then giving them some sort of idea, suggestion, tip or feeling.” (05:14)
“Social media does [this] quicker than anything… quicker than a billboard, quicker than a website, quicker than a commercial.” (11:10)

Key Takeaways

Your camera roll already holds great, relatable content—especially B roll—for social media.
The most powerful content calls out specifics about your audience’s identity or situation, helping them feel seen and like they belong.
Use language from your community, DMs, testimonials, and prompts from tools like ChatGPT to refine these identifiers.
Hyperlocal or personality-driven content can distinguish your brand—even if you “sell to everyone.”
Don’t overcomplicate: pair mundane footage with audience-affirming text to supercharge performance.

Action Item:
Start scrolling your phone’s camera roll and experiment with pairing everyday video clips with copy that specifically calls out your ideal audience—name the feeling or situation only they understand. Watch your reach and engagement grow.

Transcript

A (0:00)

Foreign. I am your host, Shannon McKinstry. Welcome to Good Content, the podcast where I remove the never ending content creation, guesswork and overwhelm so that you can actually enjoy being on social media again and growing your business with what has always worked. Good content. So I just got off the stage back in our hotel room at Disney. Just spoke at the Happy Adventures conference. And I'm fired up because one thing I really loved driving home to them was like, their next really powerful piece of content is probably already on their phone. I mean, we've only been in Disney for 24 hours. In the amount of video clips I wish I could give Disney people to use. Like, because when you really think about it, when the visual or the video, it already tells a story, your reel's gonna do even better, right? I love talking about B roll. And let's be roll. My B roll that I use is typically boring. I talk about it a lot in this podcast about how I always joke that, like, gosh, I wish I sold products or I wish I sold, like pretty things or experiences. I have to make my content feel like an experience, right? Because what we are doing on social media is creating experiences. And we can see ourselves in those experiences, whether it's a restaurant, a conference, we're at a lifestyle, we have things like that. So with that said, I really encourage them to, you know, really take a lot of B roll and to look at their camera roll. And B roll just, just so you know, just means a video clip where someone's not directly speaking to the camera. There's no main character. I mean, there can be because a lot of my B roll is me, but it's me sitting at a computer typing. It's not like I'm doing anything. The text is the star of the reel. When you use B roll like that, or let's say you're a wedding planner, you travel advisor, restaurant. If that video is gorgeous, you guys don't even need any text on the video. But people like me, businesses like mine, we gotta come with it with some copy and some text to help tell the story of what the reel is showing, right? But anyway, what I'm getting to that is one of the strongest things that you can do as a business owner, a creator, is know those words to put on the B roll or at the beginning of your script or in your caption. That makes us feel seen. Where we feel called out, we identify. So I want you to. And this is what I told them to do today and this actually wasn't something I plan on talking about. But I told them they need to all go to chat GBT and find out the identifier. What do your people identify themselves as? I did a reel last week where I talked about one of the really powerful talk to camera hooks and talk to camera reels where it just said if you are blank. So one said if you are a 20, 26 groom or getting married to one. The next one said if you want your bedroom to look fuzzy and I forget what else furry and whatever. He said fuzzy like mine. And it was a green screen. And these will all be in the show notes. It was a green screen and it's like so right when you're looking at it, you're looking at the visual going, yep. So he said, you know, if you want this, we're going to tune in. And the third was if you don't want to be broke in your 30s, something like that, they're calling out those identifiers. So what I told them is all this B roll that you hold, all these talk to cameras. I know it can feel silly, like taking all these silly little videos on your phone everywhere you go. You can turn them into really high performing reels by simply calling out your person so they feel seen and then giving them some sort of idea, suggestion, tip or feeling right. I know that was kind of all over the place. But whether you're using B roll one day, a carousel, whatever it is, you need to know what your people identify themselves as or what phrases and words your people attach to. For me, it's 200 view jail, 300 view jail. It could be creators, less than 10,000 followers, right? Whatever it is. I have spent so much time, and I still do every week, looking at my DMS testimonials of what my people identify themselves as. So the reason I wanted to talk about this today was because in today's presentation, which was for Disney travel agents, one of the reels I showed that I said was so powerful and viral, it literally says the reel calls out her people. She's a travel agent. And it said, welcome to the side of Instagram where we celebrate middle travelers. And she goes on to explain what that means. It's not luxury travelers, it's not budget travelers. It's right in the middle. So she goes on to say, not hostels, but not the four Seasons, not da da, but this blah, blah, blah, blah. And it went crazy. Do you know why it said it in the comments? I went right to the comments. Cause it went viral. The comments are like, oh my gosh, I never knew there was a name for who I am. Do you know how powerful that is that she gave her people an identifier, a place to be right away? They're like, I belong here. This is the person for me. So with all that said, I know I talk a lot about B roll and it's so simple and tech. I know it's not easy, but once you know what to call your people and what words, phrases that they attach to, you're going to double, quadruple your views, your reach, your engagement, your followers, your sales, everything, I promise you. Because that's what happens to my clients, even one of my clients, Katie, we, instead of saying, oh, here's some snacks I like as a nutritionist, do you know how boring that is? Right? So she and I work together. She knew that. She knows that we came up with couch snacks, because how relatable is that? So again, this is why, and I told them too today that, you know, hyperlocal is so big. I see content all the time from creators in Raleigh Durham area because the algorithm knows I attach myself to that area. So there's all sorts of ways you can do this. You don't have to just do it by what if I know you're probably listening. Like, we literally sell stuff to everyone. Okay? Like you sell Scrub Daddy, right? Okay, everyone needs a sponge to clean with, but Scrub Daddy even has a personality. There's a certain community around these brands and these products that makes them feel seen and heard. They are now invited and they are part of that world. And that's what I love to help my clients do. You create a space where they are like, you have created part of my identity. And that's what social media does quicker than anything can, quicker than a billboard can, quicker than a website can, quicker than a commercial can. Okay, so when I say all this B roll and these carousels and these talk to camera scripts, what to do with that piece of content is call us out directly. Again, the girl who says, 2026 grooms or people marrying one, this is for you, right? And that's why I told the travel agents today, I said, don't just say you plan honeymoons. Every travel agent does. You're going to say, 2026 bride who wants relaxation, but your husband wants adventure. Here's where you're going, right? Let's say you're a yoga teacher. You have a yoga studio. Well, what is different about your yoga studio and how, what do your people identify as? Are they really yogis? Are they beginners? Are they new to it and intimidated. Call that out and lean on ChatGPT. Tell ChatGPT your whole story, why you started, who your people are, how they identify themselves, words they use. Look at your testimonials, look at your competitors testimonials. Again, my people I do work with creator. I do work with people with hundreds of thousands of followers, some millions. But most of my people are trying to break out a 300 view jail. And that's why I say that. Or they've been at 10,000 views, 20,000, a million, and now all of a sudden, they're stuck in a thousand. I use that verbiage because they've told me that if I just said, here's how to grow your reach, no one cares. Here's how to get to 10,000 views again, they're going to listen up. So when I say identifier doesn't just mean middle travelers, it doesn't just mean single moms. It doesn't just mean cancer survivor. It means situations they find themselves in, frustrations they have, and calling those out. And that's why I told all the travel agents, too, how first time I came to Disney World, it felt chaotic. We didn't really have a full plan. Now we're here, and I feel equipped because I've learned so much, right? So if I was them, I would have created a real send. Hey, if you ever gone to Disney World and felt overwhelmed, I want you to give it a second chance and here's what you're going to do. And I would tell them exactly what to do. They that's winded and longer, but it works because it. You've called me out, you've made me feel seen. Whether you speak to people that are ready to drop, you know, a million dollars on a car, or whether you're talking to people who just. They're struggling in this economy, call it out. Make them feel seen. Sorry, I didn't really know where I was going with this podcast. I'm just really fired up because so much came up and I went rogue during my presentation a few times. So I was just like, you guys, we're creating experiences. We're making people feel seen and we're calling them out. And once you do that, watch what happens to your account. Um, again, look at the reels in the show notes. And we gotta go to Disney Cam and our Tiana today. If you're watching on YouTube, Barry's very silly. We're so excited. I love you, friend. Again, take B roll of everything and use that B roll start writing down your thoughts. Turn it into talk to camera scripts. You guys are silly. We gotta go. These girls are ready to go. And create amazing content that makes your people feel something and see you for who you are and how amazing you are. I love you, friend. Bye, Sa.