Marketing and Margaritas

Getting views, growing your followers and going viral is great… but what happens after someone discovers your business?

In this episode of Marketing & Margaritas, Ruby is diving into the Instagram automations that turn followers into leads, leads into paying customers, and one-time buyers into repeat clients.

We're breaking down five powerful automation flows that can help you generate leads, nurture enquiries, increase conversions and create a seamless customer experience.

From ManyChat and keyword-triggered messages to automated follow-ups, personalised shopping experiences and post-purchase nurturing, we're sharing what's actually worth automating.

Whether you're running an e-commerce brand or a service-based business, this episode will help you work smarter, save time and make your Instagram work harder for your business.

Because more followers don't necessarily mean more sales — but the right systems can. 🍸

Today's question is from @mycofactor:

Hey lovelies!! I have a question, for Maddie, maybe a Margie hour one who knows. Maybe I’m the only one getting this problem or confused with this. Haha

So in meta ads manager I’ll have a 98 opportunity score let’s say. I’m doing well. Then maybe a few days or week goes by and my ad performance drops, I go into ads manager and see my opportunity score also dropped. Now it’s saying something like 91 out of 100 and it’s telling me suggestions and they’re almost always to turn on their AI settings like text improvement, video improvements, placements, … just basically do advantage + everything and let the AI do whatever it wants. Now I usually leave a lot of these AI things off, I don’t want it putting weird edits and stickers and text. The only AI suggestion I leave on is translate to other languages for other people. The frequency has also still been relatively low on these ads, maybe 1.6 at the most, so I don’t think it’s ad fatigue. So my question is: how much does opp score matter?

Oh and as a test I said yeah eff it, apply all AI, it gave me like 6 points, and the next 24 hours were banging sales wise!

That lasted a day or two, then it dropped back down. Low hanging fruit? Was that meta giving me a reward for using their AI? Ugh so annoying. I used to hear that we have to tickle the pixel, or feed the algorithm… but now do we have to cater to hungry AI?

If you opened your Meta ad account right now, how many genuinely different messages would you find?

For most brands, it's the same few angles on repeat. A product-focused ad, a testimonial, some UGC and maybe a founder video.

But here's the problem: changing the format doesn't necessarily mean you're changing the message.

In this episode of Marketing & Margaritas, we're talking about the different creative angles and vehicles every brand should be testing to reach new audiences, overcome buying objections and convert more customers.

I'll break down why creative variety matters, how to think beyond the usual product benefits and social proof, and why your account needs more than a handful of ads saying the same thing in different ways.

Because scaling isn't always about spending more money or creating more content. Sometimes it's about making sure your creative is giving people different reasons to buy.

Whether you're preparing for Black Friday or looking to improve your everyday ad performance, this episode will give you a fresh perspective on what's missing from your creative strategy.

You’ve seen it everywhere: “Comment the word GUIDE and I’ll send it straight to your DMs.” But there’s a big difference between using a trigger word and actually having a strategy behind it.

In this episode, Ruby breaks down the DM strategy she’s been using with clients to turn content into conversations, qualified leads and ultimately sales.

We unpack how to connect your content, lead magnet and offer so there’s a natural next step, how this strategy can work for service businesses, local businesses and ecommerce brands, plus the role automation and personal follow-up play in actually converting the leads you generate.

If you’ve been watching the “comment a word” strategy everywhere but haven’t known how to make it make sense for your business, this episode gives you the framework to test it properly.

Q4 is around the corner, and the work you do now will determine how well you perform when the busiest period of the year hits.

In this episode, Madelene & Ruby take you inside the strategies we're currently discussing and implementing across our clients as we prepare for Q4.

If you're heading into Q4 and wondering what you should be prioritising right now, this episode will give you plenty of ideas to take back to your own strategy.

Black Friday success doesn’t start when your sale goes live. It starts months before.

Following on from our last Black Friday episode, we’re answering some of the biggest questions we received from business owners about what they should actually be doing now to prepare for the busiest sales period of the year.

We break down how early you should launch your Black Friday promotion and how long your sale should. We also dive into how to build and warm your email list before November, what to do if your email list has gone cold, and how to improve engagement and deliverability before inboxes become flooded with promotions.

Plus, Maddi shares the top-of-funnel content strategies brands should be running now; from founder and brand storytelling to objection-handling content, creator campaigns and AI cartoon explainer ads—to build awareness, trust and a warmer audience before Black Friday arrives.

Whether you’re a smaller ecommerce brand or already investing heavily in paid advertising, this episode will help you build the foundations for a stronger, more profitable Black Friday period.

Has AI killed the traditional online course?

With information now instantly available through platforms like ChatGPT and Claude, customers are no longer willing to pay thousands of dollars for another collection of videos and modules they may never finish. They do not just want more information, they want a clear result, personalised support and accountability to help them implement it.

In this episode of Marketing & Margaritas, Maddi and Ruby unpack the rise of paid challenges and why this increasingly popular offer model could be the future of digital products.

Using the viral Yap Challenge as an example, they explore how creators and service providers are transforming traditional courses into live, time-bound experiences that promise a specific result in a shorter period of time.

Whether you already sell a course, are developing a digital product or want to create a more scalable offer, this episode will help you rethink how you package your expertise and deliver better results for your customers.

In this episode, we're talking about Black Friday NOW and for good reason. The brands that win the biggest sales weekend of the year don't start planning in October; they start months in advance.

We break down exactly what ecommerce brands should be doing now to maximise revenue, reduce ad costs, and avoid the last-minute scramble. From choosing the right offer to warming up your audiences and planning your email marketing, this episode is your Black Friday planning checklist.

• When to launch your Black Friday campaign (and why waiting is risky)
• How to choose an offer that actually converts
• Whether to run a sitewide discount, tiered offer or gift with purchase
• How to use your stock levels to influence your promotion
• Why you should analyse your competitors before planning your sale
• How to build warm audiences with organic content and paid ads
• Why top-of-funnel Meta ads are critical before November
• How to prepare for higher advertising costs during Black Friday
• Why improving your email sender reputation now matters
• How to stand out when everyone's inbox is full

If you want this year's Black Friday to outperform last year's, this episode will help you build the strategy before the busiest shopping season begins.

Let us know what questions you have around Black Friday: https://www.instagram.com/marketingandmargaritas_/

Instagram is changing faster than ever, and the strategies that worked last year won't necessarily grow your brand today.

In this episode of Marketing & Margaritas, we're here to unpack six Instagram strategies that are driving real results in 2026. From the rise of Yap videos and Trial Reels to why caption SEO has replaced hashtags, we explore how brands can increase their reach, build genuine engagement, and stay ahead of the algorithm.

In this episode, we cover:
• Why Yap videos are outperforming overly polished content
• How to create authentic content that builds trust and converts
• Why replies matter more than likes on Instagram Stories
• The shift from hashtags to Instagram SEO
• How Trial Reels can help you reach brand-new audiences
• Why relying on Instagram alone is risky—and where you should be showing up instead

Whether you're trying to increase engagement, improve your Instagram strategy, or build a stronger social media presence, this episode will help you understand what's working now and where Instagram is heading next.

It’s time for Rapid Response, where we answer your marketing questions completely unfiltered and off the cuff.

We put up a question box on Instagram, you asked your questions, and now we’re giving you our raw, unprepared thoughts.

From strategies that work to industry hot takes, this is the no-fluff, real-talk episode you didn’t know you needed.

Follow us on Instagram to ensure you don’t miss our next Rapid Fire question box.

You all love these episodes! Ruby and Maddi breakdown their core focuses for Q3 and the new financial year including;

• Improving reach
• Paid ad funnels
• Webinar funnels
• Black Friday and more!

We're backkkk and Ruby has some exciting news to share!

With rising CPAs, unpredictable performance, EOFY pressure, and global uncertainty impacting consumer behaviour — a lot of brands are asking the same question right now: “What do we do when Meta stops working?”

In this episode of Marketing & Margaritas, Maddi breaks down why the worst thing you can do during a performance dip is panic, switch everything off and disappear.

Instead, we’re talking about the moves smart ecommerce brands make when paid ads get tough, from shifting towards efficiency campaigns, refining creative strategy, leaning into your best sellers, strengthening email marketing and exploring channels beyond Meta.

We cover:

🍸 When to pull back budget vs when to hold steady
🍸 How to adjust campaigns using cost caps and ROAS goals
🍸 Why creative cadence still matters (and what creative to prioritise)
🍸 Using organic content as your testing ground
🍸 Building revenue channels outside of Meta — TikTok, Pinterest, Google & beyond
🍸 Creating offers that drive sales without damaging your brand
🍸 Why offline activations, community and sampling still matter

Because the reality is: if one bad month on Meta can collapse your business, Meta isn’t the problem; your marketing ecosystem is.

Most marketers/business owners are wasting precious opportunities because they’re missing the true power of an effective hook. If your content isn’t passing the first 3 seconds in the attention game, all your effort may be wasted.

But what if you could flip the script and craft hooks that instantly stop scrolls and makes you sales? In this episode, Maddi dives into the psychology and mechanics behind irresistible hooks that do more than just catch the eye, they open the information gap that keeps your audience watching.

You’ll discover how to leverage a three-layer hook system; text, visuals, and sound that aligns around a core emotional trigger. Maddi reveals the three-point hook formula: pattern interrupt, angle, and curiosity loop, crafted to create content that is impossible to ignore. Whether you’re a creator, business owner, or marketer, understanding the three-layer hook framework and how to use data-driven insights will transform your reach and impact.

Unlock our subscriber only episodes here.

Instagram has quietly rolled out new Reels insights and they could completely change the way you create content.

In this episode of Marketing & Margaritas, we break down Instagram’s latest analytics update, including skip rate, share rate, save rate, reposts, comments and what these metrics actually mean for your reach.

We dive into:

• Why skip rate is now one of the most important metrics to watch
• What your Reels insights are secretly telling you
• Why people are scrolling past your content in the first 3 seconds
• How to create stronger hooks that stop the scroll
• The biggest mistakes business owners make with Instagram Reels
• The difference between top, middle and bottom funnel content
• How to improve your reach without posting more

Today's Margi Hour is from Aurora; "Hey girls how can I reach new people with organic IG? Right now I am just reaching the same people and it feels pointless?"

Want a question answered on the podcast? Jump into our Instagram DMS @marketingandmargaritas_

Forget theory — this is what’s working right now.
We’re unpacking the exact strategies we’re implementing across our client accounts, from landing page testing and quiz funnels to the small tweaks that are driving big results. If you want a real look at what’s happening inside a marketing agency / consultancy business (and what you should be doing too), this episode is for you.

It’s time for Rapid Response, where we answer your marketing questions completely unfiltered and off the cuff.

We put up a question box on Instagram, you asked your questions, and now we’re giving you our raw, unprepared thoughts.

From strategies that work to industry hot takes, this is the no-fluff, real-talk episode you didn’t know you needed.

Follow us on Instagram to ensure you don't miss our next Rapid Fire question box.

In this episode, we’re breaking down exactly what’s working on Meta right now, not just theory, but what we’re seeing inside real ad accounts at MADE. Marketing, backed by industry benchmark data.

From the shift to micro persona targeting to the creative formats actually driving conversions, this episode is your go-to if you want to get more out of your ad spend in 2026.

We cover:

• Why micro personas are unlocking scale (and how to structure your ad sets)
• The top-performing creative formats right now (and the ones falling flat)
• How to approach UGC in 2026 (hint: it’s evolved, not dead)
• The hooks driving conversions — from urgency to curiosity and bold claims
• Real insights from benchmark data vs what we’re seeing inside the agency
• How many creatives you actually need to be testing each week

If your ads aren’t performing like they used to, this is the episode that will show you what to change.

We’ve all seen the rise of dupes in fashion and beauty… but now it’s happening in business.

From calendar apps to course builders and memberships — there’s a cheaper version of almost everything.

In this episode, we're breaking down the truth about buying lower-cost alternatives to premium programs and when it’s a smart move vs. when it’s a shortcut that slows you down.

If you’ve ever debated whether to invest big or go budget, this episode will help you make the decision with clarity (and confidence).

If you've got an email list but your subscribers just aren't buying, you're not alone - and you're not doing it wrong. In this episode we're getting honest about why so many business owners are sitting on an email list that looks great on paper and converts almost nobody in reality.

We break down the three real reasons your list has gone cold.

From inconsistent sending habits to misaligned lead magnets to the silent killer that is only showing up to sell, this episode is the diagnosis your email marketing has been missing.

No gatekeeping, no fluff - just the truth about what's actually going on and the categories of fixes that exist so you know exactly where to start.

This is Part 1 of a two-part series. The full step-by-step fix, including a complete 7-day re-engagement sequence is waiting for you in this week's paid episode.