13 Ways to Optimise Your Instagram for Media and PR (With Tracy Harris)
Media Magnet Podcast | Episode 54 | Listen here: Preparing for Publicity: 13 Ways to Optimise Your Instagram for Media and PR with Tracy Harris
Getting media coverage is one thing. Being ready for it is another.
In Episode 54 of the Media Magnet Podcast, Liz Nable sits down with Tracy Harris — digital educator, business mentor, and founder of a seven-figure online business built almost entirely through Instagram — to talk about something most business owners overlook before they start pitching: whether their digital presence is actually set up to leverage the attention they're trying to attract.
Because here's the reality Liz sees regularly in her own business: founders want media coverage, but their Instagram hasn't been updated in three months, their bio doesn't explain who they help or why, and there's no clear next step for someone who lands on their profile. Getting featured in a major outlet and sending people to a half-built Instagram page is a wasted opportunity.
This episode fixes that. And it goes further — Tracy walks through 13 specific ways Instagram surfaces your content to new people, so you can stop posting and hoping and start showing up with intention.
Why Your Instagram Needs to Be Media-Ready Before You Pitch
Journalists, producers, and editors do not just read your pitch email and decide. They look you up. They check your website, your LinkedIn, and your Instagram. Your social media presence is a credibility check — a vibe check, as Tracy puts it — and if what they find doesn't match the expert you're presenting yourself as in the pitch, you lose the opportunity.
This is exactly what Liz teaches inside the Media Readiness Bootcamp: the foundational assets every media-ready brand needs before the spotlight hits, so that when coverage comes, it actually converts into audience growth and revenue.
Before you fire off a single pitch, ask yourself: if a journalist landed on your Instagram right now, would they see an expert worth quoting?
The "Teach, Share, Show" Content System That Survives Every Algorithm Change
Tracy has been building on Instagram since 2015. In that time, the platform has removed chronological feeds, introduced Stories, launched Reels, introduced and deprioritised hashtags, and shifted to algorithm-driven discovery. Her content system has outlasted every one of those changes.
The system is three words: teach, share, show.
Teach — Share your knowledge and expertise. This is the content that builds credibility and positions you as the authority you want journalists to see. When you give value consistently, the audience reciprocates with trust.
Share — Share pieces of yourself, your story, and the stories of your clients and customers. People need to see themselves in what you put out. If they don't identify with your story, they'll identify with the transformation story of someone who has worked with you.
Show — Show people how to work with you. Show your offers, your free resources, your next steps. If you never tell your audience what to do next, they won't do anything. This is where your media wins, your podcast features, and your press coverage live — in the show content.
Write it down. Every piece of content you create should fall into one of these three categories.
The Two Most Important Instagram Basics to Set Up Right Now
Before diving into the 13 discovery channels, Tracy flagged two non-negotiables for anyone serious about using Instagram for media, PR, or business growth.
1. Optimise your Instagram bio
Your bio needs to do one job: make the right person immediately understand that you are talking to them and why they should follow you. You now have the option to include up to five links in your Instagram bio — use them strategically. Send people to your free content, your email list, your podcast, or your booking page. Whatever the next step is in your funnel, it needs to be in the bio.
2. Be intentional with your pinned posts
You can pin three posts to the top of your Instagram feed. Most people either don't use this feature or pin things randomly. Tracy's recommendation: put yourself in the shoes of a new follower who has just discovered you. They are confronted with potentially hundreds or thousands of posts. Your pinned posts should create a clear, intentional pathway — your best content, what you do, and how someone can work with you.
If a journalist visits your profile after reading your pitch, your pinned posts are the first three things they see. Make them count.
13 Ways Instagram Surfaces Your Content to New People
This is the part of the episode that made Liz want to put down her microphone and go straight to her own Instagram. Tracy broke down every single way Instagram distributes content to non-followers — and understanding these channels is what separates strategic posting from guesswork.
1. Home Feed
This is the main scrolling feed. Content showing up here is generally seen by people who already follow you. It is your existing community. To reach new people, you need to understand the other 12 channels below.
2. Explore Page
The Explore page is Instagram's recommendation engine. It surfaces content to users based on what they have previously engaged with. To show up on Explore consistently, your content needs to match the visual style and keywords your ideal audience is already responding to.
Tracy shared a real example from one of her mentees — a naturopath who discovered that a particular visual style (a drink being stirred) combined with the trending keyword "cortisol" in her hooks sent her content to the Explore page repeatedly. She grew her following by 12,000 people organically in 90 days. The strategy: observe what your target audience is engaging with, identify the trending keywords in your industry, and build content around those patterns consistently.
3. Search
Instagram has search engine optimisation built in. When someone types a keyword into the Instagram search bar, they see curated content from across the platform. If your content does not include the words your audience is actively searching for — in your captions, on-screen text, hashtags, and alt text — you will not appear in those searches.
This is a straightforward but frequently missed opportunity: every single post should include keywords your audience is looking for.
4. Profile Visits
When someone discovers a piece of your content anywhere on the platform and then visits your profile to learn more, that counts as a profile view. This is why your bio and pinned posts matter so much — profile visits are high-intent moments where someone is actively deciding whether to follow you or reach out.
5. Hashtags
Hashtags are no longer the primary discovery mechanism they once were, but they are still relevant. Tracy's advice: use three to five highly specific, keyword-driven hashtags rather than thirty generic ones. Think of them as additional search tags that help Instagram understand what your content is about and who to show it to.
6. Location Tags
For bricks-and-mortar businesses, service businesses tied to a geographic area, or anyone running in-person events, location tagging is critical for local discovery. For online businesses, location tags can still be used strategically — Tracy has mentees who tag international locations during seasons when their target customers in those regions are most active and likely to buy.
7. Stories
Instagram Stories are primarily seen by existing followers, but they are shareable. When you ask your audience to share a Story — especially if the content is genuinely useful or relevant to someone they know — your reach extends to non-followers through that sharing behaviour. Tell people to share. If you don't ask, most people won't think to do it.
8. Shares
This is where things get significant. Instagram has confirmed that the number one surface for being discovered on the platform is the DMs — direct messages where people share content with each other. Not the Explore page. Not the home feed. The DMs.
Every time someone sends your post to a friend, tags someone in the comments, or shares your Reel into a group chat, that is a discovery moment. Creating content specifically designed to be shareable — content that makes someone think "I need to send this to someone" — is one of the highest leverage things you can do on Instagram.
9. Embedded Views
When your Instagram content is embedded on a website or blog post outside of Instagram, views from that embedded content show up in your insights under the "other" category. If you are getting media coverage and the journalist or outlet embeds one of your Reels in the article, that drives additional Instagram reach. Another reason your media wins and your Instagram presence are directly connected.
10. Direct Messages (DMs)
Beyond shares, the DMs are a discovery surface in their own right. When someone receives your content via a DM and engages with it, that interaction signals relevance to Instagram's algorithm and can lead to further distribution. Build content that people want to pass on.
11. Saved Posts
When someone saves your post, it signals to Instagram that the content is valuable enough to return to. High save rates often precede increased reach. Tutorial-style content, step-by-step guides, and resource-heavy posts tend to generate strong save numbers. Saves are also a leading indicator that your audience finds your content genuinely useful — exactly the signal journalists are looking for when they vet potential sources.
12. Collections and Folders
When users organise saved posts into folders or collections — gift ideas, recipes, business resources — Instagram tracks that engagement. Content that ends up in a folder has been actively curated by the user, which is a strong positive signal for the algorithm.
13. Notifications and Alerts
Users who have turned on notifications for your account will be alerted when you post. Instagram is also testing a feature where users receive alerts when someone they follow leaves a comment on someone else's content — creating an additional discovery pathway between connected users. The more engaged your core audience, the more this network effect works in your favour.
Instagram Is Your Credibility Check — Not Just a Sales Channel
One of the most important reframes in this episode is the distinction Tracy draws between two different purposes for Instagram.
For some businesses, Instagram is a primary lead generation and sales channel. Tracy herself received two high-ticket programme applications — one for a $6,000 mentorship, another for a $33,000 mastermind — in a single week, both originating from Instagram content that had nothing like viral numbers.
For other businesses, Instagram serves a different but equally important function: credibility verification. When journalists come across your pitch, they go to your Instagram to see if you are who you say you are. Having a consistent, professional, keyword-optimised presence — even with a modest following — is enough to pass that check.
You do not need 60,000 followers to get media coverage. You need a presence that clearly communicates your expertise and makes a journalist feel confident about including you in a story.
As Liz put it: if your Instagram is not optimised, you are leaving media opportunities on the table before you have even sent the pitch.
How Much Time Does This Actually Require?
For business owners wearing multiple hats — which is most of the Media Magnet audience — the question is always about time. Tracy's answer is practical: it depends on what you want Instagram to do for you.
If you are using Instagram purely as a credibility asset for media and PR purposes, a few posts per week is enough. Be consistent, use keywords, keep your bio and pinned posts current.
If you want Instagram to actively generate leads and sales, you need to be more strategic — but even then, posting with intention once a day using the teach, share, show system will outperform random daily posting every time.
Consistency matters more than volume. Decide what role Instagram plays in your business, set a schedule you can sustain, and show up on purpose.
Resources Mentioned in This Episode
- Media Magnet Podcast, Episode 54 — Listen to the full conversation with Tracy Harris
- Tracy Harris Free Instagram Class — Tracy's Instagram growth plan for business owners
- Tracy Harris — Social Method Society — Tracy's premium Instagram marketing academy for female founders
- Follow Tracy on Instagram: @mumswithhustle
Ready to Go Beyond Instagram and Build Your Full Media Strategy?
Knowing how to optimise your Instagram is one piece of the puzzle. The other piece is knowing how to pitch, what journalists are actually looking for, and how to turn media coverage into consistent audience growth and revenue.
That is what the Media Members Inner Circle is built for — a monthly membership community with the tools, training, and support to help Australian business owners build a media strategy that works.
If you want to get your business truly publicity-ready — from your Instagram all the way through to your pitch — the Inner Circle is where that work happens.
