How I train my AI content agent to write captions that perform without going basic or fake, plus the two Trial Reel questions I get asked the most.
Robots and a Baby | Three AI Agents, a New Blog, and Baby Carter Grace
Robots and a Baby.
No-ad real estate lead gen, my new team of AI agents, and grandbaby number nine.
Hi friend,
If you noticed Market Like a Lyon went quiet for a minute in June, you were not imagining it. I missed an issue, and I have a very good excuse. Three of them, honestly. I spent the month heads down building something I have wanted for a minute now, and I spent a glorious week of it covered in blueberry juice with five of my grandkids. More on both in a second. First, the marketing.
01
New on the Blog
Real Estate Leads Without a Dime in Ad Spend
I just published a piece I have wanted to write for a long time. If you have ever been told you need a big ad budget to generate real estate leads, this one is going to ruffle your feathers in the best way.
It breaks down how the right organic system, real content testing, and a capture engine behind it can outperform paid without spending a thing on ads. No boosting. No campaigns. Just a system built to compound.
If lead gen has ever felt like pay to play, go read this. It might change how you think about your whole pipeline.
👉 Read the Blog Real Estate Lead Generation Without Paid Ads
02
The Reveal
I Built Three AI Agents (Meet Sage, Muse & Vesta)
Here is what really ate my June. I was in the trenches building my first three AI agents, and I am a little obsessed with them.
Sage. She is my SEO watchdog. She keeps an eye on my Google Search Console, tracks what is ranking, flags what is slipping, and tells me where the opportunities are before I would ever spot them myself.
Muse. She is my content co-writer. She drafts blog posts in my voice, builds the visuals, handles the SEO, and lines them up to publish. Full transparency, we co-write, so do not get it twisted that she is doing it all alone. I am firm on this and always will be, but it does let me produce even more with a lot of efficiency.
Vesta. She is the watcher. I have watched agents I have worked with go off on tangents, make things up, even do things completely out of pocket. I created her to monitor all prompts and outputs, compare them to the initial master files, and notify me if one of them goes rogue.
This is me practicing exactly what I preach to you. Build the systems. Do not just grind harder. I do not necessarily promote getting rid of humans with AI. What I do want is the most efficient team I can have. I built three tireless agents who do the heavy lifting so we can each stay in our genius zone.
In August, I am pulling back the curtain. I am going to share my Agent Command Center, the tasks each one runs, and introduce Sage, Muse, and Vesta (along with whoever else I build before then) and their skill sets in full detail. Stay tuned.
Top five things they said to me this week
“Leslie, I am much tamer than you are. Some of your captions feel illegal.”
“Leslie, we have been so productive today. Shall we call it and go have some fun?” (said at 10am, after one project)
“Oh Leslie, I don’t know, you’re the SEO expert. Should we do that?”
“You’ve been so patient with this one 🖤. Reset, or park it and circle back.”
“Said with love, but I don’t think you should frame that around race.”
Note: on that last one, Sage is African American because statistically African American women are the most educated women in the room.
03
Grandbaby Number Nine
Welcome, Carter Grace
And now the part my heart has been bursting to share.
In June I met my ninth grandchild. Her name is Carter Grace, and she is the fourth baby for my oldest son and his beautiful wife. Sorry, no pics. This goes live on my website, and that is not allowed in the terms and conditions set up by her parents. Just know she is the cutest little button I have ever seen.
I got to spend a whole week with five of my grandbabies so their mama could have some quiet one on one time with the new little one. We swam until we were starving. We picked blueberries and ate most of them before they ever made it into the bucket. We threw a first birthday party for grandbaby number eight (maybe number seven, heaven only knows). And we generally had the kind of week that reminds you exactly what all of this is for.
The systems, the agents, the late nights building, it is all so I get to say yes to weeks like that one.
Build the machine.
Go live the life.
If you are ready to build a marketing engine that runs without you, so you can get back to your own version of blueberry summers, let’s talk.
See you virtually, unless you are catching me at 48th Ave beach, the gym, or my neighborhood where I get most of my 10k steps. 💋 Leslie
P.S. Want Market Like a Lyon in your inbox every other Sunday? Make sure you are subscribed so you do not miss the August Agent Command Center reveal.
Viral Is Not a Magic Button | No Paid Ads No Problem | The Trial Reels Testing System
Viral Is Not a
Magic Button.
The reality of viral content, a Caribbean case study with zero paid ads, and the testing system behind Trial Reels.
01
Viral Is Not a Magic Button
The reality of viral content and what happens after the views roll in
Let me tell you what viral content is and what it is not, because the internet has done a spectacular job of confusing the two.
Viral content is perfection when it works. It is repeatable. It is a framework, not a fluke. When the right hook meets the right audience and the algorithm reads the engagement signals it is looking for, it pushes your content further than any paid ad budget could buy you. I have seen it happen. I have built the system that makes it happen consistently.
What it is not is a magic button you push to make money.
Viral reach is the beginning of a conversation, not the close of a sale. You hit the algorithmic signals. You connect with warm bodies who have never heard of you. They watch, they comment the keyword, they save it, they share it. The algorithm responds. Thousands of people who needed to find you just found you.
Now what?
That is where most businesses fumble it. They celebrate the views and wonder why the revenue did not follow. The views were never going to pay the bills on their own. What pays the bills is what you built before the content went live and what you do with those warm bodies after they show up.
The reconnection points. The DM automation that fires the moment someone comments. The email sequence that nurtures them over the next 30 days. The newsletter they end up on. The next piece of content they see that reminds them you exist. The offer that lands in front of them at the exact moment they are ready to buy.
Viral content is a long term play with extraordinarily high rewards. It compounds. Every lead captured goes into a pipeline that keeps working whether you post that day or not.
The businesses winning on organic social are not the ones who went viral once. They are the ones who built the system around what happens after.
That is the play. Viral gets them in the door. Your reconnection strategy is what closes it.
And for industries with long sales cycles — real estate, high ticket services, anything where a client takes months or years to make a decision — this matters even more. Some of the leads that came in from a viral video we posted six months ago will not close until next year. Some will close in three years. They are in the pipeline. They are seeing the content. They are warming slowly in the background while the business keeps running.
That is not a weakness of organic social. That is the entire point of it. You are not just chasing the next transaction. You are building an audience of future clients who already know who you are, already trust what you do, and will show up ready when the timing is right for them.
Paid ads stop the moment you stop paying.
This does not.
Viral gets them in the door.
Your system closes it.
02
No Paid Ads. No Problem. 8,402 Opportunities.
A Caribbean real estate case study built entirely on organic social
I am going to tell you something that sounds made up.
A boutique real estate firm in the Caribbean cannot run paid ads. Platform restrictions. Full stop. No workaround, no loophole, no budget that fixes it.
So we built something else entirely.
8,402
CRM opportunities generated
987
Agent referral hand-offs completed
2.3M
Views on a single video
A Facebook page that went from 6,548 followers to 18,000. An Instagram that more than doubled. A single video that hit 2.3 million views and flooded the pipeline with leads the automation was already ready to catch.
No ads. No shortcuts. Just a framework that was built to compound.
If you have ever been told organic social takes too long or does not produce real leads, this one is for you.
The full breakdown is on the site — every number, every system, every stage of how it was built from November 2025 to today.
Read the Full Case Study
Every number. Every system. All of it.
03
Trial Reels Is Not What You Think It Is
The 72-hour testing system behind consistent viral content
Most people treat Trial Reels like a posting feature. Turn it on, upload a video, hope something happens.
That is not how it works.
Some people are hoping for an extra 200 to 300 views per Trial and calling it a win. That is missing the entire point. Trial Reels is not a view booster. It is a testing system built to find your breakout content before you commit it to your main feed — and when it works, we are talking 100K, 1M, 2.3M views. Not 300.
Trial Reels distributes your content to a cold audience for 72 hours and measures how they respond. If the content performs above Instagram's niche baseline, it gets pushed further. If it does not, the test closes quietly and your existing followers never see it.
Nothing wasted. No damage done. Just data.
Views alone do not move the needle. Views plus keyword comments, saves, and shares is what tells the algorithm your content deserves to go further.
What I track inside those 72 hours — and what most accounts completely miss — is the difference between passive reach and proof of concept. Here is what that looks like in practice:
- Keyword comments tell Instagram the content created a response worth acting on
- Saves signal the content was valuable enough to return to — one of the strongest quality signals the algorithm reads
- Shares extend your reach organically and tell the algorithm the content has value beyond the person who watched it
- Watch time and completion rate tell Instagram whether the hook held attention long enough to matter
I wrote the full framework out. The 72-hour breakdown, what each signal means, when to promote and when to cut, and how to build the rotation system that keeps producing after the first viral moment.
Read the Full Framework
The testing system. All of it.
Have you tried Trial Reels or even had any viral content? If not, what is stopping you? Reply and tell me — I genuinely want to know where people are getting stuck.
See you virtually, unless you are catching me at 48th Ave beach or my gym. 💋
Leslie
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Command the Sale | Viral Content Without the Babysitting | 30 Days Off My Site
← All Newsletters
Command
the Sale.
A tire buying story that solidified my opinion on social selling, plus viral content automations and what 30 days off my site actually did.
01
Command the Sale
A tire buying story that changed how I think about social selling
I have taught for years that people want to be told what to do. Everyone has their own version of that. Some want it direct, some want a softer approach, but they all want someone to take the wheel.
On social media, that is your CTA. I use a subhook in every video. It is the first thing I say, and it tells people exactly what to do next. Bossy woman's dream. Once they are in the caption, I tell them exactly what to do again: comment or DM a specific word. No guessing, no fumbling.
I was tire shopping last week. I called three shops.
Shop 01
Lost the Sale
One option. $900.
Didn't ask a single question about my car. I said thanks and hung up.
Shop 02
Lost the Sale
Same thing.
One option, take it or leave it. I left it. Then they called back after losing it to try to recover it.
Shop 03
Closed
Carlos.
Asked tire size, year, and make. Found a deal. Upgraded it mid-call. Closed me before I could object.
"The only way I can do this deal is if you take my 3pm appointment today. I just scheduled it. We will see you at three."
I literally said "well shit, okay" and changed my plans.
He removed every ounce of decision fatigue. He told me what to do and made it easy to say yes.
While I was still smiling, Shop 2 called back. Turns out they listen to recorded calls and try to recover lost customers. My response: why not just answer for it the first time?
In real estate and property management your approach won't look exactly like Carlos, but the principle is the same. Remove the fatigue and they will bring you their entire portfolio without a single question.
- Are sellers confident you have them covered at every angle?
- Do buyers know you are on their house hunt harder than they are?
- Do portfolio owners know maintenance and vacancies are handled, full stop?
- On social media, are you commanding the sale or asking about light versus dark bathrooms?
CTAs That Fumble the Sale
✕ Check the link in my bio
✕ Let me know what you think
✕ Let's schedule a call (I would rather eat glass)
✕ Light or dark bathrooms?
Don't be boring.
Command the sale.
Remove decision fatigue.
Be the human who loves what they do.
03
I Did Nothing on My Site for 30 Days
And here is what actually happened to my rankings
I have a secret to tell you: I did not do one thing on my website in the last 30 days.
Why? Things are changing quickly and I am making some key changes that will impact complex automations. I am investing in writing so not everything I do is AI generated. We banged out 15 pages on the site last month so I felt great about stepping back, and I wanted to test a theory: could I skip it for a bit and still grow?
↑ Clicks
Increased vs. prior 30 days
↑ CTR
Click-through rate up
Slight ↓
Positioning dipped, not badly
I was correct. We increased our clicks, impressions, and click-through rate. Our positioning dropped a bit but not terribly. All in all, I enjoyed the break and we didn't lose what we gained.
The takeaway: a strong content foundation holds. You don't have to be on it every single day for it to keep working for you.
Reply and tell me where your sales are being fumbled. If you are ready to fix it, book your free strategy session above. And if someone needs to hear this today, forward it their way.
Be back in June. Until then, see you socially. By that I mean on social because I rarely am anywhere but behind the computer, the beach, or the gym.
Leslie
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AI fatigue, Trial Reels, and how I started doing my dad’s books at age 8
Can Trial Reels Go Viral | AI fatigue | My Unusal Origin Story
Welcome back to Market like a Lyon
This round we are covering:
Can Trial Reels go Viral?
AI Fatigue and where I like to focus
My first taste of being a business owner- doing my dad’s books at 8
If you are curious about archived editions you can find those Here
Most people approach Instagram Reels with a vague hope that something will take off. They post, check the view count, feel the disappointment creep in when it doesn’t explode, and either push harder or give up.
Neither of those responses is informed by what the algorithm is looking for.
I just published a deep dive on exactly this and I want to give you the short version here because there are a few things in this post that genuinely surprised even me when I put them together.
Viral is not the goal.
Understanding what the algorithm rewards IS the goal. Viral reach is what happens when you consistently produce content that hits the right signals. It is an outcome, not a strategy.
So what does the algorithm reward in 2026?
Watch time above everything.
The first three seconds determine whether Instagram pushes your content further or lets it quietly disappear.
Completion rates above 80% trigger extended distribution. Below 50% and you are being suppressed whether you know it or not.
DM shares over likes. Adam Mosseri has confirmed this directly. When someone sends your Reel to a friend, Instagram treats it as the strongest quality endorsement on the platform.
Weighted three to five times higher than a like for reaching people who don’t already follow you. The test before you publish anything: would someone send this to a specific person in their life? If the honest answer is no, the content needs work.
Saves signal lasting value.
When someone saves your content they are telling Instagram it was worth returning to. Saves are weighted roughly three times higher than likes. If your Reels are purely entertainment without utility, they may get views without accumulating the saves that drive sustained distribution.
And here is where Trial Reels become strategically significant.
Because Trial Reels show your content to a cold audience of non-followers FIRST, a Trial Reel that earns strong watch time,
DM shares and saves has already demonstrated the exact signals Instagram uses to justify wider distribution. You are not gambling with your main feed metrics every time you experiment. You are running controlled tests and feeding the results back into your content strategy.
The full breakdown including what actively tanks your reach, how to engineer hooks, and why posting volume matters more than most people want to hear is all in the new post.
|
Part 2: AI FATIGUE IS REAL. HERE'S WHERE AI ACTUALLY BELONGS IN YOUR MARKETING.
Something is happening in content right now and I think we all feel it even if we haven’t named it yet.
AI fatigue.
You know it when you read it. The newsletter that sounds like it was written by someone trying to sound like a newsletter. The LinkedIn post that hits every beat perfectly but somehow feels like no one actually wrote it. The social caption that is technically correct and completely soulless.
People are exhausted by it. And they are getting very good at detecting it.
Here is my honest take after building out AI-integrated marketing pipelines for clients:
The problem is not AI. The problem is where people are applying it.
AI should not be automating your voice. It should not be writing your content, generating your opinions, or replacing the thing that made people follow you in the first place. Your perspective is the asset. That cannot be automated and the moment you try, your audience feels it and they leave.
Where AI belongs is in the operational layer behind your content.
The touch points.
The pipeline.
The systems that make sure every lead is captured, every follow-up happens, and no one falls through the cracks while you are busy doing the actual human work of your business.
Here is a real example from a client I work with.
All leads come through social media via direct call to actions and DM campaigns.
When someone raises their hand, we capture their email and or WhatsApp number.
From there they are funneled into a pipeline, social leads get tagged, emails get added to the newsletter list, and they immediately receive an intro email on the property or lead magnet they requested. At that first point of contact they are assigned to a specific agent and that relationship stays consistent throughout the entire lifecycle.
If they respond and show genuine interest they move to hot leads. From there it is a real conversation, a call, a showing, and a discussion.
Because real estate has a long buying cycle, some of these leads will not close for months possibly years. But they are in a system that keeps them warm, keeps the relationship intact, and means that when they ARE ready, we are the ones they call.
None of that pipeline required a human to sit and manually follow up with every single person. The automation handled the operational layer so the humans could focus on the conversations that are ready to close deals.
That is where AI earns its place. Not writing your Instagram captions. Running the infrastructure behind them.
Your voice is the front door. Your systems are what happens after someone walks through it. Both matter. But they are not the same thing and they should not be treated that way.
I’m currently offering a FREE Strategy Session. BOOK HERE!
My First Taste of Entrepreneurship was when I was 8
I have been thinking a lot lately about origin stories.
Not the polished version people put on their About page, but the actual version. The one with the weird details and the unexpected turns that do not fit neatly into a bio.
Here is mine first foray into entrepreneurship:
I started doing my dad’s books when I was eight years old. He was self-employed and someone had to do it. That someone was me. I look back on that now and have some questions, but the truth is I did a bang-up job.
Numbers made sense to me in a way they maybe should not have for an eight-year-old and somewhere in that tiny bookkeeper brain was the beginning of understanding how businesses work.
Years later I was a stay-at-home wife and mom to six kids.
My first real brand was our family farm. We grew crops, we retailed them, we ran a 300 acre operation. I managed it. I marketed it. I figured out what people wanted to buy and how to get them to buy it.
That farm is where I cut my teeth on everything I now do professionally. I just did not know that yet.
Then came my divorce. And a decision that I still think about as one of the most clarifying moments of my business life.
I deliberately chose a business I knew absolutely nothing about.
Not because it was the smart, safe, logical choice. Because I wanted to test a theory. I believed that if I understood the framework of how businesses work, I could run any business. I could build the sales process, manage the customer journey, create the marketing engine, and make it profitable regardless of the industry.
So I did.
I built an entire sales funnel where clients went through the full process and paid before they ever spoke to me directly. No call first. No coffee chat. No convince-me-to-hire-you conversation.
The system did that work. And it worked. We hit $100k within six months.
From there I launched four more businesses. Each one taught me something. Each one confirmed what I was starting to understand more clearly: marketing was the thread running through all of it.
The ability to find the right people, tell them the right story, build the right system to move them from stranger to client. That was the skill. The industry was almost beside the point.
This business, the one I run now, is where all of those roads led. Helping business owners build the marketing frameworks that achieve their goals. Not tactics for the sake of tactics. Systems. Positioning.
The architecture underneath the content.
I started at eight doing my dad’s books on a very new, very ancient computer. I am still doing the same thing, just for a lot more businesses and the books look a little different now.
If you are in the middle of your own weird, nonlinear business journey right now, I just want to say: the thread is there. You might not be able to see it yet. But it is there.
Until next month, Leslie Lyon
P.S. Questions are always my favorite. They’re how I build most of my content. If something in here sparked one, hit reply. I read every one.
When you are the oldest you are never alone. Here is me and the men I led back then. AKA my brothers!
Permission Marketing, AI, Trial Reels and Boobs
I get thousands of emails to my inbox a month. Only 1 I look forward to. This brought me to a giant conformational bias I can't shake.
I have one newsletter I never miss. One.
She’s a gem of a writer, knows her stuff, and has a voice unlike anyone else in the space. She’s the GOAT of email marketing, and if you haven’t checked out Ann Handley, you really should. Start here: annhandley.com/articles
This week she covered something worth paying attention to: AI email summarization.
You know the one, where AI reads, summarizes, and even responds to your emails while you never actually open them. The human experience of reading never happens.
Her point? If you aren’t being expressly chosen by your reader, you aren’t going to enjoy the benefits of permission-based email marketing. And she’s not wrong.
If your email voice is indistinguishable from AI-generated copy, your reader has zero reason to set it aside and consume it themselves. The AI will just handle it.
Here’s where my confirmation bias kicked in.
Because that line of thinking took me straight to social media. And here’s the thing: people are still consuming social media themselves. Not their AI assistants. They are actively scrolling, engaging, connecting, and interacting on their favorite channels every single day.
I say this as someone who spends an enormous amount of time creating content across social media platforms. Even with that investment, I still consume my favorites daily.
Which brings me to the entire point.
Social media is still the place where real human consumption is happening. Where people choose what they see, who they follow, and what holds their attention. If you aren’t showing up consistently enough to build a real presence, to be recognizable, to be unique, to give your people a genuine glimpse of you and your business, what exactly is the plan?
Your strategy doesn’t have to be complex. It does need a direction, a voice, and something that isn’t boring af to enjoy by your people. Not at all dissimilar to email consumption.
Do you have an email/newsletter you can’t live without.
Part 2: Latest Trial Reels News and when I finally felt like I understood myself as a parent.
Trial Reels had a bit of a glitch last week.
I’m not going to lie. When I saw the numbers tank in my account and my clients’ accounts, I had a moment.
You have got to be kidding me. Did they change the algorithm again?
I ran a few test posts, mixed things up, and the results were absolutely horrific.
Two days later, a little Instagram birdie informed me there had been an internal issue and it was course correcting.
In real time I watched the abysmal turn into the legendary. And I felt exactly like I did when I finally had my daughter.
Mind you, I had three boys before her. When I say I had no idea what I was doing, I mean it literally. But when my daughter arrived, she learned the way I did. She processed the way I did. She did not need to pee on everything in order to express herself. I finally understood parenting on a completely different level.
One day I showed her the alphabet and the sounds each letter made. The next day she taught herself to read.
The boys are by no means unintelligent. They are just much more physically wired, busy bee learners. With them I gave it absolutely everything I had and sometimes I simply could not find a pattern to their process.
My daughter showed up and I suddenly had people like me in the world. I was understood in a way I hadn’t experienced before.
Okay. Sidequest over.
Back to Instagram. Now that Trial Reels is back on track, check out the latest feature in the Instagram Trial Reels resource library to see how you can increase your reach by 20%.
No access to Trial Reels yet? Do the exact same thing without trials until you get it. It really is that simple.
Want the full breakdown on how Trial Reels actually works and what the data says about reach?
I’ve got you covered: Does Trial Reels Increase Views?
Are you allowed to talk about boobs in a marketing newsletter?!
I have a SubStack where I write on a more personal level.
There are times in my experience where people are offended by my humor and even my comfort with my body. Sometimes I ignore, sometimes I confront. If you are curious what shaped my wicked sense of humor feel free to explore more deeply.
I believe the world is so much better with humor and having great boobs also helps! Is it okay to say boobs in a marketing newsletter?!
https://leslielyon.substack.com/p/why-my-sense-of-humor-offends-you
I’m currently offering a FREE Strategy Session. BOOK HERE!
I am so constantly in awe of this life we get to partake in. Like are you for real?! After a lifetime of trying to find myself, she is here and she is so great and I just love her.
That beauty doesn’t find us all you know. If you have found it I would love to hear about it.
Leslie Lyon
P.S. I create a lot of my content from clients and friends questions. So if you have em, feel free to share them!
That One Time I acted like a little B**** | What I assess in my clients Marketing | Gramma Vibes
Saying the marketing space is saturated is the understatement of the year.
I was impressed to see myself playing victim to the saturated market bs I hear everywhere.
I preach authenticity and normally have zero issue finding mine in any space. Until this year. I’ll be honest, I was a little surprised to catch myself being a b**** about it.
That’s not my normal, so finding myself there was equal parts humbling and comical.
I’m big on showing all the way up. Going all in in life, love, and work. No half measures, no excuses.
So imagine my surprise when I realized I hadn’t touched a single thing on my website in over a year. And it showed.
I could give you 27 reasons why. But the truth? I was playing victim to the saturated market story I was telling myself and using it as a very convenient excuse to keep being a b****.
So I did something about it.
I overhauled my site. Updated my areas of expertise to fully reflect what I actually do now. Then I got to work creating content that genuinely matters to me, to my current clients, and to the ones who haven’t found me yet.
You know what happened?
I went from zero clicks, the kind of website that only gets traffic if you personally hand someone the link, to 21K unique visitors and 99 clicks in 28 days.
I laid the victim story to rest. I showed all the way up. And it moved the needle in a way I couldn’t ignore.
I’ve been in the entrepreneurial space for a long time, and I genuinely believe it is the most refining thing to ever enter my world. There are probably still areas where I’m being a b**** about it. I’m self-aware enough to know that. But this one?
This one’s done.
What about you?
Are you holding onto a victim story somewhere in your body, your mindset, or your business?
Part 2: What I look at when I assess a clients marketing.
Being heavy on content creation, it would be easy to assume that when I assess a client’s marketing I lean straight into their content.
That couldn’t be further from the truth.
I look at a series of things that get us all clear on what’s actually needed to ensure content can convert. Four of them specifically.
1. Offer Clarity
2. Customer Journey
3. Content to Business Alignment
4. Measured Reality
Offer Clarity
You might be shocked at how many people are unclear on their offer and how to explain it in simple terms. We start here and get very clear on what’s being sold and whether it actually makes sense as presented.
This can be a real challenge when you offer numerous things. I say this as someone who has lived it. Offer clarity is the foundation of every marketing system. If the offer isn’t clear, no amount of content strategy, paid ads, or platform optimization will compensate for it.
This is where most audits need to start and where most businesses have more work to do than they realize. Your offers, your website copy, and your content all need to line up. When they don’t, everything else is just noise.
Customer Journey
Where does a potential client first encounter your business and what happens next? I map this out step by step from first touchpoint to signed contract.
What I’m looking for is friction. Places where the journey breaks down, requires too much effort, or asks for commitment before enough trust has been established. Almost every business has at least two or three significant friction points that are quietly killing their conversion rate.
The goal isn’t a perfect process. It’s a journey with no unnecessary obstacles between curiosity and conversion.
Content to Business Alignment
This is where I do examine content. Less so what you’re doing on social and more so what you’re actually saying and how it’s being interpreted.
There is almost always some friction between what’s being created, how it’s being received, and how it aligns to the business. This is where the magic happens. This is where we start making real traction.
Measured Reality
You know what number doesn’t count? Probably the one you find the most ego boosting.
If you’re only measuring likes and follows you are missing the entire point of your data. What I want to see is evidence that someone is tracking profile visits, link clicks, inquiry rates, and conversion from specific content types. No measurement system means no optimization. We’re just guessing.
What This Tells Me
By the time I’ve assessed these four areas I know where the real problems are. And they’re almost never where the client thought they were when we started.
That’s the value of a strategic audit over a content review. Content is the output. Strategy is the system that makes the output worth creating.
If you’ve been wondering whether your marketing foundation is solid or whether you’re building great content on shaky ground, that’s exactly what the Fractional CMO Resource Library was designed to help you assess.
I’m giving away a free strategy session. BOOK HERE!
I took some time at the end of March to travel and meet my youngest granddaughter.
Some of you know that my kids gifted me with three grandkids in 2025, bringing my total to eight. Eight grandkids. I’m still taking that in.
Miss Juniper isn’t making her digital debut just yet, so I’ll just say this. She has her daddy’s big blue eyes and she is the sweetest little gem I’ve met yet.
I haven’t hit 50 and by May I’m told grandbaby number nine will be here.
Here’s what I’ve found along this journey of parenthood and now grandparenthood. I am almost always a step or two behind. I learned to become a daughter when I became a parent. I learned to become a parent when I became a grandparent.
I can’t help but wonder if that’s entirely by design.
You are the magic the world needs. Especially in your business. You fuel it.
How do you feel about what you’re feeding your business and yourself?
Leslie Lyon
P.S. Questions are my absolute favorite and honestly how I create most of my content. If you have one, send it. FAQ’s are everything.
If someone sent you this and you would like to subscribe. Do so here!
The 2 Strategies every biz should have | My Favorite Case Study | Fractional CMO
The two social media strategies every business should have
Two Accounts. One Strategy. Twice the Growth.
Most businesses treat social media as a single entity, one account, one voice, one feed. The brands growing fastest right now are doing something different. They’re running two strategies simultaneously, and doing it intentionally.
One account for the business. One for the founder.
Your business account is your brand. Polished, consistent, built to convert. Your founder account is your story. The personality, the opinions, the human being behind the logo.
These aren’t competing accounts. They’re complements.
People don’t buy from businesses anymore. They buy from people they know, like, and trust. But they also want proof the business is credible. Two accounts let you deliver both without forcing either one to carry the full weight.
Cross-posting and collaborations are where the growth happens. When you cross-post between accounts, you introduce each audience to the other. When you collaborate, both accounts gain visibility and the algorithm rewards both. One post. Two audiences. One growing community.
If you’re only running one account, you’re doing half the work for half the result. Let your audience see the full picture, the brand they can trust and the founder they want to follow.
My favorite case study to date!
A Caribbean real estate company came to us five months ago with a problem most businesses quietly accept as normal, they were posting consistently and nobody was closing from their social media.
Their 90-day baseline told the story: 5,967 total views, 2,497 accounts reached, and a trickle of 23 new followers in a single month.
Today that same account just crossed 1.96 million views on a single reel.
No paid promotion. No influencer partnerships. No viral luck.
Just a tested content strategy built on our Instagram Trial Reels Viral Framework – and five months of executing it.
Here is what changed in 30 days once the framework kicked in:
Views jumped from 5,967 to 540,073
Accounts reached grew by 6,772%
1,058 new followers in one month
Facebook cross-posting added 2 million more views and 5,321 new followers – a 16x growth in net followers
271 Agent Referrals in less than 5 days
That is what a tested strategy does. It does not leave results to chance.
If your Instagram is active but invisible, this is the framework that changes that. We use Trial Reels to test content with cold audiences before building your strategy around it – so when you commit to a content direction, you already know it works.
The full case study is coming to the website soon. In the meantime, if you want to know what this could look like for your business, let’s talk.
Do you have a system in place to handle 271 Referrals? I built that too!
I’m currently offering a FREE Strategy Session. BOOK HERE!
Fractional CMO what is it and who needs one.
If you’ve been wondering whether your business needs serious marketing leadership but can’t justify a six-figure executive salary, you’re asking the right question.
The answer might already exist, and it’s called a Fractional CMO.
We’ve built out a full resource library to help you understand exactly what this role looks like, what it costs, and whether it’s the right move for your business right now.
Start here:
What Does a Fractional CMO Actually Do? It’s more than strategy decks and big ideas. Here’s what the role really looks like inside your business. [Read More]
How Much Does a Fractional CMO Cost? Pricing ranges vary widely. Here’s what drives the difference and what you should expect to pay. [Read More]
5 Signs Your Business Is Ready for a Fractional CMO Not every business is at the right stage. Here’s how to know if the timing is right for you. [Read More]
Fractional CMO hiring guides Everything you need to know to hire right for your company. [Read More]
You are the magic the world needs, especially in your business you fuel it. How do you feel about what you are feeding your business and yourself.
Leslie Lyon
p.s. If you have a question, those are my absolute fav and that is how I literally make most of my content from FAQ’s.
Content Marketing Trends, Video Frameworks & Instagram Resources | March 2026
Content Marketing Trends, Video Frameworks & Instagram Resources | March 2026
Welcome back to Market like a Lyon
This round we are covering:
Published Features in Marketer Mags.
4 Types of Instagram Video for Trial Reels
Instagram Trial Reels Resource Library 411
If you are curious about archived editions you can find those here.
Marketer Magazine Expert Feature (Content Marketing Trends): 📣 I was honored to be featured alongside 24 powerhouse marketers in Marketer Magazine, here’s the Instagram Trial Reels insight I shared that’s quietly changing the game in 2026.
Read the full story here p.s. I am the very last one.
Marketer Magazine Expert Feature (Content Marketing Trends): 📣 I was honored to be featured alongside 24 powerhouse marketers in Marketer Magazine, here’s the Instagram Trial Reels insight I shared that’s quietly changing the game in 2026.
Read the full story here p.s. I am the very last one.
Part 2: 4 Types of Videos and 3 Types of Pitches for your Trial Reels.
📹 Not all video content is created equal and your feed knows it.
If you’ve been rotating through Reels hoping something sticks, this is your sign to stop guessing and start testing with a system.
My latest deep-dive breaks down the 4 types of video content that consistently perform in Instagram Trial Reels:
Talking Head
B-Roll
Tutorial and
Storytelling
Plus the 3-Pitch System that lets you build trust AND drive conversions without burning out your audience.
The data doesn’t lie:
Tutorial videos are hitting 78-85% completion rates.
Talking Head videos are generating the highest profile click-throughs.
And the businesses rotating all four strategically? They’re not posting more they’re posting smarter.
👉 Read the full framework here → [4 Types of Video]
If Your Video game is less about the edits and more about what you are delivering you will succeed on Instagram, especially if you loop in Trail reels.
I'm super excited to Announce my Instagram Trial Reels Viral Framework and Resource Library
🏗️ Speaking of systems… I built you one.
If you’ve been reading my content and thinking “okay but where do I actually start” I hear you. That’s exactly why I created the Instagram Trial Reels Viral Framework, and it’s now live.
This isn’t a tips page. It’s the full blueprint the exact 4-phase system I use to take brands from posting-and-praying to running a self-feeding Instagram engine that compounds over time. Brand audit. Data-driven testing. A 6-12 month strategy built from YOUR results. And execution options that work for your bandwidth, whether you want us to run it, train you, or both.
👉 See the full framework here → [Did someone say VIRAL]
And while you’re there, don’t miss the Complete Instagram Trial Reels Resource Library sitting right on that page.
It’s everything from “What even ARE Trial Reels?” all the way to hooks, templates, metrics benchmarks, and how to turn Instagram into your entire sales funnel.
All in one place. All free.
📚 Start with whatever you need most: → Just getting started? What Are Instagram Trial Reels and How They Work → Ready to optimize? Trial Reels Metrics: What Good Performance Actually Looks Like → Need content ideas? 25 Hooks + 10 Templates
I’m currently offering a FREE Strategy Session. BOOK HERE!
Next newsletter, we are doing a deep dive into:
The two, yes two social Strategies everyone needs.
Case Study of how Organic Social is always the answer.
Why your email list isn’t being fully used and how to shift that.
Every day we speak life into tomorrow make it magical.
Leslie Lyon
p.s. If you have a question, those are my absolute fav and that is how I literally make most of my content from FAQ’s.
If someone sent you this email and you would like to subscribe, DO IT!
Social Top of Funnel, Buyers Shortlist, & Keeping Your Vibes High
Remember when social media was just “top of funnel awareness”? Post content → Hope people see you → Maybe they’ll find your website → Eventually buy something
Those days are over.
My actual Instagram sales process:
Create engaging content
They engage and follow my call to action
Call to action leads them to more of me
They either book a sales call or DM me → I close
Real estate example:
Post a property or engagment content
Client engages
Ends up on email list
Still comes back to DMs to discuss logistics
RE has a longer close cycle but this process keeps you on their short list.
See below for explainer on shortlist importance.
Why do they always end up in DMs? They want to build a relationship with who they are buying from.
Even with email lists, funnels, and fancy automation, they come back to Instagram DMs because that’s where the real conversations happen.
Instagram isn’t just awareness. It’s discovery, nurturing, AND closing.
Stop thinking 2018. Start selling 2026.
Let me tell you about the deal you lost three months ago.
You know, the one you don’t even know about yet.
The prospect who’s currently building a mental shortlist of vendors they’ll consider when they’re ready to buy. The one who’s scrolling LinkedIn, asking peers for recommendations, and quietly evaluating who they trust.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: by the time they reach out to you, the decision is basically already made.
The Research That Changes Everything
A study from Bain and Google (published in Harvard Business Review) found something that should make every business owner pay attention:
📊 80-90% of B2B buyers already have a shortlist of three vendors before they even begin formal research
📊 90% of purchases are ultimately made from that original “day one” list
Even more striking? Research from Wynter and Omniscient tracking 100 real B2B buying decisions shows:
📊 92% of buyers remain entirely within their initial shortlist
📊 61% of buyers already have a single preferred vendor selected before any formal evaluation begins
Translation: If you’re not on their radar early, you’re not in the running.
So How Do You Get On The Shortlist?
The research identified three key factors that put vendors on the “day one” list:
1. Previous Positive Experience They’ve worked with you, seen your work, or followed your content over time.
2. Peer Recommendations Someone they trust has mentioned you. Word-of-mouth still reigns supreme (58% of buyers say peer recommendations matter most).
3. Strong Digital Presence Your website, your content, your visibility—all of it contributes to whether you make the cut.
But here’s what the research doesn’t explicitly say (but I will):
The real differentiator is personality + a distinct point of view.
That’s what separates you from every other expert saying the same things. It’s what makes you memorable in a sea of sameness. It’s why someone remembers YOUR name when they finally decide they’re ready to buy.
What This Means For Your Business
Stop thinking about “generating leads” and start thinking about “building awareness.”
Stop optimizing for the moment someone fills out a contact form and start showing up consistently long before they know they need you.
Stop being another voice in the crowd and start having a distinct POV that people remember.
Because 97% of buyers will check out your website during their research. 78% will shortlist only 3 vendors. And if you’re not already in their awareness, you won’t make the cut.
The game isn’t won when they reach out. It’s won in the months before, when they’re quietly building their list.
The state of the world and your impact
t is safe to say the world feels heavy right now.
Most of us are carrying more than we let on.
I won’t pretend global or national events don’t affect me, they do. But I’m also aware that not every hardship lands on me in the same way it lands on others.
Over the years, I’ve learned that I don’t always need a microphone or a megaphone to live my values.
Sometimes, the most meaningful form of resistance is staying whole.
Refusing to become fragmented, hardened, or consumed by polarization.
I know this: I am no good to anyone if I allow fear, anger, or constant crisis to take me offline emotionally.
What I can do is remain available. Grounded. Compassionate. Clear.
When I’m needed, truly needed, I show up.
And when I’m not, I keep living in a way that reflects what I believe.
That’s how I protect my energy.
That’s how I stay useful.
That’s how I ensure I can make an impact when it is most needed.
I know sometimes it feels weird to keep promoting your business when some things in the world weigh us down. In truth you are supporting in the ways you can until called in another way.
So this is my encouragement that your resistance may not feel like enough but it is resistance none the less.
I’m currently offering a FREE Strategy Session. BOOK HERE!
Next newsletter, we are doing a deep dive into:
Instagram Trial Reels Resource Library
Top 4 Types of Reels for Instagram
Why everyone complicates viral content
Every thought is creating your reality, make sure you love what you are creating.
Leslie Lyon
p.s. If you enjoyed this, let me know.