How can I grow my Instagram account quickly?
I’m going to go ahead and burst your bubble right here, right now, early in this article, and tell you off top, there really isn’t a secret to growing your Instagram account.
Realistically, at this point in the history of digital marketing channels and developing social media accounts there aren’t many “secrets” per se. There are tried and true strategies that work consistently and new fangled, often less than kosher, methods that work... sometimes. Social media isn’t some outside new school channel at this point, it’s a part of the marketing old guard. Because of this it actually aligns quite nicely with many other marketing strategies and tactics you are likely already familiar with.
So, what does that mean?
Well, this means that how to grow your Instagram has kind of already been figured out. I have been able to help my clients set up their accounts, engage intentionally and add followers to their accounts who have a high likelihood of becoming paying customers.
In this article, I’m sharing the not so secret, but still really good, Instagram growth strategies that will help get you those first (or next) 1000 followers.
Real Talk Moment
The number one question people ask me about Instagram is how to get followers FAST.
Here’s the thing…
Getting high quality followers is a process that takes time (think 6-8 months or more)
You will have to commit to becoming a pro content creator and generous Instagram community member.
Not every follower is a good follower
Prepare yourself to embrace a trial and error lifestyle
Always use my favourite filter, “would I act like this in real life?”
We want there to be a secret because we don’t want to hear the truth. We don’t to hear that it’s going to be more work than we hope, trial and error, take time.
Have a really clear sense of who your client avatar is.
Is Instagram the right place?
I understand that you want to be on Instagram because all of the cool kids (ie. Millennials) are there, but is your ideal customer a cool kid? With more that 1 billion monthly active users and 37% of US adults using the platform it is quite likely you can find an audience on Instagram. That being said there is a sweet spot.
**Instagram really sings if you are a B2C business,
That doesn’t mean if you aren’t these things that you shouldn't use Instagram, but I would recommend taking a real look at your objectives and then assess.
One objective that works really well on IG is humanizing your brand, showing your workplace to be a really awesome place to work. This is often a B2B goal. This can be achieved to great effect on IG.
Instagram is great at building relationships, it’s also great as a branding tool,
If your ideal doesn’t fall within the sweet spot it might be wisest to look at other channels OR prepare to get creative. If you want to achieve good growth on IG you want your ideal audience to already be present on Instagram before you dive in. Growing on IG is challenging enough without having to hope your audience will turn up eventually. [Write an article on how to figure out if your audience is on IG already]
Attract the right audience with an Instagram profile that speaks directly to the problem you solve/ Set up and optimize your account profile to speak to your ideal follower
Your first goal is to make it very obvious to your ideal audience that yours is an account they should follow. If you are using Instagram for business, one of the best places to do this explicitly is by tailoring your IG profile to speak directly to your ideal audience and how your product or service can help them.
This first step is obvious and perhaps that’s why it is often overlooked or taken for granted. Your profile needs to be a clear signal to visitors that they have arrived at the type of account they are interested in.
This may well be this person’s first interaction with your brand, the thing they see before they go to your website.
If your account reads as a list of your greatest hits and all about you that’s what I would change FIRST. When it comes to attracting people to you, it’s all about them.
It’s a small bit of real estate that needs to communicate a ton so let’s look at the sections in more detail.
Profile Photo
Let this be a high quality image of you or your business’s logo. You want it to catch the eye and be a good representation of your brand.
Bio
Think about the keywords someone would be searching for if they were looking for you. Then use those because this field is searchable. Avoid the impulse to use high-falutin or overly jiggy language that isn’t natural to your ideal follower. Use the actual language they would use. You need to state EXPLICITLY who you help and how.
[Grab the cheat sheet that will help you create an Instagram profile optimized for business - Link to opt-in]
Clickable link
This should deep link or direct people to a landing page. Don’t be afraid to change this often. I like swapping because it reduces the amount of options and rabbit holes people following the link can get drawn into. Figure out what your priorities are and then drive folks there. If you absolutely must have multiple links you can use a service like link tree. Also use a link shortener to help you track.
Have consistent branding that makes you stand out
Why is branding important? Because Instagram is all about visual storytelling and the first story you want to tell is the story of your brand. Brand marketing is all about the promise of your brand. What is the promise you are making to your customers?
Aesthetics is still important on instagram. Even as there are more and more ways to show up more casually and informally at it’s core Instagram is about curating beautiful things. Having a cohesive brand presence signals to visitors that you care about how your brand shows up and subtly conveys your messaging in visual and verbal ways.
Make sure what you offer your followers is clear
What type of content will you be providing to your followers. Your last 12 posts should be representative of what a follower should expect to get from you. Does this content align with what your ideal follower is interested in? That should always be your goal. Use some sort of framework to help you capture what content you can create that would resonate with your ideal client and then think through what you will create and decide when you will post. You can add value in many ways education, inspiration, entertainment.
To leverage this platform for business you should also be showcasing how well you know your ideal client. Pros will be agitating their pain points and positioning products and services you offer as their solution.
Consistency is Key
There is no better way to gain favour from the IG algorithm gods than to post high quality content, regularly.
Post Consistently
You will hear this one often as well and this is because it is true. There is no way around this. You need to be consistent. From an algorithm perspective you are teaching the the machine learning
You are providing the platform with more (hopefully high quality) content to share. These are behaviours the platform rewards.
From a human perspective, it helps to form a habit. It builds trust. It allows your followers to get to know you. You build up your content and your body of work which builds your authority
The more pieces of content You are increasing your potential visibility you’re giving the give yourself and advantage by appearing more frequently
What’s more important than quantity is getting to a cadence that you can commit to doing regularly. If 2 posts a week is what you can manage than do only that but be consistent about it. It’s not about being a slave to creating content, but it is about the commitment you are making to show up consistently for your audience. You want them to understand they can depend on you.
To post more and keep it consistent consider using a scheduler like Later or Planoly or Buffer. Treat this seriously as you would other marketing efforts for your business. Make this a task add it to your to do list and get it done. It's that important. A scheduler allows you to batch your work; you can set aside a specific slot of time and bang out a bunch of posts, then schedule them to go out over time. This will help to keep you posting content on a consistent basis.
Posts are getting less frequent. With the other areas Instagram is pushing 2-3 times in your feed is likely enough while reserving time to engage on the other aspects of the site (Stories, Lives, IGTV) is key. [Create content consistently by batching and scheduling]
Post content that will entertain, educate or inspire your ideal audience - post what they want
If you are a service then likely you will want to