If you want to grow on Instagram, but you’re sick of hearing the same old generic advice that only works for a select few…
Then this blog is for you.
I’m sharing the 3 most important steps I took to grow my Instagram following organically — from 0 to 199,000 – in less than 3 years.
Hey guys, what’s up? It’s Alex. Coming at ya this week with some real advice and tough love about everyone’s favorite obsession…
Instagram.
But before we get into that, if you’re new to the crew – welcome!
On my blog, you’ll find tons of in-depth tutorials to help you master the world of digital marketing – from social media to Facebook ads to email copy and everything in between.
Alright now here are the 3 most important steps I took to grow my following organically. (But btw this strategy works for other short-form video platforms like TikTok as well…)
And make sure to stick around till the end because I’ll let you in on the biggest Instagram growth hack that NO ONE ELSE is talking about…
Okay. First thing…
#1 – Share New Ideas & Opinions
I see so many people show up on Instagram and just re-hash the same old stuff over and over again. If you want to garner any sort of audience on Instagram you need to be sharing stuff no one else is, or at least not in the EXACT same way.
People are CRAVING fresh perspectives.
Get clear on who you are and what you stand for…
What new ideas, opinions or experiences can you share that offer value in the forms of entertainment, inspiration or education?
How can you be helpful, funny, interesting, inspiring, thought-provoking?
BE YOU!!
Then show up – consistently. Over and over and over again.
This is by far the hardest, but most important, step.
When you’re starting from ZERO – it’s gonna take work, dedication, and consistency to grow your following. I don’t care what anyone else says.
Following a magical Reel unicorn into the land of “viral” is not going to make you an overnight success. And even if you do get lucky and “go viral” it likely won’t happen right away.
When I started my Instagram, I posted twice a day, every single day of the week.
And I did that for 3 years.
I just recently scaled that back and now I’m only posting once a day.
Now I’m not trying to tell YOU that posting twice a day (or even once a day) 7 days a week is the magic number to growing fast.
But obviously, the more often you post – the higher chances you have of getting more eyeballs to see your stuff.
But again… what’s most important here is consistency.
It’s better to post 3 days/week consistently than it is to post 7 days/week and then ghost for 2 weeks because you couldn’t keep up…
Pick a posting schedule that you feel confident you can keep up with it – and then stick to it. Alright, next up…
#2 – Have Conversations
One of the best ways to grow organically is to be super interactive with your account. When someone likes, comments, and messages you – respond!
Or better yet, start up a full-blown conversation.
Answer their questions and involve your followers in your content. This means posting surveys for them to participate in…
Or maybe hosting a free challenge
Or doing the odd giveaway….
When you connect with your audience – and more importantly – get THEM to continually interact and engage with you…
That tells the algorithm that your page is useful and helpful and that people ACTUALLY like it enough to return to it.
And they’ll start showing your page to more people similar to the followers already engaging with you.
But connecting goes even deeper than this…
It also means showing up consistently (there’s that word again) on your stories. This is honestly the magic sauce for making your followers feel truly connected to you.
It’s like getting a sneak peek inside your REAL LIFE – behind the screen.
It makes your followers feel like they know you better and like you’re actually good friends.
And when they become accustomed to viewing your stories every day…
Guess what?
They’ll keep coming back day after day to see what shenanigans you’re up to. The key to getting your audience hooked and committed to viewing your stories is to really just show up and treat them like your besties…
Take them through your day. Share funny stories, relatable anecdotes, and what you’re currently working on…
Don’t overthink this one or try to keep it too rigid. Just have fun with it!
#3 – Solve Problems
Okay so you’re consistently showing up and sharing fresh ideas and perspectives…
And taking the time actually be a human and connect with the other humans engaging with your account…
Now it’s time to take it to the next level and actually HELP these humans.
And how can you do that?
By asking them what they need help with! By listening and responding and then actually doing something about it and providing valuable solutions.
I see so many people who are afraid of giving away “too much” – because then they think that no one will ever buy from them.
But actually – the opposite is true.
When the things you’re giving away (like tips, education, insight, sharing your favorite tools, advice, etc.) are helpful and solve REAL problems, it actually makes people MORE inclined to buy from you.
They think “Wow, if the stuff they give away for free is this good – how much better is that stuff I have to pay for?!”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard something along those same lines from my followers and subscribers.
And when you are giving out great free value, here’s another thing. Your followers will keep coming BACK to your page to learn more…
They’ll be more inclined to share your stuff with their followers…
And all of this will help you grow faster.
Notice anything about these 3 tips?
None of them are exactly a “lightning in a bottle” scheme or tactic to “hack” your growth or “go viral” overnight…
Because even though no one wants to hear it – you won’t grow your following overnight.
It takes time.
Or I should say… It takes time if you want to do it RIGHT. It seems like a new video hits YouTube practically every single day teaching people “how to go viral on Instagram”….
But the #1 biggest Instagram growth hack that NO ONE else is talking about is…
Going viral is a FLUKE.
And that’s NOT actually the kind of growth you want.
I had a video go viral last year – A LOT of people gave me a quick, mindless follow without any intention to actually start a business or any idea who I am or what I’m all about…
And they likely haven’t engaged with my brand since. They aren’t aligned with my message and certainly won’t become paying customers…
And this isn’t rocket science, but who actually wants followers who don’t engage, feel aligned or buy from you? I mean – in a lot of cases, that’s what you’re getting when you “go viral”.
The more “low-quality followers” you have, the HARDER it becomes to connect with your “high-quality followers”.
Aka – your true fans.
The ones that have been following you from the beginning, the one’s who are actually interested in what you have to say, the ones that engage with your content and support your business.
Those are the people you want to attract.
So, what’s the lesson in all of this?
A small but engaged audience is FAR more powerful than a large and unaware audience.
STOP worrying so much about the number of followers you have – the number doesn’t really mean anything anyways.
START worrying about how you can better connect with the followers you DO have. How you can HELP THEM.
And I promise, promise, PROMISE you that you will see results that will be 10000% better for your business than having an impressive number of followers. I hope you found this helpful.
And, if you want to know exactly how I write juicy social media captions that CAPTURE ATTENTION, check out that blog next.
Until next time, I’m Alex. Ciao for now!
