30 Jul 5 ways to grow your Instagram today
Are you struggling to grow your Instagram?
In a world full of people who want to be ‘instafamous’ it can be difficult to stand out of the crowd. If you’ve been slogging away trying to grow your Instagram but all you hear are crickets, then perhaps it’s time for a fresh approach. Do keep in mind though, the adage ‘quality over quantity’ still applies here, what’s the point of having thousands of followers if none of them are engaging with your content?
Here are my top tips to grow your Instagram today.
Hi, my name is
People are curious creatures and want to know all about your business, so let your audience get to know the face behind the brand. Creating an emotional connection with your audience is essentially what will influence them to buy from you. The more familiar they are with you, the more they trust your brand, the more likely they are to not only follow you but also buy from you and invite their friends along for the ride too. Showing your personality, creating rapport, and making a good impression is simple. Choose a professional photo or image that represents you, do an introduction post and invite your audience to start a conversation with you, for example;
“Hi! My name is Lauren, my friends call me Loz. I’m the #bossbabe behind Empower House and the one who you may have noticed double tapping on your posts or leaving you a comment – it’s nice to meet you (Insta-officially). I’ve been in business for nearly 2 years now and have grown this baby from scratch, woo! I just wanted to reach out and say thank you for following me, I seriously do a little happy dance every time I find myself with a new pal. I thought it might be fun to tell you some random facts about me and would love to know your random facts too, so we can get to know one another better. So, as a regular thing from now on, let’s do Random Fact Friday’s! I’ll start… My very first random fact for the first ever Random Fact Friday is: The one food I cannot resist is ICE CREAM – there is a fun memory my family love to bring up from when I was a young girl, where I was sitting down with my Aunt’s grandmother and said to her “Ice cream is very important, isn’t it?” I’m a long-term ice cream fan girl for sure. Join in with Random Fact Friday’s by dropping your random fact below! That’s all from me for now, peace out Brussel sprouts!”
Use your own voice to script an introduction post, create something uniquely you and read it out loud to yourself so you can hear the tone for yourself. This should be fun, so don’t take it too seriously! The goal here is to build trust and start conversations, people like to be included, so remember to respond to each and every comment – it’s called ‘engagement’ for a reason and will help you grow your Instagram faster than you can say “holy guacamole.”
These are the days of our (Insta) lives
No doubt by now you would have heard, watched and maybe even shared an Instagram story. These are the perfect way to give your audience a little insight into what your brand is about. You could hold a ‘how to’ segment, show behind the scenes, repurpose old blogs into Instagram story top tips or talk about new products or services – you’re literally only limited by your creativity here. Instagram stories are the perfect way to grow your Instagram following because they’re discoverable, short and sweet, and your audience doesn’t have to make any effort to find them – win!
Spread the love
It’s called SOCIAL media, so it’s time to do exactly that – get socialising. The rise of the Instagram bots means people are seeing more and more comments with ‘great feed’ and ‘nice one,’ you can use this to your advantage by leaving REAL comments. Go through 10% of your followers each day/week and leave them a genuine comment or two on their photos. You’ll pop up in their notifications, make their day and (you guessed it) you’re building trust and rapport by being an actual human being. Pro tip: keep it positive and uplifting. People love it when you make them feel good and will continue to come back to you again and again – you can literally spread the love AND grow your Instagram at the same time. How’s that for a win-win situation?
This is a dating game
Social media is like dating, you need to woo your audience, romance them, give them the warm and fuzzies, make them laugh, give them genuine compliments but don’t come on too strong or be too needy. Got all that? To successfully grow your Instagram, you need to remember that you are creating relationships with these people, and they are people, so treat them with respect and give more than you ask for. Ever had one of those friends who only called when they needed something, always forgot their wallet and never seems to return the favour? Don’t be that guy.
You’ve got to be in it
To grow your Instagram, you must actively use it. By posting regularly, you give your audience something new to look out for. As I said earlier, this is all about quality over quantity, so planning out your content is a must – don’t just post any old thing for the sake of posting. Curate your content to give the people something of value, entertain them, educate them, or inspire them. Even when it seems like no one is watching, there are always those who are looking on from the sidelines so give them a reason to come on in and get involved with you. Being consistent is key, let your people know they can count on you to be there tomorrow (or the next day) with some more great stuff, don’t leave it too long or you’ll be left behind.
How did I do? I’d love to hear from you, leave your feedback and any questions in the comments below.