Instagram has been growing since its inception. The major reason is that it always came up with something new for its users. The audience is always in constant need of something unique that excites them, and Instagram always managed to provide the audience what they wanted. As a result, Instagram has now multiple features for the creators as well as the audience. That is the reason why major brands are investing so much on this platform.

How to grow on social media, especially Instagram? This has been a constant question for many. Though this is not easy at all, some answers to it have remained constant. We have also tried to sum up a few tips that will surely help you.

$1.80 Instagram growth strategy

You must have heard of this technique. Thi growth hack was given by Gary Vaynerchuk. For those who do not know about him, he is the Chairman of New York based communication company VaynerX and CEO of VaynerMedia.

This technique asks the Instagram users to leave their “two cents” i.e. a meaningful comment, on 9 posts over 10 hashtags, each day. So, the mathematics is $0.02+9(x10)= $1.80.

So, there are three simple steps you have to follow if you want to adopt this Instagram growth technique.

  • Find out the 10 top hashtags of your niche.
  • Choose nine good posts from each hashtag.
  • Comment something meaningful on each post you have found.

The main idea is to be a part of the community so that people of your niche also get to know about you. It is about interaction and building links. I do not consider it spamming as you are not going to each post and promoting your content. You are visiting people’s profiles and appreciating them for their work. Though this technique is old, still it works very well.

Content is the king

It should always be kept in mind that good content will make your Instagram account grow. Whether you have a business account or a personal account, your content will help your get recognition. Good quality content always helps you get more followers.

There are three steps that you should continue every day if you really want to grow on Instagram.

  • Create good quality content
  • Amplify it all around
  • Get back to ideation for the next post

This should always be your mantra for Instagram. You should always keep an eye on your competitors and check what kind of content they are posting. You can find a lot of content ideas for your page as well. Other than this, do hashtag research to check what kind of content is trending on certain hashtags.

Though this sounds impractical, if you set your goals ridiculously high and fail, you will still land higher than many of your competitors’ bars. Therefore, have a broader perspective, a clear mindset, and keep researching the content.

Many small creators make a serious mistake of neglecting the quality of the content and focus on other growth tactics. However, content should always be the foremost priority when it comes to Instagram growth.

Use good quality photos, never use stock pictures and images, be unique and make content that your audience can relate to.

Also, check out what you should not do on Instagram.

Don’t always rely on hashtags

Hashtags on Instagram are just a gamble until you have complete knowledge about them. Even if you get to know everything about them, there is no guarantee that your Instagram posts will outshine.

If you are a small creator, chances are very high that you get lost in the ocean of posts on the high-ranked hashtag you use. Creators in their initial stage use the common hashtags from their niche. For example, most of the life coaches at their initial stage on the platform use hashtags like motivation, entrepreneurship etc. On such common hashtags, verified accounts with a massive loyal audience rule.

So, it is important to use unique hashtags that are not much exploited. The chances of your posts trending on these hashtags will be more. Also, never treat hashtags as a primary source of engagement. However, if somehow you manage to trend your posts on some good hashtags, your follower count will surely increase. However, for that, you need to be consistent and one or two posts doing rounds on the hashtags won’t help.

Also, you need to be very careful while choosing the hashtags. You may get shadowbanned by Instagram if you continue to post content with the same hashtags. So, it is important to consistently find different hashtags according to your niche. Other than this, always avoid using controversial and explicit hashtags. These can also lead to the removal of your posts from the platform.

IG stories are a goldmine

Never underestimate your IG stories. IG stories are a goldmine. There is no benefit in putting efforts on posts only and ignoring IG stories. Though the life span of stories is 24 hours only, you can still make a great impact if you use them properly.

You can add polls, quizzes, Q&As etc. and improve user engagement on your stories. This will surely help your page grow as your followers will feel more connected to it.

Your stories are a great way to add more aesthetics to your page. There are different stickers that you can use and add to your stories. Using occasional stickers can benefit you a lot. These surely increase the reach in your vicinity.

Hashtags work great in stories as well. Surely, these will help your stories reach more people. You can always check the insights of Instagram stories.

Use Reels

The short videos that you create for Reels have a great potential of getting viral. The reason is that the audience love short-video content that is easily consumable.

Have a look at these stats- Instagram Reels Stats

Content ideation is very important when it comes to Instagram Reels. You need to be creative with that. There are several ways you can use Reels for your benefit. You can share brand stories, show behind the scene videos, give quick tutorials, fun facts, collaborate with other influencers etc.

Other content ideas include providing giveaways, introducing your team, asking questions to your audience etc.

Also, do not forget to be a part of the trend. Reels have the most potential to get viral and reach a maximum audience. If you have a public account and you use the correct hashtags on your Reels video, the chances are really high that it reaches a large audience.

Find a niche

Though this is very common advice but is very important. If you post randomly without knowing your audience, their interests, you will fail drastically. That is why choosing a niche is important. Nowadays, the trend on Instagram is educating people and teaching them new skills. So, if you are struggling to find a niche best for you, do a self-analysis and see what skills do you have. See, what can you teach.

Also, choosing the niche of your interest is very important. If you keep on working on something that you do not like, you will easily lose interest and leave it in the middle. Therefore, it is important to choose a niche and publish the content accordingly.

Post consistently

When it comes to social media, be it any platform, consistency is very important. Especially, for the platforms that let you post video content. When it comes to Instagram, people must get to see your posts and stories every day.

If you are a brand, posting regularly improves your brand awareness. Also, it makes you visible amongst your potential customers. However, if you become a ghost on Instagram, nobody will know you, nobody will get any information about your brand and you will eventually you will have zero new leads for your business.

Also, if you post shareable content, the chances are higher that it reaches a larger audience. This will surely improve the brand’s loyalty and the conversion rates will also improve.

Always keep in mind that social media platforms are quick and fast-evolving. Therefore, you have to be on your toes. You also need to be quick and be regular.

Make a content calendar

Sometimes, it becomes very difficult to post content regularly. Because of several reasons, you may miss the schedule. However, you cannot compromise with regularity and consistency. Therefore, it is important to make a plan in advance. For that, you should always make a content calendar. You should prior decide and schedule your posts for a month. This will surely decrease your workload and everything will become easier for you.

However, prior deciding what to post can be very tough. So, for that, you must audit your Instagram wall and check what has already been posted and what is not. Make a list accordingly and plan.

Also, it is beneficial if you schedule your future posts early. Always use a Facebook Business Suite for posting and scheduling the posts on Instagram. Facebook’s Business Suite is an amazing tool to manage multiple accounts easily. If you have a Facebook business page, then you must use this tool for your benefit.

Ask tough questions to yourself

It is important that you continuously ask yourself some serious and tough questions if you want growth on Instagram. It is important to provide something unique and fresh to your target audience. The growth of many small creators on Instagram becomes stagnant. Why? Because they continue to post the same kind of content. Therefore, the follower count decreases and the engagement rate also comes down.

It is important to make changes in the strategy when you feel like. It is important to continuously improve the quality of the content you provide to your followers. Also, it is important to research and make content according to your audience’s needs.

Always think of different ways how you can connect with your audience. On Instagram, several features are there and you should use all of them for your benefit. Interact with your audience. Resahre the stories if they tag you (Not always, but when you think the posts are relevant). O Instagram Live sessions frequently.

See how you can improve the quality of your content. Find out the shortcomings of your content and rectify them. Hire professionals if you feel you are lagging in some aspects. For example, if you sell a product, you can hire a professional photographer for the product shoots. High-quality pictures are always preferred on Instagram rather than the cheap ones.

Explore the platform thoroughly

As mentioned earlier, Instagram provides a lot of features. The more you use different features, the more your account will look rich. Different content creators, and even brands, have managed their Instagram profiles very differently. For example, Zomato mostly uses their Instagram profile for sharing memes only.

Though we do not give any such advice to continue with memes only. However, it is important to use all the features of Instagram frequently and explore what more the platform has to provide us. There is so much you can post on Instagram. You can post single pictures, multiple pictures, carousels, short video content in form of Reels, long video content on IGTV, add a collection of posts in form of Guides etc.

Other than this, you have Instagram stories that you can post daily. Also, you can find different and creative ways to share your stories. There are thousands of filters you can choose from. You have the create option in the stories section where you can add a bulk of text to explain something thoroughly. Different GIFs can help you be more creative. You can use your bio section creatively and direct your audience to other platforms as well.

There is so much to explore on Instagram that you will never feel short of content if you use every feature creatively.

Use Guides

Instagram Guides is the brand new feature of Instagram. This feature was launched in the year 2020. The initial motive of Guides was to support the community as COVID-19 was hitting hard. However, it was available to a few creators only. After that, in November 2020, this feature was made available to every user.

With Guides, you can make a collection of your previous posts. Check out this complete tutorial about Instagram Guides.

Guides can be very useful if used in the right way. A Guide can bring your older posts to life. If you are a coach and teach your audience different things, then Guides can be very helpful. It can help you segregate different posts easily. Like playlists are used in YouTube, you can make a complete set of different posts easily.

Also, the users always want something new and interesting. Guides is surely a different way to share and amplify your content on Instagram.

Be informative

Informative and entertaining content has been in demand lately. Share valuable content with your audience. If you have any skills, Instagram is one of the best platforms you can use to teach and showcase your skills. You will find most of the fitness coaches on Instagram. Always remember that educational content is shareable. The more you add value to your content, the more it will become shareable.

Be a part of the community

Being a part of the community is what you should look for every day. For example, if you are a graphic designer and post tutorials related to it on Instagram, you must help other small creators of your niche as well. This will surely help your page as well.

It is very important that you actively participate in discussions, conversations, events and competitions amongst your community. When it comes to Instagram, you can even start with commenting on other creators’ posts that you like. You can even share their content on your stories. This surely works. It is all about mutual understanding and sharing quality content to your audience and grab the attention of other creators’ audiences as well.

If you have fellow creators, celebrate their milestones and help them grow. Surely, they will also reciprocate in the same way. Your fellow community members will judge your work first, not your audience. Therefore, you must make a good impact on them.

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