Want to grow your Instagram account? These 3 Strategies are working right now
Instagram is an ever changing platform, but the million dollar question every small business owner has when it comes to the platform remains the same:
“How do I get more Instagram followers?”
The answer doesn’t come any easier once we start looking for resources and advice. Each course, article, post comes with conflicting recommendations.
We often come across tips and tricks that may be valid, but are way too time consuming and disproportionate to the benefit it will bring. After all, no entrepreneurs should spend 3 hours creating content, posting, engaging and recording Reels on Instagram each day, if Instagram only brings them 10% of their total sales.
Another issue is that because Instagram is one of the fastest growing and evolving social media platforms, courses, expert advice and strategies take a little too long to catch up and quickly become outdated.
Some of the Instagram advice you’re getting is outdated, like using hashtags to grow your account.
For example, hashtags. Hashtags have not grown accounts significantly in years. Using all 30 hashtags that are descriptive and specific for your niche and post is still a recommended best practice that can grow your posts, IGTV videos or Reels impressions and reach.
For me, it brings me around 10% more eyes to my content, and it only takes me one click to add (I use Flick and it’s a great little investment that increases performance and saves you so much time!), so you will not see me abandon that anytime soon.
However, hashtags are not one of my strategies to grow my account in 2021 (and already wasn’t in 2020 for that matter).
Another ineffective strategy that goes around: engaging with other accounts for 30 minutes before and after you post
Spending time engaging with other accounts is another valid advice that gets twisted somewhere along the way.
While it’s a good way to get your brand out there and you should 100% engage with other accounts, there’s a trend now where people will advise you to engage with other accounts for 30 minutes right before and 30 minutes right after you post for more engagement.
Yes, engaging with people makes some of them come check out your latest posts (that’s about human behavior, not the algorithm, by the way).
But are 10 extra likes worth an hour of your time each day? I’d say it definitely isn’t. I know what you’re thinking “okay, okay, this is all great, but please just tell me what works right now!”
Here’s What DOES Work to Grow Your Instagram Account Organically Right Now
Time for the content you’ve been waiting for.
The methods that actually work for gaining new followers and growing your Instagram account right now in 2021.
1) Host 1 Live Room with 3 others per week
Extend your reach and introduce yourself to new audiences with live Instagram chats with other collaborators or experts in your niche. This could be a great way to show off your level of expertise in your area as well as connect with new people. If managing 3 guests every week is too much, you can have a steady date with 3 others. Or what I do, have a steady weekly Live Room date with 2 others and a new guest each week. It lessens the impact, since we are always tapping into your same collective audience, but is still very effective (we gain up to 200 followers every week from this Live Room alone).
Get our Live Room Pro Tips free guide below to pick up all our best practices when it comes to Instagram Lives with others.
2) 3 Reels adding value to your audience per week
Video content is certainly on the rise on Instagram, and you need to get your account in the game! Reels are a quick and fast way to share info, entertain and stand out to your audience. Want some help with your Reels? We highly recommend our friend Laura from B Squared Social’s Reels course (she will make Reels simple and doable for you— no dancing or trending music in Reels required).
3) 2 or 3 strategic Instagram Giveaways with an influencer in your niche per year
Notice how this tip says per 2 or 3 per YEAR. This is not a strategy we recommend you use frequently, but used sparingly, this growth tactic can really get things going for your numbers - and your sales!
Be smart about who you partner with and make sure it is a fit for your brand and existing audience.
Giving something special related to what you already offer (like a special basket with several of your products or a 1:1 session with you) would attract people who are interested in what you sell. An Instagram giveaway where you give a big cash prize or a generic expensive item like a phone or iPad will only attract people who want to win and who will unfollow you after the winner is announced — and it will attract bots and fake accounts too. So make sure you do this wisely!
If this all seems a little overwhelming, join Your Social Team membership and let us coach you along the way - plus you get access to all these classes below. See you there!
Manu Muraro is the founder of Your Social Team, an Instagram training membership and content shop to help social media managers and Instagram savvy women entrepreneurs to beat the algorithm and grow their organic engagement (yes, even in 2021). This year she also launched Your Template Club, a Canva Template subscription to provide social media managers and Instagram savvy business owners with content template designed for engagement in their inbox.
Born and raised in Brazil, Manu moved to the U.S. in 2000 right out of college to work for Cartoon Network, where she made an award winning career in creative and strategy. In 2017, Manu started Your Social Team with the mission of helping women entrepreneur and social media managers grow engagement and sales through Instagram without the overwhelm.