6 Tips to Explode Your Instagram Following

Last year around this time I had 15K Instagram followers and now I’m at more than 145K and growing every day. What was the significant change to make this happen? I changed my Instagram strategy almost completely. I thought my strategy was working before, but now it’s on fire and there’s no sign of it slowing down. How do you know if your Instagram content is actually working? Here are 6 tips to explode your Instagram following. 

 

 

When I changed my strategy, I started really focusing on the content funnel: attract, nurture, and sell. I honed in on my content creation and made sure I created content for those three areas. If you’re reading this post in October 2023, you have the opportunity to join my live masterclass where I am going to dive deep into this topic and teach you how to implement it into your own Instagram strategy. You can register for the masterclass, “Your Next 1,000 Followers,” HERE.

If you’re reading this past October 2023, don’t worry. All the info shared here is still incredibly helpful and will increase your numbers as you implement these strategies. I know it will because these changes didn’t only work for me, but it’s helped my students’ accounts grow and my clients’ accounts. That’s why I love this strategy so much–it translates over to all different types of influencers and niches. 

 

 

6 Tips to Explode Your Instagram Following

Before we jump into the tips, it’s important to understand that your content is lasting longer on Instagram than it used to be. Before, if a reel didn’t go viral within a day or two, it probably wasn’t going to. Now, it can take up to 2-3 weeks before your reel goes viral. This is good news! We want our content to last longer because that means more people are seeing it and we are staying relevant for longer periods of time without having to rush to post reel after reel (because we all know how exhausting that can be). 

 

Instagram Content Tip #1: Instagram should be one of several marketing arms for your business.

Instagram should be ONE of your marketing tools for your business, not THE marketing tool for your business. If you are just starting out, it is totally fine to only have Instagram. It’s a great place to start and create a space for you and your business online and on social media. 

I also want you to be thinking ahead of what long-term pieces of content you can create to help nurture your audience. For example, an email list is a great second piece of content to begin. It’s an easy transition, inexpensive, and the setup could be knocked out in an afternoon. You can learn more about setting up an email list and using it to nurture your audience HERE. 

Along with an email list, I use my podcast as a way to nurture my audience. It’s a place where you can get to know me better and vice versa. I’m a little more personal on my weekly episodes and I love that I get to share a little bit more of my life with the ones who listen. Think about what you’d want to create as your long-form piece of content and make a goal to set it up at a time when you feel ready to expand your business. 

 

Instagram Content Tip #2: Think deeper about your Instagram analytics.

You probably look at your Instagram content and ask yourself whether or not you are getting likes on it and if you are getting new followers from it. That’s a great start, but don’t stop there. Think even deeper about your posts because different content has different goals. 

I like to ask myself two questions when looking back at my content: “How does this serve my business?” and “How does this serve my audience?” You need to have both. If you’re only focusing on your business then you will start to lose your audience. And if you only focus on serving your audience then you won’t create content that will make you money for your business. 

Analyzing your content this way and going deeper into what you post will help you grow your audience AND your business. I want both for you and you totally deserve it based on how hard you are working! 

 

 

Instagram Content Tip #3: Look at KPIs (key performance indicators).

KPIs are the things that are happening in your business that indicate if something is being successful or not. Some examples are leads, sales, traffic visits, sales page visits, etc. On Instagram specifically, pay attention to which pieces of content are getting more views, more engagement, and getting you more followers. This will tell you what type of content your audience is interested in, so you can create more content similar to that. 

 

Instagram Content Tip #4: Create content that attracts, nurtures, and sells.

As I mentioned earlier, you’ll get the best and quickest results when you create content for all three of these areas. If you want to deep dive into this topic make sure to join my masterclass OR if you missed it, you can still access it HERE! 

Your attraction content will usually be done in reels. It makes the most sense to make reels for this type of content because reels are purposely put in front of people who do not follow you. You can know if your content is attracting people by looking at how many people are following you after watching a specific reel. This feature is available to some users, but if you don’t have this feature then you can notice if you get an increase in your followers a week or more after posting the reel. 

Your nurture content will probably be carousel posts, single image posts of a quote, or something valuable that gives a meaty or encouraging caption. You’ll know if the post is nurturing your audience if it has a high amount of saves, shares, and/or meaningful comments. 

I save all of my selling content for my stories. This is where my true followers show up and they are the ones who will most likely buy. The only selling I do in my feed is for people to join my email list. Other than that, I stick to stories and it works really well! Don’t be shy to sell your products there because the people who show up in your stories are the ones who actually want to be sold to! 

 

 

Instagram Content Tip #5: Change your strategy if it isn’t working.

I know this one is great advice, but first, we need to figure out what isn’t actually working. And then what steps need to be taken to change it. You can figure out which of your content is and isn’t working by looking at your analytics.

Take a deep dive into your content and see which posts get more interaction, saves, shares, etc. Identify the posts that completely flopped. Make a note of them and either decide to stop making content like those or figure out how you can change it to better serve your audience. 

Next, look at other people in and outside of your niche and see what kind of content is getting them traction. You are not doing this to copy them, but to gather information. So, take a look at the type of content people are enjoying and then think about how you can adapt it to make it work for you. 

Instead of stressing about showing up perfectly, keep it simple and figure out what your audience actually wants right now. They leave you clues in their comments and likes. Think of how you can create that content in a simple way and then do it. Don’t make it perfect, just post it. This will help you get where you want to be a lot faster than overstressing how you show up.

 

Instagram Content Tip #6: Test out your content.

Once you get some content ideas from looking at your analytics and what’s working for other content creators, make a list of what you will create. Create the content and test them out for the next few weeks. Then you can look back and see how it performed. I love testing out different types of content because it helps me grow my account and grow as a creator. 

 

 

6 Tips to Explode Your Instagram Following

Are you surprised how much strategy is behind this? I know it can seem like a lot, but the more you practice the better you’ll get. Be patient with yourself and with the process. And don’t forget to have fun! As you figure this out, create content you love, and see some success you’ll be so so proud of yourself. I hope these 6 tips to explode your Instagram following gave you some ideas and momentum to get going! If you need some extra support, reach out to me on Instagram @iammichellegifford, I’d love to chat!