7 Tools to Grow Your Brand and Instagram Following Faster
Are you tired of posting on Instagram over and over again without seeing that big of a difference to your brand growth or following? Perhaps it’s time for you to have an Instagram audit. Here are my 7 tools to grow your brand and Instagram following faster.
I had someone reach out to me recently who was feeling really frustrated and overwhelmed with her Instagram influence. She said she was consistently posting reels, stories, and posts but she just wasn’t seeing the growth. If you are also in this situation, first I want to say I feel your frustration. I’ve been there and it really stinks!
But, there are some really helpful tools throughout your Instagram account that if you use them correctly it’s almost as if you are taking a shortcut to increase your following. I know, there are no shortcuts to success, but utilizing these tools will at least put you on a fast track to growing your brand. You’re not skipping over any hard work, you’re just making sure you’re taking advantage of the tools you already have.
So, what are these Instagram tools? Let’s jump right in.
7 Tools to Grow Your Brand and Instagram Following Faster
I’ve seen business owners and influencers get frustrated and overwhelmed with their Instagram strategy time and time again. And, the truth is, it is really overwhelming because not only do you have to post on Instagram ALL THE TIME, but you also have to run a business.
So, let me make your lives a little bit easier and teach you about these 7 tools to grow your brand and Instagram following faster. Seriously, once you have these tools in place, you will quickly notice an increase!
Instagram Tool #1: Niche down on your purpose/content.
Alright, this first tool is more of a foundational principle you should found your brand strategy on. You may have heard me talk about niching down your purpose/content before, but I have to talk about it again because it’s so important!
So, what exactly do I mean when I say niche down on your purpose/content? I mean think about the one person you want to serve, the one problem they have, and the one solution you can give them (through your products). The more clear you are in who you serve and how you serve them, the easier it will be to attract people to your content and products.
So, this is the first step to your Instagram audit. Look at your Instagram account and make sure you are producing content that fits the formula: one person, one problem, one solution.
You may be thinking, “But, Michelle, what about all the other people I’ll be leaving out?” I know that’s what it seems like, but remember, when you speak to everyone you speak to no one. Besides, you want to attract the kind of people who will actually want to buy your products. So, the more niched down you are, the more likely your sales will increase as well.
Instagram Tool #2: Pick out the differences between you and your competitors.
This second Instagram tool could technically be another foundational principle for your brand, but it totally applies here! You want to make sure you are different and stand out from the other influencers in your industry.
For instance, there are tons of business coaches out there, but you follow me. I hope that’s because you have found some things that are different about me and my approach to business strategy than other coaches.
I know most of us live our lives thinking we have to fit in and look like everyone else in order to not look weird, but that is totally opposite from what we should be doing as business owners! So, don’t just be OK with your differences, but find ways to highlight them through the content you produce.
Instagram Tool #3: Your Instagram name.
OK, the rest of the tools listed will be more hands-on technical things you can fix on your Instagram account. You can even open your Instagram account and work alongside reading this blog post if you want.
So, let’s talk about your Instagram name. Did you know there are two searchable places on your Instagram bio? It is your handle and your name (located right under your profile picture). If you have your full name on your Instagram handle (like I do) you do not need your full name in your bio. That’s because you want to utilize every searchable place on Instagram so people can find you easier.
Since I have my full name on my Instagram handle, I put “Brand & Content Strategist” where my name would be on my Instagram bio. What job title or description could you put in your bio that would help people find you easier? Think about your ideal customer and what they would search for in order to find your type of business. Use that to guide what you put in that section.
Remember, you only fill that bio space with something other than your name only if your name is not on your Instagram handle. If your brand is less personal and is more about the physical products you sell, then it would make sense that your handle would be the name of your company, and then it would be OK to have your name in your bio.
Instagram Tool #4: Your Instagram bio.
People usually use their bio space to put random things. E.g. “Love dogs, drink coffee, live in the sunshine, etc.” That’s fine for the average Instagram user, but as a business owner, you do not want to do that.
You want to set yourself apart as an influencer. You want to use this space to talk less about yourself and more about who you serve. So, think about what you do to serve your target audience and write some short phrases in your bio about that.
In a nutshell, your bio should include who you serve, how you serve them, and what you want them to do. Here’s what I have in mine:
BRAND & CONTENT STRATEGIST
Websites & Blogs
⚡️Making Branding, Social Media Strategy and
Content Marketing Easy
🗓Plan 30 days/30 min. Text “me” at 951-309-7885
Hire me @mgiffordcreative
To be completely transparent, I update my bio quite often. It’s OK to switch up your bio as your business pivots. So, don’t think your bio has to be this perfect thing that never changes. It should be this living, breathing space that is ever-changing as you and your brand evolve.
The last thing your Instagram bio should have is a link. You are allowed to have one link in your bio, so I recommend doing something like a link tree. There’s not really one best thing to link to, but just make sure it links to what you want your people to have quick and easy access to.
Instagram Tool #5: Your profile picture.
I recommend putting a picture of yourself on your Instagram profile picture. Unless you don’t have any personal part of your brand and it’s really more about the products then you could use your logo for the profile picture. If you use a logo, make sure it is big enough and stands out enough so that people could recognize it if they were just scrolling through.
If you do have a personal brand, make your profile picture a picture of your face. And use that same exact picture for your profile picture across all social media platforms you use for your business (Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, etc.). This will help people recognize and remember your brand more easily.
Pro Tip: Use a profile picture that has a plain background. You can do this by uploading your picture to Canva and then using the background removal tool to take away your current background. Then you can fill in your blank background with one of your brand colors. This is super easy to do and only takes a few clicks!
Instagram Tool #6: Your Instagram highlights.
How do you feel about your Instagram highlights? I am doing this Instagram audit myself and need to clean up quite a few of mine! You want to make sure each highlight is intentional. Here are a few examples of the type of highlights you would want on your Instagram profile:
- Things you talk about often
- Content pillar topics
- Testimonials
- How to work with you
It’s always a good idea to have anything that people would ask you in order to get to know you better or how to work with you. If you don’t have this yet, start making some stories and turn them into highlights.
I recommend making your highlight bubbles beautiful and branded. The easiest thing to do is use your brand colors or an icon that is easily recognizable for the bubbles. Making them branded this way will make people want to click for more.
Instagram Tool #7: Your overall content.
Alright, the last Instagram tool is your overall content. Is your content really serving and selling the way you want it to? To help you determine this, you’re going to look at your Instagram Insights. This section shows you your analytics and how well your content is performing.
To find your Instagram Insights, tap the three lines at the top of the screen and then click, “Insights.”
Next, you’ll see two options: accounts reached and accounts engaged.
Accounts reached measure the number of accounts you’re reaching and accounts engaged measure the number of accounts that are actually engaging with your content.
You want your accounts reached to be a bigger number because this is what will bring more engagement. And, the accounts engaged is how you keep your followers. With that being said, both of these measurements are really important.
Spending some time in your Instagram Insights every week is a really good strategy because it helps you recognize what your audience is interested in and what they are saying about your content. You can determine this by seeing what content you’re posting is getting the most interest and interaction.
7 Tools to Grow Your Brand and Instagram Following Faster
OK, biz sister, those are my 7 tools to grow your brand and Instagram following faster. This Instagram audit is your shortcut to gaining more followers and growing your brand. Making these changes to your Instagram account really could be your game-changer!
If you want more biz tips and tricks like these, follow me on Instagram @iammichellegifford. You can also join my text list by texting “money maker” to 951-309-7885.
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