You spend a ton of time on Instagram. You’re posting, creating reels, commenting, and doing all the things, but you may not be seeing the growth you want. What if I told you you could be doing things on your Instagram that are stopping your growth? Wait, what? Yes, there are some things you could be doing that are working against all of your hard work! So, do you want to grow on Instagram? Stop doing these 7 things.

 

 

These 7 Instagram growth stoppers are pretty simple fixes (some simpler than others) you can start implementing today. I know you’re spending a ton of time on Instagram and constantly thinking about how you can grow faster. I want you to have success, so that’s why I’m sharing these with you. I hope they bring you some clarity on what you can do to improve your Instagram strategy!

 

 

Want to Grow on Instagram? Stop Doing These 7 Things

Instagram Growth Stopper #1: Posting and Ghosting

If you haven’t heard of posting and ghosting it’s when you show up on Instagram to post and then you leave the app, never to be seen again until you post again. Instagram is a social app. That means people are meant to be social there, and Instagram rewards you when you are social with other people. 

If you want people to comment on your posts, start commenting on theirs. This is a really important practice because not only does this tell Instagram that you’re an active user, but it builds a lot of synergy and community around you and your content. And, a bonus to this is you’ll actually start enjoying Instagram more when you use it this way.

So, before you make your post, spend 10 or 15 minutes commenting and engaging with other people. After that, make your post, and then stick around for another 5 or 10 minutes to answer questions and reply to comments on your posts.

 

Instagram Growth Stopper #2: Doubting and Comparing

Doubting and comparing is not as technical as ghosting, but it is much more harmful. I know we all have other Instagram accounts that we compare ours to. But the thing is, we don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. Maybe those competitor accounts run ads, did a giveaway, or had a collaboration to help them grow really fast. We just don’t know. 

So, don’t get too hung up about comparing yourself because when you compare yourself you start to doubt yourself. And that could lead you to stop posting altogether. You become too afraid of what people may think so you don’t even put yourself out there. You’re afraid that people will think that you’re not enough because you don’t have “x” amount of followers. 

And, I have to say ask, do you know who you’re thinking about when you’re comparing and doubting yourself? You. And it’s not about you. It’s about them. The people you’re serving. It’s about the person who is wishing to find your products, your support, your perspective, etc. and when you focus too much on yourself you’re keeping that opportunity from happening over and over again. 

When you shift your focus from yourself to your ideal audience member, everything changes and it matters way less to you about what people think of you. Funny how that works, right? But it’s because you know that you’re showing up for the right reasons and you are so committed to getting your message out there to the right people.

 

 

Instagram Growth Stopper #3: Being Inconsistent

The Instagram algorithm pays attention to all of your activity on the app. Let’s play a little game. Which account do you think is more likely to get recommended to Instagram? An account that shows up every day and posts great content that gets engagement or an account that shows up every week sometimes. 

Yeah, it’s going to be the account that shows up every day. The algorithm favors accounts that show up consistently and adds value to its users. While being consistent heavily sways the Instagram algorithm one way or the other, being consistent also really helps you as a content creator. 

Being consistent on Instagram will help you get better (and faster!) at creating content and help you understand your audience better. These two things are so important because you suddenly understand exactly what you’re supposed to do and how you’re supposed to do it. You can’t learn these two things from reading a blog post. You have to put yourself out there and actually gain some experience. This is the only way you can make some true progress.

 

Instagram Growth Stopper #4: Wasting Your Time 

Instagram tends to get a bad reputation because we say that we spend so much time on the app. But as a business owner and/or influencer, you need to spend a lot of time on the app. It just needs to be intentional and productive time.  So, there are a few things you can do to help you go onto the app with purpose each time, to keep you from wasting your time and mindlessly scrolling.

How to be intentional when on Instagram:

• Check in with yourself right before you open the app. Note why you are getting on. Is it to post, comment, check DMs, engage, etc? 
• Practice self-control. When you start to wander, bring it back to why you got on Instagram in the first place. (That’s where checking in with yourself before you open the app comes into play, so you know why you got on the app in the first place.)
• Set up internal timers to help you stay on track. You can do this through your phone or the Instagram app itself. If you only want to spend a certain amount of time on Instagram for the day, set that timer, and then you will get a notification when you meet that time.

Great ways to spend your time growing your biz on Instagram:

• Find other people in your niche and engage with their content
• Answering messages and DMs
• Showing up in your stories (this is a great one to try and do consistently)
• Reply to comments on your posts

I don’t want you to feel like you have to devote all this time you don’t have to Instagram every day in order to establish a good brand. You can build your Instagram influence for an hour a day, easy.

 

 

Instagram Growth Stopper #5: Posting on the Fly

Posting on the fly makes you feel flustered and the quality of your posts is usually not as good either. It also keeps you from thinking strategically. Posting on the fly comes from a headspace that says, “I just need to cross this off my list.” and you want to be coming from a headspace that has a strategy and has things planned out in advance, so your posts are more purposeful and align with your business goals.

So, have a content strategy. It’s SO much better if you create a month’s worth of posts at once than if you were to do one a time randomly. Strategy is key here. And if you’re wanting some help with yours, I always have my Money Makers coaching group that can help you with this. Or, my marketing agency where we plan out all of your content strategy for you!

 

Instagram Growth Stopper #6: Talking to Everyone

You have to stop talking to everyone. You need to have a niche and direct your content to that very specific audience. Doing this will help you speak to the people you actually want to reach, and it actually really helps with the Instagram algorithm too. 

Instagram is trying to figure out who you are. They’re trying to figure out exactly what kind of content they can expect from you, so they can put your content in front of the right people. So, the algorithm is actually our friend. Did I just say friend? I did!

The algorithm is basically playing matchmaker where it’s trying to take all the data points it knows about people looking for content and the data points about you and then matchmaking them together so that the right people find the right content.

With that being said, niching down is the best thing you can do for your brand on Instagram. Instagram will know what to expect from you and in turn, will push out your content to more and more of your ideal audience members.

 

Instagram Growth Stopper #7: Making Instagram Bigger Than It Is

We spend so much time thinking about our Instagram followers and how effective our engagement is on Instagram. It’s true that we need to spend some time thinking about this. However, there comes a point when it’s too much. All I want to say is that Instagram should definitely be a part of your overall marketing strategy, but it should not be your only strategy.

Instagram should be a piece of your marketing strategy that also includes several other pieces like a website, email marketing, a customer journey map, etc. Having all of these elements in place is what will build you a long-lasting business. And that’s what I want for you. I am not here to give you any hacks or quick fixes but am here to give you the education you need to build a business that will last.

 

 

Want to Grow on Instagram? Stop Doing These 7 Things

So, do you want to grow on Instagram? Stop doing these 7 things and you’ll be set! Let me know what you think about these Instagram growth stoppers and if you have any questions about them. You can follow me and send me a DM on Instagram @iammichellegifford. 

And, if you’re ready to take your business to the next level, but you’re not sure what your next step is, join my Money Makers Coaching Group! It is such an incredible deal where you get access to all of my courses, coaching calls, and a community of business owners who are in the thick of growing a business just like you. We have a lot of fun over there, so I hope you join us!