Crushing It On Instagram: A creative guide to accelerated growth

Let’s face it.

Getting bucket loads of attention and a ton of followers on Instagram is hard. Heck, it is hard enough to even look different from the rest of the business owners trying to make it big on the platform.

You keep posting updates — infographics, text, and sometimes videos, you share other people’s posts on your story, you reply to comments and DMs and you do almost all the other normal stuff.

There’s nothing much else that you can do either, right?

Wrong!

These are things that every other business does on Instagram. You don’t look new to your potential followers. They have seen this before and they know how this story ends.

You’ll struggle with producing quality content. You’ll post at erratic times. You’ll run out of creative ideas and even start wondering if Instagram is the right platform for you.

And finally, like all the other normies, your account will die too.

Well, you know what! It doesn’t have to.

Instagram growth is not a guessing game or a stab in the dark. There are proven strategies and creative post ideas to make organised organic growth possible.

But before we dive into the creatives, let’s get the basics straight. There are a few things you should prioritize before even thinking about content for posting.

The Basics

1. Messaging: Align your business goals and objectives with what you will be posting.
2. Bio: Optimize your bio in such a way that the audience can understand who you are in under 3 seconds. Add a relevant CTA and a link to your website.
3. Networking: Reach out to influencers and celebrities. Network with people/organisations in your industry.
4. Hashtags: Instagram has a limit of 30 hashtags per post. Use all of them.
5. Engage: Treat your existing followers like real people and not just a random account. This is how you build fans.
6. Branding: Make sure your branding is consistent across everything you put out on your profile.
7. Post format: Instagram has a list of post formats like Reels, IGTV, story, etc. Experiment on every format.
8. Instagram Shop: If you sell products, make it easier for customers to purchase by enabling the shop option.

These are not things that will gain you followers. But these are relevant items that can make sure that your account stays stagnant(or even lose existing followers) if you don’t take care of them.

Also, you have to keep reminding yourself that the primary aim is not only to sell more products but also to add consistent value to the customers’ lives. Because if they feel good about themselves because of you, they will keep purchasing from you.

Once you have a clear understanding of all the essential elements of your Instagram presence, it is time to start executing. And along the way, you need to figure out two more things:

1. What to post — the post type and category
2. When to post — the peak time when your followers are most active

Read our original detailed article where we go over these topics in detail.

Click here to read more.