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Growth on Instagram is not terribly difficult, but it does take some time to understand what works for you. Here are the main reasons why you are not growing on Instagram:
You are not engaging
You are not posting consistently
You are not sharing content your audience wants
Poor image/video quality
Your bio is not optimized
You are not showing up
To get known in your niche communities as an authority, you need to engage with people in them. You can accomplish this by engaging with your larger peer accounts in your niche, engaging with your peers that are growing, and engaging with the “engagement superstars” in those larger niche communities.
When I say consistent posting, I do not mean constant posting. However, your audience wants to depend on when you will be available. Just as you depend on your favorite grocery store to open as their store hours sign is posted. When you post consistently, you will also have more eyes on your content consistently, which is what you want as a business!
Often, we get stuck in a loop of creating content we want to create rather than the content our audience wants to see. We will create content that we feel passionate about or more comfortable talking about rather than pushing our comfort zones. Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone with video content, researching trends, researching what your audience is researching, and creating content they will appreciate is key.
You have most likely seen and heard people telling you not to post reels with the TikTok watermark, yet I still see many people doing it. Other areas where people continue posting poor images and videos are sharing screenshots, google images, and recording videos in poor lighting to upload for content.
I am not saying you need to go out and buy fancy equipment; your smartphone and the light from your window or even refrigerator will give you great lighting for videos.
Your bio is more than your digital business card; this is your promise to the world that you are delivering specific information to them. If you notice that you are getting followers and yet you are losing them just about as fast as you are gaining them, then your bio is probably over-promising what you are delivering in your content.
If you are noticing that you are not getting many followers at all, it could be that your bio is not punchy enough; it is not telling people anything that gives them a reason to follow.
When I talk about “showing up,” I mean on camera with your face. People do not buy from inanimate objects; they buy from people. In today’s digital work, people have the opportunity to have just about anything delivered to them within hours to maybe a day. They can see reviews and testimonials on the products and services they are thinking about and ponder their purchases.
Your job as a marketer is to become recognizable to your audience, so they already feel they know you and want to purchase from you specifically.
You can show up in Stories, IGTV, Lives, and Reels on Instagram for that exposure.
When you have optimized your strategies in all these areas, your growth and opportunities on Instagram will skyrocket!
If you have questions about any of these things, please feel free to email me at ginger@gingerstarrborden.com - I cannot wait to hear from you!
