The Reality of Growing A Following On Instagram

 

The Reality of Growing on Instagram

I see SO many companies making FALSE promises that you don’t need to invest a penny to grow on Instagram & that all it takes is consistency. Insisting you just need to “engage” in your community, and hey, do a Reels as well and your engagement will spike.

Whilst this is true, it’s really not that simple.

If posting daily on Instagram with a caption and some hashtags was THAT easy we would all have 1 Million Followers. 

What amount of work goes into consistency

SO MUCH WORK GOES INTO BUILDING AN AUDIENCE. Brands and coaches that promise you 500k followers in 6-12 months – and sell you this dream that it doesn’t take much effort at all, carries absolutely zero truth.

As a Social Media Coach, I wanted to put out a more “authentic” answer to:

“How Do I Grow Quickly on Instagram?”

To be authentic, I want to discuss three topics that I frequently come across with my very own clients. A big part of my role as a coach, is explaining to my clients that massive growth certainly does not happen overnight, and it is very unlikely (not impossible) to happen in 30 days (budget depending obviously).

Growth for me depends on:

Time, Money, App Updates & your commitment to consistency – not consistency itself. Let me explain.

+ Time vs Money 

Time. PLANNING. RESEARCH. EXPERIMENTING. The BIGGEST and most crucial investment in social media is your TIME. The more time you set aside and invest into your social media strategy the better the results. From someone who values time as money – this is really a big investment in itself. 

Remember, SMALL actions over time, compound, and give MASSIVE results.

vs

Money. Yes having an advertising budget helps – of course it does. BUT first get your strategy and messaging consistent, and then start to look at your paid ad strategy. 

+ App Updates

Whenever Instagram launches a new feature – pay attention. 

Reels being the latest feature on Instagram, naturally the platform is going to push this kind of content – that is why you would have an organic surge in engagement and potentially growth if you start using Reels. Again, this takes time. Do not film 2-3 reels and expect a miracle. I hear it a lot that people try Reels expecting instant floods of new followers or a boost in engagement. Whilst this definitely DOES happen – you can’t just expect to sit there, smile, point some fingers in time with music and grow 10k overnight. Be realistic.

What makes your reels different?

Why will it stand out ensuring maximum reach? 

+ Consistency

Of course posting daily and being consistent with your content/messaging is absolutely KEY. However, it MUST be quality content. Every single piece that you put out onto Instagram feed – from stories, to IGTV to the grid – it needs to tell a story & feed your audience so they keep coming back for more. 

I don’t mean quality in terms of a production team creating every piece – it can be a screenshot of something you tweeted. What I do mean is, your content HAS to carry depth – and this applies to any genre from humour, to dance, to cooking to personal development.

Ask yourself these questions:

Will this photo spark joy?

Will these words resonate with my audience in a powerful way?

Can I make someone laugh so much with my video they watch it 12 times in 30 minutes. Yup I am guilty of replaying some Reels this many times – funny content captures my attention more than anything else, because who doesn’t want to spend a moment of their day in fits of laughter?

And be 100% committed to being consistent. It is no good staying focused for 2 weeks of a month and then slacking off for the final 2 and expecting the same results. Months and years of consistency are what truly builds that incredible, engaged audience that convert into paying customers. Get your head into that frame of mind and you are already over half way there.

 

You want your content to be consumed, shared and saved. 

I am always super real with my clients and just say it how it is.

Getting a million followers, is absolutely possible. The app has over 1 billion monthly active users. Read that again. 1 billion monthly active users. You can have a slice of that pie. We all can. You just need to put in the work that grabs the attention of the masses.

I wrote this post, partly to get all of this off my chest, but also because it genuinely upsets me that companies make the Instagram strategy seem so simple and I wanted to let you know: I am not cut from the same cloth. This easy breezy attitude that is sold, this in my eyes just takes away all the hard work that influencers, small businesses and brands put into their social media strategy.

Growth takes lots of time, creative thinking, collaboration, investment and I also hope some fun along the way.

Once you nail your formula, tap into your niche, set aside the time to get creative with your content – that’s when the magic happens.

I would love to know your thoughts on all of the above! If you want to reach out, drop me a line on Instagram. Click here. 

Feel like you want to work with a “Say it as it is” Social Media Coach. Check out my Services.