With the Australian Netflix show “Apple Cider Vinegar” hitting our screens this month, it’s no wonder why we have all become obsessed with the idea of building an Instagram follower base on what may or may not be the truth about our lives. As per the show, protagonist, Belle Gibson, sold a lie about having cancer on social media and became one of the most acclaimed social media innovators of her time.
On Instagram, people become fixated on the life that you put out there and they tend to come back to your page to see what you have to share every day.
If the iconic Nara Smith’s cooking from scratch videos are anything to go by, you may be wondering how you too can build your Instagram account from scratch.
I happened to attend a few social media building workshops that all provided some similar strategies on how to build a following and keep your followers following too.
Perhaps these strategies could assist you with creating the Instagram page of your dreams:
- Finding your niche: In all the social media-inspired workshops, finding your niche was the most important first step. Your niche is not something that you decide upon overnight. You need to dig deep and decide what you believe in, what you do, and how you can turn the most important aspect of your life or your personality into a daily Instagram post. Once you decide upon your niche, you need to consider the type of people that you would love to attract to your page.
- Decide how you want your page to look: While random photo posting is all well and good, purposeful content creators find ways to make their Instagram pages look aesthetically pleasing. You can decide if you would like to follow the minimal aesthetic trend or choose a posting technique that is more colourful and bright.
- Take a day or a week to create content: Let’s face it, you won’t find realistically be able to create content every day. Most content creators spend full days creating content that will resonate with the message of the Instagram brand that they are creating.
- Schedule posts so you are regularly posting: The key to gaining a strong following and making sure that you cater to your follower’s needs is to post daily. Most accomplished Instagramers state that they post a story, share posts, reels, and do live posting almost every day. Regular posting makes a difference, especially when you aim to grow followers quickly.
- Interact continuously with your followers: To add a human touch to what you are posting, be sure to interact with your followers. Reply to comments often and even try to respond to your direct messengers.
- Gain help from other accounts: Don’t underestimate the power of commenting and sharing your Instagram page details on other Instagram accounts. There are many Instagrammers who share posts about wanting to assist small business owners and smaller Instagram pages. Feel free to comment with your page name so followers can follow you.
- Consistency is vital: Sticking to your niche is vital. You may find an interesting photo to post that has nothing to do with your niche. However, you must ask yourself if the post you are posting resonates with your particular niche. Try never to drift apart from your niche, the reason why people follow you is because they enjoy your particular niche.
- Find niches similar to yours: If you settled for a particular niche like health or fitness, find pages similar to yours. While copying is never ideal, you want to see what your competitors are doing to gain the attention of their followers too. You also want to start following the followers of your competitor’s Instagram pages to show them what you have to offer and attract them to your page as well.
- Use AI: In a time and age when AI is here to assist, you can rely on AI to help with Instagram bio optimization, reel engagement, and your overall follower engagement. Let your AI tool know what you wish to gain and do and let the AI work its magic. You can even find keywords related to your niche or ideas for eye-catching reels with the help of AI.
- Tell a story: Most Instagram followers look forward to the story that you are sharing through your page so be sure to share your story in the best way that you can. Whether you show your face or not, it doesn’t matter as long as you are keeping your followers intrigued by your story.
- Patience is important: Like with anything that you are building from scratch, patience is important. Just like Rome wasn’t built in a day, your Instagram following base won’t increase immediately as well. You have to hang in there and celebrate every new follower.
- Take time to attend social media building workshops: Since Instagram algorithms are constantly changing, you need to attend as many social media building workshops as you can. You want to stay abreast of the latest tips and tricks to grow your Instagram page. There are many free social media building workshops that you can attend to meet more people who have similar interests or a similar niche to yours.
Remember, the more time you devote to building your Instagram when you get started, the faster your Instagram will grow!