Written by: Jennie Persson, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
The most significant change to Instagram in the last year (and then there have been a lot of things) is that the platform has gone from merely a social platform to a search engine.
Like Google. People are increasingly visiting Instagram to search for information, inspiration, tips for purchase, or new knowledge. That shift also means a change for you who have a purpose with the platform. (Aka grow and sell.) Many are also experiencing a decline in both reach and engagement, and it is starting to feel pointless to continue. However, my experience tells me that now is your golden opportunity for change and positioning! Here are 5 major factors on how to grow your Instagram organically!
5 Factors On How To Grow Your Instagram Organically
1. Niche Yourself
Choose your topic and speak directly to your target audience. Many people like to fall into the ever-niching-down project (yes, that's now a new word). Everybody is talking about niching down, and you want to niche yourself until hardly anything is left. That's not what niching down means.
You should purify your business account to business-related content. Not photos of your grandchildren, what you had for dinner last Saturday, or your dog on an evening walk. (It can fit into your IG Stories, depending on your business and overall tonality).
But you'd like to bring clarity to your account. You want to be associated with what you do in your business and what your solution is. And branding takes time, and you extend that time if you share everything possible simultaneously. Find out what's essential to your clients, what makes you stand out, and talk to your target audience. And create content from there.
2. Work With The Algorithms
Create content that continuously tells the algorithms how to categorize you and your offerings. In the shift to the search engine function, keywords have become more critical. By keywords, I mean words that describe your area of expertise, your products/services, your results, and what your target group is looking for.
Tip! If you were to search Google for what you sell. What words would you use? What would people who don't know you yet, write? Here you have some of your keywords. By being consistent in your field in everything you create for the platform, you teach the algorithm this and thus make it easier for the algorithm to show your content to the right person.
3. Use Super Catchy Headlines
We usually talk about hooks, sentences, or specific words you first see in your post. You can put them as a cover or graphic on your images or as the first line of the caption. What makes people stop scrolling to consume your content? In our social feeds, we compete with tons of other posts. Celebrities, funny memes, and entertainment are hard to compete against. If we add the fact that many people only log in to Instagram to take a quick look, we realize that a lot is working against us. So we need to do our best to get our content noticed.
Tip! When you have an idea for your next post. Spend 80% of the time on the first sentence and the rest 20% on the caption. If we don't stop at your post, the rest of the content doesn't matter. Having a strong hook is everything on social media.
Protip! Observe yourself scrolling the feed. What content do you scroll by, and what content are you reading? Analyze why and implement your insights in your content creation.
4. Use Video
When reels were released on Instagram, video content was heavily rewarded for users who adapted the format early. That effect remained for a long time, and static images were barely visible anymore. This led to Instagram changing its algorithms once again to balance the feed better.All types of content now have the possibility to perform well. However, reels are still an effective method of reaching more people, as the video format has an algorithm that governs it. So mix up your content with a hefty dose of video!
5. Create Lots Of Content
How often you appear in the feed is related to how fast you will grow. I know many people will tell you the opposite: you can post 1-2 times a week and still grow if you have amazing content. Being able to rely on a couple of posts a week doesn't work if you are in the build-up phase. It works if you are already established on the platform. And if you are relatively new on the platform, you need to build experience in creating content that works. The best way to do that is to create a lot of content. This brings you clarity fast; what will work or not, based on your results.
Building a brand on Instagram is an ever-going process with continuously changing algorithms. And if you are dedicated, you'll have a lot of fun on the way.
Jennie Persson, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Jennie Persson is an Instagram expert, business educator and a cheerleader for your business, based in Stockholm, Sweden. She’s passionate about helping entrepreneurs in building the business of their dreams by learning how to brand their business online.
