Nothing breeds a higher number of followers than a higher quality of follower. A small yet concentrated number of superfans will spread your brand amongst the ignorant and unsure like food dye in water — and the more drippy drops you drum up, the more likely it is that you can color your creator credit section an even darker shade of black.
The biggest takeaway is they won’t pay if they stray. Since you need them to stay? Apply these stratagems to your Instagram and evolve from a Finder to a Keeper.
Work with What You Got
We all know the algorithm sucks. It’s out to suck time, suck money, and suck eyes away from you. So give up, right?
Wrong. Obviously.
Whether or not you can remember how things used to be before the platform’s pivots — the big idea here is that you’re in the system now, and you have to learn how to go with its flow. And there are still ways to grow your social media presence without spending any money. But it’s a good idea to get used to blending the following best practices with what makes your content consumable rather than bucking against the system and ending up dragged behind the barn.
Think of it like putting together an outfit. Generally you’re expected to at least wear a top, a bottom, and something to keep the glass out of your feet/your feet out of polite society. But it’s still up to you to make it a memorable ensemble that reflects who you want to show the world.
Speaking of ensembles…
Collect Those Collabs
Where would we be without merged talent? Look at Liquid Death and Yeti. Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B. You put two great brains/brands together, and you get a mutually beneficial boost to the bank accounts of both — what with the expected increase in eyes, clicks, and followers that precedes it.
How do you go from admirer to co-creator? It’s as simple as reaching out… but you can’t come to the party empty-handed. That’s just tacky. Get at least an outline together, and let them know not only that coming together makes sense, but what you plan for your share of the labor. Coattail-riding is for friends and family only, and if you’re neither, don’t expect to get close.
And that’s not all. Be sure you’ve done your due digging into your potential partner so you can best sell yourself — a gaffe like sliding into their DMs when they have a “Direct ALL Business Inquiries HERE” in their bio won’t get you where you’re trying to go.
Whether you’re reaching out to someone around your league, shooting for the stars, or pulling someone worthy up, make sure your game plan includes professionalism, strategy, and followthrough so you don’t catch a block.
Your cohorts in content aren’t the only ones you can reach out to, though!
Use Your Users
In our current climate of spoon-fed sponcon, genuine endorsements act as a source of invaluable enforcement. Buying the purple cow is a great idea, of course. But if you’re lucky enough to get the milk for free? You better build a bigger bucket.
If your followers take the time to talk you up via their own content on their own socials, apropos of nothing but their love for what you do, you have gold on your hands! Check your mentions frequently, leave likes and thanks, and when you see content that makes you look good, try to get the go-ahead to use what they’ve made on your page.
Best case scenario — the “Senpai noticed me!” effect could lead to not just more followers, but more high-quality UGC as people vie for your attention. Leveraging their honesty is one of your best retention policies — so as much as you can, let your fans turn up your heat!
But giving out attention shouldn’t just be a bid for free photos.
Initiate Interaction
Encouraging loyalty can be as easy as a double tap and as hard as making the time to pay attention to your patrons. Filtering out scambots and weird rants, especially when you’re just getting started, will seem like a hassle… because it is. But leaving likes and replies on comments and on any posts that mention you (even if it wouldn’t make for good UGC) will further foster the sense of belonging that will keep them firmly embedded in your endeavors. As for Instagram’s algorithm, you’ll be passed along to yet more future fans through repeatedly rewarding the ones you’ll already have — and enjoying yourself while you’re doing it! Remember that in looking at cultivating a proper cult, you’re also looking at how to grow your Instagram following in the first place. And you don’t have to sell out your interests to do it.
Don’t want to trail behind legs-by-pools accounts? You don’t have to. Pickleballing goths don’t align with your intended audience? No need to acquire that taste! You can fulfill the whims of the almighty ‘Gram by sharing the love through following and interacting with creators/brands you’re actually interested in. Not only will you get to see what plays by your rule of cool while you work, you’ll open yourself up to seeing what works for others firsthand.
And did you know there’s a better way to get your content itself to deploy that same dopamine?
Rally the Reels
Not spending your time focused on short and impermanent things is a wonderful strategy for life in general. But that’s why people say IG isn’t real life; at least we assume that’s what They™ were talking about.
Using Instagram Stories and Reels and making the most of fleeting moments is exactly where your head needs to be in terms of content creation — not (just) because they catch more eyes, but because they feed a need. You don’t need to disrespect your base by eye-rolling about attention spans — that’s not the only allure of these abbreviated offerings. Followers adding their reactions to their favorite moments as they play gives them a feeling of deeper involvement, and when they go with that feeling, good things happen! It’s not the same as being right in the room with you, but it’s an incredible simulation.
Get comfortable with making little scripts, steadying your shooting hand, and the tools that will help you get one-night-only content to the right level of polish with the right amount of time. There’s an array of great tools for just that purpose, and you most likely already have your hands on the greatest one!
Consult Your Calendar
As great as spur-of-the-moment content can be, your page’s effectiveness will only be as good as your ability to plan is. Will your crew know to bring their pups to the studio for National Dog Day pics in time to get them to the groomers? Can you have a season’s worth of recipes lined up for cozy winter content while the leaves are still on the trees? These are the kinds of content calendar questions that need an enthusiastic YES as an answer if you’re going to fortify your fanbase.
Don’t know where to start? Scroll the National Day Calendar for a few ideas, and some real eyeopeners as to our official unofficial holidays.
Example, did you know there’s a World Naked Gardening Day? You do now, and you’ll never not know it again. You’re welcome!
Niche events don’t line up with what you want to do? No problem. There’s 0% need to add quirk where it doesn’t work. But even the staunchest National Garlic Day Grinch can’t escape the need to fill out an editorial calendar. If you don’t have an outline of where your content is headed, you’re going to be vague, you’re going to be rushed, and you’re going to be SOL when your followers decide to stop rewarding the lack of effort with their attention.
Before you go breaking out the stone tablets and chisels for the next year, there’s a bit of perspective to keep in mind. Your calendar needs to be — and Trigger Warning: Manager Speak — a living document. That hurt us more than you, but what will hurt more is the lack of flexibility. Events, collabs, cases of the sniffles, and once-in-a-lifetime news will pop up, and you will need to adjust accordingly. Make sure nothing you’ve already worked on goes to its grave with unfinished business, because the time and money spent will come back to haunt you, Poltergeist style.
Once you’ve put in the work on that schedule, you’ll want to toot your own horn pretty hard we’d wager. Start with Shift + 3.
Hold Onto Your Hashtags
Don’t let the Suggested Posts fool you, the humble Symbol Formerly Known As Number Sign is still relevant to your Instagram interests. Consider the sort of user who’s going to use the search function to find things — they’ll be dedicated to combing for relevant content — not content with whatever flotsam Instagram floats their way. Coming across something fresh and relevant that doesn’t waste their time will result in engagement and the love you’re looking for.
As for Instagram’s algorithm, the engagement you get will boost how your presence pops up in recent hashtags. Starting with a trickle is par for the course, but the pursuit of passionate followers demands the few before the many. Don’t neglect this aspect — the time you might save isn’t worth passing on their potential perusal. Meanwhile, you’ve got other things to keep an eye on.
Get Into Your Insights
Creatives and numbers are like snap peas and gelato. Putting them together in a satisfying way takes force, time, education, and a metric ton of sugar on top; and most people will still find the end result too horrible and off-putting to even contemplate, let alone try to swallow.
But as much as you’re here for more people… you’re never going to be profitable being palatable to everyone, and you already knew that.
Keep up with your metrics, the results of your A/B testing, and how many hours you’ve put into what to end up with the totals you’ve tallied.
And most importantly? Record, record, RECORD. Find your favorite type of chart, graph, or table and keep folders upon folders. Map them against your peaks and troughs and see if there’s a connection. You may discover that you need to lean in a certain direction, or see how well a risk paid off (or didn’t), but ultimately you have to get in the numerical trenches to keep your loyal fans as exactly that.
Reworking things when you feel a hit of inspiration or stagnation might feel right, and you may even hook some new folks with new bait. Still, the followers you’ve worked against all other attention sucking phenomena to accrue pay attention to you for a reason. Don’t veer away on a whim when you see what’s keeping them on, and don’t stick to what the numbers say isn’t hitting its marks. Figure out the figures and you’ll keep them right where you need them to be — lapping at your sweet, sweet bowl of peascream.
Sorry.
Look, you’re here to make something that resonates, right? That reverberation, that bones-deep “HAH” or “YES” or “GOD, WHY” is what makes you worth following. It’ll be hard and expensive building what you need — but it’s shoring up your foundation with solid admirers that’ll get you through. Be equal parts bold and strategic, shove those pieces into place, and the snowball will get big enough to roll that much faster.
Actually, last thing, one more time… peascream.
Sorry again.
PS. Did you actually click that Liquid Death namecheck? And did you like what you saw when you did (even if it was going back up just now)? For everyone cool enough to answer “Yes, and HELL YES,” we’ve got another spoonful of hype to slap on top of that sick-ass sundae. Our Instagram Summit is happening THIS Wednesday and Thursday, and Liquid Death will be among our featured Instagram experts ready to blow your brain. Get your tickets and your life, no flight-catching required.
