In today’s world, social media has become an essential aspect of our lives.
Instagram, in particular, has grown to be one of the most popular social media platforms with over a billion active users.
Whether you’re an individual, business owner, or influencer, growing your Instagram account can be a game-changer.
In this article, we will discuss the different types of growth streams and provide you with essential insights to help you explode your Instagram growth.
From basic to advanced and bonus growth streams, you’ll have everything you need to take your Instagram game to the next level. So, let’s get started!
So, are you ready to begin? If so, let’s dive in…
3 Types Of Instagram Growth Streams
If you want to grow your Instagram following, leveraging these growth streams is going to skyrocket the number of followers that you get.
Each growth stream is going to work for you more on a different part of your Instagram journey.
That’s why your focus is mainly going to be centered on one and not likely at all of them, even though the more of them you use, the better.
Now how do these Instagram growth streams look like? Here they are:
- Basic Growth Streams
- Advanced Growth Streams
- Bonus Growth Streams
Each one of these is going to get you incredible results and help you take your Instagram growth to a whole new level…
So, let’s dive into each one of these growth streams more in-depth.
Basic Growth Streams
These growth streams are likely the first ones you’re going to start leveraging.
They include:
- Hashtags
- Location Tags
- Engagement Strategy
- Profile SEO
Let’s look at how to use all of them more in-depth…
Leverage Hashtags
This is a common thing talked about when it comes to Instagram growth and despite some rumors spreading, hashtags ARE working.
When you share your post, and you add hashtags in your caption or the comment section, your post is going to appear on the hashtag pages of all the hashtags you used, and that’s going to help you get more exposure.
If you want to make the most out of hashtags, you’re going to need a hashtag strategy.
Here’s one that has been proven to work for me over and over again and gets me exposure to tens of thousands of people using hashtags…
- Pick 5 hashtags with a 20% lower engagement rate than is on your posts (i.e. if your posts get an average of 1,000 likes, pick hashtags where content on the top page gets an average of 800 likes.)
- Pick 20 hashtags with a similar engagement rate as on your posts
- Pick 5 hashtags with a 20% higher engagement rate than is on your posts
I use a tool called Flick to do the research necessary for that. Using the formula above make 5 sets of hashtags that you’re going to swap with every post that you share for maximum exposure.
That way you’re going to get a lot of attention and a lot of Instagram growth.
Leverage Location Tags
Location Tags are a great way to boost exposure, especially for some local areas. That means if your dream customers are in New York, use that location tag.
If they’re in Sydney, Australia…use that location tag on your post.
When you do, just like with hashtags, your post is going to appear on the location page and everybody checking it can see your post.
That will boost your reach and Instagram growth as well.
If you want the most exposure possible, use popular locations.
Create And Follow An Engagement Strategy
Another one of the basic Instagram growth streams is following an engagement strategy.
The right engagement strategy is extremely important and it is going to help you not only get more engagement on your own content but also skyrocket your Instagram growth.
Here’s a proven engagement strategy that works:
- 50 Comments On Relevant Hashtags
- 50 Comments On Big Account’s Posts
- 50 Comments On Followers’ Posts
- Reply To All Comments
This engagement strategy is going to help you boost your Instagram growth and engagement while you will also build trust and relationships with your current audience.
However, make every comment personal and feedback-giving if you want to get results. Emojis and “thanks for sharing” don’t work.
Do Profile SEO
This is a great way to boost your Instagram growth on autopilot. Optimizing your profile for SEO will make it appear in search results every time somebody types in a certain keyword and it will help you get attention and sales.
Doing it is actually pretty easy. All you need to do is to include a certain keyword in your profile headline or username.
That’s it. There is nothing else to it. However, this simple change can make wonders and boost your Instagram growth.
Advanced Growth Streams
These are growth streams that will likely start working for you more effectively as you grow, but you should leverage them since the beginning of your Instagram marketing efforts.
Here’s where the majority of Instagram growth is hidden. And it’s not easy to make these streams get you new followers.
However, if you can make it happen, it will be game-changing for you.
Here are the growth streams that belong to this part:
- Explore Page
- SFY Lists
- Guest Posting/Collaborations
Now, let’s look at how to effectively leverage these for your Instagram growth…
Get On Explore Page
This is one of the biggest Instagram growth secrets ever, and it can EXPLODE your growth by thousands or even tens of thousands of people overnight.
When your content gets on explore page and starts performing there, you won.
There was only one thing that has proven to work effectively over time…
Get a lot of engagement on a post and get it fast.
That means your content needs to follow the 3 pillars of creating high-performing content:
- It has to add value
- It has to present the value well
- It has to be relevant to your dream customer
When your content follows all of these content pillars effectively, you’ll get awesome results.
Suggested For You (SFY) Lists
SFY lists are a powerful tool to get more growth. These lists pop up every time you follow somebody and there are several similar accounts Instagram recommends you to follow immediately as well.
When you get on these lists, it’s an awesome way to get extra followers as well on autopilot. The way you’re going to get there is by creating something called “follower overlap”.
Basically, that means similar accounts that follow the account on which SFY list you want to get will follow you as well.
The bigger the follower overlap is, the better. So, figure out how to get the followers of the account, to follow you as well and you won.
Also, you’ll start to see that the more popular you get, the more SFY lists you’ll start to appear on…
So, max out all of the other Instagram growth streams to get followers and this one will automatically bring in more followers as well.
Collaborations/Guest Posting
This is one of the most powerful ways to leverage other people’s audiences and also one of the greatest Instagram growth streams to get new followers.
When you collaborate with other brands or influencers you’ll get full access to their audience and get incredible results.
However, there is of course a limit to the number of collaborations that you can make if you want to build your own brand as well.
That’s why guest posting is a great alternative where you share content just on the account of the influencer, and nothing gets posted on yours.
They get a valuable piece of content, and you get exposure.
However, when you make a collab post, you both create the post and share it on your profile using the collab feature.
So, if you want to collaborate with others
more often but don’t want to have a million posts that aren’t yours on your profile, this will work for you as well.
Yes, it will take some outreach and persistence, but it will be more than worth it.
And now, let’s move to the next set of Instagram growth streams…
Bonus Growth Streams
These growth streams aren’t necessary, but they can skyrocket your Instagram growth as well when you max them out.
These growth streams include:
- Cross-Platform Promotion
- Content SEO
- Advertising
Again, let’s have a closer look at each one of these growth streams and how you should use them correctly…
Cross-Platform Promotion
This is as simple as it sounds. If you have built n audience of people on other social media platforms, then you can promote your Instagram there to get more followers as well.
It’s a great way to jumpstart your growth, especially when you’re beginning, but it’s not possible unless you already built an audience elsewhere.
Content SEO
Search has evolved over time on Instagram and it has become a great way to boost your Instagram growth.
Now when it’s possible to search for content as well, you must do SEO for it so that it shows up in results when somebody types the keyword into the search bar.
However, it’s not nearly as complex as Google SEO. All you have to do is to just include a few target keywords in the caption and that’s it.
For example, if you want your post to show up in the search results for the “social media management” keyword, then just add it in the post caption and that’s the entire SEO strategy.
It’s not as effective as all of the previous Instagram growth streams though but it can get you extra followers.
Run Instagram Ads
This one is SUPER POWERFUL but Instagram growth comes as a side benefit. When you run Instagram ads, the main goal should be getting traffic and sales.
And that’s what you want to primarily focus on. However, as you get all of that exposure you’ll naturally start getting new followers as well. It works like crazy however keep in mind that profits go first and followers second.
Never run ads just for the sake of getting followers. It’s not smart.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Instagram has become a vital platform for individuals, businesses, and influencers looking to expand their reach and maximize their growth.
Understanding and implementing various growth streams can significantly impact the number of followers and engagement on your Instagram account.
The article discussed three types of Instagram growth streams: basic, advanced, and bonus. Basic growth streams include leveraging hashtags, and location tags, implementing an engagement strategy, and optimizing your profile for SEO.
These strategies lay the foundation for your Instagram growth and help increase exposure to a wider audience.
Advanced growth streams, such as getting featured on the Explore page, utilizing Suggested For You (SFY) lists, and collaborating with other brands or influencers, take your growth to the next level.
These strategies require more effort and planning but can yield substantial results by tapping into larger audiences and expanding your reach.
Bonus growth streams, including cross-platform promotion, content SEO, and running Instagram ads, provide additional avenues to accelerate your Instagram growth. Cross-platform promotion allows you to leverage existing audiences on other social media platforms, while content SEO helps your posts appear in search results.
Running Instagram ads, primarily focused on generating traffic and sales, can also contribute to growing your follower base.
Implementing a combination of these growth streams tailored to your specific goals and target audience can propel your Instagram account to new heights.
Remember, consistency, quality content, and genuine engagement are key factors in sustaining and maximizing your Instagram growth.
By dedicating time and effort to these strategies, you can unlock the full potential of Instagram as a powerful platform for personal and business growth.
Filip Konecny 