Today’s blog comes from members of my Free Reels Growth Facebook Community! Someone asked about how to build a loyal community from your new Instagram followers after growing your account with Reels. Once you have the new followers, it’s important to engage with them and encourage engagement on your own account for so many reasons (see more on that here!). Let’s dive into three easy ways to build your community on IG!

Seasons of growth vs. seasons of nurturing!

When it comes to my Instagram as a whole, I truly believe in the idea of seasons of growth vs. seasons of nurturing! There will definitely be seasons where you’re focusing on growing your account and following that, seasons where you’re truly focusing on nurturing those new followers. For me, I definitely switch between the two as my business needs. When you’re in the nurture season, you need to focus on content for your followers. Instead of posting a ton of Instagram Reels to reach new people, it’s time to focus on posts, stories, IG lives, or things that truly talk to your warm audience. That season of nurturing is about creating content that will connect with your community. 

In my IG Content types post, I break down which kinds of content are best for your warm audience. 

Start small! 

When we start creating more of these posts for our warm audience, like polls or Instagram lives, start small. Sometimes bigger questions are hard to answer. Instead, try having a simple poll (a yes/no option!). That’s way easier for someone to click and start engaging with you. The same goes for your CTAs at the end of your posts! Instead of saying “what do you want me to talk about”, try asking them if they want to learn about option A or option B. Give them the answer right there, so they aren’t having to think of a response off the top of their heads. Another great option is a themed Q & A question box. These seem to perform better for me and my brand! 

Make engaging back a priority! 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: engagement needs to be a priority to build a community. Whenever I’m on my account, I make an effort to respond to comments and messages. If you want people to engage with you, you have to engage with them. It can be overwhelming as your account grows, but just try to get in and do it quickly as often as you can. I love sending voice DMs as another quick option to respond to messages and is a great way to encourage that connection with you and your brand. 

BONUS: Get your community talking to each other! 

A great way to build a community on your Instagram account is to get your community talking together. One easy way is to have a post with a topic that will actually generate conversation. This is going to look different for every brand, but find a subject that gets people involved on your account. Another example is during Instagram Lives, people can comment with each other in real time as you’re speaking with them – it’s a great way to bring people together. Finally, one other idea is with your Instagram stories, you can put question boxes that you can then turn into polls – ask for a “this or that” idea and then share it, with a poll option. People begin to feel more connected and like their responses really matter! 

These four tips will help you grow a loyal community on your Instagram account! At the heart of it, social media is about being social. People follow you because they love what you’re doing – so trust in that and provide them opportunities to interact with you! 

Other Reels Resources! 

I also offer a free Instagram Reels class if you want more help with how to grow your reach, followers, and customers with Reels in 2 hours! You can sign up for that HERE. And, if you have questions or want some extra support, I’ve got a FREE Reels Growth Facebook Community that you can join. I absolutely love getting to chat with everyone and help them work through their questions about Reels!