If you’re ready to jump in on Instagram and grow your account from scratch, today’s post is for you! Today, I’m sharing what I would do if I was starting over from scratch on Instagram. I’m sharing the content I’d create, how I’d interact, and use my account to grow an Instagram account in 2022. 

CREATE REELS

The first thing I would do is create Instagram Reels and have this be a huge part of my strategy on Instagram. Even though it’s been out for a year, Reels are a huge part of the app still. Reels truly help with organic growth because they’re being pushed out to people who don’t know who you are. If you’re a brand new account or trying to grow your account, you need to be focusing on Reels. Reels are one way to get new eyeballs on your content since this video content is being pushed so widely on the app. Over the past year, my account has grown by 20-25k followers because of Reels. So I truly do believe that they work! 

Not sure how to start with Reels? Check out my free Reels class for a jumpstart! 

COMMUNITY IS EVERYTHING

The second thing I would do if I was starting over from scratch on Instagram is recognizing that community is everything. Avoid focusing on just the number of followers, the views, and all of that. Remember that these people want to follow and know YOU. Make sure you take the time to show up consistently for the people who show up for you! Think about how you can make a better connection with your audience. You can do this through stories, polls, even just a voice memo back instead of a text message in DMs. Just make time to respond to your comments and messages so that you can truly connect with your audiences. 

Another fun way to engage with your audience is to create video replies for comments or Reels. When you go to comment back, there’s a video option now. It’s so cool and it’s a new way to engage with your audience more personally! There’s a similar feature on Tik Tok, if you’re familiar with that! 

Building community is important to help make sure everyone feels connected with you, your brand, and your content. In the end, this only helps you more. When you post new content – particularly new Reels – Instagram will show your followers first. If they’re more likely to engage with your content because they know they’ll get to engage with you, that post is going to be pushed out to your cold audience faster because Instagram recognizes the engagement on the post. So, it all really does make a difference in the end! 

NICHE DOWN

From day one, I want my niche to be clear for my account. Who am I speaking to? What am I talking about? Make it very obvious to potential followers who you are and what your niche is. When it comes to niching, I think we can believe we have to fit in a tiny box. But the reality is that it’s better to start within that smaller box and then begin to expand outside that topic as your account has grown. The people who are with you will be more likely to stay and engage in that content if they understand why they found you in the first place! 

Remember: to start, having a specific and obvious niche is going to make it easier for the right target audience to find and follow you! 

CREATE DIFFERENT TYPES OF INSTAGRAM CONTENT

If I were starting my Instagram account from scratch, I’d work on creating a variety of different content on the app. I’d want to have a well-rounded and more diverse content calendar. To be honest, I’m even working on that now, as someone who’s been on the app for awhile! All I mean by this is that I want to have a variety of posts – stories, Reels, feed posts, and things like that (PS… a new post on that coming soon!). It’s important to utilize all of the types of content that Instagram has made available for us on their platform. This variety keeps things interesting for our followers and works to foster that community even more. 

I love that Instagram has so many options because it allows my followers to consume my content in the way that works for them. It’s a process, but I want to be better about creating that variety for them. The creators that take advantage of the variety Instagram provides are more likely to grow their accounts and followers. 

HAVE AN OPTIMIZED BIO & FEED

The last thing I would do to grow my Instagram account is to have an optimized bio and feed. This ties back into knowing your niche, but it’s a little more focused. If someone looks at your feed, will they know within 5 seconds that you’re someone they want to follow? We have a very short amount of time for someone new to get a feeling of what you do and the value you provide to them before they click off your profile.

In your bio, this can mean a few things. Have an up close photo of you as your profile image so that people see who you are right away. This is important especially if you’re building a personal brand, because you want those new followers to feel instantly connected with you. People connect with people. Make sure that within the first one or two lines of your bio includes who you are, what you do, and who you serve. Take a look at my Instagram bio for an example! Finally, the last line of your bio should direct them to what you want to do next. Whether that’s to follow you on YouTube, join your email list, book a call… whatever makes sense for your brand, do it! 

Now… your feed. I think that people are over the perfectly curated feed. That was something that was super popular a few years back. Now, I think people just want to know what they’re going to get from you. So, my feed is very on brand but not necessarily curated. People want to feel like you’re being real with them. And you can totally do that while staying on brand! I personally like that feeling for my account and I think being consistent is a good thing! PS… I have more tips about how to plan your feed here! 

And there you have it! Whether you’re starting a brand new account or want to grow your current account in 2022, these five tips will help you find new followers and build your community. If you want more help, make sure to check out my FREE Reels Class and my FREE Facebook community!