At the end of 2022, my Instagram account hit 100k followers, wow! That number feels absolutely insane to me. In today’s video, I’m sharing what I’ve learned in growing my account – and what I believe has helped me to hit that number of followers. Most of those followers came in the last two years, so I can definitely point to a few things that made it possible to grow from 0 to 100K followers on Instagram. 

I decided to have a personal brand!

I truly believe that having a personal brand helped me grow my account. My account started as an account to promote my business but I also was intentional about making it about ME. I showed my face, showed what I love, and who I am. Without doing that, my account would not be where it is today. Over the years, that’s looked a lot different. I started my account in 2015 or so, and when I first started, it began as my photography account. I marketed those services but I was also very intentional about building a personal brand, too. From the start, I wanted my clients to know who I was as a person and Instagram was a large part of sharing that.

Early on, I decided at least half of my posts would be about me – not just what I offered – so that people could get to know me. That has served me so well over the years as I’ve grown and pivoted my business. As my business pivoted, the account pivoted with me because it was a personal brand, until I decided to let that personal brand take over my account. At that point, our second account: Stephanie Kase Education began as a place to house just our educational content. But, I truly believe if I hadn’t been willing to show up the way that I did, none of the growth would have been possible. 

Posting consistently

The second thing I believe led to my Instagram growth was showing up for my community consistently. There have definitely been seasons of life where that has been hard. But showing up consistently over time has served me so, so well. To me, consistently has never meant every day. It’s okay to have different “seasons” in your brand on Instagram, too! Sometimes, I need all the low-effort content I can get to just be there and show up, even if my views might be lower than normal. It’s not all about views! Other times, I am able to pour a LOT more into my content and see more “numbers growth” as far as followers and that’s awesome too. These seasons are so normal. It’s important to remember that at the end of the day, just doing the work and showing up is HUGE. Showing up in tiny chunks over time (5 minutes here, 15 minutes there) over many days is going to be the most beneficial. 

Instagram is really a marathon – not a sprint. While it is possible to have fast growth, that’s not the reality. You have to engage the people you have once you get them, so just focus on being consistent for your audience. Most of my growth happened after July 2020, even though I have had the account since 2015. In August of 2020 I had around 7,000 followers; I grew to 26k followers by October 2021, then that’s when I REALLY took my business out of my account and hit 100k by December 2022. The type of content I shared through all of that changed, but it all made a difference in connecting with my audience. 

Posting reels

The third thing that’s led to all of this growth is Instagram Reels. This probably doesn’t come as a surprise if you know me. Reels have become a huge part of the platform because they push you in front of a cold audience. I have seen the most consistent and fastest follower growth when I’m creating Reels on my account. Since many of these Reels go to a cold audience (who don’t know you yet), it’s important to make them engaging and interesting (and within my niche!) so that new people want to follow you. 

Wondering what I mean? I offer a free one-hour Instagram Reels class if you want more help with how to grow your reach, followers, and customers with Reels in 2 hours a month! You can sign up for that HERE.

Defining my brand

Growing on Instagram is about knowing how to “market” yourself and have a defined brand so that people have a REASON to follow you. Defining a brand isn’t just picking colors and a font. You need to have a consistent message, themes, and specific niche to talk to your ideal client. When you create content, you need to make it very obvious about why people should hit “follow” and be clear about who you’re attracting to your account. You don’t want EVERYONE on your account. It’s important to repel potential followers so that you can get the right ones on your account. You need to know who you’re speaking to before you start speaking. 

Analyzing my insights on a monthly basis

How will you know what’s working if you don’t check your monthly analytics? I’m a huge advocate of looking at the types of content that you’re cerating to determine what people want and what’s performing well. It’s easy to just look at views, but you should also be reviewing your levels of comments, saves, shares, link clicks, and DMs. Those metrics can show you what people want from you and what resonates with them. We have a full video about Instagram insights HERE to help explain what you’re looking for.

Growing on Instagram is really about knowing your brand and knowing your audience. I hope that these tips help you feel more excited about growing your own account – you’ve got this! 

Other Reels Resources 

I also offer a free one-hour Instagram Reels class if you want more help with how to grow your reach, followers, and customers with Reels in 2 hours a month! 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!

Wondering what to make for your next Reel? Free quiz to find out what type of reel idea you should make next! 

Need ideas for Instagram? Grab our free sample Instagram posting schedule here!

PS. We’ve started a podcast! If you haven’t checked it out yet, now is the time! If you’re listening and you have ideas about what to talk about next, please send in your requests! I really do want to know what you want to hear about in future episodes. Email me at [email protected] with your questions!! I can’t wait to hear from you!