How to have a solid organic Instagram growth strategy

Instagram growth strategy.  Something that can seem kind of an enigma to some.  I get it, you want a HUGE social media following.  Like 30K of people who are your ideal client who think you are their guru problem solver extraordinaire, follow your every move and want to buy every new product or every new service offering. After all what you have and what you do is AWESOME so should be simple right?
Let’s just say if it was people like me wouldn’t have a job.
Years ago it WAS a hell of a lot easier, I know people who started social media marketing for their business way before it was even a thing.  Yeah now they have tens of thousands of followers which could make you super jelly but let me tell you a little secret.
A CRAPLOAD OF FOLLOWERS DOES NOT A BUSINESS MAKE.
Imma let that sink in for a minute……….
Some in my industry would call this a ‘vanity metric’ which is basically a term that refers to focusing on the things that make you feel like an internet sensation. (Aka the Billy Idol of Instagram….yeah I just showed my age didn’t I! Perhaps Bruno Mars for you younger people).  Focusing on your follower count, getting the poops with the follow/unfollow trend and how many people like your post as the sole definition of a successful business strategy is not a strategy.  And I am going to tell you why.
I am going to go through the top 5 things people doing with zero strategy and explain how to make them work more effectively.   Perhaps you have done some of these things, and if you have it is ok we are all learning and want to make serious bank from our business like yesterday.  So you can get caught up in easy growth tactics, but they don’t always pay off…. Nor do they make bank.  However, a simple regroup, restrategize and refocus on your intent can make them work for you.
1.  Follow for follows sake
I see this all the time, people who follow 4000 accounts but have 300 of their own.  Yeah you went for mass follow in the hopes of having it returned.  These people follow anyone and everyone, even celebrities and a random person from Idaho selling chickens.  
Newsflash Chloe Kardashian is probably not going to follow back your business from Wagga Wagga NSW that you run from your backyard.  She probably doesn’t even manage her own Instagram.  
The trap of doing this is threefold.  1.  It dilutes your feed so you can’t see through the crap to get to your ideal client who you actually want to do business with. 2.  If you are following people who are not your ideal client WHAT IS THE POINT? It isn’t called a business page for nothing. 3. You have more than likely only attracted back those that do the same.
Rather than do this follow the accounts of people you want to do business with, so connect with your ideal client (if you haven’t done a client profile yet do one NOW, subscribe to my mailing list you get a free profiling tool and posts ideas tool). AND connect with people in like-minded non competing businesses that you can collaborate with. 

2.  Follow threads and like ladders
Did you read step 1?  
Secondly it is not a valuable spend of your time to troll like ladders following and commenting on 750 comments.  By all means post yourself for brand awareness and follow the people who you want to engage with but not everyone.
3.  The drop and run
These are people who post…………..then radio silence.  They don’t show love to the people who comment on their posts, they don’t engage with anyone at all.  They are not social on social media.  
The algorithm favours engagement, so you engage with others, they will engage with you.  Instagram priorities based on Interest, Timeliness and Relationship.  So they basically show you content based on how likely you are to want to see it based on previous activity.  So if you get peeps interacting with you then hey presto your shit is shown to them and people who are likely to want to see it.  
Ever search for ‘tummy control swimwear’… nah me either.. (make mental note to get bikini ready this summer) but if you did you would start to see if everywhere.  Also the more you interact with someone it flags you as a potential ‘family and friend’, so keep engaging your ideal client because you literally become their family and end up on their Instagram couch having cups of tea and biscuits.
4. The over poster
You don’t need to post 5 times a day to be seen, often the over poster is also a dropper and runner.  Because it is nigh on impossible to post that much and be able to really add value, plus run a business, plus remember to brush your teeth and have a life.
Also it’s a wee bit spammy, don’t annoy people in the digital world they will cut you off faster than a tradie cracking a kick off beer.
5.  The desperado
This is the person that is constantly posting their sales pitch.  What I commonly call the used car salesman of the social media world.  If all you do is post about what you sell and have 100% call to actions that is, wait for it, yawn!  It is also desperate because it screams ‘I just want to make money from you so can you buy my shit already’
Now a caveat, if you have a special offer, a sale, a new product or service launch then YES you need to ramp up your sales a pitch.  A little bit, not too much so people know what is happening and what value you can give them.  But always position it as a value add, NOT an ‘I’m giving a discount so I can make a sale’
Most of your content, (80% is what I teach) needs to be adding value, inspiring, educating and entertaining.  Embrace personal branding, people want to see you.  They also love a great tip or hint for free!  Some of the best tips I have ever learnt are from a social media post I read and was like ‘Wow!  How have I never had this in my life’.  Like when someone shows you that you have peeled an orange the wrong way your whole life and you go and buy an orchid of orange trees. 

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Basically if you are connecting with the right people, you are positioning yourself as someone who can help them solve a problem, you are relatable, you are real, you entertain them and you actually can offer them something that is going to help them you will grow on social media.  
Fast growth tactics don’t work, yeah maybe a blog will go viral but relying on that is not good strategy.  Good organic growth does still work, but it is work, treat your socials like a part of your business rather than a ticket to stardom and you will have success.    
Until next time
Stace x