Learning Instagram part 3: IG growth in 2023

November 10, 2023

Listen to Learning Instagram part 3: IG growth in 2023 on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts 

This episode is the third and final episode of a 3-part series about learning Instagram. Today I’m talking all about Instagram growth in 2023. I’m sharing the top 10 things that I’m seeing work right now on Instagram, why you should focus on them, and how to implement them on your own account. 

In this episode about learning Instagram part 3: IG growth in 2023, the 10 things are: 

  • Showcasing your unique positioning and personality 
  • Collaborations 
  • Reaching non-followers 
  • Optimizing your Instagram account
  • Experimenting 
  • Repurposing top performing content  
  • Focusing on extending watch time and time spent on content   
  • Creating eye-catching content 
  • Focusing on getting your current community to interact with you 
  • Giving things time and don’t be afraid to sit in the discomfort 

this is the last episode in the learning instagram series and you and I are going to chat all things instagram growth and what’s working in 2023

I just want to preface this chat by saying that there are sooooooo many factors that play into growth on instagram and that is exactly why I created IG University my instagram growth membership for business owners — instagram is ever changing and there are a lot of things that are important to know but I am going to run through the top 10 that i see working right now on instagram and walk you through why you should focus on them and how to implement it onto your own account 

Also, these are not in order of importance 

1- showcasing your unique positioning. sharing your unique frameworks, opinions, thoughts, etc. what are your values? Can I know YOU within the first 5 minutes of being on your account? What is your personality? Do I see that shining through on your account? Do you share vulnerable and relatable content? 

This also ties into making sure you aren’t being the same as everyone else. 

2- collaborations: 1 per month of someone who is in an adjacent niche or the same niche as you. make sure that you really know who you are collaborating with and that their values align with yours and that you would feel comfortable with your followers following them 

3- focusing on reaching non-followers: of course you want to reach your community but reaching non followers means new eyes and new eyes means potential leads for your business. so how do you reach non-followers? explore page, collaborations, shared content, and by studying your content. Look at your post insights to see what your non follower reach is and study which posts are reaching new eyes

4- experimenting: at least 10% of your content should be experimental each month, trying new things will allow you to continually grow and make sure that you stay relevant. Another thing I want you to experiment with is your normal content. Try a/b testing. Post the same reel with different hooks. If the content didn’t do well as a reel try it as a carousel post. Maybe you did talking reel on a topic, try sharing that topic in a reel with text over a video and see how that does. 

5- optimizing your ig account: this doesn’t directly help you grow but it will help the eyes on your account not just be eyes but become followers. you have 7 seconds to make a good first impression so optimization is important. what areas to focus on: bio, highlights, pinned content, feed

Bio: 4 lines, answer the WHO, WHAT, and HOW questions

Highlights: add 5-8 highlights that share more about YOU and your offers + tips/tricks

Link in bio: make sure your links are clearly labeled & add a freebie if possible (lead magnet)

6- repurposing top performing content: look at what worked over the past 3-4 months and repurpose it. this DOES NOT mean repost it. with the original content ranking in the algorithm that instagram brought to light a few months ago you want to make sure that you aren’t reposting content 

7- focusing on extending watch time + time spent on content: now that reel insights include watch time you can use that data to see which reels keep attention throughout and which reels people only watch for a few seconds before tapping out. But this isn’t just applicable to reels, you also want to expand the time that people are spending on all posts which is why carousel posts are good to be posting. The multi slide posts, if they are engaging, keep people on your post for longer than a single picture would and time spent on a post is something that the algorithm looks at in determining if it’s going to be shared to new viewers or non followers 

8- create eye-catching content. Odds are high that if you aren’t converting viewers to followers and you’ve done all the things I’ve previously shared… your content might just simply be boring! Doesn’t means it’s not quality. Doesn’t mean it’s not valuable. It just simply might be like all the other content out there. Put yourself in your audiences shoes. Really look at your own consumer behaviors. Would you consume your content? Would you save your content? Would your content stick out on an explore page if you saw it? And then I want you to think about content that does stick out. Use your own consumer behaviors to drive the content you create. 

9- focus on getting your current community to interact with you and add you to the favorites feed

10- give things time and don’t be afraid to sit in the discomfort: results take time. My question to you is— are you in this for the long run or are you in this for a quick win? 

Alright, that is it for todays episode and while it was jam packed with information there is still so much more to instagram than what we covered today so make sure to checkout part 1 and part 2 of the learning instagram series and IG University my monthly instagram membership for business owners linked in the show notes 

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