The Secret to Real Instagram Growth; how to quickly gain exposure

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Want to know the Secret to Real Instagram Growth? Instagram growth connections can propel your business faster than almost any other targeted action.

The Secret to Real Instagram Growth; how to quickly gain exposure

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The Secret to Real Instagram Growth

Christa Hutchins of @doanewthing is a productivity coach for Christian women leaders and communicators. She and I collaborate on several projects to grow our businesses.

If you are trying to grow your Instagram account and propel your business forward, this is the episode you need! You’ll learn how Christa uses Instagram Live video to get in front of not only her target audience but also catch the attention of bigger influencers on the platform.  Her account has grown and thrived during Covid-19, resulting in even more business and followers.

Getting Comfortable With Instagram After Using Facebook

In the early days of using Instagram, I was struggling with everything because I just didn’t get it. And you know, I was comfortable over on Facebook. I pretty much knew what to do on there. But, I also work a full-time job so for me, time is really important and I have to prioritize where I spend my time. Basically, Instagram was way low on priority!

If you go way back to the beginning of my feed, you’ll see that. It’s just kind of hit or miss for certain things and didn’t really stick, but then I guess it’s been almost two years ago that I really realized that my audience–that I thought was on Facebook– was moving to Instagram! I wanted to move with them, so I started to try to get more intentional about Instagram, but I still struggled to understand how.

Additionally, I definitely didn’t understand stories. I didn’t see the point! I thought it was silly. So, I started just trying to get my feed going and get consistent in posting. That was the first hurdle to success was to be consistently showing up. And that’s what I tell people all the time.

Using Instagram Stories to Create Connections

When I took Ruthie’s Instagram stories challenge, which I recommend to all of my clients, I started to understand the power of Instagram in building a brand, which I learned from the stories challenge!

I also use stories for a lot of different types of content– It’s not all talking, sharing, or being funny, and it’s not all behind the scenes. It’s always a good mix of things.

Now that we’ve discussed the importance of stories, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty! So, what is the secret to real Instagram Growth? Yep, You guessed it! Connections. Here I will share three simple steps to build those Instagram growth connections, authentically!

3 Simple Steps to Build Instagram Growth by Using Connections With Live Video

1.) Get Real With Your Audience

During quarantine, I started working from home instead of the office. The first week, I started doing a “Lunch Break Live” just to get a break from my day.

For seven weeks I invited different friends. Some of them influencers, some friends I knew from different places, but all shared the common goal of trying to build some kind of business or presence on Instagram.

I invited them in every day for just a quick conversation to talk about what quarantining was like at their house. I prodded conversations about what projects were they working on and what God was showing them during that time of staying at home and those were amazing conversations.

I’ve started to love doing Live interviews, especially now that all the conferences are canceled.  People with books and products are looking for ways to get their message out, so a lot of people are saying yes to Instagram growth collaborations that they wouldn’t have said yes to before, and doing an Instagram interview is so easy!

Bigger influencers that normally would have said no to me because they’re so busy said yes, because they needed to get their message out and it was easy and something they knew how to do. So it’s been a huge boost to my brand, my business, and my credibility.  I really loved doing those interviews.

Building authentic connections with your followers is an integral part of growing your vision on Instagram!

2.) Work Live Video into Your Regular Schedule

I still try to do the “Lunch Break Live” every two or three weeks, now that I’m back at work and things are a little bit more structured for most people. That’s a good example of just adapting to your situation, and is the secret to real Instagram growth.

It also really helped me to get other opportunities out of these Instagram growth collaborations, inviting people in and sharing my platform, letting them share about their projects, and sometimes I was able to book other podcast interviews. I booked a summit position on one of those, and I’ve been able to create other collaborations!

3.) Remember the “Know, Like, and Trust” Philosophy

Any time you’re trying to build a brand or build a business or a service, you need to get your message out in front of people. Then, those people have to get to know, like, and trust you before they’re going to purchase from you. The best way to get over that know, like, and trust hurdle is for someone they already know, like, and trust to endorse you, and they endorse you by doing projects with you.

All my audience knows that I trust Ruthie and they will all go to Ruthie for Instagram help when they need it, because they know I trust her, that I’ve recommended her, and that I’ve done projects with her, and it’s the same concept when I do collaborations with them! Their audience now sees me as someone that they can get to know like, and trust.

It’s the fastest way to get over that hurdle and get to a point where people are willing to consider your products and services. And that’s the secret to real Instagram growth.

During these last seven weeks of going Live almost every day, my audience has grown about 20 or 25%! Every day, there are new followers. It’s not been a huge, viral thing, but it has been steady growth that I can keep up with. I’m happy with just slow, consistent growth that is small enough that I feel okay about practicing things and trying new things without feeling like 20,000 people are going to see it! If I mess up, it’s okay and my audience knows that I’m working on it and they’re working on theirs too. So we’re doing it together!

Working Live Video into your Instagram schedule will promote more authentic engagement; thus furthering growth.

How to catch Christa’s Workshop on Trello Organization for Instagram

My followers are always asking for better, faster ways to get the posting process done.  So, Christa has agreed to do a workshop showing us exactly how she uses Trello to cut her posting time in half!  You can access this training with a handy guided checklist right inside my 12-Week Insider Intensive Community, starting on January 4th.  It’s one of the 12 focused trainings you’ll have access to, including “Driving Traffic From Your Bio,” “Image Planning and Design,” and more! And here’s another secret – I’m doing a workshop sharing my personal scheduling secrets using my favorite scheduler.

This special training starts Monday, January 4, and runs for 12 weeks.

As a bonus, you’ll gain immediate access to my Hashtag Formula Toolkit with Workbook, Worksheet, and Hashtag Spreadsheet!  However, if you missed the sale, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for when doors open again! This is the biggest, best, most focused Instagram training I have ever done, and when you finish, you’ll have all the tools in your back pocket to make the platform work for you!  Go check it out ASAP so you don’t miss all the fun!

Christa Hutchins equips busy communicators and leaders with project management and problem solving skills so they can turn their big ideas into a successful ministry or business. Follow her on Instagram @doanewthing