3 Ways to Grow Your Instagram Following During Isolation

I’ve been in my apartment for a month and I’ve grown my Instagram following by a little over 7,000 followers in that month from March 15th to April 15th. You’re probably wondering how the heck I did that without leaving my home to create any content huh? Well, that’s what this blog post is all about. I’m gonna tell you just how I did it and how you can do it too. If you’re looking to grow your following specifically just follow these 3 tips for the next week and watch! Speaking of which, if you do grow, please do report back here and share your growth in the comments. Oh, and if you’re looking for more tips on Growing Your Following, Increasing Your Engagement, and Working with Brands via Instagram make sure to check out my Instastories Pro eBook (currently 25% off) showing you my Top 10 Apps for Instastories and my Insta-Grow Ebook showing you my Top 33 Apps for Instagram & Instastories along with 4 Video Modules teaching you how to grow your instagram! And yes that’s also 25% off. In fact everything in my Etsy Shop including all my Pitch Templates to work with Brands and my Ebooks are 25% off.  Now that I’ve shamelessly plugged myself, let’s get into the tips!

POST CAROUSELS

Instagram came out with carousels for a reason. A carousel is when you swipe left on an Instagram photo to view other photos. Instagram allows you to post up to 10 photos in one post on your feed. I actually got this tip from a popular YouTube Channel that chronicles how to master Instagram. After I watched that video some time in mid-December, I made the conscious effort to post more carousels. I actually love it too because as a content creator I am sitting on a ton of photos! I would rack my brain choosing the perfect one to post on Instagram while relegating maybe 5-10 more in a blog post. So now, I know what to do with all those extra photos! People love swiping left to see more of a look or a different photo all together.

You want to keep someone on your content as long as possible and a carousel does that. It also helps you within Instagram algorithm. You ever notice in the morning you make like a photo and see a similar photo later in the day from the same person that you then like again (but it’s actually the second photo of the carousel). If I post one carousel, I know I’m getting seen at the very least 2 times daily on my followers timelines. I’ve noticed a huge uptick of likes, engagement and followers since I’ve started posting a carousel every other day. Repurpose that old travel content, beauty content, lifestyle content and tell a story through a carousel. 

IN FEED INSTAGRAM VIDEOS

I know Instagram is trying to shove IGTVs down everyones throat but I’ve actually studied which method of videos actually increase following when it comes to In Feed Videos versus IGTVs. Here’s the tea: You will usually get more VIEWS with an IGTV video but you will get more FOLLOWERS with an IN FEED INSTAGRAM VIDEO. This is a hard fact. I am very willing to forsake views for more followers. For example this #DontRushChallenge IGTV I posted got 15K views, 2019 Likes and 217 comments yet I only got 6 followers from it. YES 6! Y’all that’s so weak it almost makes me never want to post IGTV videos. But take this In Feed Instagram Video that brought in 578 followers.

Instagram also threw it up on the explorer page and they are more likely to feature CAROUSEL PHOTOS and IN FEED VIDEOS there since IGTV has it’s own page. I also dislike that I can’t monetize IGTV videos and most people don’t even know how to use it let alone find information to shop your looks. At least on your feed all the details are found in the caption without having to find a magical button like you do on IGTV. The good news is Instagram is rolling out a program to monetize IGTV now. I think that’s great but I still like to save my long form content for YouTube.

BE ENGAGING

You may not have the time to respond to DMs but you should make responding to your comments a priority even if it’s just to give that comment a heart to show that you’ve read it. Not only will it help with your engagement it may even persuade someone who isn’t following to actually follow you. A third of the comments I get are from people who don’t actually follow me. I know because I actually check LOL. It takes a person a few times checking out my content before they will actually follow. Yes, that’s hella frustrating. It doesn’t happen a lot but I’ve seen people go and like 10 photos, leave a few comments and still not follow me. So if you want to make it count, make sure to be engaging. Don’t give someone a reason NOT to hit that follow button. In addition to being engaging by responding to comments, also be engaging in your captions. Ask Questions: I like to do this by asking which outfits people prefer (see and example here). Educate or Inform (this is a great method for getting more saved posts, see an example here). Inject Humor (see an example here). Tell a story (see an example here). Make it impossible for someone not to want to respond to what you have to say.

American Eagle Dress | Dolce Vita Sandals | Brinker & Eliza Necklace and Earrings

GET THE LOOK

There you have it my 3 Tips for Growing Your Instagram Following During Isolation. If you want more tips and to know which apps I use for Instagram & Instastories check out my Instastories Pro eBook and my Insta-Grow eBook. I also just dropped a brand new eBook: What Should I Be Charging? — giving you all my insider details on what to charge for Instagram Social Media Campaigns. Drop any other tips you’ve discovered down below in the comments!

Stay Safe, Stay Sanitary and Stay Home (if you can)

xx

Monroe

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15 Comments

  1. Christian Mosi
    April 17, 2020 / 11:53 am

    Great post Monroe i loved your challenge video

    • monroesteele
      Author
      April 20, 2020 / 8:24 am

      Thank you! That was a fun video!

  2. April 17, 2020 / 6:23 pm

    I’ve learned so much from you sis! Seriously, I noticed that the first time I commented or sent you a dm how responsive you were. And he wasn’t some plain old generic comment, it was engaging. I think that’s one of the number one reasons ppl actually comment/follow/like. Thanks for sharing all these awesome tips! You are truly an inspiration! Love you loads!!!

    • monroesteele
      Author
      April 20, 2020 / 8:24 am

      Thank you Queen! I appreciate that. Love ya!

  3. Danielle
    April 22, 2020 / 3:39 pm

    Thank you so much for this information. I couldn’t stop reading.

    • monroesteele
      Author
      April 23, 2020 / 3:58 pm

      Glad it was helpful!

    • monroesteele
      Author
      April 27, 2020 / 3:53 pm

      Thank you! Have a great week xx

  4. kawana
    May 6, 2020 / 12:43 pm

    Always so helpful.
    I comment to friends all of the time “If Monroe can respond, so can they” (Referring to bloggers who do not respond” When you respond it shows me that my comment mattered to you… that makes a big difference to me. Thank you
    Thanks for the tea on the “carousel”, I had NO idea…..

  5. May 17, 2020 / 7:48 pm

    This was a really enjoyable and helpful read! I’ve known I need to start posting videos and learning to write stronger copy, but the carousel tip was completely new! And it very easy to implement! Think I’m about to check out these ebooks tho to get the scoop on how to make good in feed videos! Thanks!!

  6. May 17, 2020 / 10:37 pm

    Such great tips! Thank you! Congratulations on 60K!

  7. May 19, 2020 / 7:33 pm

    You are always so helpful. I uploaded my first IGTV today and I’ll definitely take key to the in feed videos. The video you linked in this post was very dope!

    Thank You

    • monroesteele
      Author
      May 21, 2020 / 3:27 pm

      Glad it was helpful!

  8. August 19, 2020 / 6:48 pm

    This was such an informative post M! ❤️

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